#circulating during the past month when there have been interface changes that everyone hated

[corvidcorgi]

Honestly my biggest advice for any Tumblr newcomers but also for longtime users is to turn on Post Timestamps in your Dashboard Preference settings.

We talk about how one of the strengths of Tumblr is that people aren't shy about interacting with posts that are months or years old, that there's no shame in circulating content that might be considered outdated on other platforms. That it's fun to see people's art or memes or shitposts, that they generally hold up no matter how old they are and that we don't and shouldn't cringe about that. And this is true.

But it's also absolutely fuckawful for news or activism purposes.

I cannot tell you how many times people I follow have reblogged articles that are years out of date -- not just two years (2021 was two years ago no matter how fake that feels), but six or more. I've seen them lament over bad news from 2017, clearly shocked and horrified what they perceive as current events.

It's a prime outrage and misinformation engine. It's straight-up bad, not just from a misinformation standpoint but from a mental health standpoint, to be moved to fury or despair by "the state of things" from over five years ago.

That news is important, to give the context of its time and as a benchmark for how we got where we are now, but if you think what happened in 2017 is current events, you will miss what's actually happening right now. Don't risk acting on outdated information.

You get no opportunity to say, "Huh, I wonder if we've made any progress since then," or check how the situation's evolved. You can't give the benefit of the doubt to a stranger who made a bad take and hope they've grown, because you don't know if that post was made two weeks ago or half a decade ago. Things can change for the worse or change for the better and you'd have no idea.

And if you want another upside to timestamps, more positive than just "This is bad for both your information literacy and your mental health," it's genuinely really sweet and fun to see that someone's goofy post from 2012 is still making the rounds. GIFsets from 2013 for a show that went off the air in 2011 getting reblogged in 2023 make you feel the enduring love and community that show generated.

It's vital to know that bad news may be old news, and uplifting to see the parts of Tumblr's history that are still bringing joy to people. Turn on your Post Timestamps. Do it today.

#also from a hellsite history perspective specifically #it's been fascinating to see posts from 2018 when there were interface changes that everyone hated #circulating during the past month when there have been interface changes that everyone hated #and no one seems to realize that those old posts are not referring to the new changes #but to something that no one remembers used to be different #anyway turn on post timestamps there is no downside #this has been a PSA #misinformation #information literacy #internet culture