I’m liking the vibe here so far, but i’m still confused about the whole server/“ instance “thing ??

[alexraffa@mastodon.uno]

@anxietynectarr you see, I am on a different "instance/server" than yours, and still I see your post... This is the magic of fediverse, users/participants do not need be all bunched up in one place....

[cthos@mastodon.cthos.dev]

@anxietynectarr Well @catsalad boosted you so everyone has seen this now...

Welcome! A bunch of other folk have explained the different server bits by now, you're gonna do fine.

[diazona@techhub.social]

@rdp @anxietynectarr Yeah, endorsed - like, for my Fediverse experience, it has been almost completely irrelevant which instance I'm on. (Except that my instance is financially stable, actively maintained, and moderated well enough that others don't generally block it. But there are a lot of instances meeting those criteria.)

If it helps, I personally think of Mastodon instances like email servers: GMail, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Proton Mail, Fastmail, Tuta Mail, etc. Some of them have nice (or not-nice) features that others don't, but they all let you do the core thing of sending and receiving email.

[mermaidchaser@mstdn.social]

@anxietynectarr The amount of activity you get is related to what YOU follow, hashtags or accounts, and you can follow or unfollow according to your preferences and interests

[australopithecus@mastodon.social]

@anxietynectarr
If you're familiar with MMOs you can think of it kind of like joining a guild (or clan in some games), where mastodon.social is kinda sorta equivalent to the global chat channel, and what you see in chat depends on your guild.
Some guilds block chat with (defederate from) certain other guilds, some guilds choose not to interact with world chat (defederated from mastodon.social), and some guilds are actually blocked from world chat (defederated by mastodon.social)

[androcat@toot.cat]

@anxietynectarr
Getting off mastodon dot social is generally recommended and migration itself is easy. The problem with mastodon dot social is that it's overly huge and so not really moderated much, which means there's more risk of abuse and ironically also more risk of moderator overreach (because they get a billion reports, most likely they're going to ignore most and then just pick random ones to power trip on)

As you point out, finding a good server is the hard part.

As good a way as any: Once you find people you resonate with, look out for what instances they are from, see if there are patterns. Then maybe have a look at the Code of Conduct for any instances that stand out (if there isn't one, that's bad) and maybe talk to people from there about what it's like. Then reach out to the admin to hear if they have room, and take it from there.

[neutronstar@infosec.exchange]

@anxietynectarr
There’s already a lot of replies but I’ll offer some insight since I joined just over a month ago and thus have my experiences fresh.
——
**My advice on finding a server**
Firstly, the server/instance you choose has little effect on what you actually see on the network. So choosing a server, I would say, is more about the people you want to associate yourself with and also what level of administration you want, with what rules.

For example: I’m part of the server infosec.exchange which I joined because of an interest in infosec. It is a fairly large instance that many security minded individuals call their home. That doesn’t mean there’s exclusively infosec talk, but also cat photos and general life updates. It’s not that big a deal in reality, what server you choose.

So just try to find a server with, maybe a shared interest, a good ruleset or just well known administration. You could also stay on mastodon.social(can’t see your entire username so I guess that’s your server), there’s nothing wrong with that.
——
**My advice on finding accounts**
Just give it some time. Yes, that easy.

When I got here I knew not just nothing about mastodon but nothing about microblogging at all. But I just clicked a few buttons and gave it a month, and now I got a steady feed.

There really is no trick other than, find accounts on the server or trending feed, follow some accounts, unfollow some accounts, take part in some discussions and be kind to others.
——
*So, just try your best, be kind, maybe migrate to a server with good administration and give it some time.*
*Hopefully this helped, and that my absolute blob of a post didn’t give you a headache.* XD

[lizette603_23@mastodon.social]

@anxietynectarr I'm an old hag by most standards, know nothing about computers and have found so many interesting people here. Fascinating, informative, hilarious, writers singers dancers poets rocket scientists techies gardeners retired politicians and on and on. You start writing about what comes to mind and people will find you, and vice versa. Just start Talkin'! Here are my two cats, who welcome you to be a lap for them

[mrgrumpymonkey@mastodon.social]

@david @3janeTA @anxietynectarr That's the best part. Lonely? Create your own instance. Now you are lonely on Mastodon.

[zutalorz@haunted.computer]

@anxietynectarr

100% agree that using hashtags is the way to go
Also, the thing about Mastodon, is when it’s at it’s best its low pressure
so you could take your time and enjoy it that you can take your time because that’s the whole point of this place

[mrgrumpymonkey@mastodon.social]

@anxietynectarr Follow hashtags. Love cats? #CatsOfMastodon Love flowers? #BloomScrolling Want dogs? #DogsOfMastodon You a Linux user? There's a #Linux hashtag for that. Search for a word, and check the hashtags section. This will get you started with a general feed of content. If it's to much, follow a few of the channels using said hashtags and unfollow the hashtag. Rinse and Repeat until you are satisfied. There's a Trending tab you can use to see what's "relatively" popular.

[thefathippy@mastodon.world]

@anxietynectarr

Welcome! Give @FediTips a follow, or check out their website: https://fedi.tips

Heaps of useful info, including https://fedi.tips/which-server-should-i-join-how-do-i-find-out-more-about-a-server/

They don't recommend mastodon.social for new users, & explain why in another tip. That's ok, if *you* don't like it, it's easy enough to change, & how is yet another tip.

[kobold@orthographieanarchist.de]

@david @3janeTA @anxietynectarr @picklebot let me fix that for you.

[meadow@lgbtqia.space]

@anxietynectarr
I used to be on beige.party which I enjoyed a great deal. I promise, it's not a cult.

But then my egg started cracking, so I've been on lgbtqia.space for a while since and been happy.

One can also check https://joinmastodon.org/servers for a listing of servers which meet platform standards, but asking around as you are is often the most effective.

[kobold@orthographieanarchist.de]

@anxietynectarr Find a good hashtag, like #bloomscrollling or #fedibike or .. or .. or .. and you will find tons of like minded people. Follow them and follow back. If somebody annoyes you, block them and there is a hashtag for that, too #fediblock

[jens@social.finkhaeuser.de]

@anxietynectarr Yeah, mastodon.social is a bad choice, I'm afraid. Find an instance where you like people, and ideally the mods seem nice.

[jamie@gamerstavern.online]

@anxietynectarr This 3 minute video has a very helpful explanation of what Mastodon instances/servers are. Hopefully it helps you.

https://tilvids.com/videos/watch/wx2iLhD3pTipbKFJKLyx5t

[mrgrumpymonkey@mastodon.social]

@anxietynectarr Welcome to the, relatively, open part of the web, where things sometimes don't make sense. It's a learning experience to be sure. An experience that might cause you to become curious on how this all works, and make attempts to create your own thing within the Fediverse. It's scary out here. You never know what's lurking about the next corner. One thing that isn't lurking though, is ads. Anyway. Welcome! Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies.

[kotking@blorbo.social]

@anxietynectarr you have lots of replies in this post, so you can pay attention to name handles. Just the ability to talk between different servers is biggest fun part of it. Honestly, best way to find which one you would like to move (you will lose post history but will redirect your followers and follows to new account) is to talk with people and check server rules. Some are less strict while others more protective so different places for different needs.
https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server/

Have fun, enjoy exploring and you can move more than once if you ever feel instance not fitting your needs.

[ravensrod@mstdn.social]

@anxietynectarr Don't worry about it, just follow anyone who looks vaguely interesting, you can drop the ones who aren't later. No one gets hung up on the number of followers ego trip here. You can change instance later when you get used to how things work .