I look at this space a lot like I would website hosting. There is a time and place to self-host. That is not for everyone or all the time.
Many of the existing options are either being supported by donations or are someone's hobby project.
Which is why I hope everyone keeps backups if they move or create a main account anywhere.
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Things I look for with hosting companies (which I think translates well for PDS hosts):
Run by (name or main account for PDSs but there are some small hosts where WHO runs them matters)
Team size (as well as the "if they get hit by a bus" info if it's just one person or one person on the paperwork)
Business structure (Incorporated? LLC? Cooperative?)
Located in (Where a business is incorporated etc)
Servers located in (Country/Countries)
TOS & Community Guidelines
Privacy policy
How is data backed up?
How do I reach support? (with hosting companies I've had clients refuse to work with one because there was no phone support. That's not reasonable with a PDS yet but wanted to throw it out there for PDS hosts to think about.)
More specific to PDSs:
Status: open to the public? Request an invite? Private small group?
New account or Migration only
Available handles (unless you bring your own domain)
Monetization & sustainability plan
Donation link (just because that's the dominant current model)
Road map (optional)
Link to info on unique features being implements on the PDS (though a number of things will most likely be implemented by a client instead of the PDS I think.)
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I had already started a spreadsheet similar to what I have for hosting companies back in December 2025. This is the cleaned up and scaled down version:
Aren't there more PDSs with open registration than this?
YES BUT...
There are a LOT of open PDSs that I don't think have considered what they would do if they get 100s of new users in a day. It costs money in equipment / servers. It costs time. They might not have thought about a spam account policy that scales.
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But surely if they are online they are ready?
Personal experiences:
One PDS host not listed in my spreadsheet has deleted two of their previous implementations with no notice and is on to the 3rd. Two testing accounts gone because I had used their domain name and hadn't backed them up. The average person doesn't want to have to do account recovery regularly.
Another PDS I created an account on didn't realize people could create an account without an invite code because of something they did for a project they are working on. Just because it's visible to the network doesn't mean they want or expected you there.
More than one PDS that has a "DM us for an invite code" have not responded to me. Not even with a polite decline. It means I'm not sure if they really are paying attention to requests.
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I feel like what I'm posting today may get some conversations going that need to happen.
Because of this, I'm NOT going to cover how to backup, create an account or move an account in this post. I think it's more important to get a bit of info out there and then also start talking about certain components.
Talk amongst yourselves ... or drag me into a conversation.š - Hilary Baumann
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