i've really enjoyed my time on this website. it felt, for a moment, like some piece of the old web had survived. CSS crimes, esoteric longposts, inscrutable typing quirks. the possibilities and culture here reminded me that blogging could be fun, but more importantly that there was a demand for it i'd otherwise stopped seeing. it was nice to have a platform that didn't stress me out to look at, where my work spread and seemed to generate substantial commentary, and where i felt encouraged to respond to other people's work in kind. i didn't always agree with how the site was run, and of course no social media is free from the odd Obnoxious Discourse or two. but at the end of the day, i wanted cohost to exist and fairly understood that no enterprise of man in history has persisted without controversy or hurt feelings. it's good that this place existed. i believe that quite a lot of people will carry their memory of cohost forward with fondness, and there's no telling what ripple effects that may have down the line.
if there's one good thing about the end of cohost, it's the finality. most social media winds down over time, bleeding users to other platforms. if anything goes offline, it happens suddenly, without warning. to have a set death date is a pleasant change of pace. i feel as though there is something to bury, and that i'll miss it when it's gone. i already do.
thanks for the website, everyone. it's been something to write home about.
while cohost may be dying, my desire to continue making things is not. how's that for a crass pivot to self-promotion? sorry, but a girl's gotta eat. please follow me at the appropriate venues below:
mastodon
tumblr
bluesky
twitter (DON'T let this be your only port of call!)
youtube
VIDREV
godfeels
patreon
comradery