Watching the Fire from Across the Shore - Another Wave of Migration from Twitter to Mastodon

Musk has imposed limits on the number of tweets that can be read, effectively creating a sense of withdrawal among various users, thereby reducing the usage time and load on Twitter to some extent, promoting their trend towards decentralized platforms and facilitating their development. This shows that he is indeed a kind-hearted person.🤣

Update Log#

2023-07-04 11:53:30: First draft
2023-07-14 21:15:55:

Modified some wording.
Split some content, separating reference articles from statements.
Added other decentralized platforms.

What Happened#

Although it may be well known, I still organized it for everyone.

6.30
Twitter implemented a login wall, making it impossible to view tweet content without logging in.
Hours later, services like Nitter also became unavailable.

7.2
Twitter imposed limits on the number of tweets that can be read, with Musk claiming this is temporary.

To address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation, we have implemented the following temporary limits:

Verified accounts (referring to Twitter Blue subscribers) can read only 6,000 posts per day

Unverified accounts can read only 600 posts per day

New unverified accounts cannot exceed 300 per day
(Translated using Deepl, original tweet)

Users complained about the limits and began seeking ways to leave Twitter.

Under pressure, the limits were gradually expanded to 10k, 1k, and 500 respectively.

Some users found it difficult to export their data from Twitter.
Musk retweeted a fan's tweet, reminding everyone not to become overly addicted to Twitter:

The reason I set "browsing limits" is that we are all addicted to Twitter and need to go outside.
I did a good thing for the world.
Also, this is another reading count you just used.
Original tweet

The official Mastodon instance has experienced multiple outages due to an influx of users.

Some users found that this policy update was related to Twitter's front-end update, causing users to frantically access their API (phenomenon image)[^lidang],

Most Twitter users reached the reading limit, leading to a massive #TwitterDown.

Roughly speaking: Silicon Valley geniuses refuse to pay Google Cloud's bill—> Contract expired, Google starts throttling—> Twitter data migration not completed—> Just banned external services yesterday—> A large number of requests failed, causing DDOS—> Genius suddenly lies, saying it was intentional throttling to buy time and coax people into purchasing paid services...
This information is currently in doubt, see original text

A Person's Self-Destruction#

In fact, Musk's antics after acquiring Twitter are not limited to these.

Such as paying $8 for a verification badge, creating a chaotic social environment, imposing unnecessary restrictions on speech; I won't elaborate too much here. Interested readers can check out this article, which goes into detail: Portal

I consulted Bing, and generally, it boils down to these points:

He threatened to sue Microsoft because he accused the tech giant of using data from his social media company without permission.[^sue]
He also deemed the terms "cis" and "cisgender" as insults to Twitter and warned that anyone who harasses others on Twitter would be temporarily banned.[^cis]
A series of controversies and chaotic atmosphere emerged shortly after Musk took over Twitter. Musk faced backlash for planning changes to Twitter, while far-right conspiracy theorists and anti-Semites seized Musk's arrival as an opportunity to spread hate speech.
After taking over, he seemed to restrict the Twitter account of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who disagreed with his political views.[^moe]
...

The Mastodon Wave#

Mastodon is an open-source decentralized social network that operates similarly to email; you can register accounts on different servers and communicate with users on other servers.

Mastodon had already gained a high reputation as a decentralized social network before and after Musk's acquisition, during which many people migrated to Mastodon.

As this wave gradually recedes, Musk reignited the flames with the aforementioned actions, making more people aware of and migrate to Mastodon. On July 2, the official instance alone added about 80,000 users (data source FediDB).

Some Advice for New Friends#

Hello, new friends of the Fediverse! As a newcomer, I think the following content might be helpful to you.

1. Obvious Differences Between Mastodon and Twitter#

You may only know Mastodon from the official slogan a social network that won't be sold, or just that Mastodon is a free, open-source, federated decentralized social media platform.

But I want to say that the differences between Mastodon and Twitter go far beyond that.

Mastodon does not have so-called 'big data'; it does not actively feed you content. You need to follow people you are interested in or search for topics you care about within known parameters.

Mastodon may not have all the content and topics you want to follow, nor can you necessarily find everyone in one instance; it all depends on interoperability.

The goal of Mastodon is not to replace Twitter but to provide users with a more free social environment, allowing them to express their thoughts freely rather than being constrained by Twitter's algorithms.

Mastodon is merely a part of the vast Fediverse, which uses standardized, open ActivityPub technology, meaning cross-platform connectivity becomes possible.

This means that even if you and your friends are not on the same instance, or even if your friends are not on Mastodon, you can still interact with them.

This is not just a vision for the future; it has already become a reality: for example, other open-source projects that also use ActivityPub technology: social media Misskey, video platform Peertube, image sharing platform Pixelfed, as well as platforms like Pleroma, Friendica, GNU Social, Hubzilla, etc., all interoperate with Mastodon, allowing users across these different platforms to interact. You do not have to register on a Mastodon instance: as long as you register on any ActivityPub-based site, you can access the entire Fediverse!

For more details on the functional differences between Mastodon and Twitter, see here.

2. Finding a Suitable Home#

You have decided to join Mastodon. You want to create an account, but you find that the official website directs you to a list of instances, which can be overwhelming.

However, don't worry; these instances do not differ significantly except for their main themes and rules.

You can find a suitable instance by filtering conditions, such as language, theme, whether registration requires an application, etc. After filtering, there should be several instances left, and you can visit their homepages to learn more, ultimately registering based on your preferences.

You don't have to create just one account; you can create different accounts on different instances, allowing you to experience different atmospheres and follow different content.

If you really have trouble choosing, you might consider these instances (in no particular order):

mastodon.social: The official instance, but has experienced multiple outages recently due to high user volume.
Long-haired Elephant Chinese Station (Strawberry County)
O3O
alive.bar
BGME
mastodon.world
mas.to
...
However, it should be noted that most Mastodon instances have been restricted by the GFW, and only a small number provide accessible mirrors within the country.

In addition to the official instance list, you can also use instances.social and Fediverse Observer to find instances with more specific conditions.

In short, what suits you best is what is best.

3. Long-Term Stay#

You registered an account on Mastodon, and after some exploration, you decided to stay here.

But you may find that the way to use Mastodon is quite different from Twitter, and you might feel a bit uncomfortable.

You can refer to the following articles to help you better use and familiarize yourself with Mastodon.

If you want to find your friends who have already migrated from Twitter, you can use FediFinder to search for them.

Musk's Lock#

Remember a few months ago when Musk acquired Twitter, and everyone complained and ran to the Fediverse, but not long after, they were still active on Twitter?

Why? Twitter holds a trump card, which is that after more than a decade of accumulation, it has a large user base. Although you can say you can leave anytime, the artists, streamers, and other public figures you follow will not easily give up this social platform (because they can cope with the changes happening on Twitter), so these users create a very strong user stickiness for Twitter. The concept of distributed social networking in the Fediverse, no matter how advanced, lacks the content resources compared to Twitter.

This leads to users being unable to migrate; after running to the Fediverse, they still find ways to transfer tweets from Twitter, and now Musk has directly banned the API and opened a login wall, making it impossible to even grab tweet information from link metadata. It can be said that Musk has now used a lock to firmly bind users to Twitter.
from @mikan_chn

With this, I want to say that after the wave of migration passes, countless accounts will fall silent again because Musk's current actions have reduced the convenience of accessing information on Twitter from external sources. Even if you temporarily stay on platforms like Mastodon, you will find yourself returning to Twitter due to the lack of information from the public figures you follow.

You may have been locked into Twitter; this is a harsh reality.

Possible Future Prospects#

Based on the various antics Musk is currently engaging in, I think there will be more and larger waves of migration.

However, I want to say that these waves of migration are only temporary because these people do not truly understand the philosophy of the Fediverse; they are merely chasing after a so-called "freedom."

In fact, behind decentralization is just a relatively "free" connection of instances that are each "centers."

Twitter will only fulfill the saying "it may change, but it will never close down." It will always exist, and there will always be people using it.

The future is uncertain; the above is just speculation.

So, what will happen if he continues messing up Twitter? That depends on your perspective. Some might say he is ruining the platform and driving away users and advertisers. Others might say he is improving the platform and attracting new users and investors. The future of Twitter is uncertain, but one thing is clear: Elon Musk is not afraid to stir up controversy. --Bing

Conclusion#

This article is just my personal views, and some parts may not be entirely accurate; corrections are welcome.

However, since you are here, do not hold the same expectations for Mastodon or any part of the Fediverse as you do for Twitter; this is a different world.

If there are any omissions or errors, feel free to communicate with me in the comments or on Mastodon, and I will make corrections as soon as possible.

Declaration#

Some parts of the article used results generated by New Bing, but the information provided has also been verified.
Some parts of the article used content generated by GitHub Copilot, but only in argumentative content, which does not affect the facts.
The article cover uses an image from the Mastodon official documentation, original link, license

Annotations#

This article was completed by "standing on the shoulders of giants." Here are some reference materials:
lidang: This statement comes from a tweet by Lidang: original text
sue: Elon Musk threatens to sue Microsoft over Twitter data - BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65332207
cis: Elon Musk Deems ‘Cis’ A Twitter Slur–Here’s Why It’s So Polarizing: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2023/07/02/elon-musk-deems-cis-a-twitter-slurheres-why-its-is-so-polarizing/
moe: source, may need to scroll down.