SarahSorlien, MDJun 6, 2023
FediTips has moved!

There's a really good community feature on here called groups. It works like this:

1. Follow a group's account
2. You will start seeing posts on that topic
3. You can post to the group by @-ing it

It's more powerful than hashtag following, as all group posts are actively pushed to all of the group's members. No one misses anything.

Find out more about groups at https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-groups-on-the-fediverse/

If you're interested, try following one of the friendly active groups curated at https://fedi.directory/tag/fediverse-groups/

How to use discussion groups on Mastodon and the Fediverse | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

Jun 6, 2023 at 4:38pmWeb
Show threadFediTips has moved!Jun 7, 2023

p.s. I've rewritten the post so that it no longer mentions the tea group, as people were replying to the original post with the tea address included. This was filling the tea group with non-tea posts, as the group shares any post which mentions the group.

Apologies to the tea group for my carelessness and thoughtlessness.

For those interested in following the group, it's @ tea @ a.gup.pe with the spaces removed.

Show threadFediTips has moved!Jun 7, 2023

p.p.s. If you appreciate groups, please donate to the service that powers most of them, Guppe:

➡️ https://opencollective.com/guppe-groups

They spend hundreds of euros a month on hosting to provide the service, and put lots of unpaid work into it.

Guppe is totally independent, it doesn't get any money from Mastodon etc.

Guppe Groups Platform Co-op - Open Collective

The social groups app for Mastodon and the Fediverse where supporters decide what features to develop - brought to you by Immers Space

Show threadpunchescarsJun 7, 2023
@feditips Great that that happened! It exposes a significant flaw in the system. It was the 1st question that came to mind when I learned about groups. If Bob is a member of the tea group, surely not all Bob’s posts would be about tea, so it would make sense that Bob should have to mention the tea address in every tea-related post. The bot should only boost _members_ who _mention_ the bot.
Show threadFediTips has moved!Jun 7, 2023

@punchescars

Groups only boost posts that mention the group, whether they're members or not. If Bob doesn't mention the group, it won't boost his posts.

But groups only boosting members' posts sounds like a great idea, as it would allow non-members to discuss the group without spamming it.

Hey @datatitian, could Guppe perhaps only boost posts by members? Or would that cause technical issues? On the other hand... might confuse non-members who think they've posted?

Show threadminecraftchest1Jun 7, 2023

@feditips
> On the other hand... might confuse non-members who think they've posted?

That could be solved by messaging the mentioner if they are not in the group to ask if they would like to join and post.
@punchescars @datatitian

Show threadWill 🌹🏴Jun 7, 2023

@minecraftchest1 @feditips @punchescars

This is all possible. As a cooperative, all of the development decisions are made (and funded) by @guppegroups supporters
https://opencollective.com/guppe-groups

Guppe Groups Platform Co-op - Open Collective

The social groups app for Mastodon and the Fediverse where supporters decide what features to develop - brought to you by Immers Space

Show threadFediTips has moved!Jun 7, 2023

@datatitian @minecraftchest1 @punchescars

Your work is greatly appreciated! 👏

Show threadWill PhoenixJun 12, 2023
@feditips Did someone say Tea ?
Show threadEllie Kennard has movedJun 6, 2023
@feditips @tea and what about an #ebikes #ebike group?
Show threadhacknorrisJun 6, 2023
@feditips made webdev group if someone asks :)
Show threadDavid GonzalezJun 6, 2023
@feditips Can we search for groups on Mastodon directly?
Show threadFediTips has moved!Jun 6, 2023

@davidgonzalez

From Mastodon's point of view, the groups look like ordinary accounts. You may see them appearing in search results alongside other accounts.

I just tried searching for "tea" on mstdn.social and one of the results was the tea group on guppe.

Groups have a "group" label on their profile if you're viewing them through Mastodon's web interface.

Show threadLeisureguyJun 6, 2023
@feditips Very coool. Thanks for posting.
Show threadSimon Müller Jun 6, 2023
@feditips Finally, somebody telling me why groups are better than hashtags! Last time I asked, I didn't get very far.
Show threadIαn has moved accountJun 6, 2023
@Rush @feditips Real groups are way better than hashtags. But at the moment these pseudo-groups are just distribution accounts, where posts are mixed in to your time line, as an attempt to fill in for the missing group functionality.
Show threadEmmaGeekJun 6, 2023
@feditips @tea Thank you for taking the time to help us all learn about Fediverse.
Show threadDoreen32128 ready to rumble!Jun 6, 2023
@feditips @tea Thank you!!
Show threadmaegulJun 7, 2023

@feditips @tea

So, for everyone loving this idea and feature (which is fair, it's awesome), please keep the following in mind:

a.gup.pe (which provides the features) is not a part of mastodon, and neither groups as a feature. a.gup.pe are an independent organisation.

And like instance admins and mastodon itself, they rely on donations to pay the bills.

In fact, they have a co-op, which is cool!

See here for how you can join in and support them: https://opencollective.com/guppe-groups

Guppe Groups Platform Co-op - Open Collective

The social groups app for Mastodon and the Fediverse where supporters decide what features to develop - brought to you by Immers Space

Show threadFediTips has moved!Jun 7, 2023

@maegul

Yes indeed, they were under threat of closure a short while ago due to lack of funds.

If you appreciate this feature send them a donation!

Show threadThe Evil MicrowizardJun 7, 2023
@feditips @tea Wow! That is really cool and a feature I did not know about!
Show threadDeusJun 7, 2023

and I’ve curated some nice active groups at https://fedi.directory/tag/fediverse-groups/

Reposted for this. Thank you!

Fediverse Discussion Groups | Fedi.Directory – Interesting accounts on Mastodon & the Fediverse

Interesting accounts to follow on Mastodon and the Fediverse