From the homepage:
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network. A decentralized alternative to commercial platforms, it avoids the risks of a single company monopolizing your communication. Pick a server that you trust — whichever you choose, you can interact with everyone else. Anyone can run their own Mastodon instance and participate in the social network seamlessly.
What sets Mastodon apart:
- Timelines are chronological
- Public timelines
- 500 characters per post
- GIFV sets and short videos
- Granular, per-post privacy settings
- Rich block and muting tools
- Ethical design: no ads, no tracking
- Open API for apps and services
… (emphasis in original)
No regex for filtering posts but it does have:
- Block notifications from non-followers
- Block notifications from people you don’t follow
One or both should cover most of the harassment cases.
I was surprised by the “Pick a server that you trust…” suggestion.
Really? A remote server being run by someone unknown to me? Bad enough that I have to “trust” my ISP, to a degree, but an unknown?
You really need a Tor based email account and use Tor for access to Mastodon. Seriously.