A few people have asked to join atomicpoet.org, and I’m not taking on new members. This will always exist as a single-user server (mostly).
Conceptually, I think it’s important for people to see single-user servers operating and thriving.
You don’t have to join some random person’s server, pray to god they’re good moderators, and hope they don’t pull a mastodon.lol.
You can just create a server yourself, manage how you feel fit, and enjoy it as a spot that’s truly your own.
If you have the skills to manage it, you can create a Mastodon server on Digital Ocean (or something similar) via 1-click install. It’s easy to get started, though there is still much work that needs to be done.
Now I realize not everyone is a SysAdmin who enjoys tinkering around with databases and delivery queues.
Which is why @reiver and I (and others) are working hard on #SpaceHost, which is a fully managed hosting service.
For the first time this week, we’re letting someone join #SpaceHost as a customer. They will likely be creating a Lemmy server.
My point is, creating your own server is feasible. I’ve done it. This specific Pleroma server has been in operation since Novemeber 2022.
It is truly my spot on the Fediverse – and I love it.
@atomicpoet I get your point but people need to be aware of the hurdles of running an instance with <5 users just in terms of engagement. The difference between being on an instance with 1000s of active users and some little self-hosted instance with a couple of friends is stark. The drop off in interaction outside my mutuals when I moved from mastodon.social to my own site was dramatic. And I follow lots of people and hashtags, and use a relay. Federation is not so straightforward.
The other factor is that I’ve never gone out of my way for interaction or engagement either. It’s just come. Sometimes I think there might even be too much interaction on this server – but it is what it is.
Remember, though: interaction and engagement has a cost on the Fediverse. This is why big servers often end up shutting down. At least on a single-user server, you can manage that and keep things sustainable.
@atomicpoet Fair enough. But you have 1,500+ followers and are consistently in the top trending topics of all the big instances. And since you host your own (I’m assuming) you control your federation capacity and can dedicated all the threads you need. Of course your federation is going to be higher. But folks going through managed hosting need to weigh cost/benefit to paying for more threads, storage. And most people have a couple hundred mutuals if they are super active.
@atomicpoet Don’t get me wrong. I like having my own instance. And I’m working hard to keep it connected to the great fediverse. And I don’t mind posting if only to my couple dozen active mutuals. But people come to social media to be social. Interaction here is already siloed in noticeable ways—hence the reply-guy phenomenon. Why pretend there’s no downsides to moving to a one or two person instance.
@atomicpoet I’ve honestly seen a few folks move to self-managed instances, or try to start small specialized communities and then just drop off the face of the fediverse.
Would you be able to share a ballpark of the costs attached to running your own server? And how difficult is it? I am a complete newbie in that department and my computer is old and slow... lol
@haikushack Ballpark on my personal costs is hard to give because we’ve hired a team to do the backend management. However, once #SpaceHost is available to everyone, a single-user server will be cost competitive with Twitter Blue and Meta Verified—but you’ll be able to do so much more.
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