Mastodon gGmbH has just issued a new blogpost:
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@FediTips @stonebear2 I'm not on Mastodon for long and I'm not on the .social instance. Since this is a conversation with 'Fedi Tips' who offers to provide explanations about Mastodon…
may I ask what does 'the wide-open signup' refer to?@honzajavorek @FediTips @stonebear2 I'd like to know as well.
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p.s. This seems like a good moment to thank @Gargron
Obviously I disagreed with his recent stance on server onboarding, but that isn't an attack on his overall achievements.
For me Eugen's best moment was in 2022 when he was asked to sell out by multiple VC companies but he said no:
"Rochko told the Financial Times he had received offers from more than five US-based investors (which he turned down)"
https://www.ft.com/content/de808736-2e05-4c3b-a53c-55b170ae9efd
He passed the test that others (including Bluesky) have failed.
p.p.s. Also, @Gargron changed the Fediverse's overall approach to onboarding by thinking about ordinary users instead of technical hobbyists.
Mastodon wasn't the first Fediverse platform, but it was the first one to aim itself at a general audience. JoinMastodon.org was a breakthrough because it assumed no technical knowedge or desire to self-host.
Another greatest moment was Mastodon's 2018 official animation: https://fedi.video/w/cbQE3NRw76FayQCSdb14TU
Mastodon sold the concept of the Fediverse to many people.
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@honzajavorek @FediTips @stonebear2 I'd like to know as well.
@weekendr @honzajavorek @stonebear2
I think they're referring to instantly-working signups, as these tend to be exploited by spammers.
Admins on Mastodon servers can choose to allow either instant signups or signups that have to be approved by a moderator before they work. Spammers all use servers that have instant signups.
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p.s. This seems like a good moment to thank @Gargron
Obviously I disagreed with his recent stance on server onboarding, but that isn't an attack on his overall achievements.
For me Eugen's best moment was in 2022 when he was asked to sell out by multiple VC companies but he said no:
"Rochko told the Financial Times he had received offers from more than five US-based investors (which he turned down)"
https://www.ft.com/content/de808736-2e05-4c3b-a53c-55b170ae9efd
He passed the test that others (including Bluesky) have failed.
@FediTips For all who can't see the FT-link, this article was archived: https://archive.ph/xGCGR
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@FediTips For all who can't see the FT-link, this article was archived: https://archive.ph/xGCGR
Thanks!
For what it's worth, the article was free to view when I clicked on it in search results, and I felt it was important to have the primary source of the quotation as the link
-
p.s. This seems like a good moment to thank @Gargron
Obviously I disagreed with his recent stance on server onboarding, but that isn't an attack on his overall achievements.
For me Eugen's best moment was in 2022 when he was asked to sell out by multiple VC companies but he said no:
"Rochko told the Financial Times he had received offers from more than five US-based investors (which he turned down)"
https://www.ft.com/content/de808736-2e05-4c3b-a53c-55b170ae9efd
He passed the test that others (including Bluesky) have failed.
@FediTips @Gargron I remain baffled that easier account migration still isn't on their roadmap. Other fedi services, such as *key servers, implement the functionality to import content archives as well as take followers with you if you change instances. There's no technical barrier to Eugen doing the same.
Having one big onboarding server wouldn't be such a problem if users could hop around the fedi without having to painstaking rebuild all their previous posting history and interactions.
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p.p.s. Also, @Gargron changed the Fediverse's overall approach to onboarding by thinking about ordinary users instead of technical hobbyists.
Mastodon wasn't the first Fediverse platform, but it was the first one to aim itself at a general audience. JoinMastodon.org was a breakthrough because it assumed no technical knowedge or desire to self-host.
Another greatest moment was Mastodon's 2018 official animation: https://fedi.video/w/cbQE3NRw76FayQCSdb14TU
Mastodon sold the concept of the Fediverse to many people.
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@FediTips @Gargron I remain baffled that easier account migration still isn't on their roadmap. Other fedi services, such as *key servers, implement the functionality to import content archives as well as take followers with you if you change instances. There's no technical barrier to Eugen doing the same.
Having one big onboarding server wouldn't be such a problem if users could hop around the fedi without having to painstaking rebuild all their previous posting history and interactions.
️The technical side is apparently relatively easy, if I understand correctly the main problems are in resources and moderation.
If someone has e.g. 5000 posts including attached media and they want to import it, this takes up a lot of server resources and produces a potentially very great moderation burden. What if these posts contain stuff that is forbidden in the new server's rules? And how does a small server cope with people suddenly importing massive archives?
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@FediTips @Gargron I remain baffled that easier account migration still isn't on their roadmap. Other fedi services, such as *key servers, implement the functionality to import content archives as well as take followers with you if you change instances. There's no technical barrier to Eugen doing the same.
Having one big onboarding server wouldn't be such a problem if users could hop around the fedi without having to painstaking rebuild all their previous posting history and interactions.
️It would still be a problem having a giant server as moving servers is always going to be considerably more complicated than joining a server. It's crucial to spread the growth out *before* people sign up.
Also the whole concept of an "onboarding server" doesn't really tally with reality. There's nothing about mastodon.social that makes things easier for new people, in fact due to its size its moderation tends to be worse and moderators harder to get hold of.
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It plays fine when I tried it just now, maybe try it again?
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P pelle@veganism.social shared this topic
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Mastodon gGmbH has just issued a new blogpost:
️ https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/the-future-is-ours-to-build-togetherSome highlights:
- Eugen has stepped down as head, his replacement is @mellifluousbox (Eugen will continue as an advisor)
- Mastodon gGmbH and its US-based 501(c)(3) intend to transition to a Belgian non-profit and transfer their assets there
- Eugen has sold his Mastodon-related assets (including the trademark) to the 501(c)(3) for €1 million, these will eventually be transferred to the Belgian non-profit
@FediTips Curiosamente en join mastodn siempre salia priemera la red de gargron, .social...y claro, de descentralizacion no mucha cuando haces que tu server sea el primero en la lista y sabiendo que no es bueno centralizar en un servidor para el bien del #fediverse , gargron seguía teniendo registros abiertos y ampliando sus servers en vez de derivarlos a otros. Se ha vendido su parte y adios,
aun sigo preguntandome que hago con una cuenta en .social -
@FediTips Curiosamente en join mastodn siempre salia priemera la red de gargron, .social...y claro, de descentralizacion no mucha cuando haces que tu server sea el primero en la lista y sabiendo que no es bueno centralizar en un servidor para el bien del #fediverse , gargron seguía teniendo registros abiertos y ampliando sus servers en vez de derivarlos a otros. Se ha vendido su parte y adios,
aun sigo preguntandome que hago con una cuenta en .socialI would recommend moving your account to a different server. There is more info about the process at https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server
Moving lets you keep your follows and followers, and your old posts will stay in existence and help to redirect people to your new account.
