It’s the same with those (Insert Theme Here): Pass it On billboards by the Foundation for a Better Life. They’re funded by Phil Anschutz, a billionaire who owns the AEG entertainment group and has funded groups like the Parents Television Council, the Federalist Society (which helped get all those GOP justices on the Supreme Court and federal courts), and other conservative groups. I gag having to pass those things on the freeway.

Yes, and bus/train ads. I pass one every day on the commuter train near Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

The loss of users is already beginning to show, depending on the community. I had some LifeProTips and other useful threads saved and was trying to archive them for myself yesterday, and several had either the original post or the highest-upvoted parent comment outright deleted.

There did seem to be a distinct air of smugness/“I told you so” in quite a few of the blackout or future-related comment sections I was in. Whether they’re shills or just being cynical/butthurt for losing out on two days worth of Internet points and argument time, I have no idea.

It’s funny, I used to be on BestofRedditorUpdates where almost any “good” story that got reposted was subject to arguments about whether it actually happened or if the OP made it up. Now with ChatGPT it can all be made up. /s

If they actually do wind up forcibly reopening the dark subs and replacing the mods, good luck having to police “Lemmy” or “Tildes” spam on top of all the usual bot nonsense and trolling that goes on. Metal and Motorhead subs are about to get nuked as collateral damage.

They wouldn’t let me onto Beehaw with the answer I gave to their question, so I joined the first instance I could find that looked interesting. Now I kind of feel awkward making any new communities that aren’t Star Trek related lol.