Ive noticed that even as this site is closing, the culture is different from other social media. On twitter, a lot of people were happy to see it go and happy to pull it down. They made fun of the monetary cost of twitter. Here, people are sad to lose this site. We are sad that money puts a price and a limit on life. We acknowledge its usefulness and power but do not accept it as a conscious authority. We are happy for the community, art, jokes, site design, and vision for the future. That last one I see reiterated a lot. Everybody says they'll take lessons as they leave this site. We will pass on giving people grace and kind, empathetic interpretation of their words. We will pass on being honest about our thoughts and our feelings without hiding from corporate and social systems.
As this site is closing, Im seeing art and genuine love and celebration of our shared experiences. Im seeing people trying new linux distros, going to new places, and exploring and living life Im still following people Ive never interacted with before, because the majority of people here have some baseline respect and kindness towards each other.
Im very glad I got to spend time on cohost. It helped me break away from using twitter and become more mindful and careful of my media diet in general. I've been critical of various aspects of large social media for years, but Cohost is what finally gave me a push to really seek out snaller stuff with intent.
Recently Ive started planning out reimplementing Discord's main features in Wordpress, cuz it's funny and really sorta cursed, but mainly because I want a space for my friends that isnt beholden the whims and rules of big corporations. I want a space that isnt afraid of nsfw content and doesn't depend on making a profit to function. I'll host, maintain, and run the server myself. It wont be as reliable as real discord, and it wont have all the features or the quality of features. It'll cost me immense time and effort and some money as well. But it'll be a great space for my friends.
I think the biggest lesson Ive learned on Cohost is:
We can make any kind of website we want if try.
We can make any kind of workd we want if we try.
