As a Fosstodon user I'm quite happy with this. Not so much because I care about the sense of community but because it helps reduce the burden of running the ser

As a Fosstodon user I'm quite happy with this. Not so much because I care about the sense of community but because it helps reduce the burden of running the server. I imagine that this makes spam accounts basically a non-issue (if users keep invite spammers they can be removed or have invite privileges revoked) which is great for the moderators and also makes Fosstodon more trustworthy in the eyes of other servers and less likely to be blocked/defederated. (not that I think that was an issue before). I don't think any particular server needs infinite growth, and growing by referral helps create a chain of trust. Personally I think a lot of services on the web would be better if they were invite-only where invites are free to provide by any member. It seems one of the few ways to effectively cut down on spam, abuse, botting and astroturfing. Mastodon servers are an even better version of this because even if you can't find someone to invite you you can still participate from another server (and if needed you can run your own). On that note if anyone wants a Fosstodon invite I'd be happy to provide one if I can tell from your posting history, blog or other online presence that you are a real person. (At my own discretion and offer may be revoked at any point.)