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Is there something about Mastodon and the Fediverse that you need help with?
Reply to me or send me a DM and I'll try to help if I can, or put you in touch with someone else who can help.
Don't worry if a question seems silly or obvious! The idea of this account is to especially help new people.
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It's totally possible, it works really well.
It's so seamless that most people don't even realise they are looking at other platforms! 😁
For example, if you click on @theatticdwellers you will see the profile of a PeerTube account which you can follow by just clicking on "follow". And the posts in that profile are PeerTube videos, which you can interact with by replying to them.
Another example, @Iancylkowski is a Pixelfed account. Click "Follow" to follow it.
Steffi
@feditips I have read somewhere that you can have content from other platforms show up in your timeline. But I haven't found a way to link my mastodon and peertube accounts to make that work.
Have I misunderstood the technology, or ist that actually possible somehow?
unnameduser
@feditips
When will it be possible to post the url of a .gif ?
FediTips has moved!
You can post the URL of a gif right now if you want. It will be automatically embedded as a gif within your post after it's been published.
FediTips has moved!
No, it's not possible at the moment, but it's a very popular suggestion.
If you're comfortable using github (which is the technical back end where many software projects are developed), you can give a thumbs up to hashtags on lists at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/7692
Lil Meow Meow
I'd love to know if it's possible to create lists that comprise nut just of accounts but also hashtags? TIA
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There are crowdfunding campaigns supporting Fediverse projects, if that's what you mean?
There are also crowdfunding platforms with Fediverse accounts, such as @Liberapay and @comradery
There is no crowdfunding platform based on Fedi technology though, as the Fediverse is more about communication than financial stuff.
Telmo 🦕
@feditips is there a #crowdfunding platform inside the #fediverse ?
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I'm not 100% sure what you are asking? Sorry!
There is no single global search system for the Fediverse as all the servers are independent, and not all of them want to communicate with each other. (For example, no one would want to communicate with a server that allows spam.)
nefoun_qu_jw
@feditips Global users search among all instances in mastodon and pixelfed by username or old twi username without login into twi and without going to each instance separately.
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To make anything on the Fedi show up as posts on your own server, copy and paste the address into the search box.
So, this could be a web address, or it could be an account address. Either way, it will make your server or app to show the profile or post within its own interface.
Steffi
@feditips @theatticdwellers @Iancylkowski Ok, but how do I make my own PeerTube videos show up as posts?
And is it possible to see videos from PeerTube channels I have subscribed to in my mastodon feed?
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I haven't seen those myself, it could be that your server is a bit overwhelmed?
You're on by far the largest server, mastodon.social is very overcrowded. You may have a better experience on a slightly smaller server.
Katharina Buholzer
@feditips what are these constant network errors about, each time the session needs to fetch parts of a thread?
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They're basically like customised mini-timelines. It lets you choose what kind of content you see, instead of seeing everything on one home timeline.
For example, some people like to make lists featuring news sources so that whenever they want to catch up on headlines they go to their "News" list. Others might have a "sport" list, or lists about particular hobbies etc.
It's sort of like having channels on a television or radio 😀
Oliver Knabe
@feditips What are the advantages of using lists? What do people do with lists?
(happy you invited to ask questions even if they sound silly to oneself)
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Yes, each server is totally independent so you will need to subscribe separately if you're on another server.
Steffi
@feditips Ah! Now I got it. I have to subscribe here separately.
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You can't link accounts, because each server is totally independent.
People with multiple accounts normally list them in their profiles on all the different servers, so people can see they are the same person who runs them.
If you want to share content from one account on another account, the easiest method is to follow it and then boost it from your other account.
Steffi
@petrescatraian @feditips But how? I have an account on MakerTube and one on mastodon. But how can I link those?
So far, not even the confirmation in my profile works, despite setting the linkback on my channel.
petrescatraian
@stefanie you need to follow accounts from other platforms in order to see their content.
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Not possible at the moment, unfortunately:
Silver Huang
+1 to this question, please! 🙏🏼
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This is a known problem, there is already a system for remembering timeline position for some reason the official website interface doesn't use it.
If you're comfortable using github, you can give a thumbs up for this at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/23677
Lazyboy
@feditips
While I'm scrolling down my timeline, I sometimes pop into settings to, for example, update my filters to remove unwanted content. When I hit "Back to Mastodon" or hit the back arrow in my browser I end up right at the top of the timeline again. So annoying
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That depends on your settngs for autoplay, and what interface/app you are using to view the post.
unnameduser
@feditips
Nope. Not much of it. At best, they need to be manually played like videos, or often stay as a .url
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There's no obvious way except guessing, but there is another option now available in the latest Mastodon update.
If you're comfortable with it, you can optionally allow people to search the entire contents of your posts, which would include all of the words and phrases and not just hashtags:
https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-opt-into-or-out-of-full-text-search-on-mastodon/
(By default people are opted out of the system, for safety and privacy reasons.)
Michael Hamlin - 🏳️🌈
@feditips Is there a way to easily find good hashtags? I tend to just sorta guess but I'd like an easier way to figure out good ones to use to get more people to see my posts.
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The link back by itself isn't enough, the site you're linking to needs a specific kind of link which includes a piece of HTML code called rel="me".
PeerTube doesn't currently include this, but I've posted your request in the relevant issue on the PeerTube github:
Steffi
@feditips @petrescatraian I think I got it now.
The only thing I still don't understand is, why the link to my MakerTube doesn't show up in green on my profile.
I have read that I have to put a link back to my Mastodon on the page I am linking to, and I did that. But it still doesn't show up in green.
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The domain name on your handle comes from the server you signed up on.
If you want to have your own domain name on your handle, you would have to set up your own server and then link it to your domain.
This is not actually as difficult as it sounds, you can do it through a managed hosting company which will do all the techy stuff. It costs about $10 a month including all hosting costs.
Alper Çelik
@feditips
is there a way to use your domain name for your handle on any instance like how you could do it in email ?
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I'd strongly recommend going on the code forges / githubs etc for the specific server project you want to install. There are normally lots of experienced people on there who will respond to issues.
I'm not a sysadmin, my servers are done through managed hosting, so I'm not right person to help with server setup issues 😁
Shanie MyrsTear
@feditips Is there a ‘FediTips’ for server administrators? I’m sure there are dozens of things even experienced admins don’t know!
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Ah ok!
I wonder if the problem is PeerTube using javascript? According to the post in that issue, Mastodon doesn't render javascript when checking verification links.
Steffi
@feditips @petrescatraian I know, I put this on my channel page: "a rel="me" href="https://social.anoxinon.de/@stefanie">Mastodon</a". Removed the leading and trailing <> to not confuse the browser for the message
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There's nothing built in at the moment.
There's an open issue about this at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/8615
I have replied to the issue to ask for an update and emphasised how this is causing people to mute accounts they actually enjoy reading.
Tim
Most people I follow do an excellent job of posting, where 1 post=1 thought they have.
However, there are some people (including some people with lots of followers) who treat this place like a blog, who post looooong articles broken into, say, 20 or 30 posts (i.e. "Long post 1/30). I find that incredibly irritating. Short of temporarily muting them, is there a way to compress those series of posts so I just see the first post? Thanks.
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That's a bug, but it should have been fixed:
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/22398
Are you seeing this bug still happening?
Tejas :mastodon: 🇮🇳
@feditips
Query about Translation. When there is some poll in non-english language and I try to use the translate option, it only translates the main content. Options for the poll are still visible in non-english language. Am I missing something or is that a bug?
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Okay, that's the issue then. Either PeerTube needs to change how it displays links on profiles, or Mastodon has to change how it handles verification...
Steffi
@feditips @petrescatraian Yeah, I just inspected the source, and it turns my links into this:
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I don't know of any automated tools, though as it's an open platform it should be possible.
All I can suggest is regularly downloading the CSV files and requesting an archive.
Alexander Hamizdat for Harris
@feditips ya is there an offline backup tool that I can point at my masto and have it periodically download my followers etc in case my server goes tusks up?
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Do you mean migrating between Pixelfed servers?
I'm not sure it's finished yet, @pixelfed do you have any updates?
Radu
@feditips do you know anything about how the Pixelfed account migration is supposed to work ?
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Yeah, all I can suggest is letting them know it's a problem via the github. Sorry!
Steffi
@feditips Exactly. I have tried the profile description as well, but that also gets clobbered.
So I'll just have to wait for the devs to fix it somehow.
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Sounds good, let me know if you come up with something and I'll give it a shoutout 😀
Alexander Hamizdat for Harris
@feditips cool I need a project
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Have you tried setting it to the default single column interface, then setting it back to advanced?
Skeptic
@feditips
I am using the advanced web interface and slow mode is not on. The column I use to view the local timeline stopped auto-scrolling yesterday without any preference changes on my part. How do I get it to return to auto scroll? Thanks
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Which server were you trying to translate it on?
Tejas :mastodon: 🇮🇳
@feditips
Yeah. This happened recently in the below mentioned poll.
https://systemli.social/@anneroth/111171580739800527
FediTips has moved!
Sounds like a server problem maybe?
What are you using to view their timeline?
Lazyboy
@feditips
Sometimes I might look back at another users timeline, but after a certain history all the images disappear, why is that?
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Is the user on another server? (You can tell by looking at the last part of their account address)
Lazyboy
@feditips
Firefox browser on Windows 11. Its as if there's a time limit on images or something 🤷♂️
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Does this happen all the time?
Tejas :mastodon: 🇮🇳
@feditips
I am using floss.social server.
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Hmm... I wonder if this is something to do with your server's media settings.
I'm not a sysadmin unfortunately but perhaps your server admin could help?
Lazyboy
@feditips
Usually they are, but it needn't be a specific server or individual. For example, if I search #IBM and browse down the list, all images past, say August this year are missing
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Interesting... looks like the image has been hidden for some reason? It's a customised border around it.
Hey @jaz can you help? A user is unable to see images sometimes, and they're surrounded by a hazard-style box?
Lazyboy
@feditips
Example
Helen Clayton
@feditips one question that’s been bugging me is whether it’s possible to search within one’s own toots? The new search function is great but it doesn’t seem to have that functionality. Thank you!
FediTips has moved!
Yes, you can!
The new search function includes lots of special operator words which let you choose exactly what you search:
https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-search-for-stuff-on-mastodon/
For searching your own stuff, include the phrase from:me in your search. There are more of these operators in the above link, scroll to the bottom of the page.
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What kind of layout adjustments do you mean?
lyndaangela
@feditips I find it difficult to set up and adjust the layout of Mastodon on web (Chrome). Is there an instruction page for that somewhere?
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Ah, I'm not sure, maybe @rysiek has some suggestions?
I don't speak Polish so it's difficult for me, but I've listed a handful of Polish accounts at https://fedi.directory/tag/poland/
kamkol
@feditips
I don't think you can help with this, but in Poland Mastodon is not that popular, so no posts from friends or most people I want to follow. Maybe you got list of some big / interesting accounts here?
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Ahh okay, you're using the advanced interface?
What kind of panel were you trying to get back?
Some of the panels can be made to appear again by clicking the icons on the left of the screen, while other panels (the ones that are hashtag searches) need you to search for the term.
There's no way to automatically bring back an unpinned post, you have to manually bring it back and pin it again.
lyndaangela
@feditips Currently there are four panels. If I unpin a panel, it disappears, then I don't know how to get it back.
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It sounds like a problem with your server, which in your case is androiddev.social
If you're seeing these errors on your server, you need to get in touch with your server admin.
support@mastodon.social is just for people on the mastodon.social server.
Saket Narayan
@Frieke72 @feditips I’ve noticed this too! I sent an email to support@mastodon.social with two images to reproduce the problem. Hopefully they'll fix it soon.
Frieke
@feditips i often get a 502 or 503 or 4something when i try to add a photo or film to a toot (android phone, wifi, server social). Then it won't load. Why? And what can I do?
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Thank you! Excellently fast and complete response! 🤩
jaz :twt: :wales_flag:
@feditips @_dunnster for example, here you can see the image has been re-delivered to toot.wales (although it still has the "no alt text provided" border)
jaz :twt: :wales_flag:
@feditips @_dunnster there's two things happening here: 1. images with no alt text get that border if browsed on toot.wales 2. our host has a media cache setting that removes old media - which is then re-requested upon demand.
It looks like the re-requests are getting queued and taking up to a minute to get re-delivered from the remote server in some cases.
I suggest scrolling more slowly :o) - or opening the original page (three dot menu) if you need to see the image more quickly
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Ah okay, well then I strongly suggest moving to a different server.
Mastodon.social is totally overcrowded and unable to cope, which is what causes the error messages.
Saket Narayan
@feditips I should have mentioned, this was for another account I have on mastodon.social.
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Your posts would still be accessible as long as you don't delete the old account after the transfer.
Also, people clicking on the post's author would be redirected to your new account.
Saket Narayan
@feditips I would but moving isn't easy. Until mastodon adds support for migrating posts, it's a non starter for many people imo.
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I am not a sysadmin, I have a server through a managed hosting service so they handle all the technical stuff.
If there's server downtime, other servers will try again later to contact your server.
Alper Çelik
@feditips
How much cpu, ram and storage would mastodon or any other fediverse software require.
And what happens in downtome of several days (like electricity outage on self hosted setup)
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I guess it's just up to each person to decide whether they create backup accounts?
taketwo
@feditips
How can I convince more X users to have an alternative social media account in the x bio as backup?
Dming them and mentioning them does not get me any feedback
FediTips has moved!
Someone else just raised this same topic, there's unfortunately currently no way to combine them all into one post.
If you're comfortable using github you can vote for this to be fixed by giving a thumbs up at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/8615
If it's just a one-off thread that you want to avoid, maybe use a timed mute on the account?
Clutha🏴🇸🇩🇺🇦
@feditips
If someone I follow posts multiple consecutive posts I have to scroll over if I’m not interested in the subject, is there a quick way of avoiding this?
FediTips has moved!
I'm not sure which question I didn't answer?
If you migrate your account, your old posts do not disappear, and they redirect people to your new account's profile.
If you want to move the posts to a new server, that can cause great complications, especially if an account has thousands of posts. The new server would suddenly have to find a lot more room, and suddenly have to moderate a vast amount of stuff.
Hadi
@saket @feditips I am a fan of fediverse, so don't get me wrong, but you didn't answer his question! It's a problem that migration is expensive in Mastodon, which defeats the expectations of a federated network. We should admit the problem first to fix it.
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You can't combine instances, but some third party apps do let you follow the Local timeline from another instance on your app.
mikelgs :mastodon:
@feditips is it possible to have two local timelines merged in one?
I mean, imagine there are two instances but both are focused on the same kind of people. Are Admins able to link two instances?
Alper Çelik
@feditips so can people view posts from their servers cache for some amount of time
FediTips has moved!
Yes, the cache persists for a long time unless the admin empties it specifically.
The system is designed to cope with servers going down for a while. It works a bit like email, which also retries sending later if a remote email sever is down.
FediTips has moved!
I don't know, unfortunately!
I'm not a developer or sysadmin.
I can't find relays documented in Mastodon's docs either (https://docs.joinmastodon.org/).
Maybe someone on the Mastodon github's discussion board might know? https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/discussions
Erik Beck
@feditips Yes! Is there a good document on what portion of the Mastodon and ActivityPub APIs and other elements a FediVerse relay needs to implement?
Thanks!
Larry
@feditips Assuming I can upload a photo, how do I add an ALT?
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It depends what you're using to access Mastodon.
If you're on the website, after the image is attached click the "edit" button on the image itself, you'll be able to add the caption there.
On apps, you can either click directly on the attached image or click on "caption" or "edit" or something similar.
In all these cases, writing the alt text happens before you publish. However, if you forget to add it you can always edit the post and add it in later.
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@koen @OnceUponAGoblin @JennyList
I'm not completely sure what you're asking for exactly, but there are crowdfunding projects on here such as @Liberapay
However, they are not using Fediverse technology to run their crowdfunding platform.
The Fediverse is designed as a social network. It has no payment system or financial features of any kind.
Koen de Jonge - SynQ
@OnceUponAGoblin @feditips this is what @JennyList was also looking for.
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There are default limits, but servers may change them to be higher or lower.
The default size limits are:
8 megabytes per photo (either still or animated)
40 megabytes per video
40 megabytes per audio
There are no length limits on audio or video, they just have to fit within the file size limit.
Larry
@feditips
A Samsung something running Android, via an app from the PlayStore. Is there a upload size limit for the image?
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I'm not sure what this has to do with Mastodon or the Fediverse?
Koos Swart
@feditips @koen @OnceUponAGoblin @JennyList @Liberapay I read on tweakers.net that Dutch payment system iDeal has been given to a European org that will implement it across Europe with money transfers added. Hoping that it will also be accepted elsewhere is your best bet.
Any online money transfer systems will have to rely on existing banks. There is no hop in internet startups due to venture capital, just look at Patreon.
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No, posts are shown in chronological order.
robthecat
@feditips Is there a way to shuffle posts on specific accounts Like suffling a video or music playlist?
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When you search, your search automatically includes everyone on your instance.
However, some people will have deliberately kept some of their posts hidden from those who do not follow them.
Asia Quinones-Evans
@feditips @Kaliah I am wondering if there is a way to search for all people that are included in an instance. I know that a particular person I am looking for is on an instance but they have never posted so I cannot search back through the community of posts.
FediTips has moved!
Click the ☰ icon on the left of the screen to make the "getting started" panel appear on the right.
lyndaangela
@feditips The one on the right is Explore / Hashtags / People / News. How do I get that one back when it disappears?
FediTips has moved!
Do you mean when you are sharing posts by other people, or when you boost your own posts that you published earlier?
Enne🐝
@feditips Hi. 👋 Thank you for offering help. 🙏
I am curious about instances that show my reposts in home and local timelines vs the ones that don't? Is this a setting that the instance admin[s] can opt in/out of, or a feature that a Mastodon fork like Glitch-soc or Hometown provide?
I moved from an instance that showed my reposts in my home and local timelines and thought that was the “norm”, but the instance I moved to doesn't do that, so I'm a little confused.
DannaLinnBarnett
@feditips sometimes when I try to add an image to the post it won't upload and gives me a 502 error. I don't know what's the difference between the images I succeed in uploading and those that don't
FediTips has moved!
It's nothing to do with the images, it's because the server you are on is too large and too overcrowded.
The way to solve this would be to move to a smaller server. You'll still be able to keep your follows and followers, but you will probably see fewer error messages.
Asia Quinones-Evans
@feditips @Kaliah That's not the answer I was looking for. I am asking about if I have stuck a community in my communities tab, how can I search or find each person that is included in that instance. There is a group that I would like to follow but they do not remember their name on the instance But they have never posted so I cannot find them from previous posts.
FediTips has moved!
I'm not sure what kind of community you mean?
Do you mean a server?
Or a discussion group?
The community tab on the official Mastodon app shows the local timeline, which is public posts by people on your server.
FediTips has moved!
As far as I know, no server shows reposts in Local timelines? Local just shows public posts by people on your server.
Your Home timeline is only visible to you, and you can customise it to either hide or show reposts. On the web interface, you can do this by going to Home and then clicking the slider icon in the top right corner, then clicking on "show boosts".
Enne🐝
@feditips When I repost other people's posts. Sorry; should've specified. 😳
FediTips has moved!
There is no searchable directory of everyone on a server, for privacy and safety reasons.
However, you can search for people across the Fediverse including on a particular server by going to the server's website and typing keywords in the search box there. You don't need to be a member or logged in.
There's also profile directories which let you browse members of a server who have chosen to appear in the directory.
1/2
Asia Quinones-Evans
FediTips has moved!
To see the profile directory, go to the server's website and click on the "profiles directory" link at the bottom of the screen (on the mobile website you may need to click ⋯ and then go to the bottom of the screen to see the link).
Once the directory is open, click on the "From... ...only" option at the top of the screen.
AmiW Streetart ❄️
@feditips In my Android browser, I don't see alt text, just the hint that there is one. It works effortlessly in the Tusky app, but it would be easier if it worked in the browser as well. Is there a trick? (I know it works on the PC, but I don't have one). 😞
FediTips has moved!
The alt text is there, but unfortunately there's not an easy way of seeing it on mobile browsers. The iPhone has the same problem.
Developers seem to have forgotten the alt text exists 😢 One theory about this is that originally the alt text was used by sighted people in the days of slow internet connections to know what an image was as it loaded. When speeds increased, sighted people paid less attention to alt text.
FediTips has moved!
Following the local timelines of other servers isn't an official Mastodon feature, it's so far only available on a few third party apps.
It's up to the makers of those third party apps to implement blocks and mutes properly.
Tom Haynes
@feditips
How to blocks and mutes work across servers.
I follow a different server. Users that I have blocked or muted from that server don't show in my main timeline but continue to show in the server's timeline.
FediTips has moved!
Ahh right, yeah, makes sense.
Unfortunately I don't know of any way to do that, sorry!
robthecat
@feditips no 3rd party way to shuffle posts. Reason I ask, say you're looking at a meme or comic posts you might want to shuffle to see more of the content especially if there is alot of it.
FediTips has moved!
Brilliant! Which browser is it?
AmiW Streetart ❄️
@feditips Thank you for the quick reply. ❤️ I guess I will have to wait. In Tusky it's right at the bottom, surely it will work here in the browser at some point. Just wanted to ask if I'm not too stupid to find it. 😊
Jer Warren
@AmiW@mastodon.online @feditips@mstdn.social if you long-press on the image, the alt text is displayed (truncated) at the top of the menu that appears. You can tap on the truncated text to expand it to read the whole thing.
FediTips has moved!
Is it okay if I share this as a tip in the future? I can give you a shoutout if you want?
Jer Warren
@feditips@mstdn.social @AmiW@mastodon.online that is Lemur, but it should be the same in at least all Chromium browsers, but I'd be surprised if Firefox didn't do it.
FediTips has moved!
"The new server should handle the toots of its users. Maybe they should charge them for it. "
If the alternatives are either pay to move your posts or leave them on the old server with a redirect for free, I am guessing the vast majority of people will choose the redirect.
It's not even just about the storage costs but the time.
I have almost six thousand posts on my account. If I move servers, how will the new server's admin have time to go through all those?
Hadi
@feditips @saket
Yes! The new server should handle the toots of its users. Maybe they should charge them for it. Regarding being a sudden event the new server can report the progress and take its time.
I'm just trying to state that this is a real issue and you should admit it to be able to move forward.
Hadi
@feditips @saket However, first you redirected the attention by the fact that the old post will stay in the old server, without mentioning why the old server should take care of old toots that have no user in that server. Anyway! In your second attempt you are talking about sudden migration and a lot of data the new server should handle, which is stating the obvious!
Hadi
@feditips @saket you are right. It wasn't a question! I was referring to this: " Until mastodon adds support for migrating posts, it's a non starter for many people imo."
FediTips has moved!
Excuse me? 😁
Marc Baillargeon
FediTips has moved!
It's a really good question!
If one person on your server has followed the account, all the posts after that moment should be visible from your server. However, anything before that may not be.
The solution to this would be "backfilling", where your server automatically checks for older posts when someone follows an account (or perhaps just interacts with it?).
Backfilling can be very resource intensive, which is apparently why it hasn't been implemented yet, but...
(1/2)
Bob Horowitz
@feditips @feditips
Q: Say I'm using the Mastodon app, looking at photos posted by other people on different instances. And maybe one looks great...so I decide to see what other photos that person has posted.
But in the app, I can only see remote photos back 2-4 weeks (unless someone on my own instance has boosted the photo). I get it. My instance can't keep a copy of every photo in the fediverse - there has to be a limit.
I've learned that if I want to see someone's portfolio, I need to use my browser and essentially do my viewing as a guest on the remote instance, with limited functionality to like or comment while not logged in.
My question is: why can't the Mastodon app make an external lookup itself and show me an old photo from inside the app, without me having to switch to a browser? Is that a difficult thing for an app to do - to fetch old photos for a quick look-see on my phone or tablet, on demand, without burdening my instance with storing that photo?
Does that question make sense?
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...according to the official Mastodon roadmap (at https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap) one of the features being planned is "Explicit controls to fetch more data from origin server".
Presumably this would be a button you could press on a profile to fill in more of the older posts, without you having to leave your server or go to the other server's website.
This backfilling already happens with all pinned posts, which is why it's a good idea to pin an intro post on your profile.
(2/2)
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The app developers haven't implemented translation yet.
The official Mastodon roadmap page shows translate for Android as "in progress", which usually means it is coming fairly soon, possibly in the next update:
https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap
I don't know what the timetable is on Tusky, but according to the relevant issue (at https://github.com/tuskyapp/Tusky/issues/134) it hasn't been done yet.
One workaround might be using Fedilab for Android, which has translation?
Eric Vey
I have a Android versions of Tusky and Mastodon, but neither display the "translate" button like the website of my instance does. Why is that?
Bob Horowitz
@feditips Ah, thank you! I look forward to having a backfilling option. As a photographer who uses Mastodon to find other photographers, the limited backview has been (mildly) disappointing. But the browser is an okay workaround.
It makes sense that backfilling could, sadly, be a resource hog on a server.
Re: "If one person on your server has followed the account, all the posts after that moment should be visible from your server. However, anything before that may not be."
This doesn't seem to be in effect here yet. If I look at, say, @kylev, for example, any media he has posted older than 24 days only shows as a blurred gradient in the app. But I and others on my server have followed Kyle for a long time. It seems boosting keeps media alive on my server, but simple following does not.
Again, thank you for the quick answer!
Bob
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"any media he has posted older than 24 days only shows as a blurred gradient in the app."
Ahhh... okay... possibly a different issue them? It sounds like the post is there, but the media file is not displayed.
That might be more to do with your server's media storage provider not displaying it properly, or perhaps your server has some resource-saving settings that affect this.
AFAIK there's nothing in Mastodon to stop a post's photo being visible.
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For what it's worth, on my tiny one person server I can see all old photos and never see blurry ones, but I don't have to worry about providing resources to cope with lots of other members.
Bob Horowitz
@feditips @kylev Roger that. Yup, old posts are there but the media is not. Based on your experience, I'm betting this is some setting on the SFBA server... presumably to manage resources wisely. I will ask our admins (and respect their answer :)
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I'm sure they will welcome donations to help 😉
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It's working fine? The website loads ok? https://mastodon.sdf.org
Sue Strong
@feditips what happened to mastodon.sdf.org? Server down? Certificate expired?
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You can also get Fedilab free if you download it from @fdroidorg
The reason it costs money on Google Play is to encourage people to use more ethical alternatives to Google Play, and to help fund the app's development.
Eric Vey
For others who don't want to spend money determining if the fedilab app has a translate button, it does have one and translate works okay. Now I have to figure out how to make the app work for me rather than against me.
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I run a site at https://fedi.tips which is full of guides aimed at beginners. There's a "quick start" section at the very top which links to the most essential tips, plus a complete index under it.
There's also other guides I've linked to at https://fedi.tips/what-do-i-do-next-are-there-any-other-guides-to-mastodon-and-the-fediverse/
Ruth Mottram
@feditips what is the current best article to help newcomers get to grips with masto/fedi?
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Mastodon.social is far, far too large, I would strongly recommend moving to another server.
The funding is a red herring, because the larger size just means it requires more funding.
There are lots of other good servers which have been around just as long and are much more reliable.
You can find reliable servers listed on the official Mastodon site at joinmastodon.org/servers and I run my own recommended server list at https://fedi.garden
Katharina Buholzer
@feditips It happens mostly wenn I open a post to see all replies, then the connection to the remote db of another instance hangs. It is thereofre my assumption that it is not a problem of my instance, which I chose exactly for that reason: size, and proper funding. with a noticeable dev and support team.
the error messages appear on the left side like balloon tips, unclickable and without an error code or similar. the message disappears within seconds.
Katharina Buholzer
@feditips "The funding is a red herring, because the larger size just means it requires more funding." In the case of Mastodon GmbH, it receives grants from the German federal government and from the European Union.
On what criteria do you asses that the instance is far too large with 200k active users?
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The grants are for software development, not server maintenance.
The criteria is the percentage of active users compared to the whole network, the error messages you mentioned, and moderation issues caused by lower staff-to-user ratios.
The purpose of this network is to be spread out on many servers, so that no single server controls the network. The grants were given to Mastodon gGmbH on that basis.
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Unfortunately, I don't recommend using Lemmy (more info: https://mstdn.social/@feditips/106835057054633379). Sorry!
Io Sapsai 🌱
@feditips if I use a hashtag when posting from Lemmy will it be visible for the people on Mastodon?
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" Are we saying that servers will not be able to handle the load of migrated posts? Doesn't this sound strange considering they're able to handle the posts of their existing just fine?"
Load building up gradually is okay, load suddenly appearing overnight causes problems.
"which makes Mastodon an unreliable solution."
There is no "reliable" solution when you're storing data on other people's servers. See https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/08/19/twitter-deletes-all-user-photos-and-links-from-2011-2014/, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/18/myspace-loses-all-content-uploaded-before-2016 and many others...
Hadi
@feditips @hadilq @saket yes, it's strange to me too. Why the new server cannot handle that load!. Also I don't understand why the old server should keep the toots of moved accounts. It's not cost free to keep them. With current model we're forcing them to remove old posts, or other similar decisions, which makes Mastodon an unreliable solution.
Saket Narayan
@feditips @hadilq I don't think I fully understand the problem here. Are we saying that servers will not be able to handle the load of migrated posts? Doesn't this sound strange considering they're able to handle the posts of their existing just fine?
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It's exactly the same way you follow people on your home instance.
I can see you've followed me for example, and we are on different instances (you're on ioc.exchange and I'm on mstdn.social).
Rye
@feditips would love to see a guide for how to follow people on other instances.
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No?
You just click follow?
Yes, if you're browsing their profile on another server's website, you have to copy and paste.
But you don't have to do that when you're just browsing profiles within your own server?
Alexandre B A Villares 🐍
@feditips @rye but if you happen to be on the persons profile, it is not obvious. You have to copy the link or handle+instance and paste it on your instance's search box... and then click on the person+ button.
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Ahh okay, fair enough!
I've got an existing guide that I think covers this area?
Alexandre B A Villares 🐍
@feditips @rye yes you are right, but is common for people to stride into a profile page on another server and be very confused. I think it merits a guide.
Prentiss Riddle 🎛
It merits more than a guide. It merits a redesign.
This is exactly the kind of usability problem that would get a regular commercial service laughed off the internet for design incompetence, but in the Fediverse we bend over backwards to forgive the software and blame the user.
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It depends on which server you're on, but most Mastodon servers have a limit of 500 characters.
Some servers have much higher amounts though:
https://fedi.tips/why-do-some-people-on-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-have-bigger-character-limits/
Mab
@feditips this is very basic question - how many characters is the limit per toot? Thank you!
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