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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Ok, I am with Jim. I am understanding a little more as well. I also have established an account with Mastodon.social . This social media is interesting. Now I will try to complete a profile and try to follow others.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Delcenia<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> NFB-Mastodon <nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Jim Portillo via NFB-Mastodon<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, June 28, 2023 4:26 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends' <nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> Jim Portillo <portillo.jim@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>OK. I’m sort of understanding now, but here are a couple more questions so I can better understand.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have just established an account with Mastodon.social . All is well there. I did that on my computer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I will also download Mona to my iPhone and see if I can learn to use it as well. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My user name on mastodon.social is Jim_Portillo .<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> NFB-Mastodon <<a href="mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org">nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Danielsen, Chris via NFB-Mastodon<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, June 28, 2023 12:10 PM<br><b>To:</b> Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends <<a href="mailto:nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org">nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> Danielsen, Chris <<a href="mailto:CDanielsen@nfb.org">CDanielsen@nfb.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>HI Sherry,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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: <a href="https://joinmastodon.org/servers">https://joinmastodon.org/servers</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Warmly,</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Chris</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> NFB-Mastodon <<a href="mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org">nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Sherry Gomes via NFB-Mastodon<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, June 28, 2023 9:16 AM<br><b>To:</b> Mastodon Support List for NFB Members and our Friends <<a href="mailto:nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org">nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> Sherry Gomes <<a href="mailto:sherry.gomes@outlook.com">sherry.gomes@outlook.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Sherry</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Author of Haven, book 1 in the Haven Valley Series, available from amazon and audible.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'><a href="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 - Kindle edition by Gomes, Sherry. Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'><a href="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">Haven by Sherry Gomes | Audiobook | Audible.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Follow me: twitter: @sgomes_author</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Facebook: <a href="https://facebook.com/sherrygomesauthor">https://facebook.com/sherrygomesauthor</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Group: <a href="https://facebook.com/groups/hHavenHappenings">https://facebook.com/groups/hHavenHappenings</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>Or visit my web site: <a href="http://www.sherrygomes.com">www.sherrygomes.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> NFB-Mastodon <<a href="mailto:nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org">nfb-mastodon-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>portillo.jim--- via NFB-Mastodon<br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, June 27, 2023 11:36 PM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org">nfb-mastodon@nfbnet.org</a><br><b>Cc:</b> <a href="mailto:portillo.jim@gmail.com">portillo.jim@gmail.com</a><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFB-Mastodon] Getting Started with Mastodon</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Greetings,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Also, is there a client people are using for easier use?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks for any information. I will do my best to keep up with things here as well.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Jim Portillo<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>