4 ms·

I have a bad feeling about these "invite only" servers though. They are remaking the blue checkmarks of twitter in an even less-transparent way.

rapnie 5y ago
There is no such concept on Mastodon. People add it for fun, just like they do any kind of emoji, but it carries zero extra 'gravitas' as it does on Twitter.
- cblconfederate 5y ago
  I don't mean the checkmarks, i mean the user's domain. Twitter's Blue Checkmarks were added for a reason, and similarly a mastodon user's home server is an implicit vote of confidence by <some groupthink>. Or else i don't understand why this apparently busy mastodon server would have to approve all signups.
  - howenterprisey 5y ago
    Spam.
dredmorbius 5y ago
Individual Fediverse servers are typically run by individuals or groups for their own interests, on their own dime. Some of those are generally open (e.g., mastodon.social and mastodon.cloud), some are invite-only or serve specific communities. Many are individual's own instances and serve a single user or a very small set. Anyone can stand up a Mastodon instance. There are companies which specialise in fully-hosted turnkey services. And as noted, there are many instances which are free to join for the asking. The system overall is in no way closed on this regard. That said, individuals (or instances) which engage in antisocial behaviours or prove nuisances may find that they are blocked by numeous others. In general, what exists is widely available but also subject to local rules. There are instances which run strongly counter to the mainstream culture on the Fediverse. They exist and can talk amongst themselves, but have limited (and often no) interaction with the mainstream of the rest of the network.
riffic 5y ago
You don't need to use any particular server to publish to this ecosystem. You don't even need to use the Mastodon software. Just hook up the AP plugin to your WordPress (or insert necessary logic into your CMS of choice) and you're a participant.

rapnie 5y ago

There is no such concept on Mastodon. People add it for fun, just like they do any kind of emoji, but it carries zero extra 'gravitas' as it does on Twitter.

cblconfederate 5y ago
I don't mean the checkmarks, i mean the user's domain. Twitter's Blue Checkmarks were added for a reason, and similarly a mastodon user's home server is an implicit vote of confidence by <some groupthink>. Or else i don't understand why this apparently busy mastodon server would have to approve all signups.
- howenterprisey 5y ago
  Spam.

dredmorbius 5y ago

Individual Fediverse servers are typically run by individuals or groups for their own interests, on their own dime. Some of those are generally open (e.g., mastodon.social and mastodon.cloud), some are invite-only or serve specific communities. Many are individual's own instances and serve a single user or a very small set. Anyone can stand up a Mastodon instance. There are companies which specialise in fully-hosted turnkey services. And as noted, there are many instances which are free to join for the asking. The system overall is in no way closed on this regard. That said, individuals (or instances) which engage in antisocial behaviours or prove nuisances may find that they are blocked by numeous others. In general, what exists is widely available but also subject to local rules. There are instances which run strongly counter to the mainstream culture on the Fediverse. They exist and can talk amongst themselves, but have limited (and often no) interaction with the mainstream of the rest of the network.

riffic 5y ago

You don't need to use any particular server to publish to this ecosystem. You don't even need to use the Mastodon software. Just hook up the AP plugin to your WordPress (or insert necessary logic into your CMS of choice) and you're a participant.