Now the dilemma with the Fediverse is that, for better or worse, instances like mastodon.social and mastodon.online are going to be most new users experience with the Fediverse.
And it's going to be awful. The equivalent of eating dog food. This isn't because they're awful but because the idea of "Hey! Go join a smaller instance or self-host!" is a difficult paradigm shift.
What happens if a first impression is negative? Many people may not try again.
So what should be done about these big instances? Well, hopefully more money will give them more resources for their maintenance.
But also, I hope more moderators will be hired to assist with all those new users being onboarded.
In the meantime, I hope everyone who has *just* joined a large instance considers migrating somewhere smaller. It will likely be a better experience.