id: mastodon-federation-governance
title: Mastodon Federation Governance Vote
description: >-
  A governance practice in the Mastodon fediverse community where instance
  members vote on policies, codes of conduct, and moderation decisions,
  often through structured discussion on the instance's local timeline or
  governance channel. Reflecting the federated, cooperative ethos of the
  Mastodon project founded by Eugen Rochko.
source: Mastodon project / fediverse governance tradition
source_url: https://joinmastodon.org/
tags: [mastodon, fediverse, governance, federation, online]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Post the proposal publicly
    description: >-
      The instance administrator or a member posts a proposal — a policy
      change, a moderation rule, a federation decision — on the instance's
      governance channel, with a clear question and a discussion period.
  - headline: Discuss openly
    description: >-
      Members discuss the proposal on the channel for a set period (often a
      week). Discussion is visible to all members, not held in private
      backchannels.
  - headline: Vote
    description: >-
      After discussion, a vote is held — often a simple poll with
      agree/disagree/abstain. The threshold for adoption is set in
      advance and visible.
  - headline: Implement and record
    description: >-
      The administrator implements the decision and records it in the
      instance's public governance record, with the vote tally noted.
  - headline: Federate the outcome
    description: >-
      Where the decision affects federation (blocking or allowing other
      instances), the outcome is communicated so other instance admins can
      take note.
outcome: >-
  Instance policies are decided with member input, recorded publicly, and
  communicated to the wider federation.
practice: >-
  Discussion before voting, not after, is the discipline. A vote without
  prior discussion is a stamp, not a decision. Record the tally —
  transparency builds trust in federated spaces.