So... Safe spaces. This sort of thing has been on my mind for a long time. I remember an experience I had around a year ago with a chat server that ended up being a very bad fit for me. This server was protecting extremely vulnerable, harmed people. There were triggers relating to affection and love that needed to be carefully handled.

How does someone affection starved thrive in that environment? The short answer is that they don't. If you are a person who is in need of reaffirmation and care and affection surrounded by hurt people who need space away from the more overt examples of such, your needs and their needs clash. Does that mean one group is being unreasonable? I don't believe so in the least. Both of you are in need of something. This is the value of different communities.

When you enter another community, you respect their rules. You live by their rules. And if you need a community that is more fitting to your needs, you either find those who's rules fit your needs, or you make your own. And that brings me to Discord and Mastadon. Both of them are based around the idea of making your own spaces. Perhaps their initial intention was simply decentralization to avoid corporations, but they can be more.

We have this unique ability to create powerful, interesting, open spaces that are moderated the way we choose. We can make the communities we always wanted, and create our own rules. This isn't the first time it's happened ever, but on the scale we're now seeing it, with the power and ease of use of the tools we have available, it's amazing.