Several years ago, I heard about GNU social. That sounded like an interesting change from the centralized giants like Facebook and Twitter, so I installed it on a spare server. It was… interesting: not great, not terrible. Shortly after, I started hearing about this Mastodon thing, which was basically GNU social but prettier. I gave in and installed it on my laptop as a trial, and was immediately blown away. It wasn’t just nicer looking, but polished and professional. I loved it.

For FRZ’s fifth anniversary, I’m thrilled to announce that we commissioned the amazing @Wetdryvac@hackers.town to design a gorgeous new logo for our site. For a limited time, we’re making Free Radical anniversary five merch available from our online store, with 100% of profits through the end of April, 2022, going to charity. Check it out, buy some beautiful, sure-to-be-collectible loot, and make the world better. Everybody wins!

Free Radical was born 4 years ago today. Thank you so much to all my friends who’ve made this such a fun and rewarding project! Each of you has brightened my world a little in your own way.

Happy (slightly belated) anniversary to all Free Radical users and friends. It’s been a fun time, and here’s to many more!

Free Radical turns two years old today! Since joining:

• The fediverse has grown from 250 instances to nearly 2,000 active ones.
• The network went from 100,000 users to nearly 2.2 million.
• Free Radical has grown from 1 user (me) to 1,113, with 114,000 toots.

Thanks to everyone who’s made this so much fun!

Free Radical turns one year old today!

• The fediverse has grown from 250 instances to 2,300.
• The network went from 100,000 users to nearly 1.2 million.
• Free Radical has grown from 1 user (me) to 366, with 44,000 toots.

Thanks for being a part of our journey. I’ve made some great friends here and it’s been a grand adventure. See you online!