FAQs

Registration takes place via social.uibk.ac.at . Staff simply log in there using their C-ID, password and two-factor authentication. The account is created automatically and linked to their existing university identity. No additional password management is required, as the login process is handled entirely via the university system.

In this case, the single sign-on system automatically recognises the account you are already logged into and uses it. If this is not the account you wish to use for Mastodon, you can open a new browser window in incognito mode or use a different browser. This allows you to specifically select the university account you want (e.g. a project or department account).

When you log in for the first time, the system generates your username based on your university email address. This association remains permanent, as the username is technically the unique identifier for your profile. For functional accounts or personal project accounts, you should therefore request a suitable email address before registering, so that the username is meaningful and recognisable.

Organisational units should ideally use a functional account set up specifically for Mastodon. After logging in for the first time, the university’s administration team must approve the account. A brief message to fediverse@uibk.ac.at is sufficient. As the username is generated from the functional account’s email address, a suitable email address should be provided here as well. Our colleagues at the ZID are aware of this process and can ensure that the required account is set up quickly for organisational units.

In the settings, you can choose whether your profile and public posts appear in search engines and internal search functions. These options significantly improve your discoverability. To this end, it is worth creating a detailed profile, adding a profile picture and further information, and using hashtags that describe your area of interest.

Unfortunately, this isn’t possible on the University of Innsbruck’s servers, as accounts here are linked to your email address and, consequently, to your real name. However, there are many other instances (= servers), most of which are free, where you can log in using an anonymous username of your choice. You can find an overview at official Mastodon page.

Mastodon is an open network consisting of many independent servers that are interconnected. There is no central authority that controls, prioritises or advertises content. People can post messages, follow others and engage in discussions, but the technical infrastructure is distributed amongst many different parties. This creates a freer and more independent environment for communication.

An instance is the server on which you create your account. Each instance has its own rules and its own community, but all instances communicate with one another. The choice of instance therefore mainly determines the social context and moderation, but not the reach or technical features. Put simply, it’s like choosing an email provider.

Mastodon does not suggest accounts or display automatically curated content. As a result, the feed is empty until you actively follow people or hashtags. The best way to get started is to look at the instance’s local view, use starter packs, search for relevant hashtags, or follow groups and bots. Through this active selection, you’ll gradually build up your own information space.

As Mastodon does not use algorithmic sorting, hashtags are the most important mechanism for making content visible and discoverable. People who are interested in specific topics often follow the relevant hashtags. Hashtags therefore play a greater role than on other platforms in determining which content reaches the relevant target audiences.

A post is a single entry that may contain text, images, polls or links. Several related posts form a thread, which is suitable for longer explanations. For each post, you can specify who can see it: public, public but hidden, followers only, or only mentioned accounts. This allows communication to be finely tailored to different situations.