“Sometimes there’s a man… I won’t say a “hero,” because what’s a hero? But sometimes there’s a man who… well, he’s the man for his time and place!” – Sam Elliot (the Stranger) from the glorious The Big Lebowski

You know that classic quote about standing on the shoulders of giants (and pioneers)? Honestly, in so many ways, that’s how I truly feel about the good ol’ Fediverse.
So, to sum up-- who are YOUR heroes here, and what does keep you hanging on here, baby…?
EDIT: For people wondering about what kinds of ‘bumps & difficulties’ I’ve personally experienced, here’s a tiny sampler:


It’s good enough to keep me interested.
It’s not good enough to replace Reddit yet, in the sense that I’m still active on Reddit. But there is enough worthwhile content here that I can check in each day and find some stuff that I enjoy. And that’s enough to give me a reason to keep coming back.
The people here, and the vibe, is nicer. It’s like reddit was 15 years ago. Reddit has just gotten worse over the years as it became more popular, and especially after went public. Many subreddits are plagued with engagement bots that ping you with lame questions to get you to respond. Post a comment even slightly controversial and you get reported and banned, even if it wasn’t malicious. I just got tired of the shit show. I do miss the more robust traffic for niche subjects that reddit has, but not enough for me to go back.
it has accelerated this year alone, right when trumps started enacting his plans, plus MUSK is interfering with reddit. significant ban waves went after non-propaganda spamming that usually arnt the problem(of and link accounts), then it started banning people in large numbers, plus all thier old accounts were hit, and shadowbans have increased so much.