Abandoned AmericaNov 23, 2022
1/ Nobody likes to lose their followers, having to find the folks they followed, or have to learn new systems and procedures for doing something they were already doing. Even with a kind community like the folks here it's frustrating to have to reconfigure and rebuild, as I'm sure it must be to work endlessly to support new people on your servers.
Show threadAbandoned AmericaNov 23, 2022

2/ But the hate machine Twitter has become is just too much. Every time I go back on I'm sorry I did, and upset that it is becoming a right wing mob harassment mechanism with the outright endorsement of its new owner. It seems certain to promote and organize real world violence, and with Musk at the helm there's not much anyone can do.

I locked my account, and am done posting there for the time being. I am glad to have Mastodon but it does sting.

Show threadAbandoned AmericaNov 23, 2022

3/ I've rewritten this a bunch of times and wanted to have some coherent resolution to offer. "Isn't it great we have somewhere else to go! It's so much better here!"

And you know, that's true. But it still hurts my heart to see it play out like this. The new owner opening the floodgates to the worst people on the second largest social media platform and encouraging their bigotry and threats is a bigger nightmare than I think people have processed yet.

Show threadAbandoned AmericaNov 23, 2022

4/ Twitter going offline/out of business is the best case scenario now because the longer it goes on like this the more damage it will do.

I hate it. Even if I never used it again, I never would have wanted to see it work out like this. And I am so, so grateful for the folks here who are working so hard to make it easier.

Yet it still aches. It's watching a community gathering place not even burn but become a frat for bigots. Good to have somewhere else to go. But you still need to mourn.

Show threadAbandoned AmericaNov 23, 2022

5/ The old thing I loved is dying and there isn't a replacement. Mastodon isn't Twitter. It doesn't want to be, can't be, and shouldn't be. It can't replace it because it's not the same thing. I do believe I will keep finding things to love about Mastodon as time goes on and I get to know the community better here. I see a lot to like already and I'm glad it is its own entity and not a halfhearted clone.

But I do miss my Old Thing sometimes. The one that's dying. I wish it didn't end like this.

Show threadDrea
@AbandonedAmerica Mastodon isn’t Twitter but as more people are joining, it’s feeling more like what I WANTED Twitter to be - a place to exchange ideas and information on topics which I’m interested. A place to share my own thoughts and build a small community of similarly-valued people, or find people to whom I can relate. The problem with Twitter and other social media has always been that we were the product, the means to make someone else rich.
Nov 23, 2022 at 1:25pmMetatext
Show threadDreaNov 23, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica I’ve hoped for a long time that Mastodon would take off and disrupt that dynamic and I think that could now happen. But people have to be willing to PAY for it, literally. I always said I’d be fine chipping in some $ if it meant a corporation wasn’t in control of my social media experience. Well, this is it.
Show threadDreaNov 23, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica the only thing I miss right now from Twitter is “breaking news” kind of stuff. I really relied on Twitter for that, especially local things. I’m hoping some of that starts coming to Mastodon as well. My hope is major news outlets set up their own instances which I would think would benefit them too, as they wouldn’t be subject to corporate whims and algorithms they don’t control.