Mastodon (Not the Band) Classic or Dud

eugen rochko aka gargron, german citizen, lived in germany since age 11 (2004), born in russia of russian-jewish family (source wikipedia)

for eric g = much to ponder

it's time for some game theory!

it's not very big at all and it's made up of lots of mini-communities run by ordinary computer-users giving their time (generally unpaid, tho some have patreons etc)

will it survive a genuinely huge influx in one go? twitter = c.400m (inc many bots of course); mastodon is currently like 700,000 i think? (which is roughly double what it was at the beginning of the week, acc.gargron)

of course every single joining mastodon user could start their own instance, it's a software you download -- that wd be maximally decentralised and stable (it would miss the influx problem) but it wd also manifest as huge problems against social connectivity

it's time for some goyim theory

https://fedi.tips/mastodon-and-the-fediverse-beginners-start-here/#whyisthefediverseonsomanyseparateservers

Would people use an ilxor server? I’d maintain and pay for it if people would use it.

sure, but it's not clear to me what the advantage to any one server is over any other; ie: can we restrict posts to one server to only accounts set up on that server? does that mean all of us ilxors would have to have accounts on the ilx server if we wanted to see the interactions there, or can we keep our accounts that we setup elsewhere? etc.

I think you’re overthinking this. Think of like e-mail. You can use whatever host you’d like and interact with anyone else, from whatever host.

Will keep trying with Mastodon.

Yeah imma just have to go down with the ship this ain’t it. pic.twitter.com/EsAWDoEmC8

— Evil Darkskin Nigga (@FTate05) November 6, 2022

"What is ActivityPub?
Mastodon uses a standardized, open protocol to implement federation. It is called ActivityPub. Any software that likewise implements federation via ActivityPub can seamlessly communicate with Mastodon, just like Mastodon websites communicate with one another."

"Because Mastodon is simply software that can be used to power any website, potential users of Mastodon have the option of choosing a service provider from already-existing Mastodon websites, or to create their own Mastodon website if they wish."

https://docs.joinmastodon.org/#:~:text=Mastodon%20uses%20a%20standardized%2C%20open,websites%20communicate%20with%20one%20another.

I think you could refuse to accpt a user to a mastodon instance if you wanted to restrict it to certain people

The main drawback to the different servers I see so far is it limits your ability to find people. Ned and I, for instance, are on different servers. I found him because I knew to search for him. So following him is no trouble. But when I look to see who he’s following—because after years of being friends on other social platforms I expect to find mutuals—I can only see people he follows *who are on the same server as me*. He might be following 50 or 100 people but I can only see the 8 or 9 who chose the same server as me.

I imagine that as things go on and I find more people to follow and we all get in the habit of reblogging each other, I’ll be less inclined to search for people this way and this drawback will fade away.

No, if you click on the link to (for example) Ned's profile *on his server* (it's very easy - try it!) you can see who all of his followers are and who he's following. That's how I connected with you.

Semi-obligatory dumb Twitter jokes:

Trust me I’ve been trying to join Mastodon for years now but those dudes play FAST

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) November 6, 2022

TECH WRITERS: Joining Mastodon isn't as tricky as it seems.
ME: (Attempting to learn the bass part of "I Am Ahab") I don't know this is pretty challenging!

— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) November 5, 2022

This screenshot might be fake but if it's real it makes me slightly optimistic (Eugen is the CEO):

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fg6qqoQWYAER-zP.jpg

What was that social network site that I think was more of a Facebook replacement? It was all black in there too.

Diaspora? Ello?

No, if you click on the link to (for example) Ned's profile *on his server* (it's very easy - try it!) you can see who all of his followers are and who he's following. That's how I connected with you.

But if you try to click on one of them to follow and they're on a different server you have to then reload your own server and search their specific name and follow that, rather than just click 'FOLLOW'.

The mastodon mobile app is a much more pleasant experience than the web.

Am also on this thing now, I guess. https://journa.host/@rozlatiff

xpost Yes, even though I've gotten used to the desktop version, the official app is pretty slick, and I've seen reports that other third party apps might be even better.

Diaspora? Ello?

Yes.

I forgot about Diaspora, I think that was initially a livejournal replacement wannit?

one side-effect from reactivating my 2018 mastodon acct is that i'm also suddenly reconnecting with foax from an oldschool messageboard i always liked but did kinda desert round the time i was doing my book (mainly earnest timesink avoidance, never intended as a flounce) = unfogged

more to the point maybe they're reconnecting with me, im guessing this means im more visible there than i was on twitter?

https://mastodon.lol/@nathan/109301335584873764

Continuous server upgrades etc. They are v committed and trying their best.

lol

trie to sign up, currently waiting confirmation email.
has been over 30 mins, so suspect its not happening.
i guess i try a different server ?

I'm not following this at all. I wanted to join mastodon.social because it seemed like the largest and most important server? But I couldn't find it when I searched for servers so I just joined another server. But how do I now switch to mastodon.social? I have the app but the search screen just lets me search for posts, hashtags etc. and not servers. How do you get a full list of servers from within the app?

i don't know if there's a way to see other servers/instance *within the app* (and i'm absolutely certain there isn't a way to see *all* of them, some servers hide theemselves by design) but if you already *know* the server you want to join, then go to settings then account then "move to a different account" and the account you move to will be yrs except with the new server switched in

however i'm not certain if mastodon social is currently letting more ppl in, its influx is currently huge (it is the largest but i don't know what "most important" really means in this context: yes its chief mod is also basically site founder but he's also kinda busy at the moment)

tbh i would wait a while and see how things are, or else look around *outside the app* for other suggested servers / instances

Thanks, that's very helpful.

do I get Negronis if I join y/n

absolutely not

here's me for now

https://ravenation.club/@Moodles

I've been able to follow a few people, but I can't see most users on other servers. There were a bunch of you that I tried to add but couldn't find in the lookup. I'd like to be able to look at who other people follow regardless of server. Is there a way to do this or do I have to hop around from server to server looking for people?

this feels a bit like Quantum Leap where you leap from century to century

it's perplexing to me because 3/4 of the people I'm following are on different servers, so clearly that is possible, but then I can't add or see certain other people, so there appears to be some limits.

ok, seems to work better when I include someone's server in the search, although search is just generally working better on the android app than in the browser. One big problem seems to be that a lot of people are on @mastodon.online, and that particular server seems to be fucked, I just can't access it at all

moodles try clicking e.g. on my profile and look thru my follows and followers -- some i expect will be hidden since some servers are delinked from others but others u shd just be able to follow there and then via the + sign? anyway u will recognise some ppl there

mastodon online is probably experiencing a surge r/n

Yeah I can't see anyone you are following lol.

try "browse more on the original profile" (it updates quicker but doesn't have a + sign so you have to click thru to each one)

I found this works best in a browser, on my PC in Chrome I right-click their user name and select open in new tab. Doesn't work so well to follow the link in the main tab.

it has real caractacus potts breakfast-making machine vibes, all gimcrack machinery clicking whirring and stiffly and jerkily undertaking its tasks in the background

eventually the boiled egg rolls down onto yr plate or the floor

So here's a tip -- if you install this app on Twitter to review your account:

https://pruvisto.org/debirdify/

You can check who you're following and see if they have a Mastodon account based on their own settings. Was able to find a slew of people that way. (I grant you might be leery of third-party apps on Twitter at this point but this seemed like the easiest blunt force method and I'll likely uninstall it now that I've used it.)

this is very helpful!

This entire thread should be posted to the backward tech innovations thread.

I'm so confused.

I seem to have signed up for something Irish? mastodon.ie?

Talk to me like I'm a child: Is there one of these servers where everyone is going so that it can be a free-for-all like Twitter and not everyone grouped into chosen silos? Or is it actually *good* to have to choose a silo for a reason I don't understand?

Also, can I change servers if I want to? And keep my username?

Every "let me explain Mastodon" tweet just leaves me more confused and less interested in trying it out.

it turns out it does not matter which server you use to sign up.

discoverability of other accounts is hard though if you are not on a bigger server, I guess. you basically need to know the name of an account you want to follow.