@afewbugs I love co-ops and that does seem ideal. But I also want a less ideal option for normies who don’t want to make so many decisions. If joining an instance requires volunteer work and voting on governance, I worry that many potentially valuable users won’t bother.

@afewbugs For governance, I wonder if the best model is something like a constitutional monarchy. Everyone recognizes the sovereigns (they are the hosts after all), but day to day governance is managed by volunteer fans. And if those mods abuse their power, the host can step in and show them the door, lest they alienate their audience.

Another thought: I suspect decision fatigue is a big barrier to entry to the fediverse. The instance you choose says something about you, and the kinds of people you associate with.

But if you’ve already decided that you like Normal Gossip or Planet Money (or whatever), that’s an easier decision to make.

The #forkiverse seems like a good model for expanding the fediverse: instances based on existing audiences.

Hear me out. Fanbases have an automatic sense of community. They are more likely to be politically/culturally similar. Users already like the admin (e.g. the podcast host). The admin can’t be a tyrant, because the users are also their audience.

And there’s that last hard-to-describe ingredient. That sense of energy and momentum. “Hey, come join, we’re starting something together!”