I actually like where the Fediverse is now. And I think a long trajectory of slow growth will be very good for it.
Reddit is a great example of the “enshitification” process at work. A community grows way too big, way too fast. People don’t adopt the norms, the norms change. That’s why the front page of Reddit is full of “Am I ugly?” Posts when it used to be (more) high quality discussions with a bunch of nerds. Hacker news is a good example of a slow-growing community which has mostly maintained an environment of intellectual curiosity.