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I currently run my own Mastodon server, and wrote some scripts if you want to run your own on Vultr: https://github.com/sumdog/bee2/ https://github.com/sumdog/

I currently run my own Mastodon server, and wrote some scripts if you want to run your own on Vultr: https://github.com/sumdog/bee2/ https://github.com/sumdog/bee2/ I'm really glad I set this up. Mastodon is an interesting platform; like one big lopsided chatroom. You do have to follow a lot of strangers to get started (unless you can convince a bunch of your friends to join). People also go pretty ban crazy on there. I've been called a "Nazi stooge" and been flagged and reported once ... which went to my instance admin .. which is me. A lot of instances ban entire instances (instances like sealion.club tend to get banned and bofa.lol recently imploded). So running your own ensures you control what you see and not be censored by an instance admin. I'd be interested in following more HN users. I suggest putting your ActivityPub address in your HN profile.

s73v3r_ 8y ago
Running your own instance ensures that the idiot admin of the instance isn't gonna ban you, but other instances can choose not to federate with you.
- ISL 8y ago
  Running your own instance appears to be the only way to have a permanent identifier, no?
  - r3bl 8y ago
    At the moment, yeah. Although there is now a way to indicate that you've moved between instances. See my old profile for example: https://mastodon.social/@r3bl https://mastodon.social/@r3bl
abstractbeliefs 8y ago
On bans, there are frequent waves of new users who migrate away from Twitter to mastodon because they're told that mastodon has instances that are more suited to their personal (typically) political inclinations, and that the other side isn't permitted here and that discussion is more reasoned. It's not really true. What really happens is that people are told that mastodon is the land of milk and honey, and people of all stripes migrate over, and continue to clash. Mastodon brings better tools to deal with it, but the same people import the same negative behaviours but end up on instances that typically reinforce their beliefs. I really hoped that mastodon would be better, but it's really the same noise as twitter but worse - people end up on hyper-polarised instances where war is waged with blocks, bans, and federation filters. At least on twitter you have to share a home with people you don't agree with, here you can build all the walls you want to isolate yourself from anyone who doesn't completely agree with you.
- yborg 8y ago
  Mastodon IS better ... at not stuffing ads in my face. So it's not the same noise as Twitter, in that I don't have to share a home with a billboard in every room.
  - danso 8y ago
    The appearance of ads is not the only metric that matters for people. The fact that no one is yet apparently spamming or otherwise attempting to profit from Mastadon is more a reflection of how little it is currently used, rather than something inherent to the service.
    - fenwick67 8y ago
      There have certainly been spammers but they are usually shut down quickly
- yorwba 8y ago
  > people end up on hyper-polarised instances where war is waged with blocks, bans, and federation filters > here you can build all the walls you want to isolate yourself from anyone who doesn't completely agree with you Shouldn't isolation of opposing viewpoints lead to less war overall? If everyone is interacting in the same space, every controversial post can potentially provoke an aggressive reply, and each response draws in more followers to participate in the battle. On HN, that is counteracted by having too many comments weigh down a submission (the famed flamewar detector), but on engagement-based platforms like Twitter, the fighting never ends. If everyone chooses an instance with people that think alike and that filters content they strongly disagree with, it's not going to lead to more people changing their minds; but at least they won't constantly see things that make them mad and draw them into useless fights.
  - loceng 8y ago
    No, it can lead to a protected bubble of indoctrination and propaganda spreading efficiently without any countering - which then spreads into the real-world, where real clashes and violence is materialized. Even if the populations were on both or could both move to their own isolated islands, eventually a bad actor is likely to try to take control for their own benefit (and then perpetuated, whether by something like a military-industrial complex, or other); and when land isn't an issue then populations can stay separate enough, however yeah, someone always seems to want more and invade, and so at minimum you have to plan to protect against such potential threats - and without using fear tactics to control or manipulate a population.

s73v3r_ 8y ago

Running your own instance ensures that the idiot admin of the instance isn't gonna ban you, but other instances can choose not to federate with you.

ISL 8y ago
Running your own instance appears to be the only way to have a permanent identifier, no?
- r3bl 8y ago
  At the moment, yeah. Although there is now a way to indicate that you've moved between instances. See my old profile for example: https://mastodon.social/@r3bl https://mastodon.social/@r3bl

abstractbeliefs 8y ago

On bans, there are frequent waves of new users who migrate away from Twitter to mastodon because they're told that mastodon has instances that are more suited to their personal (typically) political inclinations, and that the other side isn't permitted here and that discussion is more reasoned. It's not really true. What really happens is that people are told that mastodon is the land of milk and honey, and people of all stripes migrate over, and continue to clash. Mastodon brings better tools to deal with it, but the same people import the same negative behaviours but end up on instances that typically reinforce their beliefs. I really hoped that mastodon would be better, but it's really the same noise as twitter but worse - people end up on hyper-polarised instances where war is waged with blocks, bans, and federation filters. At least on twitter you have to share a home with people you don't agree with, here you can build all the walls you want to isolate yourself from anyone who doesn't completely agree with you.

yborg 8y ago
Mastodon IS better ... at not stuffing ads in my face. So it's not the same noise as Twitter, in that I don't have to share a home with a billboard in every room.
- danso 8y ago
  The appearance of ads is not the only metric that matters for people. The fact that no one is yet apparently spamming or otherwise attempting to profit from Mastadon is more a reflection of how little it is currently used, rather than something inherent to the service.
  - fenwick67 8y ago
    There have certainly been spammers but they are usually shut down quickly
yorwba 8y ago
> people end up on hyper-polarised instances where war is waged with blocks, bans, and federation filters > here you can build all the walls you want to isolate yourself from anyone who doesn't completely agree with you Shouldn't isolation of opposing viewpoints lead to less war overall? If everyone is interacting in the same space, every controversial post can potentially provoke an aggressive reply, and each response draws in more followers to participate in the battle. On HN, that is counteracted by having too many comments weigh down a submission (the famed flamewar detector), but on engagement-based platforms like Twitter, the fighting never ends. If everyone chooses an instance with people that think alike and that filters content they strongly disagree with, it's not going to lead to more people changing their minds; but at least they won't constantly see things that make them mad and draw them into useless fights.
- loceng 8y ago
  No, it can lead to a protected bubble of indoctrination and propaganda spreading efficiently without any countering - which then spreads into the real-world, where real clashes and violence is materialized. Even if the populations were on both or could both move to their own isolated islands, eventually a bad actor is likely to try to take control for their own benefit (and then perpetuated, whether by something like a military-industrial complex, or other); and when land isn't an issue then populations can stay separate enough, however yeah, someone always seems to want more and invade, and so at minimum you have to plan to protect against such potential threats - and without using fear tactics to control or manipulate a population.