Earlier quoted context omitted.
The noise you want to get away from is on Twitter because that's where the target audience is. If everyone moves to Mastodon, all the noise will move to Mastodon too. But it is wonderful to be part of a niche community that hasn't yet been noticed by astroturfers, advertisers, politicians, and self-promoters (just like HN).
They might try, but the beauty is that in most instances the leadership is not motivated by engagement metrics and advertisements but just people wanting to stick together. Kinda like the glory days of IRC.
- Small instances can still participate and engage. "Personal Mastodon server" might very much go the way of "personal email server", in a world of majors (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, etc.)
- Instances aren't acquired. One of the insidious aspects of capitalism is that firms can buy other firms. Yes, it's possible for a competitor to emerge, but a large established giant can buy out that competitor. Or take other actions, e.g., lock out any entity which supplies or interacts with that competitor. See former "Facebook killer" Ello.co (post-acquisition its new owners are exceedingly opaque and all the B Corp language has disappeared), or Mastodon instance Mastodon.cloud, acquired from its original owner by a Japanese concern.
- Management doesn't otherwise change.
- The operators don't simply diasappear (Joindiaspora.com, mastodon.cafe), or die (pluspora.com).
I AM a fan of Diaspora* and Mastodon. But I'm not blind to their actual and theoretical failings.