one thing #twitter sort of perfected was a very unique form of indirect communication in the quote-tweet. like talking about someone while they're literally standing beside you. and honestly, sometimes this was really good! like sharing someone's art and saying "this is my friend, everything they make is this cool, go look", or changing a brand's sponsored tweet into a silly pun in a "serfs laughing at kings" sort of way.
1/x
but obviously it also opens up a lot of avenues for harassment, i think because the indirect nature of it ended up creating a dehumanizing atmosphere. and this harassment is not in the least limited to hate towards marginalized groups, either! the nature of twitter stops us thinking of others as "people" anymore, but as "accounts", "comments". we are reduced to a few 200-ish character statements, people are encouraged to make up their own context, and we're judged.
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#mastodon is probably right not to allow us to boost a post with commentary. we can't be trusted with it. it's just easy to go way too far, even if you feel justified.
oh, I don't know. there's so much to say about how twitter changed online communication, and the incredible sociological and linguistic impact it's had on the world, and the question of "was it for good?", and "does it matter if it was good? it is what happened."
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Q
Kevin