In many ways, this foray into Dreamwidth has been useful in showing me what I don't want. I've spent a decade now with FB's whizzy instant gratification. I don't think there is any fulfiling return to an LJ format for me, however nostalgic I am for that chapter of online communication. This is too slow, too much of a faff to upload images, too asynchronous.

But I don't want FB. I don't want adverts or endless government badgering and manipulation in my feed. I don't want to be tracked and algorithmed. I don't want to see a random selection of communication from my friends and miss important details of their lives or thoughts.

The appallingly named MeWe seems to have what I'm looking for. Free to use, with options to support and upgrade via subscription, it's revenue model is far more transparent. It has all the functionality of old-school pre advertising FB. A feed with ALL my friends' communication, consistent in historical order. Images upload easily. Chat features are smooth. No ads and messing about.

I hope that you lovelies might give it a try. With a few more of us on there, I'd consider a paid sub because it seems worth supporting. We are all looking for connection, aren't we? That's basic human nature. Something less toxic than FB must be possible. It's better than anything else I've tried to date, so for now, that's where I'm going to post personal updates unless I'm crowdsourcing advice or recommendations.

I've signed up with my real name, do join me.

https://mewe.com/