My theory is that it's a combination of a few factors:
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Smaller communities mean you're likely to interact with the same people. Even if people don't consciously think about it, they don't want to be known as "that guy"
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The first wave leaving Reddit were those most dissatisfied with how it worked, and are more committed to making this place work
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Honeymoon phase. People are being far nicer and more considerate as it's a new platform
If we can keep maybe 1/4 of that as the platform grows and changes, I'd take that as a win.