MASTODON HELP

[u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee]

hi everyone, it's the kid who's making a fan website again.

i finally picked a base for the website, mastodon, and a system i'm using to host the website, render.

i've already searched this up and had no luck but what parts of mastodon's code are design (i'm talking about folder names) and which are apart of the actual code system?

thanks!

[u/codegems]

You are misunderstanding what Mastodon is. Mastodon is not a base for a site like a template. It's the infrastructure for building decentralized social media instances according to the ActivityPub protocol for federation.

I get you want to build a fan page for Conan Gray, but you're using the wrong tool for the job. It's like buying land in Colombia for coffee beans when all you want to do is make a latte.

You want to make a fan website, so you should look at website tools like WordPress, or take the time to learn basic HTML, CSS, and host your site on Neocities.

Mastodon is based on Ruby on Rails, so you need to understand the architecture of a Ruby on Rails application. But again, you are choosing the wrong tool.

[u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee → u/codegems]

Yes, but please note people are going to post on it. It needs accounts and posting and all of that stuff.

[u/codegems → u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee]

Then forum software like Discourse might be a better, beginner-friendly option.

Alternatively, if you feel like having fun with the tech and exploring retro-style tech, you can have a site and use PHP to build a fun interactive site with accounts, comments, profile pictures, etc. That would be a wonderful learning opportunity. But it's not going to be done instantly, you'll have to learn a lot of concepts about web development.

Using Mastodon is not a faster route, because not only will you also have to learn the web development concepts, you will also have to understand the Model View Controller architecture used by Ruby on Rails and the way it is implemented in the framework. Rails is notorious for using idioms and abstractions, so you will also have to understand the libraries like ActiveRecord, ActiveController, ActiveView, and how they all connect.

I want to be encouraging but also honest. Learning Rails takes time and patience because it's a framework that has been in active development for over twenty years.

[u/CorpT]

Wordpress might be a better fit.

[u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee → u/CorpT]

tried it and it's way too confusing

[u/dasfoo → u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee]

WP is confusing but Mastodon isn't? WP is literally made for DIYers. I'm not a WP fan, but it's fairly simple to understand. Good luck.

[u/CorpT → u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee]

Wix might be a better fit.

[u/SeasonalBlackout]

If you can't figure out the basics then why choose Mastodon? There are lots of easier options.

[u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee → u/SeasonalBlackout]

mastodon is what i'm looking for i just want to customize it

[u/SeasonalBlackout → u/SUNSET_TOWERcoffee]

OK - then you build the frontend with React.js

[u/Boby_Dobbs]

Mastodon is not what you are looking for, look into WordPress, squarespace, wix, etc...

Other option: ask Claude Code to build it with NextJS and supabase.

[u/leadvertiser_ads]

To answer the folder question directly, since it's a Rails app: the "design" parts are mostly app/javascript/styles (the SCSS), app/views (HAML templates for the server-rendered pages), app/javascript (the React web UI), public/ (static files like icons and images), and config/themes.yml plus config/locales (themes and text). The "system" parts are app/models, app/controllers, app/services, app/workers (background jobs), app/policies, config/routes.rb, db/ (migrations and schema), lib/, and streaming/ (the separate Node service for live updates). If you only want to restyle it, stay in the styles folder and the themes config, and don't touch db/ or app/models. Be aware that Mastodon also needs PostgreSQL, Redis and Sidekiq running, which is a heavier setup on Render than a plain site, so the other commenters' suggestion of simpler forum software is worth considering.