Mastodon: A constellation of communities

Wrote up the thing that trips up nearly every newcomer to Mastodon: The server picker page isn't asking you to pick a Mastodon. it's asking you to pick a neighborhood. ActivityPub is the road system — it's open, it's shared, it connects every instance to every other instance that hasn't blocked it. what you're choosing is the community whose timeline, rules, and culture shape your local experience. Some things worth knowing before you choose: → Most major instances are donation-funded, not ad-supported. the funding model is the governance model — chronological feeds, no blue-checkmark monetization, transparent admin posts, no quarterly growth pressure. → AI policy is now a real community differentiator. mastodon.art bans AI-generated content. fosstodon requires disclosure. infosec.exchange and hachyderm block AI training on user content. the general-purpose flagships are mostly silent — which is also a position. → Regional and language instances aren't lesser versions of mastodon.