Every time you compose a new post on Mastodon, you must choose who can see it. By default, Mastodon sets this to Public. If you frequently post privately or to followers only, changing this default saves you from manually selecting the privacy level each time. This article explains how to change the default post privacy … Read more
You uploaded a header image to your Mastodon profile, but it appears stretched, cropped, or blurry. This happens because Mastodon enforces a strict aspect ratio of 3:1 for header images. The platform automatically resizes and crops your image to fit this ratio, often distorting or cutting off parts of your original picture. This article explains … Read more
When you join Mastodon, the first big decision is picking an instance. An instance is a server that hosts your account and connects you to the rest of the fediverse. Each instance has its own rules, community vibe, and content focus. If you pick an instance that does not match your interests, you may see … Read more
You tried to sign up for a Mastodon instance, but the registration button is grayed out or missing. This happens when the instance administrator has closed new account sign-ups. Many Mastodon instances close registrations to manage server load, prevent spam, or maintain community quality. This article explains why instances close registrations and provides step-by-step methods … Read more
Self-hosting a Mastodon instance gives you full control over your social media data, moderation policies, and federation settings. Instead of relying on a public instance run by someone else, you own the server and the content it hosts. This article explains how to deploy a Mastodon instance on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) running Ubuntu … Read more
Running a self-hosted Mastodon instance requires a clear understanding of storage costs. Many administrators underestimate how quickly media files from federated posts consume disk space. Without proper planning, a small community instance can exceed 100 GB in months, leading to unexpected hosting bills. This article breaks down real-world storage usage for instances of different sizes … Read more
You joined mastodon.social when you first tried Mastodon, but now the federated timeline feels too noisy and the moderation style does not match your preferences. Moving to a smaller instance gives you a closer community and a timeline that fits your interests. This article explains the complete process to transfer your profile, followers, and lists … Read more
When you join a Mastodon instance, you agree to that server’s specific rules about content, behavior, and federation. Many users skip reading these rules and later find their posts removed or their account suspended for violating policies they never saw. The rules vary widely between instances — some allow all legal content, while others ban … Read more
When choosing a Mastodon instance, the number of users or local posts alone does not tell you how well that server connects to the rest of the fediverse. Federation reach measures which remote servers your instance can communicate with and how many users it can actually discover. A server that blocks many popular instances or … Read more
When your Mastodon instance goes offline, you lose access to your account, your followers cannot see your posts, and the entire community you built becomes unreachable. This can happen due to server hardware failure, a denied hosting renewal, or the admin simply walking away from the project. This article explains the warning signs that precede … Read more