_
  ___  _ __ ___   __ _  | |__   __ _ _ __  _ __  _   _
 / _ \| '_ ` _ \ / _` | | '_ \ / _` | '_ \| '_ \| | | |
| (_) | | | | | | (_| | | | | | (_| | |_) | |_) | |_| |
 \___/|_| |_| |_|\__, | |_| |_|\__,_| .__/| .__/ \__, |
                 |___/              |_|   |_|    |___/
 _     _      _   _         _
| |__ (_)_ __| |_| |__   __| | __ _ _   _
| '_ \| | '__| __| '_ \ / _` |/ _` | | | |
| |_) | | |  | |_| | | | (_| | (_| | |_| |
|_.__/|_|_|   \__|_| |_|\__,_|\__,_|\__, |
                                    |___/

it's 10/11/2019 which marks five years since tilde.town was created!

We've come a long way. We have a big, healthy server comfortably accomodating our current community
and our community in another five year's time. We have an admin team monitoring the server and
ensuring that users are able to keep their accounts in order. We have a moderation team that has
done amazing work gently enforcing our CoC in IRC and beyond.

The world was ugly in 2014. The town is a space where we can build a positive thing for us now and
for us in the future; a place to hide from broken systems and reclaim a lost optimism around what
technology could do for us. The world is even uglier in 2019 and spaces like ours are only more
important.

Lately, the town has been misunderstood as a community where you prove your belonging by producing
attention-grabbing art. Making art is a wonderful way to be a part of this community, but it's
never been a prerequisite. Remeber that socializing with a total stranger across the world from you
while remaining open eared, empathetic, and intentional is a huge deal. It was in the 1980s when
people reached out via BBS; it was in 1999 when teens chatted on AIM; and it's the biggest deal in
2019, a time of extreme social duress. Even quietly showing up and just listening and being inspired
is a revolutionary act.

I hope you will all continue to join me in bringing intentionality, patience, and empathy to this
community.

The feels must flow.

best,
~vilmibm