Online Political Forum(s)

[Huntn]

This will not hinder my posting here. If you are or lean liberal and are looking to branch out into a site that talks specifically politics only, I have gotten a nice reception there:

MadAboutPolitics.com - Featured News

Mad about Politics Home Page, Politics and community for all

madaboutpolitics.com

I registered myself as a Liberal. Everyone can talk in the general moderated forum, but you can only post in the sub forum based on how you identify yourself during registration. I’ve not yet identified how large a forum this is yet, but I’m seeing mostly liberal oriented posts.

 

[Alli]

That’s why we have Mastodon.

 

[Eric]

This will not hinder my posting here. If you or lean liberal and are looking to branch out into a site that talks specifically politics only, I have gotten a nice reception there:

MadAboutPolitics.com - Featured News

Mad about Politics Home Page, Politics and community for all

madaboutpolitics.com

I registered myself as a Liberal. Everyone can talk in the general moderated forum, but you can only post in the sub forum based on how you identify yourself during registration. I’ve not yet identified how large a forum this is yet, but I’m seeing mostly liberal oriented posts.

Interesting board, I haven't dug through any of the posts but it appears they're trying to appeal to all sides and that can't be an easy task. Looks like a nice alternative for those looking for political discussion though.

 

[Huntn]

That’s why we have Mastodon.

Tell me about it. This I presume:

Mastodon - Decentralized social media

Learn more about Mastodon, the radically different, free and open-source decentralized social media platform.

joinmastodon.org

 

[Huntn]

Interesting board, I haven't dug through any of the posts but it appears they're trying to appeal to all sides and that can't be an easy task. Looks like a nice alternative for those looking for political discussion though.

My brief exposure there, it seems to have a strong liberal or maybe better said, a strong anti-Trump contingent. I’ve seen very little pushback supporting the Foul Beast.

 

[Alli]

Tell me about it. This I presume:

Mastodon - Decentralized social media

Learn more about Mastodon, the radically different, free and open-source decentralized social media platform.

joinmastodon.org

That’s it. Like Twitter was in the beginning. But better.

 

[Huntn]

That’s it. Like Twitter was in the beginning. But better.

How do the political debates go there? Is there a predominant side liberal or conservative, sane or MAGA?

 

[Alli]

How do the political debates go there? Is there a predominant side liberal or conservative, sane or MAGA?

Currently you’d be hard-pressed to find a maggat on Mastodon, and when one pops up, he’s quickly tossed. There have even been a few instances (servers) welcoming the far right, and the entire server has been cut from the federation.

It’s really a comfortable space right now. Not saying that can’t change.

 

[Eric]

Currently you’d be hard-pressed to find a maggat on Mastodon, and when one pops up, he’s quickly tossed. There have even been a few instances (servers) welcoming the far right, and the entire server has been cut from the federation.

It’s really a comfortable space right now. Not saying that can’t change.

Exactly, the right wing, led by Elon Musk, has basically hijacked Twitter and turned into a wasteland of unchecked hatred and racism.

 

[Huntn]

Currently you’d be hard-pressed to find a maggat on Mastodon, and when one pops up, he’s quickly tossed. There have even been a few instances (servers) welcoming the far right, and the entire server has been cut from the federation.

It’s really a comfortable space right now. Not saying that can’t change.

I’ll have to sign in. Do you care to share your user name, or are you expected to use your real name? I see there are different servers. Do you have an opinion about choosing a server? Do you have more connectivity to people who are on your server?

 

[Eric]

I’ll have to sign in. Do you care to share your user name, or are you expected to use your real name?

Here's our own instance, Alli runs it now.

TalkedAbout Social

The social network of the future: No ads, no corporate surveillance, ethical design, and decentralization! Own your data with Mastodon!

talkedabout.social

 

[Huntn]

Here's our own instance, Alli runs it now.

TalkedAbout Social

The social network of the future: No ads, no corporate surveillance, ethical design, and decentralization! Own your data with Mastodon!

talkedabout.social

This is a Mastodon server?

 

[Alli]

I’ll have to sign in. Do you care to share your user name, or are you expected to use your real name? I see there are different servers. Do you have an opinion about choosing a server? Do you have more connectivity to people who are on your server?

My user name is my sig on here. You don’t have to use your real name. It’s probably 70/30 using screen names to real names. You can use any server (and there are LOTS), but in the end all that matters is that you follow a wide variety of people. Then you’ll start seeing their reposts. Once you’ve created an account, make sure you add in something in your profile and some kind of picture. Definitely start with our server. It’s small and easy to control.

 

[Huntn]

My user name is my sig on here. You don’t have to use your real name. It’s probably 70/30 using screen names to real names. You can use any server (and there are LOTS), but in the end all that matters is that you follow a wide variety of people. Then you’ll start seeing their reposts. Once you’ve created an account, make sure you add in something in your profile and some kind of picture. Definitely start with our server. It’s small and easy to control.

It’s small and easy to control.
Please clarify.

So each server accesses the entire Marathon network?

 

[Alli]

So each server accesses the entire Marathon network?

Think Star Trek and the United Federation of Planets. Each instance (server) is its own planet with its own culture. There are instances for journalists, writers, musicians, educators, etc. But think how boring it would be if you were limited to your own instance. Each instance is united in the common goal of connecting people and broadening the experience. I follow people from a variety of instances. Once you start following other folk, you can follow anyone from their instance, or anyone they follow from any other instance. If you know someone you’d like to follow, all you need is their full user name (including instance) and you can follow them, too.

 

[Huntn]

Think Star Trek and the United Federation of Planets. Each instance (server) is its own planet with its own culture. There are instances for journalists, writers, musicians, educators, etc. But think how boring it would be if you were limited to your own instance. Each instance is united in the common goal of connecting people and broadening the experience. I follow people from a variety of instances. Once you start following other folk, you can follow anyone from their instance, or anyone they follow from any other instance. If you know someone you’d like to follow, all you need is their full user name (including instance) and you can follow them, too.

How to Pick a Mastodon Server

The hardest part of getting started on Mastodon is the first step. We show you how to sign up for Mastodon and pick the right server.

www.pcmag.com

Pretty good video in above link.
Not intended as critical questions, but as this article points out, one of the hardest aspects of joining Mastadon is picking a server. I like the group here, but want to understand the mechanics.

Is there any advantage or disadvantage of joining a small vs a large Mastodon server?

My understanding is that @Alli is running the Talked About Mastodon Server, the decentralized Social Media Network. Does this mean you have the Mastadon software on your computer, that your computer must act like a server, be on 24 hours per day, and it exists only as long as you maintain interest in running It? If your computer goes down, do members signed up to Mastadon though your server maintain connectivity with the rest of the network or just the server you are fprunning? I’m going to assume that every MPost must filter though the primary server first, but that might not be true.
Thanks!

 

[Alli]

How to Pick a Mastodon Server

The hardest part of getting started on Mastodon is the first step. We show you how to sign up for Mastodon and pick the right server.

www.pcmag.com

Pretty good video in above link.
Not intended as critical questions, but as this article points out, one of the hardest aspects of joining Mastadon is picking a server. I like the group here, but want to understand the mechanics.

Is there any advantage or disadvantage of joining a small vs a large Mastodon server?

My understanding is that @Alli is running the Talked About Mastodon Server, the decentralized Social Media Network. Does this mean you have the Mastadon software on your computer, that your computer must act like a server, be on 24 hours per day, and it exists only as long as you maintain interest in running It? If your computer goes down, do members signed up to Mastadon though your server maintain connectivity with the rest of the network or just the server you are fprunning? I’m going to assume that every MPost must filter though the primary server first, but that might not be true.
Thanks!

Whoa! You’re making it more difficult than it is, and giving me way more credit than I deserve. I pay a monthly fee for a server. It’s been down once since Eric started it originally. I use the Ivory app to access Mastodon.

When I first created my Mastodon account, I joined mastodon.world. When Eric started TalkedAbout.social, I migrated. It all depends on how active you are and how many accounts you’re willing to follow. You get the same overall experience no matter what your home instance is.

 

[Eric]

How to Pick a Mastodon Server

The hardest part of getting started on Mastodon is the first step. We show you how to sign up for Mastodon and pick the right server.

www.pcmag.com

Pretty good video in above link.
Not intended as critical questions, but as this article points out, one of the hardest aspects of joining Mastadon is picking a server. I like the group here, but want to understand the mechanics.

Is there any advantage or disadvantage of joining a small vs a large Mastodon server?

My understanding is that @Alli is running the Talked About Mastodon Server, the decentralized Social Media Network. Does this mean you have the Mastadon software on your computer, that your computer must act like a server, be on 24 hours per day, and it exists only as long as you maintain interest in running It? If your computer goes down, do members signed up to Mastadon though your server maintain connectivity with the rest of the network or just the server you are fprunning? I’m going to assume that every MPost must filter though the primary server first, but that might not be true.
Thanks!

Our Mastodon server is hosted through DigitalOcean as a service, not through any sort of home setup so it should have 99.9% uptime. The client just an app that you use on your end, like Twitter.

 

[Alli]

Mostly for @Huntn but also applies to anyone else interested in diving into Mastodon.

A new onboarding experience on Mastodon

Today we’re making signing up on Mastodon easier than ever before. We understand that deciding which Mastodon service provider to kick off your experience with can be confusing. We know this is a completely new concept for many people, since traditionally the platform and the service provider...

blog.joinmastodon.org

 

[Huntn]

Mostly for @Huntn but also applies to anyone else interested in diving into Mastodon.

A new onboarding experience on Mastodon

Today we’re making signing up on Mastodon easier than ever before. We understand that deciding which Mastodon service provider to kick off your experience with can be confusing. We know this is a completely new concept for many people, since traditionally the platform and the service provider...

blog.joinmastodon.org

I appreciate the thought. That said I previously dropped into the shadows with Facebook because I was not happy with it. My wife still does verbal battles there. As you know, I am active on several boards similar/same in software to techboards, which function in a similar manner to social media, the main difference, at least my impression is that social media involves much larger numbers of people which can be zooish in itself.

So for anyone who likes Mastodon how would you promote It? As you might be able to tell I’m hesitant.