Notices by FediTips (feditips@mstdn.social)

Apparently JoinMastodon.org was recently attacked by a DDoS.

The Fediverse needs more than just JoinMastodon to help new people find servers. It's a single point of failure that could be crashed or bought out.

I've started an independent curated server guide at https://fedi.garden and would encourage others to create curated onboarding sites too.

If you run a Fedi instance (Masto or not) that complies with the Mastodon Covenant (https://joinmastodon.org/covenant) please get in touch.

Interesting... mastodon.online (often used for testing upcoming features) now has a new public web page, see the attached screenshot.

This is the view *without* being logged in, and shows the Explore tab by default, with options to see Local and Federated. Try it yourself at https://mastodon.online

There hasn't been a new Mastodon release since May, yet there are some important new features now active on mastodon.online but not yet released in the main version, including hashtag following, built-in translation etc. Post editing isn't available, but it's been part of the code for a whie now in a deactivated form.

It's unclear why there hasn't been a new release in such a long time as new features pile up waiting to go out. Are they planning to release lots of important features all at once in some kind of mega-release?

#Mastodon

@administrator

Yes, I did mention this in the follow-up post at the time:

https://mstdn.social/@feditips/108822251116837320

It's up to each admin to decide which is the least worst option for their server.

You can block nasty people on Mastodon at a personal level, by clicking the "..." below their post or on their profile and selecting "Block". You can also block their entire server by selecting "Block domain".

However, personal blocks will not stop them from communicating with other people on your server.

Your server's admin can create server level blocks, which are much more powerful than personal blocks. Server level blocks completely prevent the blocked person communicating with anyone on your server.

If you see someone being a bully or doing other anti-social and nasty stuff, the best option might be to report them to your server's admin, by clicking "Report..." instead of "Block...". Reports can also be optionally forwarded anonymously to the nasty person's home server, where the admin can delete the nasty account if needed.

Server-level blocks can be made even more effective if your admin activates "Authorized fetch" (also known as "Secure mode"). Ask them about it.

I see the Mastodon website has been revamped:

https://joinmastodon.org

What do you think?

( ⚠️ Warning, it's pretty bright 😁 )

@TonyStark

Yeah. For some reason they don't seem to have added any new instances, at least no new general instances. I opened an issue about it but no one replied:

https://github.com/mastodon/joinmastodon/issues/184

I understand servers listed have to comply with certain reliability requirements, so that may mean it's always a small fraction of total, but I know at least one server that meets all those requirements and actively tried to get listed, but was ignored.

OwnCast is a Fediverse livestreaming platform with built in chat, and is sort of a Fediverse alternative to Twitch.

You can follow the project itself at @owncast and find out more on the website at https://owncast.online

You can follow OwnCast accounts from Mastodon etc and they will let you know in your feed when they go live.

Some good accounts to follow include (in no particular order):

@live - Live DJ sets, soulful house music

@jnktn_tv - Live DJ shows on Saturdays, lots of different music styles

@Hamish - Live streaming retro games, electronics projects, programming etc

@rstv - 24 hour streaming of weird retro films and TV

@hatnix - Linux gaming streams, usually in English but sometimes in German

@fedi - Monthly show by the Small Technology Foundation, promoting small scale privacy-friendly internet projects

@ozoned - Live streams about Linux and gaming

#OwnCast #Fediverse #LiveStreaming

Fediverse admins and developers!

Have any of you had problems communicating with Masto servers that have "secure mode" / "authorised fetch" switched on?

#Fediverse #AskFediverse #AskTheFediverse #AskFedi

Hey, are there other support accounts aimed at new users on here? Would be good to give some shoutouts.

The latest one I have noted is @MastOHelp but they haven't posted in a couple of months.

(boosts appreciated)

Sooo... wow... okay a lot of people shared the previous post! Welcome again to all the new members!

It might be good if I clarified how Mastodon works, as some people think they need to sign up on multiple servers etc.

Short version: You do not need to sign up on multiple servers! Don't have FOMO! One server works fine!

Longer version:

Mastodon is a federated network, which means it's made of lots of independent servers that talk to each other.

And... everyone uses federated networks all the time! You probably use them so much you never even think about it ????

Telephones use a federated network, so does email.

You only need one phone to call anyone anywhere. It doesn't matter if they're on another phone company or in another country, because all phone companies are federated together into a single network.

That's how Mastodon works. You get an account, and you follow people you're interested in, and they appear in your timeline. It doesn't matter if they're on another server.

For new people wondering why Mastodon is on thousands of servers instead of one:

-It helps protect us all against Elon Musk scenarios. It's very difficult for anyone to buy a network made of thousands of independently owned servers. (It's the same reason why no one owns the world's email network, because there are so many independent providers out there.)

-If your server misbehaves (or sells out to a malevolent billionaire), you can move your account to a different server, or even to a brand new server. Decentralisation means you're never trapped on a site you hate.

-Mastodon is an open platform where anyone can start their own server, and they don't need tech knowledge if they use a service like https://masto.host or https://federation.spacebear.ee

...and there are lots more good reasons too, to do with servers using alternative Fediverse software etc, but I'll save that for a future post ????

#MastoTips #Mastodon #FediTips #Fediverse

You can create your own Fediverse instance to give yourself total control over your social media accounts.

There are self-hosting options for people of all skill levels, from totally non-technical to highly skilled.

The easiest option is managed hosting, where someone else does all the tech installation and maintenance, but you own the instance and control it:

https://masto.host - Mastodon managed hosting

https://federation.spacebear.ee/ - HomeTown, Mastodon, PeerTube & PixelFed managed hosting

https://writefreely.host - WriteFreely managed hosting

https://cloud68.co/instances.html - FunkWhale & WriteFreely managed hosting

#FediTips #Fediverse #ManagedHosting #SelfHosting

If you're fairly comfortable with doing technical stuff on your own server, and you want to set up your own Fediverse instances, try taking a look at @yunohost which can be downloaded from:

https://yunohost.org

YunoHost is a special version of Linux which makes installation of server apps and server administration much easier.

YunoHost currently includes support for installing these Fediverse platforms:

FriendicaGlitch-SocMobilizonPeerTubePixelFedWordPressWriteFreely

There are also lots of non-Fediverse apps available, see https://yunohost.org/en/apps for a complete list.

#FediTips #Fediverse #SelfHosting #YunoHost

Mastodon now has an official app for iPhones, you can get it from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/mastodon-for-iphone/id1571998974

(The app is FOSS, the source code is at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon-ios )

The official app is aimed at new users who aren't familiar with the Fediverse. It streamlines the signup process and hides some features such as the Federated timeline.

However, because Mastodon is built on open standards, it has lots of unofficial apps too. There's a complete list at:

https://joinmastodon.org/apps

#MastoTips

As Mastodon is built on open standards, anyone can write an app for it, and there are lots of different ones to choose from.

You can find a list of Mastodon apps for Android, iPhone/iPad, Linux, Mac, Windows and more at https://joinmastodon.org/apps

(Of course you can just use your web browser if you prefer)

#MastoTips #FediTips #Mastodon

You can run your own Fediverse instance without technical knowledge by using a managed hosting service.

They do setup, installation, software updates etc, while you do everything else.

SpaceBear offers Mastodon, PixelFed, PeerTube and HomeTown instances, more info at https://app.spacebear.ee

Masto.Host offers Mastodon instances, more info at https://masto.host

Hostdon offers Mastodon instances, more info at https://hostdon.jp (in Japanese)

#FediTips #MastoTips #Fediverse #Hosting

Have you tried the new free open iPhone and iPad Mastodon app Metatext?

It's available from the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/app/metatext/id1523996615

The developer's site is at https://metabolist.org

The app is FOSS and its source code is at https://github.com/metabolist/metatext

#MastoTips #Mastodon #FediTips

PeerTube, the Fediverse's own alternative to YouTube, uses peer-to-peer technology to allow anyone to host their own video service without a data centre.

https://joinpeertube.org

It received a major update today which includes support for live streaming ????

You can run your own PeerTube instance without technical knowledge by using a managed hosting provider such as Spacebear: https://app.spacebear.ee

#FediTips #Fediverse #PeerTube

Some good PeerTube instances with interesting content to explore include:

https://tilvids.comhttps://share.tubehttps://greatview.videohttps://vidcommons.orghttps://diode.zonehttps://video.blender.orghttps://media.privacyinternational.orghttp://conf.tube

#FediTips #PeerTube

You can follow PeerTube channels through the Fediverse from Mastodon accounts etc, but you can also subscribe via RSS instead if you prefer.

Go to the channel you want and click on Subscribe > Subscribe Via RSS, or click on the channel's RSS logo.

#FediTips #PeerTube #RSS