I joined mastodon.xyz a few years ago and never had any problems. Then today I tried to sign on and couldn’t. The server simply isn’t reachable. I can (and have) created a new instanceuaccount on a new server, but losing all my data has me concerned. What should I do with my new account so I don’t lose everything if this instance also disappears someday?
I’m not being a shit and am completely being honest, but this is a risk that comes with servers vanishing. You could always host your own instance, but that’s beyond most non-technical people. So, unfortunately it could happen again. Your best bet might be picking one of the more populated instances and hoping for the best.
Look for an instance that has adopted the Mastodon Server Covenant, points 3 and 4 deal with this situation. It’s just a promise, not a guarantee, but most people running such instances are doing it because they care deeply about their community.