You already know the answer. It doesn't work, or rather, it does not benefit your channel in any way. The people who do it probably have this mentality:
"If I gain more subscribers, real people that check me out will think I'm worth watching and subscribing to"
But it does not work that way. True, some people might view sub count as a measurement to the quality of someone's content. But you know what else would? The views. Someone with 500 sub 4 sub subscribers getting 1-4 views per video is a dead giveaway that they are fake. More importantly, the notion of sub 4 sub goes against any attempt to better your channel. Why? Because your aim should be actual exposure, actual people and actual engagement. If you see yourself with 1000 subscribers that don't comment, like or share your content, then you are at the same level you would be with 10 subs.
When I started, I focused on subscribers a lot. It meant the world to me to see that sub count go up. But I realized something. I was focusing on the wrong aspect. I started focusing on views, because at the end of the day, if just one video were to go viral, to become a gateway video to your channel, it'll be more effective than anything else you can possibly do for your channel.
Yes you guessed it, NO views
