A Respectful Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Mastodon
Mastodon is better than Twitter, but switching to a new app is hard! My guides make using and understanding it easy as baking a pie.
This article gathers all my tips, tricks, and guides to using Mastodon in one place. From here, you can follow step-by-step instructions for getting started with Mastodon. You can learn about the culture of Mastodon (which is more respectful, far less aggressive, and just way better for your mental health than Twitter). You can learn how to enable two-factor authentication on Mastodon, and learn about why Mastodon is more secure than Twitter.
Introduction
Hi, my name is Odin. I help people learn to use technology in a way that meets them where they are at.
My favorite thing is helping elderly folks realize the power of their devices and apps, empowering them to make the use of technology that often seems overwhelming.
I’ve also run tech teams for major international conferences during the Covid-19 pandemic, where I helped attendees learn to use the software and have a fun time!
I originally wrote the Compassionate User’s Guide to Mastodon just as Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter went through. I wrote it because I wanted to offer readers a simple and friendly way to understand the social media platform. I am tired of “idiot’s guides” and the like. You’re not stupid for not knowing how to use a new service! Everyone deserves compassion, care, and respect.
Just want to get started? Read “A Compassionate User’s Guide to Mastodon”
This is your one-stop-shop for getting set up to use Mastodon. If you follow this guide from beginning to end, you’ll have everything you need to start socializing with your new community and friends!
Articles About Mastodon
These are articles about Mastodon that will help you understand what it is, why it works, how it works, and who it works for. I have nuggets of this information in all my posts on the topic, but these guides are dedicated to helping you learn about the service.
Myths About Mastodon
If you’ve never used Mastodon before, you might encounter some myths about the service. If you’re confused about what Mastodon is and how it works, this is a great (and short!) primer.
Mastodon Is More Exciting Than Twitter
If you are a long-time Twitter user, this is for you! I suggest you read “Myths About Mastodon” first — this will fill in more of the gaps.
Safety on Mastodon vs. Twitter
If you’re still not sure about moving from the illusory comfort of a corporate social media service, this guide offers the incentive to move to Mastodon ASAP.
User Guides to Mastodon
These are my guides to using Mastodon. The biggest one is my Compassionate User’s Guide, but I also have specific guides that deal with common questions.
The Best Mastodon App
This is, by far, the best Mastodon experience around!
Why Should I Be Kind to Other People?
This guide has two parts: a bit of history and philosophy, followed by a detailed understanding of the “CW” (Content Warning or Content Wrapper) feature in Mastodon. This is a great safety and community-building tool that many have questions about.
Authenticate Yourself!
This is a simple guide for securing Mastodon with two-factor authentication (2FA)! You should be doing this for all your social media accounts, by the way. Data breaches and hacking attempts are more common than ever, and 2FA is an effortless way to stop them.
Mastodon Threads
A step-by-step walkthrough of threads on Mastodon! Threads on Mastodon have given a few new users a hard time, but this article gives you everything you need to know to use them easily!
