Default instance blocks should largely replace defederation
Since what content users might want to see is quite unlikely to match which servers the admins tolerate, choosing instance on the Fediverse can be quite complicated, which is inconvenient and off-putting for new users.
For this reason, and simply that the Fediverse is stronger united, I believe defederation should ideally be reserved for illegal content and extreme cases. If Fediverse platforms would allow instances to simply block the rest for users by default, the user experience would be the same, unless they decide otherwise.
Indeed, so it seems reasonable to help a countermovement grow. Defederation makes it quite a bit more complicated for new users to choose an instance and for anyone to switch instance, and goes a bit against the idea of open social media.
And if moderation is not done because it’s a choice to see them and they are barred from posting in one’s communities, the cost of federation is not very high (except, perhaps, i, edge cases like Beehaw where there is a very large defederated userbase with which users would like to interact)
For 99% of the users, defederation is a complete non-issue and doesn’t effect the choice of an instance at all.
IMHO the only people that are complaining about it are either doing it in bad faith or have been somehow gaslit into believing it is an issue by others that did so in bad faith.
I’d say that figure isn’t quite as high. A lot of people for instance really want to be on Beehaw but are elsewhere because they want to be able to see the content outside their very restrictive moderation.
Also, it looks like a significant proportion of the lemm.ee userbase is there because of the open federation. What other appeal does an instance that doesn’t even allow photo uploads have?
Yes a lot of FOMO and people gaslit into believing it is an issue. But if you look at the main feed of Lemm.ee and compare it with pretty much any larger normal instance other than Beehaw, the content is almost the same (minus some low effort shit posts from Hexbear no-one is going to miss).
Hey – they’ve got trains! But on a more serious note, I do think there are people who want to see the more in-depth political discussion on there. And I’m just saying, it makes joining quite a bit more complicated, and seeing how many people are put off by the sheer existence of different instances, I think it does decrease the ease of entry for many.