Ask HN: What Mastodon server would you recommend, and why?
This is a tough question to answer without knowing what you&#x27;re looking for. One of Mastodon&#x27;s greatest strengths is that you can choose a server that is suited to your personal interests.<p>Start with the list of servers here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;joinmastodon.org&#x2F;servers" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;joinmastodon.org&#x2F;servers</a><p>If you want to discuss a specific topic, pick a server that is dedicated to that topic. For example, Fosstodon is a good choice if you are interested in free and open source software: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;fosstodon.org" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;fosstodon.org</a>. You might also want to sign up on a server that has a community that is in your region or speaks your language.<p>Make sure the server your choose has policies that you agree with. Fosstodon&#x27;s policies are here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;fosstodon.org&#x2F;about&#x2F;more" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;fosstodon.org&#x2F;about&#x2F;more</a>. The server rules explain what the accounts on that server are not allowed to do. That page also lists the other servers that are filtered, limited, or suspended on the instance.<p>Mastodon has multiple timelines. First, you have customizable personalized timelines containing posts from the users or hashtags that you follow. Then, you have the local timeline for posts from your home server, and the federated timeline for posts from your home server and all servers that are connected to your home server, combined. Your choice of server has the greatest effect on the local timeline.<p>You&#x27;re not limited to one Mastodon account, and most Mastodon clients support using multiple accounts at the same time. You may want to try signing up on several servers and keeping only the accounts that you like the most.