Fedi.Tips@FediTips@social.growyourown.services
@opalideas@mindly.social @paulbusch@mstdn.ca @ZebKing@mastodon.online
Another approach is to use things like NodeBB ( https://nodebb.org ) which are part of the Fediverse but based around discussion forums. This is a lot closer to Facebook Groups, but it's also fairly new in its Fediverse connections. Best people to ask would be @nodebb@fosstodon.org and @julian@community.nodebb.org . You can follow and interact with NodeBB accounts from Mastodon etc.
A third approach might be the various Reddit-style Fediverse platforms like https://join.piefed.social etc.
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Fedi.Tips@FediTips@social.growyourown.services
@opalideas@mindly.social @paulbusch@mstdn.ca @ZebKing@mastodon.online
p.s. One thing to add though, the cost of an instance is not as much as people think and not as difficult either. The managed hosting company masto.host has a typical selection of pricing: https://masto.host/pricing
Managed hosting means they do all the techy stuff as well as hosting it. You just run the thing, it's a similar experience to running an online forum.
I'm not saying everyone should do this, I'm just saying a lot more could do this than realise it.