So, what happens if an instance decides to shut down? Is my mastodon identity lost forever? I love the idea of this, but I'm guessing it isn't a charity. How are instances expected to make money to cover costs? (Unless I'm missing something? š¤)
Open source, there isn't necessarily a single entity looking to profit @jamesbmarshall
@32cans I didn't necessarily mean for an instance to be profit-making; although like anything I'm sure that will be a driver for some, in time. I just wonder how viable donation funding is as the platform grows? Could there arise an instance that charges a subscription fee?
@jamesbmarshall I think you're about right. The analogy I keep hearing is that it's like e-mail servers.
@jamesbmarshall
1) Yes
2) I have seen start donation pools on their main page. Other than that I do not know.
@jamesbmarshall you move to another instance.
Keep a backup of your following list somewhere offline, so you can reimport.
Most instance runners are accepting donations via patreon.
@ajroach42 that feels clunky - what about my toots and followers? I'd love to see a way to persist an identity across instances or a way to migrate officially should an instance need to shut down etc.
@jamesbmarshall not possible without fairly significant structural changes.
That's not how federated systems have traditionally worked.
This is the cost of not having a central server. I think it's a reasonable price to pay.
@ajroach42 I think so, too. I wonder if that will, over time, lead to fewer larger instances with good funding models?
@jamesbmarshall i guess that is possible. If you're worried you can always host yourself. (Working on setting up a node as we speak.)
My bet is that small nodes (sub-1000 users) become the norm. My estimate says a 500 person node could be run for less than $40/month.
There will be a fair number of dead instances in the next year or so, after that I bet things level out.
It's like old school forums and BBSs in that regard.
@jamesbmarshall donation, i think. At least a lot of instances has a link for donation to maintence the server.