Fedi.Tips

Mastodon is part of a much larger social network called "The Fediverse". That means you can not only follow Mastodon accounts but also accounts from many other platforms such as PeerTube, Friendica, OwnCast, Pixelfed, BookWyrm etc. You're probably already following some non-Mastodon accounts without realising it, because their posts show up in your timeline just like Mastodon posts, and you follow and interact with them exactly the same way. More info at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/what-kind-of-accounts-can-i-follow-from-mastodon #FediTips

BookWyrm is the Fediverse's alternative to Amazon's Goodreads. You can find out more about it at https://fedi.tips/bookwyrm-a-social-network-for-people-who-enjoy-reading BookWyrm has a built-in catalogue of books to search, but if the book you want isn't in the results you can optionally add it manually. More info about doing this at https://fedi.tips/how-to-manually-add-a-book-on-bookwyrm #FediTips #BookWyrm #Goodreads #Alternatives

⚠️ SCAM WARNING There's another wave of scam spammers on the move, it's an old scam where they demand verification by clicking on a link. ❌ DO NOT click on the link in the spam. No genuine Mastodon admin would ever ask for anything like this. The link is trying to steal your personal info and/or credit card. ✅ DO report it by clicking ⋯ on the spam post and "Report". More info about how to avoid scams on the Fediverse at https://fedi.tips/how-to-avoid-scammers-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse

I'm an unpaid volunteer running @FediTips@social.growyourown.services, @FediFollows@social.growyourown.services, @FediGarden@social.growyourown.services, @FediVideo@social.growyourown.services and @homegrown@social.growyourown.services plus all their websites. I pay their bills every month. If you would like to help keep these going, there are several ways to donate: ☕️ Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/fedithing (choose any amount, no registration) 📚️ Buy my book at https://payhip.com/b/EhfU2 (pay what you want, no registration) 🔁 Become a patron at https://liberapay.com/FediThing (libre donation platform) All support greatly appreciated! 🙂

How to watch PeerTube videos offline:

1. Go to the video on the web or the official app
2. Click ⋯ below the video
3. Select "Download"

Once it's downloaded to your device, you can watch the video even without an internet connection.

NOTE: This option only appears if the video's uploader has allowed downloads. If you're an uploader you can activate or deactivate downloads at Video > Manage > Customisation > Enable Download (tick or untick, then click Save).

#FediTips #PeerTube #PeerTubeTips

Do you want to change the email address on your Mastodon account?

1. Sign in on your server's website
2. Click on "⚙️ Preferences" (if you're on mobile click ☰ in bottom right and then "⚙️ Preferences")
3. Click on "Account" on left (if you're on mobile click ☰ in top right, then click on "Account" in menu that appears)
4. Replace old email with new one, then enter current password in "Current password" box
5. Click "Save Changes"
6. Click on link in confirmation email

#FediTips #Mastodon

What happens if a badly-run server allows bullying, spam or other nastiness? What if it refuses to respond to abuse reports? In such cases, other servers' admins can use their ultimate weapon: defederation. Defederation cuts off all communication between the admin's server and the abusive server, and the worst-run servers end up extremely isolated because so many servers have defederated them. This is why it's always worth telling your server admin if there is bad stuff going on. #FediTips

📣 Are you on the server toot.community? You need to transfer your account to a different server, as it is closing down on 28th October 2026. (They gave three months warning in July.) The transfer process lets you keep your follows, followers and other stuff but you have to do the transfer *before* toot.community shuts down. Here's a transfer guide: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server ...and here's an easy-to-use way to find good reliable servers to move to: ➡️ https://fedi.garden #TootCommunity

Are you a musician on the Fediverse, or do you know a musician who is thinking of joining? @selecteh@f.selecteh.org has done a brief guide for musicians on how to use this place: ➡️ https://selecteh.org/mastodon-and-the-fediverse-for-musicians They're looking for suggestions so please let them know if there's stuff to add to their guide. #FediTips #Musicians #Fediverse

Mastodon's "import and export" feature lets you share account settings such as blocks, mutes, filters etc with other people. (For example you could share your filters file and they could upload it to their account to get the same filters as you.) You can find out more including step-by-step instructions in this guide: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-share-your-blocks-mutes-and-other-settings-in-mastodon I've tried to cover possible questions about this feature. Let me know if I've missed something by replying to this post. #FediTips #Mastodon

You can subscribe to PeerTube channels in any podcasting app that allows adding feed addresses, such as AntennaPod, Apple Podcasts etc: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-subscribe-to-peertube-channels-through-podcasting-apps But wait, there's more! 😲 Thanks to the recent PeerTube 8.3 update creators can submit their PeerTube channel to podcast catalogues so that people can discover it without having to manually add a feed address. For submission-friendly links go to your channel's management page and select "Podcast". #FediTips #PeerTube #PeerTubeTips

There's apparently scammers going round pretending to be Mastodon admins, demanding people "verify their identity". Do not click on their links, do not give them any info. It is a scam. Genuine Mastodon server admins never demand verification like this. Here's a guide to how to recognise and avoid various kinds of scams on Mastodon and the wider Fediverse: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-avoid-scammers-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse (Thanks to @amministratore@mastodon.uno for providing warning about the latest wave of scam posts.) #FediTips

@gotosocial@gts.superseriousbusiness.org is a fun free open Fediverse platform mainly aimed at people who want to create their own Fediverse server. It has some really nice features:

• Reply controls
• Long posts
• Rich text formatting
• Optional local-only post visibility
• Blocklists & allowlists

If you're not techy but want to make your own GTS server, there's a managed hosting service at https://fedihost.co/hosting/gotosocial

If you're techy and want to make your own GTS, manual docs are at https://docs.gotosocial.org

#Fediverse

Like most social networks, Mastodon is not end-to-end encrypted. If you're sending sensitive info it's better to use a separate end-to-end encrypted messaging app. Mastodon itself warns you about this if you are sending a DM through the web interface (see the screenshot). More info about the risks and how to mitigate them in the guide at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/is-mastodon-end-to-end-encrypted TL:DR - Main risk is your server admin reading your DMs, but they would need techy skills to do this. #FediTips #Mastodon #E2EE

The reason Mastodon (and the wider Fediverse that it is part of) doesn't go down is because all its servers are totally independent. One Fedi server might go down, but that doesn't affect the other servers at all. That's one of the many advantages of decentralisation, that there is no central point of failure. Centralised networks go down because they depend on one central organisation's infrastructure. #Mastodon #Fediverse

Anyone can start their own Mastodon server (or other type of Fediverse server) and there's a thing called "managed hosting" that lets even non-technical people start their own too. Here's a guide which answers lots of questions about the concept: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/who-gets-to-start-their-own-server Here's a step-by-step tutorial from Fedi.Tips's sister site which goes through the entire process of creating a Mastodon server on managed hosting: ➡️ https://growyourown.services/making-your-own-mastodon-server-in-10-steps #FediTips #Masotdon #SelfHosting

Mobilizon is a Fediverse platform for organising and discovering events. Mobilizon accounts can be followed from Mastodon etc and when new events are added they appear in the Mastodon timeline. More info on the Mobilizon website: ➡️ https://mobilizon.org You can also follow the project's account: ➡️ @mobilizon@framapiaf.org If you want to organise events, there are servers to join at: ➡️ https://mobilizon.org/#join#FediTips #Mobilizon #Events

Do you want to create a portfolio that appears at the top of your Mastodon profile, so that it's the first thing every visitor sees? You might want to create a pinned post or pinned thread with your images, video or audio attached: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-pin-my-posts-on-my-mastodon-profile Pinned posts and threads federate much more effectively than ordinary posts and threads, and they now work on the official Mastodon mobile app too so there's even more reason to use them. #FediTips #Mastodon #PinnedPosts

You can delete or edit your own posts in Mastodon by clicking ⋯ and then "Delete" or "Edit". There's also a third option "Delete & re-draft" which is more rarely used but has some very useful niche functions. All three of these options are explained and compared in this guide: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-delete-a-post-on-mastodon The guide also answers common questions about deleting posts, let me know if you have a question that isn't covered. #FediTips #Mastodon

Have you tried using Mastodon's "Media" tab on profiles? It shows all of that person's posts which have an image, audio clip or video clip attached, and is particularly useful when browsing profiles of artists, musicians, film-makers etc. More info in the guide (including questions answered) at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/browsing-the-media-tab-on-mastodon If I've missed your question, post it in the replies 🙂 #FediTips #Mastodon

In case you missed it, you can now add alt text descriptions to your Mastodon profile picture and banner:

1. Sign into your account on your server's website
2. Click on your account name to go to your profile page (if you're on mobile click ☰ in bottom right, then click your name)
3. Click "Edit Profile"
4. Click the 📷️ camera icon on picture or banner, then "Edit alt text"
5. Type alt text, then click "Done" on alt text window
6. Click "Done" at top of profile

#FediTips #Mastodon

If you've just joined a Pixelfed server, you may see a message telling you that you have to wait a bit before you can send DMs. Don't worry, you will be able to send DMs 72 hours after you join. It's nothing personal about you, it's just a general feature designed to deter spammers. #FediTips #Pixelfed #PixelfedTips

When people post links on Mastodon, you may see a "More from..." section underneath the link preview that leads to the account of the website owner. For example if you post a link to any page from the Fedi.Tips website you will see a "More from..." link to this account (see the preview below for an example). This happens if the website owner has activated the "author attribution" feature. You can find out more including how to activate it at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/when-i-post-a-link-on-mastodon-why-is-there-a-more-from-link-at-the-bottom-of-the-link-preview-what-is-author-attribution #FediTips #Mastodon

⚠️ Are you on the server toot.community? If you are, you need to move your account to a different server ASAP as toot.community is closing down on 28th October 2026. There's an easy-to-understand step-by-step guide to moving at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server If you're looking for where to move to, I run a site listing good reliable servers at: ➡️ https://fedi.garden The servers listed on the site are compatible with the seven points at https://fedi.garden/about-this-site #FediTips #TootCommunity

There is a weather service on the Fediverse called FediMeteo providing forecasts in your timeline for cities and towns around the world:

1. Go to https://fedimeteo.com
2. Click your country
3. Click your town/city
4. Copy-paste the Fediverse address (looks like @ something @ something ) into the search box in Mastodon etc
5. Click follow in Mastodon etc

(Don't worry if it looks blank, it just means no one from your server follows that account yet.)

If you have questions ask @admin

⚠️ Spammers from a site called SocialDB.xyz seem to be flooding Mastodon members with emails claiming to offer sponsorship opportunities (which is dubious to say the least). It's probably best to just ignore these emails, report them as spam and do not click on any of their links. They seem to be getting email addresses from websites mentioned in Mastodon profiles, if the site has a public email address. The spam assumes the linked site belongs to the account owner. #SocialDB #SocialDBXYZ

If you're wondering why some posts have got rich text formatting like bold, underlining, italic etc, it's because many customised Mastodon and non-Mastodon servers include support for creating rich text. Standard Mastodon servers can show rich text, but cannot create it. You can move your account to a server that supports rich text creation if you want to make such posts yourself. More info about rich text on Mastodon and the Fediverse at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/is-mastodon-compatible-with-rich-text-formatting-such-as-markdown #FediTips #Mastodon

One of the lesser-known features of Mastodon is you can merge several accounts into a single account if you want to. To do this, you just use Mastodon's account transfer procedure for all of your accounts that you want to merge into your target account. Here's a guide which answers questions about merging accounts in Mastodon: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-merge-several-accounts-into-one-account-on-mastodon Here's the general account transfer guide: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/transferring-your-mastodon-account-to-another-server #FediTips #Mastodon

Mastodon has a feature which lets you download your complete post archive onto your computer or phone. Here's a guide all about how to use it: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-download-your-mastodon-post-archive The guide also answers lots of questions about Mastodon archives. Let me know if I've missed your question. #FediTips #Mastodon

If you're trying to adjust a setting in Mastodon but you can't find the setting in your app, try doing this instead:

1. Sign in on your server's website
2. Click ⚙️ Preferences (on mobile click ☰ in bottom right, then ⚙️ Preferences)
3. If you're on a computer all your settings are visible on the left of the screen sorted into sections. If you're on mobile, click ☰ in top right to see all the settings.

The settings on the website automatically carry over to the apps.

#FediTips #Mastodon

I'm an unpaid volunteer running 5 websites and 5 accounts helping people use Mastodon and the wider Fediverse. I pay their bills every month. If you want to help these sites & accounts keep going, you can buy me a coffee: ➡️ https://ko-fi.com/fedithing (No registration, choose any amount, all currencies work, one-off or monthly donations) Alternatively become a patron: ➡️ https://liberapay.com/FediThing All support greatly appreciated! 🙂 ❤️ @FediTips@social.growyourown.services, @FediFollows@social.growyourown.services, @FediVideo@social.growyourown.services, @FediGarden@social.growyourown.services & @homegrown@social.growyourown.services

Do you have any questions about using this place? Any question is fine, don't worry if it seems too simple, I'm especially wanting to help non-technical people on here. Put them in the replies (or DM if you prefer) and I'll try to get some answers for you 🙂 #FediTips

Mastodon has a built-in system to prevent you seeing the same post boosted again and again. However, it allows boosts to reappear if 40 other posts have passed through your main timeline, and this is why you may see the same boost repeated. As the Fediverse is now much busier, Mastodon's devs are raising this number to 80 other posts (technical details are at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/39784) This should hopefully be in the next update. (Thanks to @nitrml@tyrol.social for pointing this out 🙏 ) #FediTips #Mastodon

If you want to restrict or screen who can follow your account on Mastodon, you can switch your account to "follow requests" mode. When this is activated you will be able to accept or reject followers before their follows become active, so you can accept the ones you want and reject the ones you don't want. More info at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/restricting-who-can-follow-you-in-mastodon This guide also answers lots of questions about follow requests. Let me know if your question is missing from the guide. #FediTips #Mastodon

Something a bit different today: I've written a book! It's nothing to do with the Fediverse, but the money from it keeps my Fediverse accounts and sites going. It's about real life mysteries (so no UFOs, no ghosts, no conspiracy theories etc). The book is DRM-free, price is "Pay what you want, minimum 1 euro", find out more at: ➡️ https://payhip.com/b/EhfU2 It's 100% human-made, zero AI of any kind. (If you need a free open source eBook reader app try Readest. The book also works with eReaders.)

Hey GoToSocial people! Does anyone know of a general public GTS server that people can join if they don't want to set up their own? #GoToSocial #GTS #AskFedi

Mastodon servers may eventually close down, but the well-run reliable ones will give you three months warning if this is happening. This gives you time to transfer your account to another server. More info about server shutdowns in the guide at: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/what-if-a-server-closes-down-what-happens-to-my-account The guide also answers lots of questions about this topic. Please ask in the replies if your question isn't answered in the guide 🙂 #FediTips #Mastodon

Do you want help with using Mastodon or the wider Fediverse? Post your questions in the replies (or DM me) and I'll try to either help directly or find you an answer 🙂 If you prefer not to ask, there is lots of help on the website at https://fedi.tips #FediTips

Mastodon servers have a "Trending" section which shows trending posts, hashtags and links.

• If you're using the official Mastodon app click the 🔍️ magnifying glass icon at the bottom and leave the search box empty. The Trending section will appear, click its tabs to browse it.

• If you're using the website interface click Trending (or on mobile click ☰ and Trending).

More info and questions answered about Mastodon trends:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/where-are-the-trending-posts-and-hashtags-on-mastodon

#FediTips #Mastodon

Write Freely is a minimalist blogging platform for the Fediverse, with a focus on the text itself. You can find out more on its website at: ➡️ https://writefreely.org You can follow the official account at: ➡️ @writefreely@writing.exchange There's an official list of Write Freely servers you can sign up on at https://writefreely.org/instances and there are many others out there which aren't on the list. #FediTips #WriteFreely #Blogging #Minimalism

If you're interested in starting your own Mastodon server or other kinds of online services, you might want to check out my other website: ➡️ https://growyourown.services I've just revamped the site to feature options for all tech skill levels (including none!). You can follow this account for the site's latest updates: ➡️ @homegrown@social.growyourown.services Here's an easy-to-understand tutorial from the site about creating your own Mastodon server: ➡️ https://growyourown.services/making-your-own-mastodon-server-in-10-steps #SelfHosting #CommunityHosting

There are only four ways that posts can appear in your main Mastodon timeline:

• You follow the account that made the post
• You follow an account that shared the post
• You follow a hashtag that is included in the post
• You follow a group that shared the post

If you see a post in your main timeline that doesn't seem to fit into any of these categories, this guide might help you find out what is going on:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/why-is-a-post-appearing-in-my-mastodon-timeline-i-dont-understand-how-it-got-there

#FediTips #Mastodon #HomeTimeline

Do you want your public posts to be searchable on here? If so, you need to do at least one of these things:

• Opt into "full text search" so that your public posts can be searched by all the words in them. More info at https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-opt-into-or-out-of-full-text-search-on-mastodon

• Use hashtags in your public posts so that people can find them in hashtag searches. More info at https://fedi.tips/what-are-hashtags-how-do-i-use-them-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse

Doing both gives your public posts maximum visibility.

Doing neither means your public posts aren't searchable at all.

#FediTips

Would you like to publish videos on the Fediverse? You might want to try PeerTube! Here's a step-by-step easy-to-follow guide that covers everything you need to know: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-publish-videos-and-audio-on-peertube The guide also answers lots of questions about publishing videos and audio on PeerTube. #FediTips #PeerTube #PeerTubeTips

You can control who can see your post by choosing a visibility setting when you publish it. Here's a guide to all the visibility settings and how to use them: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/who-can-see-my-posts-in-mastodon-how-do-i-send-dms-in-mastodon The guide also answers lots of questions about visibility settings. Let me know if I've missed something! If you want to restrict who can see your post, choose "Followers Only" (only your followers can see it) or "Only People I Mention" (only accounts mentioned in that post can see it). #FediTips #Mastodon

If you are able to, it's really important to add alt text descriptions when posting an item of media on here 🙂 If you forget to add descriptions, there are two ways you can be reminded. Both methods are covered in this guide: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-remember-to-add-text-descriptions-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse #FediTips #AltText #Accessibility #Mastodon

I am an unpaid volunteer running five websites and five accounts helping people use Mastodon and the wider Fediverse. I pay their bills every month. If you want to help these keep going, you can buy me a coffee: ➡️ https://ko-fi.com/fedithing (No registration, choose any amount, all currencies work, one-off or monthly donations) Alternatively become a patron: ➡️ https://liberapay.com/FediThing All support greatly appreciated! 🙂 ❤️ @FediTips@social.growyourown.services, @FediFollows@social.growyourown.services, @FediVideo@social.growyourown.services, @FediGarden@social.growyourown.services & @homegrown@social.growyourown.services

You can hide your Mastodon profile's follows and followers by editing your profile. Full guide here: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-to-hide-your-follows-and-followers-in-mastodon They will still be visible to you when you are logged in, but no one else will be able to see them. The method for doing this changed with Mastodon 4.6.0 so you may want to check out the new location for this setting. (Thanks to @ophiocephalic@kolektiva.social for pointing out the update!) #FediTips #Mastodon

If you're unfamliar with hashtags or if you have questions about how to use them, you might want to check out this guide to hashtags on Mastodon and the Fediverse: ➡️ https://fedi.tips/what-are-hashtags-how-do-i-use-them-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse It answers lots of questions on the topic, but if I've missed your question please ask it in the replies or DM me 🙂 #FediTips #Hashtags #Mastodon

You can check which version of Mastodon a server is running by going to its website and then doing the following:

• On a computer, look at the bottom left corner of the website to see vX.X.X (with numbers instead of Xs).

• On a phone, click ☰ in the bottom right, then click "About", then scroll to the bottom of the About page to see vX.X.X (with numbers instead of Xs).

Lots more info about Mastodon server versions and their significance at:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-check-which-version-of-mastodon-is-running-on-my-server-what-are-mastodon-forks

#FediTips #Mastodon