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Hello and welcome all new users! 
Most of you joined a #Mastodon instance(server) and by that you automatically joined the #Fediverse 
(Federated Universe) this is the network of all instances so we can communicate from different places!
If you want to know more about the server you are on be sure to checkout the 'about' page. This also includes the rules specific to your instance!
For example, ours can be found here: https://mstdn.social/about
To get started I recommend following and checking out the toots of @feditips and @FediFollows
For some more in-depth information about how #Mastodon works be sure to checkout the docs 
https://docs.joinmastodon.org
Wanna go all the way? Setup your own server with Mastodon for FREE!
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon
There are also a lot of websites with information and staticstics about each instance within the #Fediverse.
We want to be transparant, no fake numbers, no bullshit!
Here are some websites about the Fediverse you should checkout:
https://fedidb.org
https://the-federation.info
https://fediverse.observer
https://fediverse.space
#Mastodon is kinda the open source alternative for #Twitter but there's more!
For almost all 'mainstream' (social) platform there are FOSS (free open source software) alternatives you can host yourself!
Here are some you should checkout:
Pixelfed (Insta alt): https://pixelfed.org
PeerTube (YT alt): https://joinpeertube.org
Matrix (Chat): https://matrix.org/docs/projects/server/synapse
Pleroma: https://pleroma.social
Misskey: https://join.misskey.page/en-US
WriteFreely : https://writefreely.org
@stux not implying that matrix is on the fediverse 
