Two excellent, in-depth guides to Mastodon, which should answer many of your questions, are here:

1. An Increasingly Less-Brief Guide to Mastodon by joyeusenoelle: https://github.com/joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon

2. Nikodemus' Guide to Mastodon: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D9gfeKg_-hlsU66R-dLEvUeyMsqEfyIx2pnfUeX0t_E/edit#heading=h.j95atvlbfrn5

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GitHub - joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon: An increasingly less-brief guide to Mastodon

An increasingly less-brief guide to Mastodon. Contribute to joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon development by creating an account on GitHub.

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@ryanschultz I would add this as an excellent primer for why it's better this way
https://escapingtech.com/tech/opinions/i-was-wrong-about-mastodon-moderation.html
I Was Wrong About Mastodon – EscapingTech

I said that Mastodon moderation wouldn't scale, it does. The cultural differences will likely continue to maintain a friendlier atmosphere regardless of size.