Please read the about page and rules in its entirety before joining.

Complete rules can also be read here or in the rules section.

Please fill your profile/add profile pic after registering We may freeze your account and ask for additional information like social profiles, website/blog you own, portfolio, or AniList/Kitsu/MyAnimeList profile for newly signed up accounts with no activity with a completely blank profile within 1 week and the profile does not bring any social profiles in the search results. Blank profiles may be completely deleted without any prior notice.

Note; On certain IP ranges, your account may require approval due to spam bots abusing that IP range. You will be notified after signup if you require account approval from our mod team. To expedite your account approval, send your social profiles (e.g. Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Fediverse profile from a non-blocked server, AniList/MyAnimeList/Kitsu/Anime-Planet, or website). Self-approvals for users requiring approvals with a MyAnimeList or AniList account is coming soon.

Used to Twitter? Sharkey (a soft fork of Misskey) might be easier to use if you don't depend on certain Mastodon clients (e.g. Ivory)/auto sharing plugins (Jetpack Social Mastodon) or want the features like Quote posts and full text search. Our Sharkey/Misskey server (sister server) is at sakurajima.social. However, this Mastodon server is the main server.

🔰New to Mastodon? Watch this How to Video on the Basics of Mastodon🔰

Migrating your account to this server? Learn how to migrate your followers.. For our Misskey/Sharkey server, see this guide

A list of Anime Content Creators that are on Mastodon is here

If you are a blogger, you can auto-share your posts. Watch this video to learn how to set it up.

About us

Sakurajima (桜島, さくらじま, Cherry Blossom Island) is a Mastodon server for the English Japanese-media and Anime/Manga/Japanese Media artist/blogging/video creator/podcaster/etc and fandom community. This is the place to talk about anime, manga, light novels, video games, and other Japanese media in a comfy and inclusive place. Of course, you can talk about anything as long it doesn't break the rules. This place also gives content creators (bloggers, podcasters, and video creators) a place to share their content. All are in a safe place, free from hate, trolls, harassment, extremist ideologues, and illegal content.

This is a highly moderated server (in regards to moderating against hate speech, harassment, misinformation, and illegal content) to keep the community safe and operated by an Asian-American who is on the Progressive Left. We only defederate servers if they are deemed a high risk (hate speech/spam/trolling risk/harassment/illegal content) or certainly break our rules. Otherwise, we moderate rule breaking posts if reported by users or discovered by moderation staff. See the moderation section for details. Note that we only block servers if it breaks our TOS, not for any other reason.

Note Federating with Sakurajima.moe is not guaranteed for servers that are not following the Mastodon Covenant or not listed on joinsharkey.org. Links between federated servers are temporary and may change or disappear at any time. We will block, suspend, or silence any server which permits any of the content or behavior prohibited by this server.

See the about page on our website for more information

Alt Text:

日本語：写真はタイダルベイスンで日本的な石パゴダがあって、桜は満開しています。 English: Photo shows a Japanese style stone Pagoda in the Tidal Basin and Cherry Blossoms in full bloom.

Main Features

3000 Character Post Limit (matches our Misskey/Sharkey server)
Glitch-Soc features like formatted toots, doodle, collapsible toots, etc.
Anime Custom Emojis and Emoji Reactions (can be done by clicking the + button on posts)
Bunch of custom themes (more coming soon)
Better moderation than the big servers with a comfy and non-toxic atmosphere.
Access to Elk, a Twitter-like web client and Birdsite for Mastodon theme to make the transition easier.
Access to Akkoma-fe, which provides the Akkoma frontend, but working on Mastodon made possible by Essem.
Access to Forums. (Forums can use the same account as Mastodon)
Full text search for personal, boosted, and favorited toots along with public toots from opt-in users (Mastodon 4.2.0+, Firefish 1.0.4+, Sharkey).
Ability to post media along side with polls.
Ability to insert GIFs using the Tennor Gif Picker
Tumblr Style Quote Toots, compatible with Misskey and Akkoma (cherrypicked from Treehouse fork)
Bubble Timeline
Ability to upload up to 8 pieces of media in one post

We are entirely ad-free and depend on users like you. While optional, donations allow us to offset the costs of running this service. Total cost breakdowns can be seen on our website

Learn about this server and get updates on our server at our WordPress Blog or following the hashtag, #sakurajimainfo. You can follow @sakurajima@sakurajima.moe for server updates as well.

Statuses of all our services can be seen at https://status.joinsakurajima.org/status/sakurajima

This server is hosted at ReliableSite and Object Storage from Linode in New Jersey.

In addition, we run a slightly modified version of the Urusai. social's fork can be seen here.

We are using neatchee's fork of Mastodon Glitch with our customizations, and it may include bleeding edge (and bugs along with it) features. So please let @neatchee@urusai.social know if you encounter any issues.

Relay Information

Sakurajima has a private relay containing only servers the owner has trust with and the server owners agreeing to join. Here is a list of servers that are in our private relay.

sakurajima.moe (main Mastodon server)
sakurajima.social (our Misskey/Sharkey/Sakurakey server)
urusai.social (our friends, Anime-themed Mastodon server)

Don't ask to join, the owner will only ask if you want to join, and the server must already be following the Mastodon Covenant and must be Japan or Japanese Culture related.

Clients

Suppose you find the default web interface difficult. Once you register an account, you can use a third-party client instead of the Mastodon web interface. To log in to your account in these apps, specify "https://sakurajima.moe" as the server server to log in.

Official Mastodon client is not recommended due to it lacking essential features. However, suppose you are using a Mac or any IOS device. In that case, I can vouch for Ivory since I use that regularly.

Web

Elk Recommended
Pinafore - Unsupported as of January 2023

iOS

Mammoth is not recommended since it's VC funded.

Android

Mac

Mastodon Covenant

This server complies with the covenant. The user data is backed up daily (excluding media, as that, is stored in Object Storage at Linode) via daily backups made by Xen Orchestra, which are stored in an offsite location. Database backups are stored on another server. Any backups to the external server are also backed up at Backblaze.

We have a zero tolerance policy against hate speech and harassment. See the moderation section.

Moderation

See Server Rules page or rules section for the most up to date information on rules and enforcement.

Block list is only viewable at our main website and not search engine discoverable. The list is for informational purposes and not the most up to date as this is only updated once a month. The list is not viewable here due to a tool used to scrape the list used for nefarious purposes.

For servers that follow the Mastodon Covenant, we will moderate only by user basis as they are required to moderate against hate speech and harassment. These servers will always be on the allowlist (but can be limited/silenced due to spam-bot attacks).

Otherwise, we will silence (if the server’s administrator interacted with bad servers with rule breaking interactions, but don’t post rule breaking content) or if the contents will surely break the rules, defederate. To avoid getting silenced/defederated, block all Fedinuke servers, which are considered worst of the worst and ensure your server is moderated sufficiently.

Note that edgy behavior, or skirting the lines of being a troll will most likely violate our rules, especially in regards to hate speech, harassment, and abusive behavior. This behavior is highly discouraged. If you planning on enganging in this behavior, it’s recommended to find another server.

Note that we do not remove any blocks unless it's by error (evidence is required to prove this), which is unlikely as we use trusted sources for block lists. server owners may appeal, but substantial evidence is required and we will audit your server. If we deem the block as legitimate, we will not answer your request.

Blocklist Explanation

Federates with the usual suspects/Alt-fedi - used when an instance federates with, associates with, and shares the culture of, instances that don't moderate (and in many cases, actively support) things like harassment, bigotry, hate speech, trolling, far-right ideologies, and generally abusive behavior. Thus, behavior that will break the Mastodon Covenant regarding hate speech and harassment. Sites are considered alt-fedi when the admin made three TOS breaking interactions (e.g. boosting or replying to hate speech) with Fedinuke sites.

DNI - 'Do Not Interact'; instance hosts illegal content such as CSAM, loli (on non-Japanese servers, for Japanese servers, this is handled by a per user basis and we use text/hash tags filters), pedophilia, etc. If you want to verify these blocks, proceed with caution; use a VPN or an anonymous browsing service like Tor, and purge your cache afterwards.

Fedinuked - Considered worst of the worst servers, which contains hate speech, extremist content, and harassment, which of course violates our TOS. Receipts are available here.

Sources we used in the consideration of adding servers to our block list: Fedinuke and new additions from pleroma.envs.net. No block lists are automatically imported, we manually inspect them before they get added to the list.

On the moderation list, there are two type of blocks, Limited/Silenced and Suspended.

Limited/Silenced - You can follow users from this server, but all messages from this server will not show up on the federated timeline, hashtag results, and search. You will not receive any notifications or direct messages from Limited/Silenced servers. You need to see the profile directly or follow a user from that server to appear on your Home timeline.

Suspended - No messages will be exchanged with this server. It’s not possible to follow users from suspended servers nor posts from this server will appear on this server.

Statement on Threads and Bluesky

Sakurajima does not intend to federate with Threads due to privacy, safety concerns, and moderation terms allowing hate speech, which is prohibited in our Terms of Service. Meta/Facebook have proven to act in bad faith. For safety reason, Threads will not be allowed.

Note that Sakurajima is not part of the “Fedipact” and we don’t intend to despite opposing federation with Threads.

Bluesky Bridges are allowed, but to use it, you need to opt-in. However, Nostr bridges are prohibited. Note that we do not operate any bridges and you need to use your due-diligence before using them. However, any accounts that are from the bridge that breaks our rules will be dealt with accordingly.

Moderation Team

Administrator

@chikorita157 (owner)

Moderators

@NaraMoore

@kbnet

Backup Admin (Technical Only, no moderation powers)

@maadsharp

Server Exceptions to Rule 4

On our servers, we use reject patterns on terms relating to loli/shouta and reject certain hashtags relating to loli and Shouta. This means that most posts containing loli/shouta will never show up on the server. Anything that is not caught by the reject patterns and hashtag rejections that contain loli/shouta will be limited (removed from the public timeline) unless deemed obscene by US Law. Since this is a Japanese-media centric fandom server, we will only make an exception for the following servers (not an exhaustive list):

Misskey.io
Misskey.art
Misskey.design
mstdn.jp
fedibird.com
sushi.ski

Note: Pawoo is defederated due to rampant instances of CSAM.

We do not allow Lolicon/Shouta due to legality issues. This refers to sexual drawings involving child or child-like characters or 2D CSAM. An artwork is considered lolicon/shoutacon if it meets these criteria:

The individual appears underage, or the character in the source material is underage. (This can be chronological age or looks. i.e., a well-endowed 12-year-old is still loli, and so is a flat-chested 1000-year-old dragon.). Underaged is referred to characters who have not went through puberty, e.g. 14 years or younger.

And has at least one of the following:

Bare genitals or breasts.
Reveal of undergarments, i.e., panties or bra for girls or underwear for boys. Does not include swimsuits, as long it doesn't violate #1.
The character is in a sexual posture toward that person. In other words, the loli/shouta could be dressed appropriately but in an image where other individuals exhibit sexual behavior toward them.
Anything that is meant to be sexually suggestive. (up to moderator to determine)

This rule exception exists since filters aren’t prefect and some of these posts will still get through. Those servers that are not in this list would get handled normally.

Actual CSAM content (including AI generated) is still prohibited, regardless if users are on the servers mentioned on this list. Boosting/Favoriting/Reacting to lolicon/shouta content will result in a warning and/or ban. Any username that contains terms related to lolicon and shouta will be suspended immediately.

Automated Posting

While bots are allowed, note that your bot can only make up to 4 public automated posts in an hour (1 post every 25 minutes). No more than 16 unlisted posts in an hour. No repetitive posting (posting the same thing repeatedly) is allowed for public posting, if repetitive, keep it unlisted.

If you flood the local timeline, we may limit/suspend your account temporarily and you may appeal once you resolve the outstanding issues.

Note: This rule does not apply to apps that auto-shares blog posts or RSS feeds. Non automated posts made does not count towards this limit either.

Note: We do not allow bots that solely share only AI content (e.g. bots that share AI generated images or powered by ChatGPT)

Content Warnings

Content warnings (CW) allows users to hide suggestive or potentially triggering content. This requires the user to hide the content by default. If thee user wants to view it, they can click the button to show it.

The following requires a CW and sensitive always:

Sexual themes (including nudity) or content
Violent themes or content, blood and gore
Content that contains self-harm

Suggested, but not required, or at least tagged (for purposes of filtering):

Political current events such as elections and government actions (normally abbreviated to 'pol' along with the country/region, ie. 'UKpol', 'DEpol', etc.)
Potentially triggering Mental Health topics (normally abbreviated to 'mh'). Many of our members come here to discuss their mental health journey, and we seek to be as welcoming and open as possible, but for the sake of other users: please CW references to self harm, suicide, helplessness and other moods and behaviours that may be contagious or trigger people in recovery
Alcohol ('alc') and drugs
Themes or content about abuse
Common phobias (Like certain animals such as snakes and insects.)
Spoilers (in regards to source material not covered in an anime or for an episode that just aired)
Long posts or posts with multiple parts (please also use the 'unlisted' privacy setting for posts after the first in a thread, so that the local timeline doesn't get flooded)
Content made with generative tools like neural networks ("AI") and dissociated press/ebooks bot-style Markov chains that are designed primarily to imitate art or communication made by people. These can cause an uncanny-valley effect and can be distressing or frustrating when presented without warning. Additionally, AI generated content (text and image) must be tagged, no exceptions.

Please do not demand people to CW content, especially if it’s not required by the rules, this is the moderators job. We will send a DM asking the content to be CW’d.

Creator and Business Accounts

All creator (that primarily/regularly share creations) and business accounts must be Japanese Media/culture related or inspired. Any account that is created that falls outside will be suspended immediately and appeals will be rejected. No Exceptions. This rule does not apply to individual accounts, except if the user is creating an account for a business.

Business accounts can only be from a small business. If you are a creating an account for a medium/big business, please use a different instance as we do not have the capacity to host you.

So what kind of Japanese-related content is acceptable under this rule? If you create one of the following, you can create an account here (The list is exhaustive, but doesn't contain everything):

Blogging/Podcasting/Creating Videos about Japanese media and/or culture
Creating fan-art/anime-styled artwork (including OCs)
VTubing (including creating models)
Vocaloid/Voiceroid (works created with Vocaloid, Cevio Ai, SynthV, Voiceroid, Voicepeak, etc)
Fanfiction or fiction (based off Japanese works or Japanese inspired)
Any small business selling Japanese goods.
Japanese inspired video games, RPG Maker or visual novels.
Cosplay, and other creations involving Japanese media or Japanese inspired.
Fansubbing or translation of unlicensed works.

The above does not apply to non-creators.

Impersonation and Parody Accounts

Accounts for famous people or creator requires identification (social profiles, website, or other identification) and impersonating someone is strictly prohibited. Users suspected of impersonating someone will be asked by a moderator for proof of identification. If the user does not comply in 48 hours or the moderator finds that the user account is not legitimate, the account will be suspended.

We do not allow parody accounts hosted here. Any that are created here will be suspended.

Server Specs

This server runs on a 32 GB virtual server with 4 cores and 250 GB of storage virtual server running on XCP-NG. The host machine uses a Ryzen 5600X 6-core, 12-threads processor with 128 GB of memory and a 1 TB SSD hosted at Reliablesite in New Jersey. Media storage is stored on Linode's Object Storage in the New Jersey location

ElasticSearch server runs on a 16 GB virtual server with 80 GB of storage, which also hosts the Meilisearch server for Sakurajima Social.

Credits

Blobfox, BunHD, Drgn, Fox, Raccoon, gphn,neocat, neofox Emojis by Volpeon

Meowmoji from blobs.gg. Some emojis from urusai.social and Akko.wtf.

Spyxfamily Emotes by ArtzenAz

Firefish Emojis by @magi@minazukey.uk

Neogob by @PrimaveraZY@sakurajima.social.

Miffy, and Neobunby @eppa@cyberpunk.lol

The modern vanilla versions use CSS from the Mastodon Modern by Freeplay

Mastodon-bird-ui theme by ronilaukkarinen

Badge images are generated with Picrew created by ももいろね (momirune) with the もっとももいろね式美少女メーカー

Some Emoji packs are from absturztau.be, which include:

asuka emojis provided by gakamine
Emojis of Elaina from Wandering Witch. Thanks, Seri
Show by Rock emojis made by enigmatico

DMCA Takedowns

If you find infringing content that comes from our users (@sakurajima.moe, @sakurajima.social), send your DMCA takedown request to this server Admin email address. Make sure your takedown notice is valid and not covered under fair use.

If the address after the @ symbol does not match this server's, you must go to that website to file a DMCA takedown request. Unfortunately, we can't take down the original post.

Our server has a registered DMCA-designated agent (registration number: DMCA-1044141)

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