> My understanding was that the “first wave”, so to speak, of Gab users were the hardcore folks who genuinely had extremist views. > Free Speech and censorship

> My understanding was that the “first wave”, so to speak, of Gab users were the hardcore folks who genuinely had extremist views. > Free Speech and censorship resistant platforms tend to attract users in waves. The first wave is the most extreme, as those users get kicked off mainstream platforms first. Then subsequent waves... I don't think that's true of social networks. Take Gab for instance: its "first wave" has solidly given it a reputation as a place for extreme racists, which repels everyone else (except maybe a handful of civil libertarians with questionable judgement). That reputation prevents "subsequent waves" of more moderate folks, who would rather go to a different platform. Also Gab, Parler, et al are really reactions against moderation, not censorship. However, most users actually welcome some level of moderation.