Bringing back social isn't about getting rid of images and focusing on ASCII text, it's about getting rid of URLs and article snippets, and refocusing solely on user created content. Remember when streams were only filled with updates from old friends and family with things like birthday parties, vacations, graduations, concerts, restaurant meals, etc., and <i>nothing</i> else? (Sort of like Instagram still is, but with text allowed, two-way authorization only and without the "influencers".)<p>Now you log in (FB, Twitter, etc.) only to find out which of your casual acquaintances are the most gullible, racist, sexist, homophobic, sociopathic or worse by the news items they're spewing into their increasingly extreme echo chamber. Sure, the same thing could be conveyed by a selfie wearing a MAGA hat, but it would happen much, much less often.<p>All these services would have to do to get back to their social roots is provide a default filter for news items. But they refuse, and in fact are increasingly manipulating your feed instead to increase "engagement" (read: anger and hate).<p>I'm amazed that a social-<i>only</i> network hasn't taken off yet that provides this basic functionality. It feels like the time is right for something like this.