The fediverse just got way easier to join:

https://fedidb.com/welcome

@dansup Having flagship instances at the top of results isn't likely to help with federation 🤷
@aspensmonster neither is directing new users to unstable or non-mature servers
@dansup Clipping the top N results would go a long way to avoiding both sets of problems.

@dansup that's understandable but please consider removing the label official server.

Ranking it by total or monthly active users is fine but labeling something "official" makes all other servers inherently unofficial/bootleg/subpar.

@aspensmonster

@dansup @aspensmonster Something to consider: I solved a similar question of how to balance "quality" vs improved discoverability for more obscure entries (in a different domain) by doing:

- "featured + ~5% random shuffle/mix chance per entry"

This way there is plenty at the top of what many people may be looking for. Along with giving more obscure entries a better chance at visibility that may just pay off if the right person sees it.

@aspensmonster @dansup Small instances make sense as communities that aggregate from the bottom and involve users starting from local projects or thematic initiatives. Small instances, on the other hand, must not be ovaries that collect disoriented users who come from the large databases of the fediverse, otherwise two problems are created:
- some small instances would not be able to handle the crowding
- some of those users would find themselves in poorly managed instances, with discontinuity of service and poorly connected to the rest of the Fediverse. In fact, some small instances are little gems, but a part of the small instances is burdened by a very high mortality and is poorly managed both in terms of reliability and in terms of privacy