In short
Digital platforms used by the Drupal community conflict with the community’s values. X/Twitter and Meta are no longer safe places.
I propose the creation or tightening of the community's vendor selection process to ensure Drupal’s social media channels and collaboration tools remain safe and welcoming to all.
Remain present on X/Twitter and Meta, but no longer post there. Instead, signpost to Mastodon and/or other non-corporate social media presences.
Problem: Corporate Social Media conflict with our values
It is February 2025.
While X/Twitter was once a neutral and (arguably) inclusive social media platform, after Musk’s takeover it has become a heavily extreme-right leaning platform used by its new owner to aggressively pursue his own interests, including dismantling DEI initiatives, promoting right-wing politics internationally, and threatening democratic processes.
Directed by the newly installed US government, Meta / Facebook / Instagram / Threads has completely disbanded its fact checking team and DEI initiatives, and is explicitly allowing hate speech. Google and Amazon followed shortly after.
The Drupal project having an official, active presence on these platforms legitimizes and endorses them. This goes against Drupal’s own Code of Conduct, Drupal’s Core Values & Principles, and the Community Working Group (CWG)’s mission.
I could selectively quote from these policies to make my point, but I invite you to take this opportunity to (re-)familiarize yourself with the values the Drupal community stands for.
X/Twitter’s descent into neofascism and Trump’s dismantling of checks and balances make it clear that digital platforms are vulnerable to corporate and state-led interference.
With this in mind, it is both unconscionable and against Drupal’s own values to expose our community to these platforms.
Ethical vendor selection criteria
Our community has formulated and stands by high standards. It’s high time we apply those standards to the digital platforms, centrally managed by DA staff and volunteers, where we expect the community to be active.
I’m calling for the community to gather and formulate new or stricter vendor selection criteria based on:
- Drupal’s Code of Conduct and Core Values & Principles
- Guarding against the threat of corporate and state-led interference.
The criteria could include things like:
- Not centralised if decentralised equivalent is available.
- Not proprietary if FOSS equivalent available.
- Respects Drupal's CoC and Core Values.
- Respects Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion guidelines and initiatives.
- Respects democracy and the sovereignty of nations.
- Respects individuals' privacy.
- Distributed and/or run by non-profit in safe jurisdiction.
- Not owned by corporations, VC funds, or other investment vehicles.
- Safe from political / state-led interference
And while we’re at it, why not include climate-saving practices like use of renewable energy and reduced CO2 emissions?
As these criteria stand, would X/Twitter and Meta pass? Clearly not.
Would Slack? Youtube?
Moving forward
In the next weeks, not months, we should agree on the first set of standards, freeze our X/Twitter and Meta presence, stop advertising our presence on these platforms, and find a new home.
Based on that experience we can review the standards and how we put them in practice, and turn our attention to the Drupal community’s other external digital properties such as Slack and Youtube. Even if there’s no trouble there yet, we should behave as if it’s only a matter of time.
Risk management and such.
"But we won't be able to reach our target audience"
To be quite frank: people who are exclusively on X/Twitter, today, and choose not to be active on other social media... is that your target audience?
I would humbly submit that it is not. But I'd love to be proven wrong and learn something.
Join the conversation
I raised an issue in the Community Working Group’s issue queue in early January:
Withdraw official presence from X/Twitter and Meta platforms
Though one person from the Drupal Association has commented in an unofficial capacity, at the time of writing (2025-02-11) there is no official response from the Drupal Association, Community Working Group, or other Drupal leadership figure.
If you feel as strongly about this as I do, please add your voice constructively and respectfully. This is a highly polarising issue; let’s try not to fracture our community.
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