You can restrict the audience of your posts on Mastodon using post visibility settings. You can set each post's visibility separately if you want, and you can also choose a default visibility.

There are four or five different visibility settings which let you control who can see your posts and how easily they can be discovered.

Instructions on how to set Mastodon's post visibilities (and lots of questions answered about this feature) at:

➡️ fedi.tips/who-can-see-my-posts…

#FediTips #Mastodon

Who can see my posts and replies in Mastodon? How do I choose post visibility settings? How do I send DMs in Mastodon? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

You don't need to use weird spellings or algospeak for any topics on the Fediverse ("unalived", "seggs" etc). There is no automated moderation or algorithm on here, moderation happens entirely through human beings and posts are shown in chronological order.

In fact it's better that you use the correct spellings for difficult topics so that people with genuine traumas related to them can filter them more easily.

#FediTips

There are four main timelines on Mastodon:

Home - Your default timeline, posts from people & tags & groups you follow

Explore/Trending - Shows most boosted recent posts, most used tags, most shared links

Local - Latest public posts from people on your server (also called Live Feeds: This Server)

Federated - Latest public posts visible to your server from across the Fediverse (also called Live Feeds: All)

More info about these on the timelines guide:

➡️ fedi.tips/what-are-the-local-f…

#FediTips

What are the Local, Federated and Home timelines? How do I stop them scrolling too quickly? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Did you know that you can hide boosts from people? If your client doesn't support this, pester the devs until they either build it in or quit creating the client. The second one is more likely so meh. Anyway, it's really useful.

Mastodon works on boosts. If you see something cool, you boost it. There are no "posts you may like" mechanisms on Mastodon. There are no algorithms. So, if you want people to see something, you *have* to boost. If some one boosts too much, though, you can hide those boosts, especially if you already follow the source they boost from.

#feditips #accessibility #mastodon #blind

If someone's profile looks blank on here, don't assume it is actually blank. Some accounts, especially newer ones or ones with few followers, may look blank even if they aren't.

There's more info about this, why it happens and how to check what the profile really looks like in the guide:

➡️ fedi.tips/why-does-someones-ac…

You can prevent your own account ever looking blank to anyone by pinning up to five posts or five threads on your profile:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-do-i-pin-my-post…

#FediTips #Mastodon

How do I pin posts on my Mastodon profile? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Quit censoring yourself.

You don't have to say unalive or whatever other dumb terms to get around filters. You can say kill, murder, suicide, whatever. There's no algorithm here to punish you for using the actual words for things.

You can say swear words too. You are allowed to say fuck and shit and whatever else.

Don't say slurs though.

Edit: you can call yourself whatever you want. Don't call others slurs though.

#feditips

If your organisation needs to be on many social networks at once, there are paid social management services which include support for Mastodon such as Buffer at buffer.com/mastodon and Publer at publer.com

However, if you just want to schedule your Mastodon posts you don't need to use commercial services. Mastodon has its own built-in free open scheduling system available through third party apps (more info at fedi.tips/scheduling-posts-on-…).

#FediTips

Schedule Your Mastodon Posts with Buffer | Make Your Mark in the Fediverse

Schedule Mastodon posts to make your mark in the fediverse with Buffer’s social media toolkit. Enjoy our powerful free plan or try our premium features free for 14 days.

^{Buffer: All-you-need social media toolkit for small businesses}

Is there any way to set up automatic cross-posting between 2 separate Mastodon accounts (on different instances)? All I can find is tools that let you cross-post to other platforms like Bluesky, X, etc. 🤔

I can only think of maybe 2 specific use cases myself, so perhaps no one's bothered to make a tool for this... Or maybe I'm missing some really obvious solution? 😄

#FediHelp #FediTips

Be careful which accounts you tag in your posts or DMs. If you tag an account with an @ mention, that account will be able to see your post or DM no matter what visibility you are using.

If you want to mention an account without that account seeing your post, you can (for example) replace the @ symbols with the word AT. Alternatively, you can remove the @ symbols or put spaces around them to stop them working.

#FediTips

If you're using Mastodon through a computer, did you know you can access almost all of its functions through keyboard shortcuts? There's a complete list of shortcuts plus more info here:

➡️ fedi.tips/using-mastodon-throu…

Some of these will only make sense in Mastodon's multicolumn mode, but most of them work in all modes.

NOTE: You don't have to use any of these shortcuts, everthing can be done through the mouse too. The keyboard shortcuts are just for people who prefer them 🙂

#FediTips #Mastodon

Using Mastodon through a keyboard | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

If you get a DM saying "call me the Fediverse chick", it's a spam. Don't click the links, but DO report it!

Reports from users are really important, especially if they are about spam DMs because no one else can see the spam except the user.

You can report posts by clicking ⋯ on the post and selecting "Report". When you report it, make sure to select the option to forward the report to the server it came from so that the admin there can delete the spammer's account.

#FediTips #Spam

#fediTips

But if they can't see anything you post or anything your mutual contact comments on or likes, neither you nor they would never know each other exists if the posts aren't public.

On friendica you do see the contacts of those who share with you because you get the posts your contacts comment on in your stream because of the comments @Kristi H.. You should consider to pay a lot of attention to hashtags and following those to get content of interest into your stream. Also usefull in the beginning can be to create a mastodon account on a bigger mastodon instance and drag content and contacts to your account with that account. Once you have a reasonable pool of input surfing becomes easier.

btw
I often check on the public pages of the mastodon sites I have accounts on before I log in, lot's of content and contacts I find on those streams. And their differ astonishingly. Once you have the URL's of the interesting post's you simply put those in you search box, pull them onto the server your on and chime in from there:
troet.cafe/explore
social.tchncs.de/explore
mastodon.social/explore
tupambae.org/community/global

One of the real differences of federation is that everything is kinda dispersed. To have two accounts on a monopolistic site doesn't make to much sense, out here that's completely different.

I've just updated the guide on how to make your Mastodon and Fediverse posts accessible to blind and deaf people:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-do-i-make-posts-…

Amongst other things, it now includes step-by-step instructions for adding alt texts.

Thanks for all the feedback about the previous version, hopefully this provides more info in a clearer way. Let me know if I've missed something or got something wrong.

(I also merged the blind and deaf guides as the media description process is identical.)

#FediTips

How do I make my posts more accessible to blind, deaf and deafblind people on Mastodon and the Fediverse? How do I add alt texts? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

In case you missed it, the Fediverse's livestreaming platform OwnCast has official apps:

iPhone, iPad, Apple TV
apps.apple.com/app/owncasts/id…

📺 Roku
channelstore.roku.com/details/…

You don't have to use these though, all of OwnCast's features are available through the web.

(OwnCast is like the Fediverse's alternative to Twitch, it's a livestreaming platform with a built-in chat service. More info at fedi.tips/owncast-live-streami…)

#OwnCast #FediTips #LiveStreaming #Twitch #Alternatives

‎Owncasts

‎Add your favorite Owncast-powered live streams to watch on the go. Get notified when streamers go live so you'll never miss out.

^{App Store}

@Peter Vágner Aside note:

As far as I know, you can only send posts to a Friendica forum with an exclamation mark to have them forwarded to all members. But you cannot do that with comments, not in a conversation whose (start) post did not go to that forum.

On Friendica and all its descendants, a reply is never a stand-alone post. It's always a comment on another post.

Thus, mentioning a Friendica forum in a comment with an exclamation mark is futile.

#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #Friendica #FediTips

You can customise what appears on your timeline using Mastodon's Filters feature. It lets you automatically hide posts containing certain words, phrases, hashtags, links or emoji. This guide explains how to use Mastodon filters and answers lots of common questions:

➡️ fedi.tips/filtering-your-timel…

Filtered posts can be either hidden completely, or hidden behind a warning that can be clicked open.

Filters give you the ability to hide whatever you don't want to see, from NSFW to Wordle.

#FediTips

Filtering your Mastodon timeline to automatically hide posts containing certain words, phrases, hashtags, links or emoji | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Lots of questions about Pixelfed right now! 😅

The most common Pixelfed questions are answered on the Fedi.Tips website at this link:

➡️ fedi.tips/pixelfed-photo-shari…

If you want to find people to follow on Pixelfed, there's more info here:

➡️ fedi.tips/finding-people-to-fo…

Here's how to import your data from Instagram to Pixelfed:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-do-i-import-my-i…

If you want to receive DMs from strangers on Pixelfed, you need to activate that option:

➡️ fedi.tips/dms-arent-getting-th…

#FediTips #Pixelfed

DMs aren’t getting through to me on Pixelfed! What do I do? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

There are lots of different ways to discover accounts to follow on here, have you tried them all?

➡️ fedi.tips/how-do-i-find-accoun…

#FediTips

How do I discover accounts to follow on Mastodon and the Fediverse? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

If you're posting a thread on here, numbering its posts can be a good way of indicating they are part of a thread. People may see individual posts shared out of context and not realise they are part of a thread, which is why numbering can be useful.

You can number simply by just putting 1,2,3 etc at the end, or 1/3, 2/3 etc if you know how many posts there are. Some people put 🧵 next to numbers to indicate a thread.

More info about creating threads at:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-do-i-post-a-thre…

#FediTips

How do I post a thread on Mastodon? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

If you're wanting to discuss a particular year, you might have noticed that number-only hashtags don't work on here.

To get round this, a lot of people use the word "year" before the number, for example #Year2024 or #Year2025

(By the way, there is a discussion about this issue on Mastodon's Github page at github.com/mastodon/mastodon/i…)

#FediTips

Numeric hashtags are not possible · Issue #9709 · mastodon/mastodon

Writing #2019 in a toot does not result in a hashtag being created, although some clients render it like it was (don't get fooled when trying). From a federalized ActivityPub instance that can crea...

^GitHub

If you want to make sure you always see posts from particular accounts you follow, go to their profile and click the notification bell:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-to-be-notified-w…

The official apps don't yet have this feature, but third party apps do and so does your server's website.

If you want the official apps to have this too, and if you're comfortable using Github, you can give a thumbs up at:

Android
github.com/mastodon/mastodon-a…

iPhone/iPad
github.com/mastodon/mastodon-i…

#FediTips

How to be notified when your favourite accounts post on Mastodon | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Lot of new people over past couple of days asking for help! Welcome 👋

I am an unofficial tech support account helping people use Mastodon and the Fediverse. If you want to ask anything at all about this place, feel free to mention or message me:

➡️ @FediTips

My website is full of beginner's guides:

➡️ fedi.tips

I also run a site and account to help people discover who to follow:

➡️ fedi.directory

➡️ @FediFollows

If you have any questions, please ask!

#FediTips

Fedi.Directory – Interesting accounts on Mastodon & the Fediverse

Interesting accounts to follow on Mastodon and the Fediverse

^{fedi.directory}

The term "Mentions" on here means when you type an @ symbol and then the address of the account you want to mention. This is also known as @-ing (pronounced "at-ing").

Mentioning an account causes the account owner to get a notification about the post where they were mentioned, so they can go and see it.

There are lots of questions answered about mentions on Mastodon here:

➡️ fedi.tips/what-are-mentions-on…

If you have any other questions, let me know in the replies!

#FediTips

If you want to, you can set your Mastodon account to automatically delete your own posts after a certain time period (for example posts older than 90 days). You can also set it to retain certain types of posts even after the period has elapsed.

There is a step-by-step guide about how to use this feature at:

➡️ fedi.tips/deleting-posts-autom…

The guide also answers lots of questions including why deletions sometimes get delayed, and whether auto-deletion stresses server resources.

#FediTips

Reminder that the original Metatext third party app is no longer being maintained, as its lead developer had to step back due to health issues.

However, there is a new version of Metatext run by different people called Feditext which is currently in public beta testing. You can follow the official Feditext account at:

➡️ @Feditext

If you would like to join the public beta testing, it's on Apple TestFlight. There are more instructions here:

➡️ mastodon.social/@Feditext/1128…

#FediTips #Mastodon #iOS

The Fediverse's social reading platform BookWyrm lets you import your account data from Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, OpenLibrary or Calibre. There are step by step instructions for how to do this here:

➡️ fedi.tips/importing-your-data-…

If you're wondering what the heck BookWyrm is, it's a Fediverse alternative to Amazon's Goodreads. There's an intro article here:

➡️ fedi.tips/bookwyrm-a-social-ne…

#BookWyrm #FediTips #GoodReads #StoryGraph #LibraryThing #OpenLibrary #Calibre #Books #Fediverse

You can use Mastodon on many retro computer systems:

Apple II - colino.net/wordpress/en/mastod…

Apple Macintosh (pre-OS X) - github.com/smallsco/macstodon

Commodore 64 - github.com/Havoc6502/MOStodon

Commodore Amiga - github.com/BlitterStudio/amido…

MS-DOS - github.com/SuperIlu/DOStodon

MVS - github.com/mainframed/BREXXTOD…

Palm OS - github.com/knickish/heffalump

Windows 95 - github.com/meyskens/mastodon-f…

#FediTips #RetroComputing #1980s #1990s

If you are using Mastodon on a computer, you can optionally use it entirely through your keyboard using "hotkeys". There is a complete list of these keyboard shortcuts here:

➡️ fedi.tips/using-mastodon-throu…

You can see this list at any time by pressing Shift + ? (or just ? on some keyboard layouts).

Some of the shortcuts only work with the advanced multicolumn mode (more info about it: fedi.tips/how-to-activate-mast…) but most shortcuts work with single column mode too.

#FediTips #Mastodon #Keyboards

How to use Mastodon’s Tweetdeck-style Advanced Web Interface | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

There's a fun little browser extension called "StreetPass for Mastodon", which notices if websites you're browsing have official Fediverse accounts:

➡️ streetpass.social

When you check your StreetPass, it will show you a list of all the official accounts from the sites you've been browsing. It does this offline, your browsing data doesn't leave your machine, and the code is free open source.

Official accounts are detected by verification (more info: fedi.tips/how-do-i-verify-my-a…).

#FediTips

How do I verify my account on Mastodon and the Fediverse? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Okay, this is possibly going to be controversial in some quarters, but it has to be said for the good of the Fediverse:

Mastodon.social is not a good way to join Mastodon. If you're already on mastodon.social, you might want to move your account to another server. I've done an article about this topic at:

➡️ fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-ide…

If you want to move your account, there's a complete step-by-step guide to how to do it here:

➡️ fedi.tips/transferring-your-ma…

#FediTips #Mastodon #MastodonSocial

Mastodon.social is not a good way to join Mastodon. If you’re already on it, you might want to move your account to a different Mastodon server. | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Wow, apparently there is now a classifieds sales platform for the Fediverse called Flohmarkt ("flea market"). You can find out more at:

➡️ codeberg.org/flohmarkt/flohmar…

...and especially its wiki page at:

➡️ codeberg.org/flohmarkt/flohmar…

The wiki contains a list of existing servers, compatibility with other Fediverse platforms like Mastodon, and instructions for installation.

No official account yet but you can follow the lead developer at:

➡️ @grindhold

(via @Tealk 🙏 )

#FediTips #Fediverse #Flohmarkt

flohmarkt

federated decentral classified ad software using activitypub

^Codeberg.org

Do you ever stumble upon an old Excel file that's locked with a password and you can't remember what it is? This can be incredibly frustrating, especially if the file contains valuable data! 😩

In my latest video, I show you a surprisingly easy way to remove worksheet protection from any Excel file, even if you don't have the password! This trick is perfect for those times when you're locked out of your own information.

The best part? You don't need any fancy software to do it! Just a little bit of text editing will do the trick. 😉
Check out my full video here: youtu.be/68goS6XdoW0

#excel #howto #productivity #exceltips #microsoft #office #tutorial #tech #software #spreadsheets #YouTube #Feditips

(This might seem obvious to some but it has been asked, and it is 100% fine to ask! 👍 )

Hashtags are where you put a # in front of a word or phrase to indicate the topic you're posting about, which makes it easier for people to find your post. Lots of questions answered about hashtags here:

➡️ fedi.tips/what-are-hashtags-ho…

For hashtags with several words, put them together without spaces, with capital letters #LikeThisExample

You can follow hashtags too:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-do-i-follow-hash…

#FediTips

How do I follow hashtags on Mastodon and the Fediverse? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

The Fediverse is deliberately spread out on thousands of independent servers running many types of software, which connect together to form a single social network.

But why is it like this? Why go to all this trouble? Wouldn't a single large server be easier?

Here is a complete list of reasons why it is very important for a social network to be spread out on many independent servers:

➡️ fedi.tips/why-is-the-fediverse…

(If I'm missing a reason, let me know in the replies!)

#FediTips #Fediverse

Why is the Fediverse on so many separate servers? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

In case you missed it, you can use Mastodon's "Lists" feature to create themed mini-timelines with accounts you select. You can then hide these accounts from your main timeline if you want, so that it isn't so crowded.

➡️ fedi.tips/how-to-use-the-lists…

...and if you're on a computer, you can combine Lists with the "Advanced Web Interface" mode to have lots of themed timelines on a single screen:

➡️ fedi.tips/how-to-activate-mast…

You can pin as many Lists as you want, and also hashtags etc.

#FediTips

How to use Mastodon’s Tweetdeck-style Advanced Web Interface | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

Have you heard the terms "Fediverse" or "Fedi" and wondered what they are?

I've done a little article that tries to explain what the Fediverse is, and how Mastodon is a part of it:

➡️ fedi.tips/what-is-mastodon-wha…

TL:DR - The Fediverse is a network of thousands of independent social media servers that communicate seamlessly using a common standard. Even totally different kinds of Fediverse server allow users to follow each other.

#FediTips #Fediverse

What is Mastodon? What is the Fediverse? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

There's a new free open source Reddit-style platform for the Fediverse called PieFed. It's still fairly early in development, but you can try out a demo server at:

➡️ piefed.social

There's more info on its official website at:

➡️ join.piefed.social

You can follow the project at:

➡️ @piefedadmin

It's lightweight and written to make it easier for developers to contribute. (For any devs reading this, it's written in Python.)

(via @Mrfunkedude)

#FediTips #Fediverse #Reddit

@Friendica Support
Hi there,
not sure if this is a bug or just that I'm missing some idea/rule functionality.

#bugResearch

I didn't have a look at gitHub

See image gif in screenshots spoiler

#newHere #neuHier #hola

[img=https://fedi.ml/photo/preview/1024/480767]Gif scene of the movie "The Martian".

The lonely main actor is sitting on a stone on the inhabited planet he was left on alone.
A text reads:
"First day in the diaspora of the fediVerse .."

The astronaut is depicted how he opens the solar panels of his equipment, presses a big button on it and the hashtags #hola, #neuHier and #newHere appear.

In the last scene he sits again on his stone and the text: ".. wait .." is displayed.

In the first scene that reads the text about the first day in the fediVerse the probably oldest logo of the fediVerse is displayed at the bottom left of the scene. At the horizon on the right the actual logo of the the fediVerse rises behind the landscape.

In the last scene, while our hero is awaiting the outcome of his intent to make contact with the outside world, the old Federated Social Web logo appears in front of the sun.[/img]

#[url=https://tupambae.org/search?tag=fediVerse]fediVerse[/url] #[url=https://tupambae.org/search?tag=fediHelp]fediHelp[/url] #[url=https://tupambae.org/search?tag=fediTips]fediTips[/url] #[url=https://tupambae.org/search?tag=gimp]gimp[/url] #[url=https://tupambae.org/search?tag=gimped]gimped[/url] 
@ gimped@tupambae.org @[url=https://tupambae.org/profile/tutorial]Tutorial[/url]

Screenshots:

Congratulations!

Please provide a PeerTube alternative to YouTube: mastodon.online/@blueghost/111…

#LibreOffice #OpenSource #Fediverse #PeerTube #Privacy #Video #FediTips #FediVideo @tilvids

One of the most under-used features of Mastodon is audio. You can attach audio files to your posts, they can be in MP3, OGG, WAV, FLAC, AAC, M4A or 3GP formats. They can be any length, as long as the file size is under 40 megabytes (some servers may have even higher limits).

I've attached an example audio file to this post, you should be able to play it on most interfaces and apps.

(Music is "Modern Technology" by Mokka Music, used under Creative Commons Attribution licence)

#FediTips