@dansup Hello.

As long as the application clearly states the centralized list is sponsored, it should be a good option.

Keep in mind that prioritizing and even adding a "verification mark" to them only for just paying it's the same as X / Twitter has made.

If you choose this path, ensure to personally validate the instances and that they act according the guidelines of the community, to avoid bad actors and review them from time to time again.

Honestly there are Pixelfed instances around that have been supporting the project for quite a long time and probably can't pay for the verification and will lose visibility against a new instance who pays.

This is a double-edged sword so be very careful.

In my opinion you can just add two separated lists: "Sponsored" instances and "Community" instances.

For the verification mark, don't attach it to a paid verification process.