>If an instance is too small, it will easily be at risk of getting attacked and overloaded with users, with the instance falling over and having to close signup

>If an instance is too small, it will easily be at risk of getting attacked and overloaded with users, with the instance falling over and having to close signups. Co-admin of https://functional.cafe https://functional.cafe here. Mastodon lists us as having 213 active users currently, so I guess this counts as a small instance. Haven't seen our instance fall over for more than a day or two except for hitting hardware limits, mostly hard disk space. Also, I have no idea why you perceive closing sign-ups as a sign of failure. Closing sign-ups or going invite-only protects the current users and state of the instance (and, indirectly, the rest of the Fediverse) both from the dangers of attacks from new users and from explosive growth. Is it some sort of measure of success, to be able to always invite new people even at the expense of already existing ones?