As Twitter users chatter about the platform s potential impending demise amid mass layoffs and resignations and reports that the app for employees had begun to slow, some users have turned to Mastodon as a potential alternative. 

Founded in by German software developer Eugen Rochko, the project s only full-time employee, the decentralized social network is a nonprofit. 

It s made up of a network of servers. While each runs independently, people on their own server – or Mastodon instance – are able to connect with people on different servers, as long as those servers aren t blocked.

This photograph taken on November , , shows the logos of social networks Twitter and Mastodon reflected in smartphone screens.  Photo by JOEL SAGETAFP via Images

Some servers let anyone join, while others require an invitation or approval, according to TechCrunch.

The outlet also notes that, as part of the Fediverse, Mastodon grants users access to other decentralized social networks and – as it is open source – anyone can download, modify and install Mastodon on their own server.

SIN - In this photo illustration, Mastodon homepage is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen. It has been reported that more than , new users flocked the social media app after the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk.  Photo Illustration by Davide BonaldoSO ImagesLightRocket via Images

Mastodon has officially retired the word toot, however, which was used to describe posts. Now, the Toot button has been replaced with one that says Publish.  

There are more than a million users, nearly half of whom Rochko said signed up after Twitter chief Elon Musk took over in October.

Comparatively, Twitter reported million daily active users who had seen an advert as of the second quarter of this year, and said it had . billion daily active users as of the third quarter.

Notably, it s harder to find people to follow on Mastadon than on the centrally administered , and fast growth has led to some glitches.

Document-based verification and blue ticks are not possible without a central authority. However, Mastodon can cross-reference the links you put on your profile to prove that you are the real owner of those links. In case one of those links is your personal homepage that is known and trusted, it can serve as the next-best-thing to identity verification, Mastodon advises.