currently on cybre.space @maunzikation@computerfairi.es

also new and old masto users alike: while we're a lot more secure & private, mastodon code does allow your admin(s) to look for anything your post, including DMs. i'm betting there are no DM-snooping admins out there right now, but it does mean you have to trust your admin to maintain good security practices to keep hackers out, & to just generally be a decent human. it also means you should look at the code of conduct for your instance and make sure it's in line with your own values & needs.

the most important ways in which instances differ from each other are:

- moderators and moderation policy
- the public timeline, i.e. connections to other instances. some instances connect with new ones automatically, while others do it manually and are more selective
- the local timeline - basically, your instance neighbors!

hello newcomers. your instance is your "home base", but you can follow and be followed by people from other instances. feel free to shop around and see if there's one you feel most at home at! however, you shouldn't feel pressured to *maintain* accounts on multiple instances unless it's for a specific reason.

@Trev Want to add: You can keep your blocking and following lists. There's import/export under settings.

Don't stress about your followers. Make a few posts that you've moving over and then be happy in your new home.

Hey, if your current server's Local Timeline isn't all that interesting or has content you don't like, you can move to one that better matches your interests or has moderation policies you like better. You can still talk to your friends from your new instance.

@selfagency i'd also like to add that if the admin of the instance you're on is cool with federating with nazi-infiltrated instances, demand better. they may not realize they're enabling bigotry by not blocking that instance entirely, or maybe they're a sympathizer and it's time for a new instance. lotsa good ones out there. punch more nazis and make more nazi-punchin' friends.

Since there are apparently a lot of new Mastodon users today, it's a good time to mention I've put together a list of resources for Mastodon newbies: https://github.com/nolanlawson/resources-for-mastodon-newbies/blob/master/README.md

dear people who are confused about mastodon:
mastodon is weird and very not twitter its fine lol

Oh yeah feature new people may not know of: under preferences/data export you can export a .csv of everyone you follow and block - and then if you want to try a different instance you can import that csv at preferences/data import. I haven't used it in a long time and it was a little (very) buggy last time I used it, but it's helpful nonetheless. #introductions?

Omg how did i not know about halycon before now? it solves all my accessibility problems with mastodon. whaaaaaaaaa this is perfect

Does anyone publish #reviews of #Mastodon #instances (not just a list with stats, but info like "this one is especially for musicians" or "this one has a lot of lefty activism talk" etc).

Relatedly, I think saying that "hashtag" is a pronunciation of the symbol # misses an important detail. When someone says "hashtag" aloud (like John Oliver's running joke), it doesn't just imply the use of the # sign, like saying "pound" or "octothorpe". Instead, like saying "quote" or "quote-unquote," it is a modifier for the spoken words that follow, grouping them and indicating how they would/should be written.

But in a way it recapitulates in microcosm the history of written language: If emoticons and then emoji are direct visual representations (smiling face -> happiness) whose meaning depends on context (floppy disk -> obsolete technology, nostalgia) almost like determinatives in hieroglyphics, then using hypothetical filenames (smol snek finger bop.gif, cheezburger cat.jpg) removes direct visual representation.