nev on Nostr: A great deal of the fedi meltdowns, massive failures, or just generally shitty ...

A great deal of the fedi meltdowns, massive failures, or just generally shitty servers I've seen since 2022 result from a server getting too big too quickly, beyond the staff's ability to manage. In light of that I think it's interesting how one of the Fosstodon admins talks about how they, like, wrung their hands and agonized over going invite-only.

I feel like we've gotten accustomed to open registration, no approval required, in a context of increased centralization where sites are run by multi-billion-dollar multinational corporations that have really advanced infrastructure, spam detection tools, and paid staff whose entire job is dealing with bad actors signing up—or, on the other hand, giant open cesspools like 4chan and Reddit.

Closing registrations or requiring new account approval *should not be a big deal*! I've periodically closed registrations on the instance I run when I don't feel up to it.

Growth in itself is not inherently good, and in a system like this where a server can be run by, like, one person, more users are a *liability* and a resource cost. It's not how you should track the health or success of your community. It is not the only way to internet!!