I am personally changing the way I use the site to be more thorough about how and when I upbear comments and posts.

Rather than pre-emptively upbearing a comment or post as I come to it, reading it, scrolling down and then removing the upvote if I disagree, I will only upbear after I have fully read it. It is going to take a while to replace the old habit and it requires a more deliberate and thorough reading of each comment and post but I think it is ultimately for the better.

I cannot assume by default that because I’m browsing HB first that the content is anodyne, and I do not want comrades, especially those marginalised, to see my upbears as signs of endorsement of questionable or objectionable content or ideology. Going forward, I accept that that’s how they are seen by enough (if not the majority) of the user base so that’s how I will use them.

I unreservedly apologise for the times that I have upvoted horrendous content. I am not going to pretend that all of that is through inattention, force of habit or incorrect reading either. I know there are times when I have consciously upvoted a comment or post that I have understood and agreed with that was later removed. On the occasions I have noticed, I have removed my upvote and visited the mod log to learn why. I will educate myself more and excise the brainworms.

It is good to know that mods will look at posting history and upbear patterns as additional context before taking actions, and that reassures me that the limited interventions are not arbitrary for HB users

Yeah life on earth is wiped out in the ‘third impact’. It’s bathed in explosions that appear like crossss: terrifying but a e s t h e t i c