I can’t join the (Diaspora) social fourm(!)
The front page shows “Login” - good for existing users, but I couldn’t login/create an account.
That is why I ended up here … which I guess is NOT the social forum (fb alternative) I’m looking for.
Hi Jimi,
Diaspora is decentralised, which means that, unlike Facebook and other centralised services, there is no one website to which you sign up. Instead, there are hundreds of different ‘pods’ (servers running the Diaspora software), which all connect together to create a single network. This means that, among other things, you can choose which pod you are happy to host your personal data.
The first thing you need to do is to choose a pod and create an account there. From then on, you will always sign in to that pod, so bookmark that URL.
I suspect that you might have gone to https://joindiaspora.com/, because a lot of old links on the web point to that pod. That’s out of date. The website to go to is https://diasporafoundation.org/ – there you’ll find some information about how Diaspora works, and how to choose and sign up to a pod (under ‘Want to get started?’).
The website Pod Uptime (linked in that section) contains a list of pods with various stats to help you choose. Consider: where the pod is based (you might want one near you, or based in a country that has good laws to protect your privacy); length of existence (which might be a guide to its continued existence); and so on. Note that this site lists not only diaspora pods, but nodes in the wider ‘fediverse’ of software that communicates with each other. Choose ‘diaspora’ in the software column to show just diaspora pods.
To help you choose, there’s a ‘pod wizard’ button at the top, which asks you a few questions and will suggest a pod based on your answers. Once you’ve made your choice, sign up and away you go!
Do read the tutorials for new users, which will help you understand what’s going on and to get started and get connected with people once you’ve signed up.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
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Yes, I used the out of date link.
Ok, I will try your suggestions.
Thank You for quick and good answer. 
You’re welcome, and I hope you using Diaspora once you’ve signed up. Feel free to ask again here if you have problems.
I’ll move this now from the Developer Support section to [general] Support, as it’s not about development but using the site.