---
title: "Twitter, Mastodon and The Parable of rasengan"
date: 2022-04-25
tags:
 - twitter
 - reaction
---

So a lot of things happened today. The threat that Elon Musk made to
buy Twitter seems to have been true. As I write this, my current
understanding is that the Twitter board of directors is in the process
of accepting the offer that Elon Musk to buy the company.

<xeblog-conv name="Cadey" mood="coffee">This was not on my bingo card
for 2022. I'm starting to think that I got a dud bingo card. I was
hoping that "Alien Invasion" would win out but it looks like that
won't be the case yet. Damn.</xeblog-conv>

I genuinely have no idea how I should be reacting to this news. I
spend a lot of time on Twitter. It's a lot of how I talk with people,
network in the tech community and generally shitpost. I do so much
idle shitposting on Twitter that it would probably count for a lot of
the non-work written word I produce on a weekly basis.

I'm really not sure what I feel about this, but the feelings that I am
getting remind me of [what happened to
freenode](/blog/series/freenode). A while ago someone I follow on
Twitter made a tweet that said something like:

> Elon Musk is to Twitter as rasengan is to freenode

<xeblog-conv name="Mara" mood="hacker">For context: rasengan is the
person that single-handedly destroyed freenode by apparently buying a
worthless holding company and then inciting a lot of
drama. For more information, check out the book Closed
Projects.</xeblog-conv>

I have made my book [Closed
Projects](/blog/closed-projects-2022-03-24) free for the next week.
This contains my moods, reactions and emotions as I was processing
everything falling apart around me. I feel this may help you
understand the emotions that you get watching this shitshow unfold
with Twitter.

For a direct link to the sale page, click
[here](https://itch.io/s/69916/elon-bought-twitter-sale). I will
donate proceeds from this sale to charity. If you choose to send me a
couple bucks for my book, I will donate them to the [Orca
Conservancy](https://www.orcaconservancy.org/).

I am also on Mastodon at
[@cadey@pony.social](https://pony.social/@cadey). Should something
happen to Twitter such that I can't participate there anymore, I will
be on Mastodon. If Twitter really starts falling apart, I will
probably be a lot more active on Mastodon. And probably writing a lot
more.

Let's hope things turn out well.