Welcome to the help page. Select an icon from the topics below to find out more.
Help with Mastodon (Schleicher.Social)
Blog Help (Family.schleicher.social)
Adding new posts
How to add new posts via front-end form
Followers
How to use the follow feature
Email Preferences
Changing or configuring site notifications
Family Update Form
Using the site form to update and add family information
Email Posting
How to add new posts via email
Family Tree
Viewing and Using the family tree
Family Spreadsheet
Changing, adding, and updating info
Everything Else
Mastodon
Mastodon is a privately hosted, open-source social media platform. By privately hosted, I mean that the hardware and software for it is sitting in the basement, not in a data center in China or who knows where. Only family member requests to join will be approved; friends, friends of friends, etc. will not have access to this server. All members must sign-up and be approved before they will be able to post.
Server Status
Schleicher Social
Joining schleicher.social
To join, follow the invite link sent by an admin or moderator, or via your email. Joining via the invite link does not require account confirmation prior to activation. If you do not have an invite link, you can still sign up, but your account will be held for approval. Follow the directions below for manual sign up without an invite link.
Desktop Devices
- Go to Schleicher Social (https://schleicher.social/)
- Click on the “Sign up” link
- Accept the forum rules (required to host a social media server).
- Fill out the form with your display name (what will be displayed when you post), your username (the name others can use for direct mentions and follow requests), a working email address, and a password. You do not need to include information on why you want to join. Agree to the privacy policy and hit “Request and account”.
- Wait for the confirmation email; follow the link in the confirmation email to verify your email address. Note that until your email is verified, your account cannot be approved. If you do not receive the email (from [email protected]), check your spam folder. If not there, click the “Didn’t receive confirmation instructions?” link on the login page.
- Once your email is verified, wait for confirmation that your account has been approved.
- Once approved, you’ll be able to log in and set up your account profile, 2FA, and start following other users.
Mobile Devices
- Start by searching for and downloading the Mastodon app (or one of the alternatives) in your mobile device’s app store.
- Once installed, open the app and hit “Create account”.
- Search for “schleicher.social” and select the server.
- Agree to the forum rules and privacy policy and continue to the user sign-up form. Complete the form with your display name (what people see when you post), your user name (or handle, what people use for direct-mentions and follow requests), email, and password. You do not need to include why you want to join.
- Wait for the confirmation email; follow the link in the confirmation email to verify your email address. Note that until your email is verified, your account cannot be approved. If you do not receive the email (from [email protected]), check your spam folder. If not there, click the “Didn’t receive confirmation instructions?” link on the login page.
- Once confirmed, wait for the “Welcome to Mastodon” email indicating your account has been approved.
- Allow all required permissions in the Mastodon app to continue to your home page.
Setting up your profile
To change your avatar and header image, head to the “Preferences” menu on a desktop browser and click the “Profile” link or click your avatar icon on mobile. Update your Avatar and Header image by uploading a new image.
You can change the appearance of your instance from the “Preferences→Appearance” menu. Note that the default interface is a “Twitter-like” media stream, while the advanced interface adds additional feeds for notifications, mentions, etc.
Additionally, under the “Preferences→Other” menu you can set your post visibility. By default posts are public and everyone can see them. If you wish your posts to remain private to only your followers you can change this setting here.
You can set up 2FA to secure your account. Go to “Preferences→Account→Two-Factor Auth” to set up 2FA. You can use any app of choice, including MS Authenticator, Google Authenticator, or Synology Secure Sign-in.
You can require manual approval of follow requests by going to “Preferences→Profile→Appearance→Require Follow Requests”. You’ll receive a notification on any new follower and have the ability to manually approve the request.
Timeline Views
Mastodon displays posts in a timeline. You’ve got two timelines: your home timeline for posts you create and for posts created by people you follow, and the federated timeline for all public posts. For the desktop client, you can display posts and timelines using either the legacy timeline view, or the advanced timeline view (change this from “Preferences→Appearance→Enable Advanced Web Interface”.
The advanced web interface allows tailoring of the timelines you see. The “Home” timeline only displays posts you create and posts from members you follow. To see posts of all users, view the “Federated” timeline. Any user that has their posting status set to “Public” will have their posts displayed here.
Follows and Followers
Like other social media feeds, to populate your home timeline you will need to follow other users. Since this is a family server, I recommend just following everyone as they sign up and post. You can follow other members from the “Notifications” section in the advanced web interface on the browser client, or by going to the “Search” tab in the mobile app and typing in the name or username of the person you want to follow.
From other the mobile app or desktop version, you can follow a member from a post by opening the options menu for that post and selecting the follow option.
Suggested Follows
On initial signup you’ll be presented with a few suggested accounts to follow. While I recommend following everybody…I would at least follow the Schleicher account. It’s a bot account, but the bot autoposts birthdays, events, anniversaries, reminders, etc. For the bot, I also suggest following the posts; by default Mastodon will not notify of new posts, but you can change this. To do this, click on the name of the profile you want to follow, and then in the web browser interface click the bell icon to enable post follows:
Mobile App Alternatives
If you already follow a Mastodon server, or just want to try a different mobile app, several apps are available. One of the most common is Tooot, available on Android and iPhone. This sign-up process for the server is similar. An advantage of Tooot over the vanilla Mastodon app is the ability to switch accounts, as well as a more intuitive way to view all posts on a server. Another popular alternative is Tusky, which is similar to the native Mastodon app but allows for multiple accounts and expanded account settings.
Posts (or "Toots")
Posts, or toots, need to follow some basic guidelines. Think of Mastodon like Twitter; posts should be short and to the point, and media uploads should be fairly small. If you need a larger space to write, consider making an account on the Schleicher homepage and adding a full blog post.
- Posts should be 500 characters or less
- Media uploads must be 2MB or less; use a photo editor/optimizer to truncate if needed
- Hashtags are good (but count in the character limit) to help others find posts
If you want to show off a bunch of photos, your best bet is to upload those photos to your cloud storage of choice and make a publicly accessible link. Copy that link into the toot, or put it in the blog post and link to the blog post in Mastodon. We want to see, as well as be told about, what everyone is doing! Write the post and then link it on Mastodon to show it off and notify everyone!
Direct Mentions
For direct messages to another member, simply type @displayname and you’ll start a private message feed with that user.
Push Notifications
So how about getting push notifications when someone posts? Like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms, your home feed is populated with the posts of people you follow. Unlike Facebook and other platforms, you can see the entire news stream by viewing the federated timeline. Would you want a push notification every time a friend posts on Facebook? Probably not, since you’d be overwhelmed by all those notifications in a short period of time.
That being said, you can get a push notification for specific users, or all users. This post details the process for following the bot, and can be used to receive push notifications from any user.
Family Schleicher Blog
Adding new blog posts
Registered site users can add new posts from the site front-end. Once your account is activated, login and click the “Add Post” menu link.
To add a post include a post title, content, and any relevant categories or tags. Note that categories are added by site admins and cannot be edited from the front end page. Tags can be entered and separated by commas; tags may be freely added.
Featured images can be added but keep the image sizes to 2MB or less. Images cannot be added directly to the editor, however, images from hyperlinks may be added using html markup.
Adding new posts by Email
You can add a quick post by sending through email. For example, Boar Reports are automatically posted when sent to a special email address. To post via email, you must first have an account on the site; you will also need to request the email address. A few things will happen; I’ll change your site access accordingly, as only certain user roles can publish via email, and I’ll also add your email to the allowed publisher list. You must send your email from your registered email address as any other email address will be blocked from posting. Once you have an account, just send an email to the address provided and within 30 minutes it will post.
Followers
You can also follow blog users. Following users will send you a notification email whenever that user posts on the site; like schleicher.social, there is a bot that will generally autopost Boar Reports that I would recommend following. To follow someone, start by logging in and heading to your profile menu (under your account drop-down, select Profile). On your account tabs, select “Members” (hover over the “…” to open additional tabs if needed):
You’ll get a user carousel displaying each member’s basic account info. To follow a user, just tap the follow button on the botton of their profile card.
The Family Tree
In your profile menu the current family tree can be displayed. The tree starts with Grandma and Grandpa Schleicher; currently we’re up to 5 generations of Schleichers.
To get to the family tree, log in and open your profile menu. On your profile tabs (you may need to expand the dot menu, if you have one), select “Family Tree”.
The initial tree is collapsed, but clicking the “+” icon will expand it to the family units for each member. Clicking any family member’s name will bring up the info card for that member which will include parents, spouses, siblings, children, and important dates (if available). Info cards also have contact information.
To move the tree, on desktop click and hold while dragging the mouse to move the tree (as you expand the tree it will stay in the frame). On mobile, press and move your finger to drag the tree. To zoom in and out, on desktop hold shift while scrolling the mouse wheel (note that you must be in the gray area of the tree window). On mobile or touch devices pinch in or out to adjust the zoom.
The Family Spreadsheet
Updating the sheet is open to anyone with access. The following is information, if needed, on how to structure the sheet and update formulas. You don’t have to do any of this if you don’t want to. I periodically review the sheet and update structures and appearance as needed. The sheet also has a tab to download and export data for use in most online greeting card sites.
Sheet Access
Access the spreadsheet from the front page link; if you have forgotten the password you can retrieve the password through the password retrieval form, or by emailing me at [email protected]. The form has a set of challenge questions and will send you an email with the password and link to the sheet on successful completion.
Sheet Updates
You can update the sheet manually through the main link, email me with the updates, or use the update form (found under My Account→Profile→Add/Update Spreadsheet). See the next section for form help.
Sheet Structure
To organize the sheet and highlight families, the sheet is ordered by siblings, starting with the eldest. Data structure should follow as below:
| Schleicher Sibling |
|---|
|
Spouse |
|
Cousin’s (grandchildren) |
|
Cousin’s spouses |
|
Great-grandchildren |
|
Great-grandchildren’s spouses |
|
Great-great-grandchildren |
Families are divided by bordered cells; the spreadsheet is similar to Google Sheets in stylization and formatting abilities.
Adding rows
To add rows right-click the row you wish to add a row above or below and select the appropriate action from the menu. You will get a warning about editing ranges, go ahead and bypass this warning (more on this in the next section). Remove, if needed, any borders that were created.
Updating formulas
When you add a row you’ll need to click and drag the formulas for birthdays and anniversaries down into that row. Find the Age and Year cells in the row above that have the active formula; hover over the lower right corner of the cell and once the “plus” icon appears click and drag the formula down. For reference, the formula for each is:
="IF($Birthday/Anniversary Cell="","",ROUNDDOWN((TODAY()-$Birthday/Anniversary Cell)/365.25,0))
Exporting the sheet
You can export the spreadsheet for use in most online address books. The current CSV structure is based on Shutterfly recommended formatting, but it will work with most sites if you match the fields correctly. To export:
- Click the “CSV Exportable” tab.
- Click File→Download As→CSV.
- In the address book of the site select the option to import contacts; match the fields of the downloaded CSV file to the fields in the address book as required.
Adding/Editing Family Information
To add or update family information you can either update the spreadsheet directly (see this section) or you can fill out the update form. Note that you must be signed into your account to access the form (a direct link is also sent yearly to the family email list and can also be found in the birthday/anniversary reminder emails). Access the form from your profile menu:
Complete the information in the form and both the spreadsheet and family tree will be updated, usually within 24 hours. This form is also where you will upload media for member photos and any associated images (2MB or less, PNG, JPEG, or WEBP only).
Filling out the form
Filling out the form consists of essentially 2 different flows: one for adding NEW entries that are not currently present on the family spreadsheet, and one for updating entries that are already present. Some key call-outs here:
- Data does not update on form submission; I have to manually go through and enter updates. So, for lists in the form until I update the spreadsheet those lists will not update.
- Updating entries assumes that the entry is already present in the spreadsheet; if you can’t find the person you need to update, go back and add them as a new entry
- If you are adding multiple people you can do that at one time, just make sure I know relationships so I can group members correctly in the tree and in the spreadsheet
- Likewise, if you moved and have to update the entire family address, you can do that at one time (you don’t need to do a new form for each person), there is an option to list who else lives at the address
Add a new entry (or multiple entries), or update existing entries that are already on the spreadsheet. Adding a new entry includes adding a new spouse.
For adding new entries, either add a new child or a new spouse. If adding a spouse this way, you must have an existing entry. The add child pathway includes options to add spouses and all relevant information, however, at some point all entries will tie back to an OG Schleicher sibling
When adding a first generation child you should be able to tie back to an OG Schleicher. However, this form also allows multiple additions (say 2nd or 3rd generation), and will allow you to enter information for all members. That being said, make sure to include enough information that I can correctly place members in the right spot on the sheet and the tree.
The update form will ask who you are updating. Again, this flow must have an existing spreadsheet entry first. Select all options that need updated. You will do one entry per person (with the exception of address updates)
The update section will populate with options selected in the previous screen. You will also have the option to upload any photos. If you are updating an address, the option exists to change the address for other family members that will live at the same address. Hit “Yes” if you need to update multiple members to same address, and in the select box you can select all family members that need that address added.
The add spouse form will allow you to add multiple spouses (in the off chance I’ve missed adding info from weddings). Again, they have to tie back to an existing entry. Select who got hitched, and fill out the info for the spouse. You have the option to specify if the name changes to the male partner, and you’ll be able to enter any address updates for the happy new couple.
FAQ
Let’s say you need to add an entire family unit. Oops, I left out a bunch of people. Walking through an example, let’s say I left out the entire family tree for Aunt Michaela.
Start by heading in and selecting the “Adding a new spreadsheet entry (or entries)” option. We’ll be adding a new child for Aunt Michaela. Start with selecting Aunt Michaela as the parent and filling out the info for her child.
If you need to add a spouse now, you can do it here.
Now, say that we need to add a grandchild for Aunt Michaela for that same family; hit the “Add Another” button, and this time for the parent select “Parent’s not listed”. Now, just type in the mother and father’s names so that I know how to link this new person. You do not have to fill out the parent’s info again, just enter in the grandchild’s info. Repeat as needed.
Photos uploaded here are used for profile photos for the family tree. You can also upload photos here for the site gallery. In general, make sure photos are <6MB (2 MB is better for profile photos) and are JPEG, PNG, or WebP. Other formats won’t be uploaded.
Managing Email Preferences
You can manage what emails are received (family birthdays, anniversaries, and site post updates) by updating your information in the email preference form. You can access the form either from the footer of the family site or by logging into the site, going to your profile, and hitting the “Manage Email Preferences” tab. Fill out the form to unsubscribe from all lists, change the lists you receive notifications from, or change your email address.
Minecraft
So our kids had me set up a private Minecraft server. The advantage to this is that the game persists indefinitely, it’s free, and only users with the Minecraft server address can join. This server is monitored, and unknown players are banned to keep it a safe space. Either direct message me in Mastodon on Schleicher Social or send an email for the server address.
To connect, choose “Multiplayer” and add a new server. Enter the server address for the version of the game you wish to play (survival or creative) and use the specified ports. If in doubt about which port to use, try each and attempt to connect.
Make sure automatic updates are enabled for the app (if that option is available), for the most part you should have no issues with updates as ViaVersion will keep up with server and client updates. Occasionally, if I have not reloaded the Docker image in a while, the client version may get too far ahead of the image version in which case you'll get a server side error. Shoot me an email and when I get a minute I pull a new image and reload the server.
Server Addresses
Creative
Survival
