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Comment by tablethnuser | Hacker News Reader

I am interested in joining a Mastodon instance but I don't know how to find the right one to join.

Every pro-Mastodon article mentions I can pack my bags and leave for a new instance but if you do research you find that that feature isn't built yet and the community can't agree on how it should work. So picking the right server is currently a very heavy decision.

I've tried some of these instance finder tools but they reveal that Mastodon instances are like 25% furry communities and other fringe fetishes and I really just want a place to talk tech, philosophy, and video games.

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There are many, many out there. I suggest you join one with a deliberately "throw away" account and start following a few people. Then see where they are, and after a time export the list of people you follow, and move.

I'm on https://mathstodon.xyz/ and https://fosstodon.org/ if you want to start on either of those.

Then again, maybe you will neither need nor want to move.

A quick web search for "mastodon instance tech video games" has produces a few pages listing some instances with comments about what sorts of things they cover:

https://thefishcrow.com/2017/04/08/mastodon-instance-content...

https://instances.noct.zone/

Visit one of those pages and Ctrl-F for the things you're interested in. Again, a couple of minutes searching has suggested https://elekk.xyz/about and https://mastodon.gamedev.place/about

This is a useful set of instructions (thanks!) but it points to the biggest challenge Mastodon/ActivityPub will have in gaining a network. It's taken decades for people to "get" email, en masse (and many still don't understand CC/Bcc).

Twitter and FB have been mainstreamed faster in part because the onboarding/acquisition UX is so easy. It's necessary to think this through (if widespread adoption _is_ the goal).

Anybody knows of a free speech Mastodon instance? Something that’s not banned from the rest of the network, of course. :/

I spent an hour looking and gave up. They all either get banned, don't take registrations, or they ban content too aggressively, especially under categories like racism/sexism/xenophobia/nationalism/socialism/etc, wherein the SJWs leave the terms undefined so that they can ban any opinion they disagree with. I'd love to find a server that is committed to the Chicago Principles.

You'll probably like this Mastodon instance, it's about video game development: https://mastodon.gamedev.place

Here's an invite to my closed instance that any HN user is welcome to take advantage of: https://cmpwn.com/invite/7CA9J3mq This is good for 25 uses, if it runs out and anyone missed it just let me know.

For the most part it's tech folks talking about tech, though the federated timeline is naturally more diverse. If a bunch of HNers join up, even more so. It is what you make of it, you shape the local culture as much as anyone else.

Thank you for all the thoughtful replies everyone. It's helped me understand Mastodon a little better. I think what I want for my primary instance is to immerse in a culture of makers and then I can follow my interests like tech, philosophy, and games, by following ppl in other instances

> and I really just want a place to talk tech, philosophy, and video games

mastodon.technology? Been on it for past couple of weeks; feels quite ok so far.

Thanks, I'll check this one out next time I get the itch to find an instance. It seems straightforward enough but the website gives me a 502 atm

Might be scheduled saturday maintenance. Time window is AFAIR max 3 hours.

If you want a good, maintained one that's general purpose, https://mastodon.xyz is one I can recommend.

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