For a while, I've known that I can use my domain and the WebFinger protocol to aid with discovery in the Fediverse, specifically Mastodon.

I tried implementing this feature on my website a while back but was unsuccessful.

Last night, I got an itch to try it again and got it working.

Basically, what I was doing wrong the first time was, I was trying to use lqdev.me as the domain. Currently, my domain is not set up to use apex / naked domains. Therefore, it makes sense why that didn't work.

Once I used www.lqdev.me, everything seemed to be working fine. The implementation isn't perfect, because technically you can use any username. Scott Hanselman does a nice job explaining that. The important part though is that my persence on the Fediverse is now directly linked to my domain, just like it is with Bluesky. This goes beyond the link verification Mastodon provides. As a result, it provides more flexibility and opportunities to shape my presence on the Fediverse.

If you're interested in implementing it for yourself, there's a ton of guides, but here's the one I used: Use your own user @ domain for Mastodon discoverability.

I don't like the www subdomain. So far I've put up with it for a while but this might be the forcing function to finally getting the apex domain setup.

In the meantime, you can search my account in Mastodon using @lqdev@www.lqdev.me.