I think Delta has learned that people buy lottery tickets for the hope.
e.g., Diamond - "Hoping" for an upgrade when there are 1-2 seats and 69 on the list
Thought process over time is as follows - telling people not to buy lottery tickets never works
September 2023 Delta - No one is getting upgraded anyway, let us shrink the upgrade lists and empty the lounges
October 2023 Delta - Everyone is an Elite now - Plase don't leave us - we are very happy to add you to the upgrade list!
I mean, for me the lounge stuff was always the big deal. But you raise a decent point - folks want to be
somewhere on the list if they can be, because sometimes lightning
does strike.