In which case it's being mis-sold. It will never replace the thing that people are claiming it will replace.
> Mastodon is designed to avoid viral posts
"viral posts" aren't inherently a bad thing. It's part and parcel of some of the good aspects of social media - the sense of having a collective conversation among a large group. Fragementation is fine up to a point (We're already fragmented between half a dozen large social networks) but I want people to find me easily if they are interested in what I'm posting.
And why do you want to be found easily, really? In case you get your 15 minutes? I think the goal is to build community. Large numbers and reach are actually not so important.
Cheap.