What if that happens though? Do you think Hubski would take it in stride or does this community really want to see this place be very niche?

I think the issue is that two aren't mutually exclusive. It's possible to grow and maintain what has been established here, however, that is best done organically and not by push-button issues that happen on Reddit or any other site for that matter. New users come and go all the time, and the community has been growing progressively larger.

I don't see it being taken in stride because that would defeat the entire point of this place. It's not meant to be a place where people are posting low-effort content (most of the time) and not really interacting with one another. It's really more of a melding of personalities, interests, and personal connections which is why I like that bar analogy so much. That's what could be lost and that's why I don't think it would be taken in stride if there was a continued, significant explosion in the user base.

But I'm not on the dev team so this is all just my opinion.