In recent months, many Twitter users have been seeking alternatives to the platform due to the rise of Elon Musk and the many controversial decisions he has made.
One such alternative that has gained popularity is Mastodon, a decentralized social media platform founded in 2016 by German software developer Eugen Rochko.
Unlike centralized platforms like Twitter and Facebook, Mastodon operates in a decentralized manner, with different individuals, groups, or organizations running their own “instances” or “servers” on the platform.
These servers can be general purpose, similar to Twitter, or focused on a specific topic such as privacy or art. Users can follow and communicate with individuals on other servers, even if they are not on the same server as them.
To join Mastodon, users can visit the official website and create an account. They will be presented with a list of servers to choose from, which can be filtered by region or topic of interest.
It is important to note that Mastodon does not have a verification system like Twitter, so users should be cautious when following accounts and verify their legitimacy on other platforms or through the sharing of their Mastodon account URL.
While Mastodon offers the benefits of open source code and decentralized servers, it is important to note that there is no platform-wide moderation policy. This means that server administrators must set and enforce their own moderation policies. However, servers can block other servers or individual users from their own instance or others, to prevent the entire network from becoming problematic.
Mastodon has seen a significant influx of users in recent months, with reports indicating that at least 500,000 users have joined since October 27.
Some servers may experience slowdowns or other issues due to the large influx of users, but it is unclear how popular Mastodon will be in the long term. Regardless, the platform offers a decentralized alternative for those seeking to leave centralized social media platforms.
Are you considering joining Mastodon? Let us know and check back soon for more.