Sure, at a certain point it doesn't mean anything without usage. But I'd argue Mastodon passed that threshold a long time ago. There's a decent community around it at this point, and people seem to enjoy it.
>But the danger with vanity metrics is that a lot of effort can get wasted.
What makes someone's effort "wasted"? IMO, if the developers enjoy working on it, their effort wasn't wasted. Not every project (even if it's a social network!) needs to appeal to everyone in the world, not everyone needs to be out for world domination, and that's okay.
If the developers enjoy working on it and they have consciously chosen that as their only intent then the effort isn't wasted. But I don't think the Mastodon developers see the purpose of their software as some sort of technical onanism.
If you look at their web site, it's clear their goal is "social networking, back in your hands". Vanity metrics lead to wasted effort relative to goals like that.
>But the danger with vanity metrics is that a lot of effort can get wasted.
What makes someone's effort "wasted"? IMO, if the developers enjoy working on it, their effort wasn't wasted. Not every project (even if it's a social network!) needs to appeal to everyone in the world, not everyone needs to be out for world domination, and that's okay.