I think it’s totally fine for instances that want to be small and community-focused to not be federated with the greater pool of the internet. Especially when, as they’ve said, the moderation manpower and tooling isn’t there to handle the extra users.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to join a place like that (I’ve never been a fan of message boards or other niche communities), but it’s their place and their rules.
I think it’s totally fine for instances that want to be small and community-focused to not be federated with the greater pool of the internet. Especially when, as they’ve said, the moderation manpower and tooling isn’t there to handle the extra users.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to join a place like that (I’ve never been a fan of message boards or other niche communities), but it’s their place and their rules.