The stats of the matrixrooms.info instance is what matrixrooms.info instance sees - it is not whole Matrix Federation. Here is the documentation in the MRS repo about that endpoint: https://github.com/etkecc/mrs/blob/main/docs/stats.md
Also, at the moment of writing, there are ~15k *federated* online servers visible by matrixrooms.info, and from them, ~4k servers publish their rooms directories over federation ("indexable").
we stopped offering identity server a long time ago because of the privacy concerns the whole concept raised and the fact the only non-Sydent option at that time was basically abandoned (ma1sd). The situation was basically 2 bad decisions: either lock in with Sydent or don't use an identity server at all.
Considering the low interest in the identity server functionality and the amount of concerns around the concept, we took the latter bad decision - that way we don't offer a self-hosted identity server but don't limit customers in using the matrix.org's one (even with their own Matrix server). That seems like an acceptable trade off. After all, even Sydent's README contains the following:
> Do I need to run Sydent to run my own homeserver?
>
> Short answer: no.
>
> Medium answer: probably not. Most homeservers and clients use the Sydent instance run by matrix.org, or use no identity server whatsoever.
Matrix.org is the hugest public Matrix server, plus $100k is not just infrastructure costs, but development and maintenance of the bridges as well. As an etke.cc developer, I can assure you that development, maintenance, and operations even a small bridge is no joke.
t2bot's costs look like infrastructure and operation costs, not development and maintenance.
Disclaimer: I'm Aine of etke.cc, we offer managed Matrix servers with numerous different components, including bridges. Some of the components (like Postmoogle - email bridge) are developed and maintained by our team.
at the same time, they (Element) focus on bigger customers, where they can make bigger money and then fund the Foundation.
On the contrary, etke.cc focuses on small, independent Matrix servers that could work as a single-user server, and as a small company/community internal server, and even a public server. Our focus is to be sustainable and to provide a way to own your communications in a hassle-free (or, at least, less painful) way.
So, our goals are just different.
Disclaimer: I'm Aine, one of the etke.cc developers
"plain matrix" sounds a bit wrong - we put great effort into maintaining numerous of components of the playbook, including bridges, so it has a lot to offer. Alternatively, you can just get a managed server on https://etke.cc
Disclaimer: I'm Aine of etke.cc, and MDAD is our project
Alternatively, you can just get your server managed by https://etke.cc - the developers of the MDAD paybook - and not worry about the server part at all
I'm Aine of etke.cc, and yes, we can ease your pain by managing the server part of the matrix on your behalf, be it on-premises or hosted in the cloud by us.
Another option is https://etke.cc - truly FOSS managed hosting, both on-premises and cloud, huge list of supported components, priced by complexity, not users.
The stats of the matrixrooms.info instance is what matrixrooms.info instance sees - it is not whole Matrix Federation. Here is the documentation in the MRS repo about that endpoint: https://github.com/etkecc/mrs/blob/main/docs/stats.md
Also, at the moment of writing, there are ~15k *federated* online servers visible by matrixrooms.info, and from them, ~4k servers publish their rooms directories over federation ("indexable").
You can read more about the MRS project (matrixrooms.info is just a demo instance) in the repo: https://github.com/etkecc/mrs/blob/main/README.md