MastodonHey everyone, we have some pretty big news to share. You might remember that we announced a big restructuring for the Mastodon team earlier this year. Today marks an important milestone in this transition.
Stephen 🎃Our Founder, @Gargron is stepping down from his position as CEO. He shared a reflection on his time building and growing Mastodon on our blog.
We want to take a moment to express the Mastodon team’s deep gratitude and admiration for Eugen, and for the technology and community he has built here. We’re thrilled he’s staying on in an advisory capacity.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/my-next-chapter-with-mastodon
We’re also looking ahead to what comes next. In another blog post published today, we introduced Mastodon’s new leadership team. Our Executive Director is @mellifluousbox (formerly, CFO of Mastodon gGmbH), who has already represented Mastodon on international stages.
We also shared an organisational update, and a fundraising update, in that blog post.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/the-future-is-ours-to-build-together/
This important milestone also marks the beginning of a new era of community governance and collaborative decision-making for Mastodon. Now more than ever, we need to work together to build safe and resilient social spaces. We must build information networks that are resistant to billionaire control and surveillance. It will take all of us working together to do that.
So please consider joining our mission; we have a lot of work to do.
Nik | Klampfradler 🎸🚲@Mastodon Oh, so no more decision making on exclusionary Discord channels?
Canoel K.
Lillian Violet@Mastodon What does this community governance look like? Is it purely "input" and is your "executive" pulling the strings or is the community the one that makes ultimate decisions on the direction the app is moderated and created? Is there a reformation of the values you want to create within the management of development you want to announce or is the direct control of the main contributors without listening to external feedback going to continue? There is whole articles written about criticism of your internal structures, and this addresses exactly 0 of them, now I hope that is because this announcement is sudden and unprepared but I won't hold my breath on that matter.
Apan
Cuteroll, autistic transgender otter@Mastodon @mellifluousbox hello and welcome mr john mastodon
Paul Chambers🚧@Mastodon I will donate to Mastodon development but I won't donate funds that are mingled in to run Mastodon.social.
Is there an option where donors can donate exclusively to the development side and those funds be used only for development. I've heard others offer the same sentiment.
Felix Hlatky@paul Thanks for your commitment! Let me look into what we can do. It should work with so-called "restricted funds", which are then earmarked for R&D and cannot be touched for DevOps/moderation of m.s.
@mellifluousbox Just checked and you still don't have an option to donate to development only option...
Any plans to implement this?
Sander@paul @mellifluousbox I'm also interested in this.
Lady Laura 
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox welp i'm here if needed. cheers
informapirata ⁂ 
Good morning, mastodontes!
@Mastodon @mellifluousbox
Can you tell me how I can suggest a #Mastodon app to the joinmastodon website?
Specifically, the #Raccoon app also works with Mastodon 🙏
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livefast.eattrash.raccoonforfriendica
Markus Redeker 🐘@informapirata @Mastodon @mellifluousbox If you don't find something else, you can try it with [email protected] (https://joinmastodon.org/de/about#contact).
Anke
fr0g
grosskopfgames@Gargron Thank you for your year long effort in creating my daily news source and my safe haven from algorithms that fuel anger for profit :D Mastodon has grown to be such a wonderful place, it's now my only social media platform, and the only platform I would call social :) All that thanks to your giant effort among lots of other peoples effort. I'm looking forward to the next steps and hope you will find joy in your new live without this position :)
IFTAS@Mastodon @Gargron "I’ve always thought that one of the most important responsibilities I had was to say “no”."
And when it needed to be said, you said it with love and care and intention. Not a single one of us is perfect, but your personal ethics and integrity always shone through, and that's what builds trust.
Thank you 🙏
Ric@Mastodon @Gargron best of luck with your next chapter, Eugen. You've pulled off building one of the biggest things, without even doing it for the money, and at such a young age. Most of us - critics included - won't come any where near such an achievement however long we live for.
That's pretty big! 👍
Robert Drózd
Erik Uden 🚩
Martin SeegerOver an entire decade, these tiny things chip away at you slowly. Some things chip faster. I steer clear of showing vulnerability online, but there was a particularly bad interaction with a user last summer that made me realise that I need to take a step back and find a healthier relationship with the project, ultimately serving as the impetus to begin this restructuring process.
I gave up the CEO-ship of the company I founded 25 years ago.
Looking back, it was one of my better decisions for me and for the organization.
It is very difficult to explain the strain of such an exposed position to anyone who hasn't experienced it him/herself.
Gargron does a better job of explaining that strain than I could at the time.
VulcanTourist
Phil Whitehouse
Teddy / Domingo (🇨🇵/🇬🇧)
Darnell Clayton 
@Mastodon @Gargron Thanks for everything you have done! Also, thanks for creating a vibrant decentralized social network whose existence has impacted the world for the better!
National leaders & CEO’s of conglomerates have taken notice of Mastodon, & have begun to embrace the Fediverse as a realistic alternative to social media.
Blessings & best of luck on your next journey Eugen!
o ifrit caduco 🦔🫚⛈️🐌🌰🍛
spla
Marcel
glyn@Mastodon Well done @Gargron for everything you've achieved in the last decade! Your principles set you far above certain others in the social media space and I really appreciate your integrity and drive. It's a good decision to change roles and I'm optimistic about the future of Mastodon with you still around for guidance. I hope you take this opportunity for some well-deserved rest and recreation.
Zughy
Schattenparker
Tim Johnsen
ChiefGyk3D
Todd Thomas 
Luis Carlos@Mastodon @Gargron As I've said many. many posts back, you, Eugene, were and still are a star on here. You have been more than a CEO, you're still a legend. A true legend in it's maximum riddim! Hope Mastodon and the entire fediverse (as I know it previously (ActivityPub, Diaspora, etc.)) wil thrive as always! Long live the fediverse, long live Mastodon, long live Eugen, and long live John! For ever and ever, amen.
Thomas Svensson 🖖
Wolfram Rösler