gigaherz
Jan BetaI actually received some angry emails and a few people unsubscribed from my YouTube channel after I started mentioning Mastodon in the videos and removing all links to my (deleted) Twitter account. It seems a handful of peeps takes it very personally/politically. On the other hand, my mental health status has improved significantly ever since I ditched the bird and its toxicity. Totally worth it. ๐
Carsten@janbeta well done! ๐
Dudley of Yesterzine 
@janbeta I think I successfully curated those people out before times, although my Twitter still technically exists.
@yesterzine Yes, I tried that, too, but the whole vibe was still significantly different on Twitter. At least that's my subjective feel. Discussions are more civilized here, there's no outrageous self-promotion, content warnings are regularly used for stuff that might be annoying, outright Nazis and haters are blocked quickly by my instance admins, the list goes on... It really makes a difference for the whole experience. :)
@janbeta Oh absolutely, I only browse twitter by the notifications feed now and basically only post links to my and others videos and projects.
@yesterzine That is a very reasonable way to approach Twitter these days!
Joel Sutton
PhilipKing@janbeta Iโve kept my Twitter account but only pop in once a week or so for a few minutes to check a few people who arenโt posting elsewhere. It would be fair to say that Twitter is even more a toxic mire than it was.
Iโve became Mastodon โfriendsโ with people I disagree with on some things because we agree on others. That would never happen on Twitter but does in real life.
Iโve became Mastodon โfriendsโ with people I disagree with on some things because we agree on others. That would never happen on Twitter but does in real life.
@PhilipKing Yes, I feel the same. Discussions are just way more civilized over here (maybe partially due to the fact that strong opinions are not used as clickbait to the extent that happens on Twitter). Also, content warnings are bliss.
arclight@janbeta My mental health improved after the brief trauma of leaving Twitter, mainly for all the reasonably decent people I followed who'd RT awful political & other incidents in the US. Important stuff, but nothing I can fix or influence, stuff that I don't want to pretend doesn't happen but ultimately overwhelming and depressing. For better or worse, I see less of that doom here.
@arclight Yes, more DOOM and less doom over here indeed. ;)
Dr. Guillermo Power 
@janbeta I have noticed that some people really really really hate Mastodon and see it as their duty to protect the bird site.
PS: OMG! Iโve just realised who you are. Cool ๐
Max "Mr_Micro" Hocevar@janbeta personally speaking I've never had a Twitter account since the blue bird site existed but i made one just a few weeks ago just to follow some Japanese accounts as collecting early microcomputers from all over the world I needed to understand some aspects of these machines half unknown. I have to tell you that I found Twitter truly mind boggling ... the word to describe it is "noise" ... it's a really bad place
@mr_Micro Yes, the whole experience is exhausting. I used Twitter for years without noticing the slow drift towards the noisy thing it became now. I only realized how utterly draining it really was after leaving it for good.
@janbeta maybe a good approach would be to use it just like a news feed choosing carefully who to follow thus avoiding the deafening noise of "nothing" that is continuously posted by users. A lot of stuff posted is really useless rubbish
๐ฆ Dana The Elf ๐ฆ@janbeta It's amazing how some people have devoted their entire lives and personalities to worshipping one pitiful manchild...
At least we have some nice spaces left, where people can be sensible and civil!
At least we have some nice spaces left, where people can be sensible and civil!
@DanaTheElf Indeed! I think Twitter was caught up in a downward spiral even before the billionaire took over but he definitely brings what was left down at light speed now. Glad this place exists and is adopted by so many decent folks recently. :)
Mx Autumn 
@janbeta sounds like you have made the right choice for you and thatโs what matters. I left Twitter at some point last year and now every time Iโm shown a bird site thread the comments look ever more unhinged. Not sure if itโs got worse or Iโm now more aware. Glad to be rid of it myself.
๐๐๐๐๐๐@janbeta
Facebook is even more toxic (that's the place where most conspiracy theorists found their place to express frustration ๐), I ditched FB 2 weeks ago (Twitter already 3 months ago).
Facebook is even more toxic (that's the place where most conspiracy theorists found their place to express frustration ๐), I ditched FB 2 weeks ago (Twitter already 3 months ago).
Rocky2040@janbeta thatโs crazy, some of it will be todo with this crazy Elton worshiping soem people do
Ben Rattigan ๐ณ๏ธโ๐@janbeta that was one of my reasons for leaving, itโs become a very toxic place most of the time.
FiXato@janbeta sounds like those are exactly the kinds of people you don't want to be part of your community, so good riddance:)
Okona@janbeta totally worth it! Keep mentioning Mastodon!
Out of Print Archive@janbeta I had a similar experience when I posted that I just couldn't keep going on over there.
Several people yelling at me about how I should just keep my mouth shut and keep posting content and not bother sharing my views or feelings.
And even some telling me that I'd never leave as it was to profitable for me to keep posting on there. As if I've ever made a cent from any of what I do. ๐
While I miss certain people, my mental health certainly has improved.
Several people yelling at me about how I should just keep my mouth shut and keep posting content and not bother sharing my views or feelings.
And even some telling me that I'd never leave as it was to profitable for me to keep posting on there. As if I've ever made a cent from any of what I do. ๐
While I miss certain people, my mental health certainly has improved.
Phil M0OFX@OutofPrintArchive @janbeta I've found much the same thing. I was involved in a community which was intimately tied into the birdsite to the extent it sometimes felt like that episode of The Orville. Getting out of that has led to an even bigger improvement and a realisation of how toxic that community was and is. Life's too short for stuff like that.
europlus 
Mr Least@janbeta I agree! I enjoy Mastodon much more, it seems like we're all trying our best to make this a better place
supernov@janbeta Ah yes, when I joined Mastodon I couldn't quite get why I was feeling so much better here. Then someone mentioned the old IRC days and that was exactly it! I had the same feeling back then, when everything was just exciting and new. Sharing knowledge was exciting. That totally went down the drain when social media and algorithms took over. Happy to be here and to see you as well!
Gen X-Wing@janbeta Imagine following someone, enjoying their content, and then use their one interaction the other way around to write an angry email, over someone switching to a different social network.
Thatโs a terrible use of someoneโs time. Sure, Iโve been upset, but never have I started to contact people.
If I unsubscribe Iโm done and Iโve moved on.
Also hi Jan, you are doing a great job with your videos! Keep it up:)
Becca ๐ณ๏ธโโง๏ธ ๐บ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ธ@janbeta yes! And it speaks loads about the audience of that bird site.
I also uninstalled my Insta BTW, because things are getting way too ugly there too.
I also uninstalled my Insta BTW, because things are getting way too ugly there too.
@janbeta I didn't delete my account (I still open the site sometimes), but I stopped checking compulsively, which is a definitely positive thing.