Just FYI, Tildes is run by one (1) dude with a full time job and a family. From what I read, the guy refers to himself as the God of Tildes or something to that effect which I think tells you everything you need to know about how it’s managed.
Don’t expect it to ever reach the popularity or capacity of Lemmy or Reddit.
I look forward to reading many posts here.
Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas are usually at the bottom of the rankings when it comes to the metrics you mentioned, especially education. Other southern states aren’t much better.
Seeing as how modern conservatism has become nothing more than a culture war against the things that improve the general well-being of a population, yes it will continue to be that way.