Jens Reineking
J. Steven York RESISTSMastodon is notoriously a difficult place for new users to establish themselves and learn their way around. Now, of all times, it is important for us to throw our doors open and welcome newcomers. Bashing them about transgressions of rules they don't yet understand isn't helpful. Friendly reminders to help them understand may be. And most of all help them find their People. Finding some folks have a very incorrect impression of #Mastodon.
Nalyd620@jstevenyork Thank you! I'm new here and look forward to something positive and get away from FB and Instagram or should I say META now. I can't keep up. I just like reading other people's stories and ideas and sharing some of mine.
Bonnieliveshere@jstevenyork Thank you. (From a New person)
Skyrocketocelot@jstevenyork newb here too! Going to go hunting but would love any tips/tricks resources if you have something handy!
J9C 
Fedi.Tips@J9C @Skyrocketocelot @jstevenyork
Hey there, welcome new people! š
I run an unofficial tech support account to help people use this place. Feel free to ask if you want help with anything.
There's also a website full of beginner's guides to using this place at https://fedi.tips
Saggy@Skyrocketocelot @jstevenyork welcome! I try to be patient with my federated feed. Iāll spend 10-15 minutes scrolling through the latest posts and trying to engage with stuff I find interesting, even if itās just asking for more context. Iāve found people are generally pretty nice, if you have a good back and forth then give them a follow and improve your home feed!
craftxbox@jstevenyork I find mastodon makes this pretty difficult- Having to action *any* post makes a very scary warning and email show to them. I get it's not cool to silently action people but at the same time I don't want to scare them 99% of the time
Aimee@jstevenyork curating my feed has definitely been a bit of a learning curve! š
iām so used to algorithms throwing things at me automatically, and iāve realized just how intentional you have to be about seeking out and following accounts on mastodon
@twoglances We all got lazy on other platforms. But I'm tired of being fat and happy and having some algorithm feeding me ads and promoted posts while it tracks my every move.
Cardboard Robot@twoglances @jstevenyork I was very confused at first until I just started following lots of people and not worrying about hashtags too much. Thatās just me but by following people and people they follow I learned about #hashtaggames and various watch parties and found lots of interesting subjects and people I wouldnāt have found if Iād been more purposeful about it. My 2cents. :)
@CardboardRobot @jstevenyork honestly, this might be the way to go about it š§šÆ i think by habit iām a bit stingy with my follows because algorithms usually inundate your feed anyway, but iām getting the sense that i should embrace the opposite approach here haha š
juniper cameryn@jstevenyork this is the reason I kinda gave up on mastodon after the 2022 post-elon migration. People here were so rigid and unwelcoming to newcomers. I have voiced opposition to certain cultural things here and I kinda get the idea people don't want to grow to make space, they wanna keep a comfy bubble.
Karen Pitton@jstevenyork Thank you for this. One of the reasons Iām rarely on here. Actually not even sure why I am now. š It was just spur of the moment.
EliteMooseTaskForce@jstevenyork Thank you and thank you to people like @PictoPulse356 for helping newcomers like me getting established on Mastodon.
Jimmothy Baggins@jstevenyork this can apply
To anyone using the app. Help your community grow !!
To anyone using the app. Help your community grow !!
Justin M@jstevenyork boost and follow the content you enjoy. That's what I've been doing since I created my Mastodon account in 2022
Charles E@jstevenyork just downloaded Mastodon, thanks for the mention of new members. Will try to keep up.
Outsider Antifa Artist@jstevenyork
It is difficult. Especially for us oldsters!
It certainly limits participation..
So all the help is awesome. But first you have to get thru the front door to get it and that can be trying for newbies.
Thanks!
@Prophet777 Sorry you're having problems. I'm 67 by the way, and most people here would consider me old. (They might be right.)
Mastodon MigrationWelcome newcomers!
@FediTips is a great place to start.
For a few tricks on growing your engagement start this thread here: https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/113443367389262381
Also here are some posts with follow recommendations:
https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/113442123598623010
https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/113439795622152806
https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/113445609117266343
Mastodon Migration (@[email protected])
But with no algorithm, how do you see any content? Isn't your feed dead? So, this is the real beauty of Mastodon and why so many people really love it. You see only the content from those you follow. No invisible hand is pushing stuff at you. Now, this does take a little work to get up to speed, but really it is not difficult and there are lots of tricks to help you. Just find interesting posts and follow the account. #Tips #MastodonMigration
Kai RĆ¼sberg 
My most important tip to new users:
Follow at least 500 accounts and 10 favourite hashtags. Then Mastodon starts working for you.
Follow at least 500 accounts and 10 favourite hashtags. Then Mastodon starts working for you.
Cycling Stu@Ruhrnalist @timrichards and then, use those things to find your people
Robotistry@Ruhrnalist If those hashtags include Caturday or SilentSunday your weekends will be very busy.
In lieu of 500 individual accounts, you can also follow groups that repost everything they're mentioned in to their entire following - look for accounts ending in @a.gup.pe . @bookstodon is particularly active!
And if there is content you want to avoid, you can also block hashtags.
Rpsu (326 ppm)@Ruhrnalist absolutely! And Iād also add that especially the hashtag following makes your life / stream interesting. I never knew about all those people talking about interests of mine š
Hiker
Michael įįįįįįįGood tip.
Iām following only 193 accounts and it works will for me. I think the trick for me was selecting them carefully, many are people I know from the other place.
š will reach critical mass when journalists and government/local authority bodies create accounts.
Oliver D. Reithmaier@Ruhrnalist I follow half of that at least and it works for me. Not sure what kind of overstimulation people need but I guess that's one of the problems we have with social media.
Ross of Ottawa@odr_k4tana @Ruhrnalist yeah, I found that at about 200-250 it seems to get the conversation working nicely. I've crept up from there a bit lately as relationships build.
Daniel Gibson@odr_k4tana @Ruhrnalist
exactly.
"Then Mastodon starts working for you" should've been "then Mastodon turns into a fulltime job"
exactly.
"Then Mastodon starts working for you" should've been "then Mastodon turns into a fulltime job"
Simon Dassow@Ruhrnalist I recommend considering Dunbar's Number as an upper limit instead, as it reflects how we can cope with group dynamics.
Semitones@Ruhrnalist I'm only following 250 accounts and I've been happy what does that mean
EDIT: shout-out to #hashtag aurora (don't want to actually tag it here)!
Xeno Danger Evil@Ruhrnalist seems daunting for new users, but you may be right. Finding 100 to follow took me a while. People aren't used to working for their social content.... kids these days *shakes eyes and rolls head*
Rozzychan@Ruhrnalist
Following 100 people is usually enough to make a feed that moves well. There are no push notifications, so the speed of posting depends on those you follow.
My hint for #newbies to Mastodon is to start with a hashtag filled intro post so people can find you, then immediately post a few posts about your fave hobbies so like-minded people can find you.
Also assume comments are made in good faith. Welcome.
Also follow Mastodon specific hashtags like #Mastodon and #silentsunday .
Me
Sieva š“ššļøš¹@Ruhrnalist 500?! that's too many
cameraoh.. i'm not there yet...
One tip organising accounts you follow is sorting them in lists.
If you click on "hide posts from home" you can easily separate personal contacts from official or professional accounts or local from international (whatever you like to read separately).
I use this feature especially to separate real persons opinions from media and companies or institutions accounts.
Another idea: collect not active accounts you want to observe in a separate list and can see immediately if someone came back.
If you click on "hide posts from home" you can easily separate personal contacts from official or professional accounts or local from international (whatever you like to read separately).
I use this feature especially to separate real persons opinions from media and companies or institutions accounts.
Another idea: collect not active accounts you want to observe in a separate list and can see immediately if someone came back.
Corvid CroneFollow 500 accounts?
John Jolley@Ruhrnalist 500 seems like a lot?? I joined two years ago and I'm only at 457 - I do tend to be pretty picky about who ends up in my feed though.
Ed Bridges@DrEdBridges no! 500 is a reasonable number!
ideogram@jstevenyork
I agree. It was hard to establish myself here, but I have found an amazing #autistic community here who are hugely supportive of each other. It's about finding hashtags and interacting to get out of things.
@deadsuperhero
I agree. It was hard to establish myself here, but I have found an amazing #autistic community here who are hugely supportive of each other. It's about finding hashtags and interacting to get out of things.
@deadsuperhero
Ericka Simone@jstevenyork I donāt know. Sometimes I think the bashing of people is a feature. Not a bug. I donāt think masto has been historically kind to new people coming in with intention.
Martin Vermeer FCD@jstevenyork Like, propose an alt-text in your reply, don't just criticise its absence.
Steve_Tiger@jstevenyork
Been here just a few days since fleeing Twitter toxicity; posted a couple of items, responded to a couple of items. I haven't yet figured out how to find lively discussions on topics of interest--mostly religion and politics.
Been here just a few days since fleeing Twitter toxicity; posted a couple of items, responded to a couple of items. I haven't yet figured out how to find lively discussions on topics of interest--mostly religion and politics.
Samhain Night@jstevenyork They're more like guidelines than actual rules
@jstevenyork omg do people still do that? š®āšØ nothing has changed then
Randy_underscore_S@jstevenyork occasionally you may find someone who posts interesting/insightful stuff but it turns out theyāre also a boost factory. Fret not, in their profile (displayed on your server, this will become clearer with time) you can click the user menu (ā¦) and hide just their boosts.
You can also add notes, like āfound in timelineā or ārecommended followā, āfollowed bc they post ducksā, or āblocked bc the ducks were nazis!ā These are stored on your server, only available to you and your admin, and can help you remember the details of your parasocial relationships!
Tisha Tiger / Neliger@jstevenyork Yep!
How many people already left after being yelled at: Ā« omg you forgot the alttext/cw youāre such a monster! Ā» š
Matilda Lovemaybe inclusivity and accessibility shouldn't be conditional on politeness