I would say reddit’s golden years were around 2012. Since it started around 2005 that gave it 7 years to get as good as it was in 2012. If Lemmy follows the same formula, it may take about the same amount of time, but reddit saw exponential growth when Dig shot itself in the foot, much like reddit is currently doing, so it’s possible we may get a jump start. Who’s to say really?

Highly dependent on the status of reddit. If after a few days most subreddits return to normal status, whether willingly or forced by admins, or that users just create new ones to replace them, then I believe most users will go back to reddit and leaving lemmy as where it is.

But if Reddit truly dies, then lemmy will become very big and active in no time.

I have no idea. For now I enjoy scrolling the front page and finding new subs to replace my vast amount over at reddit. It has an enthusiasm I haven’t felt for years and feels alive. It reminds me of the old days. But how long until its content is better than reddits? It has a decade and a half of deep discussions about, well, everything. That will take some time I think.

Probably 2 to 5 years. Lemmy kinda just works and is usable right now. To become better than Reddit the experience needs to be seamless.