Folks, they're tweeting through it.
Amid a chaotic -- and at times abrasive -- takeover by controversial billionaire Elon Musk that has seen furtive product rollouts, a spasm of brand impersonations and mass layoffs, firings and resignations, one thing has stayed constant: the tweets.
While it's unclear what impact Musk's changes will ultimately have on the company, many tweeters are openly speculating that the departures of Twitter staffers, both voluntary and not, will affect the site to the point that it will either cease functioning or become too difficult to use.
In fact, the birdsite's new owner has tweeted multiple times that usage is higher than ever. But some of the highest-profile examples of that usage have tended to be musings about the supposed impending death of the site itself.
A timeline of Elon Musk's tumultuous Twitter acquisitionSome are almost wistfully recalling the old Fail Whale days of yore:
Online reaction has ranged from derision and mockery -- always among Twitter's chief exports -- to earnest goodbyes, with some comparing this time to the last day of school or summer camp:
Others are goofing about publishing all their drafts or finally informing their Twitter crush of their true feelings. (I would never.)
Others are fondly recalling some of the best times we had on this app:
And then ... there's derision and mockery.
And while German Twitter clone Mastodon continues to gain new users, it's unlikely you'll find this level of banter there -- yet.