Mastodon isn't decentralized, it is a federated system just like email or the public switched telephone network.
Go use Briar if you want a fully decentralized social network.
Go use Briar if you want a fully decentralized social network.
The title for the official site (https://joinmastodon.org/) states:
"Mastodon - Decentralized social media"
Also, I was using the root commenter's terminology, not my own interpretation. I would lean more towards your definition. It seems nobody can agree...
Sure, those are federated, but unless your running your own server ala Brier then it's not decentralized.
Most people do not need full decentralization though, a trusted instance run by a competent administration is sufficient. Burning battery and data to run a server on a mobile device is not optimal.