3 ms·

Mastodon is really, really promising. But there needs to be a go-to server to point everyone to. Kind of like with flatpak -> flathub, git -> github. Of cour

by jdlyga 4y ago

Mastodon is really, really promising. But there needs to be a go-to server to point everyone to. Kind of like with flatpak -> flathub, git -> github. Of course there's options, but there should be an unofficial default. It feels like the early days of email where everyone was at odd domains.

teekert 4y ago
Mastodon.social?
- tradertef 4y ago
  I think I have checked that site ~1 month ago. At that time, they did not allow new accounts. Just checked now again and can not create new accounts. So..
  - not2b 4y ago
    I think it works better to be on a well-run regional server if one exists, so that the Local feed actually mostly means "local". For folks in the SF Bay Area I recommend sfba.social .
system16 4y ago
For the average user does it even matter what server/instance you join? From what I can tell, once you sign up you can search for, follow, find, post, re-post etc. anything from anyone regardless of which server you sign up with.
- ChrisArchitect 4y ago
  No, not if content is coming from a blocked/blacklisted server -- which is all up to each server's mods --- and also if you want to move, your content does not go with you. Mastodon isn't perfect or even 'it'.
  - klaustopher 4y ago
    It‘s build right into the software to move your account and take all content and even followers with you: https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moving/ https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moving/
    - Hamuko 4y ago
      Where do you import your exported content?
- aendruk 4y ago
  Yes, browsing and discovery is strongly influenced by what instance you choose. To understand what parts of the experience are affected, consider the extreme case of a single-user instance.
  - rsynnott 4y ago
    Eh, I'm not sure about that, really. If you're already on Twitter, you can follow the people who've migrated over with movetodon or similar, and discover people that way. How often do you browse the Twitter global timeline, after all? (Is that even possible anymore?) On Twitter, and on Mastodon, you largely discover people based on what the people you follow do.
    - aendruk 4y ago
      > How often do you browse the Twitter global timeline, after all? This is the wrong question to ask. Last I used Twitter it bombarded me with unsolicited, unrelated content to an inescapable degree. On Mastodon, which so enthusiastically compensates for Twitter’s aggression that no new content is surfaced without an explicit request or first-degree vouch, I take a peek at instances' local timelines almost daily. Beyond the timeline, consider the behavior of hashtags. On a single-user instance hashtags are useless for discovery.
DHPersonal 4y ago
But all the odd domains didn’t matter because the email got sent to anyone one of them if you got the address correct. The same is true for Mastodon instances.
mattl 4y ago
http://mastodon.social/invite/FqKugRkc http://mastodon.social/invite/FqKugRkc if you want to join the biggest server.
phyzome 4y ago
Having people not all be on the same server (or same small set of large servers) is kind of the point, though. Having everyone on GMail is not a good thing.
- maegul 4y ago
  I agree but think both are true at the same time. The reality, from what I’ve gleaned, is that the instance you’re on matters (for many), but you can’t come to appreciate that and what you want in an instance without first being on some instance and active on Mastodon/fediverse. So I think the solution is that there is essentially a new-to-mastodon instance or domain (of multiple servers that all work the same). It’s for people feeling out mastodon and exploring. And there can even be a time limit for accounts there to prevent accounts sitting around forever. That way there’d be one domain to point everyone to but the uniqueness of instances and the diversity of the fediverse can be maintained. Main thing that needs to be cleaned up though is moving instance. It’s not hard now, but this idea would be more attractive if it was one-button-easy. More generally, the portability of accounts across the fediverse is something I really think should be more of a thing.
  - phyzome 4y ago
    Yeah, it would be cool to have a time-limited server like that! In practice I think it would be exhausting to admin, though, since you'd have a large population of newcomers and a very small population of experienced users to teach them the tools and culture. My advice has been to just pick an instance and try it out, and then migrate to a different one after a month if they see one that looks like a better fit.

by jdlyga 4y ago

teekert 4y ago

Mastodon.social?

tradertef 4y ago
I think I have checked that site ~1 month ago. At that time, they did not allow new accounts. Just checked now again and can not create new accounts. So..
- not2b 4y ago
  I think it works better to be on a well-run regional server if one exists, so that the Local feed actually mostly means "local". For folks in the SF Bay Area I recommend sfba.social .

system16 4y ago

For the average user does it even matter what server/instance you join? From what I can tell, once you sign up you can search for, follow, find, post, re-post etc. anything from anyone regardless of which server you sign up with.

ChrisArchitect 4y ago
No, not if content is coming from a blocked/blacklisted server -- which is all up to each server's mods --- and also if you want to move, your content does not go with you. Mastodon isn't perfect or even 'it'.
- klaustopher 4y ago
  It‘s build right into the software to move your account and take all content and even followers with you: https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moving/ https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moving/
  - Hamuko 4y ago
    Where do you import your exported content?
aendruk 4y ago
Yes, browsing and discovery is strongly influenced by what instance you choose. To understand what parts of the experience are affected, consider the extreme case of a single-user instance.
- rsynnott 4y ago
  Eh, I'm not sure about that, really. If you're already on Twitter, you can follow the people who've migrated over with movetodon or similar, and discover people that way. How often do you browse the Twitter global timeline, after all? (Is that even possible anymore?) On Twitter, and on Mastodon, you largely discover people based on what the people you follow do.
  - aendruk 4y ago
    > How often do you browse the Twitter global timeline, after all? This is the wrong question to ask. Last I used Twitter it bombarded me with unsolicited, unrelated content to an inescapable degree. On Mastodon, which so enthusiastically compensates for Twitter’s aggression that no new content is surfaced without an explicit request or first-degree vouch, I take a peek at instances' local timelines almost daily. Beyond the timeline, consider the behavior of hashtags. On a single-user instance hashtags are useless for discovery.

DHPersonal 4y ago

But all the odd domains didn’t matter because the email got sent to anyone one of them if you got the address correct. The same is true for Mastodon instances.

mattl 4y ago

http://mastodon.social/invite/FqKugRkc http://mastodon.social/invite/FqKugRkc if you want to join the biggest server.

phyzome 4y ago

Having people not all be on the same server (or same small set of large servers) is kind of the point, though. Having everyone on GMail is not a good thing.

maegul 4y ago
I agree but think both are true at the same time. The reality, from what I’ve gleaned, is that the instance you’re on matters (for many), but you can’t come to appreciate that and what you want in an instance without first being on some instance and active on Mastodon/fediverse. So I think the solution is that there is essentially a new-to-mastodon instance or domain (of multiple servers that all work the same). It’s for people feeling out mastodon and exploring. And there can even be a time limit for accounts there to prevent accounts sitting around forever. That way there’d be one domain to point everyone to but the uniqueness of instances and the diversity of the fediverse can be maintained. Main thing that needs to be cleaned up though is moving instance. It’s not hard now, but this idea would be more attractive if it was one-button-easy. More generally, the portability of accounts across the fediverse is something I really think should be more of a thing.
- phyzome 4y ago
  Yeah, it would be cool to have a time-limited server like that! In practice I think it would be exhausting to admin, though, since you'd have a large population of newcomers and a very small population of experienced users to teach them the tools and culture. My advice has been to just pick an instance and try it out, and then migrate to a different one after a month if they see one that looks like a better fit.