This should be a positive shift. Let's hope that the dev team and all make sure to not simply put polish on a pig. Steemit has some SERIOUS and significant issues that, without some careful planning will simply leave Hive in much of the same situation as steemit.
Also, watch out because there's little doubt that Justin will have the ability to respond to a hard fork, must be careful to not interfere with the IP he purchased. The legality of simply copying the block chain carries some risks on its own... and without addressing the problems things will just repeat.
RE: Fork you. Hello Hive, my new home! Are you coming along? The place will be buzzing!