The internet has changed again.
I was explaining Mastodon to a friend, who asked about arcane terms of service.
Best way I could phrase it: TOS are simple and mostly about privacy; this is just a network of sites run by random people, not a collection of mega-corps and lawyer swarms.
It used to be that a large company running a site became a sign of stability and maturity, not something to be wary of.
Funny that we seem to be going in circles.
The web started as a bunch of individuals running their own servers. Then things got professionalized, and we got the mostly benevolent, for-pay corporate services. Now that your data is more valuable than whatever meager subscription fee you're not going to pay for anyway, we're back to trusting the randos.
The plummeting server/software costs help, but it would be impossible without volunteer labor.
It behooves us to support the randos.
Server run by the main developers of the project 
It is not focused on any particular niche interest - everyone is welcome as long as you follow our code of conduct!