If you want to, you can set your Mastodon account into follow request mode, so that any follows you get from other people have to be manually approved by you. Here's how to do it:
➡️ fedi.tips/restricting-who-can-…
When you do this, a little padlock 🔒 will appear on your profile.
When you receive a follow request, your server website or app will let you know and you can click ✔️ or ❌ depending on whether you approve or deny the request.
Restricting who can follow you on Mastodon | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediversefedi.tips
I ❤️ FEDIVERSE hat dies geteilt.
Thin Crust Tavern Cut
Als Antwort auf Fedi.Tips • • •This a great feature for keeping a good timeline.
Check the request; are the new with few or no posts? Do their posts interest you? Are they the type of person that would bring a bowl of dog shit to serve at your potluck dinner?
Fedi.Tips
Als Antwort auf Thin Crust Tavern Cut • • •@GregArcus
One thing I've just added to the guide: some profiles may appear blank even when they aren't, especially if they are new and/or have few followers.
There are ways of checking if an account is really blank, more info at fedi.tips/why-does-someones-ac…
Why does someone’s account page look completely blank? Is it really blank? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
fedi.tips🔻Fr∴ Haën🔻
Als Antwort auf Fedi.Tips • • •So what happens if I deny a request? Will the other account be notified of my refusal? Can they send another follow request immediately after being declined? Can they request to follow again after a specific time period or will they be barred forever?
In proprietary social networks I tended to not react to follow requests at all, presuming that keeping them in a state of limbo would be the best way to avoid further requests while still being able to approve them later if I want.
Fedi.Tips
Als Antwort auf 🔻Fr∴ Haën🔻 • • •@HN414
Good questions! I've just updated the guide to answer them 🙂
If you deny the request, they aren't notified.
They can attempt to follow again immediately after you deny the request, but they would have to manually keep checking your profile page to see if the follow button has changed back to its old state.
You can leave it in a state of limbo if you want, but as they're unlikely to reattempt there's probably no need for this. Maybe do the limbo thing if they do reattempt?