Mastodawn

This message is intended for Canadian #Mastodon admins who are running public instances large and small. If you are an admin, please share with your counterparts. If you are a member of a Canadian instance, please send this to your admin.
A small group of us (Note: really, really small) are in early discussions on how to encourage our government - individual politicians & federal, provincial, and municipal departments - to move their social media presence to Mastodon. This would involve an awareness campaign targeting politicians, party HQs, and departments/agencies.
We are asking for input from admins to help us create a future state vision for this project, and provide us with advice or ideas on how to bring it to a reality. I will set up a web call within the next 3 weeks and hopefully you can participate. We are not asking you to contribute beyond input. Please DM me and I will add you to the invitees.

#mastoadmin
#MastodonCanada
#MastoCanadaGOV (hashtag for this project)

CC: @ZebKing

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opalideas Jan 12

@paulbusch @ZebKing Definitely support that! But this brings up a slight failing of Mastodon that I have been asking about.
If Mastodon is to replace the corporate social media stuff there has to be a way to better focus on the local, even down to family level.
How can I set up an instance for Vancouver Island? For the Central Island? For a residential group in Qualicum Beach?
And, needing a dedicated server is out of reach for a senior with fixed income.

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Fedi.Tips Jan 13

@opalideas @paulbusch @ZebKing

There are many ways to approach these issues.

One approach is to use groups to allow people to easily reach each other no matter what instance they are on (more about groups at https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-groups-on-the-fediverse/ ).

These kinds of groups are like "super hashtags", they repeat posts that mention them but use a push method to reach other servers that is a lot more effective than hashtags.

However, they are not forums the way Facebook Groups are.

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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

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Fedi.Tips Jan 13

@opalideas @paulbusch @ZebKing

Another approach is to use things like NodeBB ( https://nodebb.org ) which are part of the Fediverse but based around discussion forums. This is a lot closer to Facebook Groups, but it's also fairly new in its Fediverse connections. Best people to ask would be @nodebb and @julian . You can follow and interact with NodeBB accounts from Mastodon etc.

A third approach might be the various Reddit-style Fediverse platforms like https://join.piefed.social etc.

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NodeBB - Modern Forum Software

NodeBB Forum Software - The Modern Discussion Platform

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Fedi.Tips

@opalideas @paulbusch @ZebKing

p.s. One thing to add though, the cost of an instance is not as much as people think and not as difficult either. The managed hosting company masto.host has a typical selection of pricing: https://masto.host/pricing

Managed hosting means they do all the techy stuff as well as hosting it. You just run the thing, it's a similar experience to running an online forum.

I'm not saying everyone should do this, I'm just saying a lot more could do this than realise it.

Pricing | Masto.host

Pricing for Masto.host fully managed Mastodon hosting plans. Starting at $6/month.

Masto.host