鬼百合
One day we will wake to his obituary :-)
Tabletop creators leave X for Bluesky in droves
Bluesky has already grown to to 21.2 million users
www.polygon.com
In the wake of the US Election, tabletop creators and fans are leaving the Elon Musk-owned X for alternatives like Bluesky. While alternatives like Thread and Mastodon have also seen growth during this social media exodus, Bluesky’s unique combination of content curation tools, moderation protocols, and general ease of use have provided an opportunity for tabletop creators to rebuild communities that align with their ethics and goals.
The micro-blogging site X, formerly known as Twitter, was once heralded as a digital town square and played a pivotal role in jumpstarting the careers of many within the tabletop industry. Since being purchased by Elon Musk in October 2022 for $44 billion, the site has faced a number of significant changes — including, but not limited to, laying off 80% of its employees, turning verification badges into a paid system, inverting and dismantling moderation protections (in line with Musk’s “free speech absolutism”), a documented rise in hate speech as well as misinformation, and the involvement of Musk in the re-election of Donald Trump — causing users to abandon the once vital community and industry hub. According to NPR, after the election, over 115,000 X users had deactivated their accounts by November 19. Others have kept their accounts, to prevent potential imitators, while making statements indicating their social presence will predominantly live “where skies are bluer.”
Bluesky, which launched in early 2023, has grown from 9 millions users in September to 21.2 million users at the time of publication, with a growth rate of roughly 8 new users per second. Among those include vast swaths of the tabletop ecosystem, who are using the new platform’s tools to reconnect with their community and rebuild their audience, while protecting themselves from bad actors.