Thread by @gbosslet

A quick thread on why Mastodon is superior to Twitter and how to do it for those who are initimidated

(It is not hard but is a bit more lo-fi than Twitter)

You can read more from a 30,000 foot view about mastodon and the fediverse here fedi.guide

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Mastodon is a decentralized network

Rather than being a single server handling all posts, it is a bunch of servers, each with individual administrators

But all the "federated" networks talk to each other- like email clients

So there is no single corporate overlord

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This is advantageous in several ways

First, each network can be personalized a bit with a different focus and administrative rules

It also means you can pick a server not run by a billionaire megalomaniac

(most servers allow you to edit posts too)

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BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON MASTODON IS BETTER THAN TWITTER

The network is not incentivized by profit and growth (at least now)

It has no reason to algorithmically addict you to the platform

And there are no ads

4/

And both individuals AND servers can be moderated

So if there are bad eggs on a server, the admin can get rid of them

And if there are bad servers, the federation can kick that bad server out

It is democratization of the process (a bit, not perfect)

5/

There are disadvantages to mastodon

At this point it is a bit less sexy in appearance (some would say clunky)

You need to find a trustworthy server (more on this below)

You need to know the handle AND server of people you want to follow (more below)

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And the way mastodon displays tweets doesn't incentivize virality- you only see new posts and "boosted" posts (retweets)

You can't quote-tweet

It does not algorithmically boost more popular posts, avoiding (+) feedback cycles

It is anti-viral

uxdesign.cc/mastodon-is-an…

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Which means things will, by design, get less traction

It encourages more intimate communication rather than the virtue shouting that Twitter feeds on

Some may think it is a bit more boring- THIS IS BY DESIGN

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A lot of people are intimidated by the friction of joining and learning it (and remember that mastodon builds friction into the system- this is a feature, not a bug)

But once you know a few things, it is easy

First, you have to pick a server

A lot of people hate this

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Think of the whole server thing as picking your email provider- each will differ slightly, but it will give you access to everyone in the system

The easiest way I would do this is join a server with folks you know

I am on Med-mastodon.com, hosted by @nickmmark

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Don't fret about joining the "wrong" server- you can migrate to another one if you want later

To find people, when you search for them by just their @.name, it will only look for people on your server

To search for folks on other servers you have to use @name@servername

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Once you join, you can follow any of THREE timelines

Your home timeline is just who you follow

Your local timeline displays posts from anyone on your server

The federated timeline displays posts from ALL federated servers (most of the rest of the mastodon universe)

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You can also use a service to automatically cross-post from twitter to mastodon (or vice-versa) as you try it out

I have found this helpful

I use crossposter.masto.donte.com.br and it took me literally 2 minutes to set up

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And you can use #debirdify to find people you follow on twitter and follow them on mastodon (I use this every few days)

pruvisto.org/debirdify/

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The bottom line is that mastodon is similar to twitter but with a federated, antiviral design that I find terribly appealing

And you can only get an idea of how it is different by trying it out

When you do, find me at @[e-mail]

fin/

2 last things:

1) Running a mastodon server takes time and a bit of money. If your administrator sets up a gofund me or something, consider donating

2) There is not one app for the phone- having tried multiple, I like metatext