(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.#Xmas

@FediTips Thanks for the info and @22 thanks for this bot - I have been following it for ages

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 #FediTips

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)#FediTips

@FediTips @Bellingcat @stux Support truly open social media! Buy @stux a Ko-Fi for Christmas >>> https://ko-fi.com/mstdn

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:️ https://fedi.tips/who-can-see-my-posts-in-mastodon-how-do-i-send-dms-in-mastodon/#SettingDefaultVisibility#FediTips

@[email protected] @[email protected] speaking of i need to revise our rules because most of them are redundant and i don't like the wording but i digress.

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 ️ Preferences2. 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"#FediTips #Mastodon

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:️ https://ko-fi.com/fedithing(No registration, choose any amount, all currencies work.)...or alternatively become a patron at:️ https://liberapay.com/FediThingAll 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 apps3. Click your device type (Android, iOS etc)If choice is overwhelming you, try these first: Tusky, Fedilab, Moshidon Ice Cubes, Ivory, Mona#FediTips

@FediTips @vmstan maybe some day I'll get back to this PR. Was blocked on how we want to do a locale change.

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] yeah relays here are entirely optional and just help you discover new servers. on bsky if you didn't connect to the relay you wouldn't be able to send or receive posts (your pds sends the relay your post, and you consume from the relay with your appview)

@FediTips Thank you for offering to answer questions. Ours is this: we feel that mostly we see, and are seen by users of, accounts w/i the same #Mastodon instance. How can we foster interaction across instances?

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#FediTips

If you want to narrow down searches on Mastodon, there are special operators you can include in your search ("operator" in this context just means a special phrase).For example if you want to only search posts you've interacted with in some way, include the operator in:libraryMastodon has lots of special operators like this, you can see them all in the guide at:️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-search-for-stuff-on-mastodonYou can also use multiple operators to make searches even more specific.#FediTips

There are special kinds of accounts on the Fediverse called groups, which work like superpowered hashtags:1. People follow groups they're interested in2. People post to a group by mentioning it in their post3. When a group is mentioned, it boosts the post to all its followersIt's similar to following hashtags but a lot more powerful, because a group actively pushes all its posts to every server that has at least one group follower. More info at:️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-groups-on-the-fediverse#FediTips

@pfefferle @altbot Understood what it is, it's the one in the WordPress settings. And yes, it's on!

Mastodon now supports searching by keywords and phrases, so some people asked should they still bother using hashtags?Yes! Hashtags are still a really good idea!1) A lot of people follow hashtags, if you use a tag they follow your post will appear in their timelines2) A lot of people prefer searching by hashtag as it indicates an intended topic, rather than accidentally mentioning a word3) Not *every* server supports full text search, but all of them support hashtag searches#FediTips