For my desktop PC, it felt just as easy as any other distro, but for my servers and especially for my SBCs, a pain.

On NixOS I just copy and pasted like 2-4 lines of recommended configuration and applied it. The driver was then automatically downloaded and installed and I haven’t had to touch it since.

I feel like I’ve been seeing more posts and comments though, and looking at those, they seem to still be rising (although probably influenced by bots).

I wonder if the spike of active user may be caused by people first trying it out (then giving up), followed up by people making several accounts on different instances before settling for one or two.

Agreed. I haven’t been on an instance that federates with them yet and I’d like to keep it that way.

What’s cool about the fediverse is that we get to choose.

Do I want to be in an instance that federates with everyone, good and bad?

Pros:

• More content.
• Potentially insightful debate.

Cons:

• More negativity.
• Potentially giving a platform to extremists.

Or do I want to be in an instance that defederates on a whim?

Pros:

• More positive content.
• Taking a strong stance against extremism.

Cons:

• Less content.
• Potentially missing insightful debate.

Personally, debate I’ve had that was insightful was generally in good faith to begin with, and would be allowed on platforms like Beehaw, so I don’t see much use for “anything goes” kinds of platforms. Additionally, I’m not always in the mood for debate. I can just switch between different instances depending on my mood. Given that everyone can choose their instance, I don’t see much of a reason for trying to federate with everyone.

I’m using the Sync app in my case, and tapping the image opens it full screen.