JuliesBits 🇺🇲 🍑Dec 10, 2022

What is the c.im instance's identity?

Please forgive my ignorance - I am new to the Fediverse and originally joined it in November via another instance that, after a few weeks of observation, I decided was poorly moderated, so I migrated over here several days ago.

I never want to offend so I generally start off in new social settings by observing how things are going and, once I have a handle on things, I will start to engage with people. I have learned that different mastodon instances have different personalities, interests, and foci.

So what are c.im's predominent personality, interests and focus? As with any community, its members, especially those who engage and interact within the community, make up a large portion of the community's personality.

Please tell me the things that brought you to this particular community and the things you like about it that keep you here.

Let me start off by introducing myself.

#introduction

I found this instance after I discovered some of the people I already knew on other social media venues whose posts I'd seen and enjoyed had moved over here. What I have seen so far in the c.im neighborhood feels pleasant, safe and interesting.

I am an #informatics analyst at a biomedical company and spend my working hours "mining" large medical datasets. I've had a great year! I have co-authored 3 peer-reviewed articles that are now published in medical journals that documented the results of my data mining efforts and analysis and I'm currently exploring other areas of the data for additional research and, hopefully more published articles.

I'm a bit of a nerd, love all things mobile, and was awarded Microsoft's MVP award in windows phone for 8 years (which regrettably is now defunct).

I love #dogs and #cats. I currently have two dogs, Charlotte (yellow lab) and Raven (black german shepherd mix). I lost my beloved cat several weeks ago and am awaiting the arrival of my next cat(s) (the universe brings them to me when they turn up at my house in the woods)

#Singing and playing #guitar gives me great joy. I've been singing with a community choral group for the past 20 years and have played guitar since I was 12 years old.

I am a prolific #reader (mostly fiction), love to #hike in the #woods with my dogs, and I enjoy all kinds of #needlework and #sewing.

Thanks for having me. I look forward to getting to know you in the coming year.

Show threadSean Mayer
@juliesbits Hello and welcome!! I joined Mastodon a little over a month ago — and landed in c.im simply because it was a general interest instance that was accepting new people when I started looking into alternatives to my other social media site.
I’ve thought about migrating to a new instance. But, honestly my tastes are so eclectic. There is no instance of nerds interested in: #CatholicTheology #BookPublishingIndustry #Books #BookEditing #Grammar #History #MedievalManuscripts #ChurchHistory #AcademicTheology #Liturgy #Photography #LocalNews
And I’ve mostly found a welcoming group of people here. So here I’m staying. At least for now! 😉
Dec 11, 2022 at 3:26amWeb
Show threadPeeDeeDec 11, 2022
@srseanm @juliesbits can you explain to me the use of the word "instance" in this context?
I've seen it cropping up here over the last few days.
Show threadSean MayerDec 11, 2022
@peedee @juliesbits “Instance” is what Mastodon uses for “server.”
C.im is an instance
Mstdn.social is an instance
…and so on…
Show threadJuliesBits 🇺🇲 🍑Dec 11, 2022

@peedee

Yes, it's a little confusing to learn the nomenclature over here, but as @srseanm and @eleanor have shared already, an "instance" is just a reference to a server on the Fediverse network.

You can think of these servers (which are called "instances") as neighborhoods that are organized, managed and populated by an independent grouping of people and connected to other instances via a network. For a neighborhood to be allowed connection to the network the administrator of the instance and, by association, its members, agree to abide by certain terms of engagement established by the larger Fediverse.

The Mastodon.social server or instance, which I believe was the founding member of the Fediverse, is often used as a generic reference to the Fediverse similar to how we often refer to a "Xerox machine" when we are talking about a copy machine.

Some instances are very narrowly focused on a specific area of interest and attract people who are interested in that specific area, while others are more eclectic and diverse. (you might find instances that are populated by people who love to game or who love anime, and other instances that are focused on social activism or politics, etc.).

Show threadPeeDeeDec 11, 2022
@juliesbits @srseanm @eleanor thanks very much. that was helpful.