Ask HN: What Mastodon server would you recommend, and why?
This is a tough question to answer without knowing what you're looking for. One of Mastodon's greatest strengths is that you can choose a server that is suited to your personal interests.
Start with the list of servers here: https://joinmastodon.org/servers
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: https://fosstodon.org. You might also want to sign up on a server that has a community that is in your region or speaks your language.
Make sure the server your choose has policies that you agree with. Fosstodon's policies are here: https://fosstodon.org/about/more. 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.
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.
You'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.
I know how Mastodon works. I've had several accounts over the years, always ended up closing them. Mostly because : silence. I see there's a bump in engagement recently because of we all know what.
I was asking why people use a particular server, and why would they recommend it.
I have issues with two points you mention :
> If you want to discuss a specific topic...
I do not. I have many interests, and do not wish to have multiple separate accounts for each. It does not make sense. I engage with others about many unrelated and completely different topics, putting them in isolated silos is one if not the greatest of Mastodon's main problems, in my view.
> You might also want to sign up on a server that has a community that is in your region or speaks your language.
Again, I do not.
I speak several languages natively, and have roots in different countries, where I am at different times.
This attempt to put the user in a box from the start, a tight box, as defined as possible in all respects, is a real problem. I find it hostile, honestly.
Edit : Should I think of Mastodon as if it was IRC ? I never have, I don't think that's what it's supposed to be.
Edit 2 : Thank you for your answer though. I should have mentioned that I am not trying to figure out how to use Mastodon, but was looking for feedback from people using it.
If you want to have just one Mastodon account on a server that doesn't focus on any specific interest, language, or region, then any of the General category servers in https://joinmastodon.org/servers would be a good choice. Personally, I find the experience on highly populated general purpose servers like https://mastodon.social, https://mastodon.online, and https://mstdn.social to be very similar. These servers are pretty much interchangeable, so there isn't a lot to say about them.
When I suggested finding a server with a specific focus, my intention was to highlight what makes Mastodon unique from monolithic single-instance social networks like Twitter. I didn't mean to come across as restrictive or hostile. The reality is that many Mastodon users don't use Mastodon as their only (or even their primary) social network, and that's why I emphasize Mastodon's strengths when I answer questions from people who are interested about Mastodon. I couldn't tell from your HN submission that you were only looking for general purpose servers.
Also, remember that regardless of the server you choose, you can follow accounts from any other server. The only exception is when the target server is suspended by your home server or vice versa. Any Mastodon account can be used to communicate with other users on different servers about different interests even if the account is located on a server that has a specific focus.
I wouldn't directly compare Mastodon (ActivityPub) to IRC, since IRC networks are independent of one another, while Mastodon servers are federated.
I was not saying you were being hostile, on the contrary, your previous answer is friendly, informative, and perfect for someone who is trying to get started and knows nothing about Mastodon. It's what I try to explain to other people myself, and I have to say all I get is blank stares. No one needs to go to a specific Twitter for Javascript discussions, or a specific Twitter for weather bots for their city, or worry if this person or that person are on the same server and how that affects them, they just get a Twitter account, period, then use it for whatever it is they want to use it.
( I don't use Twitter myself. Personally I'd make an account as I have in the past at mstdn.jp -- I don't have one now, and this is also another reason behind my question, what are people doing and where in Mastodon these days, in case I should look at trying other servers. )
By hostile I meant the first friction point anybody coming to Mastodon faces : What are you looking for ? What are your interests, let's see what server fits you better, etc. That's why I compare that way to look at it to IRC; if I want to discuss film photography in English there's a specific channel for that. Or gardening in suburban Paris in French. Or whatever. Reddit comes to mind as well. That's what group chats or public forums are. Should I be thinking Mastodon is that kind of service / tool ?
Because I see Mastodon, and maybe I am wrong, as a content publishing and communication platform, not as a topic-driven group chat / forum. Or pushing it, I would even liken it to e-mail. One shouldn't have to decide if mails will be sent to an Irish programmer for work, or they will be for discussing in Japanese with grandma, when creating an e-mail account, or what servers the mails come from.
Yes, you can use a Mastodon account as you wish, provided it does not break the rules of the server, or what you want to see is not blocked, or roll your own if you can be bothered to set up and maintain your own server, or, or, etc.
And right from the start people are faced with these questions, and server rules, and whatnot, about Mastodon, when getting started should be frictionless, they shouldn't even have to worry about whether this server or that server does this or that -- "but you can transfer your data, it's yours", eh, that's not helping.
This is what I was talking about when saying I find it hostile.