I mean.... you're talking to somebody who was invited to and is currently on the Tapas Creator Bonus Program right now... so... it's kind of hard for me to agree that Tapas simply don't care. 
They've really been going out of their way to support me and to promote and grow a work that honestly I know would never have a chance with most publishers because it'd be really hard to pitch, but I wanted to prove that if I just made it, I could make it work.
It's unfair to Tapas to infer that they're taking advantage of starry-eyed young creators, when people whose comics and novels don't get many views but still take up server space likely cost them more money than they generate. Clicks = money, remember? If you get clicks, that's great for Tapas because you're making them money, and in the hope of more works turning up that generate clicks, Tapas give everyone basically unlimited free hosting and the opportunity to get seen. Basically the big comics pay for everyone else to be on the site for free.
But.... Tapas is still a publisher; being a webcomics/webnovels publisher rather than print and having a low bar for entry that allows anyone to be on the platform doesn't change that. They feature stuff they feel confident will generate clicks, and... well, if somebody can't get 100 subs posting around on the forums discord, social media and stuff, it's likely there are issues with their comic or novel's appeal or readability that make it a poor use of a Tapas feature when something that generates way more clicks could go in that space.
I know it's rough, and I remember how hard it was trying desperately to gain readers to prove to them my comic could gain readers and generate engagement so that they'd give me a feature, because I had like 275 readers under my own steam after working my bum off for nearly a year before I even got my first staff pick. So what I'm saying is, if Tapas don't give you a feature, then prove to them that you can get clicks. Don't sit on your arse, moping and saying it's impossible; look to what you can actually personally do to improve your chances.
- Spruce up your cover, banner and blurb to be as good as possible. No excuses when there's a forum full of people to give you advice on this and free access online to professional fonts, image editing programs, stock photos and artwork, tutorials etc.
- Make sure your comic or novel is readable and attractive. If you're barely picking up readers when you post it on the forums and discord, there's clearly an issue, you need feedback. Get feedback. The forums are great for this.
- Don't think you're the magical exception to the rule of "Tapas readers like stuff that's similar to other stuff on Tapas and/or that will appeal to a 20 year old American woman". Unless you're already super famous (hell, even if you are), you are probably not the special snowflake who will make a gritty cowboy-themed Action comic about a grizzled 40 year old heterosexual man on a gritty quest for revenge drawn in the style of Mike Mignola a big hit on Tapas. Be sensible; there are other publishers for that.
(Seriously, if I see another novelist complaining that they're not getting featured, but they haven't even uploaded a banner to make their page look finished... Yes, I see you, more than one person on this thread... 
)
Going beyond just being on Tapas to build an audience of non-creators isn't easy. You will seriously need to knuckle down and learn to write, draw and present your work like a professional and make something appropriate to the market, like treat it like you're pitching to a print publisher, if you want to get features and contracts here. It's not impossible though, and it's not like Tapas don't want more good comics and novels generating them revenue.
