After Elon Musk took over Twitter, some users are looking for an alternative platform. One of the biggest beneficiaries is the mastodon. But what is it?
The social network says it now has more than 655,000 users — with more than 230,000 added in the past week.
On the surface, Mastodon looks a lot like Twitter – users of the account write posts (called “toots”), which can be replied to, liked and reposted, and they interact with each other. can follow.
Under the bonnet, though, it works in a different way.
This is a reason to attract fresh users, but it has created some confusion for new people signing up.
The platform is six years old but its current activity is unprecedented and it is struggling under the weight of new entrants.
Here’s a short guide to finding your way around it.
Ok, I’ve joined #Mastodon but also this pic.twitter.com/2Uue7E4BR8
— Sinéad Crowley (@SineadCrowley) November 4, 2022
What are all these servers?
The first thing you have to do when you sign up is to choose a server. There are many of them, they are themed – many by country, city or interest – such as UK, social, technology, gaming etc.
It doesn’t matter which one you’re on because you’ll be able to follow all the other users anyway, but it gives you an early community that’s more likely to post things that You are also interested.
Some popular ones – such as Social and UK – are currently running very slowly due to demand.
Ryan Wilde, who runs the MastodonApp.UK server through his firm Superior Networks, said he had more than 6,000 new joiners in 24 hours and had to stop registrations.
“I wanted to see what the hype was about,” he said.
“I set up the server at 10 o’clock on a Friday night, and I woke up the next morning in front of 1,000 people I didn’t know would rock.”
How do you find people?
The server you choose becomes part of your username – so for example, I used my current Twitter handle zsk, and chose a UK server, making my username @zsk@mastodonapp. is uk And that’s my address there – what will you look for to find me.
If you’re on the same server, you can search using just the person’s name, but if they’re on a different server, you’ll need their full address.
Unlike Twitter, Mastodon won’t suggest followers you might be interested in.
You can also search for hashtags.
Why are the servers there?
Well, it’s complicated, but I’ll try to keep it very simple.
Mastodon is not a platform. It is not a “thing” and is not owned by any one person or firm. All these different servers connect together, and form a collective network, but they are owned by different people and organizations.
It’s called decentralization, and fans of decentralized platforms love them for exactly that reason — they can’t be run, bought, or sold at the whim of a single entity.
The downside to this however is that you are instead at the whim of the person or organization running your server – if they decide to give it up, you lose your account. Mastodon is asking server owners to give their users three months’ notice if they decide to shut it down.
Jack Dorsey, the original founder of Twitter, is working on a new network called Blue Sky, and has said he wants it to be decentralized as well.
How is a mastodon tamed?
This is a real hot potato. All servers currently have their own moderation rules, and some have none. Some servers are choosing not to link to others that are full of bots or appear to have a high amount of hateful content – meaning they won’t show up on servers where they’re blocked. . Posts may also be reported to server owners.
If it’s hate speech or illegal content, those owners can delete it – but it doesn’t have to be deleted everywhere.
If this platform continues to grow, this will be a huge problem.
There are already reports of people being targeted by hateful content and JEE News has seen examples of homophobic abuse.
Are there any ads?
No, there are no ads although there is nothing to stop you from writing a post promoting your company or product.
Mastodon also doesn’t offer a curated experience like Twitter does in terms of how you view posts — you generally see what your followers are saying, as they say.
Is it free to use?
It depends on which server you’re on – some are asking for a donation, because they don’t get paid, but it’s mostly free.
