To the #newnauts and Hellmouth refugees who seem to think that criticizing a place that is home to over 100k+ users is a good starting point ...

Instead of focusing on all the things CoSo is not or doesn't have that you've grown so reliant upon, perhaps consider that the things that make CoSo better and different and that have allowed it to grow and thrive since 2017 are the same things that can also help you grow, thrive, and be better too. ❤️

It's ok that you're new, that you're a bit lost, that you're a bit tainted and angry from the Hellmouth. It's ok if you're just dipping your toes in, it's ok if you're just taking a peek ... it's not ok to be rude though ... that's just never ok.

Rudeness isn't a bad habit ... like something you just happened to pick up somewhere and accidently keep forgetting to not be ... it's a character trait you're choosing to bring into a space and inflict upon others.

CoSo has been around since 2017, so while it may feel like a new space for those of you who are just discovering it, it has been thriving and growing for a long time and there are many amazing people here who have dedicated a lot of time and hard work to cultivate this garden into the refreshing communal space you're now coming into. Treating it and the community with respect will continue to ensure it stays an epic place for all. ❤️

Social media is what you bring to it ... and I see people just bring more of the same anger, complaining, and trauma for their own terrible media experiences to CoSo and that helps no one heal.

I want to celebrate positive things in my life, to share with others and to have their positivity shared with me. I want to experience new and different voices that aren't about adding to the cesspool, but rising above it. Haven't we all had enough trauma?

@thewebrecluse I agree, my friend. I do not in any way want to duplicate my feed on the bird site. I want a new experience and I want to add new friends.

@Cindyoyo it may sound weird of me to say this and I'm not sure if it will make sense but I just want to hear different sounds ... get a different vibe ... not have all these angry, raging voices shouting into the air. I dunno maybe I'm just really weird or something but I just miss when people could just TALK to each other. I know people are angry and suffering and the bird only encouraged engagement with that same anger and suffering. I just don't want to see that stuff in my feeds anymore.

@thewebrecluse in its early days, the bird site was never about politics or division. It was about friendships. We used to have tweet ups and meet in person. This is what I am getting here. I find myself wanting to tell the new migrants to not look for their old friends! I worry that they will make here as toxic as there.

@Cindyoyo I also remember the early days of social media even before the bird ... it was so much nicer and so much more about connections and real conversations and not all this division and polarization. It comes with the times yes but that place encourages anger ... breeds it ... reinforces it. I'm glad people who have left, realized it was time to leave. I hope they begin the process of leaving it behind completely. It's always hard. It was a relationship for many. A bad one. An abusive one.