Hey everyone.
I wanted to make this post because I've changed my mind about something.
When I first started working on shonk.link, I thought it would eventually become a public server. I even started thinking about how registrations would work and what that would look like. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that's not really what I want anymore.
I've decided that shonk.link is going to stay private.
The reason is pretty simple. I wanted a place where we could just log in, post, and hang out without worrying about everything else that comes with running a public instance. Once a server is open to everyone, you end up spending more time dealing with reports, spam, trolls, random drama, and all the other things that come with it. That's not something I'm interested in doing.
There are already hundreds of public Sharkey and Mastodon servers out there. People have plenty of places they can join, and I don't feel like shonk.link needs to be another one.
This server was made for us, and I'm happy keeping it that way.
I'm sure some people won't like this decision, and that's fine. You don't have to agree with it. At the end of the day, it's our server, and we're going to run it the way we think is best.
So unless something changes way down the road, don't expect registrations to open anytime soon.
Thanks for understanding.