this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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Mastodon

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Mastodon is

Helpful links

Registrations for 'mastodon.social' are often closed, but you can learn more about Mastodon and register with another instance at joinmastodon.org. It doesn't matter which instance you register on - you can still follow anyone on any instance.

If you are looking for service providers that can host and manage an instance for you:

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Cosmetics.

Let's offer paid cosmetics for users of your instance. Animated or custom banners, posts, new themes, etc.

It's a model that works really well for Discord and League of Legends. Instances offering to sell aesthetic luxury to their user base could work for Mastodon too.

It's non-invasive, it's optional, it's a great addition for some people, and it allows to raise funds to keep the hosted instances up and running.

Do you think it's viable?

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[–] Sekhen@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Donations is the way forward.

A dollar or two should be enough per month.

I run mine for free, self hosted, and I'm alone there. Server cost is absorbed by my hobby expenses. Maybe $20 per month.

[–] mcg_090@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just curious, how many users do you currently host and what is your user amount capacity? Just trying to figure out math in terms of scalability

[–] Sekhen@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I thought the "I'm alone there" covered it.

Donations are usually volontary so if you run a very large instance, income isn't guaranteed.

[–] mcg_090@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No need to be a dickhead…the “I’m alone there” was an ambiguous statement which I interpreted as you solely absorbed all the costs and effort of hosting.

[–] Sekhen@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

English isn't my first, or second, language. Maybe something got lost in translation.

I'm sorry if I sound like a dick head.

[–] mcg_090@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Ah completely understand. I apologize then for calling you that.

[–] TimAjax997@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Donations is def not the way forward if you want to mainstream it.

It works because moderation on Mastodon is manual (by my understanding), so most good instances are closed, which means donations kind of work.

But donating to use a social media service is unheard of in India (and may I say most of Asia too). Most also consider this as a waste of time. There's no way you can make Mastodon big in India without thinking of a way to monetise it.