What Mastodon is doing is #environmentalVandalism, and an excoriating #waste of internet resources and bandwidth.
We really did not expect this.
It's also socially irresponsible as smaller operators struggle to cope with M'don's demands. Our instance for example is being forced to shutdown due to being unable to handle the $40/month cost.
It means more #centralisation. We're back at square one, because most users tolerated M'don bringing anti-features to #Fediverse.