Encouraging non-technical people and organisations to set up their own online services instead of relying on massive corporations.
All the recommended services are free and open source, and available through managed hosting providers. You can find out more on my website at https://growyourown.services
🚫 Completely opposed to cryptocurrency, "web3", NFTs, blockchain, tokens, defi, daos etc. They are scams.
Maintained by @FediThing
| Website | https://growyourown.services |
| See also | @FediTips, @FediFollows, @FediVideo, @FediGarden |
| Personal account | @FediThing |
If you are running a Mastodon server and it seems a bit quiet, here's a list of ways to build up your connections to the rest of the Fediverse more quickly:
🌱 https://fedi.tips/using-relays-to-quickly-expand-a-servers-view-of-the-fediverse
(Some of these methods also work on non-Mastodon Fediverse servers.)
If you're a Mastodon server admin, you can control whether or not your members can invite people to join. However, this setting is a bit hidden and not in an obvious place:
1. Go to Preferences > Administration > Roles > Default Permissions, tick or untick the box marked "Invite Users"
2. Click "Save Changes"
To cancel existing invitations:
1. Go to Preferences > Moderation > Invites
2. Click "Deactivate" to deactivate a particular invitation, or "Deactivate All" for all of them
Have you noticed posts, threads or bookmarks mysteriously disappearing on your Mastodon server?
This may be because your server's retention settings are incorrect. Here's a guide for server admins on how to make sure the settings are correct:
➡️ https://fedi.tips/mastodon-admins-leave-the-content-cache-retention-period-blank
TL:DR - The "Remote content retention period" setting must be kept totally blank.
If you're not the server admin but have noticed stuff disappearing, try messaging your admin to ask about their settings.
Mastodon servers can optionally be run in "limited federation mode", also known as "allowlist mode" or "isolated mode".
In that mode the server doesn't communicate at all with any other servers, unless the admin has specifically added a server to their "allowlist".
Isolated servers are much safer but less busy, and generally created by admins who want to make a private network rather than be part of a larger social network. More info at:
If you're running a Mastodon server, you might want to activate the "authorized fetch" option (also known as "secure mode").
Having this switched on makes your server-level blocks work much more effectively, and helps to protect your server's members from abuse.
It's extremely easy to activate, step-by-step instructions and lots of questions answered at:
🌱 https://fedi.tips/authorized-fetch
#MastoAdmin #AuthorizedFetch #SecureMode #UserSafety #Mastodon
If you're wanting to run your own Fediverse server but it seems too difficult, you might want to use a managed hosting service. They do all the technical stuff for you behind the scenes, as well as the actual hosting itself.
For example here are some Fediverse managed hosting providers:
- https://cloud68.co/managed-hosting.html
- https://fedihost.co
- https://masto.host
- https://weingaertner-it.de/?lang=en
- https://communick.com
- https://writefreely.host
Fedi admins, you may want to defederate mastodon.cloud
There's a scammer registered on mastodon.cloud who is currently spamming people all over the Fediverse (https://digipres.club/@timixretroplays/116400799417215833).
Mastodon.cloud seems to be an unmoderated instance with open registration. It hasn't responded to multiple previous abuse reports (https://social.growyourown.services/@FediTips/115027459008099476).
The admin of mastodon.cloud hasn't posted since February 2023 and its server software is very out of date.
Attached: 1 image ⚠️ Heads up - there's a #Mastodon #scam bot doing the rounds. Mastodon does not "temporarily restrict your visibility" - that is simply not a thing here. If you see a DM or post to that effect begging you to click a link to restore anything, do not click it - report it instead.
Mastodon server admins can customise their server website's appearance by installing pre-made themes or addding custom CSS. More about both options at:
🌱 https://fedi.tips/customising-your-mastodon-servers-appearance
There are some very nice pre-made unofficial themes such as Tangerine UI:
If you run a public Fediverse server, it's important to think about what you would do if it ever has to close down, even if you never intend to close.
Here's a guide to how to close your server gracefully, including a detailed example for Mastodon servers:
🌱 https://fedi.tips/closing-your-mastodon-server-gracefully/
Having a pre-written closure plan relieves pressure on you if you ever end up having to close, and it also means your members can have confidence you aren't just going to vanish overnight.
If you're the admin of a Mastodon server, you can moderate your server's trending posts, hashtags, links and recommended accounts. Here's how to do it:
🌱 https://fedi.tips/how-do-admins-moderate-trends-on-their-mastodon-server
Moderating your server's trends is really important, as it means you can pre-emptively prevent nasty or hateful content appearing in your server's trending sections. You can also optionally prevent entire accounts from appearing in trends.
