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Mastodon/The Fediverse's Eternal September

So since currently Musk is running Twitter like a drunk teenage boy behind the wheel of his dad's expensive car and it's likely it's only going to get worse, possibly ending in the death of the site (one can hope), there's been an influx of Twitter users moving to the fediverse.

As someone who has been on Mastodon since around 2017 I have grown accustomed to the culture and customs of this community and it has been the most enjoyable social media experience I've had.

I think it is not just the way Mastodon is designed but it's culture and rules of etiquette that make it a more pleasant place than the corporate big-tech platforms.

So I like many other long-time fediverse citizens are quite worried about this huge new influx of Twitter refugees, some of whom are disregarding the established culture and etiquette, not understanding why Mastodon is designed the way it is and want it to work more like pre-Musk Twitter.

It seems that the fediverse's Eternal September has begun...

Eternal September (Wikipedia Article)

Federation is not complicated

If you understand how there are multiple different E-Mail providers (gmail, outlook, yahoo .etc) and that you can send emails to your friend even if they use a different email provider than you, that there's no central "email.com" controlled by one company that everybody has to use, then you understand federation.

More info

Mastodon does not have a "quote-boost" feature for a reason

Mastodon's lack of a quote-boost feature isn't an oversight, it was (rightly) decided by the devs that Twitter's quote-retweet feature has no justification beyond power-plays or seeking attention through other's posts. Any "quote-boost" should usually just be a reply or just a regular boost.

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Mastodon does not use a the same blue checkmark verification system that Twitter uses for a reason

Twitter's blue checkmark verification system is flawed (even before you could just buy it for $8), it tends to only be given to people with a significant enough following in Twitter's eyes, giving people with smaller followings no way to verify their authenticity. Mastodon uses a different system where you link to your website in your bio, which in turn should contain a link to your Mastodon profile with a 'rel="me"' attribute. Your site address will then have a green check mark next to it. If you're a public figure of some kind you should have a website.

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Mastodon has a content warning system for a reason

Mastodon's content warning feature is one that's use pretty extensively and strongly encouraged.

If your post discusses or features media of something potentially triggering or unpleasant to someone you are strongly encouraged to put it behind a content warning.

I user who sees your post will see your warning and have the click the "show" button to view the contents of your post.

This feature and the cultural obligation of it's use makes the fediverse a far more pleasant place to be.

It's nice to know that if for example you are not currently in a good frame of mind to think about stressful political issues you are not forced to be exposed to them.

This alone makes Mastodon/The fediverse far more friendly to your mental health than Twitter (as well as other engagement driven and corporate social medias).