this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2022
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why the username uses "@" at the begginning? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 2 years ago by realista87@lemmy.ml to c/mastodon@lemmy.ml
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i am trying to follow someone. sometimes i notice i can type my full username with this syntax @myusername@mastodon.xxx sometimes myusername@mastodon.xxx

what is the REAL username needed to type when i follow someone? and why this strange behavior to add an initial @ ?

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[–] humanetech@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 years ago

In the textbox where you type your post the @ is an indicator that you want to include a Mention of another fedizen and it triggers the lookup dialog. Under the hood these mentions are included in the ActivityPub messages that are federated (similar to email using TO, CC, BCC, etc. in addressing), and Webfinger as a protocol to lookup accounts on different instances. I guess the place where you may omit the @ is in the search box of Mastodon that does its best to find you a match for that search query and includes accounts it is aware of.