If you're on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to a different server:
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@FediTips As I try to understand these concerns, why is the ownership side of this still a worry when, back in January, it was announced that Mastodon GmbH would be placed under the control of a non-profit entity?
That is a really good step, and total respect to Eugen for taking it
But it doesn't by itself solve the centralisation issue.By far the biggest server, the official apps, the official site, the trademarks on the word "Mastodon" would still all be in one entity, which makes it a target.
Even non-profits can end up going down the toilet if they become dependent on big tech (e.g. Mozilla when they became dependent on Google). Mastodon hasn't done this so far though
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25%?!! Oh come on. You'd think the folks IN FAVOR OF DECENTRALIZING WOULD DECENTRALIZE.
Or even fork off another one of their own. Or multiples.
Mastodon.social used to regularly close to new members and redirect people to register on another long-running reliable server. Maybe they could go back to doing this in some form or another?
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@FediTips On the other hand won't shut down for ... whatever reasons.
I'm not advising people to sign up on a random server. I'm linking them to well-run servers on curated lists that have certain standards of reliability and moderation.
These good alternatives have mostly been around for years:
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If you're on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to a different server:
️ https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-serverThe Fediverse is protected from takeover as long as we are spread out on many servers. If one server dominates, takeovers become easier.
Mastodon.social is currently 25.5% of the active Fediverse. This proportion is way too large and seems to be increasing.
Larger servers also tend to have worse moderation and are harder to defederate, threatening safety.
I think I changed my position in time.
If you are already on mastodon.social and you are a regular fediverse user , it's probably a good idea to move to another instance.But this is for people that happen to know already the advantages of a decentralized network.
Reality is that most people not in #fediverse, don't care still, they don't get the point.
They'll understand it later on.I think new users, in the account creation process, should land to mastodon.social or anyway a predefined default server/group of servers.
They will have the freedom to move later on, if they remain active users, if they care.
The exit door is something they don't have elsewhere.This could be represented graphically leaving a default that's so natural to accept if you are in a hurry, like everyone trying a new thing is.
See how graphically is represented the onboarding procedure on BS. -
If you're on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to a different server:
️ https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-serverThe Fediverse is protected from takeover as long as we are spread out on many servers. If one server dominates, takeovers become easier.
Mastodon.social is currently 25.5% of the active Fediverse. This proportion is way too large and seems to be increasing.
Larger servers also tend to have worse moderation and are harder to defederate, threatening safety.
@FediTips If you're going to move, do it early. It's easy to move but you can't move the posts you've already made. So you lose your history.
Feature request. Migrate your history when moving servers.
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If you're on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to a different server:
️ https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-serverThe Fediverse is protected from takeover as long as we are spread out on many servers. If one server dominates, takeovers become easier.
Mastodon.social is currently 25.5% of the active Fediverse. This proportion is way too large and seems to be increasing.
Larger servers also tend to have worse moderation and are harder to defederate, threatening safety.
@FediTips the problem with the fediverse is its fragmentation.
There should be a registry where all instances automatically register on setup, which checks in regular intervals if the instances still exist.
This is not rocket science.
Private, non-federating instances could opt out on installation and later as well. -
If you're on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to a different server:
️ https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-serverThe Fediverse is protected from takeover as long as we are spread out on many servers. If one server dominates, takeovers become easier.
Mastodon.social is currently 25.5% of the active Fediverse. This proportion is way too large and seems to be increasing.
Larger servers also tend to have worse moderation and are harder to defederate, threatening safety.
@FediTips possibly because it’s the one you get offered when you download the mastodon app and the more it spreads, the more users we may have who just want the easy entry path (I firmly believe FB only took off when it came pre installed on mobile phones so the cost of entry was tiny). If we can lower the barriers or persuade them to not make it default then that would be ace.
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@FediTips If you're going to move, do it early. It's easy to move but you can't move the posts you've already made. So you lose your history.
Feature request. Migrate your history when moving servers.
As long as you don't delete the old account, the old posts don't disappear. They stay on the old server and redirect people to your new account if people click on the author's name.
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@FediTips possibly because it’s the one you get offered when you download the mastodon app and the more it spreads, the more users we may have who just want the easy entry path (I firmly believe FB only took off when it came pre installed on mobile phones so the cost of entry was tiny). If we can lower the barriers or persuade them to not make it default then that would be ace.
That's definitely the reason, but there's a really easy solution: they could suggest a different server instead of the largest one.
There are lots of reliable servers that have good track records going back years, they could have a pool of them and regularly rotate which one is suggested to new people.
This is what they used to do ages ago before there was an official app, they would regularly close mastodon.social and tell people to sign up on a specific other server.
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@FediTips the problem with the fediverse is its fragmentation.
There should be a registry where all instances automatically register on setup, which checks in regular intervals if the instances still exist.
This is not rocket science.
Private, non-federating instances could opt out on installation and later as well.There are sites which list vast numbers of Fediverse instances, but they're not good for new people because there's no indication about an instance's reliability or safety.
Human-curated lists that have specific requirements for reliability and moderation tend to be more useful for new people, I think?
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Would it make sense for the party to run their own server which only has official accounts?
Yes you are right, but we have asked numerous times when they will get on the #Fediverse and they did mention that they did a test server internally, but gave a vague response of "we decided not to take things further" which is basically saying we won't get enough engagement. Or they say "they have a small team" but then contradict themselves by joining bluesky.
Even when one applies for a job or offers to help volenterally, they will still ignore or find a reason not to.
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I think I changed my position in time.
If you are already on mastodon.social and you are a regular fediverse user , it's probably a good idea to move to another instance.But this is for people that happen to know already the advantages of a decentralized network.
Reality is that most people not in #fediverse, don't care still, they don't get the point.
They'll understand it later on.I think new users, in the account creation process, should land to mastodon.social or anyway a predefined default server/group of servers.
They will have the freedom to move later on, if they remain active users, if they care.
The exit door is something they don't have elsewhere.This could be represented graphically leaving a default that's so natural to accept if you are in a hurry, like everyone trying a new thing is.
See how graphically is represented the onboarding procedure on BS.I totally understand, and it's fine to direct new people to a "default" server so they don't get overwhelmed with choice.
The problem is if that default is the largest server, because it centralises the network and puts it in danger.
If JoinMastodon and the official apps could direct new people to another reliable server (and then rotate this default regularly) this would solve most of the problems.
That kind of default rotation is how Nextcloud's onboarding works, for example.
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Yes you are right, but we have asked numerous times when they will get on the #Fediverse and they did mention that they did a test server internally, but gave a vague response of "we decided not to take things further" which is basically saying we won't get enough engagement. Or they say "they have a small team" but then contradict themselves by joining bluesky.
Even when one applies for a job or offers to help volenterally, they will still ignore or find a reason not to.
It's really easy to run your own server if you use a managed hosting service such as @mastohost or @Cloud68 or @fedihost or many others. They do all the techy stuff, you just pay a small monthly fee that includes everything.
If they don't want their own server and don't have time for more platforms, there are social media services which let organisations post to many platforms at once including Mastodon:
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M mthaastrup@helvede.net shared this topic
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p.s. The guide linked in the original post answers lots of questions about this topic and gives advice on where to move, how to move etc.
Don't just join a random server though, try to choose one from a curated list of reliable servers such as https://joinmastodon.org/servers or https://fedi.garden
There are lots of reliable servers on here that have been running for years, for example you can see some good servers listed by founding date at https://fedi.garden/servers-sorted-by-founding-year
@FediTips finally followed your advice and moved to https://franken.social/ . Thanks for making me move my lazy ...
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@FediTips finally followed your advice and moved to https://franken.social/ . Thanks for making me move my lazy ...
Congrats 🥳
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If you're on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to a different server:
️ https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-serverThe Fediverse is protected from takeover as long as we are spread out on many servers. If one server dominates, takeovers become easier.
Mastodon.social is currently 25.5% of the active Fediverse. This proportion is way too large and seems to be increasing.
Larger servers also tend to have worse moderation and are harder to defederate, threatening safety.
@FediTips I joined social, because the instance I was on initially was shut down with a week's notice. I was thinking of joining more of an art instance, but had no time to research which ones are big enough/have big enough staff that it won't happen again
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@FediTips I joined social, because the instance I was on initially was shut down with a week's notice. I was thinking of joining more of an art instance, but had no time to research which ones are big enough/have big enough staff that it won't happen again
The instances listed on https://joinmastodon.org/servers and https://fedi.garden have promised to give three months notice if they ever decide to shut down (plus also daily backups, at least two admins and responsible moderation).
I've also got a list of good instances by year of foundation at https://fedi.garden/servers-sorted-by-founding-year
Nothing's ever guaranteed, but these are perhaps good starting points?
