It seems that there are a lot of new people on my timeline, so let me make some things clear for you about #Mastodon.
First of all, this is app runs on the decentral Mastodon Network™️. That means that you get to kind of choose the country you live in. Choosing something that shares your values is recommended.
Also, these are actually very important:Your username should reflect your real name. If your legal name differs from your preferred name, you may use that one.
Your profile picture should be your real face. There is no need to be ashamed of your looks here :). Using a real life picture creates a sense of familiarity and comfort fof others on the network, which we're striving for here as a community. It also makes your positive intent more clear, it is easier to hide nefarious actions under an anonymous profile with an avatar. If you're still using an avatar, I encourage fixing this ASAP by taking a picture of yourself with your mobile phone.
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- For your first post, you should do an #introduction to get yourself on the radar of potential new friends. You should give your approximate location in the post such that you can get followers from the same region. You should follow back all these new followers immediately, in order to become 'mutuals' AKA friends. You may organize yearly meetups with your mutuals IRL to talk about all the hot new stuff on Mastodon.
- Your bio should include appropriate contact details for your mutuals or secret admirers to contact you: email is alright, phone number is preferred.
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@katve phone number? If you want to share what works for you then fine. Saying how others should behave is a bit too far.
There are a lot of vulnerable people on here who fled from toxic places and are understandably cautious and still use a degree of anonymity. That should be fine by everyone.
