If you're new here, and considering whether this space could become a social home for you:
Many of us have been here for a few years, since well before Threads, BlueSky, Spoutible, Post, Hive, Pebble, Cohost, Blurble, Blarble and Blorble.
We've made it through waves of user migrations, claims of imminent demise, and tech bros telling us we're doing it all wrong.
Years later, we're still here. Ad-free. Non-profit. Open source. Millions strong.
Stay a while. You might just like it. :)
One of the weird things about Mastodon is that your server may not "know" all about someone else's account. Basically, if nobody on your server follows this person, it will not show you any posts from them.
In the Mastodon web UI there's an "open original page" link hidden under the kebab menu in the top right when you look at someone's profile. Most mobile apps have that, too. It's worth checking sometimes, and you might find a bit more info about the person who's following you.
There are also a lot of newbies who are building out their profiles, so they often haven't posted yet.
I've not seen many spambots following me, maybe 3-4 over a few years, so far. 🤞 They tend to come from a bigger server like mastodon.social, and they'll often have an AI generated profile photo.
Erik Moeller
Irena