I remember when reddit was good.

So do I. But I think it’s because of that, having been able to participate in the best of it, that I wasn’t going to stay longer than I did. When you’re done, you’re done. I’m one person, but I’m worth more to myself (and often to others, apparently) than to be reduced to a monetizable user to be managed and shut down at whim. They can keep that shit. Even if it all turned around today (and it won’t, lol) I’m too used to being treated fairly again. So fuck 'em.

For example, today I wrote a couple of big long posts here on Lemmy about the situation in Russia, Aleksandr Dugin, and Putin’s delusions of Russkiy Mir, all words that are in the automod of more than one major Reddit sub, just because someone politely asked and it was within the subject matter of the discussion. I would not have on Reddit, and had not done so for years. But I did today.

It was so amazing to just . . . write. Freely. Whatever the hell I wanted to say. Knowing the whole time I wasn’t going to get banned or suspended or have my comment removed – or better yet, have my comment awarded and then removed, lol. And that’s before you get into all the aggrieved screeching and hollering from the shills and bots and employees of the Internet Research Agency that instantly works to disrupt and discredit any real conversation about those topics.

So yeah, I love this place. To me, it’s even better than when Reddit was good. And unlike many of those still over there, I don’t just seek content, I make content. I’m only one person, but I brought my value with me. So did you: you posted a reply to me, thus making content of your own (as a casual human participant, not a bot or a troll or an astroturfer or a sockpuppet, etc). You’re already in the better place, IMO. And so am I.