Social networks... most of the time we seem to detest them, and yet we cannot stop consuming what they offer. Perhaps it is necessary to change that consumption, but others believe that what really needs to change is the very idea of a social network. That is how Quitter appears, an alternative that seeks to move away from the typical centralization present in conventional networks to offer an open, censorship-free space, and apparently "anti-capitalist".
The Sandbox Model of Social Networks
I was on LinkedIn, and basically I ran away from there (it still spits spam). I was on Twitter, and I also left, although I admit that time I didn't run. Facebook still holds its status of necessary evil, and we will keep negotiating as long as current conditions remain intact. My relationship with social networks is from neutral to poor, I won't deny it. I only take what I need from them, despite their underlying goals (to place advertising, sell products, etc.) and their general situation. What is that situation? In essence, networks like Twitter and Facebook are simple sandboxes: you either play by the rules established by each sandbox, or you will face some consequences, starting with censorship. Lately, Twitter seems to be applying a certain policy of "shoot first and ask questions later" regarding sudden suspensions, and complaints about spam on the network have also increased. In fact, it is estimated that almost 24 million users (out of 284 million) have never written a single tweet.
Quitter and GNU Social
Technically speaking, Quitter is one of the many faces of GNU Social (ex StatusNet, ex Laconica), an open and decentralized microblogging service. The GNU Social portal itself recommends Quitter as the first option for new users, but there are also other nodes like Load Average and Vinilox. The key word here is "decentralized". In short, all Quitter users can interact with posts from other nodes and vice versa, and they are not forced to necessarily register on Quitter. From a certain point of view, GNU Social and Quitter form the antithesis of the sandbox, and by extension, of social networks like Twitter, with which you can neither do nor say anything if you are not part of it.
Why Did Quitter Explode?
After all, it has been around for about four years under the radar, and in the case of GNU Social it has been seven or eight. It all started due to a high-profile censorship case. The Spanish tweeter/microblogger Barbijaputa (with almost 160 thousand followers) denounced the suspension of her account on Twitter (which she has apparently recovered) and therefore decided to move to Quitter. That clears up any doubt about the striking number of Spanish users that Quitter has registered in recent hours. The underlying question is whether we are facing a passing fad or not.
