@clacke @cwebber I disagree with @mlinksva on this, if only because I remember using several non-identica StatusNet nodes and seeing how many users shunned us (or maybe they didn't understand interaction with people on other instances).

I think Evan had the right idea when he started something like 20 Pump.io nodes, but maybe accounts on centrally-operated public nodes need to expire after 3-6 months, so people who can host nodes are motivated to do so quickly.