Getting Started with Sakurajima and the Fediverse

This guide is a work in progress!​

You have decided that you have enough of Twitter, now known as X, and are looking for an alternative. With some research, you discover Mastodon, one of the software that powers the Fediverse, a federated social network of other servers talking to each other. ActivityPub is the protocol that allows users to follow and interact with other users on different servers.

What is the Fediverse?​

The Fediverse is a federated, decentralized network that uses the ActivityPub protocol. Unlike centralized social networks like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter), you can follow and interact with other users in the fediverse.

Most people might have heard of Mastodon, a microblogging software that allows users to create their servers. These servers are run by organizations or by regular people. It’s one of the many software programs that powers the Fediverse and focuses on microblogging. Other Microblogging software uses ActivityPub, such as Misskey, Akkoma, and Friendica. Fediverse is not just microblogging. You can follow WordPress blogs (with the ActivityPub plugin), share pictures with Pixelfed, and upload videos using Peertube, all with one account.

Why you shouldn’t join Mastodon Social?​

When most people want to start with the Fediverse, you might wonder what server to join. Most people decide to join Mastodon Social because it’s the biggest. However, you are making a mistake to get the best experience. You should pick a server that aligns with your interests and, instead, a small or medium server.

Here are the problems with Mastodon Social

• Too big to moderate, poor moderation, poor moderation – Fediverse works better with smaller servers since it’s easier to moderate against people who post hateful stuff, harass others, misinformation, and illegal content. Believe it or not, we receive the most reports against Mastodon Social users because of SPAM and rule-breaking. It’s also a frequent annoyance as we have to deal with their users, who are unwilling to close open registration, thus making the problem worse for other servers. In some cases, some servers don’t federate with Mastodon Social at all. Don’t contribute to that problem by joining Mastodon Social. If you are on Mastodon Social, consider moving to another server. See our migration guide to learn how.
• Mostly useless local timeline – The timeline is useless because there is too much activity to make it worthwhile. In other words, there is no sense of community on that server. Note that being on a big server does not mean your posts will get more views. It’s the opposite, as it will just get downed out by others if there is no algorithm.
• Lack of features – Vanilla Mastodon seems plain in features, while other versions of Mastodon, like Glitch Social, may have features that people want, such as post reactions quote toots, to name a few.
• The majority share of the Fediverse – Mastodon Social and Online, two servers that the Mastodon team runs, is the majority of the Fediverse. This is not good as they control most of the overall Fediverse. While it’s not likely to happen, a company can buy over Mastodon and control a good chunk of the Fediverse.

Want to move to a better server with a Japanese media focus? You can do so with this guide.

If you need the full explanation why joining Mastodon Social is not a good way to join the Fediverse, read the post from Fedi Tips.

Getting Started with Mastodon or Misskey at Sakurajima​

Sakurajima uses customized versions of Mastodon and Misskey to give the best experience to people in the Japanese media fandom and creators. This guide will cover the basics to get you started.

First off, fill out your profile and upload an avatar. You can access this by clicking Settings in the Misskey or Preferences sidebar on Mastodon and choosing Profile/Public Profile.

Post​

While Mastodon uses “toots” or “posts” for posts and Misskey as “notes,” they are the same. A post allows users to share their thoughts about anything and is displayed chronologically. There are no algorithms that a social network wants you to see. You decide that for yourself.

Post on Mastodon​

Post on Misskey​

On a post, you will see icons. Here is an explanation of them.

• Reply – Creates a reply to a post.
• Boost – Share a post with your followers on your timeline. (Not available on Followers Only posts, indicated with a lock icon)
• Quote – Allows you to embed an existing post in your post. The post will get shared as a link to the original post instead of the mentioned post for servers that don’t support this feature.
• Favorite/Like – Add a like to the post
• Reaction – Allows you to use an emoji to react to a post.
• Menu – Shows additional actions you can do to a post.

You can react to posts using an emoji. By clicking on the smiley icon on the post, you can select any emoji to react to. To undo the reaction, just click on the one you choose.

To create a post, click the Post button in Misskey or use the form on the Mastodon’s web interface.

Post form in Mastodon​

Post Form in Misskey​

You can control who can see your posts with visibility settings. They are the same on both our Mastodon and Misskey servers

• Public - Your note will be visible to all users.
• Quiet Public (Moon Icon) - This behaves like public, except the post will not appear in live feeds or hashtags, explore, or Mastodon/Misskey search, even if you are opted-in account-wide.
• Followers (Lock Icon)– This post is visible to followers only. Only followers can see it, no one else can, and others cannot boost it.
• Specific People/Direct (Envelope Icon) - This post is only visible to specified users, and the recipient will receive a notification when they receive it. You can use it as an alternative to direct messaging
• Defederated/Local Post (Home Icon) - Post only shows up on the local server only, not sent to other servers. This can be set by clicking the icon after the emjo icon in the post form in Mastodon or clicking the House icon in the post form in Misskey.

Note that you need to mark NSFW content with a content warning. Content warnings allow you to hide sensitive or triggering content from other users. Users will have to click through to see it. However, setting your interface to unfold them by default is possible.
While the icons differ in setting a Content Warning on Mastodon and Misskey, the steps are the same. Click the corresponding icon to set a content warning, and type a short description that will show above the Show Content button.

Mastodon​

Misskey​

See our Content Warning Policy resource to learn when to use them.

To insert a picture or video, you click the picture icon. You can add alt text by clicking the uploaded image. Give a short description to help users who use a screen reader.

Lastly, to increase the discovery of your posts, you can use hashtags like you would on other microblogging platforms like Twitter.

You should try your first post by creating an introduction post. Write a short introduction of yourself and add the #introduction hashtag to add visibility on other servers. In theory, you should start getting followers and replies.

Timelines​

Mastodon offers several timelines. They are

• Home – Posts from people you follow
• Explore – Trending posts, hashtags, and news links
• Live Feeds – Shows posts from the local feed (users on the same server) and Other Servers (posts from users that are on other servers
• Private mentions – Private messages from other users (Note: Do not share sensitive information through private mentions. They are not encrypted)

On our Misskey server, these are the following timelines that are available:

• Home (Home icon) - You can view notes from accounts you follow.
• Local (Planet Icon) - You can view notes from all users on this server.
• Social (Rocket Ship Icon) - Notes from the Home and Local timelines will be displayed.
• Media (Picture Icon) - is like the Social timeline, but only shows posts with media.
• Bubble (Bubble Icon) - shows a timeline of posts from servers specified by the administrator.
• Bubble Media (Picture Icon) - shows a timeline of posts from servers specified by the administrator, but only media posts.
• Global (Earth Icon) - You can view notes from all connected servers.

You can switch between timelines in the right sidebar on Mastodon or the top of the screen in Timeline view (Misskey) anytime.

Next Steps​

Follow some people and interact with them. On Mastodon, you can see what people you can follow by browsing the Profiles Directory (in the links in the left hand corner) or Explore Tab. Under Misskey, there is a directory of creators in the Explore Tab.

Also, you can make your Mastodon/Misskey account available on Bluesky and interact with others without creating a Bluesky account. You can learn more on how to enable this here.

This should give you enough to get you started. You can view other guides available in the Resources section on Sakurajima Forums.