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Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
@snow We are actually one of the largest mastodon instances. Last I checked I think we were one of the top 20 largest. So we are "mainstream" enough in that sense.
But I agree to a point. Most people dont want thoughtful nuanced content. They want sound bytes they agree with and little more.
Our goal as an instance shouldnt be to get the attention of most people, but rather the attention of quality people.
Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
I disagree, it isnt about the size of an instance it is about the fluidity allowing to leave sn instance for another (migrate) without consequence that is more important.
Though I would say size, either small or large, should not be the intended goal of an instance. Quality should be.
@snow
Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
I would argue that those requirements are not satisfiable unless instances remain numerous and small in comparison to the federation.
And I would again criticize that nebulous notion of generic quality, that you imply to be applicable to every instance or every person.
@snow
Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
I never claimed that my notion of quality applies to everyone equally. Everyone will have a different notion of quality and that is why we have different instances, because people have different ideas of quality.
As for it only being satisfiable if instances are kept small, I dont see that as being the case. The fluidity to migrate instances is a technological one. So long as i can migrate my account to a new server and forward my old followers to my new account then it is satisfied, regardless of size.
@snow
Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
Yes, I assumed that's what you meant regarding quality, was just being pedantic cause I can't help it.
Regarding migration, even purely technologically servers/instances have a capacity. If one (or several) is particularly large compared to others, migration out of it in large volumes might not be possible if required. There is also maintenance and moderation that requires human resources, which further limits capacity.
Even if not making migration impossible, this will limit the choice of instance you can migrate to, which might mean that you'll have to join, say, QOTO, even if you have absolutely no interest in STEM, diminishing the specific quality the instance was aiming for, through no fault of anyone, but everyone.
@snow
Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
Servers have limited capacity for sure, but that is not an argument for smaller servers.
Large servers imply that those servers are well enough paid for to be able to support its user base. Their existence increases the capacity of the network does not decrease it.
Obviously if there is some mega server and everyone migrates and there are only a few small instance servers then it couldnt support the migration this is true. But even if that mega instance never existed the network wouldn't have been able to support the capacity anyway, so its a moot point.
It feels like your stretching reality to prove a point. here.
@snow
Microblogging and lower intelligence (longer than 500 characters)
@freemo @snow I think the goal of every instance should be to stay as small as possible while still being engaging, that's the point of federation. I would call it a niche though, or a specific quality, rather than some generic quality, which would be a fallacy at best... oof.