CiaraEvery time a newcomer posts an introduction and somebody tells them they shouldn’t have joined Mastodon.social and need to move to a different server, an angel loses their wings.
John
Annika Backstrom@johnlorimer @CiaraNi It's impossible to effectively moderate such a huge server, so you have this catch-22 where the server is a vector for spam and harassment, but can be seen as "too big to block" because such a large percentage of the network lives there.
Overall it's bad for the health of the Fediverse, so some block it regardless and advocate for folks moving off and the server closing registrations.
@annika @johnlorimer I'll never find it welcoming to tell people who've just arrived, literally just joined Mastodon, that they're on the wrong server when it is not a server doing something actually despicable & egregious. I often see people going into the replies of Hello, Mastodon! introductions to give the newcomer unsolicited instructions to move server or questioning the way they are moving from Big Tech.
Edit to add: I know you didn't do this! You just answered an asked question (thanks)
Ian MalcolmGen X Australian here, this thread and your post in particular resonated with me.
Arrived in Jan 2023 and encountered the "You're On The Big Bad Server" anti-welcome committee.
I get the arguments but it seemed to me there are better ways of mitigating than *checks notes* insulting new arrivals for choosing the default server.
It was enough to drive most fellow refugees to Bsky, but I dug my heels in instead. 🤷♂️
PS Am on Bsky too, but mostly here.
@imalcolm The 'anti-welcome committee' - that is what it feels like. They could just ignore and scroll by, but apparently feel the need to stand on the new neighbour's doorstep telling them to move. Am sorry you had that experience. Am glad you stayed.
Dusk to Don 
@CiaraNi @imalcolm @johnlorimer @annika
Fully agree that we should celebrate folk for trying out Mastodon, and avoid shaming or complicating things re: "oh no you picked bad instance"
I also agree with the many issues and problems with mastodon . social
I try to do a little "actually-welcoming committee" by having # introduction + # newhere as part of my 'advanced interface / deck / homepage', that does not include instance judgement.
They could, but zealotry makes some possibly well-meaning people behave like jerks, I guess!
And thanks so much for that - I'm glad I stayed as well, it feels like I have found more of "my people" here over time, and the conversations and connections I have here tend to be more genuine, for want of a better word. 😊
@imalcolm 'the conversations and connections I have here tend to be more genuine, for want of a better word' - that reflects my experience here too