ernest, I like this project cause you've been so responsive and enthusiastic.

I don't like microblogging. The only good application for it is for discovery without advanced search. I'd prefer the focus to be on well written articles, engaging podcasts, and video documentaries. What's that called macroblogging? Monetization, haha? We gotta give people an incentive to produce thoughtful content. I'd recommend integrating with LBRY. That could be another NLnet project: ActivityPub to LBRY bridge.

The microblogging aspect could be automated with a summarizer, and autoposted.

This would be an awesome service for me, I'd pay $5/mo to have it.

Black tar

Hmm, this sounds like Pidgin (or any other universal messenger) for ActivityPub.

The first paragraph is quite confusing. Could you explain why a content aggregator should be combined with microblogging?

Strangely enough, in this particular context, I'd say PHP is better than Rust, cause at least you get a garbage collector.
Solid logic with sticking with what you can prototype in quickly. That's a lot more important than performance. However, people hate PHP, so it's gonna be hard to find help (I assume it doesn't matter, it seems like a solo mission :)

Perhaps, this type of discussion should be avoided. Maybe some kinda FAQ section where you explain why Lemmy isn't satisfactory for you.

Saw an interesting random post about kbin written in Italian. The guy liked the idea, but said he doesn't like PHP.