@feditips@mstdn.social
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

feditips

@feditips@mstdn.social

This account has moved to https://social.growyourown.services/@FediTips , please follow me there instead!

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

feditips, (edited ) to fediverse
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Calckey is a Fediverse server type which includes lots of features that Mastodon doesn't yet have, such as emoji reactions, markdown, customisable interfaces, widgets and lots more.

To see for yourself, have a look on the official website at:

➡️ https://calckey.org

For the latest updates, follow the official account at:

➡️ @calckey

If you want to try signing up, there's a stable server at:

➡️ https://calckey.social

feditips, to fediverse
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

The excellent @dansup (creator of @pixelfed) also maintains two very useful Fediverse tools:

➡️ https://fedidb.org - A dashboard for the Fediverse, with details of how server types and specific servers are growing.

➡️ https://fediverse.info/explore/people - An opt-in directory of people on the Fediverse sorted by keyword. You can add yourself to the directory by including special hashtags in your profile.

If you've used them before, take another look as they've both just been revamped.

dilmandila, to random
@dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

I used to share my films under before moving servers, but now I can't see any of the posts! Says the list is emtpy.

That's a bit annoying! Nothing to do about it?

@feditips

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

@dilmandila @xenophora @mauro

It's not blocking. It's just that by default a server doesn't notice every post on every other server.

It is for reasons of resources. By default, servers only notice posts when they need to.

Part of the idea of the Fedi is to keep server costs low so that grassroots groups and individuals can afford to run their own servers. Servers only notice posts when someone on that server has interacted with it or followed the author.

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

@dilmandila @xenophora

If you open the account's "original page" you will see all the posts. More info about original pages here:

https://fedi.tips/what-are-original-pages-in-mastodon/

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

You can report problematic posts or profiles by clicking their ⋯ button and selecting "Report".

Remember to include links to problematic posts in your report. This saves the moderators a LOT of time, and means the moderation will happen much more quickly and accurately.

If possible, select the option to anonymously tell the account holder's server too. They can shut down the account if necessary. (However, if their server is problematic too, it might be best not to use this option.)

feditips, to fediverse
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Are you a developer? Do you want to help one of the most flexible, long-established and interesting Fediverse projects?

Friendica (https://friendi.ca) needs developers to help on the frontend, between the server-side PHP modules and views and the client-side HTML/CSS/Javascript aspect.

(It would also be nice if they ran their own Friendica node to help with testing.)

➡️ Are you interested? If so, get in touch with @hypolite

:boost_requested:

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Do you want your Masto posts to self-destruct after a certain time period? Here's how to do it:

  1. Log in through the website
  2. Go to Preferences > Automated Post Deletion (on mobile you may need to click ☰ first)
  3. Choose the Age Threshold to set how long posts are around before they’re deleted
  4. Set the exceptions for posts you want to keep
  5. Tick the box marked Automatically Delete Old Posts
  6. Click the Save Changes button

To stop deletion, UN-tick the box and click Save Changes again.

feditips, (edited ) to fediverse
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

In case you missed it, you can edit your posts on Mastodon. Just go to the post you want, click ⋯ and then "Edit".

This should work on the web and all the apps. (Some third party apps may have a slightly different interface.)

Whenever you edit a post, it sends a notification to everyone who has interacted with it, and a link (usually labelled "edited") will appear below the post showing all previous versions. This is to prevent "bait & switch" shenanigans.

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

I don't think people are realising the danger the Fediverse is in.

The only thing stopping corporations and VCs taking over this place is that the Fediverse is spread out on many different servers, which makes it very difficult to purchase.

If most of the Fediverse ends up on mastodon.social, which is now a strong possibility, there will be nothing to stop most of it being sold to Musk or Zuckerberg or whoever.

The bigger mastodon.social becomes, the more likely a buyout is to happen.

(1/4)

feditips, (edited )
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Here's what Eugen Rochko's Mastodon gGmbH organisation now controls:

-The Mastodon server software & API (though the current version is FOSS)
-The mastodon.social server, which has 1 in 7 of all Fediverse users
-The official Mastodon apps, now telling people to just sign up on mastodon.social
-The official website at joinmastodon.org
-The trademark for the word "mastodon", which lets them dictate terms to any server which uses it

This is a tempting package for any potential buyers.

(2/4)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

The trademark alone gives Mastodon gGmbH huge power, it lets them tell any server using the word "mastodon" in its domain name what software or forks it can use.

And it's getting worse. Mastodon gGmbH is now making official apps which direct people to sign up on mastodon.social instead of a random trusted server or choice of trusted servers.

The more people sign up on mastodon.social, the more tempting Mastodon gGmbH becomes as a takeover target.

(3/4)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

With all that in mind, here's a suggestion:

➡️ IF mastodon.social becomes more than 50% of the Fediverse, either by total users or monthly active users, the rest of us should defederate it.

Sticking with mastodon.social because "that's where the people are" is pointless. Centralised growth will simply cause the governance problems we've seen on Twitter and Facebook to be replicated on here.

Growth has to be decentralised in order to protect the independence of all Fedi servers.

(4/4)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

p.s. Today I've had several people telling me that VCs would never make an offer for Mastodon gGmbH. But according to Eugen, "more than five" offers have already been made.

Here's what Eugen said in an interview with the Financial Times in December 2022:

"Rochko told the FT he had received offers from more than five US-based (venture capital) investors to invest 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in backing the product, following its fast growth."

https://www.ft.com/content/de808736-2e05-4c3b-a53c-55b170ae9efd (paywalled)

Screenshot of more text from same article, continuing the opening paragraphs: "Rochko told the Financial Times he had received offers from more than five US-based investors to invest 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in backing the product, following its fast growth." "But he said the platform’s non-profit status was “untouchable”, adding that Mastodon’s independence and the choice of moderation styles across its servers were part of its attraction." “Mastodon will not turn into everything you hate about Twitter,” said Rochko. “The fact that it can be sold to a controversial billionaire, the fact that it can be shut down, go bankrupt and so on. It’s the difference in paradigms [between the platforms].” "This month, Twitter temporarily suspended the accounts of Mastodon and several journalists, after they shared content about the flight path of Musk’s private jet. Twitter also suggested it would ban links to rival social media platforms including Mastodon but later reversed course on the policy." "In a blog post in response, Rochko said this was a “stark reminder that centralised platforms can impose arbitrary and unfair limits on what you can and can’t say”, adding that monthly active users of Mastodon increased from 300,000 to 2.5mn between October and November."

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

If you're looking for accounts to follow on Mastodon and the Fediverse, there are lots of tips for how to do this here:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-find-accounts-to-follow-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-how-do-i-find-my-friends/

If you've read the article previously, do take another look as it has several new methods added including Groups and StreetPass.

Also check out my other account which recommends interesting people to follow on particular topics:

➡️ @FediFollows

...and it has a website with all the suggestions in categories:

➡️ https://fedi.directory

feditips, (edited ) to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Do you have a website link on your profile or in your posts? Have you made sure it is clickable?

You have to have https:// at the beginning of a web link for it to be clickable on here. Without this, people cannot click on the link.

Without https://
example.com

With https://example.com/example.com>

(BONUS TIP: Advanced users might like to know that Mastodon supports many kinds of link including https://, http://, gemini://, dat://, dweb://, gopher://, ipfs:// and ssb://)

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

To screen who follows you, there is an optional friend request feature on Mastodon:

  1. Log in through your server's website
  2. Go to Edit Profile > Require Follow Requests, tick the box and click Save Changes

(If you change your mind, do this again but untick the box and save.)

A padlock 🔒 icon will now appear next to your name on your profile, and follows will require your approval.

NOTE: Don't screen out follow requests without profile pictures. Many blind users don't use profile pictures.

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

The official Mastodon app is doing something new which is potentially very dangerous to the existence of Mastodon and the Fediverse.

The official Mastodon app now prompts users to join mastodon.social by default, when previously it prompted them to pick a server. If you're new this may sound harmless, but let me explain.

The entire point of this place is to be a social network spread out on as many servers as possible (the reasons are here: https://fedi.tips/why-is-the-fediverse-on-so-many-separate-servers/).

(1/6)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

There is technically still an option on the official app to "pick my own server", but it's much harder to read or notice, and new users will probably click the mastodon.social button without even understanding the other button.

Mastodon.social just passed 1 million registered users about a week ago, out of a total network of approx 7 to 11 million users (dependiing on how you count them).

Most of these users probably signed up via the official app.

(2/6)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

For the first time ever, the most common way to sign up on the Fediverse is now directing people to sign up on one specific server, rather than making them choose.

This will make mastodon.social grow even more quickly than it has before, and future waves of new Mastodon users may end up mostly there. It's very plausible this one server could become the majority of the Fediverse in the near future.

If that happens, the Fediverse would no longer be protected from buyouts by nasty people.

(3/6)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Yes, signing up on one server is much easier for people who are used to centralised services like Twitter, Facebook etc.

But as we have seen from Twitter, such a setup leaves you at the mercy of Musk-type takeovers. For-profit social networks do not like federation, they hate it as they see it as competition. It is very likely that a commercial takeover of a majority server would defederate it, to prevent people leaving and simplify its maintenance.

(4/6)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

This is not an attack on Eugen, I don't do those. Most of what @Gargron does is amazing, the Fedi owes him a great deal, and the fact he turned down large sums of VC money recently shows great integrity.

But eventually most people in that position will crack. Ever larger sums of money can make even the nicest people sell out.

If most of the Fediverse is on mastodon.social, it WILL receive more takeover bids. If it grows even further, these bids will become even higher.

(5/6)

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

So, what can be done?

  1. Tell new people to use third party apps, they are better anyway and have more features. More info at https://fedi.tips/which-apps-can-i-use-should-i-use-the-official-app-or-a-third-party-app/

  2. Tell people to sign up on the website. Mastodon's official site at https://joinmastodon.org is still asking people to choose a server, and is very professionally laid out. (I've also got my own amateurish effort at https://fedi.garden.)

  3. If you're comfortable using github, give a thumbs up at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-ios/issues/1023

(6/6)

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

If you're interested in particular topics, you can join Fediverse groups. They work like this:

  1. Join a group by following its account, leave by unfollowing
  2. Posts from that group will start appearing in your timeline
  3. Post to a group by mentioning it in a public post

The groups work via third party services, the most popular ones at the moment are https://chirp.social and https://a.gup.pe.

More info on discovering and creating groups at https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-groups-on-the-fediverse

feditips,
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

@vattuvarg

There's more info at the link. Chirp allows moderation because its groups are created by registered users.

feditips, to random
@feditips@mstdn.social avatar

Hey there followers!

Just to let you know, I usually reply to questions on this account as private messages because I don't want to spam my followers' timelines with lots of replies.

Unfortunately, even Unlisted posts seem to appear in the Home timelines of followers, so I use Mentioned visibility instead (which is basically a DM).

Please don't think I'm being weird if I reply to you privately!

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