I like this idea! I still don’t see how the more narrowly focussed servers would benefit me. I went with Lemmy.world because size matters in a forum, and the admins have been outstanding with reliability. The most likely reason for me to jump ship would be if that reliability fell.

That being said when I was new I had no idea what hexbear was or Lemmy.ml or whatever, and there’s only so much a description can do. I know the difference after reading many discussion threads

But I so would have jumped on Lemmy.nerds over Lemmy.jocks or Lemmy.preppies. Multiple servers with clearer sub-audiences may help a new user onboard easier. That being said, I realize I could just do that if I wanted to. I also realize that may just amplify the echo chamber effect. And I’ll stick around for the reliability and scale

The less profitable we are, the less they’ll bother us.

This is why I like SomethingAwful forums too. Open since 1999 and an account costs $10. Just a little barrier to entry keeps out the worst people and trolls help fund the site by reregistering!

Part of me wants the fediverse to take over because the world needs open systems and not corporate outlets for ads and propaganda.

But this place is really fun how it is and I want to be selfish and keep the precious all for ourselves.

I think we have a lot of wiggle room between the two, fortunately. If we get 10x the users with the barriers to entry doing the same filtering as now, this place could really be hopping. But if we get 1000x the users and start doing Reddit numbers, who knows what it will be like.

Knowing humans, maybe there’s a critical mass at which Lemmy would fracture into multiple fediverse islands. But each could still be vastly larger than all of Lemmy right now.