Anonymous User asked: What's your opinion on mastodon?
I've heard stuff about it but something of it just rubs me the wrong way and I wanna know if i'm crazy |3
tl;dr: it seems like the least bad "i need a new twitter" out there for now, but i don't think most people really need a new twitter
i will now also answer in more words in a needlessly complicated housing analogy
twitter, threads, bluesky are all like a shitty corporate landlord. they're everywhere, lots of people use them, but management is so far removed from you that any real problem you have has no chance of being solved in a satisfactory manner. bonus though, they don't know who you are and sure they let the government scan all your mail1 but they don't bother opening it either generally speaking.
cohost is like a local commune but there's still owners names on the title because that's how the larger world requires it to work, it is not large compared to the shitty corporate landlords, the governance is much closer, and issues you run into can and do get solved.
mastodon2 (if you join a flagship instance) is a shitty corporate landlord again but maybe they're a b-corp or a non-profit. problems crop up and resolutions are slow, eviction is possible along with getting your connection to your friends cut too.
mastodon (if you join a smaller instance) is someone you knew in high school as a landlord. there is a great variety of administrators, you might find someone cool, but they might sell the place under you or close up shop and kick you out on a whim. they have more of a personal stake and a reason to snoop through your mail but maybe now the government doesn't get to so easily.
mastodon (if you run your own instance, this is what i do) is buying a house in the middle of an HOA filled with people with little better to do. even if you run one for just yourself, there will be rules given to you that you are expected to follow.3 the landlords from high school now can cut you off from your friends, also, if they don't like how you act. you fix your own plumbing, electrical, and social issues. any outgoing mail can still be read by the owners of where you send it.
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direct messages
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and all the other fediverse microblogging apps
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i could go into specifics about CW culture, alt-text expectations, etc. but you can ask about those specifically if you want to know more