My (not popular at all) instance has a philosophy that boils down to one thing: don’t ruin this for anyone else. Based on that it has several rules, including some that may end up in conflict with each other and some that are very subjective. Ultimately I run this server for me, and want a neutral as reasonably possible view into the fediverse.

I don’t plan on posting things that would piss anyone off enough to defederate (though everyone has different standards, so who knows on that one), and generally expect the same from other users-- especially if that user from my instance is interacting with a community or user from somewhere else. Interacting outside of the tiny confines of my instance means my users are representing my instance, I think it is completely fair to say “Don’t go to someone else’s house and piss in their cornflakes while telling them my address”.

On my instance itself I want communities that are welcoming to others, and hosting communities that make people want to ban my instance at first glance or on principle alone is antithetical to my core philosophy.