Post #3468296

2026-06-29 10:30 UTC

If you're running a public Mastodon server, it is really important to set aside running costs for three months. Leave this money in a separate account if possible, and do not touch it for as long as your server is running. This three month set-aside means you can guarantee your members three months warning if you ever decide to close the server, which is plenty of time to move accounts. This gives your server credibility both with existing members and potential new members. #MastoAdmin

Replies (5)

@ryanprior@mastodon.social 2026-06-29 11:56

@homegrown@social.growyourown.services or you can just turn the instance off anyway and spend the account on beer and part of a new laptop, which you use to post spicy memes mocking your fedi users on bluesky 🍺

Open ##3513317
@d1@autistics.life 2026-06-29 13:55

@homegrown@social.growyourown.services I sincerely say: Great tip. Just saying: I pay exactly $5US/month for a VPS where I run a reverse proxy, with a #GotoSocial backend on my LAN (where I never care about RAM or disk space running out) So yeah, I have $15US (3 months hosting costs) well saved up in hosting credit (for that VPS with the reverse proxy), for that (admittedly single-user) GotoSocial instance 👍 Just another way to look at it.

Open ##3513319
@Arlodottxt@fosstodon.org 2026-06-29 16:09

@homegrown@social.growyourown.services The client-server model is not enough anymore. We all have computers. They all talk to each other. Paying to scale single servers is doing it the short-term-easy but long-term-hard way. We need to do the short-term-hard but long-term-easy solution, or the problem will keep appearing every time we try again.

Open ##3513320
@gumnos@mastodon.bsd.cafe 2026-06-29 16:25

@homegrown@social.growyourown.services though also ensure that the hosting service does plan-grandfathering. One of my hosting companies keeps ratcheting up the price, so what _was_ three months might cease to be three months (and might be the reason you're looking to bail)

Open ##3513321
@dj3ei@mastodon.radio 2026-06-30 13:23

@homegrown@social.growyourown.services That does sound like good advice! For another piece of advice, admittedly more tongue-in-cheek than practical: In yet another account, set aside the time, personal energy, and motivation you need for administration and moderation, also a three months' allowance. So should you ever run out of either the time, energy, or motivation required to keep that server of yours afloat, you can still keep it running for those important three more months, out of that store. 🤷

Open ##3513324