Thank you for responding, even though you haven’t explained anything at all, you haven’t answered the most important question: what is supposed to replace the mems. And not in terms of replacing them on your list of priorities or list of expenses. But replacing their function.
It would be interesting to know, where Memrise is going, because most of the changes done have been in a rather sad direction, and your list of “pedagogical principles” sounds just like generic empty words we hear everywhere. Mems have been an interesting and helpful part of Memrise since the Beta. I still remember some of the mems years after! They were very helpful, especially when I had started German the first time. They were something unique.
It is fair to say, that you no longer want mems, they don’t fall into your strategy. Ok. But saying “they’re no longer providing the right pedagogical value” is simply untrue.
As to your “principles”:
1.learn words and sentences: yes, that’s what memrise was about, primarily words though. Your very sloppy, superficial, and badly thought out “professional” courses show exactly why sentences are tricky on this platform. Mems were helping with learning words. You’re throwing that away.
2.videos and audios: we got it, you still want to push primarily your trashy official courses, not the user courses, which are often of much higher quality, mems removal are just a part of that strategy. But why have you chosen to become just another source of beginner videos, when you had already been on the way to be the best SRS around? I know, not getting an answer. It is just rather sad that you are removing the actually useful features, just to put more attention to stupid videos.
Btw how on earth are those stupid cliché videos supposed to be more useful than original and funny mems?
3.“communicate with fellow humans with no fear of making mistakes.” What a nice phrase we’ve all heard a million times from so many companies. Are you sure this is what an SRS platform should be doing? People coming to Memrise are looking for SRS to learn our vocabulary, perhaps conjugations, some will try learning sentences here (even though Memrise is not a good tool for that). Yes, the vocabulary will help with communication, but you are skipping your actual role here. Memrise is not a conversation partner finding platform, nor is it a therapy tool against fear. You are supposed to help with the huge and scary step before conversations. Removing mems is a step away from that purpose.
It is still a very good SRS tool, that has some huge advantages. The user made content, with tools like “Difficult words” (I love that one), with low quality official courses with useless videos (really, does anyone need to see a boring person on video, to learn “Hallo”?!), and also with mems. No other platform had been offereing that. But no clue, why Memrise is destroying itself.
I just cannot understand why is every big change on Memrise a removal of something very good, something that actually gives people a reason to come back, to invite friends, to pay for. What are you gonna offer instead, so that it falls in the “principles” presented? Are you gonna erase Memrise and make Italki2? 
Or just add more stupid videos?
