Seems like some #NewHere people got exposed to harassers and trolls.

Best I can tell, that was largely related to them having their fedi-home on new or less-then-well moderated instances.

Instance choice matters. Your instance need not be big (in fact, small is beautiful), but it needs to be well moderated.

Before joining an instance, check its rules, check the moderated instances list there too. Maybe ask someone (admin?) about moderation policies.

Stay safe everyone.