To be clear: IFTAS is not a for-profit running off of venture capital. It is a 501©3 non-profit that is temporarily sponsored by another organization, New Venture Fund, itself a charity organization for grants and things of that nature. The sponsorship is only in place until the IRS formally recognizes IFTAS.

Secondly: setting up an organization as a resource to help moderators and admins navigate a myriad of shitty issues is hardly the same thing as centralizing critical infrastructure. You’ll still be and to host and instance regardless of whether you take part in the organization.

The real benefit of efforts like IFTAS is that it provides needed resources and tools for Trust and Safety in a network that has historically lacked anything of the sort. Instead of mods and admins just winging it by themselves, they can have access to resources, training, and contacts who actually work in the T&S field. Additionally, the organization is collaborating on tools to make the process suck less for everybody.