Charles BrandJan 29, 2023

Since I’ve been on #Mastodon I’ve had a number of instances when folks and organizations I follow (many that I also followed on the Bird site) suddenly appear to have multiple accounts on different servers with identical headers/bios.

Curious if these are just folks trying out different servers, or if they’re fake accounts; with no verification process, how would one be able to tell? 🤷‍♂️

Show threadRobinJan 29, 2023
@CFBrand3rd there is actually a verification they can do to prove they are indeed the same people who run that website. Here’s more info; https://mstdn.social/@feditips/106274105538953001
One example would be if you check the profile of @gruber you’ll see it has verified he is the guy behind daringfireball.net
Fedi.Tips (@[email protected])

You can (sort of) verify your identity on Mastodon if you own a website. 1. Go to Edit Profile > Appearance > Profile Metadata, add your website address (including https://) to the metadata section. 2. Copy the verification code into your website's code. (The verification code is next to the Metadata section) 3. Click "Save Changes" after you have done all of the above. Your website will then be listed on your profile with a green background and a tick next to it, proving you are the owner.

Mastodon 🐘
Show threadCharles Brand
@_r @gruber Okay, what am I missing here?🤔
Jan 29, 2023 at 12:28pmWeb
Show threadRobinJan 29, 2023
@CFBrand3rd that’s odd, it appears the official app is hiding it a bit. It’s under the “about” tab on that profile page.
Show threadCharles BrandJan 29, 2023
@_r Gotta say, every time I think I’ve got some sort of handle on this whole #Mastodon thing, it just ends up baffling me more…😖
Show threadCharles BrandJan 29, 2023
@_r Even weirder; #MetatextAop & #IvoryApp seem to show it without extra clicks…🤷‍♂️
Show threadRobinJan 29, 2023
@CFBrand3rd yes, that makes much more sense. It’s info you want to see when you view someone’s profile I think. The official app is nice, but it’s certainly not the best out there.
Show threadsalguodJan 29, 2023
@_r @CFBrand3rd This is one of the frustrating things about Mastodon for me. Multiple accounts with the same username but different servers. Plus search frequently doesn't find everyone. When I search for Autopian, I only see one of those accounts and it doesn't seem to be the one that is actually associated with with the website. If I can't find them, I can't follow them.
Show threadCharles BrandJan 29, 2023
@salguod @_r And, if @the_autopian is their official account (seriously; who can tell?🤷‍♂️), I’m not thrilled with the fact that each post simply re-directs to The Bird Site; it’s like going to an AA meeting and having them hand you one of those little airline liquor bottles at the door…😖
Show threadsalguodJan 29, 2023
@CFBrand3rd @_r @[email protected] What posts? I see this following the link in your post (I cannot bring myself to use toot for Mastodon posts).
Show threadCharles BrandJan 29, 2023
@salguod @_r The other infuriating thing is that folks on different servers (or browsers, or apps, or …who the hell knows?) see different things. This is what I see (using, in this case, #Metatext):
Show threadJohn GruberJan 29, 2023
@CFBrand3rd @_r It’s the green checkmark on the URL for Daring Fireball, not a badge on avatars.
Show threadCharles BrandJan 29, 2023
@gruber @_r Yeah, but it seems to vary, depending on the app I’m using.