Here's what Eugen Rochko's Mastodon gGmbH organisation now controls:

-The Mastodon server software & API (though the current version is FOSS)
-The mastodon.social server, which has 1 in 7 of all Fediverse users
-The official Mastodon apps, now telling people to just sign up on mastodon.social
-The official website at joinmastodon.org
-The trademark for the word "mastodon", which lets them dictate terms to any server which uses it

This is a tempting package for any potential buyers.

(2/4)

The trademark alone gives Mastodon gGmbH huge power, it lets them tell any server using the word "mastodon" in its domain name what software or forks it can use.

And it's getting worse. Mastodon gGmbH is now making official apps which direct people to sign up on mastodon.social instead of a random trusted server or choice of trusted servers.

The more people sign up on mastodon.social, the more tempting Mastodon gGmbH becomes as a takeover target.

(3/4)

With all that in mind, here's a suggestion:

➡️ *IF* mastodon.social becomes more than 50% of the Fediverse, either by total users or monthly active users, the rest of us should defederate it.

Sticking with mastodon.social because "that's where the people are" is pointless. Centralised growth will simply cause the governance problems we've seen on Twitter and Facebook to be replicated on here.

Growth has to be decentralised in order to protect the independence of all Fedi servers.

(4/4)

@Crookedlilhouse @feditips fedi.directory oops

that's for accounts to follow, can't remember the one was for picking a server

@experiencersinternational @Crookedlilhouse @feditips

Came across this one the other day. Not perfect, but very populated and groups in languages and has a few other parameters you can fiddle with to see if you find something tempting.

https://www.comeetie.fr/galerie/mapstodon/

Personally, I have chosen a server in my own country to call home - because then it is much easier to give some financial support through reliable channels if needed.

@experiencersinternational @MaryPot @Crookedlilhouse @feditips

That's not true. There are quite a few geographic #FediVerse sites for the U.K., ranging from Glasgow.Social through Mastodon.Scot to Toot.Wales. And those are the big ones. There are further smaller ones like Mastodon.London and Dorset.Social, and more that I won't name here because I know that they are one person hobby outfits and don't need the pressure.

If you want places to look for places, go to https://hueyy.github.io/awesome-mastodon/#server-lists