@FediTips Maybe it would. And I get that there are crazy amounts of attacks of all kinds nowadays that admins are dealing with constantly.

I'm used to environments like Reddit where I have to assume mods usually have bad intentions. But that's not true of Mastodon. I guess I'm still not used to a social network where people are nice!

Even if I change my view on this though, I think there will always be legitimate users who simply won't apply to a restricted server.

@FediTips I just think we shouldn't build walled gardens. I had a bad experience with other platforms in the past where you have to "apply" to join, and those in charge found an opportunity to gatekeep.

There are some notable exceptions, but for the most part I won't join an online community where I have to "apply". That's how I ended up on the default server.