For me there’s a bit of a network effect where the polycule sprawls out into the distance. Partners have partners who have partners.
But for disconnected folks, it’s mostly been tinder (yuck), and a local meetup.
(Also this might be the first post? That or nothing federated yet)
Only new items will federate. This prevents instances from getting swamped with the entire history of a new muni every time. Not perfect, but it works well enough.