Mozilla has announced that its Mastodon server will shut down in December, and there has been a backlash in the fediverse – something I really cannot see the fuss about. Having instances come and go is a real part of how the fediverse evolves and changes, and it shows up a real issue that exists in decentralised social media, that is a server isn’t something that can be relied on long term. There have been quite a few instances that have come and gone and it also highlights that users need to choose wisely when they sign up to a server as there are real chances that is might disappear with or without notice.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/17/mozilla-exits-the-fediverse-and-will-shutter-its-mastodon-server-in-december/
Now as far as I can see it, the real issue is that despite having plenty of new users the MAU (monthly active users) isn’t showing anywhere near the growth that it should with the amount of new servers/instances and users joining. This just shows how users join, but don’t stick around and use the fediverse in anything like the numbers they should. This is a real big problem, and in my experience it is just because unlike say threads people find it way, way harder to see the numbers and engagement via say Mastodon – as Mozilla have found out. Their instance numbered under 300 users and it’s regular users was just a handful. If this continues I can really see the fediverse just stagnating, and I have already expressed that a few times. Let’s hope it isn’t the case and this can continue to grow. I’ll link to fedidb below where you can browse through the numbers and see for yourself how bad it actually is…
Mozilla shuttering its Mastodon server…. 3dcandy.social/2024/09/mozi…