One big issue with the existing cross-posting feature is that it does not work AT ALL with text based posts, just links.

They just want a social network like reddit

Reddit users by and large are not content creators, particularly not in the way that Mastodon users are. I'm suggesting each Mastodon user recruited would be worth way more than each reddit user recruited. Reddit users are simply not worth the effort and have significantly less to add to the culture/conversation

Are you going to host them?

They're already there. They are currently struggling with growth. This seems to primarily be an issue of getting the word out.

But more importantly, what are you going to draw them here with? Why would they bother? What’s the sales pitch? What do they gain?

They gain group-like functionality and deeper, more focused discussion. These are often requested features of Mastodon that Lemmy can provide without any additional features on the development side.

What's the alternative? It honestly seems like a worthwhile way to do it for me. I really think there's only value in following niche communities from Mastodon. Discourse like that found on politics and news is pretty plentiful (and often higher quality) on Mastodon as is, but the gardening communities make up an important part of my Mastodon feed.

Posted your article. I think it may do better than you think

Here's their discussion of the topic https://lemmynsfw.com/comment/682757

There's also !peertube@lemmy.ml for dedicated discussion.

That is exactly what I'm looking for!

Unironically, yes absolutely.

Nobody wants Meta's manipulated content. Let's not forget why we call them Meta.

What's worse their privacy policy states that they believe that being connected to their network gives them the right to monetize your data (messages, boosts, likes, and follower graph).

This is a great take. I think folks definitely need to start thinking about establishing legal bedrock for this sort of thing.

I think the only problem here is that Eugene has shown absolutely no interest in developing that way. I think that's what feels so silly about this whole post, he's forgetting that the ways in which Mastodon are opinionated are not popular even among Mastodon essentialists.