(In case you missed this...)
If you're feeling a bit isolated this Christmas and you want some everyday conversation, there is a special hashtag and group you can follow where people will be posting about what they are up to:
️ #JoinIn
️ @joinin
Feel free to reply to posts on this tag or group! The idea is to encourage friendly chat among people who are doing everyday stuff like food, walks, hobbies etc.
You can post anytime, but the tag and group tend to be most active at Xmas.
p.s. Thank you to @22 for the info above, they are the maintainer of Please Caption.
Also, if you're wondering what the heck this is all about, there's a guide to Please Caption here:
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse
(fedi.tips)
Do you use the "Please Caption" bot to remind you to add image descriptions? Some updates about it:
1) It has just changed servers, its new address is:
If your follow hasn't transferred automatically, follow it at the new address.
2) There was a problem transferring the bot's follows list. Even if you're following it at the new address, you should unfollow it and re-follow it in order to trigger the bot's follow back. Follow backs are needed for reminders to work.
If you accidentally post something sensitive that you want to keep private, don't edit the post, just use "delete" or "delete & re-draft" instead.
Editing has a safety feature to prevent bait & switch abuse tactics: when a post is edited, people will still be able to browse all previous versions of it by clicking on the "edited" label.
However, this also means if you edit out something private, people will be able to see it by browsing previous versions. Deletion prevents this 
You can buy lovely unique Christmas presents and support independent artists on the Fediverse by browsing these hashtags:
#FediGiftShop
#ArtForSale
#OriginalArt
Indie artists are having a tough time of it right now due to AI stealing their work without credit or compensation. Buying direct from artists helps the people who actually create the world's art keep going 
(Thank you to @Curator for advice on tags)
) has just received a takedown request from the Russian government for hosting @Bellingcat, a news site which has long been critical of Putin:
The long-running Fedi server mstdn.social (not to be confused with mastodon.social ) has just received a takedown request from the Russian government for hosting @Bellingcat, a news site which has long been critical of Putin:
https://mstdn.social/@stux/113652461647125214
Thankfully mstdn.social isn't in Russia so Putin has no power over it.
If anyone wants to turn this into a Streisand Effect kind of thing, you might want to follow @Bellingcat and slip a donation to @stux at https://mstdn.social/@stux/113623791580168625
Have you made sure your default posting visibility is correct?
This is the visibility setting that all your new posts have, unless you manually change that post's setting when writing it.
Some people set default to be "followers only" and forget about it, then are surprised no one can see their posts except followers. It can also go the other way, people being surprised their posts are public.
Here's how to check and set your default post visibility:
Yeah, most of the shutdowns of long-running servers I've seen have been graceful. Mastodon.technology for example went out of its way to warn people in good time, they even set up special CSS code warnings when people logged in. Botsin.space which is about to shut down has been similarly proactive.
I've also listed covenant-compliant servers by founding year so people can see which ones have the longest track record:
Highlighting nice servers on Mastodon and the Fediverse
(fedi.garden)
Yes and no, it's a bit complicated 
Try to join a reputable long-running server that has promised to give warning if it intends to shut down, takes daily backups and has more than one person with admin access. (You can find lists of these at https://fedi.garden and https://joinmastodon.org/servers)
You can use Mastodon's "export and import" feature to back up follows, bookmarks, lists, mutes, block, domain blocks and posts. However, there's no way for users to import posts at the moment.
ActivityPub isn't perfect, but it's certainly better than centralisation.
That's all I'm trying to say with the original post, I'm trying to get across to a mostly non-technical audience why a network being on many servers is preferable to putting all your eggs in one basket.
Most people are unaware of what is even being aimed for with decentralisation, even though they benefit from decentralised networks all the time (such as on email).
Threads, Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp all went down today, because they are centralised services owned and run by Meta. When Meta breaks, Meta's services break too.
This doesn't happen on the Fediverse because it is thousands of totally independent servers owned and run by thousands of different people. If one server goes down, the other servers keep running.
This is one of the reasons why decentralisation is so important: it makes networks more resilient through diverse ownership.
Recent updates to Mastodon's web interface introduced a hovering preview window that tells you about an account when you move a mouse pointer over account names.
This is on by default, but you can switch it off if you don't want this to happen:
1. Click on 
️ Preferences
2. Click on Appearance
3. Tick the box marked "Disable profile preview on hover"
4. Click the button at the top of the screen marked "Save Changes"
I'm an unpaid volunteer who runs five websites and five accounts helping people use Mastodon and the wider Fediverse. I pay all the bills for them every month.
If you want to help these sites & accounts keep going, you can buy me a coffee at:
(No registration, choose any amount, all currencies work.)
...or alternatively become a patron at:
️ https://liberapay.com/FediThing
All support greatly appreciated!
️ @FediTips, @FediFollows, @FediVideo, @FediGarden & @homegrown
If you've never tried using a third party app on Mastodon, you're missing out! Mastodon is designed specifically for third party apps, they tend to have the widest set of features.
You can find lots of third party apps listed on the official site:
1. Go to https://joinmastodon.org/apps
2. Scroll past the official apps
3. Click your device type (Android, iOS etc)
If choice is overwhelming you, try these first:
Tusky, Fedilab, Moshidon
Ice Cubes, Ivory, Mona
Just to add, this is not a "you do you" situation.
The danger from #Meta is they allow hatred to spread, and that puts people in danger who don't even use Meta's networks. The hatred radicalises people who then do nasty stuff in real life against innocent victims. Radicalised people don't block Meta, they keep being fed more hate.
This cycle leads to real life violence of the worst kind:
Fact checkers and civil society organisations describe company's virtually 'non-existent' support for their work tackling misinformation
TBIJ (www.thebureauinvestigates.com)
This is not an isolated case.
Please defederate #Threads 
If you're joining a server and it asks you why you want to join, please don't overthink it!
These questions are usually there just to stop spam bots, and as long as you give a human answer you're fine. Server admins usually approve sign-up requests very soon afterwards.
Admins are unable to tell you all this themselves because the question cannot currently be customised. (By the way, admins who want to customise it can give a thumbs up at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/21281)
@SnerkRabbledauber @jezebelley
Servers on Bluesky cannot communicate with each other at all. They can only communicate with relays, and then the relays (if the relays feel like it) will pass on their messages to other servers. The relays are very expensive to run, and AFAIK the only one at the moment is owned by Bluesky themselves.
On the Fediverse, it's much simpler: servers communicate directly with other servers and don't need to connect to any kind of relay. Fedi servers are independent.
Fedi is people, Bluesky is a corporation.
Almost all Fedi servers are owned and run by ordinary people and grassroots non-profits. Fedi servers are fully independent and anyone can start one.
Bluesky is owned by a for-profit corporation run by cryptocurrency people. Bluesky doesn't have independent servers, it has a centralised corporate infrastructure through which everything flows. It's structured to prevent servers being independent.
If you have any questions about Mastodon or the rest of the Fediverse, please feel free to ask!
This is a human being typing this, it's not a bot account. I mainly set this account up to help people directly.
Any question is fine, don't be afraid of it sounding too basic or silly
You might use Mastodon and the rest of the Fediverse through your server's website or through an app, but there is also a third option that many people prefer: web apps.
Web apps are special kinds of websites that can also be installed like apps. They appear as app icons, keep you signed in, work separately from your browser and provide notifications just like any app does.
Web apps are extremely easy to install, there's a complete beginner's guide at:
️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-install-web-apps-for-mastodon-and-the-fediverse
