Mastodon as a whole isn't terrible. It still leans left and puts a much higher priority on not offending than free speech as a principle, but the ideological fervor of the early days has diluted a bit as people advertise it and it slowly fills with a more diverse user base that's not just hackers, furries, and transwomen.

A few specific people had it out for me because they suspected I might be a bully or a cryptofascist based on my early community interactions pre-official position. They can't tell the difference between a /pol/ jockey and a guy who just likes cuss words and Pepes. The latest developments only served to give them more grievances. I left more or less just because I didn't want the bad press to engulf the instance and it seems to have been more or less effective.