It seems like you do need to reach some sort of threshold of user numbers / appeal. (Doesn't have to be mass-appeal). Otherwise things do tend to wind down, understandably.

It is also possible that perhaps things wind down, geidm to a halt. Remain dormant and then re-emerge much later, taken up by other people. Perhaps ...LESS BURDENED by the dominant user group that caused the stagnation and winding down. That's just one possibility maybe ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯