When I stopped being active at Twitter, I had more than 45,000 followers and a moderate amount of engagement (replies, retweets, etc.).

I have a third fewer followers here, and at least 10 times the genuine engagement. Sure, some bots, but most of it is genuine -- and useful.

I no longer see what (some) people I respect are saying publicly. I miss their thoughts, and wish they'd recognize that by staying active there they are supporting a dangerous extremist.

They feel trapped. They're not.

@dangillmor By the time I was banned from Twitter, I had roughly 200 followers—and *none* of the engagement of this Mastodon account. If Twitter really was a town square, then it was that of the City from #Blame! except even more impossibly inhospitable.