Some people ask about how to get "verified" on #Mastodon but...

We do NOT have such a thing! Mastodon and the Fediverse is mainly about a social experience with a good privacy system. This includes to keep as less (sensitive) data as we can on every one of you!

We are no Twitter, we do not want personal documents or data! Everyone on Mastodon is the same "rank". There are many other ways people can prove who they are by posting from their Twitter for example! 

Please, do not send any personal data to us, we will delete this right away. Privacy first! 🔒

If you do want a verified icon, you can simply add a custom emoji in your display name with a shortcode 

No matter if you're king or a garbageman we deem you all important 

@stux BUT! Embedding a `rel=me` linkback from a site you own is a lovely way to let followers see “you’re really you” and fight impostors
@stux you should get this one in your emoji pools because it's funny
@logan Haha love it! I'll it to out "badges" collection!
@stux you can still use the rel="me" verification on links if you have a website
@stux how to get groups

@neo You can DM toot to "selected" people only!

That case only those will get the toots 😄 You can also create lists with people you like on it!

@neo Oh sorry! Posts for you! ​ You're on Pleroma I see! 
@stux groups..
@neo We don't have such a thing, sorry!
@stux @neo ah well  dont need em, groupthink bad anyway
no, groups good....

hobby groups nice

@cee @neo

Altough... 💡

There was an idea for "circles" kinda like groups ready to be added to Masto but somewhere it went lost 🤔 Few days ago I found the commits back

@stux @neo they'll probs release groups once they've added the edit option... which will be when Half Life 3 gets released... which will be when all the planets of this solar system align 

@cee @neo ​ that!

Maybe Guppe! That was a thing.. 🤔 @caranmegil hosted an instance if im not wrong! 

@stux @cee @neo I do! It is chilli.social
I didn't think Mastodon would be an appropriate software choice for a single user instance. I would pick it if I expected to host a thousand or so users though.
@stux Then we must raid the sacred GNUSocial vaults
@stux Mergan is inherently superior and of upmost importance though 
@stux
what if you want to follow a singer or artist, how do you know what to look for to see if they are them? Sorry tech dumb here

@Wanderwoman47 No dumb questions at all! 

Mastodon offers a way to add a link to your website / platform / blog / etc to link back to Mastodon with a "verified" link! (see my profile)

You can find this in account settings 

@Wanderwoman47 For example! I have added my profile links to these pages and they automatically get a checkmark!