@frayoshi If a follow doesn't work out, chances are that you/Qoto might've been blocked by that person/instance. But if you can still read their posts, you can try subscribing to them instead to 'follow' their public posts, but interaction probably won't be possible with that person.
@frayoshi Oh! Yes, sorry for skipping that scenario, but yes, people with a strict follow policy can be followed that way too. Then you just subscribe to them to see their public-only toots.
It's a Qoto-specific feature, by the way. :) Check our About page to see what extra features Qoto has to offer.