welcome to sneexy's

(hopefully) simple introduction to mastodon!!

made with love ~~by a tired teenager~~

This is an introduction with a list of servers, how to find them and some tips made by yours truly, @sneexy@lea.pet. I will attempt to make this introduction easy to understand so anyone should be able to comfortably use Mastodon! This introduction will only go over Mastodon to try and keep this introduction clean, simple and straight to the point! (if you want to learn about the other software or more about the fediverse, refer to the links below ^^)

If you want to learn more about the Fediverse or perhaps want a more in-depth guide, you can use any of these resources:

Join the Fediverse Wiki - wiki that explains all about fedi and also includes a beginners guide.
Mastodon Help - website that briefly explains what Mastodon is and what it isn't.
Fedi.Tips - guide that gives a few helpful tips to jump-start your Mastodon usage.
FediDB - not exactly a wiki or guide, but rather a resource that shows information about the fediverse as a whole, including total users, the software and their versions.

I want my instance to be fine-tuned for me. / I want to quickly find and join an instance!

Use one of these websites:

Fediverse Observer - website that finds you a fediverse server that is close to your location to help with the culture or people your instance will have - supports looking for instances that aren't just Mastodon, look for Mastodon instances if confused.
instances.social - questionnaire based on what language and topics you like to find a Mastodon instance for you.
Servers - Mastodon - Mastodon's official server list. Use this if you want to quickly find a server for with a specific community or topic.

So... What is Mastodon, anyways?

Mastodon is a decentralized and federated micro-blogging piece of Fediverse software. If you know what Twitter is, (let's be honest you do) It's exactly like that! A service where you can post whatever you want, like a blog. The benefits to Mastodon is.. well... It's decentralized and federated!

This means that anyone (even you, with the knowledge and resources) can start up their own Mastodon instance and communicate to others on their own instances!

This also means that rather than trusting a corporation to handle all of your data and not screwing up with some large mistake they missed, it usually means you have to trust someone who has an actual passion of hosting a service that thousands of other people will enjoy and don't see it as a way to sell data.

You can usually find an instance that's surrounded entirely with your interests or topics.

General Instances to Join

(recommended for people who just want to join something and get it out of the way)

mas.to - One of the larger public mastodon instances. If you're confused on what's going on, you probably may just want to join this one.
universedon.com - Public instance for anyone to join
wetdry.world - Instance with the name of a SM64 level. Runs a fork of Mastodon that includes QOL features, such as post emoji reactions. Accepts everyone, mostly focused on tech and gaming
tech.lgbt - Public instance for people into tech who are in the LGBTQ+ community or allies.
fosstodon.org - Public instance for people into FOSS/FLOSS. Seems to be a bit more serious as a community.
social.vivaldi.net - Public instance ran by the people behind Vivaldi browser
based.social - Actually pretty small Mastodon instance that is run by the owner of Revolt
mastodon.social - The official Mastodon server ran by the people who made Mastodon. This is put at the bottom of the list because this is one of the most popular servers, and it's better if people join others to balance the load with federation

Clients

Mastodon already has a web client that you can use by going to your instances URL. However, there are a few desktop and mobile clients to help make the experience a lot nicer.

Apps - Mastodon - Mastodon's official list of applications to use. You can look here if you're unsure about what to use.
Megalodon (Android only) - Fork of Mastodon's official mobile app with more QOL features added to improve the user experience.
Moshidon (Android only) - Fork of Megalodon (see above) with even more QOL features added to improve the user experience.
Tusky (Android only) - An older but still actively developed Mastodon client for Android. Recommended if you're looking for a mobile client that may have more features of stability.
Toot! (iOS only) - iOS mobile client for Mastodon. Costs some money, but according to most Mastodon users who use this app, say it's "one of the best purchases they have ever made".
Tuba (Linux only) - Nicely made GTK4 Mastodon client for desktop.

Anymore tips?

Here's a few things I've gathered up, which I believe it best to point out:

Make an #Introduction post! It can help you reach out to more people if you properly introduce yourself and your interests!
Mastodon doesn't have an "algorithm". It doesn't make sense for a service that wants to be decentralized and privacy-friendly.
- The way people get around this is by using hashtags in their post, and having you subscribe to any hashtags. It works as a well enough as an alternative. See how to do so here.
If you have some spare change and you want to support your instance to help keep the lights on, check your instances about page! Feel free to throw in some money to help support your instance owner.
If you're feeling adventurous or maybe gained a bit more knowledge about the Fediverse, You could try out other software other than Mastodon! Great examples include Foundkey, Calckey, Akkoma and much much more!

sneexy-boi/fediguide