Is this bait? Or a… humblebrag? I don’t know, but this post comes off to me as slightly unserious.

You’ve seriously never had this experience before? You’ve never heard of this behavior before?

You mentioned gender and posted a picture of your 'fit, which tells me that at least you think it had something to do with gender and/or your appearance.

Maybe you’re being totally serious and curious, in which case… I’ve gotten cynical after my years on the internet.

I’ve always liked threadiverse, since it describes what’s unique about this aspect of the Fediverse.

We (the gaming community) say this every time, but microtransactions and lootboxes have spread like viruses because gamers are buying them.

I hate predatory pricing on principle, but whale votes count for a lot more.

Seemingly.

Will you publish the aggregate results in any way?

Yup. And all of these are unfortunately big enough barriers to keep the majority of internet users on the default. Because Discord has a decent phone app and is reliable enough right now.

Accurate username

I think the FOSS alternatives are great, but most users still prefer convenience over privacy.

I wish Revolt was federated, so we’d have a(n almost) one-to-one drop-in replacement.

Matrix has group chats and spaces, but there’s apparently still issues with moderation, the bridging tech isn’t reliable, but I haven’t seen anyone successfully use it for voice chat, let alone video.

Mumble is apparently better at voice chat but then you have to also get everyone on the same chat app.

Discord hasn’t enshittified enough for people to be willing to switch to less convenient alternatives, and based on how many people still use Twitter, it’s going to take a lot.