Not from midwest.social, but I did happen upon that thread that blew up. Is it ok if I ask some questions? I'd like to better understand the hexbear instance, so I understand how to consume the content that shows up in my feed. Before I go on, please note that I definitely do not mind seeing content from hexbear and you guys commenting on other instances. My instance is not planning on de-federating (AFAIK) and I am completely fine with that. I lean left myself.

• Users on other instances say you guys are "tankies", and from what I understand, that's essentially the authoritarian version of the left; instead of being the more moderate-ish(?) leftists/communists. Which one do you guys identify under?

• I see a lot of shitposts and edgy humor, which is fine; so I initially thought the instance was more of a shitposting community rather than a serious one advocating communism. Or is it?

• Many comments I see from other instances are mainly complaining of you guys being the former (tankies) on the first bullet, saying you are basically just like the far-right, just on the opposite side. The other complaint is that all they see when they engage with you guys are memes and shitpost gifs, and that it doesn't contribute to the conversation. I know that's not everything, as I do see serious discussions on my feed from time to time, but is the shitposting and trolling done on purpose to antagonize other instances?

I'm happy to be educated/enlightened. Thank you!

Edit: I'm getting a ton of well thought-out responses and I need time to process them before I can respond. Thanks again! And please feel free to continue commenting if you have something more to say.