Fedi.TipsJun 27, 2024

Okay, this is possibly going to be controversial in some quarters, but it has to be said for the good of the Fediverse:

Mastodon.social is not a good way to join Mastodon. If you're already on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to another server. I've done an article about this topic at:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-idea-to-join-a-big-server

If you want to move your account, there's a complete step-by-step guide to how to do it here:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server

#FediTips #Mastodon #MastodonSocial

Mastodon.social is not a good way to join Mastodon. If you’re already on it, you might want to move your account to a different Mastodon server. | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

Show threadDaniel

I agree, it's a good idea that new users to the #fediverse try and spread out a bit instead of crowd up on one large server.

On the flip side I have seen cases where people have advised others against spinning up their own self-hosted single-user instances, making statements such as "that's not what the fediverse is about" or "that doesn't help the fediverse grow".

So I'm kind of wondering if users are advised against joining massive servers and are also advised against hosting their own single-user instance, what is the "middle" ground and who's in charge of defining that?

I feel like this mentality can put people off from exploring the fediverse in general. In my mind people should be able to join the fediverse however they want and are comfortable with, and then have the information available to them on how to move around, as is written in @FediTips excellent guide https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server/

Dan's Social Space

Jun 27, 2024 at 6:41pmWeb
Show threadFedi.TipsJun 28, 2024

@dan

"On the flip side I have seen cases where people have advised others against spinning up their own self-hosted single-user instances, making statements such as "that's not what the fediverse is about" or "that doesn't help the fediverse grow"."

...that's um... sort of weird?

I can understand not doing your own server because of cost or time, and a single user server is more work to get it to notice the rest of the Fedi, but having lots of servers is exactly what the Fedi is about!

Show threadDanielJun 28, 2024

Yes I agree, but I have seen one prominent member of the #fediverse and proponent of #FOSS advise against starting a self-hosted single-user instance, and I have seen a few people on Reddit say the same in the various fediverse related subreddits.

It seems weird to me too, and I wondered if it was a common opinion among more established fediverse users. Obviously I don't think you share that opinion based on your helpful guides showing people how to start their own single-user instances.

Show threadFedi.TipsJun 28, 2024

@dan

Normally advice against single-user is because of the extra work it takes to get a single-user instance to notice the rest of the Fediverse. A new instance starts totally blank, and only pulls in content as the instance's users follow and interact with others.

But there are ways to speed this process up, including groups and relays on specific topics which actively push content to instances of any size:

https://fedi.tips/using-relays-to-quickly-expand-a-servers-view-of-the-fediverse/

How to increase your server’s view of the Fediverse with updates, relays, groups, directories and scripts | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse