I started a new account, on a new instance, and the very first notification I got was for a spam message from that ‘fediverse chick’ person. It really made that “it’s like email” connection feel complete.

I used to feel like this about email, so I made my own email service. Try it out: https://port87.com/

I feel like most people hate email because email services stopped innovating like 15 years ago.

It’s not email, nor the fediverse. It’s your contacts. Don’t kill the messenger.

Good for you. I’m gleefully hosting both.