There's an alternative version of Mastodon called "Mastodon Glitch Edition" (aka "glitch-soc" or just "Glitch"). Glitch is totally compatible with normal Mastodon, but adds experimental new features.

For example, Glitch instances let the admin alter the character limit, allow local posting, text formatting and lots of other stuff.

Many features in Glitch have eventually made their way into normal Mastodon after proving themselves stable and useful.

You can find out more at:

glitch-soc.github.io/docs/

If you run your own Mastodon instance you can switch to Glitch, and switch back again if you don't like it.

(You may be wondering how this post is so long? It's because FediTips is on an instance that uses Glitch, and the instance character limit has been extended to 1000.)

#FediTips #MastoTips #Fediverse #Mastodon #Glitch #GlitchSoc

If you've been waiting for full-text #search on #Mastodon, please go to #TootFinder and sign in. The more the merrier.
tootfinder.ch/

Thanks to @buercher for building it.

It's opt-in, not opt-out. It respects Mastodon culture and doesn't index accounts that don't sign in.

That means the index might be small if we don't spread the word.

#mastotips #feditips

#mastotips: Since there's no algorithm here curating posts, it's a good idea to turn on post notifications for any users from whom you don't want to miss a post. You can do so from their profile!

I've now turned on notifications for @nova because of course I did 🔔 🙌

Are you using Mastodon through a computer?

Do you wish there was a multi-column TweetDeck-style interface?

There is! It's called the "advanced web interface" and you can activate it any time you want. It lets you add many specialised columns, subscribe to hashtags and all kinds of stuff suited to large wide displays.

Log into the website, go to Preferences > Enable Advanced Web Interface, tick the box and click "Save Changes".

(To restore the default single column interface, do the same thing but untick the box instead.)

This used to be the default interface on Mastodon, and very old articles about the platform will have screenshots of the multicolumn interface.

#MastoTips #Mastodon #TweetDeck #FediTips #Interface

🐘 Mastodon Tip ✨

Mastodon doesn't always pull in up-to-date profile info.

If you see a blank avatar, or if you just want to make sure you're seeing someone's up-to-date profile info, do this:

1) Right-click on their avatar or username.
2) Choose "copy link address" or similar.
3) Click in the Mastodon search box and paste the link.
4) Press enter.
5) If there's a new avatar or display name, it will update when the profile appears in the search results.

[ #MastoTips #tootorial #Mastodon #MastoMeta ]

RSS fans!

You can follow any Mastodon account via RSS by just adding ".rss" to the end of the account's public profile URL.

To find a user's public profile URL, click on their profile image within Mastodon.

For example, if you click on FediTips' profile image you get this page in a new tab:

mstdn.social/@feditips

So, to follow FediTips through RSS, use this address:

mstdn.social/@feditips.rss

This will only show that account's public posts. Other posts will not be visible on the RSS feed.

#RSS #MastoTips #FediTips #Mastodon

FediTips (@feditips@mstdn.social)

1.75K Posts, 541 Following, 12.8K Followers · Posting tips and hints about Mastodon and the Fediverse 🌍 @ or DM me if you have any questions, suggestions or comments 📨 There's no such thing as a silly question, if you're having difficulty usin…

^{Mastodon 🐘}

You can create your own Mastodon server even without technical knowledge 🐘

There are companies that provide Managed Hosting, where you pay a monthly fee and they do all the technical stuff including hosting, installation and updates.

You own and run the server, they do the tech stuff behind the scenes.

The best managed hosting companies for Mastodon are probably masto.host and federation.spacebear.ee

It's not just Mastodon either, there are lots of Fediverse platforms and other online services available through managed hosting. Try visiting growyourown.services for more options (or follow them at @homegrown).

#MastoTips #FediTips #Mastodon #Fediverse #ManagedHosting

Masto.host - Fully Managed Mastodon Hosting

Masto.host was built from the ground up to make running a Mastodon instance easy.

^Masto.host

If you're currently on a massive server like mastodon.social, you might want to consider moving your account to a smaller server.

You can keep your followers when you change servers, here's how to do it: mstdn.social/@feditips/1079394…

You can find reliable servers at joinmastodon.org/communities (all the servers listed there agree to the covenant at joinmastodon.org/covenant). Try to pick one with fewer people.

There are lots of good things about smaller servers:

-Better moderation, because there are more staff per member.

-Smaller servers tend to have more personality, with a village feel.

-The local timeline on smaller servers is much more readable.

-Smaller servers protect the Fediverse as a whole from being taken over, because lots of smaller servers are harder to buy than a few big servers.

-It's easier to make a difference on smaller servers. It's easier to discuss things with the admin and other members.

#FediTips #MastoTips #Fediverse #Mastodon

FediTips (@feditips@mstdn.social)

If you want, you can move your Mastodon account from one instance (server) to another. Moving lets you take your followers, follows and some settings with you. 1.

^{Mastodon 🐘}

Profiles and posts on Mastodon and the Fediverse have public versions you can share with people who aren't on the Fediverse.

To see the public version of a profile, click on the profile picture. This will open the public version of the profile in a new tab.

To see the public version of a post, click on the datestamp below the post. This will open the public version of the post in a new tab.

These "public pages" are handy for sharing with friends, because they don't require logging in to see them.

Public pages are also very useful for something else:

If you paste the URL address of a public page into the search box on Mastodon, and then search for it, the post or profile will appear within your server. This is handy if you cannot find a post or person by searching, but you know they exist on another server.

Searching for a URL like this forces your server to "notice" the profile or post.

It also works with URLs from PeerTube, PixelFed etc.

#MastoTips #FediTips #Mastodon

As an alternative to FediTips, you might want to also check out @noelle's "Increasingly Less-Brief Guide to Mastodon":

github.com/joyeusenoelle/Guide…

It's got slightly different takes on many issues, but hopefully seeing a different perspective will give you a fuller understanding of how Mastodon works.

#MastoTips #Mastodon #FediTips #Fediverse

GitHub - joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon: An increasingly less-brief guide to Mastodon

An increasingly less-brief guide to Mastodon. Contribute to joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon development by creating an account on GitHub.

^GitHub

There have been many reports lately that Facebook is blocking links to joinmastodon.org

If you are still on Facebook, please keep spreading the word about Mastodon and the Fediverse.

If joinmastodon.org doesn't work, try posting a link to a reliable instance people can join. There are so many instances, Facebook cannot block all of them from being mentioned.

That Facebook are even doing this implies the Fediverse is on their radar, which is quite an achievement in itself!

#FediTips #Fediverse #MastoTips #Mastodon #Facebook #DeleteFacebook #Alternatives

Mastodon

Mastodon is an open source decentralized social network - by the people for the people. Join the federation and take back control of your social media!

^{joinmastodon.org}