I have been online since before the web had pictures so it is an area of interest for me. I was not aware of that reputation of Mastodon, but then I wasn't taking much notice of it before last year.
That might mean that people less online than me are not aware of the reputation you describe.
@marcusgreen maybe to build on something @dameoutlaw@mstdn.social was touching on:
An ax I grind is that the ActivityPub protocol and Fediverse were consciously designed to put instances, not users, at the center of the system.
Everything is controlled by instances, and the refrain of "Well a user can just set up their own instance!" only reinforces this.
The instance focus has all sorts of implications ranging from moderation through system performance, so it's no small deal.
I would much rather have had a focus on users, but that ship has sailed, and there's not much to do about it at this point.
