If you're using Mastodon's web interface on a computer, you might like to know there are built-in keyboard shortcuts for almost all its functions. There's a list of all the shortcuts here:

️ https://fedi.tips/using-mastodon-through-a-keyboard

You just press the shortcut key when you're NOT typing a post, and it will do whatever it's assigned to.

You can also see the shortcut list built into Mastodon by typing Shift+? (or whatever your local keyboard layout uses to get the question mark to appear).

#FediTips #Mastodon

@grb090423 @sophiekaz

Welcome Sophie

Please feel free to ask if you want help using this place, and there's also lots of help for new people on the website at https://fedi.tips

@fluffgar @maddyteichmann

I've done a guide to all the different ways you can get more visibility for your PeerTube videos: https://fedi.tips/how-to-promote-your-peertube-videos-account-and-channels

If you're wanting general tips on how to publish on PeerTube there's also a guide at https://fedi.tips/how-to-publish-videos-and-audio-on-peertube

Generally YouTube is more algorithm-driven and out of your control, whereas on PeerTube it's more manual and in your control.

@ailurocrat @fearskaper

Welcome Fearskaper

Please feel free to ask if you want help with using this place. There's also lots of help for new people on the website at https://fedi.tips

Just a little warning about editing polls on Mastodon: if you edit any of the options that people can vote for, it resets all the votes back to zero.

So, if you're posting a poll, make sure the options are correct at the start and don't edit them later (unless you're okay with resetting the votes).

This reset is apparently to prevent people being fooled into voting for something they don't want.

#FediTips #Mastodon

In case you missed it, you don't need to use link shorteners on Mastodon.

All links in Mastodon posts count as 23 characters towards your post size limit, no matter how long or short they really are.

I've tried to answer all the common questions about this in a guide:

️ https://fedi.tips/you-dont-need-link-shorteners-on-mastodon

If I've missed something please feel free to ask in replies

#FediTips #Mastodon

@krokofant @NatGunt

There is also lots of help on the website at https://fedi.tips (it is in English however, apologies!).

p.s. Admins should try activating Secure Mode

Secure Mode (aka Authorized Fetch) is a setting on Mastodon that admins can activate which makes blocks MUCH more effective.

It's off by default due to historical technical issues, but it works really well nowadays. I'd highly recommend admins at least try it, more info at https://fedi.tips/authorized-fetch

(It had a reputation for affecting compatibility and resources, but at least on my server it has run totally fine for years.)

🧵 Thread - Part 7 of 7

- Cultural problems

The culture of a platform is so all-encompassing that it can feel like there's nothing that can be done to change it.

Perhaps there is at least one thing you can do to help though: Listen to a member of a vulnerable group if they find this place unfriendly. Bite your tongue if you feel like trying to convince them otherwise.

Listening should make problems clearer and change easier. (This is also a strong reason for diversity in software development)

🧵 Thread - Part 6 of 7

- Allowlists vs blocklists

By default a server federates with all other servers, unless a server is on their defederation blocklist. (Masto admins can find out more at https://fedi.tips/how-to-defederate-fediblock-a-server-on-mastodon ).

This is ok if you want to communicate with as many people as possible, but can cause problems if you're targeted by hate.

Admins who need to prioritise safety over connectivity may want to consider allowlists instead of blocklists. More info at https://fedi.tips/creating-an-isolated-server

🧵 Thread - Part 5 of 7

- Moderation being reactive rather than proactive

Mastodon moderation currently relies on reports of bad behaviour: something bad happens, someone reports it to moderators.

If there was a system to automatically alert moderators to certain keywords, they could respond much more quickly to hate posts (and spam and many other problems too).

The mods would still be human, they would just be alerted more quickly.

Github users can vote for this at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/21306

🧵 Thread - Part 4 of 7

- Users not being able to control who can reply to their posts

The Fediverse having thousands of independent servers is one of its greatest strengths (https://fedi.tips/why-is-the-fediverse-on-so-many-separate-servers) but also causes whack-a-mole problems when trying to block hate.

If users could pre-emptively restrict who can reply to their post, e.g. followers-only, this would prevent hatemongers from random unblocked servers posting nasty replies.

Github users can vote for this at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/14762

🧵 Thread - Part 3 of 7

- Lack of representation in software design.

Most FOSS is made by whoever is able to spare unpaid work and has the right tech skills to build it.

This often leaves FOSS devs under-resourced and thankless, rationing their time to deal with an avalanche of reported issues, prioritising what to fix with very limited resources.

If there was better representation of vulnerable groups in FOSS development and prioritisation, it might lead to better safety tools in software.

🧵 Thread - Part 2 of 7

It is depressing if someone experiences hate on here, especially if it puts them off using this place.

I follow people that regularly raise these issues, to hear how bad it is and what the causes are.

Five things seem to come up most often:

- Lack of representation in software design
- Users not being able to control who can reply to their posts
- Moderation being reactive rather than proactive
- Allowlists vs blocklists
- Cultural problems

Let's look closer...

🧵 Thread - Part 1 of 7

If you're searching Mastodon, there are special phrases called "operators" that you can include to narrow down your search. For example, if you just want to search your own posts you can include the operator from:me alongside your keywords.

There's a complete guide to searching Mastodon including a list of all the operators at:

️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-search-for-stuff-on-mastodon

You can combine several operators in one search to narrow it even further, or include a minus sign - to exclude stuff.

#FediTips #Mastodon

@Miname @Kierkegaanks

The flagging system wouldn't cause any action to be taken, it would just alert a human admin about certain words and phrases. The admin then uses their judgement to decide whether any action needs to be taken.

There isn't anything automated here except telling the human admin there *might* be a problem.

For example if someone is using words or phrases that are usually used as slurs, they would be flagged up and the admin would look at the context to see if it's abusive.

@elettrona

Reports are never visible to the author, they just go to the admins and moderators who then decide if there is a problem or not.

As far as I know flags would work the same way as reports, the author of the post would never know about them, only the admins and moderators.

@Kierkegaanks

I've edited my post to make it clearer

@Kierkegaanks

No. Proactive would mean if someone posts abuse the admin potentially sees it straight away and can immediately take action without waiting for the victim to see it and report it.

At the moment Mastodon is only reactive, so the only way an admin knows about abuse is if someone else reports it, by which time it may have already been seen by the victim and the damage is done.

p.s. The reason I mentioned the two Github issues above was because they have come up in discussions by people who feel unsafe on here due to bigotry and abuse.

There were people specifically mentioning they wanted reply controls so they could pre-emptively prevent abusers replying to their posts.

There was also concern about Mastodon's "reactive" moderation where admins have to wait for reports. A flagging system would be "proactive", allowing admins to act without waiting for reports.