How Does It Work?

As a user of Mastodon, I can explore different Mastodon servers and choose a server that aligns with my interests and values. On joinmastodon.org, there is a comprehensive list of servers for me to review and join. I can filter based on region or topics. After joining a server, I will see posts from the users I choose to follow in the server and other servers. Any posts I create can have custom visibility to public, followers-only, or direct to specific followers (Mastodon, n.d.).  

As a creator of a server on Mastodon, I can choose everything from the domain name to the email provider and storage and security options. I can also assemble a team of moderators to help define and enforce the rules and policies for my server or handle everything by myself. 

Not All Moderation Is Created Equally

Mastodon introduces the idea of decentralization to social media platforms. The platform is composed of numerous individual and independent communities, known as instances or servers. Each instance is managed by its own community, which can range from an individual to a group to an organization. This gives users full control over what is deemed appropriate and acceptable for their community. Decentralization and delegation of moderation responsibility to the governing group of an instance make it possible to create safe spaces tailored to the specific community’s needs. The governing group of an instance can identify and block inappropriate or harmful content effectively within the context of their community. The in-depth knowledge of what is considered inappropriate or harmful within a community is something that a social media platform with a centralized moderating body has difficulty developing (Mastodon, n.d.). 

Open Source for Good and Bad

Finally, one of Mastodon’s significant advantages over other social media platforms is being open-source. Users can inspect the code themselves and verify there are no hidden agendas or malicious algorithms. Having their codebase open for a broader audience invites and encourages problem-solving and innovation on a larger scale. Users worldwide can contribute improvements and new features. The platform’s transparency in development and operation leads to greater overall trust in the platform and its development (Mastodon, n.d.).  

Having the codebase open means anyone can see and potentially misuse information about the platform’s operations. Moreover, since individual servers have their own governing body, there are varying levels of quality and reliability. The amount of personal information being handled and processed on Mastodon is already limited, but without proper security measures, users on lower-quality servers face data breaches and privacy violations. However, this should not dissuade the encouragement of transparency from social media platforms. The possibility of accidentally exposing vulnerable areas for bad actors should not stand in the way of trust and user empowerment.  

A Trend in the Passion

There are close to 10 million users on Mastodon and thousands of available servers. Mastodon prides itself on helping users carve out their own corner of the Internet, to view and engage with everything they are passionate about (Mastodon Analytics, n.d.).  

The structure of Mastodon encourages passionate individuals to create and manage their own instances tailored to their specific needs and values. Moreover, the structure does not push user content for broader engagement. Instead, it uses a community-driven approach to encourage natural and genuine conversations among users. This allows instances of all sizes to thrive on Mastodon.  

There are a few exceptions to this, listed in the Terms of Service. When a server promotes or hosts a group of users that engage with any of the topics or activities in the Terms of Service, that server will no longer be hosted by Mastodon. For example, the Terms of Service explicitly disallow “alt-right, including under the disguise of freedom of speech” discussions or posts (Mastodon, n.d.). It becomes clear that only certain viewpoints are supported by the governing body at the highest level.  

In regards to demographics, let’s also consider the creators of servers on Mastodon, as the vast majority of servers on Mastodon are created by people in the community, as opposed to a company’s trained team of developers. Mastodon was created to challenge the technical barrier to creating and maintaining a Mastodon instance. The level of technical ability to start and run a server is not insignificant. Setting foot on the website instantly reminds you that you are about to start a daunting, tech-filled task. The website defaults to dark mode, and the left content menu is filled from top to bottom with tech jargon such as “captcha,” “admin CLI,” and “database index corruption.” From being able to set up the VPS to host the Mastodon server to configuring the server, there are several, likely unintentional, barriers to creating your own server to host your community. Inevitably, the nature of being open-source attracts communities that are tech-savvy or focused on technology.  

Taking a deeper look into the types of servers created on Mastodon, some trends give us insight into who is using the platform and what communities gravitate toward it. Just under 20% of all servers specialize in technology. Notably, there is only one sports server, dedicated to Fantasy Premier League (FPL). Even in the Academia topics, over half of the spaces are focused on the sciences as opposed to the humanities (Mastodon Analytics, n.d.). 

Future Potential

In my opinion, Mastodon represents a shift in power for social media platforms. By decentralizing control and empowering individual communities, it introduces user-driven and community-centered interaction by offering users the option to become a platform creator, user, or both.

On one hand, the decentralized structure distributes power, allowing communities to define their values and social norms. This fosters safe spaces for niche groups and marginalized voices and promotes diversity and innovation. The platform is also well-trusted as a result of its open-source nature.  

On the other hand, the decentralized structure comes with risks associated with platform quality, data security, and global content moderation. Due to its open-source nature, servers have varying levels of moderation and security. Mastodon also actively discourages harmful ideologies, but a decentralized structure can sometimes make it difficult to enforce the principles consistently across all servers.  

Finally, users are forced to confront the responsibility and ethical dilemmas of being creators of the social media environment and content. There are many unanswered questions. Who takes responsibility for servers on Mastodon that fail to uphold ethical standards? How do servers ensure they are not inadvertently shielding bad actors with their ethics code and social norms? Does the model of Mastodon risk creating isolated communities on the Internet?  

The users of social media platforms are becoming increasingly concerned about user privacy, platform accountability, and data transparency. Mastodon’s rise in popularity shows a growing demand for alternatives to corporate-driven platforms. Its societal impact has been positive so far, but as the platform continues to evolve and grow, its impact will depend heavily on how it and its users navigate the ethical dilemmas inherent in decentralization and open-source technology. 

References

Mastodon. (n.d.). About Mastodon. Retrieved from https://mastodon.world/about 

Mastodon Analytics. (n.d.). Mastodon server statistics. Retrieved from https://mastodon-analytics.com/