I joined mastodon today because the CEO of #tumblr had a complete meltdown recently when people called him out for deleting a trans woman's blog because she posted a transition timeline. The vibes were definitely off, just doesn't feel like a safe place right now. I'd love to follow more #trans and #queer folks on here! This is my second social media account (third if you count myspace. omg should I go back to myspace??) so I need all the help I can get with navigating this place.
@asaflowerblossoms The most important thing to realize is that it's basically email but more modern. A lot of people think they have to sign up on every different domain but that's not the case. If you already know this, great!
The differences from tumblr are pretty basic, discovery is done via the global timeline and via hashtags. Your posts only federate if someone on that instance follows you, so discovery at first might be slow (given this post already got a bunch of boosts i think you're already in a good spot!)
Because mastodon runs on a protocol that multiple people can implement, there may be some functionality differences. Like for example, other instances might have emoji reactions rather than your normal favorite. This also extends to terminology, Mastodon used to call posts "Toots", boosts are sometimes called "reposts," and so forth.
Mastodon et al doesn't really have a similar system to reblogs, but instead has replies and boosts (and quote boosts which is one of those functionality differences.)
The protocol also extends to things you might not expect to interact with it, like Pixelfed which is an alternative for Flickr/Google Photos which interacts with the rest of the fediverse.
@asaflowerblossoms I searched for #tags that interested me and searched for accounts some people I already followed might have - then extended who I follow from their reposts
@asaflowerblossoms
If you fear about harassment and assholes you should first consider moving away from mastodon.social instance which is the biggest instance, main Mastodon entry door for many folks, and poorly moderated.
A cool instance for LGBTQIA+ people is eldritch.cafe, yet I think it is mostly French-speaking.
@niavy
I think when someone chooses a server the servers should hold contests of strength and combat to win my affection. Only then will I choose a suitor.
An Introduction post helps folks find you / the stuff you like sharing. With the hashtag # Introduction (I put a space so folks don't think this is my intro :Hehe: )
A few quick follow recs as you get used to Masto: @FediTips - Helpful advice / tips for using Mastodon and other Fedi services
@FediFollows - Gives cool recommendations for followers from the wider Fediverse on the regular
@Curator - Big account from one of the biggest Mastodon Art Instances - brings some great artwork into your feed
@headswap - A goofy sprite bot cause I'm the worst.
@asaflowerblossoms I'm not trans, but wanted to welcome you. May I suggest that you follow @lisamelton who knows many of the great trans people here, and also who is THE person to follow to give you a flavor of the breath and depth of Mastodon and the Fediverse. She's one incredible person!
@asaflowerblossoms Have you been boosted by @lisamelton yet? She’s ace at finding audiences for people, as well as filling your timeline with quality reboosts.
@asaflowerblossoms Hello and welcome to the Fediverse! I heard about that sitch and believe you've made the right choice moving away. I hope you have the loveliest time here. Anything you want to know, just ask.
@asaflowerblossoms As far as I know, MySpace pretty much died ages ago. Unless it somehow either managed to come back or just never actually died. I never was on there myself.
@asaflowerblossoms welcome! yeah, from what I read, seemed she was being blasted by terfs, then got into with him where his true colors popped out. I wish she didn't make the jokey death threat, as that just gives ammo to him, but seeing the demise of tumblr since its first sale to Verizon (or was it Yahoo) has been heartbreaking.
Mastodon is fun! My rec: follow & favorite aggressively, dive into Explore/Trending and find more! Have fun! Cheers!
@asaflowerblossoms This appears to be the behavior of literally every single billionaire CEO existing in the world today. You are right to come here, as community ownership and moderation is the only way to feel safe right now.
I'm neither trans nor queer, but have connected with so many of both on here!
This is a federation of independent servers using different platforms to navigate it. Start with the one that looks most fitting to your needs. You can migrate and take your contacts but not your posts with you later.
Chose an instance from an EU country due to #PrivacyRights.
@theresnotime@asaflowerblossoms besides the spam and moderation problems, being on one of the instances mentioned here is also a great way to find trans people to follow lol, because you can just hop on the local timeline and boom! Transfems!
On mastodon.social I imagine the local timeline is rather hectic and full of cis people :blob_cat_ohnoes:
@theresnotime
Ok so I tried moving to transfem.social and all my followers disappeared and the app stopped working. Luckily it let me cancel it. What did I do wrong?
@asaflowerblossoms Yay, welcome! Since you asked, please ignore me if this is too much--
Mastodon skews geeky, much geekier than Bluesky. It has its quirks, and there is no corporation behind it, which both means there isn't a profit motive and thus no enshittification (good) and less of an overriding desire to cater to users (bad).
I observe that Mastodon looks very different to different people, and that largely has to do with who you follow (which determines what you see, since there is no algorithm), and who follows you (which largely determines who responds to your posts).
@rodneylives@asaflowerblossoms Hello, welcome! If you check out our feed you'll find pinned posts about how to follow Magazines (topical feeds of content) from our publishers. If you're interested in LGBTQ+ content, you might want to follow Magazines from @LGBTQNation. You can also follow our human-curated accounts in the Fediverse: @NewsDesk, @TechDesk, @ScienceDesk@CultureDesk and @ArtPhotosDesk, where we highlight stories and boost content from across the Fediverse. And beyond Flipboard, we've found it great to follow recommendations from @FediTips and also to follow hashtags that we're interested in. Hope you enjoy exploring — we find this a wonderful place to spend time!
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