Diaspora/Diaspora

Yes. When you are making a post, use the aspect selector button to select or deselect aspects. “All aspects” is the default setting. Your post will be visible to all the aspects you select. You could also select the aspects you want to post to in the side-bar. When you post, the aspect(s) that you have selected in the list on the left will automatically be selected in the aspect selector when you start to make a new post.

Yes. Go to your contacts page and click on “My contacts”. For each contact you can use the menu on the right to add them to (or remove them from) as many aspects as you want. Or you can add them to a new aspect (or remove them from an aspect) by clicking the aspect selector button on their profile page. Or you can even just move the pointer over their name where you see it in the stream, and a “hovercard” will appear. You can change the aspects they are in right there.

Click “My aspects” in the side-bar from a stream view and click the pencil icon by the aspect you want to delete, or go to your Contacts page and select the relevant aspect. Then click the trash icon in the top right of the page.

What is a “mention”?

A mention is a link to a person’s profile page that appears in a post. When someone is mentioned they receive a notification that calls their attention to the post.

Type the “@” sign and start typing their name. A drop-down menu should appear to let you select them more easily. Note that it is only possible to mention people you have added to an aspect.

Since version 0.7.0.0, yes! You can mention someone in a comment the same way you would do it in a post, by typing “@” and then start typing their name. Please note that when you comment on a post which is not public, you can only mention users who have already interacted with the post.

Yes, click “@Mentions” in the left-hand column on your home page.

A pod is a server running the diaspora* software and connected to the diaspora* network. “Pod” is a metaphor referring to pods on plants which contain seeds, in the way that a server contains a number of user accounts. There are many different pods. You can add friends from other pods and communicate with them. There’s no need to open an account on different pods! One is enough – in this way, you can think of a diaspora* pod as similar to an email provider. There are public pods, private pods, and with some effort you can even run your own.

If you want to invite your friends to join diaspora*, use the invitation link or the email link in the side-bar. Follow #tags to discover others who share your interests, and add those who post things that interest you to an aspect. Shout out that you’re #newhere in a public post.