mastodon.online is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
A newer server operated by the Mastodon gGmbH non-profit

Server stats:

12K
active users

Alex Wild

Bluesky seems to have hit a network effect threshhold in the wake of the election, and some of the last Twitter holdout communities have re-grouped over there this week. New celebs, more sports commentators, scientists, etc, and nearing 15M users.

Mastodon also seems to be picking up a bit, but not to the same extent. I think that's fine, I've been encouraging people at Bluesky to at least have an account over here.

(Bluesky is not "Billionaire Owned". It just isn't. It is a for profit company, yes, but a very, very small one. Dorsey was hounded relentlessly off the site by its own users and he long ago quit the board)

@alexwild Fedi's where I go to hang out with friends. Bsky's where I go to catch up on the world and be sad.

The iRC / Twitter gap is restored.

@alexwild Difficulty with Bluesky is, same as mastodon, discovery is more difficult. Moreso on Bluesky because you don't have your home instance to ease you into the wider community. I'm on there, I like what I see, but who else should I follow?

@EMR Look for "starter packs" that people with your interests have created. These can instantly hook you up with a community.

@alexwild The celebs and big follow influencers rarely hang out here too long.

@alexwild Net positive effect. Get people off Twitter.

It's okay the Fediverse doesn't fit everyone... but I do think they're just rushing into another corporate-owned silo. Baby steps?

@jenny753 Yes, and I think it's a positive step that people are making tools to bridge Mastodon and Bluesky, as neither is a walled garden.

@elliek I did! Masnick also had a rebuttal somewhere, both were thoughtful. My sense is that Mastodon will indeed be more durable, but the efforts to connect these decentralized efforts are worthwhile.

@alexwild they are funded by venture capitalists, as i understand it. kind of impossible for a business of that type to not be, but it’s also what ended up being responsible for twitter getting shittier and shittier before finally being sold off. i’ve got an account there, but i’m wary of getting too emotionally invested in that place. mastodon, for all its faults, seems adaptable & resilient

@c_reider @alexwild Anyone under 40 is used to the Internet being like this: every so often, your online "home" will turn to shit or be shut down by its owners and you'll have to move. Us old-timers who have been using the same networks for 30+ years have a different relationship to our networks, and more to lose by relocating.

@alexwild @wollman i’ve experienced it a few times, happened with livejournal then twitter - i’m just tired of it.

@alexwild I would regret my decision to leave twitter 2 years ago even less now if that were possible.

@alexwild Why not encourage them to bridge? I've put a Bluesky link on my homepage, that shows some basic bridging instructions.

If enough people bridge, BSky might get the message and start properly federating.

@alexwild Encourage them to bridge their account with Bridgy Fed. It's better than they just create an account here and they never use it.