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

[brib@bribstodon.xyz]

@anxietynectarr There was one point in my life where I jumped around servers before I decided to self-host.

Luckily trying a server for a week isn't something with a huge cost as it's not too difficult to move. Main downside is that it takes some time (about an hour iirc) and you don't get to transfer your messages.

https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server/

[laxsill@social.spejset.org]

@anxietynectarr great that you ask! In my experience, the two important things about which server you're on is what local feed you're getting and what kind of content moderation the server has (and maybe cool the server is). I picked a local one that matches my politics. You can search servers here https://joinmastodon.org/servers

[holliek72@mastodonapp.uk]

@anxietynectarr It takes a while to work out the whole server / instance thing, so don't worry if you haven't worked it out after a couple of days.

Using https://fedi.garden might be one way to check out other servers, either by signing up, or checking out the server feeds (live feeds) if they show them.

However, you need to follow a lot of people (and hashtags) to populate your personal feed regardless of where you are. About 200 people is a good start. Just click on people's profiles, check out what they post, and follow them if they look good to you. You can always unfollow later if need be.

[mdione@en.osm.town]

@anxietynectarr personally I don't mind, really. I read both the local and my home feed as if it was the same thing. The instance I joined is related to a project I like, but thanks to federation I interact with people from anywhere

The only reasons I would migrate are: a) to an instance with a bigger toot limit; b) if my instance got so overrun with a**holes and/or SPAM that everybody else decided to defederate it.

[anxietynectarr@mastodon.social]

Thank you everyone I’m shocked I haven’t ran into someone mean … yet lol seems like this is more chill than Reddit

[anxietynectarr@mastodon.social]

@david I like pickles with chewy candy ik that’s weird lol

[fonecokid@c.im]

@david @anxietynectarr

[texan_reverend@kind.social]

@anxietynectarr A common analogy for the servers is email: no matter whether you have a Gmail account or a Yahoo account or a Proton account, all of them can communicate with eachother. Similarly, the different servers here can communicate with eachother.

A good resource for browsing through lots of servers is https://fedi.garden/fediverse-servers-sorted-by-topic/
It's a human-curated collection which is sorted by a variety of different tags. Those indicate topics which are frequently discussed by accounts on that server.

[texan_reverend@kind.social]

@anxietynectarr There are some areas that differ from other social media platforms.

Each server has its own rules and moderators, which means it's important to read those rules before joining.

You can also scroll through the public posts made by people on that server by checking the Live Feeds on the right side of its landing page - for example, https://kind.social
On that page, you should also be able to see the server rules in the center by default.

[texan_reverend@kind.social]

@anxietynectarr In addition to seeing posts from accounts you follow in your Home Feed, you can also see posts from hashtags you follow. So, if you follow the Caturday hashtag, you'll see posts which include that hashtag from all sorts of accounts, regardless of whether you follow those accounts themselves.

This is a great way of getting posts and accounts you're likely to be interested in to start showing up in your Home Feed.

[texan_reverend@kind.social]

@anxietynectarr There are other feeds beyond the Home Feed of accounts & hashtags you follow. There's also a Local Live Feed of public posts made by people on your server, and a Federated Live Feed of public posts made on the other servers yours is connected to - which is usually overwhelming and not too useful.

Some folks find a server they click with and is a manageable size, so they spend time reading the Local Feed and interacting with their neighbors.
Others mostly stick to the Home Feed.

[texan_reverend@kind.social]

@anxietynectarr You can always change servers by migrating your account which moves your current account's followers over to your new account.

Importantly, your posts don't make the move. There are workarounds for picking a few posts to bring along, but it's basically a clean slate.

There are a few things that you have to take extra steps to export, like bookmarks and blocks, but there are step-by-step guides available, including mine:
https://kind.social/@Texan_Reverend/110167270006123376

[aredridel@kolektiva.social]

@anxietynectarr Welcome to the club!

[fell@ma.fellr.net]

@anxietynectarr Hi, and welcome! As you can see, many people from different servers already replied to your post. They are all interconnected. For the most part, it doesn't matter which server you are on.

[davidculley@hachyderm.io]

@anxietynectarr Imagine Mastodon servers like different email providers, like Gmail or Yahoo. Some email providers give you only 100 MB or storage, others 15 GB.

Similarly, some Mastodon servers allow you to write posts up to 500 characters, others more. Some servers have beautiful alternative color themes, others only the default theme.

The main differentiator is the moderation team.

- If your server has no moderators at all (because the server is just one guy's computer in his basement), then you'll encounter lots of assholes who might harass you
- If your server has assholes as moderators or literally white supremacist Nazis as moderators, that will attract bad people. You shouldn't join such a server.
- If your server has good moderators, your online life will be pleasant. Some moderators are heavily into computers, others heavily into politics or activism, etc.

You'll find out over time, with experience, which instances fall into the second and third categories. If you join a server of the third category, you don't have to worry about the second category (Nazis).

Examples for the third category:

- hachyderm
- kolektiva

[feditips@social.growyourown.services]

@anxietynectarr

The servers are connected together so you can interact with people on other servers.

It's a bit like choosing a phone provider, you can call people who use other providers because they are connected together.

The idea of this place is to provide something similar for social networks.

There's more info about discovering accounts to follow at https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-find-accounts-to-follow-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-how-do-i-find-my-friends

There's also a guide to Mastodon and the wider Fediverse at https://fedi.tips/what-is-mastodon-what-is-the-fediverse

[feditips@social.growyourown.services]

@anxietynectarr

Also, please feel free to ask if you wany help with anything specific!

[scooter@labyrinth.zone]

@anxietynectarr Looks like folks have said the right things here...so just saying hi and welcome!

[justinderrick@mstdn.ca]

@anxietynectarr I think the best part of Mastodon is that aside from how actively your administrators enforce their rules, it doesn't matter what instance you're on.

Follow hashtags for your interests. If you see someone who posts using that hashtag, and you like what they have to say on that topic, then follow them. Hashtags replace the algorithm.

And because of federation, it doesn't matter where you are, you can follow anyone from anywhere, as long as they're good 'netizens' and run instances that aren't a source of trouble.

If your instance has become problematic, and you find yourself following people from a particular instance, you can migrate there without too much trouble.

Good luck!

[ernestoduracelli@ruhr.social]

@jztusk @nancylwayne @anxietynectarr @Remedios_Varo_Bot I'd like to double down on the unfollow later advice. If you go for generic hashtags it might easily flood your timeline. However if you don't know where to start you might need to make use of those obvious hashtags first to discover more obscure ones. Or accounts.

Following and unfollowing are the most important things to do for you. Because there is no machine around to take that piece of work from you.