Elena Alonso @chicafisica@red.niboe.info

The new 4.2 version of #Mastodon includes significant improvements in the search function!

My favourite one, which I've been using a lot lately to find new people to follow, is that profile search now works on bios too and not just the user name. So if you type, say, "astronomer", "scicomm" or "journalist", you'll find people with those words in their bio.

And the opt-in full-text search for posts, with operators, is also great!

https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/

This is awesome! Full text search has come to Mastodon, and it's being rolled out in a responsible way.

I know full text search is a hot-button issue. For journalists, researchers and many others, FTS is essential. Plenty of others have good reason to keep their content unsearchable.

If you're in the latter category, you don't need to take any action. Your toots will remain unsearchable just as they were before.

For the rest, please manually change the default so your toots will be searchable. This will address a major shortcoming that has kept a huge number of fedi holdouts from joining.

To do that, go to Preferences > Public Profile and select the Privacy and Reach tab. Then check the Include profile page in search engines box.

If you have a WordPress-powered blog, you can turn it into a Fediverse server and people will be able to follow the blog from Mastodon etc.

More info on how to do this here:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/wordpress-turning-your-blog-into-a-fediverse-server/

This works through the AcitvityPub for WordPress plug-in, which has just been updated to version 1.0:

➡️ https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/

The plug-in is by @pfefferle in association with #Automattic, one of the major players behind WordPress itself.

#WordPress #Fediverse #FediTips #ActivityPub

🔗 Si buscas una alternativa a linktr.ee para tu perfil, únete a https://no.mbre.es

Un servicio mantenido por @niboe

People who have created a fediverse account for your lab: how did you decide on a server?

We want to share our research updates with a lab account, but there are so many considerations to make regarding moderation, federation, donation, visibility, etc etc 🫨

#Academia #FediMigration #Mastodon #SciComm #ScientificCommunication #Research #Fediverse #FediMeta #Lab #ResearchLab #Outreach #Education #SocialMedia

The search interface has been updated again—you've now got infinite scroll on search results. Want to search for something you've already bookmarked? Add in:library to your search query.

Mastodon User Tip

Make use of #Lists, and when you follow someone make a habit of adding them to a list right then.

It's quick and easy:
- Set up at least three or four lists. You can number them to arrange the list display order.
- After you hit FOLLOW, click the three vertical dots and choose "Add or Remove from lists". This will bring up your lists and you can click to add the follow to one or more lists.

They will make your #Fediverse life so much better.

#MastoTips #MastodonMigration

Meta/Facebook/Threads/Instagram is now using your content for generative AI. There is a form to opt out, although I don't know if it'll make a difference, but here it is: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/1266025207620918

The Digital Services Act went live in the EU on Friday. The below is a handy list of the most visible changes Europeans will see

1. Chronological views are now a required option in social media apps including TikTok.

2. It’s easier to report harmful content.

3. You’ll get an explanation when your post is moderated and taken down.

4. You can report fake products on marketplaces like Amazon.

5. Teens under 18 won’t see targeted ads based on their interests.

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-08-europe-big-tech.html

So, full text search is now live on mastodon.social and mastodon.online.

It is "opt-in", meaning you need to check the Preferences box to enable your posts to be searchable.

Today, a very niche tip for RSS fans

As well as Mastodon's built-in hashtag following system, you can also follow hashtags through RSS instead:

1. Search for a hashtag on a Mastodon server's website
2. Add .rss to the end of the URL
3. Use this URL as the feed address for that tag

For example to subscribe to #Dinosaurs on mstdn.social you would use this address in your feed reader:

https://mstdn.social/tags/dinosaur.rss

#RSS #FediTips #Mastodon #MastoTips

Researchers have monitored #Neptune for over 30 years with the #Keck Observatory (since 2002), the Lick Observatory (2018-2019), and the #Hubble Space Telescope (since 1994).

One neat result comes out of this data. The number of clouds on Neptune seems to be correlated with the solar cycle. The sun puts out the maximum amount of ultraviolet light during the solar cycle's peak. Two years later, more clouds appear on Neptune.

Learn more:
https://www.keckobservatory.org/neptune-clouds
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-019

Hoy que han cortado el acceso gratuito a #TweetDeck (ahora #XPro) es tan buen día como cualquier otro para recordar que en Mastodon también tenemos un modo multi-columna.

Podéis habitarlo desde Preferencias -> Apariencia -> Interfaz web avanzada. Yo lo uso para ver las líneas de Inicio, Local, y Federada al mismo tiempo.

Y por si fuera poco también tenéis los clientes de terceros como @mastodeck, @sengi_app o @phanpy. ¡Hay para todos!

I'm going to do some science outreach in my son's primary school, and I've received the most wonderful advice:

'when they start speaking, first ask them if it's a story or a question. if it's a story, make sure to cut them off early or they'll talk forever.'

*it works exactly the same with senior academics after presentations*

Really, truly: there is no good reason for any media company or publisher to still be posting on X. #Technology https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/15/twitter-x-links-delayed/?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon