TavernWenchMar 17, 2023
Chris Trottier

Big jump in Mastodon sign-ups today.

16,287 in the last day.

998 in the past hour, in fact.

Which is interesting because I believe we were at 80 per hour on Monday.

Also, we're 115,597 away from 10 million accounts.

https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/110035678695919078

Mar 17, 2023 at 12:04amWeb
Show threadPeterSoukupMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet Was #Elon today 10x more the narcissistic sociopathic fascist jerk than he usually is?
Show threadCảm ơnMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet look at the correlation between the signups and toot vol, reckon it’s spam acc related
Show threadHunter KingMar 17, 2023
@CamsJam @atomicpoet I got followed by my first spam account yesterday, I'd buy that theory
Show threadSolarbird Mar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet Yeah, I saw it, really strange. Any ideas about a proximate cause?
Show threadmidwesterner 🦬Mar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet And active users has gone up to 42! 😉
Show threadMike CohenMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet did something happen on the bird site?
Show threadgwendolenauMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet
Refugees from masthead.social? I understand the instance has ceased (with no warning).
Show threadrealcaseyrollins ✝️Mar 17, 2023
Any hints on what caused this?
Show threadStuart (moved)Mar 17, 2023

@atomicpoet

Don't want to dampen the ardour but I suspect a bot invasion. If you look at it hour by hour there are suspiciously high numbers in despaired with reversion to the mean (about 150-200 atm)

Show threadHelderwebMar 17, 2023

@atomicpoet

It must be that $2.00 I send in every month.😊

Continual success here.
10 million is pretty damn good.

Show threadA NameMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet probably us people looking for alternatives if tiktok gets the axe
Show threadJim colahanMar 17, 2023
@[email protected]
I’m stuck in a mastodon.world server with a cancelled mastodon.social server acct. Twitter has stopped functioning so I have nothing now. I’m not impressed with Mastodon servers and the difficulty with the servers. Got any recommendations for me?
Show threadTom Bradley Jr. 📚🇺🇸🇺🇦Mar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet So, what's the prize for the lucky 10 millionth account?
Show threadYan VogelMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet universities in Netherlands have opened their own server and announced it on Wednesday, maybe related to that?
Show threadBrandonMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet Looks like account harvesting has kicked into high gear. 90% of those accounts are for future bot activity. Small servers should lock their doors.
Show threadChris TrottierMar 17, 2023
@brandon_rickman That’s an odd assertion to make considering we’ve had higher registration rates just last month.
Show threadBrandonMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet Account harvesting happens anytime people start to migrate to alternate sites, as when people declared they were leaving Twitter. The alternate sites feel like they have become popular, and they don’t have the tools to spot the fake activity. Been happening for the past 15 years, became more blatant 7-8 years ago.
Show threadChris TrottierMar 17, 2023
@brandon_rickman Okay, but it’s an odd claim to make that this specific spike is due to account harvesting.
Show threadBrandonMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet “This spike” started 5 months ago. Whatever happened on March 14 is mere noise. Your choice of y-axis is deceptive in the graph.
Show threadLuupilottiMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet I got a prompt on the Musk site that two factor authentication will be removed from my free account, it will be a feature of paid accounts only. Not sure what to even say...
Show threadHelen in WalesMar 17, 2023
@luupilotti @atomicpoet That message about removing two-factor authentication via text message unless I signed up for a paid account was the final straw for me regarding Twitter. I've been here on Mastodon for a couple of years, but it might have prompted a few new sign ups.
Show threadDeirdre AssenzaMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet No moral person can be on Twitter anymore. Spending time there is sending Elon Musk ad revenue, some of which very well may end up in Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign. It's not just the technical cratering that is happening alongside Musk's grand mayonnaisement into a Fox commentator. Spoutible is only a month old, is still in Beta, and doesn't even have an app yet and already has 100,000 active users including big blue checks. It's here, there, or anywhere other than Twitter to keep your soul clean.
Show threadOmar GrigoryanMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet I would add that we are experiencing a global phenomenon of intense privacy restriction and corporate commodification of the digital space. Mastodon is one of the few sport where one can still feel safe.
Show threadnewsorpigalMar 17, 2023

@atomicpoet

what did Elon do this time? 🤣

Show threadhappyborgMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet brace yourselves, the bots are coming. It will be interesting to see how well the #fediverse withstands this new form of popularity.
Show threadgavinisdie Mar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet this is fake news, 10 Fedillion people, including "fictional" people use it
Show threadMike (no not that one)Mar 17, 2023

@atomicpoet I do suspect, now that we are discussing it, that this could be bot related. I run a server with manual approval for signups, and over the past few days I've started to get sign-ups that don't make sense.

I've modified the sign-up form so the justification question is different (specific to my community) and the answers I'm getting do not correspond to that question or make any sense in its context.

Show threadKerri LevineMar 17, 2023

@atomicpoet

I've been here since December 2022. Love it more every day.

#TwitterRefugee

Show threadYahia LababidiMar 17, 2023
@atomicpoet Thanks, for sharing the #goodnews . I’m campaigning on #twitter for the #Fediverse to anyone who’ll listen 👂