[lrvick]

You chose an area code for your phone number. Often people choose area codes from a home state as a bit of nostalgia or affinity, but in the end you can use any number to talk to any number, so it really does not matter much.

In Mastodon you can choose a french server if you are french and agree with generally accepted french values of moderation, or you can choose a general purpose server, or host your own.

There are a lot of LGBT servers and special interest servers with strict moderation, and general purpose servers that moderate very little.

It is also a bit like choosing what city to live in... except it is -much- easier to move if you decide you do not like the vibe and wish to live somewhere else. Mastodon has built-in user forwarding to take your follows and followers with you.

[dymk]

I’ve never been given a choice for my area code, and if I was, there’s the obvious default to “where I live”. What’s the Mastodon equivalent?

[lrvick]

There are many country and geographic specific mastodons.