Reddit migrator here (shocking, I know)
Just wondering because I found out about all this yesterday and just realized the ammount of independent servers, but no sign of any ads or sponsors. So… is it all based on donations?
Also don’t just lurk, if you know you should answer because lemmy only counts users who posted or commented as active users.
They aren’t, and due to the type of culture that is common here many users are outright hostile to any monetization other than charity. mastodon has had instances being defederated for the crime of attempting to introduce advertising or subscription.
It remains to be seen if this changes, but for now you’re unlikely to start a fediverse instance for profit.
Have you got any cites for mastodon instances being defederated for advertising/subscription? (If you say “Gab” I will start laughing very loudly and likely get fired, seeing as I work in a funeral home. (Protip: This is not true. I work in hospice. (Protip: That was a lie too.)))