5 Things I Learned About Mastodon

With the change of ownership and direction at Twitter, a lot of Twitter users have switched (or are considering switching) to Mastodon, the open-source decentralized social media network that launched in 2016.

I’m one of them.

Though I’m still using Twitter, it’s likely I’ll be making the switch to only using Mastodon soon.

I’ve enjoyed using Twitter over the years, found my user experience, WordPress, accessibility, and birding communities there.

And even found jobs through Twitter.

But things change.

So I set up a Mastodon account and gave it a whirl.

And I have to say learning Mastodon has been interesting and exciting!

I like that Mastodon isn’t owned by any company.

Read on for my tips on getting started and learning how to use Mastodon.

5 Tips for Using Mastodon

1. Choosing a server

   Mastodon is a network of servers, each server is run and moderated by admins of those servers. It’s a federated network of servers (also called instances).

   The members of each instance can interact with members of other instances. Like email: people who have Gmail accounts can interact with people who have Outlook accounts.

   Each instance has its own rules, which are listed on the instance About page.

   Instances can be based on:

   • Geographic area (mastodont.cat for people interested in Catalonia)
   • Interest (tech.lgbt for people interested in tech who are LGBTQIA+ or Allies)
   • Profession (journa.host for journalists)
   • Or anything an administrator can think of

   When I chose an instance, I visited instances.social to go through their steps to pick an instance. You can can always get recommendations from friends and colleagues.

   And if you’d like, you can move your account to another instance if it’s a better fit for you.

2. Learning Mastodon

   You’ll find a slew of how-to resources for learning Mastodon. My favorite is Fedi.tips, a helpful online guide for non-techies.

   What do I like about Fedi-tips?

   • How it’s organized by sections: Beginners Start Here, Staying Safe, Accessibility
   • Questions I’m likely to ask: who can see my post, how do I share posts
   • Links to other helpful online Mastodon guides

   Fedi-tips is constantly updated and posts tips regularly on Mastodon. It helped me to understand the difference between my Home, Local, and Federated timelines.

3. What Interface to Use

   Mastodon has an official web app you can customize in Preferences > Appearance with options for

   • Animations
   • Accessibility
   • Post layout
   • Discovery
   • Confirmation dialogs.

   Within Appearance, you can Enable advanced web interface to set up columns for notifications, Home, lists, etc.

   You’ll also find Mastodon official mobile apps as well as a number of third-party apps you can use to access your account.

   My favorite was Pinafore, a free web-based client designed for speed and simplicity.

   Unfortunately, Nolan Lawson (sole developer) announced Pinafore’s retirement in early January 2023. Which was disappointing.

   But another developer, Nick Colley, forked Pinafore’s code and released Semaphore.

   Similar to Pinafore, Semaphore is open-source, a continuation of the Pinafore project, and will continue to be developed.

4. Posts and Boosts

   Messages you share on Mastodon are called posts. Prior to version 4.0.0 released in November 2022, the messages were called toots.

   Each post is limited to 500 characters.

   You can share videos, audios, and images in your post. Keep in mind: hosting videos and audio files on a third-party site is recommended so they don’t consume lots of server space.

   Similar to Twitter, you can share other people’s posts with a Boost (similar to a retweet). As of November 2022, there are no quote tweets (which I suspect reduces drama and heated opinions on Mastodon).

   Added bonus in Mastodon: you can edit your posts! Something Twitter didn’t have, except for paid Twitter accounts.

5. Search

   There is no plain text search in Mastodon.

   Full text search was added to Mastodon in August 2023. There are many search options available, check out Feditips helpful search guide.

   However, I still find hashtags are important to add to your posts for discoverability.

   And for you to find posts for your interests.

   Wrapping Up

   Mastodon is an open-source alternative to Twitter, free to use through the official web client or official mobile apps.

   If you’re a beginner on Mastodon or have been using it for a while, hopefully my tips will provide some helpful info to you.

   For me, Mastodon is a friendlier social media experience without the drama and political aspects Twitter has become known for.

   Have other tips for Mastodon? Share them in the comments.

   Updated January 24, 2023: added details about Pinafore’s retirement and the launch of Semaphore.