A basic guide to getting started with Mastodon, the Twitter alternative

changes Twitter made consumers look for options and Mastodon is the one that has been best described as having a basic concept similar to a social network Elon MuskBut on a general level it works very differently.

In this app, you can also post short texts, with images and videos that will be posted in the feed for people who follow the account to see. However, it’s broken down into instances or federations that group different users together, which is a 180-degree turn from what Twitter does, which has a central point where all the profiles converge.

What are cases and how do they work?

This is the first thing to understand before joining a social network, because the way you use the platform is changing a lot.

Mastodon It is designed with the concept of decentralization, so there is no central server that controls everything, but it is divided into many aspects. These are cases that communicate with each other but work separately.

These cases are divided into languages, regions, topics and general interest filter according to the user’s taste and preferences. It’s as if the application is the universe and each server is a planet to choose where to live.

Each has specific rules to ensure that those particular topics are discussed and the content shared there responds to that interest. Each of them has a different link and shows the number of users on it.

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time lines

This is another key concept before starting because it is the way in which nutrition is done Mastodon. All users will have four options and in them they will see the content differently:

– start: There, messages will appear in the chronological order of the accounts, without the influence of any algorithm. All accounts will be in this location, regardless of whether they are from another instance or not.

– Notifications: This is the center for messages sent to the account, favorites, follow-up alerts and resets.

– local deadlines: Messages from your registered users will appear here. Everything will appear in chronological order and without algorithms.

– History of the Federation: Messages from all instances of all users connected to the account are displayed.

How to create an account

Once logged in for a profile and its functionality, creating an account is a similar process to other platforms. There will be a change in access to the instance, as a request to login to one must be sent and admins will be the ones who can prove to have a user of that instance.

This is because the profile name will not always be the same, but will be specific for each case. It will be something like @infobae@XXX (example name). This way, the name can be repeated on different servers, but it does not mean that it is the same person.

It should be noted that the instance input is not a limitation because Mastodon This allows a person to switch servers as often as they want and try different experiences.

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Find friends on Mastodon

Here is another big difference with other social networks. The application has a search engine, but in it you can not consult specific words, but only search for numbers. Which adds an extra step to finding other contacts.

Friends outside of the instance they belong to will only be found by their username and the server they belong to, this creates a link (as mentioned above) and that’s how the browser should be set up.

There are two tools that can help you with this task: Debirdify or Twitodon.com, But sometimes they have flaws. So the best way to follow a specific someone is to ask for their Mastodon link and finding one is the best option to communicate that link to other networks.

How are the posts?

Finally, you should note that there is a 500 character limit to start posting, there you can add images, videos and descriptions for the blind. Its operation is very similar to that of Twitter, which provides the possibility to mention another user.

One of its differentiating points is the alternative to filter the published content, warning which people can see it, such as followers, mentions or the whole world.

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