Diaspora/Website

a link to a help section;

a link to toggle between mobile and desktop interfaces;

a log out button.

If you’re viewing diaspora* on a handheld device, the interface will look quite different, because you’ll be using diaspora*’s mobile version. The header bar is simplified, as in the first image below. Click the “drawer” icon (three horizontal lines) to open the navigation menu. Click your name in this menu to open your user menu. All the options are available, but they’re in different places.

Beneath the header is the main content stream.

The “stream” is your home page in diaspora*. It aggregates all the posts available to you. That is:

posts made by your contacts;

public posts made containing <span class="click">#tags</span> you follow;

posts that <span class="click">@mention</span> you;

posts from the “<span class="click">Community spotlight</span>,” if your pod has enabled this feature (see %{part_link}).

The public activity stream displays all public posts available to your pod, even posts created by people you aren’t sharing with and which don’t contain any tags you follow. That’s a lot of content!

Other views

There are other views available in diaspora*, which you can find by clicking links.

Tag stream

Click on any <span class="click">#tag</span> in diaspora* to take you to the “tag stream.” This shows you a stream containing all the posts your pod knows about which use that #tag.

Single-post view

Click on the timestamp on any post to view that post and any comments on it in the “single-post view.” The timestamp is the link by the post author’s name that reads something like “2 hours ago.” If you want to send someone a link to a post in diaspora*, you can grab the post’s direct URL from here.

Click the <span class="click">Settings</span> link in the drawer if you want to change any of your profile information.

The following icons will be shown below the aspect selector button: a @mention icon if you are sharing with that person, a message (envelope) icon if you have mutual sharing, and an ignore icon.

Underneath the person’s name and ID are tabs to display their posts, their uploaded photos, and any of their contacts which they have made visible to you (which is explained in the next part, “Aspects”).