A-bit-of-X-odus

August 26, 2023

This is a Mastodon thread. The original thread is available here:


I finally full-on joined the X-odus and left X (ex-Twitter).

It’s a bit painful (I met a lot of nice people there, and it really helped build my network), but I just can’t justify contributing to it in any way any more.

A screenshot of my old Twitter profile, with a cool banner saying 'Trans rights are human rights' by Kathryn Gibes.


The straw was that I saw that (already in July apparently), Elon Musk proclaimed that “cis” would be considered a slur on Twitter henceforth:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230708033233/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2023/07/02/elon-musk-deems-cis-a-twitter-slurheres-why-its-is-so-polarizing/


I’ve barely used Twitter since November, only for some retweeting of initiatives I endorse (e.g. open science-related promo etc).

But the point is, by sticking around, it makes Twitter seem more alive than it is. Finally leaving for real and only using Mastodon shows the X-odus more clearly.


And of course, Mastodon represents the social medium to use if you care about open science; as the UNESCO points out, it’s important that the infrastructure we as scientists use is community-owned and open, not corporation-owned and subject to the CEO’s whims.

Since I use social media to discuss science, meet colleagues, network, and disseminate to the general audience and colleagues, I can’t keep using X with integrity.

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379949.locale=en

THe cover of the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation.


So farewell little blue bird. It was fun while it lasted. But I’m with the elephant now 🐘🤩

A screenshot from the Twitter/X site showing the dialog where you delete your account.