ligma.pro is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
"pissed everyone off in literally record time" - Recommended by 10 out of 10 people who, for some sad reason, have a dedicated column up to watch #fediblock.
@matrix He also outright said what I've been saying for years: Do not accept money.
Accepting work is one thing, and obviously people can commission work by themselves and donate the result, but money entering your hand is a huge no-no.