Mentioned it elsewhere, but Mastodon continues to be one of the best social media experiences I have ever had (look, it isn't as low of a bar as you would expect but still...). Something about the nature of Mastodon means people actually talk to each other and try to elaborate on talking points. My theory is it is because basically everyone on there knows it will never be "the new twitter" and are instead focused on being what twitter should have been.

Whereas lemmy... Lemmy is like going on a date with someone who just got out of a long term relationship. They can't stop telling stories about when they were with their ex or comparing you to them. And... when you head back to their place after drinks they keep joking about whether they can film themselves giving you a blowy and sending it to their ex to show just how over him they are.

Combine that with a much more lax policy toward piracy and a LOT of "I just learned what linux is and anyone who doesn't use it is a sheeple" college kids and... yeah. Plus, I have definitely gotten the vibe that a few people want to become one of the big "personalities" of the platform.

Honorable mention to Cohost. I think people have really done a good job of making it feel like something special. But it also feels like everyone isn't sure how horny/weird they should go on nu-tumblr.