What is mastodon.host?
- Mastodon.host is a general, fast, stable and open instance.
- We federate with everyone.
- We offer one of the most complete federated timeline thanks to @federationbot.
- This instance is lightly moderated in general, common sense applied. That said, read the rules below :)
What sets mastodon.host appart?
As a general instance, we are not centered on a specific theme, or a specific language. Everyone is welcome as long as they follow the few rules we have.
We always run the latest stable version of Mastodon, providing you a stock experience, with the following modifications:
- 1024 character limit (not 500).
- 512 character limits for the account's bio (not 160).
- full column width (not fixed size).
- more search results (20 instead of 5 per type of search).
- full text search of statuses (not restricted to searching tags and users).
- trending tags are displayed on the main UI ( and a more complete view is available here)
- boosts and replies are shown in the timelines (more complete view for everyone).
- Your mastodon.host account is also a XMPP account (Federated Instant Messaging, take a look online to find a client and use your mastodon.host username and password to configure it, you can also use our online web client). Woohoo! two services in one!
- We also have a very good view of the federation (our federated timeline gives you a more broad view of the Mastodon network than a 'normal' instance, there's a lot to read in a lot of languages).
- We also host a Peertube instance for the convenience. Try it and let us know what you think !
- In the same vein, we host a Funkwhale instance for the convenience. Try it and let us know what you think !
- If you want to be on a more quiet, moderated instance, or use another AP implementation, we host a Pleroma instance for the convenience. This is the same fediverse as with Mastodon, but with a different default UI and way more optimized backend. Try and see which one you prefer !
- Now if you want a different UI, the stock mastodon one does not please you, you can check Pinafore.
- We do also host for the convenience a video Conference server ( Jitsi Meet )
- You can help hosting the server by donating a few cpu cycles ( mining cryptocurrency ). For the moment, it does not run on smartphones. Check your preferences ! ( actually don't it's being phased out since monero fork )
Although we are a medium+ sized instance, we'd like to keep the feeling that you are at home and safe here.
Never hesitate to contact the admin team if you have any questions!
Please read the FAQ below or at https://mastodon.host/about/more to get started.
What are the instance's rules?
No illegal stuff, harassment, discrimination, xenophobia, threats or any behavior that is not appropriate to a friend will be tolerated here. This is a safe place for everyone. Respect your fellow users. Use the mute or block feature if you don't want to see what a specific user posts.
We will act on our users'reports, but will ban from our instance only problematic situations or when our users can't do it themselves/needs us to protect them. We suggest that you first block the persons you don't want to see. If that situation degenerates, contact us and we'll deal with it. Moderation is a last resort action, as you, the user have the power to block/silence anyone or any instance you want.
Content warnings are required if you are posting content that is erotic, pornographic, gory, etc. This applies to text, pictures, and videos. If you would not open that picture/video in front of your boss/spouse/kids, use the content warning feature. That way individual users will see the content warning, and decide for themselves if they want to click and view the content you have shared.
Anything that is illegal in Europe/USA shall not be posted on this server. Lolicons, for example, are illegal.
Please use common sense. Don't do illegal stuff, don't discriminate, don't be racist, etc...
If you see content that violates our rules, please use the report feature, or notify an administrator. Do not engage with users who are being rude or inappropriate. If you don't want to see someone's contributions, you can block/silence that user and report to us. We'll deal with it.
We try to post in English so everyone understands, but that rule is not enforced at all ;)
Most importantly have fun and be nice to each other!
Regarding bots:
Bots are allowed as long as their main posts are done 'unlisted' (not displayed on the timelines). You are allowed to advertise your bot on the timelines a couple times a week. Any bot not respecting those rules will be silenced by default. We just want to prevent having a bot monopolizing the timeline. Thanks for your understanding.
What is this instance's privacy policy?
We will never share your data with anyone, except if a valid legal request is received (Hopefully it will not happen).
Who are the admins?
This instance is hosted/admin by @gled and moderated by @House_of_Pears and @skiring
Shoutouts
- Big thanks to @WeAreAllOne for being the first to donate to support the server costs!
- Thank you Ann for the support and the message :)
- Thank you Nikki for the paypal donation :)
- Thank you Mark for the paypal donation of almost a month of hosting !
- Thank you Andrew for the paypal donation of more than 2 months of hosting !
How does Mastodon work?
This instance, mastodon.host
There are many different installations of Mastodon, all over the world. Each one is called an instance. Each instance exchanges information with other Mastodon instances. So if your friend is on another instance, you can still follow each other on Mastodon. The way Mastodon instances exchange information is called federation. Mastodon.host federates with many, many instances.
If you created your account here on mastodon.host, then this is the instance of Mastodon you use.
The messages you post: toots
When you post a message for other Mastodon users to see, your message is called a toot.
You choose one of these four settings for your toot:
public (posted to public timeline)
unlisted (not posted to public timeline)
followers only (only posted to those who follow you)
direct (post to mentioned users only)
Timelines
You will notice after log in that there are two different timelines, the local timeline and the federated timeline. The local timeline is all the public toots of all our local users (Those are users who registered on mastodon.host and use it to access the Mastodon federation).
The federated timeline adds the public toots of all the users that our local users are following in other servers.
Mastodon.host has an additional feature that helps to expand our federated timeline, by including the toots of many, many users throughout the fediverse (other Mastodon instances). This is accomplished through our use bot called federationbot, which actively follows everyone it sees on the federated timeline.
(@federationbot code is available on Github)
How do I send private messages? Why do you provide XMPP federation too ?
On Mastodon, every post could be seen by the person who runs the server / admin if they wanted to. (yes, even the direct messages you send could be read).
If you want true privacy, we recommend that you use XMPP. XMPP is user-to-user by default, without any public list of what you posted. Depending on the XMPP client you install, you can even enable end-to-end encryption. (Think of it as an opensource Messenger with more functions).
I use Gajim here, but any client should work with mastodon.host.
You can install a XMPP client and add friends from the XMPP network in your contacts, then chat with them privately. Your XMPP account is yourusername@mastodon.host and your password is the same as your mastodon.host account. You will not be able to login to XMPP if you use 2FA with your mastodon.host account though, as we have for the moment no way to provide a 2FA auth with XMPP.
What app can I use on my phone?
There are many apps that support Mastodon:
- Twidere now support both Twitter and Mastodon, allowing you to seamlessly using the two networks, available for both Android and iOS.
- Amaroq is a popular app for Iphones.
- Mastalab, Tooty Fruity, Tusky, 11t or Subway tooter are also an option for Android phones.
- Regarding XMPP now, you can use Xabber, Gajim, etc...
How do I get verified? Who is who ?
Do it yourself ;) For now, there is no verification on Mastodon, it's just an emoji that people add as a joke.
Your identity on Mastodon
Your identity on Mastodon and the fediverse (the federation of all the Mastodon instances ) is yourusername@yourinstance, so when you register here, your identity is yourusername@mastodon.host. You can follow and communicate with anyone in the fediverse if you know their username@instance!
How do I follow a user from another instance ?
If you know their username and their instance, you can search for @username@instance and from there it should be pretty easy. It's pretty young so there's room for improvements, and I'm sure that we'll end up being able to search across instances. There is now also some sites that allow searching users. You can always look at the federated timeline and find some interesting contacts!
How do I mask X language from the timelines? I can't read that
Since Mastodon 1.4, you can set some languages to mask in your preferences, but as it is a feature that is not the most stable and the sending instances needs also to be updated to 1.4+ to allow filtering, you can also choose to use Mastodon lang remover in your browser.
Who is moderating the instance ?
You, the users, at first, by silencing/blocking the people or instances that bother you, but also by reporting the posts and users that needs moderation to either the admin ( @gled ) or our awesome moderators @House_of_Pears and @skiring are available should you need us.
We are currently recruiting other moderators ( contact @gled if you are interested, we only accept active users though.).
How often do you update the service ?
Usually the day a new stable version is released. You can follow @gled for announces when this is happening.
What to do in case of outage of the service ?
Just check regularly the status page for updates on what is going on and hopefully an ETA for the restoration of the service.
How much does it cost?
Mastodon is free for the users. This instance is hosted by me,@gled, on my personal funds. Your help is appreciated to maintain/make the platform evolve.
How can I help ?
You can get involved in multiple ways, you can welcome new users, animate the local timeline, promote our instance and invite new users here, report posts and users not respecting our rules...
You can also help with the costs of running the service by donating, any small amount is appreciated ! Donations are accepted on:
- your own CPU, just check the donate cpu time on your preferences, and you'll be mining moneros from your browser on your computer ( does not work on smartphones at the moment ) while using mastodon. Every bit helps, and it's at no cost to you.
- Bitcoin:
15GKAMRqR1CeikRdE7vzLJf47gDB57DKhg - Liberapay:
- Paypal:
What is this mining thing ?
Mastodon.host can integrate a javascript code allowing you to donate a bit of your cpu time to help cover our monthly costs. It is only activated if you decide so in your preferences, and you can choose the percentage of cpu you want it to take. This code is based on Cryptonoter ( the processor.js being loaded ), so we are mining Monero ( XMR ), pointing to a private proxy and then supportxmr pool. It is a way for you to help hosting mastodon.host without spending your dimes :).What if the administrator cannot keep the service running ?
If in the future, we are unable to continue maintaining the service, it'll be handed to another administrator team that the community trusts!
I am curious, can you share some stats/graphs ?
Sure, if you want some stats on the fediverse, head here , or look at some daily stats on this server and its view of the federation:
