@kainoa True. But all servers are not created equal. And the other people on a server are at least part of the draw.
People join topic-specific instances. What if this instances “purpose” is to give members better reliability, some say in policies, etc?
I mean, I could pay $15 a month for a managed hosting service to run it for me. Spending the same to get a more personal touch and a voice seems… intriguing.