Lawyers, platform moderation, and SEO have wiped it out. What’s left is boring drivel whose only purpose is to sell you a product or a course or avoid a lawsuit. I realize some have moved to private groups and there are still sites if you look hard enough. But is that enough?
Federation feels like the right place to bring that culture back rather than let it die or has that ship sailed?
You can’t just create such a space. It happens because people who know things hang out in places where people who ask questions also are. And such that the community encourages answering such questions.
If Lemmy continues to grow, it is possible this will happen if enough communities are formed that support in-depth discussion of issue, or become places where people seek help because people there are helpful.