Originally I wrote this piece, in a slightly different form, for a non-public journal. If you’re a writer who’s looking to add Mastodon to your communication and publicity resources, you might find it useful.

Mastodon is a federated system for making brief, usually public posts. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, the system doesn’t belong to any one owner. Anyone can set up a server (also called an instance), and it’s fairly easy and cheap if you have a little tech knowledge. It’s like FidoNet from the days of BBSes, before the Internet was open to the public, or like Usenet.

Mastodon is built on open-source software and is part of a larger system called the Fediverse. There’s a video sharing system of sorts, but it hasn’t really caught on. Hosting video is much more daunting than hosting messages and images.

Every server has its own policies. Some are more reliable and secure than others. To get started, you should shop around till you find one that appears reliable and has policies that you can live with. JoinMastodon has a list of known instances.

With the chaos at Twitter, there’s been a huge increase in interest in Mastodon. Some servers have stopped accepting new users for the time being because they’re swamped. You may have to be patient to get on one you like.

A “toot” is a normal public message. The size limit is 500 characters, which is more generous than Twitter. That leaves room for more thoughtful statements.

Anyone on any Mastodon server can read your toots and follow you. Conversely, you can read toots on other servers and follow people who are based there. It’s easiest to find people on your own server, so there’s a benefit to finding one that attracts like-minded people.

A server can block other servers. One which lets its users get away with too much may get widely blocked. You should keep that in mind when choosing where you sign up.

You should never reuse Internet passwords, and that’s especially important advice with Mastodon. A lot of instances don’t have industrial-level security. In general, keep in mind that your instance is probably run by someone who depends on donations and has a real job. Don’t get impatient if there are issues.

If you want more information, there are lots of places, such as Fedi.tips, that offer it.