Updates from the Mastodon team
Mastodon now a non-profit organisation
In June, I was able to officially register Mastodon gGmbH after nearly 8 months of legal work (“gGmbH” means “non-profit limited liability company”). A non-profit limited liability company in Germany is structered and operates similarly to a for-profit limited liability company with a few key differences. The founding document of the company is written such that the activity of the company is working towards goals that benefit the public; the shareholders may not receive any revenue from the company’s activities and can at most withdraw the funds that they originally paid in; employees may not receive extraordinarily high wages; and the company can receive donations which are then tax-free, although any other income that does not fit the definition of a donation continues to incur various taxes. To found such a legal entity the founding document must pass a review by the German tax office and the founders must pay in 25,000 EUR of starting capital.
Eugen Rochko
CEO / Founder
Developing an official iOS app for Mastodon
Starting on Feb 8, 2021, we will be developing an official iOS app for Mastodon together with Sujitech and Lickability, which will be free to download and focused on helping new users get started
Eugen Rochko
CEO / Founder
Gab switches to Mastodon's code
After crowdfunding millions of dollars, social media platform Gab abandoned its own code and switched to the freely available Mastodon software in early 2019 as a way of circumventing Google’s and Apple’s ban on their own app from their app stores, since offering Mastodon’s client-side API would allow any existing Mastodon app to be used to access Gab. We have never had any sympathy for their thinly (if at all) veiled white supremacist platform so that was not a welcome move on our part, however the license that we publish our software under (AGPLv3) allows anyone to use it as they see fit as long as they keep the same license and make their modifications public.
Eugen Rochko
CEO / Founder
Introducing the Mastodon Server Covenant
To provide a safer experience to new Mastodon users, we are changing the joinmastodon.org server picker
Eugen Rochko
CEO / Founder
Mastodon's 2 Year Anniversary
Mastodon was first announced to the public through Hacker News, a link aggregator site for programmers, on October 6, 2016. Now we’re celebrating the 2 year anniversary! 🎉
Eugen Rochko
CEO / Founder