some twitter gravedancing / sincerity in online conversation

Gosh this puts into words exactly how I’ve felt about Twitter/instagram/social medias like that for a looooooong time. I don’t have much to add to what you’ve already said here, other than I’m hoping a more old school forum based mode of conversation like this helps to boost community and a better form of engagement. I’m sure many feel the same too! I think so, seeing how many people have joined here in just a day. :3

This sounds exactly like my experience with twitter.
I post art there and try to close this cursed site as soon as possible so that I don't get dragged into an endless mindless scrolling spree.
I hope this forum doesn't die over time and this will be a place for a more slow and meaningful interaction with furries

Twitter has always been one of my least favorite socials that I have, yet I'd always end up stuck in a loop of closing it only to open it again. The past few months have definitely been more peaceful for me mentally when I slowly posted and scrolled less and less and just hung out on toyhouse and the forums there and it was such a different and more positive environment. I much prefer the connections forums give to communities than social media in general. It's been said a few times already but it's true: this puts words to what I've been feeling so well

I feel like Twitter served its purpose, it WAS good in my opinion before Gamergate, then the culture (as well as the entire internet) has changed for the worse. Combined with less and less people using forums (I think FAF shut down in 2022?) and stuff just was bleak for a while. Being here feels like a warm hug lowkey and I feel like I can actually effort post vs. 140-240 however many characters to get my point across.

I made the decision to just slowly wean myself off Twitter but I'm holding onto my accounts (both art and personal) both for the very few that are still there and to mitigate impersonation. I only re-installed Twitter on my phone just to keep up with hurricane updates but I've been guilty of procrastinating uninstalling the darn app and I probably should do that asap. At least on desktop I got extensions to get rid of the engagement farming "For You" page among other things.

Twitter was my first big social and while it wasn't the best, I was careful enough to stay within my circles and not seek out engagements and whatnot. But lately its been so bad, especially on the mobile app. Tho I'll admit out of the big social that I have used, I felt that instagram interactions felt the most artificial so I don't use much it except to keep up with people who exclusively post there. I'm also on FA and I was sad to find out that they used to have forums but they shut down (I last heard and understood it was because of the costs primarily). But at least FA is a decent place where I can follow artists and I can guarantee that I'll see what they post unlike back on Twitter where stuff can and does get missed.

I've since made Bluesky my main social and I like the interactions better. Its still not a perfect social media as its still missing some features but for now I think its the best Twitter alternative out there. Threads is big but the algorithm feed is terrible, Mastodon is way too confusing, especially for someone new.

But I will say, I hope this place kicks off. Not necessarily expecting for rampant daily activity like with the big socials. Cause the point of this place is to be more slow and relaxed and I feel like I need this sort of deal.

left twitter a few years back and miss literally nothing about it

twitter was the harbinger of a new kind of furry i'm less fond of. i am not saying it was perfect before twitter (it was not, it seriously was not) but the attention economy that's brought on by social media like twitter/instagram/tiktok is not great. not a furry-exclusive problem, either.

something about the absolute onslaught of inauthentic "content" just feels antithetical to furry and different from a long time ago. the amount of pure engagement bait, remember-to-hydrate, saying nothing just to be heard saying something content has absolutely exploded over the past couple decades.

it's super cool that my furry world is broader than it's ever been and i have so many more people to hear from and see, art is more accessible than ever, but it comes in this wild flood of just absolute nonsense and people whose platforms get super big because they got an adorable suit or something and now just cannot stop talking.

bluesky right now is actually kind of chill, i think largely because the way discovery works doesn't really advantage engagement bait. i see lots of cool art, hear lots of cool music, and read interesting and funny things. it's pleasant. it's not a cultural norm to dunk on the garbage things that people say and then subject everyone else to that garbage in the process. all that stuff is really cool.

the vibes are good for now.

i also left twitter a few years back. it was before musk took over and it was already going to shit. the place was taking a horrible toll on my mental health, y'know? every chance i get i encourage my friends to ditch it, i just don't see what's worth staying for anymore.

it isn't fun when every possible platform is riddled with bots, ads, ragebait or other engagement bait. i've had to adopt a 'slight annoyance = blocked' mentality just to keep sites usable. i don't like that it has to be that way but major social media just feels so... nothing. no human connection, just number go up. no understanding, just 'i want to win this argument with witty quips and one-liners'. not to mention the absolute state of callout culture around things that should have been settled in private (and sometimes, things that don't even matter).

i'm not saying anything new here at all, but it's still nice to get it out. i'm just so frustrated with the current state of things, because i love meeting people and making friends in all sorts of communities. it just feels borderline impossible to find anyone unless you're willing to thow away any dignity and start picking fights and gaining infamy instead.