i’m slowly getting used to #mastodon and the #fediverse overall.

at first, i kinda missed the algorithms, they’re addictive for a reason. it felt weird not having content constantly pushed at me.

but now i see the upside. mastodon feels more natural, more intentional.
you actually explore, not just scroll.
it’s less about feeding the machine, more about following curiosity.

When choosing a Mastodon instance (server),
what is most important to you?

(multiple choices allowed)

#Mastodon #Fediverse

I just joined #mastodon a few days back and honestly, I don't get it. It seems like a bunch of people talking into the void and nobody interacting with anything.

I came here hoping to find some kind of community, all I got was a massive mental health hit due to the horrifying loneliness of it all

#mentalhealth

#CrazyFediverseAnalogies

Announcing FediMeteo – Weather in the Fediverse!

UPDATE: I have created an account for updates and other information on FediMeteo - follow the account @admin to stay updated!

UPDATE: Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland have just been added

Weather has always influenced our lives: from agriculture to outdoor activities, to extreme events that, thanks to modern technology, can now be predicted with greater reliability. Personally, weather plays a significant role in my daily decisions, which is why I decided to create a service tailored for the Fediverse.

FediMeteo uses Open-Meteo data to publish updates every 6 hours, including current weather conditions, forecasts for the next 12 hours, and predictions for the upcoming days. Each country is served by its own dedicated instance (e.g., it.fedimeteo.com for Italy), managed through snac to ensure simplicity and efficiency in publishing.

You can follow FediMeteo directly in the Fediverse (on Mastodon and compatible platforms), via RSS, or by visiting the dedicated page for your city (e.g., fr.fedimeteo.com/paris).

Currently supported countries include:
Austria, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, – with many more regions coming soon!

FediMeteo is hosted on a FreeBSD-based VPS, with each country isolated in its own jail to ensure security and scalability.

Visit the main site to explore the national instances and start following your local weather updates today:
https://fedimeteo.com

Happy weather monitoring to all! 🌦️

FediMeteo is dedicated to my grandfather, who every evening would give me the weather forecast based on TV, radio, and his personal experience. He would convince me that the weather would be bad, so he had an excuse to accompany me to school instead of me going alone.

#FediMeteo #Announcements #FreeBSD #FediMeteo #WeatherForecasts #Weather #Meteo #snac #Fediverse #Mastodon

This afternoon, an acquaintance joined a Mastodon instance and asked me which "celebrities" are present in the Fediverse, as if it were important to determine the value of a social network based on that.

I told him that the most important user in the Fediverse is him. Just as it’s you, reading this. Someone who has decided to interact with others freely. Who has chosen to trust their administrator (or create their own instance) more than they trust those who run traditional, monolithic, centralized social networks.

So, I want to thank all the friends of BSD Cafe, whether local or not, for being here and making this place what it is. And I thank all my friends in the Fediverse, who make my timeline lively, interesting, intelligent, fun, and thought-provoking - every day, at any time.

#BSDCafe #Mastodon #Fediverse #SocialNetworks #SocialMedia #Community #Trust #OpenSource #DigitalFreedom #JoinTheFediverse

A small compendium of the Fediverse platforms I use/know well.

In the past few days, I revisited some of my old Fediverse instances since some friends asked me to help them set up a new one. I also took the chance to perform maintenance on some leftover instances. Here's my experience:

Akkoma: My oldest instance still running, opened in 2022. It was offline for a few months (3/4). I updated everything to the latest version and restarted it. I’m not sure why, but it’s extremely slow, with a heavy load on Postgres and many queries just to open the main page. I like Akkoma - I'll investigate further.

GoToSocial: I updated a friend's instance - GoToSocial itself was up-to-date, but the underlying system wasn’t. I noticed that once it exceeds 2000 followings, it becomes a bit slow. The database is PostgreSQL, but that's not the issue. The GoToSocial process becomes somewhat heavy on the VPS. Still, it's very usable and a software with great potential, in my opinion. The Mastodon API is implemented quite well and works with the major software.

Mitra: It seems well-built. The person had around 1000 followers and followings on a Mastodon account, which they moved from a large instance. No speed issues, though sending a message makes the server “heavy” for a bit, but it’s temporary. The Mastodon API is partially implemented, but the software is advancing quickly, and I find its native interface quite pleasant.

Snac2: I've always had a soft spot for Snac2. The lack of a database and some design choices make it an excellent solution for small instances. For example, sending posts to all known instances increases visibility and interaction. Its basic, JavaScript-free interface is very clear, though it might not be the best for those used to Mastodon. But the Mastodon API is improving version by version, and I think the developer is doing an excellent job. It struggles a bit with larger numbers, but that's due to the underlying file system, not the software itself. If "move" support (both in and out) were added, I would recommend it to anyone starting self-hosting for single-user or small community instances because "move" is one of the options that gives the most freedom in Fediverse software.

Mastodon: My “old” personal instance was stuck at version 4.1.x and had been offline for a few months. I updated the FreeBSD Jail and upgraded Mastodon to 4.2.12 and then to 4.3.0-beta1. No issues. I also helped a friend (who had an old Pleroma-based instance they barely used) migrate. This user has around 5000 followers and followings - Mastodon is running on FreeBSD on a VPS (arm64) for just over 3 euros a month, with no significant issues (apart from media storage, but that's not Mastodon’s fault). Mastodon is sometimes said to be heavy, and that's partly true, but its modularity ensures that even in cases of overload, queues may slow down, but navigation and the local timeline remain reasonably fast. I think this is a good thing for any larger-scale use of an instance.

In short, I think things are moving in the right direction, and the software is evolving nicely. Well done, devs!

#Fediverse #Akkoma #GoToSocial #Mitra #Snac2 #Snac #Mastodon #SelfHosting #InstanceManagement #FreeBSD #OpenSource

I want to launch a hashtag where, every Tuesday, I'll post a message and it would be great if it became a habit for many.

In a world full of conflicts, selfishness, and egocentrism, it would be nice to focus on the good that others do, what makes our lives better thanks to the contribution of others.

My first #ThankYouTuesday to the friends of #BSDCafe - both within the community servers and beyond - who have undoubtedly contributed to making my life better, more stimulating, and richer. So, I extend this gratitude to all those who, here in the fediverse or elsewhere, are present and positive, giving me inspiration and motivation.

Truly, thank you!

#ThankYouTuesday #gratitude #positivity #community #fediverse #mastodon

15 million users in the Fediverse, now.

No ad-blocker needed.
Zero ads.
My data stays on my server.
Interactions are genuine, driven by people's desire, not an algorithm pushing for conflict to boost engagement (and ad sales).
Nobody's here just because it's trendy. If you're here, you want to be here.
The best social media experience I've had in years.

Thank you to all of you, among these 15 million accounts, who have helped make this a wonderful place to be.

#Fediverse #Privacy #NoAds #GenuineInteractions #Decentralized #ThankYou #Mastodon