Well, personally none of them is in any form trustworthy, just more of the same: People play around with their digital alter-ego, without any kind of respect for others. Using those frontends is just a game with time, nothing more and nothing less. Using those so-called "open alternatives" is the same as you have to trust some unknown administrators either way or you host your own. But how many servers should do that? We have not that much energy around, when we think about the climate.

It's just a personal decision for now. But I think there will a time coming where we all (meaning global) don't have any further choice. The point of content being distributed throughout the "internet" maybe good or bad. It depends on the platform. Personally I will never again use any kind of anti-social nonsense as I don't want to invest time and energy into that discussing about important things where others think of doing some "game" about that or use provocations to drive those discussions completely off the grid. That's absolutely nonsense and image-services like Pixelfed or whatever are for sure only that.

The reasoning: The more communication seems being only available throughout those "platforms" the more people are left behind and that is not okay. It is absolutely impossible in the concurrent system that any kind of so-called alternative stay true for principles: The more people entering, the more that kind of "alternative" will turn more and more to the original. It is just another name, rest is staying the same. Therefore free software should stay away also from masses until the basics are available and understood. It is not about having people forbidden to enter and use. It is just about: Not changing everything so more or less known paradigm is available.The faster that happens, the more people are using it, the sooner all can become interesting for companies to go for a buyout. And then we have the more problems like now with "Audacity" for example! There is no guarantee those projects stay that way.

Just as an example: Diaspora known for that kind of "alternative" with many discussions once back in the early days. And today? You'll find there more of the same: People thinking whatever, but foremost they think to tell that to the world. The great rebellion? The great revolution? The great way against all those "evil" outside? Sounds interesting, but when having that for some time you'll recognize that the majority does not have any kind of interest for a change. They love to be against everything. That's it! No interest in discussions and the most part: Telling about democracy while telling to have ultimate freedom without any kind compromise. Besides that Diaspora has a big problem with fascists and dog-whistle content hiding racism, sexism, antisemitism and more hatred. That's nothing trustworthy as any kind of major task would be to have eyes onto others and take care to remove the possibility of contacting you when you discover the mentioned hatred. So it is a waste of time and a waste of trust as there was and will be nothing of that. The nature of those platforms is the opposite of being trustworthy and they have absolutely ruined more than given help in any way. They have destroyed so much, like Twitter for example with the reduced amount of possible signs to write some text. The result was and is clear: People go for absolute aggressive discussions, insulting each other and go for fingerpointing. Reasonable discussions with facts? Well, better to search for that not on those places. And to compare that with Mastodon: Same more or less. People go on all those platforms with lies and fakes, not even seem to have any kind of problem from the perspective of some to do that. Communication with being trustworthy? For sure not there.

In the end everybody has to decide on own perspectives, but I won't enter those spheres again at any time. When I have interest to look in the darker sides, I can watch any kind of horrific movie, documentation or read books. Being participant within neverending discussions, fighting ghosting profiles while they return at any time and administrators give nothing about them because of "freedom of speech" (what a shame) and for sure again the known missing responsibility, stays a waste of time. And I have not even talked about the context of climate problems ahead: The server-system and used energy has to be reviewed in the whole context, not seen outside as single example for "green energy". When we talk about need for free communication and emancipation: It would be even more helpful to create mailserver-systems with cooperation ideas instead to host those platforms as they consume even more with more amount of posts, data and technology-stack behind is changing within time. It would be for sure a problem to underestimate that!

Last but not least: I have made enough own experiences with Diaspora, Mastodon, Hubzilla and more. And just because it seems to be needed to proclaim having some "account" does not change anything for me. I thought once very positive about all that, but after having years and endless discussions with no further outcome I have left for good and try to warn about the risks and dangers of those anti-social nonsense. There are enough problems ahead and we don't need to derail global communication even more with false facts, conspiracy ideologies and hatred. Even more from a personal point of view it would be better to cutoff all those platforms and go back to the roots of the web to reconstruct ideas or not even go again for them. Better to have participation for everyone instead to do just marketing, lies and more.