Honestly, I know we hate this practice in video games but it could actually help federation. Microtransactions for cosmetics. It can be hard to convince people to donate money, people don’t even want to pay a subscription to use a service. You know what people do like though? Customization options and ways for them to stand out.
There are basically limitless options that could be sold for fundraising purposes. Colored user name, profile borders, etc. None of the cosmetics would boost that persons posts in any way but it would help their profile stand out/be more unique (if they want it to be) and most importantly raise additional funding.
People like to feel like they are “getting something” for their money. (Even if donating is technically them getting to use the instance)
Donate $5 to keep fediverse instance running? :drake_no:
Buy $5 profile border that looks like it was ripped from GeoCities? :drake_yes:
Smiley