I deleted my Mastodon account recently. And it felt great!

I went to Mastodon a few months ago because I felt pressure from my social network on Twitter. It seems some people got pissed at Elon Musk for buying Twitter and they made a big hairy deal of leaving. It was a remarkable reaction, I must say, but to be honest, it was actually in character given The New Normal™ going on out there since 2020.

Anyway, there they went and opened Mastodon accounts and started talking. But, aside from a few individuals, they didn’t delete their Twitter accounts. Instead, they came back and checked in once a week or so, attacked Musk aggressively (and by extension others who decided to stay), and then they left again. And the cycle repeated. I noticed over time, though, that those checkins got more frequent. And, most recently, I notice that very few are talking about Twitter or Musk much anymore. They are just Tweeting as normal except for a few people I know who did leave entirely. I can count those guys on one hand, though.

But as for me I’m pissed at myself for following along initially. I know better. I know not to follow mass movements making aggressive moves based on anger or fear virtually overnight. And that’s what the migration to Mastodon was. Now, I never really intended to delete my Twitter account, but at the same time I also didn’t want to be left out of a real migration based on the intention of my core network. What would people think of me if I stayed on Twitter? I felt the pressure. And there were several community leaders who weren’t shy about projecting judgements about those who stayed. So I followed them. In my gut, though, I knew it was wrong. It felt disgusting, to be honest. But I opened an account on Mastodon anyway and started reconstructing my network there — until I woke up one morning, logged on to my computer, and deleted the account.

So, no. Just no. If I want to open a Mastodon account I’ll do it in the future — and I’ll do it on my own terms. I’m done with the virtue signaling in some software development communities, and I’m done being an obedient follower. Yes, I know all about federation — both the technical and political types — which only seemed to matter yesterday. I don’t care. I’m not impressed with the argument.

I’m feeling more liberated in recent months. I’ve been contributing to different communities on Twitter and also on different platforms during the last few years. It’s been an eye opening experience. I’ll continue moving in that direction. I’m an individual. I contribute to many communities. I won’t be bullied. Period.

I’m @jimgris on Twitter

Update March 2023: Musk is now making the Blue Checks pay for their privilege starting April 1. Should be interesting, eh?