Jimmy Wales tried to seduce me with his WT:Social

We've all seen the #DeleteFacebook hashtags on Twitter, which is semi-ironic in that, while Twitter isn't nearly as much a privacy vacuum, it can be a bigger cesspool.

We've seen Google+ go to tumbleweeds then have its plug pulled. We've seen Ello now become a British MySpace. Mastodon and other would-be replacements for Twitter + Facebook have flopped due to clunkiness or other issues.

Enter Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. (And founder of Bomus and other things, but let's not talk about that.)

Wales recently rolled out WT:Social. He touted that it wouldn't be a privacy gobbler like Facebook, and other things.

One slight problem, or rather, two, which combined, are a bigger problem.

WT:Social has, or appears to have, a real-names policy.

So, with my real name, I joined, got approved etc.

I made one post, then realized that, unlike Facebook, but like Twitter (sort of), there's no provision for posting settings. When I applied to join, I was asked to select various interests, and I assumed that, when I was approved, these would be like the "circles" of Google+ and that I could post to "friends," "circle X," "all circles," or "circles of circles," which on G+ was kind of like Facebook's friends of friends.

So then Wales sends a link to a Reddit that he's having about FAQs. I ask the posting question. And he says it's all public because "it's a wiki."

Erm, not exactly sure what that "it's a wiki" means. In context of my question, it could mean that it's for people sharing knowledge. Well, Jimmy, people often use Facebook to share personal stories and events, not knowledge.

Second, it sounds like this could mean "it's a wiki" for YOU. No thanks at all.

Third, even Twitter has "protected posting."

So, I haven't posted more and likely will delete my account soon.

No, I will DEFINITELY delete my account after one or two more posts.

Because he's sleaze. I didn't realize how much of one until he slimed Jeremy Corbyn. But, seeing that, and then getting a fortuitous Medium piece? It's bad. REAL bad. Read here.

This is about more than WT:Social. It means that the Wikipedia articles on antisemitism and antizionism are untrustworthy. I've long known to take Wikipedia with a grain of salt on anything current affairs, living politicians, etc. This is the first time that I've had some direct angle on that.

Also, presuming that WT:Social is, if not now, ultimately going to be a for-profit venue, I can't support his money aiding this. In addition, since he said "it's a wiki," it's likely that many of my comments might face some version of Wiki-scrubbing.

Next, since the Wikimedia Foundation is nowhere near broke, Wales' annual solicitations on Wikipedia must be seen in a more critical light. And, since MeWe is free in a basic version, without any solicitations I've seen, that light must become yet more bright and critical. (That said, WT:Social ties to Wales' forprofit Wikia, which is surely even more not broke than his foundation.)

I have instead joined MeWe. It's free, and ads-free, for basic accounts. It has tight memory limits, so if you're the type of Facebooker who posts 30 cat GIFs or 30 PokeStops a week, it would not work for you in free version. But, it also has paid premium versions, which don't cost too much.

I did the smart thing of joining with a non-real-name version. I did not real first name and last initial as "known elsewhere" as. And, no, I keep my social media carefully siloed. So, because that's on there, I won't link here.