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This F.A.Q. derived from a protocol of a series of workshop(s) held by [[Fedizen:PaulaToThePeople]] for Fediverse beginners, especially those who came to Mastodon after Musk bought Twitter. It's also good for those who came to Lemmy after the controversial Reddit API changes.<br>
Paula is not holding workshops anymore as the demand has ceased, but you can always ask her questions.


Agenda:
==Mastodon== <!--T:3-->
    Introduction
    Moderation
    Does everybody already have an account?
    What is Mastodon?
    What is the Fediverse?
    What is Pixelfed?
    Questions
   
Notes


    Introduction
<!--T:4-->
''See also the article {{Internal link|target=Mastodon|link-name=Mastodon}} in this wiki.''


    Paula joined Fediverse in 2018 and became and an administrator a bit later
<!--T:5-->
Mastodon is a free software microblogging project. It shares quite a few similarities with Twitter, but differs in some key features.<br>
It is decentralized/federated and belongs to the Fediverse ([[F.A.Q. - Frequently Asked Questions#Fediverse|see below]]).


    Proper notes will be shared later on (Thanks so much!!)
<!--T:7-->
When you just created an account you'll see the basic interface with an empty home timeline. Follow other accounts and create your individual interesting home timeline.<br>
To follow/find accounts that are hosted on different instances (servers) than your own account, you usually have to search for their full handle (@username@instance.tld) or their profile's url.


<!--T:8-->
When you use Mastodon via your desktop browser, you can change quite a few things about its look and feel via your account settings. Anyone looking for an equivalent to Tweetdeck's many columns, may switch to the advanced interface:<br>
It allows you for example to pin a column for hashtags you've searched by clicking on its top right corner.
As with Tweetdeck, if the number of columns exceed your display's width, you either need to scroll left and right or zoom out, until all columns fit again into your screen.


    Moderation
<!--T:9-->
All notifications a shown in one column, in which you can switch between different types of notifications. The column's top right corner opens its settings, where can optimize your notification column to your individual needs.<br>


    Rules for this workshop
<!--T:10-->
If you want to ensure, you will not miss posts from accounts that are the most relevant to you or you want to cluster accounts to create thematic timelines, for example, you can create {{Internal link|target=Mastodon features explained#Lists|link-name=lists}}, and pin them as a column. Only accounts you are following, can be added to our lists.<br>
You can also click the bell symbol on a profile besides the (un)follow button to get notified about all posts by a user.


    Don't turn on microphone while someone else is speaking
<!--T:11-->
Your home timeline shows posts by accounts you follow and boosts by those accounts. There is no algorithm sorting posts for "relevance". Everything will appear in the chronological order it was either posted or boosted. Everything in your timeline will have the same look whether it originated from a Mastodon account or an account from some other Fediverse service.<br>
The local timeline displays all the public posts accounts on your server published - boosts are exlcuded. This can be very interesting on themed instances.
The federated timeline shows posts from the whole Fediverse as your server knows it. It includes posts from every account your server was introduced to either by someone following or successfully searching from your server.


    Wait for Paula to invite you to speak
==Fediverse== <!--T:12-->


    Raise your hand (if on browser look for the hand symbol bottom right of screen; or write in the chat you want to speak)
<!--T:13-->
''See also the article {{Internal link|target=Fediverse|link-name=Fediverse}}''


<!--T:14-->
Mastodon is just one part of the Fediverse.<br>
On Mastodon, all content looks like it originated from Mastodon, but many posts may originate from other parts of the Fediverse.


    Does everybody on the call already have an account?
<!--T:15-->
[[File:Fediverse branches.png]]


    it will help understand if people need help setting up an account
<!--T:16-->
All of these different services in the Fediverse can communicate with Mastodon and each other.<br>
It works similar to email. You can write to someone who has gmail from an icloud account, for example.


    @sburall@mastodon.social
<!--T:17-->
Besides microblogging there are services for picture-blogging, music, podcast, books and so on.


    gaysis@social.agb-web.de
<!--T:18-->
''See also [[Fediverse projects#Table%20of%20Fediverse%20replacements%20for%20traditional%20social%20media%20platforms|Fediverse replacements for traditional social media platforms]]''


    very often you need to use the full handle to find a person, just their name might not be enough
==Pixelfed== <!--T:19-->


    you can search using topics, results can be accounts, hashtags or posts
<!--T:20-->
''See also {{Internal link|target=Pixelfed|link-name=Pixelfed}}''


<!--T:21-->
It works similar to Mastodon, but the interface looks more like Instagram than Twitter and you can only post and see picture posts.<br>
Some special features include the ability to add license information for your media and adding your posts to collections.<br>
Users from Mastodon or other parts of the Fediverse, who follow Pixelfed-Accounts won't see the license information or collections though.


    What is Mastodon?
==Funkwhale== <!--T:22-->


    it's a free software,
<!--T:23-->
''See also {{Internal link|target=Funkwhale|link-name=Funkwhale}}''


    has some features the same as Twitter, and some different
<!--T:24-->
A Fediverse service for freely-licensed audio (music, podcasts, radios, ...).<br>
The flagship instance is [https://open.audio open.audio].<br>
You can browse audio by hashtags, albums, artists, playlists, ...


    What does it look like?
==Lemmy== <!--T:63-->


    Use preferences to change how mastodon looks
<!--T:64-->
''See also: {{Internal link|target=Lemmy|link-name=Lemmy}}


    use advanced web-interface to see multiple columns
<!--T:65-->
Lemmy is the "reddit" of the Fediverse together with {{Internal link|target=Kbin (discontinued)|link-name=Kbin (discontinued)}}. So it's a content aggregator service that can be used like a forum.<br>
You can find a list of instances here: https://join-lemmy.org/instances <br>
You can follow and take part in Lemmy discussions from other parts of the Fediverse.


    If you have too many columns, they won't fit on the screen and you will have to zoom out.
==What is BookWyrm== <!--T:66-->


    you can make a list of people you don't want to miss and they will appear in a column (sorry can't see this happening and so can't quite explain properly)
<!--T:67-->
''See also: {{Internal link|target=BookWyrm|link-name=BookWyrm}}


    home timeline is people you follow and people who are boosted by people you follow. But it almost never matters which fediverse server they are on, just need to follow their account
<!--T:68-->
A Fediverse software for book cataloguing.<br>
You can upload books or select some from the catalogue, add your status about the book (started reading, finished reading etc.) and write reviews.<br>
You can view the same info if you e.g. follow the BookWyrm account on Mastodon.<br>
There is no federated/local feed, just your home feed, so you have to follow other people to see posts other than yours.<br>
Example instance: bookwyrm.social


    There is the local timeline, this shows only posts for people on your server. It is filled when you join the server and you don't need to follow them
==Questions from participants of the workshops== <!--T:25-->


    federated timeline shows the whole, known fediverse (known to your server - depends which accounts are followed from your server or what was searched from your server)
====Will Mastodon/the Fediverse remain niche?==== <!--T:26-->


    What is the Fediverse?
<!--T:27-->
It grows every time the big commercial platforms f**k up, so it may depend on how big and thorough those are. But because Fediverse is not a centralized platform, everyone and anyone can create their own niches (which may not even be connected to the rest of Fediverse).


    mastodon is part of the fediverse
====How to choose the right server / instance?==== <!--T:28-->


    what you see in your home timeline, it might include people on mastodon, and people from elsehwere - eg pixelfed - see infographic - there are lots of branches of the fediverse
<!--T:29-->
''See also {{Internal link|target=Account creation|link-name=Account creation}}''


    [can't see the infographic so can't note it I'm afraid]
<!--T:30-->
First think about which service you want to use. Mastodon, Pixelfed, ...<br>
Then think about the size of the server. Very large servers go against the whole idea of decentralization/federation and especially right now they might be overwhelmed from all the new users.  Additionally, huge servers are much more attractive target for hackers.<br>
Tiny instances might appear very sleepy and thus making harder for you to discover interesting people to follow, as you have to actively search to find them on other servers.<br>
Then think you should ask yourself what is most relevant for you: sharing a server with people, who share the same special interest, or who are geographically located in the same area or do you want neither and prefer a general interest server.


    all of these different servers in the fediverse can communicate with mastodon
<!--T:31-->
You can also check-out which servers are most relevant for you, based on your Twitter connections - more on that {{Internal link|target=Beginners Fedi Workshop#How to find people you know from Twitter|link-name=here}}.


    it works similar to email, you can write to someone who has gmail from an icloud account, for example
<!--T:32-->
A small selection of helpful server lists:


    you can follow different  fediverse can
<!--T:33-->
*[[Instances]]
*[https://fediverse.party/en/portal/servers/ fediverse.pary (Themed Servers)]
*[https://instances.social/ instances.social] - instance picker (check out the [https://instances.social/list/advanced#lang=&allowed=&prohibited=&min-users=&max-users= advanced mode] and sort by interesting details like security quality)
*[https://fediverse.observer/list fediverse.observer] - filterable list of all servers
*DE: [https://contentnation.net/de/favstarmafia/artikel2 Deutschsprachige Mastodon Instanzen]


    What is Pixelfed?
====How do you find a trustworthy instance?==== <!--T:34-->


    it's for pictures and there are lots of others for music, podcasts, books, writing etc
<!--T:35-->
Generally you can check the instance rules to see if the instance is well moderated, but some instances may have good rules, abut the admins and mods don't enforce them well.<br>
One indicator for good moderation is a long blocklist of instances. You can see that under domain.tld/more.<br>
You can see a list of instances that you definitely shouldn't join under {{Internal link|target=FediBlock|link-name=FediBlock}}. These should be blocked by most instances.<br>


    works similar to mastodon servers, but interface looks different
====How do you report a post that violates the rules?==== <!--T:36-->


    includes some special features like licence information or adding posts to a collection
<!--T:37-->
Click on the 3-dot-menu besides the post and select "report".<br>
You'll be asked some questions. E.g. you can select other posts by the user that violate rules.<br>
You can and usually should forward the report to the instance of the author of the toot you are reporting. <br>
Moderators and admins then can delete the post(s) and/or block the user and/or ignore the report.


    if you want to actively use a certain fediverse service, you always also need to start an account there, but passively you can follow accounts throughout all the fediverse and their content will appear in your "home timeline"
====Do Mastodon servers generally have the same technical features or are there relevant differences? If so, can I check this out before joining?==== <!--T:38-->


    Questions
<!--T:39-->
Most servers will have the same features and limits. Some may have higher limits for e.g. characters in a post (climatejustice.social has 5.000 instead of the usual 500).<br>
The limit for poll options or the number of bio-links may have been adjusted by the admins. But each code change may create problems at every Mastodon update, thus most servers run with the original settings. <br>
As of right now, there are no listings of Mastodon instances that also include information about deviations concerning features or limits. And instances commonly also do not advertise them on their "/about" pages. Asking around before joining a server, is currently the only way to figure this out.


Questions from the people:
====How to move to a different instance==== <!--T:40-->


    How to find people on other services? A number of us particularly interested in finding people from niche communities/ with specialised interests eg multiple sclerosis/ ADHD. And also interested in finding new people not connected to on, eg twitter
<!--T:41-->
There is a guide in English, German and Japanese {{Internal link|target=Moving instances|link-name=here}} and another one in German with screenshots [https://wiki.subversive.zone/doku.php?id=umzug_des_eigenen_accounts_auf_eine_andere_mastodon_instanz here].


    You need to know their full handle or the url
====How to find people on other services?==== <!--T:42-->


    but if the server is down they won't appear
<!--T:43-->
You usually need to know someones full handle (@profile@server.name) or their profile's URL. Both can then be used to find them with the search function of the service, where you are logged in.<br>
Whether you want to find an account on a different Mastodon server or an account on a different Fediverse service, you always need the same information for your search.


    can also search for hashtags, you can then click on the tag to see them
==== How to find other members of niche communities/ people with shared special interests==== <!--T:44-->


    tools like https://fedifinder.glitch.me/ will crawl the infos of everyone you follow on Twitter for fediverse accounts, you can download it as a .csv file and import it into your account
<!--T:45-->
You can search for topics or hashtags. The results are clustered as follows: all ⏐ people ⏐ hashtags ⏐ posts. "People" will show you accounts, that have handles or display names containing your search word. "Hashtag" will list hashtags, that start with your word. You can click on each hashtag to see posts containing it. Under "Posts" you will only find those, you have interacted with.<br>
You can also find a server that is dedicated to the topic you are interested in (e.g. {{Internal link|target=Special interest instances|link-name=here}}) and find people on the "/discover page" of each server (only Mastodon servers).


    How to choose the right server?
====How to find people you know from Twitter==== <!--T:46-->


    there are either themed, local or general servers
<!--T:47-->
Tools like [https://fedifinder.glitch.me/ fedifinder] , [https://pruvisto.org/debirdify/ debirdify] or [https://twitodon.com/ twitodon] will crawl the account info of everyone you follow on Twitter for Fediverse accounts. You can download the results as a .csv file and upload it via "preferences >> import" to your account.<br>
You can also use debirdify to create and upload lists with Fediverse account info for Twitter accounts you have previously blocked or muted.<br>
Debirdyfy also shows you, which servers/instances are most relevant for you based either on the Twitter accounts you are following or on those who follow you.<br>
Make it easy for your Twitter contacts to find you in the Fediverse by adding your account info to your Twitter profile. You can either adapt your display name, add it to the description in your bio or as the bio's link. Screen reader users prefer, if you do not change your display name into your long Fediverse info, because impacts their user experience as it will lengthen the sound bite for each Tweet.
====How to best share audio, pictures and movies? ====


    if you want to move, there is a "How to" in German: https://wiki.subversive.zone/doku.php?id=umzug_des_eigenen_accounts_auf_eine_andere_mastodon_instanz
<!--T:48-->
As seen in the graphic above, there are specialized Fediverse services for multimedia sharing. An example: If you often want to share your videos, especially if they exceed Mastodon's file limit of 40 MB, it is better to use {{Internal link|target=PeerTube|link-name=Peertube}}. You can then use the link of your PeerTube video to create your Mastodon post. Using a PeerTube link will not impact how other users can engage with your video content.  


    Search-Site that gives infos about server-quality in the advanced mode: https://instances.social/list/advanced#lang=&allowed=&prohibited=&min-users=&max-users=
<!--T:49-->
If you want to share video from Youtube, you should create a tracker-free link, because many Fediverse users do not want to share their data with big tech companies. You can use [https://invidious.snopyta.org/ invidious.snopyta.org] or another invidious instance to create such a link.


    too big servers attract hackers
====Is it sensible to have several accounts, so for Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube, etc.? And how to connect them?==== <!--T:50-->


    Relevant fact about "deleted posts": because servers need to crawl each other, a post you delete may still be visible on any server other than the one you are on
<!--T:51-->
It can make sense to have more than one account on different services, especially if you want to share different media.<br>
You can use the same handle and display name for very account, but each full handle will be different, so e.g. @PaulaToThePeople@climatejustice.social (Mastodon) and @PaulaToThePeople@climatejustice.video (Peertube).<br>
While you can link from one profile to the other in each accounts meta date, they will always remain separate accounts.


    Will Mastodon/the Fediverse remain nieche?
====Are there special servers for governmental accounts?==== <!--T:52-->


    it grows everytime the big commercial plattforms f**k up
<!--T:53-->
There are:


    but because it's not centralized, everyone can create their own nieches (which need not even be connected to the rest of fediverse)
<!--T:54-->
*[https://social.bund.de social.bund.de] for Germany (invite only)
*[https://social.network.europa.eu EU Voice] for the European Union
*more will probably come...


    How to best share audio, pictures and movies?
==Slide-ins== <!--T:55-->


    for media, especially videos with bigger file sizes, it's better to post them via peertube and then use the link to this video in your mastodon posts
====Account verification==== <!--T:56-->


    if you want to share a youtube-video, you should use invidious.snopyta.org to create a tracker-free link, because a lot of users don't like sharing their data with big tech companies
<!--T:57-->
There is no official verification system in the Fediverse like on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. But there are indicators, that help to access how legit an account is:


    Is it sensible to have several accounts, so for mastodon, pixelfed, peertube, etc.? And how to connect them?
<!--T:58-->
* If the account belongs to an official invite only server, for example to one of the government servers mentioned above, they had to verify themselves to create their account on those servers
*Each Mastodon account can create verified links to their official website
**To verify yourself as the owner of a link in your profile metadata, the linked website must contain a link back to your Mastodon profile. The link back must have a <code>rel="me"</code> attribute. The text content of the link does not matter.
**As anyone can set up fake websites and then successfully create a verified connection between such a fake site and their Mastodon profile, it is not 100 percent reliable.
**It is helpful to check for the following: If you click the Mastodon verified link, does its URL in your browser exactly match the URLs that you may find through their officially verified accounts on a different platform? Do other links from other reliable sources like news media match exactly? Or in cases where real life products featured their URL, does it match exactly with their Mastodon link?


    depends on what you want to share, especially for multimedia
====Accessibility==== <!--T:59-->


    do mastodon servers generally have the same technical features or are there relevant differences? If so, can I check this out before joining or moving?
<!--T:60-->
*To share your content inclusively on Mastodon, ad a description to every video or picture/graphic you post. A good description is short but includes all necessary information, so someone unable to see does not miss out on what it is you want to share through your video or picture.
*The fediverse service Glitch-Soc has a feature where you can see red boarders around pictures or videos without alt text.
*There is also a bot [https://botsin.space/@PleaseCaption @PleaseCaption@botsin.space] that reminds you privately, if you the media in your posts lack a description.


    most servers have the same limits, some have higher limits for example characters (5.000 instead of general 500)
====Deleted posts==== <!--T:61-->


    contentnation.net has an overview for German servers
<!--T:62-->
"The internet doesn't forget and the Fediverse can't forget."<br>
Because servers have to crawl each other for content, a deleted post may still be visible to users on servers. If they engage with the post after you have deleted it, you may not even see this in your notifications because by deleting it, you have severed your account's connection to it.


    limits for polls or number of bio-links can be adjusted by the admins, but might create problems for every update
== Further Reading == <!--T:69-->
 
</translate>
    changes on one server can possibly affect the performance of other servers
{{Getting started links}}
 
{{category |category=Fediverse}}
    I'm actually on Friendica and not Mastodon (not sure if that was a great decision but I also didn't want to overthink things). On my server there are not as many people, I think, so if I use the search bar I often find nothing at all. People probably then tend to choose servers where there's already a lot of people to make it easier to get connected. So could we say that, while trying to decentralize social networking, fediverse still has those mechanisms that automatically lead to more centralization?
{{Navbar}}
 
    one instance/server can block users on other servers or even a whole other server
 
    Are there specials servers for govermental accounts
 
    in Germany there is social.bund.de which is invite only
 
    there is also an EU-server
 
    there is no offical verification system in the fediverse like on Twitter but there are other ways to check, if an account is legit:
 
    certain servers are invite only, so only legit users can create an account there
 
    every account can create a verified link-back to their own official website
 
 
Accessabilty-Feature:
 
    Glitch-Soc has a feature where you can see red boarders around pictures or videos without alt text
 
    there's a BOT that reminds you, if you've forgotten alternative text / description

Latest revision as of 20:47, 13 November 2024

Other languages:

This F.A.Q. derived from a protocol of a series of workshop(s) held by Fedizen:PaulaToThePeople for Fediverse beginners, especially those who came to Mastodon after Musk bought Twitter. It's also good for those who came to Lemmy after the controversial Reddit API changes.
Paula is not holding workshops anymore as the demand has ceased, but you can always ask her questions.

Mastodon

See also the article Mastodon in this wiki.

Mastodon is a free software microblogging project. It shares quite a few similarities with Twitter, but differs in some key features.
It is decentralized/federated and belongs to the Fediverse (see below).

When you just created an account you'll see the basic interface with an empty home timeline. Follow other accounts and create your individual interesting home timeline.
To follow/find accounts that are hosted on different instances (servers) than your own account, you usually have to search for their full handle (@username@instance.tld) or their profile's url.

When you use Mastodon via your desktop browser, you can change quite a few things about its look and feel via your account settings. Anyone looking for an equivalent to Tweetdeck's many columns, may switch to the advanced interface:
It allows you for example to pin a column for hashtags you've searched by clicking on its top right corner. As with Tweetdeck, if the number of columns exceed your display's width, you either need to scroll left and right or zoom out, until all columns fit again into your screen.

All notifications a shown in one column, in which you can switch between different types of notifications. The column's top right corner opens its settings, where can optimize your notification column to your individual needs.

If you want to ensure, you will not miss posts from accounts that are the most relevant to you or you want to cluster accounts to create thematic timelines, for example, you can create lists, and pin them as a column. Only accounts you are following, can be added to our lists.
You can also click the bell symbol on a profile besides the (un)follow button to get notified about all posts by a user.

Your home timeline shows posts by accounts you follow and boosts by those accounts. There is no algorithm sorting posts for "relevance". Everything will appear in the chronological order it was either posted or boosted. Everything in your timeline will have the same look whether it originated from a Mastodon account or an account from some other Fediverse service.
The local timeline displays all the public posts accounts on your server published - boosts are exlcuded. This can be very interesting on themed instances. The federated timeline shows posts from the whole Fediverse as your server knows it. It includes posts from every account your server was introduced to either by someone following or successfully searching from your server.

Fediverse

See also the article Fediverse

Mastodon is just one part of the Fediverse.
On Mastodon, all content looks like it originated from Mastodon, but many posts may originate from other parts of the Fediverse.

All of these different services in the Fediverse can communicate with Mastodon and each other.
It works similar to email. You can write to someone who has gmail from an icloud account, for example.

Besides microblogging there are services for picture-blogging, music, podcast, books and so on.

See also Fediverse replacements for traditional social media platforms

Pixelfed

See also Pixelfed

It works similar to Mastodon, but the interface looks more like Instagram than Twitter and you can only post and see picture posts.
Some special features include the ability to add license information for your media and adding your posts to collections.
Users from Mastodon or other parts of the Fediverse, who follow Pixelfed-Accounts won't see the license information or collections though.

Funkwhale

See also Funkwhale

A Fediverse service for freely-licensed audio (music, podcasts, radios, ...).
The flagship instance is open.audio.
You can browse audio by hashtags, albums, artists, playlists, ...

Lemmy

See also: Lemmy

Lemmy is the "reddit" of the Fediverse together with Kbin (discontinued). So it's a content aggregator service that can be used like a forum.
You can find a list of instances here: https://join-lemmy.org/instances
You can follow and take part in Lemmy discussions from other parts of the Fediverse.

What is BookWyrm

See also: BookWyrm

A Fediverse software for book cataloguing.
You can upload books or select some from the catalogue, add your status about the book (started reading, finished reading etc.) and write reviews.
You can view the same info if you e.g. follow the BookWyrm account on Mastodon.
There is no federated/local feed, just your home feed, so you have to follow other people to see posts other than yours.
Example instance: bookwyrm.social

Questions from participants of the workshops

Will Mastodon/the Fediverse remain niche?

It grows every time the big commercial platforms f**k up, so it may depend on how big and thorough those are. But because Fediverse is not a centralized platform, everyone and anyone can create their own niches (which may not even be connected to the rest of Fediverse).

How to choose the right server / instance?

See also Account creation

First think about which service you want to use. Mastodon, Pixelfed, ...
Then think about the size of the server. Very large servers go against the whole idea of decentralization/federation and especially right now they might be overwhelmed from all the new users. Additionally, huge servers are much more attractive target for hackers.
Tiny instances might appear very sleepy and thus making harder for you to discover interesting people to follow, as you have to actively search to find them on other servers.
Then think you should ask yourself what is most relevant for you: sharing a server with people, who share the same special interest, or who are geographically located in the same area or do you want neither and prefer a general interest server.

You can also check-out which servers are most relevant for you, based on your Twitter connections - more on that here.

A small selection of helpful server lists:

How do you find a trustworthy instance?

Generally you can check the instance rules to see if the instance is well moderated, but some instances may have good rules, abut the admins and mods don't enforce them well.
One indicator for good moderation is a long blocklist of instances. You can see that under domain.tld/more.
You can see a list of instances that you definitely shouldn't join under FediBlock. These should be blocked by most instances.

How do you report a post that violates the rules?

Click on the 3-dot-menu besides the post and select "report".
You'll be asked some questions. E.g. you can select other posts by the user that violate rules.
You can and usually should forward the report to the instance of the author of the toot you are reporting.
Moderators and admins then can delete the post(s) and/or block the user and/or ignore the report.

Do Mastodon servers generally have the same technical features or are there relevant differences? If so, can I check this out before joining?

Most servers will have the same features and limits. Some may have higher limits for e.g. characters in a post (climatejustice.social has 5.000 instead of the usual 500).
The limit for poll options or the number of bio-links may have been adjusted by the admins. But each code change may create problems at every Mastodon update, thus most servers run with the original settings.
As of right now, there are no listings of Mastodon instances that also include information about deviations concerning features or limits. And instances commonly also do not advertise them on their "/about" pages. Asking around before joining a server, is currently the only way to figure this out.

How to move to a different instance

There is a guide in English, German and Japanese here and another one in German with screenshots here.

How to find people on other services?

You usually need to know someones full handle (@profile@server.name) or their profile's URL. Both can then be used to find them with the search function of the service, where you are logged in.
Whether you want to find an account on a different Mastodon server or an account on a different Fediverse service, you always need the same information for your search.

How to find other members of niche communities/ people with shared special interests

You can search for topics or hashtags. The results are clustered as follows: all ⏐ people ⏐ hashtags ⏐ posts. "People" will show you accounts, that have handles or display names containing your search word. "Hashtag" will list hashtags, that start with your word. You can click on each hashtag to see posts containing it. Under "Posts" you will only find those, you have interacted with.
You can also find a server that is dedicated to the topic you are interested in (e.g. here) and find people on the "/discover page" of each server (only Mastodon servers).

How to find people you know from Twitter

Tools like fedifinder , debirdify or twitodon will crawl the account info of everyone you follow on Twitter for Fediverse accounts. You can download the results as a .csv file and upload it via "preferences >> import" to your account.
You can also use debirdify to create and upload lists with Fediverse account info for Twitter accounts you have previously blocked or muted.
Debirdyfy also shows you, which servers/instances are most relevant for you based either on the Twitter accounts you are following or on those who follow you.
Make it easy for your Twitter contacts to find you in the Fediverse by adding your account info to your Twitter profile. You can either adapt your display name, add it to the description in your bio or as the bio's link. Screen reader users prefer, if you do not change your display name into your long Fediverse info, because impacts their user experience as it will lengthen the sound bite for each Tweet.

How to best share audio, pictures and movies?

As seen in the graphic above, there are specialized Fediverse services for multimedia sharing. An example: If you often want to share your videos, especially if they exceed Mastodon's file limit of 40 MB, it is better to use Peertube. You can then use the link of your PeerTube video to create your Mastodon post. Using a PeerTube link will not impact how other users can engage with your video content.

If you want to share video from Youtube, you should create a tracker-free link, because many Fediverse users do not want to share their data with big tech companies. You can use invidious.snopyta.org or another invidious instance to create such a link.

Is it sensible to have several accounts, so for Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube, etc.? And how to connect them?

It can make sense to have more than one account on different services, especially if you want to share different media.
You can use the same handle and display name for very account, but each full handle will be different, so e.g. @PaulaToThePeople@climatejustice.social (Mastodon) and @PaulaToThePeople@climatejustice.video (Peertube).
While you can link from one profile to the other in each accounts meta date, they will always remain separate accounts.

Are there special servers for governmental accounts?

There are:

Slide-ins

Account verification

There is no official verification system in the Fediverse like on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. But there are indicators, that help to access how legit an account is:

  • If the account belongs to an official invite only server, for example to one of the government servers mentioned above, they had to verify themselves to create their account on those servers
  • Each Mastodon account can create verified links to their official website
    • To verify yourself as the owner of a link in your profile metadata, the linked website must contain a link back to your Mastodon profile. The link back must have a rel="me" attribute. The text content of the link does not matter.
    • As anyone can set up fake websites and then successfully create a verified connection between such a fake site and their Mastodon profile, it is not 100 percent reliable.
    • It is helpful to check for the following: If you click the Mastodon verified link, does its URL in your browser exactly match the URLs that you may find through their officially verified accounts on a different platform? Do other links from other reliable sources like news media match exactly? Or in cases where real life products featured their URL, does it match exactly with their Mastodon link?

Accessibility

  • To share your content inclusively on Mastodon, ad a description to every video or picture/graphic you post. A good description is short but includes all necessary information, so someone unable to see does not miss out on what it is you want to share through your video or picture.
  • The fediverse service Glitch-Soc has a feature where you can see red boarders around pictures or videos without alt text.
  • There is also a bot @PleaseCaption@botsin.space that reminds you privately, if you the media in your posts lack a description.

Deleted posts

"The internet doesn't forget and the Fediverse can't forget."
Because servers have to crawl each other for content, a deleted post may still be visible to users on servers. If they engage with the post after you have deleted it, you may not even see this in your notifications because by deleting it, you have severed your account's connection to it.

Further Reading

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