Rob Yurkowski (he/him)Nov 7, 2022
Voline

Tip for the new folk:
Often Mastodon’s features work the way they do because it was first populated by people who had been harassed on FB and the Birdsite.

For instance (not sorry), you cannot search Masto for a simple term. Only #hashtags. Say you’re having a private conversation about iguanas. Anti-iguana trolls will not be able to search for “iguanas”, find your conversation, and drop into it to say, “Iguana luvers suck!”

But if you are wanting to connect with new iguana fanciers on Mastodon, slipping an #iguanas hashtag somewhere into your posts will allow people to search for and find them.

#TwitterMigration #Twitter

Nov 6, 2022 at 4:07pmWeb
Show threadCassandra GranadeNov 6, 2022
@Voline I really think of Mastodon's use of hashtags as being an expression of consent and agency, a proactive statement that "yes, I want this toot to be discoverable by people looking for this thing."
Show threadVolineNov 6, 2022
@cgranade
I agree. Exactly.
Show threadDave T-WNov 7, 2022
@cgranade @Voline I think I've always used them in this way, but of course it didn't stop the anti-iguanists finding you and piling on even to a mostly local conversation.
Show threadEdLynchBellNov 7, 2022
@cgranade @Voline this is very useful learning. I’m trying to tread lightly and learn as quickly as possible.
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@EdLynchBell
Those are the old-school internet skills, right? You're on a new forum, so you mostly just lurk a lot until you get a feel for the vibe, mores, and all.
Show threadEdLynchBellNov 7, 2022
@Voline TBF my MO has been to blunder in like a big oaf and then feel ashamed about doing so. At least I am learning quicker, but the 12 years old that dialled into a BBS with a 1200baud modem all those years ago to find warez is still in me somewhere.
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@EdLynchBell
“Does anyone have the new Sim City!? The graphics look awesome!!¡!!”
“Sir, this is a Wendy’s.”
Show threadEdLynchBellNov 7, 2022
@Voline 
Show threadChaz BrenchleyNov 9, 2022
@EdLynchBell @cgranade @Voline - you and a whole lot of others, Ed. *tiptoes about, trying not to be noticed much till he's figured things out*
Show threadDanielle NavarroNov 6, 2022
@Voline the longer I am here (which is admittedly not very long) the more of those little features I’m discovering. I really like it. Trying to survive on twitter was a nightmare. I had so many custom scripts written to isolate my account from trolls and harassers while allowing me to interact with people I cared about. It’s really noticeable that I don’t seem to need that here. It’s really lovely ❤️
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@djnavarro
The ratio of admin/user is very high here (varies based on size of your server). The admins tend to be very responsive. I think you can expect a response ≈ 24 hours in normal times. (These are *not* normal times). And they have tools to block entire other servers if they are unresponsive to complaints about the behavior of their users. You also have the ability to block not just one person but an entire instance if you want.
Show threadLucas NivonNov 6, 2022
@Voline thank you I had no idea. Love the concept
Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinNov 6, 2022
@Voline
Ok. This is a helpful bit of history.
Show threadAmy MagnusNov 6, 2022

@Voline Good to know!

That should encourage #hashtags in the way that weblogs encouraged #hyperlinks back in the day

Show threadKeith JonesNov 6, 2022
@Voline this is helpful! Thanks for the explanation.
Show threadJerrold PohNov 6, 2022
@Voline But why would you have a private conversation outside of DMs? And if users could still search #iguanas, couldn't an anti-iguana troll still troll the #iguanas hashtag?
Show threadKiran Castellino Nov 7, 2022

@jklp @Voline Responding to your questions:

1. There's varying scales of privacy. Maybe you want to talk about iguanas with people who know you (such as followers), but not actively broadcast it to everyone. That's fine

2. Sure, but they'd probably get blocked (and possibly reported) by everyone

Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@jklp
Well, sure. But if you don't feel like putting yourself in a vulnerable position with respect to anti-iguanas. You can just not use the hashtag. You don't have to worry if the conversation didn't start as a DM, that you have to take it there.
Show threadyunchtimeNov 6, 2022
@Voline similarly I *really* like the fact that there is not count of how many "likes" a post has. this reduces the subliminal popularity contest of what post to look at into a very level playing field. Just read the post, then directly reply. it's not a dog-pile rugby match, it's a conversation! how refreshing...
Show threadprinzessinnen_und_rabenNov 6, 2022

@Voline I still need to figure out how this works for subtopics within a hashtag. I can see people giving stuff away on #fediGive, but there needs to be an extra way to look for one specific thing (I'm sure there is a workaround, I just don't know it).

I can search my own toots, though! That's a quality-of-life feature right there!

Show threadkrebstarNov 6, 2022
@Voline Thank you. I have been trying to find some of the community that I had on twitter in here and not having a ton of luck. I will just try random hashtags. #twittermigation
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@krebstar
This might help.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-find-twitter-friends-on-mastodon/
Show threadPermagricultureNov 8, 2022
@krebstar @Voline did you try https://fedifinder.glitch.me/ already?
Fedifinder

Fediverse accounts of your X/Twitter followings

Show threadGrandpa DonJan 2, 2023

@krebstar if you did not delete your 🐦💩 account there are tools to find 🐘accounts, if any, for all you followed.

One is https://www.movetodon.org/
I reactivate periodically and rerun it to see who else has come over.
You have the option to follow all with one click

Movetodon: Finds your Twitter Friends on Mastodon

Show threadkrebstarJan 3, 2023
@dbc3 I deleted it. I have no interest in supporting Musk and his shenanigans.
Show threadavila Nov 7, 2022
@Voline it is nice to note that you can search for a simple term on toots that you've written, liked, were mentioned and so on... so if you want to recall an older toot you have interacted with, that will work!
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@avila
That is cool! I'd forgotten about that!
Show threadRadioSilenceNov 7, 2022
@Voline Thank you!
Show threadNefarious Filth Bird 🚩⚡️Nov 7, 2022

@Voline Trolls usually stumble onto posts and just link to it. People are rarely harassed because of having 1 on 1 conversations, but when their posts gain traction across multiple communities.

It's a very specific function that only affects/stops like 2 people

Show threadaliciacollinNov 7, 2022
@Voline thank you!
Show threadTogeNov 7, 2022
@Voline I had been wondering about this, but this makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the explanation.
Show threadAlex Nov 7, 2022
@Voline You've now got me hoping the #iguanas meta starts picking up! Lizard bois! 🦎
Show threadCookie MumblesNov 7, 2022
@Voline omg I was a little annoyed about the search but didn’t even think about how it could be misused to harass those who love (iguanas) differently
Show threadTianNov 7, 2022
@Voline still the trolls can just raid your hashtag, but of course they need to know it first, would that incentivize people to creat obscure hashtag for self/community protection?
Show threaduRiNov 7, 2022
#טיפים
Show threadStephanennyNov 7, 2022
@Voline No sea lioning! Love it
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@Stephanenny
“Pardon me, Ladies. But I can see you are discussing a topic with which I am quite conversant …”
Show threadLinglangNov 7, 2022
@Voline @sinabhfuil this is the post I was remembering
Show threadAndrew Kemendo 🗑️Nov 7, 2022
@Voline oh no now we’ve accidentally raided the iguanaverse! 😂
Show threadColin D. WrenNov 7, 2022
@Voline So I just tried searching for #archaeology #introduction and got zero results even though there are plenty of posts with both. Is there another way to combine searches I'm not aware of?
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@cdwren
If the search feature is too limited, you can fall back on DuckDuckGo or Google’s search for your server eg “site:fediscience.org”. But some site administrators do not allow search engines to crawl their site.
Show threadPermagricultureNov 8, 2022
@cdwren @Voline
https://fedsearch.io/?q=archaeology+
FedSearch - Federated network search engine

Search for the Mastodon network

Show threadColin D. WrenNov 8, 2022
@permagriculture @Voline yes ok, that works with a little +tag:archaeology fenangling
Show threadPermagricultureNov 8, 2022
@cdwren @Voline did you see https://stark1tty.github.io/Mastodon-Archaeology/ already?
🗿 Archaeologists of Mastodon 🔬

A list of archaeologists in the Fediverse

Show threadLiam LemonNov 7, 2022
@Voline one thing I am trying to understand about mastodon is where is the like button?
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022
@dmb677
Tap the star!
Show threadKwanza Osajyefo Nov 7, 2022
@Voline I love this
Show threadOctavia NasrNov 7, 2022
@Voline Thank you! You reminded me of when users (us) came up with the hashtag idea on the birdsite as a way to crowdsource information. @shoq was the first person I know to introduce it. I also remember the first time I used it for Newsgathering with President Obama’s speech in Cairo. It provided a worldwide real-time reaction to the speech and added an original new element to CNN’s coverage!
Show threadTea Berry-BlueNov 7, 2022
@Voline okay so let’s say you’re looking for a specific post, like, for example, a post that was screencapped and posted on Facebook? So you don’t have tags to search by but you have the text? Or you remember a sentence from a post but not what it was tagged with? How do you find those? I’m constantly trying to find things I posted years ago without knowing how they were tagged.
Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022

@teaberryblue
“While some Mastodon instances do allow full-text search, you can only search your own toots on those instances. This makes it easier to find something that you posted a while ago without exposing you to harassment.”

— from Joyeuse Noelle’s helpful Guide to Mastodon.
https://github.com/joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon

Show threadMr.GenerationNov 7, 2022

@Voline Regarding the search function: I believe this is not entirely true and depends on the instance your on. Mine for example runs Elasticsearch which offers fulltext search. And I can actually find toots based on single words without hashtags.

That's Mastodon 3.5.3

Show threadVolineNov 7, 2022

@mrgeneration

“While some Mastodon instances do allow full-text search, you can only search your own toots on those instances. This makes it easier to find something that you posted a while ago without exposing you to harassment.”

— from Joyeuse Noelle’s helpful Guide to Mastodon.
https://github.com/joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon#why-cant-i-search-for-a-specific-word-or-phrase

Show threadMr.GenerationNov 7, 2022
@Voline Ahhh! That makes sense. Thank you very much for that enlightenment!
Show threadPhil DavisNov 7, 2022
@Voline Feeling this already. Accidentally replied with a hot-topic keyword & flinched expecting a flood of trolls, bros, & bots to block. Nothing but thoughtful response. So nice.
Show threadJukka Torvїnen 🇪🇺Nov 7, 2022
@Voline
Hadn’t realised this.
Show threadTheodora MichaelsNov 7, 2022
@Voline This is sensible, and I'm sure I recall a time when Twitter worked like this too. You could search for #Anonymous and it would bring up tweets about the hacktivist movement. Then at some point they changed it, so a search for that hashtag brought up random tweets using "anonymous" in other contexts, making the search useless. There must be other examples of this, like brand names that are also common words. Hashtagging is a deliberate act which should be reflected in search results.
Show threadGreg Clarke 🇨🇦 Nov 7, 2022
@Voline that's how I found this toot
Show threadKrzysztof Adam WitalewskiNov 8, 2022
@greg @Voline Btw I'm quite open about being a fan of #iguanas, feel free to connect. My cover photo is a lesser antillean iguana I met this year near #Martinique
Show thread[shabbs]Nov 8, 2022
@Voline Great to know... explains my initial search confusion now. HA!
Show thread🌻Kate a eu jusqu'à ici avec 💩Nov 8, 2022
@Voline
Huh. I wondered. I figured there was a reason Search works, or rather doesn't work, the way it does. Good to know. Thanks!