FAQ – Cwestiwn Cyffredin

Q. How do I ask for technical support? A. If your account is still working you can message @teamtoot otherwise email help@toot.wales

Q. What Welsh-language resources are available? A. On our services, you can find Welsh learners and speakers by searching DysguCymraeg, Ymarfer, and YAGYM. Accounts you may want to follow include:

Additional resources for use of Welsh in digital communities includes:

You can learn more about digital inclusion in Wales at https://www.digitalcommunities.gov.wales/digital-inclusion-in-wales-2/

Q. What is the Fediverse? Mastodon? Tŵt? A. The Fediverse is a collection of software services such as microblogging (Mastodon), image sharing (Pixelfed), video sharing (PeerTube). The Fediverse is like all the social media you know, but operated by non-profits, companies and individuals running communities, which all interoperate and can talk to each other. It is decentralised, and independent. The technical term is federated, as in lots of different things that can act as one. Federated Universe = Fediverse.

Mastodon is one Fediverse platform, roughly speaking a Twitter-like service for short posts of 500 characters. Millions of people on thousands of servers use Mastodon to connect with the Fediverse.

Tŵt is one Mastodon server of the thousands that exist.

Q. Who owns this? Can it be bought? A. The service is operated by a New York-registered charity (a 501 c 3 non-profit organisation). The servers are in the EU (France), and are subject to GDPR.

Here is our New York filing: https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id={F0E43479-0000-C43E-9175-B14A4989819D}

Here is a publicly searchable database of charities with our listing: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/834296652

The founder is Jaz-Michael King, you can read more about him here: https://jaz.co.uk

Q. Why is it in New York? A. Jaz is a Welsh expat living in New York, which is why the charity is temporarily incorporated there. The moderators and staff are all Wales-based. A Wales-based charity is in the works.

Q. Will Tŵt sell my data, datamine my activity, or invade my privacy? A. No. We do require a session cookie so the service can work if you log in. We do not allow any third-party services or APIs. There is no Google tracker. There is no Facebook login. It is completely independent of all other services. You are free to completely delete your account at any time, or transfer it to a different Mastodon server – you can explore other servers at http://mastodon-near.me or https://joinmastodon.org/communities

Q. What about my personal data? A. We only require an email address. You choose a password and a username. You may also add a two-factor method to better secure your account. We record your current IP address to make the service work. We do not track your accounts on other services, we do not know your name (unless you choose to tell us) and we do not track your browsing habits.

Q. Will you sell it? Will you monetise the service? A. We are a registered charity and operate solely from community donations.

Q. I see objectionable content! How can I report something! A. You can report any user or post using the drop down menu and choosing “report”. All reports are evaluated against our Community Guidelines, available here: https://blogs.toot.wales/toot/twt-community-code-of-conduct

Q. I have other questions! A. You can message the @teamtoot account or post something to the network with the hashtag #AskFedi