Mastodon

I'm Done with Musk, See You Later, Twitter

Posted by Matt Birchler
— 1 min read

I think it was the moment I saw Elon use a tweet to mock the employees he just fired that I was done with Twitter for the foreseeable future. I'm just not interested in further enriching the richest man in the world, especially when I don't agree with almost anything he seems to believe in.

When I look at how the vibe has changed on Twitter since Elon took over, I see nothing but the worst of us thriving. Racists are pushing the boundaries more because King Musk isn't that bothered by them. Serial harasses are likely going to be let back on the platform because Musk's fans think that's great. And people like Lex Friedman have had their accounts suspended because either Elon can't take the meanness or more likely, since verification has gone to shit, someone reported Lex as an impersonator the other Lex Friedman and he was suspended for impersonation. If only there was a system in place to validate certain people were who they said they were…

Anyway, while I also believe in free speech and want lots of opinions on Twitter, I don't approve of Elon's methods and his opinions on basically anything he chooses to speak up for these days. He stands for the powerful, demands fealty from his associates, and everything he's done since taking over is pushing Twitter towards a place more accepting of bad people who will tamp down participation through Gamergate-style tactics that further silence marginalized groups.

I want to echo Lex's last tweet, and truthfully I had that same line drafted, but all I will say to wrap up is that I hope Musk sees how his changes are making Twitter worse for so many people, and if he doesn't, I hope it's a financial boondoggle that ruins his reputation and shows other people this is not how you run a social network.

In the meantime, you can find me on Mastodon.social where I'm posting as @[email protected]. No, I don't think it's perfect, but it's better than the clown show going on over at Twitter right now.