A lot of Mastodon instance admins are either getting their first hosting bill or getting a very increased bill from extreme growth and usage. Some may be experiencing bill shock.

Please make sure your paying/supporting them!

Twitter was free because you were the product. Mastodon doesn't work this way.

Many instances list a patreon or donation links on their about page.

@xssfox just do not use auto scaling and all will be on your own control. My mastodon node it is 10$ per month