There is a lot of disdain here on #Mastodon and the #Fediverse for those who have chosen to stay on #X / #Twitter and other social media platforms. And I think that this is not helpful.

I mean, sure, in the case of governments, political leaders, and major news organizations, disdain away. But many activists and small-time business owners depend on having a large reach and good networking for their activities, and this reach might simply not be feasible on the Fediverse - especially if their primary focus is on a demographic underrepresented around here (as the Fediverse skews heavily towards white Europeans and North Americans).

Hating on these people accomplishes nothing useful - and worse, it contributes to the Fediverse’s well-deserved reputation for snobbery, which has driven a lot of people away.

So instead try empathy. Understand why such people make the choice to stay on other social media platforms, despite their problems. And instead of berating them for it, emphasize that these platforms will almost certainly get worse over time, due to the Enshittification cycle that all tech businesses touched by Silicon Valley venture capitalists must inevitably go through.

Suggest that developing a Fediverse presence is a useful “Plan B” for their social media efforts - and that among social media platforms, the Fediverse alone has the potential to develop into something better over time.

  • Cait the Autocorrected Carrot@wargamers.social
    6·
    1 month ago

    @juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe

    And I’m saying, it’s nice that you have the freedom to approach it as an intellectual exercise. I, on the other hand, will use every tool at my disposal, including contempt if that’s what it takes, to induce people to leave that fascist site, because it’s a direct threat to me. There are literally people on that site who make money off identifying trans people for MAGA chuds to violently target.

    You do it your way, and I’ll do it my way. And don’t expect much sympathy for a kinder gentler approach to people who are enabling an incipient genocide. If they don’t want to hear that they’re doing that, they know how to block and mute. But please don’t lecture me about how I need to be nice to people enabling my elimination.