Critical mass is still a ways away I think. I have noticed a stream of new accounts recently, some of which seem to be the type of dedicated users who post a lot, which has created a marked uptick in activity.
But critical mass - which I define as active niche non-tech communities thriving without having to rely on a single user doing 99% of the posting - is not achieved yet. I think probably at least the 100k MAU barrier has to be breached for that, if not more.
I am noticing a marked increase in profiles I've checked being made in 2025, when in late 2024 it was a lot more of "2 years ago" folks. I've no idea what critical mass is but Reddit is slowly but steadily declining which is great news for us.