In an act of utter randomness, I decided to create a podcast. Which is why I thought it’s totally appropriate to call my podcast, Utterly Random. Because that’s me, random.

I reflect on my four months into the decentralized social media network, Mastodon.

(I mention a newsletter at the start of the podcast; it’s this one: https://elizabethtai.substack.com/)

In this episode, I share my experience using the social media platform Mastodon. It’s been five months, and I believe I have a clear idea of the platform’s unique features.

The good stuff: It’s full of interesting people and I have rich and intelligent conversations all the time / I have full control over my feed and social media experience.

The bad stuff: Trolls, like on Twitter, have the power to shut down your account by repeatedly reporting you. This can result in the suspension of the account and I actually experienced this recently. I explain what happened and how the moderators of my instance dealt with it, and how I reacted. Then there are instance wars and instances shutting down…

Tune in to find out if Mastodon is for you. Understand the culture and the “unspoken” rules of how to have a great experience on Mastodon.

WARNING: Some swear words in this one.

Quick summary

• I have written at length why I quit Twitter but essentially I left because I did not like how Elon Musk was treating his employees and I have never found Twitter a good place for me. I endured it rather than enjoyed it. Elon Musk’s takeover gave me a good excuse to move because it could break down anytime.
• I didn’t have high expectations for Mastodon. I just wanted to “park” myself there. However, I ended up loving it a lot because of the intelligent conversations and high engagement I experienced there.
• A lot of Twitter refugees are amazed at how kind and courteous people are on Mastodon. They generally are, but there’s a dark side.
• I talk about my experience with being trolled after tripping and falling head-long into a super-sensitive topic on Mastodon. Harassment is still a reality on Mastodon.
• The politics of managing an instance and content moderation. It’s not easy for everyone, but it enables a great environment.
• How I ended up having my account suspended, how I got it back, and how it made me realise I needed to be very careful about certain topics.
• To protect yourself from trolls, use strong keyword filters and press that block button as often as you feel like it. Don’t feel embarrassed about it.
• Is your nice, nice enough? The politics of being a part of the Mastodon community, how it was built for the marginalised and disabled, and why it’s important to write ALT tags and use the Content Warning button.
• Ultimately, Mastodon is a highly flawed social media platform, but one that shows great promise. We hope that it’ll stay around for the long haul.