Back when I was a teenager, before the Internet was a thing, I was the #SYSOP (System Operator) of a #BBS (bulletin board system). People would dial into my computer via my cutting-edge 9600 bps modem and post messages on discussion boards, send email to other users of the system, etc. Running a Mastodon instance reminds me of that, although federation takes it to the next level. I hope I can do this long term, because it’s way way cooler than Twitter and feels like going back to my roots.