xax
holy shit there's literally a monster-themed mastodon instance; maybe i was too hasty getting a mastodon.social one
Nov 13, 2017 at 7:51amWeb
Show threadThe Mïghty KräckenNov 13, 2017
@xax still haven't wrapped my brain around the whole "instance" thing.
Show threadxaxNov 13, 2017
@Klaxun in practice it's like, "whose server do you want your account to be on, and who do you trust as a moderator", but there's a lot of you know, social dynamics there too. are you on a fun party instance or a serious news instance etc
Show threadThe Mïghty KräckenNov 13, 2017
@xax that sounds pretty complicated. Do the instances all talk with each other?
Show threadxaxNov 13, 2017
@Klaxun yeah, when you hear anybody talk about 'federation', they're talking about different instances talking. so like, the 'local timeline' is just posts from mastodon.social, but the 'federated timeline' is all posts from any instance that's federated with mastodon.social (and i think federation happens automatically whenever anybody here follows anybody on another server -- that federates the servers so they talk to each other)
Show threadThe Mïghty KräckenNov 13, 2017
@xax Okay, that is starting to become more clear. Thank you for patiently answering my noob questions.
Show threadxaxNov 13, 2017
@Klaxun oh hey, no problem; i've only had an account here for a few hours myself :V
Show threadSix-Piece Chicken McNobodyNov 13, 2017

@xax You can apparently switch instances! You have to export your contacts/data and then import them on the new instance. Your followers have to re-follow you at your new address. Otherwise, it's supposed to be pretty painless.

Also, I saw the monster one, too! But if it's the same one, there weren't many people in it.

Show threadxaxNov 13, 2017
@fidgety huh, that's real interesting! it makes sense -- just export and import -- but after so long using giant monolith sites i've forgotten how it was like, like, back in the livejournal days when everybody was just running separate instances
Show threadSix-Piece Chicken McNobodyNov 13, 2017
@xax I miss LJ. I'm on DW now, but LJ back in the day played such an important part in my life.
Show threadxaxNov 13, 2017
@fidgety yeah nothing yet has really matched LJ in its heyday. both socially and mechanically -- i used tumblr for a while, and the part where there was no flocking or communities or anything like that constantly chafed. i'm super glad mastodon comes with per-post privacy controls!
Show threadSix-Piece Chicken McNobodyNov 13, 2017
@xax Oh, I totally agree. Not to mention that you'd actually have to put thought into what you posted. Simple status updates are more or less mindless. I'd rather read a full, well-crafted entry.