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I just started using Mastodon and I'm pretty impressed with it as a product. But I think you need to approach it in a different way from Twitter and Facebook to

I just started using Mastodon and I'm pretty impressed with it as a product. But I think you need to approach it in a different way from Twitter and Facebook to really see all the benefits. If everyone just signs up to a major instance like mastodon.social, some of the problems you see on platforms like Twitter and Facebook will just be re-introduced as the number of users grows. The programmer/artist Darius Kazemi has done a great job articulating a way to use decentralized social networks like Mastodon in a "human-centric" way: "How to run a small social network site for your friends." [1] I really hope the Fediverse can succeed and thrive, and Mastodon is a big part of that. [1]: https://runyourown.social https://runyourown.social

deleted 7y ago
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squarefoot 7y ago
How would a home node cope with dynamic IPs, not having a registered domain name etc? I mean, my flat broadband connection would allow say 10 Mb both down and uplink dedicated to a small Mastodon instance 24/7 at virtually zero cost without me even noticing, but my ISP changes my IP every night so that I'd be a moving target for anyone willing to connect. Hosting is a solution, but it costs money. Are there any means of connecting a node to the Mastodon network without being forced to look for fixed IP and a DNS name? Admittedly I have no experience with Mastodon, although it intrigues me, so be patient:)
- parliament32 7y ago
  How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP? This isn't a Mastodon problem. Use a dynamic dns provider, it'll give you a domain name that changes your IP record as it changes.
  - squarefoot 7y ago
    "How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP?" My thoughts were that if Mastodon nodes connect each other so that anyone on any node can communicate with anyone on a different node, can't nodes with dynamic IPs set up persistent connections to reachable nodes so that those will work as a sort of DNS?
- katabasis 7y ago
  As far as I know, having a fixed IP address or domain name is a requirement – Mastodon is decentralized in a different way from P2P protocols. This is one of the reasons that the article I linked to above recommends a community-based approach. friend.camp (Darius' instance) uses a Patreon to cover the (fairly small) costs of hosting, registration, etc. I think a lot of users donate something like $1-$5/ year. Running an entire server just for personal use may be overkill in terms of time-investment, monetary costs, etc. But for a small group of users these costs are negligible, and the small community still gets the benefits of having a lot of control over how the instance operates (who to federate with, custom features, etc). We are used to thinking in terms of solutions that are either totally individualistic (everyone for themselves) or rely on giant monolithic institutions. A system made up of small, autonomous communities which can still communicate is a nice middle-ground.
justaj 7y ago
> If everyone just signs up to a major instance like mastodon.social, some of the problems you see on platforms like Twitter and Facebook will just be re-introduced as the number of users grows. Wouldn't this problem be mitigated by allowing users to migrate everything to other instances?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

squarefoot 7y ago

How would a home node cope with dynamic IPs, not having a registered domain name etc? I mean, my flat broadband connection would allow say 10 Mb both down and uplink dedicated to a small Mastodon instance 24/7 at virtually zero cost without me even noticing, but my ISP changes my IP every night so that I'd be a moving target for anyone willing to connect. Hosting is a solution, but it costs money. Are there any means of connecting a node to the Mastodon network without being forced to look for fixed IP and a DNS name? Admittedly I have no experience with Mastodon, although it intrigues me, so be patient:)

parliament32 7y ago
How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP? This isn't a Mastodon problem. Use a dynamic dns provider, it'll give you a domain name that changes your IP record as it changes.
- squarefoot 7y ago
  "How do you expect to provide a web service without a domain and an ever-changing IP?" My thoughts were that if Mastodon nodes connect each other so that anyone on any node can communicate with anyone on a different node, can't nodes with dynamic IPs set up persistent connections to reachable nodes so that those will work as a sort of DNS?
katabasis 7y ago
As far as I know, having a fixed IP address or domain name is a requirement – Mastodon is decentralized in a different way from P2P protocols. This is one of the reasons that the article I linked to above recommends a community-based approach. friend.camp (Darius' instance) uses a Patreon to cover the (fairly small) costs of hosting, registration, etc. I think a lot of users donate something like $1-$5/ year. Running an entire server just for personal use may be overkill in terms of time-investment, monetary costs, etc. But for a small group of users these costs are negligible, and the small community still gets the benefits of having a lot of control over how the instance operates (who to federate with, custom features, etc). We are used to thinking in terms of solutions that are either totally individualistic (everyone for themselves) or rely on giant monolithic institutions. A system made up of small, autonomous communities which can still communicate is a nice middle-ground.

justaj 7y ago

> If everyone just signs up to a major instance like mastodon.social, some of the problems you see on platforms like Twitter and Facebook will just be re-introduced as the number of users grows. Wouldn't this problem be mitigated by allowing users to migrate everything to other instances?