More tusk than musk – a Mastodon FAQ
What is Mastodon?
Mastodon is an alternative social media system comprising lots of different interconnected sites, each with its own specific interests, but all running the open-source Mastodon software, which makes them all function in roughly the same way and allows communication and sharing between users.
When was it started?
Mastodon was started in March 2016, but gained a lot of new interest in April 2022 and again in November 2022 in the wake of major changes at one of the more well-known social media systems, Twitter.
Why is it called Mastodon?
Apparently, it’s named after the American rock band of that name. Mastodon is a term for any of the prehistoric mammal species in the genus, Mammut. The word loosely translates as “nipple toothed”.
Technically, how is Mastodon different from Twitter?
First off, Mastodon is not a single service in the way that Twitter and most other social media tools are. You’ll have heard the word instance and server bandied about with reference to Mastodon recently. That’s the jargon. Each instance is really just a separate website with its own domain name. The one I’m on is Mastodon Social, its address is https://mastodon.social.
Why do the different instances look the same?
The thing about all these instances, these websites, with odd-looking addresses is that they all run the same software, the mastodon software, so they have the same look and layout and make the same tools available to users. Superficially, this sounds a bit like Facebook Groups, but you can think of Mastodon as being more akin to hundreds of self-hosted WordPress blogs with multiple bloggers/authors/users/admins.
What’s that word, fediverse, mean?
The Mastodon creators call the network of interconnected sites/instances the Fediverse, it’s a federated network.
What effect does in being a federated network have?
The key thing about the sites being connected/federated is that the Mastodon software provides tools that connect all these sites so that users on different sites can communicate and interact.
Interact, how?
Different instances being interconnected means if you see an update in your timeline, they’re called toots, you can like, or favourite, it by clicking the star below the update. This adds it to your private list of favourites and also lets the person who posted that update know that you saw it and liked it.
Is that it?
No, the interconnections mean that if you want to make a stronger response you can comment publicly on an update. You can also do the equivalent of a retweet, which is known as a boost on Mastodon. To do this you click the boost icon, which is like a rectangle formed from two arrows. It usually shows between the comment icon and the favourite icon. A boost promotes the update so that more people will see it in their timelines.
Does Mastodon have an algorithm to boost updates?
No, there’s no biasing algorithm running behind the scenes, so if you want the world to know about an interesting update, you need to boost it manually.
Okay, how do I find an instance to join?
Finding a Mastodon instance that suits you can take time. I opted for Mastodon Social because back in 2019, it looked broad and general and I wasn’t actually sure how to find any others. There are so many now for lots of different niches and interests all with their own set of rules and recommendations for use. You can search for something suitable here.
The instance I chose is shut to new users, what do I do?
The admins of all the various sites are endeavouring to get on top of problems caused by the influx of new users but several are currently closed to new logins. Be patient. They will open up again soon.
But, I want to get started now, what can I do?
Well, you could join one of the open instances and start there. Keep checking your preferred instance and once it opens up to new logins, sign up. There are steps you can then take to export your temporary instance to your preferred one.
I joined, what now?
Once you’re signed up and have added a photo and all the other bits and pieces you will want to find people to follow. You can do this in a wholly organic way, simply follow people that post interesting things on your instance or across the fediverse. Alternatively, you might see a mastodon handle from someone you follow elsewhere on social media and can open their link and follow them directly.
What do I see in my timeline?
There are three levels of timeline on Mastodon. On your home screen, your timeline will be filled with updates from the people you follow. If you want a broader view you choose local, this shows you updates from everyone on your instance not just the users you follow. If you choose the Federated option then you get to see updates from all the instances. You can also create lists of users to see updates from particular cliques and niches.
Can I message other users?
Yes, aside from commenting on a post, if you have someone else’s ID or handle, you can direct message them (DM). It’s worth being aware that DMs are not encrypted end-to-end. Moreover, if you @ mention a third party in a DM, that third party will see your DM.
Following someone is complicated I hear?
Not really, if they’re on the same instance as you, you just need their handle, the @sciencebase in my case, if you’re on mastodon.social. But, if you’re on a different instance, scicomm.xyz, for instance, you will need to include the username and the instance, @sciencebase@mastodon.social in the search to find them.
What’s the hourglass next to the person I followed mean?
Some users have their preferences set to allow them to moderate who follows them rather than automatically accepting everyone. If someone has this set in their preferences, you will see an hourglass after following them until they accept or refuse you. If you get frustrated by this, you can always cancel the request.
Can I bulk follow people from my Twitter?
Following people can almost be automated, although not quite. If you have lists on Twitter, you can scan them with various apps – Debirdify, Twitodon, and Fedifinder. These will find the people on Twitter who have added their mastodon ID or link to their bio, used it as their URL, or have a pinned tweet announcing it. All three apps let you export a file (a CSV file) that you can import into Mastodon and use to bulk follow those people.
Will they follow back automatically?
No, a followback is not guaranteed as is the case with every other social media system. However, the people you follow will get a notification to say you followed them and they may then choose to do so.
How do I get a blue checkmark?
There are no blue (actually white) checkmarks or tickmarks on Mastodon. You can verify links that you put in your profile by adding a snippet of HTML to the site in question, for instance, but that’s as close as you can get to making your profile look official.
How many people on twitter are now on Mastodon?
Impossible to say, some people are just trying it out, others have jumped ship. I’ve used Debirdify a few time to gather my twitter gang. I estimate that about 14% of the people I follow on Twitter have added their ID, so I’ve found them on mastodon and been able to follow them there.
Can I make Mastodon work like TweetDeck?
Not quite. On a desktop screen, you can make Mastodon look a bit like that. Go into your Preferences and tick/check the box for Enable advanced web interface and then click to save your preferences. You then get side-by-side timeline columns. I’ve not investigated customisation yet.
What about mobile devices?
If you prefer, you can definitely go mobile on Mastodon. Tusky, is the Android app I use, it’s the one that suits me best. Not many people seem to recommend the native apps. Tusky and others have most, but not all, features you see on desktop in a web browser.
How do I find anything on Mastodon?
A common complaint from some new users regards the clunkiness of searching. There is no simple search method that will find people or specific posts across the fediverse. This is deliberate, it’s a protection mechanism that limits how easily trolls and bots might otherwise home in on vulnerable users.
So, how do I search?
Well, you can search by hashtag and users are encouraged to use hashtags to engage. You can search by ID/handle for someone on your instance. You can search by ID link to find people on other instances. Indeed, if you want your posts to be found, it’s worth adding appropriate hashtags. Many new users make their first update an #introduction and include their key hashtags as part of that.
Speaking of trolls..?
Most of the Mastodon sites are tolerant and accepting of diversity and highly intolerant of bigotry and abuse. It would be patronising of me to describe them as safe havens for minorities, but it seems that by enforcing rules that do not allow trolling, bigotry, and abuse, they can offer their users a far less toxic social media experience. This is a good thing, obviously. It is those negative issues and not just the muskiness that have driven many people to leave Twitter.
Why is everything so clunky and glitchy?
Because of the musky mess being made of the bird place, there has been a huge influx of new people to the mastodon servers, around 2 million in less than a month. Most of the small servers are volunteer run and so there have been glitches where resources were insufficient to cope with so many new users. They’re working through it. Things will get better.
What’s Sciencebase’s Mastodon story?
I joined Mastodon back in November 2019, but didn’t use it much until April 2022 for a week or two…and then came back to it again in October and became much more active. I’ve been hoovering up twitter followees and others as something of an escape from what Mastodon users often refer to as the bird place, you know the place, the one that’s more musk than tusk, Twitter.
You can search for me by my handle, ID, call it what you will as:
Alternatively, a handle can be given as https://mastodon.social/@sciencebase which obviously looks like a normal web address but with an @ sign, use that instead of the handle if your device doesn’t recognise the former.
What about sciencebase on other social media?
Of course, have been for years, always try to be an early adopter. I’ve set up sciencebase.com redirects to my socials. If you type a URL like this https://sciencebase.com/mastodon, it will take you to the appropriate site. It should work with the following: tumblr, flickr, instagram, twitter, facebook, linkedin, soundcloud, bandcamp, tiktok, reddit, basically anywhere I’ve got a social media presence. E.g. https://sciencebase.com/tumblr
I’m still not convinced, isn’t there a nice, simple alternative to Twitter?
Well, to be honest, a nice cup of tea and a good book would probably do your mental health more good, but there are lots of other social media systems out there some of which have been around for years – Tumblr, Diaspora, Discord, CounterSocial, Minds, Cohost, that might ultimately emerge as better alternatives to Twitter. Indeed, some commentators are pointing out that because Mastodon is federated and doesn’t allow for facile conversation and commentary across the fediverse, a well-established system like good-old Reddit might ultimately fair much better and become the new go-to social media spot.