As we try to keep our federated feed focused on travel and outdoor adventures, many of us have created our own secondary “alt” accounts on a different Mastodon server that we can use to interact on other topics without affecting our fellow OPC members.
If you’d like to interact with the social web on topics other than travel and outdoor adventures, then it’s best to create a secondary, or “alt” (alternative) account.
That keeps our federated feed here at OPC better curated on relevant topics, which allows OPC members to find new accounts and posts more easily. And it also saves your Mediocre Host a lot of moderation work!
Joining another Mastodon instance
The two largest options are:
- Mastodon.social is by far the largest Mastodon instance and remains the default choice for many. This instance will be federating with Threads.net when that becomes available, so it’s a good option if you want to interact with those users.
- Mas.to is the largest Mastodon instance that will not be federating with Threads.net. If you’d like to avoid Meta at all costs (or expect bad intentions), then this is a good option instead.
You can find other Mastodon instances to join at JoinMastodon.org, or use the query at Instances.social to narrow your choices.
Using two Mastodon accounts
If you’ve installed the website as a web app on your phone, you can easily do the same with your secondary account, too. It’ll simply add an additional icon on your Home Screen and you can remain logged in to both without issue.
Otherwise, a number of third party apps allow you to quickly switch between accounts, too.
I recommend using a different profile photo (and even display name) to avoid confusion on which account is active.
Or follow OPC as a nonmember
You can also follow along and participate as a nonmember if you’d prefer.