Hi there!

Today is the last day before Cohost goes read-only mode.

It was a platform that meant a lot to me. I'm not sure what to say about it that hasn't already been said, especially by people who're better at writing than I am.

But I still gotta write, y'know?

On November 16th, 2022, I joined Cohost. I decided I'd finally had enough of Twitter (although it would be another 6 months before "the last straw" was actually the last straw), and though I can't remember where I first heard of this site, the Tumblr-esque post format and inline HTML/CSS drew me in almost immediately.

It seemed like a healthier place for creative folk, especially when you could literally format your posts however you wanted!

I wasn't prepared for how much healthier it was. Not just for sharing art online, but for the artists themselves, and for people in general.

The first thing I noticed was what the lack of visible metrics did for me.

On Twitter, when I posted something, I got maybe 3 likes and 1 share. Those are very small numbers, so I interpreted it as getting almost no traction.

On Cohost, when I posted something, kunekunehog liked it, and maybe shared it. applecinnabun would like it. bearofsquares and codarobo would like it.

The actual amount of interaction stayed small, but it was tangible. They were people, not numbers.

Over time, the amount of icons and usernames I recognized in my notifications grew. It was like a small family - distant "cousins" like Librarianon who, though I never spoke to, was still nice to see they were still around and doing well.

I learned that people liked me, and liked seeing what I had to say.

Cohost and its culture made me feel valuable.

The second thing that happened was I became happier!

Not just because I was part of a community, but because any interaction I had with someone on here was a real, human interaction.

People gave each other the benefit of the doubt, usually believing they acted in good faith.

People were weird, and shared their weirdness.

People were passionate, and shared their passions.

On any other platform, I'd be scared to say this, but the NSFW scene on Cohost did wonders for me - because of the filtering and content warning systems, people were able to more granularly decide where their boundaries were. Some folks I followed would share the occasional piece of porn. Some folks would share "weird" porn.

But they were open an unashamed of it, while never stepping over other peoples' boundaries.

It made me feel a lot more confident in my own weirdness, tame though it may be.

It made me feel like I didn't have to worry about saying or doing the exact right thing.

It made me feel like I could fuck up, learn from it, and do better in the future.

Cohost and its culture made me feel human.

This coincides with my own transition - I didn't even go by "Moxie" until I joined!

It was a one-two-punch of learning who I was inside, and learning who I could be outside.

Even with the future looking uncertain once more, and losing a platform I happily called home, I have grown so much on Cohost that it's impossible for me to look back and do anything but smile.

Cohost has had its problems, and I don't want to ignore them - there wasn't enough of an effort making minorities heard, the staff dragged their feet on a few bans, and some of us were pretty bad at taking criticism.

But maybe that just makes the next step better. We fucked up in some places, and now's our chance to learn from it, and do better in the future.

A better internet is possible, and I've seen it.

Thank you, all my new friends!

Thank you to everyone in the Anti-Software Software Club, for making something truly special!

Thank you, Cohost!