Hello Mastodon!
Famous blue bird community is under new management and it is not all good. Lots of things that I do not agree with and lots of stuff done wrong but this is not about it - this is about Mastodon.
What is Mastodon?
Well Wikipedia is much better explaining than I so here is a quote:
Mastodon is free and open-source software for running self-hosted social networking services. It has microblogging features similar to the Twitter service, which are offered by a large number of independently run nodes, known as instances, each with its own code of conduct, terms of service, privacy policy, privacy options, and moderation policies.
Also Mastodon.help site can be a very good resource for to get started: https://mastodon.help/
What makes Mastodon interesting is the decentralization of it. There are many instances and you can make an account to instance that you like. Not all are open but many are. There are instances that have different moderation rules and rules in general so check those before creating an account.
You dont have to be in the same instance as your friends but you can follow them from any instance. You can also move between instances so you are not stuck.
Handle is not as simple as blue bird companys @MarkoK. Handle contains unique name (to that instance) and the instance. For example @[email protected] - where @marko is my nick and @kaartinen.social is my instance.
There are instances like https://phpc.social from PHP community and https://mstdn.social for general purpose. And many, many more... https://joinmastodon.org/servers
Why should I care?
Mastodon is open source and anyone can contribute. You can start reporting bugs or even fixing them https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon
There is no algorithms or ads so you can just follow people and their content. You can choose if your posts are public or not. It is free and as said open source.
Read more about Mastodon: https://joinmastodon.org/
Hosting my own instance
Since it is free and open source and decentralized I can host my own instance. Now I own my own data and I manage the instance and anyone can follow me. How great is that!
Truth to be told I loved the idea of @[email protected] handle so @[email protected] was born.
Setting up was quite easy since I'm familiar with Linux servers (not a pro but I can manage). There are docs for setting up the server.
I will write more about hosting my own instance since I have few tips already and those may be helpful for others.
Come and say hi!
So you can find me from @[email protected] and if you like please come say hi or just follow. I publish stuff in finnish and also in english.