Word of Mouth is always the better way to help people discover content. I'm sure your intentions were well-meant, but the Fediverse wasn't meant to be searchable for a reason.
Most communities are monolithic, but in the sense that they coalesce around specific topics, like retro games, OpenBSD and...foxes.
If a user wants to avoid monolithic instances, they need to seek out generalist instances that will let you talk to those instances.
When I post something that resonates with some but not others, my activities will reflect that input. So the best way to gain and sustain interactions is to sit down, watch how people interact, and provide relevant replies where you both see eye to eye.
Mastodon has insufficient controls for the moderation that is needed for these new users. I started an instance called Radiant Garden because I needed the perspective of a #MastoAdmin so I became one.
So a good policy is to avoid servers with edgelords on them. They're nice people inside, they just aren't fans of the exodus. They feel as though they're trying to change things and that harassment may be them lashing out.
🫵 mastodon.social is an aneurysm. Nodes shouldn't be that big. The purpose of this space is to own your data, and for this experience to feel closely held and comforting. 🫵 No reasonable Fedi user is waiting for @Gargron to greenlight features you want. Everyone already has them. 🫵 Stop scraping. It's like looking up a woman's skirt without asking. Almost 65% of instances have a TOS against it. Also, turn on Authorized Fetch to put a stop to it. It'll destroy discoverability but it's up to you. 🫵 Safe spaces matter, and require comprehensive moderation tools. Pleroma has them, love us or not. There's so much granular control you'll pee your pants with joy. I love my MRFs. 🫵 Hate your software? You can complain, or you can do something about it like @FloatingGhost and create a brand new animal.
You have a chance to take control. If that's not your aim you shouldn't be here 🚏
@Alex_Linder the guy did some amazing reporting on Joseph Floyd Manor, and it really lights me up that those people got the attention their derelict property needed.