@zaskoda @gerwitz Gotta disagree on the 'running your own server' point.

Running your own *physical* server, in your own garage? Sure, maybe. But I think it's easy to say most people wouldn't want to do that anyway. They'd go to a service provider like any of the zillions of web hosts and even dedicated email services we have, and those are all dirt cheap. No ads, pro-privacy, etc.

(Contd)

@zaskoda @gerwitz Maybe we're talking different levels of running your own server, of which there are many?

I run a couple addresses through my web host. But there are also many dedicated services like Fastmail, where it's basically 'managed' for you and they fight spam quite well.

Like, there's a broad spectrum when it comes to DIY email, and the ecosystem for Masto and Fedi is growing the same way. Has for years.

@zaskoda @gerwitz And, again, while the option is there, I don't think it's controversial to claim that the majority of people won't want to go that route. They'll want something managed, like Fastmail, and plenty of options are springing up.

Digital Ocean. Masto.host, Fedi.Monster, NextCloud, etc. I've heard some traditional web hosts are spinning up one-click options like WordPress and many other apps.

@chartier @zaskoda @gerwitz In a case where you might ever have to deal with, say, the internals of Postgres, the vast, vast majority of people do not want to touch it. Ever. If that's the cost of using this social network, nearly everybody just won't.

The admins I see here do, in fact, have to touch Postgres. It's one reason there aren't more of them, even as the giant Twitter influx happens.

@chartier @zaskoda @gerwitz I'm not saying "Postgres is bad." It's by far the best DB we have. But touching *any* database is too much admin work, and leaves us vulnerable to centralised solutions (unless we have some other way around that.)

Same problem as running an email server, which requires a similar level of ongoing drudgery plus specialised expertise. It's hard to get lots of people doing that for you, at scale.

"We'll just require a lot more good-quality free DevOps" is hard to scale.