Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment.
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Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment.
I'm noticing an uptick in people following me who have weird usernames (lots of numbers), no profile photo, and 0 followers - I'd say 90% of new followers from the past week or two. (Disclaimer: I don't like the word "follower", it sounds cultish)
What gives?
Treasuring the human connections I've made here and this is a bit unsettling TBH.
I may turn on manual approvals 🥲
>Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment
Yes, broadly and consistently.
> I wonder if #agenticAI has anything to do with the uptick in suspicious, bot-like accounts
Yes, broadly and consistently.
It is overwhelming some servers and some moderators, and many more are just tired of dealing with it.
IFTAS needs to hear from admins and moderators in the annual survey:
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@_elena New person here, as in this-is-my-first-day.
️ Hi! I have no idea what I’m doing, but I am trying to leave all things Meta. I suspect there will be a lot of new people for the same reason. I’m glad you posted this (and somehow I saw it.) Now I know I need to add a profile image. But, I won’t have followers for a while. I don’t think I know anyone here yet. 
️@Smidgybit ooooh happy first day Smidgybit! Welcome to the Fediverse!
️ Thank you so much for your note and if I may, I would highly recommend doing a first introductory post about who you are using the Introduction hashtag. It's a great way to connect with people when you're just starting out.
More info from the excellent @FediTips website: https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-get-more-followers-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse/
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@MichelPatrice @_elena here’s the story behind that https://docpop.org/2026/01/the-punk-rock-turtles-test/
@docpop excellent!!!
️ @MichelPatrice -
>Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment
Yes, broadly and consistently.
> I wonder if #agenticAI has anything to do with the uptick in suspicious, bot-like accounts
Yes, broadly and consistently.
It is overwhelming some servers and some moderators, and many more are just tired of dealing with it.
IFTAS needs to hear from admins and moderators in the annual survey:
@jaz thank you for letting me know Jaz
I just boosted your message, hoping that more admins and mods can fill out your survey 🥲
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@jaz thank you for letting me know Jaz
I just boosted your message, hoping that more admins and mods can fill out your survey 🥲
@_elena awesome, thank you!
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Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment.
I'm noticing an uptick in people following me who have weird usernames (lots of numbers), no profile photo, and 0 followers - I'd say 90% of new followers from the past week or two. (Disclaimer: I don't like the word "follower", it sounds cultish)
What gives?
Treasuring the human connections I've made here and this is a bit unsettling TBH.
I may turn on manual approvals 🥲
@_elena I don't like the word "follower" either. For you, I think they should be referred to as "Fireflies" because they light up your comments... well, hopefully.
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@_elena I don't like the word "follower" either. For you, I think they should be referred to as "Fireflies" because they light up your comments... well, hopefully.
@ollierelfe totally! 99% fireflies and 1% cockroaches in my comments
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@_elena haha good for you!
It was always very weird terminology "to follow someone" and "getting followed". Think about the offline equivalent and that is abundantly clear. Creepy
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@Smidgybit ooooh happy first day Smidgybit! Welcome to the Fediverse!
️ Thank you so much for your note and if I may, I would highly recommend doing a first introductory post about who you are using the Introduction hashtag. It's a great way to connect with people when you're just starting out.
More info from the excellent @FediTips website: https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-get-more-followers-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse/
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Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment.
I'm noticing an uptick in people following me who have weird usernames (lots of numbers), no profile photo, and 0 followers - I'd say 90% of new followers from the past week or two. (Disclaimer: I don't like the word "follower", it sounds cultish)
What gives?
Treasuring the human connections I've made here and this is a bit unsettling TBH.
I may turn on manual approvals 🥲
@_elena
That's the curse of the open registration servers
It's cyclical though
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@Smidgybit my pleasure! Please ping me once you’ve published your introductory post and I’d be happy to boost it
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An update: I wonder if #agenticAI has anything to do with the uptick in suspicious, bot-like accounts that have been following me lately.
One such follower had picked as username "agent_test".
I like that I can manually remove them. I guess I'll need to go on a cleanup spree soon 🥲
And yes I turned on manual approvals...
@_elena Luckily I crossed the gate before it closed.
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Wondering if the fediverse - and Mastodon in particular - is undergoing a major spam / bot signup wave at the moment.
I'm noticing an uptick in people following me who have weird usernames (lots of numbers), no profile photo, and 0 followers - I'd say 90% of new followers from the past week or two. (Disclaimer: I don't like the word "follower", it sounds cultish)
What gives?
Treasuring the human connections I've made here and this is a bit unsettling TBH.
I may turn on manual approvals 🥲
@_elena I'm in the process of building a tool to help admins fight this very spam signup problem. I have a way to go but it's in the works and admins are using it.
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@unkx @chrislowles @_elena I think this is spot on. The more connected and older an account is the more legit it seems.
I have seen accounts that follow thousands of other accounts and through this action gain some automatic follow-backs.
And these accounts are bare, have no information, no toots, no nothing.
Sometimes they boost some random things to seem like a person. -
@Tilai @_elena @renchap Interesting that you are hallucinating an “inclusive vision of the Fediverse.” That very idea already contributed to its decline in the 1980s and early 1990s, ultimately placing online networking in the hands of quasi-fascist corporations. You are welcome to repeat that mistake. Just please do it a little less loudly.
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@Tilai @_elena @renchap Interesting that you are hallucinating an “inclusive vision of the Fediverse.” That very idea already contributed to its decline in the 1980s and early 1990s, ultimately placing online networking in the hands of quasi-fascist corporations. You are welcome to repeat that mistake. Just please do it a little less loudly.
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@_elena New person here, as in this-is-my-first-day.
️ Hi! I have no idea what I’m doing, but I am trying to leave all things Meta. I suspect there will be a lot of new people for the same reason. I’m glad you posted this (and somehow I saw it.) Now I know I need to add a profile image. But, I won’t have followers for a while. I don’t think I know anyone here yet. ️Welcome Smidgybit! Feel free to ask if you want help with using this place.
There is also lots more support for new people on the website at https://fedi.tips
By the way, you don't need to use a profile image if you don't want to
