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Textodon ?
philwareham wrote #307769:
@textpattern@mastodon.technology
Not really sure how to use it yet … But I’ll try it out in due course.
Tagging! (As promised.)
A couple of notes for the uninitiated…
Mastodon is open source microblogging software that allows posts of 500-characters length. (Links, hashtags, and image urls currently count agaist the 500 chars.) The software needs installed on a web server (whether run out of your basement or that of any suitable web host) and requires a web domain, both as you would expect. Once the software is installed and setup, it’s known as an “instance” (of Mastodon).
Anyone with sufficient chops to install and maintain the software can. The reasons for doing so will certainly depend on what one’s intention and/or curiosity is. The 3 common scenarios that I see are to:
- provide a public instance that others can join and explore the “fediverse” (many public instances on servers around the world)
- provide a private instance for a defined set of users (i.e. the fediverse is cut off to/from this particular instance; though not to the local instances users if they use their accounts on this instance to connect outward — yes this is a gray area), and
- create one’s own single-user instance.
The first and third are the most common types, which make up most of the fediverse, so I’ll focus on those only hereon.
When installed, regardless of scope of user accounts on the instance, Masto proves 3 different streams: personal (your own toots), local (toots of everyone on the instance), and fediverse (the scope you have to the rest of the world).
If you install an instance for your own use only, which some people do to have complete control of their data and better control of their personal brand/identity (e.g. by way of the @handle + domain name), then your personal and local timelines will be exactly the same because you’re the only user account on the instance. And the fediverse stream will be empty at first because, again, no other local users to share outward ‘perspectives’ from, and because you haven’t yet followed anyone on other instances either.
If you setup the instance for public use, whether for a limited number of accounts or unlimited (except by server costs), then the posts of all those users show up in the “local” stream. Same if you simply create a account on an existing instance, you become part of that instances local stream and see the public toots of all other users on the instance.
The fediverse stream does not show you the toots of everyone in the fediverse (you’d never be able to follow the stream, it would move so fast). Rather the fediverse stream shows toots of who you follow on other instances, who your fellow local instance users follow, and (I think; more gray area) who their followers follow, a kind of second degree of separation situation (thus why single-user instances don’t benefit from the network of other local user accounts).
So on a solo instance, you won’t see much. You have to work a while and hunt to find like-minds to make your fediverse stream grow. But if you land on a really big instance (many local accounts), your initial window to the fediverse will be much larger because of the greater number of local accounts.
Basically, solo instances are considered best for infosec reasons (this option seems popular with those concerned about their personal brands too), and large instances are great for faster social mixing (e.g. mastodon.social).
But, IMO, the ideal size for an instance is a few hundred user accounts max. This facilitates exploring the fediverse from the followers/followees of people on your local instance (so you can find other people to follow outside of your instance), while avoiding a lot shitposting noise that comes from much larger communities (and there’s a lot on mastodon.social, for example).
Another key point for those new to decentralization… Unlike in centralized socmed platforms, which are built around the idea of owning and building your personal identity and brand (i.e. egos and capitalists). You only have control of your identity on the instance you’re account is on. Anyone can use the same identity (@handle) on any other instance.
You could of course try to create and squat on separate accounts on hundreds/thousands of other instances, but you can see how stupid that endeavor would be. Point is, don’t get attached to your identity like you would on a centralized platform like Twätter. Let your words and reputation be your alias. And heck, be somebody else for a change. It’s liberating!
You can see why people on Twätter would hate Mastodon. Narcissists and “verified” egos are not catered to. This is a good thing!
It will be tough going at first for any brand, open source or not, to generate much attention on Masto. Especially if that brand only makes an account on an existing instance and not create its own instance for its own loving tribe. But it would help that brand account to expand out into the fediverse if those tribe members on Masto follow the brand there so it can follow you back on your instances and see more of the fediverse as a result. This is necessary in order for everyone’s timelines to cross paths with people on different instances.
Last edited by Destry (2017-11-13 10:06:58)
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