I think it was the final splatfest that really brought my feelings into focus about the closure of cohost - coming so close after the announcement. Here's another thing that's ending, but it's not cause to cry. It's a celebration of the best that it had to offer - and, as importantly, it's an event. Like any event, it ends. Like any event, you carry the memories of it with you for as long as it those times remain important to you.
The way everyone has been resurfacing the best of the site for the last few weeks. The local cohost meetups. I really, truly believe we've been embodying that vibe. This is no tragic trickling-away, no livejournal style slow apocalypse of apathy. It's a celebration of what this site is to all of us. And I intend to carry it with me.
Cohost is ending, but - regardless of the site's financial results, or its original plans - I can't help but view it as successful in its goals. We got two incredible years out of this thing, and perhaps more importantly, this site changed me, permanently. I met a ton of wonderful people here. I discovered how much I loved long-form posting and started a bunch of new long-term habits as a result. And maybe, most of all... this site permanently changed my perspective on social media. The removal of numbers, mutual notifiers, etc, made me a fundamentally less insecure person. I want to carry that energy forward to wherever I go next. And I will.
I guess what I'm getting at is... Cohost may not be a site we'll be posting on after this, but.. we're all still around. We won't disappear. And so.. rather than mourn this site, let's carry what we loved about it with us. Let it shape the spaces we're in. Let it continue to shape us, and our priorities. That's how this site continues - the eternal party that is Cohost, living on in our hearts.
And... for those of you who won't be moving to the particular social sites I am; I know we'll meet again. If 25+ years using the same nick on the internet has taught me anything, it's that people reconnect in the funniest ways. I've seen the same people again and again across the entire internet, because as much as things change, what we all want in the end is to talk with each other. I know there'll always be spaces to do that as long as the internet exists. And I'll see you there - whether it's tomorrow or in a decade. That's a promise.
