@evan discovery is still a problem

@evan
define general-purpose.

@evan

No, they'll have a better experience on a smaller one, BUT... it IS easier to get signed up on one of the big ones first.

@evan

if we can make account movement flawless, we should probably have default servers with handholding that kinda force you to move after a couple months.

@evan ...unless they self-host, they should join a stable instance that agrees to a basic covenant which includes what happens if they shutdown, robust and faithful moderation team, and a support chain of command.

@evan un NO rotundo

Descentralización es lo mejor para el fediverse red de redes de la cual una parte la forma Mastodon

Pero no no y no
Hay que repartirse en otros servidores y no usar los grandes

@evan I would say the explore tab is pretty lonely on smaller servers, I know there is work to fix that, but until that lands I think the smaller servers do have a disadvantage there.

@evan No, but the system is designed in such a way that that's what most people will do.

@evan I think what makes the Fediverse special is small community servers, it's an experience that's impossible on Twitter or Bluesky.

Many think the community should be separate from the infrastructure, but I think connecting the two is actually helpful for governance. Without that, I don't see how you motivate small communities investing in infrastructure, and without that, network effects drive everyone to one big server that explodes.

But, some people need the reach of a big server.

@evan "Should is a personal verb" echoes in my brain, a constant editor of my consciousness speech.

Join the fediverse wherever you find it.

I should trust that people will find their people and respect their choices.

#YMMV

@evan
No, but picking that first instance is the first and worst discovery problem, on a network still riddled with discovery problems.

Better discovery tooling up front would help a lot, and the tooling and culture around instance migration could be improved.

@evan Yes, but. It's reasonable to start there, but not really the best place to stay for most people.