I haven't used Twitter regularly for a very long (internet) time
But I kept the account as it was occasionally useful. I've decided it's really not something I want to even park an account on. I don't want my one account metric to help the "line go up" no matter how small the contribution. So I logged back in today to request an archive with the intention of finally deleting the account once I get it.
Since I was there, I peeked at my timeline (after forcing back into reverse chrono order). Evan Prodromou posted this blog post from Kathy Sierra from 2007 regarding Twitter. She has some observations that I think can also apply here. Even though Mastodon doesn't have the same motivations as Twitter, it shares many of its design decisions.
https://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/03/is_twitter_too_.html
And twitter accounts now deactivated. It was well past time.
(I had a personal account and one for a sort of tech "enthusiast group" I tried to get going over here on the east side of Portland metro area.)
@cstanhope bookmarked, gonna read it soon. I share most of your concerns. In fact, I'm in a place where I should either unfollow someone or cut on their boosts. Too much noise already.
@m2m Yep. I even try to be intentional about what I boost, and not do it too much..., but it's hard, and I'm pretty sure I'm not always successfully staying on the side of not being annoying. 😆
At the risk of being overly nosy, is there a reason you don’t *delete* your account? Or is that even still an option?
@smays I didn't see that option. They let you deactivate, and then you have 30 days to reactivate if you change your mind. I'm not sure what happens after that. :/
I left in November 2016. Deactivate was pretty simple but I had to dig around for a way to delete.
No, I don’t think they really deleted my (their?) content.
“ In order to permanently delete your account, Twitter requires that you first deactivate it. Your information will be stored for 30 days, during which time you can reactivate your account at any time. After the 30 days, Twitter will erase your information and you will not be able to reactivate your account.”
@smays Sounds good to me. I'm pretty sure I will have no remorse about it. 😆
I try to be intentional about how I use my time and attention. And intentional about the people I follow and intentional about how I engage. But I still wonder sometimes if my use of Mastodon is healthy or not or crowding out other things I value.
Anyway, I found the blog post a good reminder about some things to keep in mind as we meet each other here in the fediverse.