Welcome

New to Hachyderm and Mastodon in general? These docs are for you! For deeper documentation about Mastodon features, please refer to the Mastodon section.

Hello Hachydermians

Hachydermians new and old, and recent migrants from other instances and platforms: hello and welcome!

This section is devoted to materials that help Hachydermians interact with each other and on the platform.

Quick FAQs for this section

I’m new to Mastodon and the Fediverse - help?

The two largest external resources we’d recommend are FediTips and Mastodon Help. FediTips are great for iterating as you become more and more familiar with engaging on the Fediverse. Mastodon Help is a great “101 Guide” to just get started.

I’m new to Hachyderm - help?

First of all: welcome! We encourage new users to post an introduction post if and when they feel comfortable and ready. This can also help you engage with the community here as people follow that hashtag.

Accessible content is important on the Fediverse. The quick asks of our server are outlined near the top of our Accessible Posting doc. The doc itself dives into those with more nuance, thus the doc page itself is quite long. We recommend reading and understanding just the asks when you’re getting started, then coming back once you’re in a place to dive into the deeper explainations.

Beyond that, you will need to understand our server rules and permitted account types (if you’re looking to create a non-general user account). The Rule Explainer doc, like the Accessible Posting doc, has the short list of rules at the top and then delves into them. Similar to Accessible Posting, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the short list first, then read more once you’re in a place to read the nuance.

What is hashtag etiquette on the Fediverse?

Hashtag casing, and not misusing restricted hashtags, are important aspects of hashtag use on the Fediverse. For more, read our Hashtag doc.

What are content warnings and how/when do I use them?

Content warnings are a feature that allows users to click-through to opt-in to your content rather than be opted-in by default. Our Content Warnings doc explains this, and how to create an effective content warning, in more detail.

Content warnings are most commonly used for spoilers and for accessibility. For more about the latter, please read our Accessible Posting doc.

Mastodon uses a concept of verification that works like identity verification (Keybase, KeyOxide). For information about how you can verify your domains and so on, please see our Mastodon Verification doc.

The world is on fire, how do I help support myself while enjoying Hachyderm and the Fediverse?

There are many tools that allow you to control what content you are exposed to and how visible you want your account and posts to be. For information about these features and more, please see our Mental Health doc.


Accessible Posting

Introduction to posting accessibly for new users.

Content Warnings

How to use content warnings on Hachyderm.

Hashtags on the Fediverse and Hachyderm

How to use hashtags on the Fediverse, including reserved hashtags.

Preserving Your Mental Health

How to use the Mastodon tools help preserve your mental health on the Fediverse.