Why has Lupin Central ceased support of Twitter?

Lupin Central has ceased support for Twitter. Our account still exists - but it will lie dormant, and locked. I want to ensure the handle remains under my control, just in case, but I don’t plan on logging back in again any time soon.

I did not want to write why I decided to step away from the platform at the time of my tweet on Tuesday, but after receiving a couple of messages from kind readers, I thought it might be best to quickly address it here. I have to say - it was a difficult decision, that required much thought. It has affected me more than I thought it would, to be honest. I have made so many great friends and connections through Twitter, since I joined way back in 2008. It’s harder than I thought it would be, to suddenly break away from the place where I have spent around 90% of my online time, over the past decade or so. It has been oddly freeing at the same time, though.

There are a few reasons why I made the decision, but it mostly comes down to mental health and principle.

Even prior to the management change in 2022, I have felt Twitter has been on a downward spiral, with more advertisements, negativity, and argumentative posts there now than ever before. Thankfully, the Lupin community is full of lovely, talented, individuals - and if it wasn’t for this, I would have ditched the platform long ago.

On Tuesday, the CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk, publicly berated a member of staff for enquiring about his position in the company, after he had been locked out of all his devices. This involved calling out, and laughing at, his disability. This latest development in a long line of shitposts from one of the world’s wealthiest men was the final straw, for me. I feel that people in positions of power should always try to set an example. I am a lead in my day job, and I understand that I should always treat my team, and others, the way I wish to be treated. Sure, no-one is perfect. I certainly am not. But, I could no longer sit idly by, supporting his platform, reading the sponsored tweets, essentially giving him money. Wincing at every new technical issue, a weekly occurrence, at this point. I had to remove myself, and do not plan on going back. Musk has, of course, tried to backpedal on his actions. I feel this does not excuse him, and that people in these positions should not be given benefit of the doubt.

This is all rather hypocritical of me, though, as Lupin Central will continue to support other social media websites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. They all have issues, and ideally, I’d like to step away from each of them. The immediate difference with Twitter is, that their top clown is a clown within the public eye. He sets a bad example of how a leader should act on the platform that he runs, which essentially changes the way people think and interact with it. I do not want to be part of that.

Please feel free to continue sharing and interacting with our content on Twitter. While I personally feel like moving away from it is the right move, for me, I would never expect everyone else to do the same. People rely on social networks for different reasons, and everyone’s situation is unique. I hope me stepping away does not upset those still in the Twitter ecosystem, and I can only apologise if the move is a disappointing one for you.

Thankfully, Lupin Central will continue on, stronger than ever. I now have more time to focus on other areas of the site, and have found a way to still keep up on the latest Lupin series news, without supporting Twitter. I will continue to interact with you all, and would encourage anyone that followed me on Twitter to reach out - either in a comment here, over on the Lupin III Club Forum, or by simply sending me an e-mail. I will always be happy to hear from you!

It feels weird writing this on the main website, as I initially did not want to draw much attention to it, so I may delete this post in due time. I hope this helps explain the decision, though, and I hope you can continue interacting with us via the website, and our other social networking pages. Thanks for sticking by us, and for being so kind and understanding!