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The economics definition of "product" is "an item offered for sale." Since we are on a forum for startups, most people are likely using this definition. By this definition, Mastodon is not a product. It is not for sale; it is a tool to be used and it is free software. The set of motives behind its creation and maintenance are completely different than something assembled with the intend of sale for profit.

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Tools are also products. If you hope that people will use it, it is a product.

Yes but tools that aren't for sale aren't products as per the definition above.

Every instance with some amount of user is either sponsored by someone or some organization, or is asking for donations.

The monetary transaction is there

So is my local church a product because they pass around a hat? You seem a little muddled, or maybe you just see everything in the world through a product lens, never taking off your marketer (or whatever) hat.

A highway is not a product, it's infrastructure. In the same way, Mastodon is infrastructure. If someone sells a Mastodon app, that's a product, just like someone selling traffic cones or a car is selling a product.

Not everything in the world is a product. We don't live in a world of products and the void.

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