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I think a simple change in nomenclature could help Mastodon incredibly. Servers is an inaccurate term and instance is unfamiliar and vague. Both create tension for new users.
Why not simply call Mastodon instances what they are: Communities.
Ask users which Mastodon community they'd like to join. Have community rules, community policy, and community leaders. Not server rules, instance moderators and administrators.

Let me start. Everyone is welcome at our community, https://thecanadian.social


TheCanadian.Social

Politics,sports,current events and laughs from Canada and across the fediverse.
Mastodon hosted on thecanadian.social
in reply to Mike Fraser :Jets:

Eugen Rochko
Eugen Rochko
• •
We tried this years back, it doesn't work. Servers are not (always) communities. This nomenclature carries with it a lot of associations that are not true or helpful to Mastodon, e.g. that these "communities" are siloed and you need to create separate accounts to join each community, and that you need to condense your identity into one specific hobby to participate in Mastodon. Service provider is a potential candidate for a better term than "server".
in reply to Eugen Rochko

Chad :mstdn:
Chad :mstdn:
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@Gargron I think I can see some merit to this in regards to thecanadian.social, mstdn.ca, and other regional instances. I've used the "community" word a few times over the last while and it feels like it's made sense for us... with the extension into the fediverse.
@Eugen Rochko
in reply to Eugen Rochko

abovearth
abovearth
• •

@Gargron

@mike

I agree, the server I am on does not feel like a community to me. I like being on the server. I have no complaints about the administration or moderation. But I am not on this server for its community,

I am here to interact with the fediverse.

@Eugen Rochko @Mike Fraser :Jets:
in reply to Eugen Rochko

Mike Fraser :Jets:
Mike Fraser :Jets:
• •
If your instance is simply a provider, then what value does it bring over mastodon.social? Lower latency? Perhaps a longer character limit? Really?
Usually the value is in both the moderation style and the interaction of users with each other and the admins, to form, you guessed it... a community.
I'd like to think people that run instances aren't simply volunteer load balancers.
This entry was edited (11 months ago)
in reply to Eugen Rochko

Jeff Brown
Jeff Brown
• •

#SocialMedia provider or #socialmedia instance.

#Mastodon and #threads, and #bsky and others are brands. And brands carry baggage.

Just like we host #email. We also host #social

Very few care what is under the hood of our email servers. And it should be the same for social.

#mastodon #Socialmedia #email #Social #threads #bsky
This entry was edited (11 months ago)
in reply to Eugen Rochko

Dieu
Dieu
• •
@Gargron I agree that community certainly won't always be the best fit in each single case, huge instances like mastodon.social certainly, won't have much community feeling left (no offence). But it might still be a better fit in most cases. Regarding the experiences in the past, I assume they predate mass adoption, and mass adoption may well have stacked the cards quite differently. Have you considered this?
@Eugen Rochko

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