GoodblueNov 5, 2022

via CNN

With Twitter in chaos, Mastodon is on fire

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/05/tech/mastodon
#news #mastadon #TwitterMigration

Show threadSeth

@goodblue
"And while you can follow any other Mastodon user, no matter which server they’ve signed up with, you can only see the lists of who follows your Mastodon friends, or who your Mastodon friends follow, if the followers happen to belong to the same server you’re signed up with (I realized this while trying to track down more people I know who recently signed up)."

Is this true? It seemed to me that you have to authorize to follow someone on a new server, but maybe that's all?

Nov 5, 2022 at 5:06pmWeb
Show threadRoh AshNov 5, 2022
@seth @goodblue ok that is so confusing. Why can’t we follow people on different servers?
Show threadGoodblueNov 5, 2022
@rohash @seth I'm still trying to figure it all out as well to be honest. I'm not entirely certain but I think some servers might have different rules 🤷 It seems like I've both easily followed and struggled to follow accounts on other servers.
Show threadRoh AshNov 5, 2022
@goodblue @seth TY! I was not able to get on to mstdn.social. They said there is a waitlist. Not sure if that makes a difference or not
Show threadGoodblueNov 5, 2022
@rohash @seth another thing you might try if you haven't seen this yet is to paste the entire account name i.e. @goodblue into search on your homepage and click on the result and follow that way. hope that helps!
Show threadSethNov 5, 2022
@goodblue @rohash
Yes that works too. I think the CNN article might be inaccurate in that place. I've followed people on other servers successfully, but sometimes it a one-step process and other times I have to search for the full name. My thought is that the first time you follow someone on a new server, it requires extra steps. On my feed, it's well federated tho.
Show threadSethNov 5, 2022
@rohash @goodblue
I'm not yet convinced it makes any difference to be on big server. Plenty of long time people on #mastodon say small servers are fine. I'm on a small server, and I'm thinking it only impacts making the initial follow to another server. Once that connection is made, it's more federated (I think).
Show threadSethNov 5, 2022
@rohash @goodblue @mike Hi Mike, could you help us understand discovering and following people on other servers? Is it really needed to be on the same server as this CNN article suggests? (BTW you made a joke about being #mastodon help desk, so I'm sorry if this is a bother)
Show threadMike McHargueNov 5, 2022

@seth @rohash @goodblue A few ideas.

1. Go view my timeline. I boost lots of people, and welcome many others. Follow anyone that interests you.

2. Go to joinmastodon.com and look for servers with topics that interest you, or that have a lot of users. Go to those servers home pages and then follow the admin. That admin will likely boost interesting posts on that server, and as you follow people, your social graph will naturally expand into that server.

*MORE*

Show threadMike McHargueNov 5, 2022

@seth @rohash @goodblue

3. Go to search.twitter.com and run a search for "Mastodon." You'll find lots and lots of people posting links to their Mastodon profile. Follow anyone that interests you.

4. Follow absolutely anyone who gets boosted into your timeline because they said something that interests you.

That's all I've done, and I've found almost 2,000 interesting people since April.