Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
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@rufustheduck The size of the server doesn't matter and it doesn't limit who you can interact with. But if you are feeling uncomfortable on it, check out fedi.tips, https://fedi.tips/, they have great guides for using Mastodon.
@fulanigirl @rufustheduck you say that but some servers have blocked others and some people block whole servers so it can do. But in the main with nice servers with good moderation you'll be fine. I have 4 accounts. You don't need to have multiple but there's nothing to stop you
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@zombie042 @rufustheduck I’d suggest browsing interest-focused instances before moving (by visiting https://infosec.exchange/public/local) for example. Some instances have unusually restrictive moderation, or their funding is shaky, or they’re dominated by a few posters.
@KerryMitchell @zombie042 @rufustheduck
Thank you for posting this! I've been saying that I would love to browse the feeds of other servers, but I'd never found a way to do so. Maybe it's because I'm usually on my app (Tusky)?
Do you know if this /public/local is a standard feature of server's web interfaces?
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@rufustheduck hi there! You are in the largest server. I particularly do not see any disadvantage in doing so.
@caiocgo *butts in* mastodon.social has a ton of problems exactly because it's the biggest server that is also barely moderated. It's twitter 3.0 and the source of many headaches for many admins because it's open sign-up and spouts endless russian bots, phishing attacks and spam accounts that rivals X. If you hear about spam and phishing problems on mastodon there's a 110% chance it comes from that instance. Rampant racism on top of everything. Many smaller instances decide to block it, restrict access to it or mute it. Which means a lot of the fediverse is shut out, which makes mastodon.social one of the least federated instances. It literally is a counter point to the whole idea of federating and the fediverse. Make of that what you will *sees myself out* @rufustheduck
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@KerryMitchell @zombie042 @rufustheduck
Thank you for posting this! I've been saying that I would love to browse the feeds of other servers, but I'd never found a way to do so. Maybe it's because I'm usually on my app (Tusky)?
Do you know if this /public/local is a standard feature of server's web interfaces?
@jztusk @KerryMitchell @rufustheduck The live feed can be shut off by the server owner but it is usually a default option left on. I'm unsure if servers allow those without a local account to view their public feed as I have never tried.
On my server's web interface it is under 'Live feeds' on the right-hand side and, as you noted, the usual URL is servername/public/local/
Note that there is also public/remote/ (posts that come from other servers) and just plain public/ for both local and remote posts.
Remote posts are -not- all posts from other servers though! It is only the posts someone on the server have subscribed to or been mentioned in and receive. So, for example, if someone on your server followed me then my public posts would show in your servers remote feeds (and it must be a public post, quiet public like this post do not hit the full public feeds).
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck
Your kitty is adorable 🥰 -
@caiocgo *butts in* mastodon.social has a ton of problems exactly because it's the biggest server that is also barely moderated. It's twitter 3.0 and the source of many headaches for many admins because it's open sign-up and spouts endless russian bots, phishing attacks and spam accounts that rivals X. If you hear about spam and phishing problems on mastodon there's a 110% chance it comes from that instance. Rampant racism on top of everything. Many smaller instances decide to block it, restrict access to it or mute it. Which means a lot of the fediverse is shut out, which makes mastodon.social one of the least federated instances. It literally is a counter point to the whole idea of federating and the fediverse. Make of that what you will *sees myself out* @rufustheduck
@DrJLecter @rufustheduck hey Rufus, our colleague James has a very strong point here. I was not aware of other instances blocking mastodon.social
In my opinion blocking the largest instance sounds counterproductive. But hey, I am not an admin of a smaller instance and I am not aware of the issues related to being connected to mastodon.social.
So there it is.
For my part, I am really satisfied with social.vivaldi.net
It is a nice neighborhood. -
Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck Think of instances like little territories, and they all have telephone lines connecting them. Each territory can be a different size and has its own admin and mods, and those admins can choose to close the phone lines to other instances if they don't like how they're run.
I haven't seen many issues on mastodon.social and I've seen no racism, but I do think some other instance owners/mods get upset because they have less influence, but also can't cut it off because of its size.
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@DrJLecter @rufustheduck hey Rufus, our colleague James has a very strong point here. I was not aware of other instances blocking mastodon.social
In my opinion blocking the largest instance sounds counterproductive. But hey, I am not an admin of a smaller instance and I am not aware of the issues related to being connected to mastodon.social.
So there it is.
For my part, I am really satisfied with social.vivaldi.net
It is a nice neighborhood.@caiocgo
I love the Vivaldi browser and if I hadn't already joined a nice instance I probably would have gone to Vivaldi 
@rufustheduck -
@jztusk @KerryMitchell @rufustheduck The live feed can be shut off by the server owner but it is usually a default option left on. I'm unsure if servers allow those without a local account to view their public feed as I have never tried.
On my server's web interface it is under 'Live feeds' on the right-hand side and, as you noted, the usual URL is servername/public/local/
Note that there is also public/remote/ (posts that come from other servers) and just plain public/ for both local and remote posts.
Remote posts are -not- all posts from other servers though! It is only the posts someone on the server have subscribed to or been mentioned in and receive. So, for example, if someone on your server followed me then my public posts would show in your servers remote feeds (and it must be a public post, quiet public like this post do not hit the full public feeds).
@zombie042 @KerryMitchell @rufustheduck
I'll have to try it out if/when I switch.
And I hope most admins keep it on for the public. I can understand the security risks for those servers that aim for a bit more privacy, but for the people who say "you gotta pick a small server", I want to to at least take a peek at what the traffic there looks like before I put my account there.
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@rufustheduck I just made a post regarding this topic
https://retro-gaiden.com/@Oregon_Pacifist/115967555145571432
Essentially, you'll want to find instances that closely align with what you want your Fediverse experience to be. For me, I wanted to create a small corner where we focus on retro stuff, nostalgia, and wholesome content.
There's nothing inherently wrong with mastodon.social. It's just that you're putting all of your eggs into a single basket which is not really what the Fediverse was designed for.
@Oregon_Pacifist @rufustheduck exactly, if everyone is on mastodon.social and if it goes down for whatever reason its just like being on a centralized platform, the point of decentralization is so there can be many instances of the fediverse run by different communities and individuals so that if .social goes down or closes up shop there will still be others instances out there catering to different communities and making up the ecosystem if the fediverse
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck
We can't answer that without knowing your interests. -
@Oregon_Pacifist @rufustheduck exactly, if everyone is on mastodon.social and if it goes down for whatever reason its just like being on a centralized platform, the point of decentralization is so there can be many instances of the fediverse run by different communities and individuals so that if .social goes down or closes up shop there will still be others instances out there catering to different communities and making up the ecosystem if the fediverse
@Oregon_Pacifist @rufustheduck plus if you want to switch instances I think there are ways to export your data such as who you're following so that you can quickly follow back everyone you were following before when you start over on a new instance, not sure if there is an option for other stuff like posts but you'd have to check that
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@rufustheduck
We can't answer that without knowing your interests.@rufustheduck
For instance. I'm autistic, I have an account on autistics.life. I also am a Linux podcaster and have an account on hostux.social. some of my friends are non-binary or trans and have accounts at beige.party. Cat lovers are on meow.social.
If you pick an instance that fits your interests, you are likely to more easily find people like you. -
Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck if you’re happy with where you are and there’s not another server you’re looking at and going ‘I wish I was on that one’ then you probably don’t need to change.
The recommendations you’re getting to move are probably a mastodon culture thing, I’ll explain as much as I understand from just being around:
Likely people suggesting you move are referring to the mastodon.social being sort of infamous across mastodon. Mastodon.social keep their numbers up by leaving no-approval-needed signup open, so they are quite large - but their moderation is worse as a result. I want to clarify that their mods and admin are generally good, no shade on them because they do good work - but they have so many users and new joins that they cannot moderate as well as other servers (just by the numbers)
Usually servers are fairly strict about other servers they can connect with. If there’s a server with a lot of bots trying to scam or manipulate people, it usually gets blocked pretty quick. Mastodon.social is tolerated despite this, because of how many users they have (you wouldn’t want to cut off that many other users from your own users)
Is that a reason to move off the server? Not to me personally, but everybody is different. I think you should only move to another if you really want to be there instead (‘Moving to’ rather than ‘moving away from’)
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck I had a similar experience to you after joining mastodon.social a while back. At this point I will probably only move if:
1. I have actual real problems with mastodon.social (other than feeling like I'm on the lame normie server),
2. I find another community that feels like it's absolutely the right fit
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck I started a new one because my first one kept cutting out for days. I made a typo in my handle, so I had to begin again
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
Loads of great advice/info already so I'm just here to say that Max is fabulous
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck I like Max.
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@rufustheduck A few things to look for in instances:
What is the character count limit? This can be vastly different across instances. If you post long form content, this could matter to you.
What instances do they block? If you're into some stuff that others aren't into, and more power to you, check if they block instances with that stuff. Also check their content posting policy.
How good are they about updating mastodon? Are they stuck on an old version? How active is the admin?
This was my major concern. Who does the admin for my chosen instance federate with. There are some nasty instances out there.
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Hello #Mastodon - I need advice
When I signed up 3 weeks ago, I joined a server without knowing what I was doing. Some have suggested that I might be better on another, but I am lost and confused
What are the benefits of moving? What are the benefits of staying?
And if I do move, where should I go? I know nothing - so your subjective recommendations & insights would be much appreciated
P.S. Here’s a picture of my cat, Max, looking confused - like me
@rufustheduck nice cat!
