My understanding is that defederation has different flavors. You can be defederated, but your server can still read another’s and potentially even comment on that other server, but the communities on your server might be blocked from view on the other server. It matters what level of defederation the server admins decide upon. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

I like to drive because it gets me places. If you are driving fast for fun, that’s reckless driving. It should only be on a racetrack. People who drive like they are in The Fast and Furious are dicks. People who ride loud motorcycles to draw attention to themselves have mental health issues.