Welcome to post.lurk.org
This page is for new users of post.lurk.org. Here we have compiled some information that can help you with the software we use, including resources that explain what the Fediverse is about. If some links are dead, please let us so we can update this page!
Micro-blogging on the Fediverse
What is an instance? =
In brief: the Fediverse is a is an ensemble of interconnected servers that are used for all sort of services (micro-blogging, file hosting, video sharing, etc). An instance is the name given to the server, and sometimes by extension the community, around a particular server that runs software to offer a service as part of an interconnected network of other servers and services available through the Fediverse. https://post.lurk.org is an instance for the LURK community. It runs a modified version of the Mastodon software, which is a FLOSS micro-blogging platform. Generally speaking, users on our instance can interact/follow other users from other instances.
Discovering content and people
The Fediverse and Mastodon are not super intuitive. The most difficult thing is to discover content and people you find interesting. For that there are generally two strategies:
- First, you can post and subscribe to hashtags. This is currently the best way to find particular conversations. For example you could look at or post to #fediverse to find others interested in that topic. Most commonly #introductions is used to describe briefly what you are interested in, that way people can follow you. We recommend that you write such an #introductions post so that some of us can boost you for visibility.
- The second strategy is to make use of both the 'Local' and 'Federated'/'Global' timelines. The local one shows all posts written by people on post.lurk.org. The 'Global' timeline shows all posts by people followed by people on post.lurk.org but who are themselves on a different part of the network.
Post visibility
Mastodon has quite granular visibility settings for your posts, you find them in the message compose field. Here is how they work:
In addition to those we have another option (the chain link) which makes your posts not federate, meaning they are only visible on post.lurk.org.
Account Settings
Look'n'Feel
It is possible to switch to different colour themes and even a multi-column layout in your preferences: https://post.lurk.org/settings/preferences/appearance
Moving Out
If you want to move to another instance, no problem! You can migrate your social graph here: https://post.lurk.org/settings/profile
Invitations
If you know of other people who could feel at home on post.lurk.org, please invite them by generating an invite code. https://post.lurk.org/invites
TOS, Help, etc
Terms of Service and Server Rules
Super important, if you did not read them yet, please check our terms and rules. https://post.lurk.org/about/more
Support/Questions
In case the instance is down, or if you have a problem, you can get in touch via email (see https://lurk.org) or chat by using https://partyline.lurk.org
You can also contact the admins directly from the instance:
Further Reading
If you wanna do some serious reading on what else is possible, and perspectives on the Fediverse, here are some pointers: