But I knew that I was liking and reposting under a company owned by Elon Musk, a guy I once thought was cool but had turned into a thoughtless, id-driven man-child who only talked shit about the concept of "free speech." I didn't see all the hateful comments others saw, but I kept many of my settings private and largely stayed in my own lane. Still, yes, Election Day was the final straw. I also knew in the back of my mind that he was using his highly-leveraged platform to, uh, platform, racists and vile Republicans in order to tip the balance of races on Election Day in Republicans' favor, and goddammit, it worked. It took this to fully realize I am monetizing myself for that asshole, and that was enough.
I need to be honest, though: Since devoting my attention over to Bluesky, the thing I miss the least was all those fucking ads. And it's always the same one: That game where you shoot at something with a flashing number on it, and that number keeps going down. Meanwhile, there are hordes of people coming at little old you, and the demonstration shows the object of the game is to ... well, survive, I guess? Anyway, that was, like, every third tweet I saw, and even though I click on "Not interested in this ad," nowadays I still see that ad. (By the way, I believe it's the same company that came out with a different type of game promoted on X/Twitter that I actually signed up for. The gameplay was nothing, and I repeat, nothing like the promoted ad on X/Twitter. I am so goddamn pissed that I gave these bait-and-switchers my personal information for a shitty lie.) No doubt that that cesspool was where the racists and sexists lived because Musk invited them back. But, I was most annoyed by the ads ...
... of which there are none on Bluesky. I remember having that platform recommended on a local news website by a commenter. Last Wednesday or Thursday, seeing how I was engaging for Musk, I decided to look around and, after looking around real quick, I signed up. It is growing at breakneck speed. So far, many people poking around Bluesky liken it to the younger, more innocent days of Twitter, where there were no ads to avoid, and no Republicans there to try to get you going. Since it still is in an embryonic state (even though it's been around for several years now), people are trying to instill a "culture" there that's directly the opposite of the one in the old place, one that demands inclusion and thoughtfulness, and one where Republican trolls are easily and routinely blocked.
I like it so far, mainly because it looks a lot like Twitter/X, just without the baggage. The easy block features sets up situations where posters congregate in their own bubbles, but quite frankly, the "public square" aspect of X/Twitter has just turned into firehoses of disinformation from people whose handles end in a string of ten digits, so I don't really care if I'm in an echo chamber. It's good for my mental health. But at some point there will be a controversial topic I am fascinated with, and I will wonder how ... uh, tolerant the place will be if I sincerely ask something I don't know, or state a minority opinion. I don't mind debate on social media. I just want that debate to happen in good faith, and I know that's no longer happening in Arkham Asylum over there. That's why I am severely limiting my eyeball viewing on Twitter. I won't shut down my account(s) because I think I would give my paper trail to Musk, so I will just lurk and not repost or publish anything original over there anymore.
So far, the vibes are good at Bluesky. There's a mixture of relief over escaping a hellsite that just realized its worst fears and basest instincts combined with a happiness that there seems to be a community of millions that look forward to something new, happier, and free from pain. I think all correct-minded Americans need that right now. Of course, maybe Bluesky isn't meant to last. After all, I think it's owned by a tech bro -- just like Twitter was before that dude sold out to Elon Musk.
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