I've updated the guide on how to transfer your Mastodon account from one server to another:
➡
️ https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server
It now has an additional step where you switch off email notifications for new followers on the account you're moving to.
Apparently some people have been receiving lots of email notifications for new followers when they've transferred followers over. For some reason no one has raised this issue before, but it seems to have happened to a number of people.
#FediTips #Mastodon
Hey people who have ever moved their Mastodon accounts to a different server, I need to ask you something:
When you moved, did you get a flood of email notifications about your followers transferring to the new Mastodon server?
If you did get a flood of emails, how recently did you move your account?
EDIT: Also it would help to know if you had email notifications about new followers switched on or off (more info at https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-stop-receiving-email-notifications-from-mastodon/)
#AskFedi
Corporate social networks are trying to kill the hashtag because they want users to only discover things through corporate algorithms 😩
Mastodon and the wider Fediverse love the hashtag as it allows humans to retain control of their feeds 🥰
You can use hashtags to label a post with its main topics. More info about adding hashtags at https://fedi.tips/what-are-hashtags-how-do-i-use-them-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse/
You can follow hashtags to see posts labelled with those tags in your feed. More info at https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-follow-hashtags-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse
#FediTips #Hashtags
Do you run your own #PeerTube server? Does it seem a bit empty when it's just your own videos? Would you like other servers' videos to also be browsable and searchable on your own server's website?
You can do this by following other servers or specific accounts/channels on other servers, and it doesn't take up any of your storage space or bandwidth.
This guide tells PeerTube admins how to follow other servers, and has a list of recommended PeerTube servers to follow:
➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-fill-your-peertube-server-with-federated-videos/
Did you know Mastodon has a post scheduling system? You can write a post now and set it to publish in the future:
➡️ https://fedi.tips/scheduling-posts-on-mastodon
Weirdly, the scheduler is built into the Mastodon server software but the developers never got round to making an official interface for it. That's why it isn't in the web interface or official apps.
However, Mastodon is an open platform and third party apps are able to provide the interface so that this feature can be used 🥳
#FediTips #Mastodon
p.s. To avoid repetition of replies:
-If people forget name of server they signed up on, it's written on the email they received when they signed up.
-Mastodon.social is in no way more reliable or easier than other servers with similar or better track records.
-If Mastodon gGmbH does not trust anyone else to run a server properly, why should anyone else trust Mastodon gGmbH to run a server properly? "Trust me, but I won't trust you" is a terrible argument in a collaborative project.
p.p.s. Thanks for all the replies, they are interesting and thought-out but many seem to be addressing slightly different topics?
This particular problem of centralisation is being caused by a very specific thing: the "Sign up on mastodon.social" button on the official apps and official site.
If we want to stop this wave of centralisation, we need to focus on changing this button so that it no longer directs people to mastodon.social.
The Fediverse is unique and precious, let's not lose it.
The continued growth of mastodon.social is putting the #Fediverse in danger (here's why: https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-server/).
The quickest, easiest and most effective way to solve this would be if the official apps & website stopped promoting mastodon.social, and instead promoted a rotating selection from a pool of reliable servers with solid track records.
If you're comfortable using Github, please give thumbs up to all these:
- https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-android/issues/568
- https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-ios/issues/1023
- https://github.com/mastodon/joinmastodon/issues/1052
p.s. To avoid repetition of replies:
-If people forget name of server they signed up on, it's written on the email they received when they signed up.
-Mastodon.social is in no way more reliable or easier than other servers with similar or better track records.
-If Mastodon gGmbH does not trust anyone else to run a server properly, why should anyone else trust Mastodon gGmbH to run a server properly? "Trust me, but I won't trust you" is a terrible argument in a collaborative project.
@julian@fietkau.social
You're basically suggesting killing the Fediverse for the sake of making it easier.
Do you know what percentage will "bounce" if it no longer has any advantages over much bigger alternatives?
What, exactly, is the point of a Fediverse that operates on one server? Where is the advantage over Bluesky or Twitter/X for that matter?
There would be nothing left of it, it would be just another centralised network owned by a single company that eventually enshittifies.
@julian@fietkau.social
"I would expect them to move after learning what servers mean and which ones could fit them. How long this takes will differ per person."
It has been two years since this was suggested and it just has not happened, the percentage on mastodon.social has gone from 15ish to 30ish.
The process of moving could be simplified but it will ALWAYS be more complex than the process of remembering whether you signed up on mastodon.social or mas.to. It is not realistic to rely on this path.
@julian@fietkau.social
1. There is nothing about mastodon.social that makes it more friendly for newbies. It is technically identical to signing up on any Mastodon server.
2. People learn how to do stuff. I have spent most of my free time for the past five years dealing with new people on here and they are not as brainless or incurious as you are making out.
3. Saying most people cannot remember the name of their server while also expecting most of them to move their account is contradictory.
@julian@fietkau.social
When I posted warning about this in 2023 I had no end of people telling me "Oh you are worrying too much, mastodon.social is just for new people, they'll move on to other servers".
Back then mastodon.social was about 10-15% of active Fedi.
Now Mastodon.social is almost 30% of active Fedi.
Are we going to have the same conversation in another couple of years when mastodon.social is over 50% of the Fedi?
Why would anyone join Mastodon if it's mostly on one server? What is the point?
The continued growth of mastodon.social is putting the #Fediverse in danger (here's why: https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-server/).
The quickest, easiest and most effective way to solve this would be if the official apps & website stopped promoting mastodon.social, and instead promoted a rotating selection from a pool of reliable servers with solid track records.
If you're comfortable using Github, please give thumbs up to all these:
- https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-android/issues/568
- https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-ios/issues/1023
- https://github.com/mastodon/joinmastodon/issues/1052
Fedi.Tips
