As a result, our instance https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/ got 625 new user registrations (of which 536 where accepted) in the past 24 hours! And the registrations are not abating even now. We still get like 10 new ones per hour!
I suspect this is probably the largest advertisement, for lemmy specifically, since the main reddit blackouts 1.5 years ago.
Have your own instances also seen an influx of new users?
That was a very helpful post, so I could make sure I was subscribed to all three communities listed and not just this one, lol.
Edit to add: on my instance there are communities that are hidden by default, but not blocked at all. If you subscribe to such a community, everything shows up like normal for you. It seems to me this is a better option for communities seen as controversial or problematic. And of course defederation is always an option when needed.