Technology – Page 7 – David Bradley

How to have an intelligent conversation with a bot

TL:DR – The language model ChatGPT seems to put a positive spin on everything, even rather negative topics.

I fed the paragraphs from my recent blog post about our new year trip to the Norfolk coast sequentially to the ChatGPT, language model to see what sort of things it would say in response to my words…its responses put a positive spin on everything, even my complaint about the number of dogs!

It’s also interesting, that it recognises that I said “for starters” and so asked if I saw any other interesting birds. For the most part, it looks like the bot repeats back to you what you’ve said like a vaguely interested and patronising friend might! Be interesting to know from where it grabs the additional information about each species and whether that’s copyright material or open to use because it was my creative input that generated it using the app…

I discuss this artificial discussion in an article entitled “Will AI help us be more creative and innovate?”

Here’s the call-and-response chat I had with the AI:

Sciencebase: As has been our habit for the last few years, we have eschewed the midnight festivities of New Year and escaped to the coast. This time, we straddled the New Year with three nights in a cosy cottage in Wells-next-the-Sea. We enjoyed the local hostelries in the evenings during our trip, but the main focus was to walk as far as we could manage each day (usually 7 or 8 miles) and to take in the birding and other sites of nature en route.

ChatGPT: Sounds like you had a great time! Wells-next-the-Sea is a beautiful location and it’s always nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Walking and birdwatching are both excellent ways to relax and connect with nature. It’s great that you were able to spend some time doing activities that you enjoy and getting some exercise at the same time. I hope you had a wonderful trip and that you’re feeling refreshed and rejuvenated for the new year.

Sciencebase: Wells, Warham, Titchwell, and Holkham Gap were the main areas, beach, woodland, marsh, and nature reserve. A couple of Muntjac (one deceased), two or three Grey Squirrel, half a dozen Grey Seal, and 1001 dalmations and others dogs were the limited list of mammals we saw.

ChatGPT: It sounds like you had a great time exploring the different environments in Wells-next-the-Sea and the surrounding areas. Muntjac, grey squirrel, and grey seal are all interesting animals to see, and it’s great that you were able to spot them during your walks. The variety of dogs you saw must have been fun to watch as well. I hope you were able to get some good photos or memories of your adventures!

Sciencebase: The birding list was much better as you’d expect, for starters, we saw a rare vagrant over the marsh at Warham east of Wells, a Pallid Harrier, along with a couple of Hen Harriers on the same marsh. It was dull and grey at that point and the low-light photos of the harriers are just my record shots.

ChatGPT: Seeing a Pallid Harrier and a couple of Hen Harriers is quite a treat for birdwatchers! These birds are not often seen, especially the Pallid Harrier, which is a rare vagrant to the UK. It sounds like you were lucky to spot them during your trip. It’s understandable that the photos may not have turned out well in the low light, but I’m sure the experience of seeing these birds in person was well worth it. Did you see any other interesting birds during your trip?

Sciencebase: The Pallid Harrier, Circus macrourus, is a migrant that breeds in Eastern Europe, Iran, and central Asia, wintering in India or Africa depending on its migratory wont. It is rare in Western Europe and the UK, but occasional vagrants are ticked here. That said, the species is now known to have bred in The Netherlands (2017) and Spain (2019). A changing world means a changing world for the birds too.

ChatGPT: Yes, that’s correct. The Pallid Harrier is a species that typically breeds in Eastern Europe, Iran, and Central Asia, and winters in India or Africa. It is not a common sight in Western Europe, including the UK, but as you mentioned, there have been a few instances of the species being spotted as a vagrant in these regions. It’s interesting to see how changing environments and conditions can affect the distribution and migration patterns of different species of birds. Did you see any other unusual or rare birds during your trip?

Sciencebase: We saw dozens of other species (around 80). Many of those we had seen before, some many times, but one was rather special and we’d only seen it once before, in Poole Harbour in the autumn of 2022 – White-tailed Eagle. An immature specimen flew over us as we were heading back along the beach to Holkham Gap from the westward marsh end of the patch. The bird itself was heading to its roost on the marsh where it had been reported at roughly the same time for the previous couple of days. We don’t know at this point whether the bird we saw was one of the two we saw in Poole, these Isle of Wight reintroduction birds do cover a lot of ground on their travels.

ChatGPT: Seeing a White-tailed Eagle is definitely a special and memorable experience! These birds are not commonly seen in the UK, so it’s great that you were able to spot one during your trip. It’s interesting that you saw one in Poole Harbour in the autumn of 2022 and then saw a potentially different one in Wells-next-the-Sea a few months later. It’s possible that the one you saw in Poole was one of the Isle of Wight reintroduction birds, as you mentioned. These birds are known to cover a lot of ground on their travels, so it’s not uncommon for them to be spotted in different locations. It’s wonderful that you were able to see such a beautiful and impressive bird during your trip.

Sciencebase: On a smaller scale, but much more numerous, we had some lovely views of visitors from The Arctic, Snow Buntings (30+), which are distant cousins of the Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings. We also saw Shorelarks (about 11) at Holkham Gap despite the best efforts of uncontrolled dog walkers to repeatedly scare the birds away.

ChatGPT: Snow Buntings and Shorelarks are both interesting and attractive birds to see. It’s great that you were able to spot a large number of Snow Buntings and a few Shorelarks during your trip. It’s unfortunate that the Shorelarks were being disturbed by uncontrolled dogs, but it’s good that you were still able to get some views of them. These arctic visitors can be a real treat for birdwatchers, and it sounds like you had a great time spotting them during your walks.

Sciencebase: Below is the, hopefully complete, list of birds we saw, we may have a few others that we may have glimpsed in passing but are not claiming for the list, Grey Partridge, Bullfinch, Whooper Swan, Sparrowhawk. There were no feeders at the RSPB Titchwell cafe area on this visit, so no sighting of Coal Tit on this visit.

ChatGPT: Here is the list of birds you saw, with a few notes about each species:

Grey Partridge: This is a bird that is native to Europe and Asia. It is a medium-sized bird with a plump body and a reddish-brown head and neck.
Bullfinch: This is a small, stocky finch with a distinctive black head and a bright pink breast. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
Whooper Swan: This is a large, white swan with a long neck and a distinctive, bell-like call. It is native to parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Sparrowhawk: This is a small, agile bird of prey with a long tail and short, rounded wings. It is found throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.

It sounds like you had a good variety of birds on your list, and it’s a shame that you weren’t able to spot a Coal Tit on this trip. I hope you had a great time birdwatching and that you were able to get some good views of the birds you saw.Sciencebase: I listed all the birds we saw in my original blog post and then fed them to the bot to see what it would give me.

ChatGPT: It looks like you saw a wide variety of birds during your trip! It’s impressive to see such a long list of different species. Some of the more interesting or notable birds on the list include the Pallid Harrier (which is a rare vagrant to the UK), the Hen Harrier (which is a threatened species in the UK), the Great White Egret (which is a large and striking bird), the Red Kite (which has made a comeback in the UK after being nearly extinct in the 19th century), and the Rough-legged Buzzard (which is a rare winter visitor to the UK). It’s great that you were able to see so many different birds and that you had such a successful trip. I hope you enjoyed your birdwatching experience and that you were able to get some good views of the birds you saw.

Sciencebase: I then fed it a shorter list of some of the birds – Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Brent Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Pintail, Red-breasted Merganser Red-throated Diver, Shore Lark.

ChatGPT: Here is some information about the bird species you listed:

Avocet: This is a long-legged wading bird with a distinctive upturned bill. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Bar-tailed Godwit: This is a large, long-billed shorebird with a reddish-brown head and neck and a barred tail. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Black-tailed Godwit: This is a large, long-billed shorebird with a reddish-brown head and neck and a black tail. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Brent Goose: This is a small, dark goose with a distinctive black neck and head. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Pink-footed Goose: This is a medium-sized goose with a pinkish-brown breast and pink legs and feet. It is found in parts of Europe and Asia.
Pintail: This is a medium-sized duck with a long, narrow tail and a distinctive, upward-curving bill. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Red-breasted Merganser: This is a medium-sized diving duck with a thin, serrated bill and a distinctive, crest-like tuft of feathers on its head. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Red-throated Diver: This is a medium-sized diving bird with a distinctive red throat patch and a long, thin bill. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Shore Lark: This is a small, plump bird with a distinctive, black-and-yellow head pattern. It is found in parts of Europe and Asia.

These are all interesting and attractive birds to see, and it’s great that you were able to spot them during your trip. I hope you enjoyed your birdwatching experience and that you were able to get some good views of these species.

Graze for Mastodon

TL:DR – A few thoughts on Mastodon written just after the second big migration from the bird place.

If you’re active on social media and even just vaguely interested in tech stuff, then you will almost certainly have heard about the changes at twitter and how a lot of users of that platform have switched allegiance to another, Mastodon. I’ve written a Mastodon FAQ by way of introduction to the platform.

Mastodon was originally launched in 2016 and I seem to have a record of a login from August that year, but I joined “Mastodon.Social” properly in November 2019. I must admit I didn’t use it much until April 2022, and then again in late October 2022 after which I have been a lot more active there than on Twitter. You can find me on Mastodon here:

@[email protected]

Anyway, one of the things that people new to Mastodon often struggle with is how to take action on an update on one server/instance when they’re signed up with another. I’ve put together a Top 20 of popular servers/instances used by Sciencebase readers and others here.

Some features work between servers, but favouriting and boosting and other functions don’t. At least they didn’t until programmer Jared Zimmerman came up with Graze for Mastodon. This is an extension for the Chrome desktop browser that makes inter-server actions, like favouriting or boosting an update on a different server transparent. A Firefox version of Graze is on the way, apparently. Zimmerman is also looking at other features to make the desktop Mastodon experience even better.

I’m on Mastodon.Social as I said, but I like to visit the more sciencey servers and the photography ones and the music ones and a load of others…Graze makes it much simpler to engage with those.

Incidentally, Mastodons were megafauna in the family Mammutidae, but unlike the perhaps slightly better-known Mammoths, Mastodons were probably not woolly nor were they grazers, more likely browsers.

Phishing, smishing

TL:DR – Phishing is a form of social engineering where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware on their computer or other device via a phishing link in an email or on a website. Smishing is the text message equivalent of email phishing.

I justr received an email from a reliable and trusted contact to notify me of an alert they received from a third party pointing out that phishing attacks are on the rise. The trouble is, the email they sent with a copy of the original alert is full of links offering advice on how to stay secure and specifically how to avoid being phished…

In case you don’t already know, phishing is a scam (smishing is SMS phishing) whereby a malicious third-party hooks you in and gets you to click a link in an email that inevitably leads to the installation of malware on your device or tricks you into entering private and/or personal data on a remote website, often disguised as your bank or an e-commerce site.

The bottom line is you should NEVER click a link in an email or indeed any other kind of message you receive regardless of what it suggests that you do.

If you must visit a site mentioned in such a missive, because you think it really is legitimate, then have a look at the source of the message you received to see if the link really goes to the website of the trusted source or if it’s a decoy for a malware site. You could also then copy the actual link into an online malware scanner, such as VirusTotal, to double-check that it’s safe. Do that in an incognito tab in your browser and make sure you’re not logged into any sites in that browser window when you do.

Also, watch out for phishing hooks in your online calendar on dodgy websites and also watch out for websites that seem redirect to somewhere unexpected they may have been page hijacked.

But, there is another kind of scam that doesn’t involve links, indeed there is a type of attack that doesn’t even use bait. These are called no-hook phishing attacks. They’re more about social engineering (a confidence trick) rather than a technical attack.

Some of these emails are not aiming to scam you, but to legitimise an email address so that it can defeat spam filters and be used later for more conventional phishing attacks once the email systems perceive it as safe.

Anyway, back to the phish with no hooks. First, you receive an unexpected message on your device from someone you don’t know about something with which you’re not involved. You respond to let the correspondent know that you’re not actually the intended recipient, they reply with an apology and perhaps some other comment that then requires a further reply from you out of politeness. This is where it gets weird. The person you don’t know who accidentally contacted you is drawing you into a conversation, and you feel obliged to keep replying.

There is evidence that this kind of no-hook phishing attack can last for weeks before the payload is delivered. The scammer, having gained some degree of trust through the ongoing friendly conversation suggests you check out a website…or maybe even just suggests that you might like to know about an investment scheme through which they themselves have made a lot of money. It’s not genuine, it’s not banter, you’re being conned.

The bottom line should be don’t reply to their initial message out of politeness and you will never be sucked into the con trick. If you do happen to respond, remember the golden rule and don’t let your guard down: do not click any links in a message ever.

But, if no link ever arrives, be even more cautious when your new best friend pipes up with unsolicited investment advice or some other such nonsense.

Davey Winder discussed all of this in more detail in IT Pro here.

Mastodon FAQ – Less Musk, More Tusk

TL:DR – Answers to frequently asked questions about Mastodon

Simply join me here via this link.

What is Mastodon?

Mastodon is an alternative social media system comprising lots of different interconnected sites, each with its own specific interests, but all running the open-source Mastodon software, which makes them all function in roughly the same way and allows communication and sharing between users.

When was it started?

Mastodon was started in March 2016, but gained a lot of new interest in April 2022 and again in November 2022 in the wake of major changes at one of the more well-known social media systems, Twitter.

Why is it called Mastodon?

Apparently, it’s named after the American rock band of that name. Mastodon is a term for any of the prehistoric mammal species in the genus, Mammut. The word loosely translates as “nipple toothed”.

Technically, how is Mastodon different from Twitter?

First off, Mastodon is not a single service in the way that Twitter and most other social media tools are. You’ll have heard the word instance and server bandied about with reference to Mastodon recently. That’s the jargon. Each instance is really just a separate website with its own domain name. The one I’m on is Mastodon Social, its address is https://mastodon.social.

Why do the different instances look the same?

The thing about all these instances, these websites, with odd-looking addresses is that they all run the same software, the mastodon software, so they have the same look and layout and make the same tools available to users. Superficially, this sounds a bit like Facebook Groups, but you can think of Mastodon as being more akin to hundreds of self-hosted WordPress blogs with multiple bloggers/authors/users/admins.

How do I choose which instance/server to use?

You can pick one that looks like the most interesting or where you can see lots of your friends and contacts are active. I’ve put together a list of the top 20 instances that the people I followed on twitter are now using here.

What’s that word, fediverse, mean?

The Mastodon creators call the network of interconnected sites/instances the Fediverse, it’s a federated network.

What effect does being in a federated network have?

The key thing about the sites being connected/federated is that the Mastodon software provides tools that connect all these sites so that users on different sites can communicate and interact.

Interact, how?

Different instances being interconnected means if you see an update in your timeline, they’re called toots, you can like, or favourite, it by clicking the star below the update. This adds it to your private list of favourites and also lets the person who posted that update know that you saw it and liked it.

Is that it?

No, the interconnections mean that if you want to make a stronger response you can comment publicly on an update. You can also do the equivalent of a retweet on Twitter or a reblog on Tumblr, which is known as a boost on Mastodon. To do this you click the boost icon, which is an icon formed from two arrows . It usually shows between the comment icon (speech bubbles or backwards arrow) and the favourite/like icon (the star). A boost promotes the update so that more people will see it in their timelines.

Does Mastodon have an algorithm to boost updates?

No, there’s no biasing algorithm running behind the scenes, so if you want the world to know about an interesting update, you need to boost it manually.

Okay, how do I find an instance to join?

Finding a Mastodon instance that suits you can take time. I opted for Mastodon Social because back in 2019*, it looked broad and general and I wasn’t actually sure how to find any others. There are so many now for lots of different niches and interests all with their own set of rules and recommendations for use. You can search for something suitable here.

The instance I chose is shut to new users, what do I do?

The admins of all the various sites are endeavouring to get on top of problems caused by the influx of new users but several are currently closed to new logins. Be patient. They will open up again soon.

But, I want to get started now, what can I do?

Well, you could join one of the open instances and start there. Keep checking your preferred instance and once it opens up to new logins, sign up. There are steps you can then take to export your temporary instance to your preferred one.

I joined, what now?

Once you’re signed up and have added a photo and all the other bits and pieces you will want to find people to follow. You can do this in a wholly organic way, simply follow people that post interesting things on your instance or across the fediverse. Alternatively, you might see a mastodon handle from someone you follow elsewhere on social media and can open their link and follow them directly.

What do I see in my timeline?

There are three levels of timeline on Mastodon. On your home screen, your timeline will be filled with updates from the people you follow. If you want a broader view you choose local, this shows you updates from everyone on your instance not just the users you follow. If you choose the Federated option then you get to see updates from all the instances. You can also create lists of users to see updates from particular cliques and niches.

Can I use an RSS reader to watch an account?

Yes, you can subscribe to public posts from a user by tacking “.rss” on to the end of their user address, e.g. https://mastodon.social/@sciencebase.rss

Can I message other users?

Yes, aside from commenting on a post, if you have someone else’s ID or handle, you can direct message them (DM).

Are DMs encrypted and safe from prying eyes?

As with many other social media systems like Twitter DMs, Facebook Messaging and others, direct messages between users are not encrypted. It is worth being cautious when using any such system and not using them to share personal or private information. It is worth adding that if you @ mention a third party in a Mastodon DM, that third party will see your DM as well as the recipient.

Isn’t it difficult to follow someone?

Not really, if they’re on the same instance as you, you just need their handle, the @sciencebase in my case, if you’re on mastodon.social. But, if you’re on a different instance, scicomm.xyz, for instance, you will need to include the username and the instance, @[email protected] in the search to find them.

What does the hourglass next to the person I followed mean?

Some users have their preferences set to allow them to moderate who follows them rather than automatically accepting everyone. If someone has this set in their preferences, you will see an hourglass after following them until they accept or refuse you. If you get frustrated by this, you can always cancel the request.

Can I bulk follow people from my Twitter?

Following people can almost be automated, although not quite. If you have lists on Twitter, you ~~can~~ could previously scan them with various apps – Debirdify, Twittodon, Fedifinder, and Movetodon but they have been mostly locked out of the X/Twitter system as far as I know. These will find the people on Twitter who have added their mastodon ID or link to their bio, used it as their URL, or have a pinned tweet announcing it. All three apps let you export a file (a CSV file) that you can import into Mastodon and use to bulk follow those people. Incidentally, you can scan other twitter user’s account to find their people with Mastodon IDs.

Will they follow back automatically?

No, a followback is not guaranteed as is the case with every other social media system. However, the people you follow will get a notification to say you followed them and they may then choose to do so.

How do I get a blue checkmark?

There are no blue (actually white or black) checkmarks or tickmarks on Mastodon.

So how can we know an account is genuine?

You can’t really. But users can at least verify any links they add to their profile and these will appear in green. It is worth doing this for your own account to give yourself some validation. It involves adding a snippet of HTML code to the website you wish to be associated with. That’s as close as you can get to making your profile look official. I’ve verified sciencebase.com on my Mastodon account. An impersonator wouldn’t be able to do that without hacking this website.

How many people on twitter are now on Mastodon?

Impossible to say, some people are just trying it out, others have jumped ship. I’ve used Debirdify a few time to gather my twitter gang. I estimate that about 14% of the people I follow on Twitter have added their ID, so I’ve found them on Mastodon and been able to follow them there. More people are signing up all the time and not everyone is coming from twitter.

How do I get around twitter’s Mastodon link ban?

As of 2022-11-16, Twitter seems to be marking links to Mastodon sites as being unsafe. So, you need to obfuscate them if you wish to share with your twitter followers. This link shortener lets you do that: https://spacekaren.sucks

Could I set up my own, personal Mastodon instance?

Yes, you could. That is the basic concept for the creation of “Mastodon”. Some people run the software, administer their own domain, and are the only member of the instance. They are part of the federated system nevertheless so can interact with others as they see fit and others can see and interact with them.

Are there any legal issues I should be aware of before setting up an instance?

Yes, plenty, but none that should limit you. If your server will be in the US, the EFF has a legal guide you should read first.

Who is John Mastodon?

There is no such person, a columnist wrote about how twitter had banned “join mastodon” having assumed that was a mistake and that John Mastodon was the founder of Mastodon…the name has now been taken to the next level of meme and satire. Remember Spartacus? “I am John Mastodon!”

Isn’t mysogyny at play again?

Yes, you’re right, it should have been Jean Mastodon.

Can I make Mastodon work like TweetDeck?

Not quite. On a desktop screen, you can make Mastodon look a bit like that. Go into your Preferences and tick/check the box for Enable advanced web interface and then click to save your preferences. You then get side-by-side timeline columns. I’ve not investigated customisation yet.

What about mobile devices?

If you prefer, you can definitely go mobile on Mastodon. Tusky, is the Android app I use, it’s the one that suits me best. Not many people seem to recommend the native apps. Tusky and others have most, but not all, features you see on desktop in a web browser.

How do I find anything on Mastodon?

A common complaint from some new users regards the clunkiness of searching. There is no simple search method that will find people or specific posts across the fediverse. This is deliberate, it’s a protection mechanism that limits how easily trolls and bots might otherwise home in on vulnerable users.

So, how do I search?

Well, you can search by hashtag and users are encouraged to use hashtags to engage. You can search by ID/handle for someone on your instance. You can search by ID link to find people on other instances. Indeed, if you want your posts to be found, it’s worth adding appropriate hashtags. Many new users make their first update an #introduction and include their key hashtags as part of that.

Speaking of trolls..?

Most of the Mastodon sites are tolerant and accepting of diversity and highly intolerant of bigotry and abuse. It would be patronising of me to describe them as safe havens for minorities, but it seems that by enforcing rules that do not allow trolling, bigotry, and abuse, they can offer their users a far less toxic social media experience. This is a good thing, obviously. It is those negative issues and not just the muskiness that have driven many people to leave Twitter.

Can that tolerance vary from server to server?

Yes, each admin establishes a different baseline for their server. It must be said that some servers are more accepting of particular minorities than others and it is wise to check the rules when you make your choice of which to join.

Can I block someone?

Yes, there is a block and a mute option. There is also the option to report to the server admins anyone being abusive, trolling, or spamming you, if you so wish.

Why is everything so clunky and glitchy?

Because of the musky mess being made of the bird place, there has been a huge influx of new people to the mastodon servers, around 2 million in less than a month. Most of the small servers are volunteer run and so there have been glitches where resources were insufficient to cope with so many new users. They’re working through it. Things will get better.

What if some awful billionaire wants to buy Mastodon?

As has hopefully become apparent from the answers to the previous questions, Mastodon is open source and runs on many different servers. There is a not-for-profit company that first created the software and owns the branding, but even if that were assimilated up some awful billionaire’s fiscal portfolio, it would be impossible for them to buy the fediverse or even the mastodon instances within it, although it might force admins and users to stop using the logo!

Could someone buy an instance?

Yes, and it is already happening, one of the biggest instances was recently purchased. However, before that happened almost all of the other instances de-federated it so that it was no longer really part of the broader fediverse but simply a standalone website running the Mastodon software.

What’s Sciencebase’s Mastodon story?

I first logged on to a Mastodon server in August 2016 and promptly forgot about it. I joined Mastodon.Social back in November 2019, but didn’t use it much until April 2022 and then only for a week or two…I came back to it again in October and have become much more active since then. I’ve been hoovering up twitter followees and others as something of an escape from what Mastodon users often refer to as the bird place, you know the place, the one that’s more musk than tusk, Twitter.

You can search for me by my handle, ID, call it what you will as:

@[email protected]

Alternatively, a handle can be given as https://mastodon.social/@sciencebase which obviously looks like a normal web address but with an @ sign, use that instead of the handle if your device doesn’t recognise the former.

What about sciencebase on other social media?

Of course, have been for years, always try to be an early adopter. I’ve set up sciencebase.com redirects to my socials. If you type a URL like this https://sciencebase.com/mastodon, it will take you to the appropriate site. It should work with the following: tumblr, flickr, instagram, twitter, facebook, linkedin, soundcloud, bandcamp, tiktok, reddit, basically anywhere I’ve got a social media presence. E.g. https://sciencebase.com/tumblr

I’m still not convinced, isn’t there a nice, simple alternative to Twitter?

Well, to be honest, a nice cup of tea and a good book would probably do your mental health more good, but there are lots of other social media systems out there some of which have been around for years – Tumblr, Diaspora, Discord, CounterSocial, Minds, Cohost, that might ultimately emerge as better alternatives to Twitter. Indeed, some commentators are pointing out that because Mastodon is federated and doesn’t allow for facile conversation and commentary across the fediverse, a well-established system like good-old Reddit might ultimately fair much better and become the new go-to social media spot.

Should I leave Twitter?

Please don’t abandon Twitter and certainly don’t delete your account (someone will claim your handle and use it after 30 days). Twitter might emerge from all this confusion in a better state, but it will need lovely people like you to hold the haters and the trolls to task, to block and report the nasties, and to keep irritating Leon Umsk until he abandons it as a bad job.

But, I really want to leave is there a good reason not to delete my account?

There is a very good reason not to delete your Twitter account, whatever choice you make. Within 30 days of deletion, your username becomes available for someone else to use in whatever way they like for good or bad. If you must leave, simply deactivate your account and if you get a deletion warning from Twitter follow any instructions to keep the account alive.

If not Twitter and not Mastodon, where else?

There are lots of options for those wishing to escape Twitter who don’t necessarily want to join Mastodon. There are some of the older, well-known social media sites such as Reddit, Indenti.ca, Diaspora, Discord, Tumblr and then there are newer initiatives like Cohost!, Counter.Social, Hive Social, Post.News, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s new initiative, Bluesky, and many others.

Why did Sciencebase publish this FAQ when there are already others out there?

Well, I’m a writer, I wanted to put in words my own thoughts about the service and to share those with people who had asked me about Mastodon, so here we are.

How many followers does Sciencebase have on Mastodon?

Just over 1000 as of 2022-12-21

*Bizarrely, there was a tag visible in my Mastodon account, that suggests I actually first logged in in August 2016, not long after the software protocol was launched. Someone mus have told me about it and I took a look, but did nothing more.

FAQ created: 2022-11-21. Last updated: 2022-12-21

Departing Twitter

The holiday cruise is drawing to a close. Many of the cruisers have a clutch of new best-friends-forever friendships. These were easily won and formed in the halcyon days in the far-flung resorts visited on the liner. They may have been melded over one too many shared jugs of sangria by the pool. Maybe they were sweated out under a burning sun in the queue waiting for the boats to take them ashore to see the old town. It’s possible that they were the tortured rapture of a shared grievance about cold showers or a badly stocked minibar at the rep’s desk. It’s the last night blues which inevitably sees all these BFFs grappling each other’s shoulders, swearing undying allegience to future get togethers back in the homeland, swigging yet more sangria and swapping phone numbers, Facebook details, and perish the thought, home addresses.

But this was no ordinary cruise it went on for years, the liner filled up with more and more passengers, more and more with complaints, a few too many people grappling other people’s shoulders uninvited, a lot of spilled sangria, and always somebody else’s towel on a favourite sunlounger. Then the rumours started that some hotshot captain was going to take the helm and set off on a new course. He was supposedly to take the liner to new beautiful lands with even greener grass to view from the deck. But the grass was astroturf and there’d be a charge for the free sangria. Lots of passengers took their chances, dived overboard, and swam ashore, thrashing through the water to reach unknown lands where ancient pachiderms wandered freely. Those that stayed tried to tolerate the growing number of sangria spillers, towel abusers, and shoulder grabbers. There was a lot of mopping up of spilled drinks to do but not enough moppers. The hotshot captain never showed up…the liner carried on riding the waves through the summber months.

As the summer passed, the new captain was helicoptered in once again, chucking kitbags of money at the cruise company and insisting on taking the helm. He made most of the crew walk the plank and threw the mops overboard. He told the sangria drinkers they’d have to pay for a little blue badge on their towel if they wanted to get a sun lounger by the pool. Indeed, if they didn’t have the badge, they’d have to swim in the bilge below decks.

The sangria drinkers remembered their old new BFFs who’d jumped ship to be with the pachiderms and started manning the lifeboats. Without a compass, they headed in different directions and hoped for the best. Others remained steadfast, even mocking those in the lifeboats, for leaving them behind. Meanwhile, the hotshot captain steered the liner on a perilous course, one that took the vessel into uncharted waters where trolls swam among floating mountains of ice and not a pachiderm was to be seen…to be continued…