The part about Lemmy forks makes sense. Sites like Gab and removedute were very successful in using free speech as their main selling point, and the alt-right flocked to them almost immediately. As for reclaiming slurs, I think allowing users to filter out slurs would be a great idea.
A multiply-marginalised person's take on the Lemmy slur filter
Disclaimer: I am a multiply marginalized person on the radical left....