It's a question that we might never have thought about, but it's an interesting to think about - how could things change here at SN when more people start arriving?
It might be interesting to imagine some of the possibilities.
It's all an experiment, there's so many variables - but we might imagine that a few things could happen...
Professional Cowboys
It's possible that more people will choose to spend more of their time posting, commenting and zapping here.
Some people might even make posting their main source of revenue - in essence becoming professional Cowboys.
If both user numbers go up, and the popularity of Bitcoin goes up too - it's highly likely that we'll see professional cowboys here.
A change in the diversity of opinion?
Maybe I've been living in a bubble here, but it seems a pretty chill place here. Perhaps we've got a lot more in common than we have in differences between us.
I might be right, but it's also possible that there's a hidden undercurrent that I can't see.
It's feasible that some stackers have been sitting on personal, maybe unpopular, opinions fearing that if they voice them this might reduce their sat flow.
If user numbers increase, they might begin to find their people or feel it's okay to break ground as there'll be enough support in numbers for them to feel free to say what they believe and feel.
Would the overall nature of users change?
With people arriving without a background/interest in tech, privacy there's going to be a lot more exposure of personal details here.
I once noticed a new user seemingly type their home address into their bio - thankfully deleting it later.
As time goes on, newcomers may start to learn from those in the know new people should hopefully pull back on what personal things that they share.
Could SN become too popular, too fast?
We've got the tech guys running the show with some serious financial backing, so the servers should be able to cope - unless something weird happens.
If we do get a huge, sustained influx of new users in a short amount of time they could bring with them all of the habits they have from using mainstream social media, could the clued-in vibe of SN become engulfed?
I doubt we should worry about that. If that happens, then we're approaching hyperbitcoinization. Using and understanding Bitcoin, through using it, will be highly educational - the old guard won't be forgotten, they should instead be seen as a sources of knowledge.
Footnotes
Footnotes