I joined mastodon.xyz a few years ago and never had any problems. Then today I tried to sign on and couldn’t. The server simply isn’t reachable. I can (and have) created a new instanceuaccount on a new server, but losing all my data has me concerned. What should I do with my new account so I don’t lose everything if this instance also disappears someday?
On Mastodon you can export and import your data. So it’s just a matter of doing frequent backups. Not sure if there’s an automated tool or option for that, as I don’t use Mastodon much.
The instance you’re talking about seems to be working just fine. Maybe they had trouble or were doing maintenance. In their About page, they offer to follow an account for notices about such events.