When I first joined nine years ago it was fun. I met some very cool people and enjoyed seeing their posts. I eventually discovered trolls. And watched as my blocked list grew from a dozen to a hundred. A thousand. A few thousand. I stopped keeping track.
One year I spent over three months in Facebook jail. Once for calling a racist troll a loser. Once for calling a transphobic jerk a witless azzhole (yes, those exact words). Once for "bullying" a fictional character I made up, and shared on my account which was visible only to my friends- all two dozen of them. That comment was actually years old; apparently the zuckbots were going through accounts looking for violations of community standards that happened before zuckbots even existed.
I reported harassment, violent threats, and hate speech. Some directed at me, some not. Eventually the response became "we didn't remove the post because it doesn't violate our community standards", etm etm. I stopped trying.
I belonged to several private groups. Was an admin on a couple. There weren't many trolls and the few who weaseled their way in were quickly removed. Those groups were all that made Facebook worthwhile for me. I hated to leave them.
But I just couldn't stomach any more. Every time I ventured outside of those private groups the trolls and their ugliness, their viciousness, were waiting. To hit me in the face and pollute my mind with misery and hate.
I'd been using a fake profile with a pseudonym, phoney birthdate, and left a lot of details blank. Facebook shut down my original profile back in September; they decided that my account, with my two dozen friends and apparently vast reach and influence, needed "protection". That protection involved all sorts of hoops to jump through and expenses. I declined to do that.
Even so it was still mostly fun.
Not anymore.
My bridge too far was the decision to allow "free speech" by allowing slurs. Specifically, anti-LGBTQ+ slurs. I'm not LGBTQ+, but several of my friends there are. And I simply don't want to support that. I can't. I think my long-dead Uncle Tim would be really disappointed in me. I'd be disappointed in myself. So...I've broken up with Facebook. The ghost of my account may still be there, but I won't.
I won't say that everyone else should do as I did. This decision is right for me. And that is enough.
