Our articles provide detailed explanations of fediverse concepts, practical guides for improving your experience, and technical deep-dives for those who want to understand how things work under the hood.
Featured Guides
These comprehensive articles cover the most important topics for understanding and using the fediverse effectively.
What is Mastodon?
A complete introduction to Mastodon: instances, follows, boosts, and how federation works.
What is the Fediverse?
Understanding the broader decentralized social web, ActivityPub, and how platforms connect.
How Algorithmic Timelines Work
Ranking vs chronological feeds, transparency, and the technical foundations of timeline design.
Understanding Timelines
Your timeline is your window into the fediverse. These resources help you understand the different timeline types and how to use them effectively.
Timeline Types
Home Timeline: Posts from accounts you follow. This is your primary, curated view of the fediverse based on your explicit choices.
Local Timeline: Public posts from users on your instance. Useful for community engagement and discovering people on your server.
Federated Timeline: Public posts from all instances your server knows about. A firehose view that can be overwhelming but is useful for discovery.
Lists: Custom timelines you create by grouping specific accounts. Powerful for organizing follows by topic, relationship type, or any criteria you choose.
Filtering and Customization
Most Mastodon clients support some level of timeline customization:
- Keyword filters to hide unwanted content
- Boost/reply visibility toggles
- Media-only or text-only views
- Language filters
Our Plus guide covers more advanced filtering concepts, and the tools guide helps you find clients with the features you need.
Technical Topics
For developers and technically curious users, we offer deeper explorations of how fediverse systems work.
Practical Guides
Getting Started Checklist
- Choose an instance that fits your interests and values
- Set up your profile with a bio and avatar
- Make an introduction post with relevant hashtags
- Follow accounts that interest you
- Explore the local and federated timelines
- Create your first list for organizing follows
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating it like Twitter: The culture and norms are different; take time to observe
- Ignoring content warnings: CWs are a community norm; learn when and how to use them
- Over-relying on the federated timeline: It’s a discovery tool, not your main feed
- Not filling out your profile: Empty profiles get fewer follows
- Cross-posting everything: Original presence works better than automated mirrors
Community and Safety
Understanding community norms and safety tools helps you have a better experience.
- Blocking and muting: Individual-level controls for unwanted interactions
- Instance blocks: Server-level protections your admin may implement
- Reporting: How to flag content that violates instance rules
- Content warnings: Cultural norms around sensitive topics
Frequently Asked Questions
We review and update articles regularly, typically monthly. Each article shows its last update date. Check the changelog for recent changes.
Yes! Reach out through our contact page with suggestions for new guides or improvements to existing content.
We write for general understanding. Where features vary by client, we note it. Our tools guide covers client-specific capabilities.
Most articles are written for general audiences. Technical sections are clearly marked, and the developer notes cater specifically to technical readers.
Browse All Articles
- What is Mastodon?
- What is the Fediverse?
- How Algorithmic Timelines Work
- Developer Notes
- Plus Features
- Best Tools for Mastodon
Stay Updated
Check our changelog for the latest additions and updates to Fediview content.