A question about a name

I didn't know where to post this, sorry, please move if needed.
I'm looking for even slight input on a domain name issue I've been having!

Let's say you know of a pretty large website with a fairly big and super dedicated audience that was abandoned out of nowhere. Everyone's left without a true replacement. There's no chance it's coming back and it gets a lot of exact keyword searches every month.

Do you step on its toes and get a copycat domain (hoping to nab the abandoned when it expires, too), or come up with your own? The abandoned website was a .net and the new copycat domain would also be a .net. The copycat name would also be better and shorter while still reaping the benefits of the original's name.

Doing a similar name has a lot of benefits, including instant recognition, feeling like it is the most legitimate replacement due to the name, nostalgia, easy to find etc. I don't think there's anything legally sketchy about this since it was just a name, not a patented product or something.

The drawback being it is a .net like the original and not starting fresh. But maybe there are more pros and cons I am missing?

It's a dumb question, but it's been bugging me for awhile now and I'm creeping up on the point where I need to make a decision for the new website.

Any ideas?