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Is Mastodon registration closed? Attempted users get a sign-up error Credits: Social Media
By Rachael Grealish

Is Mastodon registration closed? Attempted users get a sign-up error

By Rachael Grealish

As Twitter users attempt to move over to Mastodon, many have claimed to get an error message when trying to sign up, so is registration closed?

Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter on October 27, after his $44 billion acquisition, many people were scared for the future of the social media site.

Due to this, many people, including celebrities, have made the move over to the new social media platform.

In this photo illustration, Mastodon app homepage is seen...
SPAIN – 2022/11/07: In this photo illustration, Mastodon app homepage is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen. It has been reported that more than 200.000 new users flocked the social media app after the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. (Photo Illustration by Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

What is Mastodon?

Mastodon is an alternative social media platform to Twitter with a similar principle. It was founded by German software developer Eugen Rochko in 2016. Unlike Twitter, Mastodon is registered as a non-profit platform, meaning there are no shareholders.

Mastodon isnt a single platform either. The platform is based on Rochkos open-source software, which means interconnected servers  and servers that can talk to Mastodon servers  are collectively dubbed the Fediverse.

Each server is also governed by rules set by the people who operate it.

Although the interface looks similar to Twitter, on Mastodon users can send short posts called toots instead of tweets up to 500 characters, unlike 280 on the former site. They can also be edited.

Registration error confuses Twitter quitters

As many people attempt to move over to the newly-popular social media platform, some people claim to get an error message during registration.

Users have taken to Twitter to express their upset with being unable to get on to the new platform after all the excitement of moving over to it.

https://twitter.com/Greywolf_AD/status/1593653418878345216?s=20&t=OSkey15yqfJJ7QVs7fHyrQ

Some are now even asking if the Mastodon registration is closed due to the large number of people moving over.

https://twitter.com/TexSaber/status/1593419966161817600?s=20&t=OSkey15yqfJJ7QVs7fHyrQ
https://twitter.com/Space_Man_Spiff/status/1592678100097470464?s=20&t=OSkey15yqfJJ7QVs7fHyrQ

Is registration closed?

So if Mastodon registration close? Well, there are currently over 5,000 servers on the site and while some may be genuinely closed for registration due to reaching their capacity, others may have chosen to keep the community small and operators may not allow new users.

For example, Mastodons flagship server mastodon.social is not currently accepting new members, as one user explained on Twitter.

Can you still join Mastodon?

For people still wanting to join – and there has been an influx of new registrations in the last few days – Mastodon says it is still entirely possible to do so.

In a tweet, the company explained: “Remember, no matter which server you sign-up on, you get access to the same decentralized network.”

Joining is relatively simple:

  1. Join an available server.
  2. Sign up to your chosen Mastodon server.
  3. Set up your profile.
  4. Start following people and engaging with the community.
  5. Introduce yourself.
  6. Find your friends.

Using sites like Debirdify or Fedifinder helps extract the fediverse handles of your Twitter followers or list members and import them onto Mastodon so you can follow them all at once.