Using Mastodon over Twitter

I've been on a Mastodon server since November 6, 2022, just over a month now. I find it vastly different to Twitter. One example is that I posted asking for Hindi-language music:

Looking for good music with lyrics in Hindi. I love Natacha Atlas and Rachid Taha, but I'd like to practice Hindi with songs.

I got replies from two strangers, one I follow and one I do not, with recommendations of Jasleen Royal and Arijit Singh. I grabbed a song from each to listen to, liked the music and got more. Neither of these strangers know me or had any reason to help, but they did. I am on a Mastodon server hosted by an individual I can support, and I've chosen to pay $9 a month to defray the hosting costs. One of the server rules is "Don't be a dick." It is entirely worth my $9 to know my feed is free of advertisements, there is no algorithm tweaking what I can see, or shoving unwanted content in my face.

I've found some interesting people to follow, few of whom I know offline, and only some of whom I followed on Twitter. My feed feels more diverse because I've been seeking out people on the #BlackMastodon and #BlackFriday hashtags. I've answered questions from strangers and shared the Boston Molasses Flood. The interaction so far for me has been polite, interested, curious, and interesting. I never got those vibes from Twitter.