Mastodon features explained

Screenshot of Mastodon's basic interface

Let's go through every Mastodon feature...

Register for an account

So you have decided to get a Mastodon account and found an instance you want to join.
Registering for an account all you need is a working email address and a password.

Profile name

Choose a profile name. This will be part of the handle you'll be found under.
In this case the chosen profile name is PaulaToThePeople and the handle will be @PaulaToThePeople@climatejustce.social.
You can choose a different display name than your profile name.

Email address

Enter your email address. It's important you remember which one you chose and that you have access to the address.

Password

Choose a strong password. It's best to use a generated password and store it in a password manager like KeePass.
You'll have to enter the password twice to make sure there is no typo in it.

Server rules

To create an account you have to agree to the server rules. Read them carefully as you have to follow them and the other people on the instance have to too.
So don't just make sure you are okay with them, but also that you want others to behave accordingly.

Confirmation email

When you hit "register" you'll be sent a confirmation email. In that email there will be a link you have to click to confirm your email address and unlock your account.
Check your spam folder if you don't get the email.

What Mastodon looks like for new users

Follow suggestions

The first thing you'll see, when you open Mastodon after creating your account, will be some follow suggestions.
These are based on who other people on your instance follow.
You can follow someone by clicking on the + symbol to the right or check them out first by clicking on the user name.
To stop showing the follow suggestions just click "done" on the bottom.

If you want to see some more follow suggestions later on just go to ".../web/start" in your browser's url field.

Toots

In Mastodon posts are called toots.

Text

In the text field you can write basically whatever you want, as long as it is allowed on your instance and is not longer than the character limit, which is usually 500 characters.
In the bottom right of the toot interface you can see how many characters you have left.
In the screenshot you can see that 5000 characters are left, because the screenshot was taken on an instance with a modified character limit.

Emoji

Click on the laughing emoji in the top right of the text field to add emoji.
Besides all the known emoji instance admins can add custom emoji. You can request them by contacting your instance admin.

Hashtags

Adding hashtags is simple. Just put the # character right before the word.
So e.g. #FridaysForFuture.

Mentions

To mention someone enter @ followed by their profile name (not the display name). If you have already interacted with the user they will be suggested to you when you start entering the profile name.
When you want to mention a user that you haven't discovered yet, you have to enter the full handle (@profilename@instance.domain).

Attachments

Click on the paperclip symbol to add an attachment. You can add up to 4 pictures, a video or an audio file.

Advanced Interface

Profiles

Your profile

Someone else's profile

Settings