Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/07/19/circletoonshd-accurately-descr.html
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A little bit of work makes Twitter far more enjoyable.
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Turn off retweets for everyone you follow. I do this because I want THEIR stuff, not to read the stuff of folks I’m NOT following.
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Block all ads.
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Block “suggested” content elements of page (Adblock plus works well for this)
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Turn off “likes” for everyone (pain in the butt since they eventually come back)
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Block keywords like: “trump”, “GOP”, etc.
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Subscribe to block lists recommended by folks you trust (I got my list from a Wil Wheaton recommendation; will block a huge number of assholes, trolls, and problematic racist dipshits).
The upshot of all that is my timeline is mostly free of existential horror, but I do still keep up with friends, their interests, and the news itself (blocking retweets still allows quote tweeting, which I’m fine with).
EDIT: of course, it’s easier just to not use Twitter. Totes get that.
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Never used it.
Thank you for reinforcing my option.
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- If you don’t care about broadcasting to the world, set your account to private and manually approve follower requests.
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Very good point, and I see that more and more lately.
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I forget who had that joke to the effect of “before heroin, I had lots of problems, but now I just have one problem: heroin”
Whoever they were, I bet they’d grasp the nature of Twitter from the way its users talk about it.
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Twitter is the societal equivalent of black mold in your walls. There’s only one course of action: complete eradication.
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not just twitter but 2020 in general if you have been paying any attention.
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I can’t believe that this is creeping into our vernacular. I now have family that use it. I just hope whatevs doesn’t make it.
Now get off my lawn and get a real tote.
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I would have taken out the “got any room on that bench” and jump cut straight to both screaming. Less is more.
I apologize for adding to the ruination of the word “totes” with my gratuitous attempt to be young and hip. I will go stand in the corner now while my children shun me.
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My kids shun me all the time. It’s usually for horribly-punned dad jokes. 
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Well yes, there’s that, too. 
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My feed is fairly carefully curated, but even so, if the political news doesn’t make you want to scream, braving the comments probably will. My Block list has been growing by leaps and bounds.
But… I get news on global, national and local levels, sometimes before my relatives in my neighborhood do. I see plenty of cute animal pics, have tons of crochet patterns at my fingertips, and marvel at the work of amazing artists, from traditional sketches to digital images and cosplay. I’ve found new authors to read and love, and learned more about some of my old favorites. I can keep up to date on science facts and vistas from space from NASA. And apart from all that, I’ve repeatedly seen strangers reach out to support and console others who are struggling.
Yeah, Twitter can be a 
hole, no argument. But there’s still good in it, I think.
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I had been away from Twitter for a long time, but recently started visiting again just for writing stuff. I have to say I’m not seeing nearly as much awful as I expected. I quickly unfollow fascists and their hangers-on. The news folks share is disturbing in itself, this is 2020 after all, but comments all seem to be from folks with some humanity. I’m probably just in a temporary bubble of civility and compassion.
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Meh - stop using Twitter. It is horrible. Unlike FB I at least get to show off my kids photos, and when someone I know says something do it, I can pontificate with out a character limit.
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