Mastodon is decentralized social networking: thousands of independently run servers federate into one shared timeline, with chronological feeds, no ad targeting and no single company deciding what you see. You pick a server, and you can move with your followers if you outgrow it.
Choosing an instance is a real decision, the network is smaller than the giants, and moderation quality depends on where you land. The trade for leaving the algorithm economy is a little homework.
