I simply haven't found as many good engaging posts in Mastodon, though, despite all that. It could be simply the challenge of building an interesting feed when you start from zero, but that's a challenge nonetheless.

Algorithmic identification of novel content is in my mind neither intrinsically sinister nor beneficial; like all things, it's a tool and the morality comes out of how it is used.

Things like (optional) recommendation tools could be a useful addition to Mastodon to help users find interesting threads. Could be run on a per instance basis.