Why does the instance make a big difference? I thought the point in federation is that the instance does NOT matter because everything shows up across instances? Genuinely curious and would appreciate if someone could explain.

[–] coldsideofyourpillow@lemmy.cafe 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

while your Feed won't matter as it's chronological and based on your followed hashtags, as @reseller_pledge609@lemmy.dbzer0.com pointed out, your chosen instance will make an impact on your local feed.

It's kinda like how you can make an account on lemmy.ml and still connect to any* instance, but you'll probably still have a harder time finding non-tankies.

*if they haven't defederated, that is

[–] reseller_pledge609@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

So, your home instance is gonna have a "vibe". Each instance is focused on different things and has different people so the Local feed will be very different. Different instances also block different things and have different rules.

Once you start following some hashtags, it matters less. Like you said, it's all mostly available from anywhere.