Raw numbers are perhaps not enough to get across just how bad the centralisation of the Fediverse by mastodon.social is. I've done a chart to show this visually, hopefully this will make the situation clearer?
Given the circumstances, getting people to join *any* other server except mastodon.social would greatly help decentralise the Fediverse. It's no longer big vs medium vs small, it's more like supergiant deathstar mastodon.social vs everyone else 😞
#Mastodon #Fediverse #MastodonSocial
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hannah aubry
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •mkj reshared this.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
in reply to hannah aubry • • •@haubles this is so wonderful to hear! Good luck in your new position.
Hearing this I'm hopeful the issue of balancing on-boarding experience against encouraging new folks to join other instances is going to get handled in a thoughtful way, just as the quote-toots were. This is all very exciting!
@FediGarden
hannah aubry
in reply to Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦 • • •Thank you 😊 We are working very hard to make sure everything we do evolves in a thoughtful way, and in a way that protects and reflects the needs our community.
Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to hannah aubry • • •@haubles
Hi Hannah,
Thank you for taking the time to reply about this 🙏
If it's any help for the discussions within Mastodon, Nextcloud solved this issue by drawing up a pool of reliable instances with good track records, then recommending one from the pool on a rotating basis.
Because they only recommended one at a time it avoided the "paralysis of choice", but as it was rotated it spread the growth, and because the pool was all reliable instances it maintained a level of quality.
hannah aubry
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •of course! 💞
That’s one solution we’re discussing. And we’re looking at it from the account migration perspective too. We know it needs to be easier to switch instances. The technical solutions will take time, but there are things we will start doing immediately to try and help this in the meantime, too - things like doing more education about the existence of other servers, improving tutorials about how account migration works now, revisiting the server covenant, etc. Are there any other non-technical things we should start doing immediately, while the technical changes are in progress?
Carola
in reply to hannah aubry • • •Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to hannah aubry • • •@haubles
Yeah, there are many different aspects to this, definitely!
Switching the "Join mastodon.social" buttons to instead recommend a different server from a pool would be the quickest and easiest first step. It wouldn't need technical changes, it could be manually edited, and recommended server changed manually monthly or whatever? (Obviously you would need to check first with server admins that they are okay being in recommended pool 🙂 )
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Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •@haubles
About helping people move, if you find any of the text on my site at fedi.tips useful it is available for anyone to use and build upon under CC-By-SA 4.0
I know my site's appearance has a slightly more janky homemade feel which may not fit in with your site's slicker appearance, but perhaps some of the text might be useful?
My transfer guide is at fedi.tips/transferring-your-ma… for example.
Whatever you decide, thank you for communicating, it's greatly appreciated!
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Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
fedi.tipshannah aubry
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •Dou
in reply to hannah aubry • • •I love fedi.tips's language.Its simplicity amazes me and at the same time so helpful!
CubeOfCheese
in reply to hannah aubry • • •Allowing a server to pick a recommended server.
When server A closes their registration, the sign up page can say "Sorry, we're closed for registration. Please wait or consider signing up at <example.com>"
That way, someone new to the fediverse, trying to sign up isn't immediately hit with a dead end
「 ⁂ Jürgen ⁂ 」
in reply to hannah aubry • • •Alex Chapman
in reply to 「 ⁂ Jürgen ⁂ 」 • • •hannah aubry
in reply to Alex Chapman • • •@alexchapman @juergen yeah, it’s not an ideal experience. It’s a tough problem to fix, but I know our team has the smarts and passion to solve it.
I migrated from Fosstodon a while back - I’m lucky it’s a reliable server. Sometimes I go back and visit my old posts, like hanging out with old friends 😁
F4GRX Sébastien
in reply to hannah aubry • • •F4GRX Sébastien
in reply to hannah aubry • • •Adam Havelka
in reply to hannah aubry • • •Tuukka R
in reply to hannah aubry • • •@haubles
May I suggest checking out how choosing an instance works on PieFed, another platform in the Fediverse. You click "register" on any instance and it gives you a couple alternatives to choose from beside the one you're currently browsing, presented as equals. There is a system for determining which instances are safe to show on that list.
The PieFed developers are sure to engage in a fruitful conversation about how this works on their zulip chat, chat.piefed.social .
Public view of PieFed | Zulip team chat
ZulipNafeon the Bear
in reply to hannah aubry • • •the easiest temporary solution is to make mastodon.online the default server to join and maybe actually close regs on mastodon.social until you have figuref it out.
(I'm glad you are discussing it though)
@FediGarden
Magical Cat
in reply to hannah aubry • • •@haubles
Thought about this yesterday and dropped few points, hope they can be helpful somehow... mastodon.online/@koteisaev/115…
Magical Cat
2025-11-26 21:35:47
Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •p.s. For anyone wondering why this centralisation is a problem, here's an in-depth look at why mastodon.social's increasing percentage of the Fediverse is dangerous: fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-ide…
p.p.s. I'm not saying join any random server! I run a website at fedi.garden to recommend good alternative servers. My point was just that in terms of size, no other server is anywhere near as large as mastodon.social.
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
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Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •p.p.s. If anyone currently on mastodon.social wants help moving to a different server, there's an easy-to-understand step-by-step guide at fedi.tips/transferring-your-ma…
Let me know if you have any difficulties with any particular step 🙂
Transferring your Mastodon account to another server | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
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Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •p.p.p.s. Looks like Mastodon gGmbH are now discussing this issue, really good to hear them being proactive! 👍
Let's give the new leadership a chance and see what they come up with 🙂
hachyderm.io/@haubles/11558779…
hannah aubry
2025-11-21 12:56:00
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Rob Ricci
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •Who Moderates My Posts and Timeline?
moderation-explorer.onlineEl Duvelle
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •I think one of the main problems is you can't transfer your posts to a new account. But I heard that @jonny was maybe working on finding a fix for this! So, one can hope that if this gets fixed it will be much easier for people to move out of mastodon.social.
PS: thank you for all your great guides :)
Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to El Duvelle • • •@elduvelle
If you follow the guide, your old posts will remain in existence and help redirect people to your new account 🙂
Jürgen Hubert
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •@elduvelle
I recently did a poll, and nearly half of all people who voted said that it bothered them that their posts didn't migrate with their accounts.
I have to admit, I was quite surprised.
El Duvelle
in reply to Jürgen Hubert • • •@juergen_hubert you were surprised that it wasn't more? Or less?
@FediGarden
Jürgen Hubert
in reply to El Duvelle • • •@elduvelle
That it wasn't less.
I mean, for me #Mastodon is #microblogging first and foremost. And in microblogging, posts are ephemeral and soon forgotten. Personally, I don't really _care_ what I posted a year ago - unless I bookmarked it. And even then, the old posts arent even _gone_ unless the old instance closes down.
But evidently, a very large number of Mastodon users feel very differently about this.
mementomori.social/@juergen_hu…
Jürgen Hubert (@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social)
Jürgen Hubert (Memento mori)El Duvelle
in reply to Jürgen Hubert • • •@juergen_hubert
I see! Indeed I am more on the side of "permanent repository of my thoughts", I often search my old posts for some link, poll or info that I know exists in the past. I wouldn't want to migrate instances if it meant loosing my post history. I'd rather loose my follows / followers - you can always find then back - than my posts.
I guess I probably also have some trauma from when I had to leave twitter to join mastodon and had to say bye-bye to all my precious tweets.. Not ready for that to ever happen again!
Ben Royce 🇺🇦 🇸🇩
in reply to El Duvelle • • •i've moved and deleted thousands of old posts. it doesn't bother me, i think like juergen. but also, i never quote post, and don't see the point: just reply to the person
but i appreciate some people want to keep their posts forever, and like quote posts. it's not like someone else having another option hurts me in any way
but moving posts is *hard*
if you reply to 1,000 comments on 500 servers, then move, every database on every server needs an extensive update
Aaron In Minnesota
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •Aaron In Minnesota
in reply to Aaron In Minnesota • • •katherine montalto
in reply to Aaron In Minnesota • • •Sci-Fi Girl
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •Do you plan to update the feditips article, section "just recommend one good server", now that mas.to is invite only? 🤔
@FediTips
Fedi.Tips 🎄
in reply to Sci-Fi Girl • • •@5ciFiGirl
Thanks, didn't notice that! I've put ohai.social on there instead as it's also a good general server with lots of connections to the Fediverse.
hannah aubry
Unknown parent • • •Mastodon Migration
Unknown parent • • •@Rowan @haubles
Think it has merit. Another way to think about this concept would be to take a page from role playing computer games. When you start you arrive on "newbie island" when you walk through a few simple tasks that familiarize you with the UI and your various server options. But pretty soon you have to (get to!) move off into the real game equipt with some knowledge, the choices you've made, and a modicum of skill.
Making Up Rowan 🏳️⚧️👩
Unknown parent • • •Sensitive content
Fedi.Garden ☃️
Unknown parent • • •@Rowan @haubles
I don't think throwing people off a server when they've done nothing wrong is a good idea?
It would be easier to just add tutorial features to the software itself so that they are available to new people on any server.
Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to hannah aubry • • •@haubles @Rowan
Just to push back against this concept of a "starter server" or "launching place", that doesn't really exist. There are just well-run servers and badly-run servers.
There's nothing easier or safer or tutorial-like about using mastodon.social than other reputable servers, and if there was it would simply encourage even more people to join mastodon.social and stay there 😦
Making Up Rowan 🏳️⚧️👩
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •Sensitive content
My thought is that mastodon.social should enforce its role as a launching place by not allowing anyone to stay there long term.
hannah aubry
Unknown parent • • •Hey - thanks for messaging me about this and I'm sorry for the delay in getting you added to the Server Directory. We're working through a backlog of applications to the directory now. And simultaneously, we're revisiting how the Server Directory works to make it much easier and faster for servers to be added. I know this isn't a very concrete answer, but I can promise we'll have more to share soon.
Marc Thomas
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •I feel like this is really easily solvable by just having the apps randomly cycle which server is selected by "default" when people are signing up. Obviously still give the option for people to manually select their preferred network, but by having the default random.
Just limit the random server selection to something like 10-20 reputable instances that have a track record of quality administration. That would avoid sending people to an instance that is unsupported and at a higher risk of shutting down.
Fedi.Garden ☃️
in reply to Marc Thomas • • •@mthx
Yup, that's what a number of people have been saying, and it's what e.g. @nextcloud does on their Nextcloud instance picker.
Get a pool of reliable servers with a good long track record, recommend them in rotation instead of recommending mastodon.social.
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Irenes (many)
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •oh that's a good call about implementing this as an app feature
that provides a way to make it happen without the cooperation of the company
Irenes (many)
in reply to Irenes (many) • • •Nathalie Van Raemdonck
in reply to Making Up Rowan 🏳️⚧️👩 • • •Jon
in reply to Nathalie Van Raemdonck • • •Agreed -- and I also think there's a lot of value just in the mindset of a "launching place" or "starter server" and setting expectations that you may well want to move and/or add other accounts.
I think of it as analogous as moving to a new country. One option is to thoroughly research all the different cities, towns, and villages, and try to pick one that's a good match for your interests. Another is to say, well, here's a place that welcomes newcomers, is fairly safe, has at least some people who speak the same language as me, and has connections to everywhere else ... so I'll start off there and use it as a base for exploration. Especially since it's "just" a social network, we're all so used to instant gratification that most people just want to get started.
Obviously this model will work better once it's possible to move more easily -- bio, posting history, mute and block lists, filter, preferences ... a lot of these can be done now with import/export and cut-and-paste but it's tedious (and not well-documented). Even until that happens, though, expectation settin
... show moreAgreed -- and I also think there's a lot of value just in the mindset of a "launching place" or "starter server" and setting expectations that you may well want to move and/or add other accounts.
I think of it as analogous as moving to a new country. One option is to thoroughly research all the different cities, towns, and villages, and try to pick one that's a good match for your interests. Another is to say, well, here's a place that welcomes newcomers, is fairly safe, has at least some people who speak the same language as me, and has connections to everywhere else ... so I'll start off there and use it as a base for exploration. Especially since it's "just" a social network, we're all so used to instant gratification that most people just want to get started.
Obviously this model will work better once it's possible to move more easily -- bio, posting history, mute and block lists, filter, preferences ... a lot of these can be done now with import/export and cut-and-paste but it's tedious (and not well-documented). Even until that happens, though, expectation setting can make a big difference.
@haubles I have a few other thoughts about this general issue in a recent thread at infosec.exchange/@thenexusofpr… ... a key point is that it might be better to focus our efforts in terms of making it easier to find and join communities in fedi as a whole, not just Mastodon.
@eilah_tan @Rowan @FediGarden
The Nexus of Privacy
2025-11-11 02:35:28
Jon
in reply to Jon • • •Nathalie Van Raemdonck
in reply to Jon • • •There's been several studies to understand user migration into the fediverse and I feel like there was one where users were asked what determined their choice of server, and what were elements in their migration to different instances but I need to dive back into the literature to find it. I think it's important to build on such insights, as people's drives and stumbling blocks to finding "community" can vastly differ
hannah aubry
in reply to Nathalie Van Raemdonck • • •ltning
in reply to hannah aubry • • •hannah aubry
in reply to ltning • • •Juan Per¢ent,🇲🇽 🍉
in reply to Fedi.Garden ☃️ • • •