If anyone asks me about the #Fediverse, the first port of call will always be to find a good instance. Whether #Mastodon or #Lemmy or others. Having an instance admin that gives a shit is pivotal to your experience.
I'm not in the weeds of high tension discussions most of the time and so miss out on most of the trolls trolling. The only malicious racism I've faced was in one of the black mastodon groups. But being on here without a good admin is like being in a house during a storm without a roof.
Should people have to think about what their admin is like before they choose their instance? Honestly, yes. If we want a new type of Internet, we need to learn how to make educated decisions.
That doesn't mean that there's not problems with racists, bigots and trolls and that it's not a community problem. But I know that everyone that has moved house has checked out their new home first and made sure it had a roof.