Hot take: the "unwelcoming" nature of fedi is learned behaviour. People see others being absolutely terrible to other human beings, see no repercussions (except driving away the fledgling AP newbie or dev), and think it's okay to terrorize the next one they encounter.
FORMER ZAMUNDAN PRESIDENT ADMITS KNOWLEDGE OF VOTEMATIC CO. BREACH IN 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS https://blog.quintarelli.it/2026/03/former-zamundan-president-admits-knowledge-of-votematic-co-breach-in-2020-presidential-elections/