I agree with everything you say here. I would say even some kind of consolidation for communities might be needed as a lot are defunct but I don’t know if that will work or is possible.

I like the ability to filter out by keywords, it makes for a much more pleasant experience

This is one if the most useful features and I think more people should customise Lemmy/Mastodon to their needs.

Yes to pickles and olives too if I have them.