[NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

Thu Jun 29 01:30:09 UTC 2023

Julie,
Without intending to get too personal what types of people are you most interested in corresponding with? What are some of your interests?
As others have said it almost doesn't matter what instance or server you start out on because regardless of where your Mastodon home is you can connect with anyone on any other server.
If you easily want to connect with other blind people I recommend tweesecake.social.
I chose rcsocial.net because it was primarily set up for Catholics. If you go to what is called the local timeline you will be able to see messages from others who are on the same server even if you're not connected to them.
The local timeline can be a good way to find others to connect with.

David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
[JAWS Certified, 2022]<https://www.freedomscientific.com/Training/Certification>
NVDA Certified Expert<https://certification.nvaccess.org/>

Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive news, events and information regarding the blindness assistive technology field.
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From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie Dawson via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 9:23 PM
To: Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends <nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julie Dawson <julie.magnolia62 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

I am having trouble finding an instance to create an account through. Help, please and thank you.
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Chaltain via NFB-Mastodon<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>
To: Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Christopher Chaltain<mailto:chaltain at outlook.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 8:01 PM
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

  *   Ah, when I say search, I mean search from your instance. For example, I log into my instance of Mastodon and hit enter on the explore link. In the search field, I then type "news at nfb.social<mailto:"news at nfb.social>" and press enter. I'm not sure what it would look like the first time, but now I see a link to the account and an unfollow button. I'm doing this through the web interface of my instance, but the same idea should work from any client. You need to be logged into your client and then use the search option within your client.

--
Christopher (AKA CJ) =>÷
Chaltain at Outlook, USA

From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of delcenia--- via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 6:57 PM
To: 'Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends' <nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>
Cc: delcenia at prodigy.net
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

Ok, last question for today. I searched for the three suggestion below to follow.  And unless I did something wrong. I do not see a link to follow under the search results.
Delcenia

From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Christopher Chaltain via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 7:22 PM
To: Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends <nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: Christopher Chaltain <chaltain at outlook.com<mailto:chaltain at outlook.com>>
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

Basically to follow the NFB, you'd want to do the following. Log into your instance and search for one of the following three accounts:

  *   nationsblind at nfb.social<mailto:nationsblind at nfb.social>
  *   news at nfb.social<mailto:news at nfb.social>
  *   president at nfb.social<mailto:president at nfb.social>.
Click on the link in the search results and then the follow link on the accounts page. Do this for each of the accounts you want to follow.

After doing this, toots from these three accounts will show up in your home feed.

--
Christopher (AKA CJ) =>÷
Chaltain at Outlook, USA

From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Jim Portillo via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 3:26 PM
To: 'Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends' <nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: Jim Portillo <portillo.jim at gmail.com<mailto:portillo.jim at gmail.com>>
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

OK. I'm sort of understanding now, but here are a couple more questions so I can better understand.
I have just established an account with Mastodon.social . All is well there. I did that on my computer.
If the NFB has two instances now, what will be the best way to access and interact with any posts or activity? Or, do I need accounts on those instances as well? I will definitely want to connect with people.
I will also download Mona to my iPhone and see if I can learn to use it as well.
My user name on mastodon.social is Jim_Portillo .

From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Danielsen, Chris via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 12:10 PM
To: Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends <nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: Danielsen, Chris <CDanielsen at nfb.org<mailto:CDanielsen at nfb.org>>
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

HI Sherry,

It is my understanding that there are thousands of mastodon instances. It should be possible to search for one that focuses specifically on literature and maybe specifically one for authors. I haven't looked, but it's worth a try.

Think about instances in the way you think about all the different internet domains that can host email. You may have GMail, Outlook, iCloud, or any other host for your own email address, but that doesn't prevent you from emailing people whose email addresses aren't on the same domain (the stuff after the at sign) that yours is. It just means that you have a specific address, part of which is that domain. Instances work the same way. Once you pick one, you can follow anyone on any other instance, and they can follow you. A lot of people are struggling with which instance to select, but in an important sense, it does not matter. If you don't like the instance you first join, you can join another one; in fact you can maintain accounts on more than one. If you're really not sure, then I think a good suggestion is to consider Mastodon.social or Tweesecake.social. Mastodon.social is a good general one that isn't tied to any specific topic. Tweesecake.social is quite popular with the blind community. The real think to know is that whatever decision you make in this regard, it is not written in stone, and it doesn't block you from connecting with others. As far as how to search for a server for your permanent (or temporary) home base, here's one good place to start, and others have been suggested on this list: https://joinmastodon.org/servers

Warmly,

Chris

From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 9:16 AM
To: Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends <nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: Sherry Gomes <sherry.gomes at outlook.com<mailto:sherry.gomes at outlook.com>>
Subject: Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

You're not late to the party. I've been completely baffled about mastodon for months. Now that twitter isn't usable for us, on the computer specifically, I've lost contact with many followers and those I follow, both on my personal and my author profile. Social media is crucial for my work as an author, as a place for fans to reach me, and as a way to follow other authors, writing resources and more. Not to mention the personal followers I have there and nowhere else. But for the life of me, I'm befuddled by mastodon and the concept of having different servers, how to sign up, how to find people and feeds of interest, the whole bit. I'm normally excellent with new apps but this one has eluded me.

Sherry
Author of Haven, book 1 in the Haven Valley Series, available from amazon and audible.
Haven - Kindle edition by Gomes, Sherry. Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.<https://www.amazon.com/Haven-Sherry-Gomes-ebook/dp/B09889YJSH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Z838OQBUO9GD&keywords=sherry+gomes&qid=1647716068&s=digital-text&sprefix=sherry+gomes%2Cdigital-text%2C121&sr=1-1>
Haven by Sherry Gomes | Audiobook | Audible.com<https://www.audible.com/pd/Haven-Audiobook/B09VP6VP4Z?qid=1647714928&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=ZT179DKFB31Q6GTZW916>
Follow me: twitter: @sgomes_author
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sherrygomesauthor
Group: https://facebook.com/groups/hHavenHappenings
Or visit my web site: www.sherrygomes.com<http://www.sherrygomes.com/>

From: NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of portillo.jim--- via NFB-Mastodon
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 11:36 PM
To: nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-mastodon at nfbnet.org>
Cc: portillo.jim at gmail.com<mailto:portillo.jim at gmail.com>
Subject: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon

Greetings,
I realize I am probably late to this party, but lately, I have been hearing a lot about Mastodon and how several blind people are joining this new Social Media platform.
I literally know nothing about it except for what little I've heard recently. If some of these questions have already been answered, my apologies.
What is the easiest way to join or sign up? Is this a platform best used by phone or on the computer? For instance, I use Facebook on both, and at times, I use it differently depending on what I am using to access it. Will this be the same with Mastodon?
Also, is there a client people are using for easier use?
Thanks for any information. I will do my best to keep up with things here as well.
Jim Portillo

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