It's not. Everyone seems to be allocated a seat automatically in advance of check-in, so when check-in opens there are almost no seats to be selected. Not because people with higher status or paid seat assignments have taken them, but because even those on hand baggage only tickets have been automatically allocated the seats.

I don't think anyone particularly minds if there is not much left because others have chosen to pay for a seat or been able to select one as a result of status, but when almost every other spare seat is already allocated to people on tickets which do not offer seat selection and likely don't care where they sit anyway, you can see why the original poster is somewhat annoyed.

If this is how it's done now, then fine - but they do need to stop saying seats are automatically allocated to ticket holders without seat assignment entitlement at check-in as it seems that it now happens before this point.