And of course if federation within the Fediverse could be boiled down to several thought exercises then we wouldn't have to expect yet another debate.

But remember: You are not your instance (even and especially if you administer it) but you are the sum of the people you hang out with the most. People will notice the company you keep even if you don't. Consider that others may have far fewer instance options than you.

To even exist in any large public space, never mind feel comfortable in it, requires some degree of privilege. To move instances at a whim, even more so. Distinguish between comfort zones and safety zones, between safety in numbers and safety in privacy, and mind where all of those do and do not intersect.

And in closing: Have accounts on multiple instances, establish multiple lines of communication with individuals who want them, and respect the choices of those who want to restrict their interactions to specific spaces.

Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. Instances and whole platforms disappear overnight, sometimes for no more reason than poor backups. Operations is a specialization in tech for a reason and a demanding skill set at that.

Also, pay your instance admins if you can! Not that this obliges them to host you (outside of explicit contractual agreements). They see a lot of shit so that you don't have you.

Good night!