@Thib@sitedethib.com @goat@hellsite.site I wonder if something based on propagation of trust could work
in that you accept federation with instance x you transitively accept their federation list too (or specifically choose not to?)

as for new instances, i think it would make sense for them to the 'trust' of an existing account on an already trusted instance, ie branching out from the existing community instead of joining from the outside

dunno if that makes sense or if it would work, and i certainly don't have the time/spoons to take up yet another project but i think it's interesting to brainstorm