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# Is Mastodon the new Twitter?
- URL: https://interhacktives.mymagic.page/is-mastodon-the-new-twitter/
- Published: 2022-11-21T14:21:29.000Z
- Updated: 2022-11-21T14:21:29.000Z
- Description: Many have flocked to Mastodon following Musk's takeover of Twitter- but what is the new app?
- Author: tamsinp
- Tags: News, #Migrated-1793717950415, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-11-03 14:59

Following the announcement that Elon Musk would be the new leader of the Twitterverse, plenty of those on the platform including journalists declared they would be leaving for Mastodon, a platform that was first launched in 2016 but has only now taken off.

## What is Mastodon?

Mastodon is a decentralized microblogging website first launched in [2016 by Eugen Rochko](https://time.com/6229230/mastodon-eugen-rochko-interview/?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page), originally from Jena in Germany. Unlike Twitter, it [operates as a collection of independently run servers rather than one cohesive platform](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/08/mastodon-what-is-it-how-do-i-join-use-find-best-server-list-change-elon-musk-twitter-leaving-social-network-alternative?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page). Anyone can set up their own server and determine the rules for discussion. Users on different servers can communicate with each other.

## How do I sign up for it?

Unlike Twitter, users of Mastodon sign up for a specific server which is run and moderated by whoever set it up. The owner of the server decides who can join each one. That is why many Twitter users attempting to make the switch have reported a certain amount of waiting time to see if they have been ‘accepted’ on the platform.

Once you make an account and have been accepted into a server, the community you’ve joined is reflected in your username, for example.

## How does the platform approach moderation?

Among the criticisms leveled at Musk by Twitter users fleeing the platform is his somewhat *ad-hoc* approach to moderation. Mastodon operates somewhat differently. Although the platform cannot force the servers to do anything, each server has its own distinct rules. The hope from Rochko is that hate-speech servers will be blocked by other servers. This is called “defederation” on the platform, a process that will essentially ostracise them.

## Is it really taking over from Twitter?

Mastodon has been growing fast — [over 200,000 have joined in the last week alone](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/15/how-to-use-mastodon-twitter-alternative.html?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page)\- with many comparing it as a direct alternative to Twitter.

Whether it has the potential to completely overshadow the old platform has yet to be seen.