Finding an instance that blocks least and is least blocked
Is there a way to shop around for a Lemmy instance based on how many instances are blocking it and how many instances it's blocking? For example, I noticed that the lemmygrad.ml instance is relatively popular, but it seems like a lot of other instances block it. It also blocks a bunch of other instances. So, if there are any communities on there that might be relevant to me then I would be missing out. I guess I could just create an account on a walled instance, but I would prefer not to keep creating accounts. I'd like to just find one instance that maximizes my access. Is the answer to just run my own instance?
tbh, there is no such instance. Not blocking any other instances is often a reason to be blocked by other instances.
An instance that blocks no one is in effect a "free" speech instance that prioritises the right to be bigoted over the need to provide safe spaces for folk. And that means that instances that value the need for safe spaces over "free" speech are going to block the instances that don't block anyone else as a means of creating and maintaining that safe space.
I don't have the answer but I share your sentiment.
One thing I hated about reddit is the mods would ban you for participating on certain subs. For instance, I got banned from r/WhitePeopleTwitter for commenting in a r/Conservative thread. (I was actually disagreeing with someone, but that's neither here nor there.)
The Fediverse feels like a worse version of that phenomenon. Entire communities are blocked off from each other by the admins of the instance. I fear that Lemmy might become a disjointed group of echo-chambers. Some might argue that reddit already is.
U might want to take a look at the federation map. It might be a bit overwhelming but in the settings on the bottom left you may chose blocked and allowed in order to get some insights on who federates with whom.
It's worth mentioning that most of the instances lemmygrad blocks are empty instances that a spammer was using, not populated instances our admins have a disagreement with.
We've got a few (or maybe just 1) folks that pop up with super vile NSFL stuff every couple months. They make new accounts wherever.
The only instances I think they've proactively blocked were wolfballs and exploding heads.
I'm on https://lemmy.world. Apparently the people running it also run a mastodon server with 160k I think? users, so this might be good.
So, something like that works for a "normal" acct I think. I doubt there's a way to avoid making alt accts if you also wanna explore alternative topics and lifestyles.
can an instance have only 1 community for support and then have no content of its own? I believe that many already do (or near to it). This would likely be the recipe for blocking the least and being blocked the least.