@viticci
I don't have any 'skin in the game' with regard to owning/running a business.

But I do from the perspective of social/professional networking. I lost that when I quit Twitter.

IMHO, the takeaway for all of us is we need to convince friends, family, and everyone else to leave* capitalist social media...and decrease, if not eliminate, the incentive for others to stay.

*That means deleting your account, not just going dormant.

@viticci Thank you for letting everyone know your pro nazi stance so they can respond accordingly.

@viticci it must have been an incredibly difficult decision, as the creator and “leading man” of Macstories, to prioritize the business’ needs over your strong values and I commend you for it. Sucks @johnvoorhees and you mistakenly didn't share it with your team prior to doing so but thankfully life’s mistakes bring us great lessons.

Like you I wish you didn’t have to contribute to Musk either but I continue, excitedly, to support your work and am excited to see the company continue to grow.

@viticci if you are willing to pay Elon Musk money for growing your audience clearly I’m not the kind of person you want in it anymore.

So this is good bye, good luck with your future endeavors with your new audience.

@viticci I understand the economic constraints, but it’s still very depressing to see that nothing ever changes in this regard. Everyone is still on X because everyone else is still on X and everyone hates it? Really? It would only need a few large organisations, government administrations, and influential individuals who don’t feel economic coercion to lead an exodus, and X would be nothing.

@viticci

Don't fucking care at all.

You hang out with Nazis, you're a Nazi.

Don't like it? Stop doing it.

@viticci don't want to post it on the main site because you don't want the people you hope will come from Twitter seeing it?

I don't know what the Club looked like before the AI pivot, but my guess is that the content is what's driven the loss in subscriptions, not "other subscription services".

You talk about lots of nebulous plans to expand coverage of what your old subscribers actually did care about but there's nothing concrete. There's no reason to trust that you're actually going to do that, especially now that you're back on Twitter to court the AI people.

There's the old joke about the guy who wouldn't want to be a part of any club that would have him as a member. I wouldn't want to be a part of a club that would have a bunch of 2026 Twitter users as members.

@viticci You’ve reversed a decision made 4 years ago which you proudly declared as representing your principles. You now advocate readers giving $100s in monthly subs to companies you once asked for Congress to take action against. It is disingenuous to claim your values haven’t changed.

@viticci Yeah nope. I'm out.

@viticci Shameful. Too late. Too little. In a Craft doc. Sad.

@viticci hope you find the readership you’re looking for; you’ve lost my clicks.

@viticci @stroughtonsmith

@viticci if your business can't exist without enabling fascists and supporting them monetarily - which is what using X is - then your business doesn't deserve the support of marginalized committee and deserves to die

Sorry to hear MacStories has died

@viticci seems like it’s going to be an even tougher next few years. Don’t know if a lot of us can ever support a company that has made a decision like this

@viticci So… did you post this on X?

@viticci Good luck, but I can’t support these choices. I’ve dropped following on RSS and social media.

@viticci Ask us why we're leaving. I would have been happy to share but I’m not sure anyone even noticed.

@viticci Curios to hear how much engagement you can get from X nowadays. From what I‘ve heard from other news outlets and our own experience @tazgetroete, posts that aren’t racist, antisemitic or ragebait in some form barely get any engagement let alone are actually shown on users feeds.

@viticci Does X really represent a significant source of traffic?

@viticci If you really think that returning to X does not change your values, than your values were not as great as you believe they were.

You did your contributors really dirty. They were the ones that led me to buy a club membership. But now it is cancelled as quickly as well.

@viticci I disagree with everyone piling on. Using a service does not mean you agree with everyone involved. I'm sure there are people at Google that you don't agree with? Do you still use Google.

What about your politicians? Don't agree with them so decide you aren't using the roads anymore, etc.

@viticci sad :-(

@viticci why not on Truth Social as well? Or whatever other hellscapes exists.

Wrong is wrong. Wrong to save the business is still wrong. That sucks and I’m sorry you guys have to face that choice. But you made the choice and if that’s what it takes to save the business, I’m out.

Pivot the business, come up with something else or sunset it. Don’t support the hate.

@viticci Blocking @macstories@macstories.net and @macstories@flipboard.com and @MacStoriesDeals. I recommend we all do the same.

Thanks for all the fish!

#fascism #fucknazis #FuckElonMusk

@viticci There’s no righteousness in going broke, and if you say it’s necessary I’ll believe it. I actually hadn’t realized you were back there, I look away from what happens on Xitter.

But more than a commitment to “communicate better next time”, what would have really brought peace of mind would have been a commitment to a long term goal to drop Twitter again when the business makes it possible, and a commitment that there’s going to be work in that direction, no matter how long it takes.

@viticci There is no legitimate reason to post anything on Twitter ever.

@viticci Nah, not buying the excuses. I’m not naive about business, but also not naive about how personal/business decisions like this impact the social/political realities. You had to choose between principled ethics and money, and you chose money.

@viticci If this is about getting the most eyeballs on your stories (which I understand), wouldn’t posting reels and shorts on Instagram and YouTube be the way to go? It’s not like X is a growing platform…

@viticci Federico I’m really disappointed in the way this all turned out. I just feel like you could have made so many decisions differently. You could have posted on MacStories about financial struggles. You could have let your team know ahead of time a huge mistake I thought uncharacteristic of you. And lastly I find it hard to believe joining X is suddenly gonna drop a ton of money for the site.

@viticci “I don’t agree with the values of the nazi bar, but I will give them money”

@viticci You don’t owe anyone an explanation for choosing where to speak. Returning to X doesn’t invalidate your principles or require a defense. World is not black and white, and X is not ”all nazis”.

Everything that is happening in AI is over there; this is your jam, roll with it. 💪

@viticci While you may not align with the platforms’ values you are directly enriching the Nazi that runs the platform by adding value to their platform.

This is the company that makes a CSAM generator. This the company run by the many that gutted parts of the US government that have lead to the deaths of 700,000 people so far and more to come. This is the company that is poisoning the air in Tennessee where one of your best friends lives.

Is more traffic and eyes really worth that to you two?

@viticci Sad news, but it’s your call

@viticci This isn't an explanation. It's an after-the-fact excuse.

@viticci The fact you didn't even post this on the site is telling.

@viticci hey, maybe truth social next?

@viticci "We abhor Musk’s politics, his rhetoric, his careless disregard for others, and the direction he has taken X. But we also disagree that participating on X means we have aligned ourselves with any of Musk’s views or actions."

Participating is one thing - contributing to the bottom line by paying for X Premium is another. I don't see how an abhorration of Musk goes in hand with paying him and his companies.

@viticci I think many people on mastodon have to face this kind of decision often. That’s what it is to be in the minority.

@viticci thoughtfully written as always. You have to do what you have to do sometimes to survive, especially as an independent business. Everyone is always going to have an opinion, the only one that matters is yours, John's, and the relationship you have with your team. You still got a supporter in me!!

@viticci should this not be on the site itself, instead of a Craft page?

@viticci You’re feeding the nazis by doing this. Literally.