I’m not an avid Twitter user, but speaking anecdotally I’ve certainly noticed that the site’s stability is degrading, they’re putting security features behind a paywall, they’re tweaking the algorithm specifically to run up Musk’s numbers, and there are more Nazis and racists getting their racist Nazi stuff in front of people who really don’t want to see it. So can’t speak for Victor but I suspect that’s much of the context (I think he might have been circumspect because there was a contentious thread about these topics a few months ago so dredging things up again might have been a distraction. At least that’s a fear I have, so I won’t be posting again. Cheers!)
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Thanks, Mike. I appreciate your prompt and honest reply.
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So, Zork Social is in transition to a new owner. I apologize for the current down time!
After newly going onto Bluesky (@vivdunstan) I jotted down some quick preliminary thoughts on different social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Dreamwidth, Livejournal, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram). This may later be expanded to a more formal post on my “Viv’s Academic Blog” - it would update a similar article there years ago.
Mastodon is my favourite social network - other than here! - for IF types though. I find more of them there than on the other places. So it’s a really important place for me for that. Whereas other places have other strengths for different aspects of me.
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Is there still a plan for the IFTF to host a Mastodon instance?
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In case that’s still being considered, and IFTF peeps are gauging interest via this thread, I’ll say that I’ve been waiting for an IFTF instance to set up an account so would be excited if that moved ahead.
(Of course, I’d also have one more avenue for time-wasting, so maybe it’s better if it didn’t).
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I have made an account on Threads and pulled the plug on my Twitter account last week. I’ve been mainly grousing about politics on Threads since there doesn’t seem to be any organized IF activity on there. I’ve got an idling Mastodon account on dosgame.club but haven’t been frequenting there. I would definitely also check into an IFTF server if it were available, but I’ve mainly fallen out of actively microblogging and am mostly read-only during down-time at work.
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Given that the idea has been floating for most of a year, I’d say it would be unwise to wait for near-term action.
There is still a plan but I keep sweeping it behind other plans.
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Well Mike, meet us at mastodon.gamedev.place 
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I’d recommend setting up somewhere else sooner rather than wait. You can move your Mastodon account from one instance (server thingy) to another easily in future. So if there is an IFTF one that would be great and easy for you to switch to. But it would be lovely to see you on Mastodon. The IF community is growing there.
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The biggest problem for me with Threads is that it’s not available currently to people in the EU. I’m in the UK, so can access it, but people in the EU can’t access it. So many of my Twitter network are mainland European folks, especially fellow academic historians. I’m also frustrated by Threads having limited search facilities. But I do peek in from time to time.
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It’s great that instance is there. But IF types can sign up for any instance, and network using hashtags, following people etc. It can feel like you have to pick the “right” one instance. But really it’s a much more flexible system than it can appear. My Mastodon toots are quite varied and I’m on a Scotland-specific instance. But still interact across the Fediverse with people on other instances. Including IF types.
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I would caution, though, that your server admin ends up with a lot of direct and indirect power over your experience. If they block a server (or a person), you won’t see their stuff even if the people you follow boost it, and it’ll be basically invisible to you: you not only don’t know what you’re missing, you don’t know that you’re missing it. (It’s standard that a list of moderated servers is available, but most people probably aren’t going to check that list for changes and then go investigate each one.)
Perhaps worse, if your server has weak moderation policies and has bad actors on it, other servers may block it… and, again, there’s not a very direct way to be aware of who can’t read your stuff.
So I’d recommend putting some thought into finding one that has a code of conduct you respect and has active moderation. The biggest (or I’m assuming that’s still true) server – mastodon.social, for instance, is blocked by some servers 'cause their moderation hasn’t really kept pace with their increase in size.
But, yes, a very nice thing about mastodon is you can migrate your account and it’s actually so easy it serves as a stark demonstration of how very deliberate it is that migrating from commercial platforms of any kind tends to be hard…
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That is probably the right advice – and thanks for the invitation! But I do worry that being on social media (which I’m currently not) would pull me in even more directions than I’m currently being pulled, so I actually think Zarf’s response is the ideal one for me: the IFTF instance is still being planned, but not anytime soon, so I’ll have one fewer time-waster while I wait for it 
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