Code BlueDec 4, 2022
FediTips has moved!

Have you tried following someone and it says "pending"?

In theory this is meant to only happen when someone has manual follower approval switched on. If they have it switched on, there will be a padlock 🔒 next to their name on their profile.

However, "pending" may also happen if servers are overwhelmed and your request is in a long queue, or there is some kind of technical fault.

Don't assume someone is rejecting your follow if you see "pending". They might not even know it is happening.

Dec 4, 2022 at 6:39pmWeb
Show threadLizzie BêtisesDec 4, 2022
@feditips yeah I have this issue sometimes :/
Show threadDavid HarlanDec 4, 2022

@feditips

a lot of times I see one that's said pending for a while, I withdraw the follow request and follow again, and it's immediately accepted. This mostly happened with follows I made around the huge waves of #TwitterMigration

Show threadMiranda WhitingDec 4, 2022
@DavidMHarlan Thanks for that! It just worked but I can't remember if I have others. Is there anywhere to check?
Show threadDavid HarlanDec 4, 2022

@mirandawhiting

I don't know of any way to do it all at once other than using one of the migration tools to see which accounts still offer you the option to follow. I know you'll see an hourglass next to their names if the follow request is still outstanding, and on their profile you'll see the withdraw follow request button, but I don't think there's any central way to look at them all at once.

https://www.movetodon.org/

Movetodon: Finds your Twitter Friends on Mastodon

Show threadMiranda WhitingDec 4, 2022
@DavidMHarlan I meant individually really. I've followed people as I found them but if it showed pending I wouldn’t remember, I just thought it was normal. I just happened to remember this one but have a feeling there were others, goodness knows who.
Show threadDavid HarlanDec 4, 2022

@mirandawhiting

well, if you're willing to look at each account individually, then just that withdraw follow request will do it. If you click it and then click follow again and it *doesn't* immediately follow them, then yeah, it's just a follow request that's sitting around.

Show threadMiranda WhitingDec 4, 2022
@DavidMHarlan The people I followed weren't found via a tool so probably don't have details a tool would find. So if I don't remember who they were I think that's it. Just have to hope I bump into them again!
Show threadDavid HarlanDec 4, 2022

@mirandawhiting

looking at the list of accounts I follow, all I see is the icon that shows that I am following them, I don't see that hourglass one anywhere, so my guess is it doesn't list those. Good luck with that though, I'm out of ideas.

Show threadDennis KolbeDec 5, 2022
@mirandawhiting @DavidMHarlan can we follow each other?
Show threadkatherine montaltoDec 4, 2022
@DavidMHarlan @feditips yes I recently had this happen to me too with someone who moved instances
Show threadDavid HarlanDec 4, 2022

@katherine_montalto @feditips

and that's one of the problems I have with those Twitter friend finders, is you get a lot of false positives of people you're already following, but it finds their old accounts after they've moved instances.

Show threadkatherine montaltoDec 4, 2022
@DavidMHarlan @feditips I think in this case the person posted on their old instance that they were leaving and going to this new instance, with link and I followed even tho they probably brought me over from their other instance follow list. that's my guess
Show threadDavid HarlanDec 4, 2022
@katherine_montalto @feditips
Show threadKen M SweeneyDec 4, 2022
@feditips What about trying to follow someone back and getting "This action is not allowed"?
Show thread@smartfilming Dec 4, 2022
@feditips Definitely had this happen two times when trying to follow someone on the Mastodon SDF Org server.
Show threadTravlerDec 4, 2022

@feditips

Saw that on Twitter

Show threadEdge Dec 4, 2022
@feditips in my case, it also happens when my internet connection flickers.🤷‍♀️
Show threadPhilip Ives 🖖Dec 4, 2022
@feditips thanks. This is useful.
Show threadRachelADec 4, 2022
@feditips good to know
Show threadMiranda WhitingDec 4, 2022
@feditips Thanks for this. Is there anywhere which tells me what pending requests I have? I remembered one, which I resubmitted and is now fine, but I'm pretty sure there were others.
Show threadTom BarkasDec 4, 2022
@feditips @trendless Happened a lot the other week when thousands were moving here
Show threadsteelmanDec 4, 2022
@feditips It happens also, when you try to follow a person on an instance that has blocked your server.
Show threadJohn Caveney woke is me🛠️Dec 4, 2022
@feditips thanks, I got confused by it the other day, asked a question and was put right by many kind people!
Show threadChristina7531Dec 4, 2022
@feditips I saw that a lot about a month ago but not as much recently
Show threadClipperChip Dec 4, 2022
@feditips Server instances can also limit followers from other instances to that there always be a follow request instead of a direct follow.
Show threadauthor_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5Dec 4, 2022

@feditips Following can have a lot of "network" lag. Makes it difficult to simultaneously add person to List.

Mastodon really should decouple List requires Following.

Show threadWendy LadyDec 4, 2022
@feditips hey @ElisaMader maybe this is what happened!
Show threadWendy LadyDec 4, 2022
@feditips @ElisaMader oh! Nvm, you have a padlock on. 😝
Show threadCassandrichDec 4, 2022
@feditips Is there a place to look at your pending follows you might not be aware are still pending so you can retry them?
Show threadBrian GrinterDec 4, 2022
@feditips @donmelton thanks, I’ve found removing the follow request then refollowing sometimes fixes it
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEDec 4, 2022
@feditips IME (with newbies) they don't even know it's switched on and they don't know how to accept follow requests.
Show threadTracyDec 4, 2022
@feditips How about if you see "pending" on a dating app?
Definite rejection.
Unless they have so much "business", you might want to inquire about any possible cost.
NOT a good sign.
Just a thought! 🤔
Show threadMark GardnerDec 4, 2022
@feditips This is one of my pet peeves about the #fediverse
Show threadAuntie PhaDec 4, 2022
@feditips I tried to accept a pending and it failed.
Show threadAuntie_GDec 4, 2022

@feditips
What about if you *don't* have manual switched on, but you get a notification from people waiting to follow you.

I got one from an account run by two people who are apparently well-known, and couldn't understand why a) they were following an unknown newbie like me, and b) why their "follow" request needed an OK from me.

The whole thing was confusing so I just declined.

Show threadStacy AnnDec 5, 2022
@feditips
This is important information. I'm still learning to navigate with Mastodon and appreciate those that pass on tips to those of us that are newer to this format.
Show threadRhonda RegerDec 5, 2022
@feditips thanks for posting this info. I am new here and still trying to figure everything out.
Show threadPeterD 🇩🇪 🇨🇦Dec 5, 2022
@feditips And the cure is? Does one get notified when one is followed or unfollowed? 😀​
Show threadNormal GuyDec 5, 2022
@feditips Thanks for the tips.
Show threadSeven (Jacob)Dec 5, 2022
@feditips Yeah, this has happened to me a lot
Show threadnjsgDec 5, 2022

@feditips It would probably help if the UI made it clear that this "pending" status is different from "waiting for manual approval".

And I wonder how often do these requests fail to "complete", does anybody have numbers on that? (That is, how often does it need to be re-done instead of just waiting.)

Also: depending on the side which is experiencing congestion, when A follows B, B's side may actually see that A has successfully followed B, even if A still sees it as pending.

Show threadBuckeyeVeeDec 5, 2022
@feditips
Can you tell me what this means? What does it mean that the profile has been hidden?
Thank you.
Show threadStarDust949Dec 5, 2022
@feditips I wish I had come across this tip earlier. This kept happening to me with several accounts, but it too me ages to work out what was going on.
Show threadPaul_KDec 5, 2022
@feditips Yep had this when the great bird migration of Winter 22 started. Gave it a couple of days then re-tried and the follow went through immediately.
Show threadPierricDec 6, 2022
@feditips it's implied in your wording, but to be very explicit about it: that means that one can see "pending approval" even for accounts without approval requirement, which is as counter intuitive as it sounds. It took me 24 hours to be able to follow my own pixelfed account from mastodon. The key is indeed just to wait.
Show threadHere In NorfolkDec 12, 2022
@feditips I have tried to follow an account on the same mastodonapp.uk server and there is no padlock next to their name that I can see but it’s showing as Pending. If their account is not locked, does this mean I won’t be able to follow if there is no request/ they’re not aware of the request? I am using the official iOS app.