![]() There's a main instance-mastodon.social, that seems to be the default for newbs like myself, so my new handle is and don't worry-there are plenty of cute cat pictures here, too. Because it's open-source, you could even start your own if you were so inclined. But the thing is, as long as administrators are paying to maintain their instances, Mastodon can expand or contract naturally without threatening the entire network. Some who saw 2017’s mini Twitter exodus happening dismissed it as a passing fad, while others dissed Mastodon as a dead-end social network doomed to extinction just like its eponymous megafauna. So, if one instance stops paying for their internet or forgets to re-up their URL, the rest are unharmed in their semi-permeable silos. ![]() That’s what makes up a “federation,” and it protects the integrity of the service-there is no single, central server. It’s mostly like Twitter, but instead of living in one place, the social network lives in different chunks, called “instances,” each with its own rules and administrators. It lets you post “toots,” and you can “boost” other users’ posts. Here’s what Mastodon is: an open-source, community-run microblogging website. The social network garnered a lot of press last year, when fed-up Twitter users gave it a shot. Mastodon is the most popular Twitter alternative-at least, for those of us who would like fewer fascists on our social networks. I (mostly) left Twitter, and joined Mastodon. In this case, I did what the Ghostbusters might do-I broke with the establishment and took things into my own hands. With the company's fortunes tied directly to user count, there's little incentive to purge bad actors or even those who break Twitter's own rules, especially if they're famous enough. ![]() ![]() Today's Twitter calls to mind the plot of Ghostbusters 2: It's a digital sewer of negativity slime we're all wading through. Seeing people I generally like and agree with subtweeting and attacking others-on top of the world's perpetually bleak news-has begun to gnaw away at my mental health and spiritual wellbeing. It's become a way to pervert the political discourse, to enable trolls, and to fuel the spread of conspiracy theories. Twitter, the platform I once loved, has turned into a terrible place. ![]()
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