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# I Use Mastodon Like I Use RSS
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/whats-right-for-me-may-not-be-right-for-thee/
- Published: 2023-03-11T19:23:47.000Z
- Updated: 2023-03-11T19:23:47.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler
- Tags: Links, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29

[Eric M.: Single-User Mastodon Instance Is a Bad Idea](https://mull.net/single-user-mastodon-instance-is-a-bad-idea?ref=birchtree.me)

> If you're thinking about setting up your own single-user Mastodon instance for similar reasons, I urge you **not to do it**. The user experience is so broken that it's baffling that anyone would find it acceptable.

Everything the author points out in this article is indeed a limitation of hosting your own instance, and I do agree that most people should not do it, but…

This feels like one of those things where one person's needs do not reflect the needs of everyone else. no, I don't have a useful trending topics section, but I despise trending topics, and even on mastodon.social they were so banal that they were completely useless to me. Likewise, following hastags sounds like hell to me and I would never do it anyway, so its omission is not even something I think about.

I personally treat Mastodon very similarly to RSS; I follow who I know I want to follow, and all discoverability of new accounts comes from those people linking to and boosting other users. I appreciate not everyone will want to use it that way, and that’s fine, I like that Mastodon (ActivityPub) gives me flexibility to get the experience that works for me.