Mastodon server administrators must decide how to handle unwanted or harmful remote domains. The two primary domain block actions are Suspend and Silence. Choosing the wrong action can either under-protect your users or over-censor legitimate content. This article explains the technical difference between Suspend and Silence and provides step-by-step instructions for applying each block type. … Read more
Some Mastodon instances enable Federation Limited Mode to restrict content from unknown servers. You may notice your timeline is missing posts from users you follow on other instances. This happens because the instance administrator has configured the server to block or limit incoming content from servers that have not been manually allowed. This article explains … Read more
Mastodon federation allows users on different servers to follow each other and share posts. But sometimes you cannot tell if your instance is actually federating correctly with the rest of the fediverse. You might see an empty federated timeline or your posts never reach users on other instances. This article explains how to use an … Read more
Mastodon servers communicate with each other through federation, sharing posts and profile updates across instances. When a remote server goes offline permanently or becomes unreachable, it can cause delays, failed deliveries, and wasted system resources on your instance. Mastodon includes a built-in mechanism called dead server detection that identifies and stops trying to reach these … Read more
Mastodon server operators often face unexpectedly high bandwidth costs due to outbound federation traffic. Every time a user on your instance views a remote post or follows an account on another server, your server downloads and then re-uploads that content to your local users. This duplication of data can cause your outbound traffic bill to … Read more
When you join a small Mastodon instance, the federated timeline may feel empty or slow. Public posts from other servers do not automatically appear on your instance. This happens because your server must first discover and fetch content from remote instances. A federation relay solves this by acting as a central hub that distributes public … Read more
Mastodon instance administrators often notice a sudden increase in spam or unwanted content appearing in the federated timeline. This traffic typically originates from specific remote servers that bypass local content filters. Mastodon records every incoming federation action in a structured log file, but most admins do not examine this data for spam patterns. This article … Read more
Mastodon is part of a decentralized social network called the Fediverse, where different servers communicate by speaking the same language: ActivityPub. You may have noticed that you can follow users on other Mastodon instances or even on platforms like PeerTube and Pixelfed without leaving your home server. This article explains the technical concept of federation … Read more
When your Mastodon federated timeline stops showing new posts from other instances, the experience feels like the network has gone silent. This problem usually stems from a connectivity disruption between your home server and remote instances, a stalled background refresh process, or a local caching issue. This article explains the root causes of a frozen … Read more
You want to follow someone who uses a different Mastodon server than yours. Mastodon is a federated network, meaning users on different instances can still interact. This article shows you the exact steps to follow a user on another instance using their full handle or profile URL. You will also learn how to avoid common … Read more