Hi. I'm Luna, and I sort of kicked off the Bureaucrat bit (sorry, had to lie in the title if people didn't want spoilers! I took a lot of time figuring out how to post this without making everything awkward. Edited in post)

I did not create the account, and I don't know who did. All I know is that I found a post with the account password linked. At the time it had minimal engagement, with a couple of people logged in. I quickly did the same, fearing someone might change the password. RedWizard then brought up 2FA, and I quickly grabbed it before anyone else could, planning to give people 2FA codes in order to verify their entry into the Bureaucrat collective. By this point, there were a few good users in the post. I had made the pfp one of the puppygirl emojis I had downloaded a while back when Tomboymoder was originally requesting the emojis. The original pfp was the image of the puppygirl smiling with her teeth, an image that didn't become an emoji. I then changed the bio to "we are puppy now lol", which remains the bio to now. I also gave the account pup/pup's pronouns, later adding null/void as I felt it was appropriate for a collective account. I don't know why I thought making the account a puppygirl was a good idea, but it stuck and has become a staple of the account.

Someone actually just removed pronouns somehow at the time of writing, idk how to feel about it, but I asked the collective and we'll see what they think (pronouns are back, edited in post).

Anyway, this bit got WAY bigger than I thought it would. I thought these few users would fizzle out, but we branched throughout the entire site. More and more people logged in, nobody locked the account, nobody deleted it, nobody changed the password without the knowledge of the collective. We are leftists, and it shows in how we are able to manage a community account without wrecking everything. The modlog is clear, us Bureaucrats haven't done anything to warrant a deletion, or a comm/site ban, and that gives me such feelings of hope for the future of the site and our world.

I also made the Howdy post, asked around for feedback, pretended to show up during the large influx and be confused, all of it to maintain that feeling that we don't know who's who, that we're all one collective, one account, just trying to have fun on our social site that was just thrown into one of its most violent struggle sessions of all time. Bureaucrat came at the perfect time, a time to ease tensions and build community again.

I'm not going to pretend I was the reason this succeeded, not am I going to say I created the bit. I did neither of those things. I was just a user who wanted to have some fun with this account (and set the tone of it, edited in post), and happened to make a lot of the initial posts and comments. Yes, I was at least 5-6 of the "post" comments in the initial post!

Again, it grew so much bigger than I thought it would, someone added a profile banner, people kept FIXING THE ACCOUNT when some users tried to change it! I am just so proud for some reason, and even now my eyes are welling up. I literally told Alaskaball (as a Bureaucrat, edited in post) that I was in tears because of how well this was going, and how everyone came together to have a good time. It was such a nice thing to see after such a turbulent time.

(Alaskaball also brought up taking this to my grave, and it's giving me anxiety that I might die before you all know this information. So, I wrote this post. Also literally had a dream about dying in a car crash, so either my anxiety was that deep, or the dream was a sign. Edited in post)

May this account succeed well into the future, may it last years to come, and may it be a beacon of peace and fun for whoever needs it. We are all Bureaucrat, and we all worked to make it as fun as it was. Some of the most fun I've had on this site, in fact!

I'm still crying, as I'm writing this it's still going strong. Estradiol is one hell of a drug. I wanted to write more and had something in mind, but I'm AuDHD and at this point it is so much to keep track of. Bureaucrat, if you know anything I have forgotten, please comment below. I want this whole saga to be remembered, because I feel like it needs to be. It feels like one of the most important things to me, and it's all just a bit. Strange.

Anyway, this next part is about me, Luna. Feel free to skip, but my story is a long time coming:

I first found Lemmygrad and Hexbear around a year and a half ago, after finding r/thedeprogram and consistently watching Second Thought. I thought I was cis at the time, and I lurked on both sites until around 7 months ago. At that time, still thinking I was cis, I created the account "EcoMaowist". Something to know about me, I was horrible at communicating. Everywhere. I still am, but I thoroughly believe that this site (and transitioning, which this site helped me start) have made me a better communicator. I still heavily mask in real life, but I don't feel like I need to here. Many of us are trans, neurodivergent, and have good politics, I really appreciate this space. I deleted EcoMaowist shortly after I created "Luna", this account. Honestly, you wouldn't want to see all my old posts. Other than discovering that I am trans, and the comments that followed (I wish I had those). The account was awkward, did not know how to use the site, did not understand the culture or the social cues of the users, and broke down at the slightest criticism for poorly naming a post. Yes, this happened. In hindsight the name was very bad, and so was the post, but I had spent a lot of time making it, and it broke me. Deleting the account was doing me a service, I thought, and for that one blunder I made, so early on in my time on the internet (I hadn't used social media before this). I wish I hadn't deleted that account.

Moving on, I got better at communicating with you all, created Luna after finding out I was trans, turned off upbears (this helped a lot), and very carefully realized what I should and shouldn't talk about. I'm still frankly shit at communicating, if you haven't realized when reading this post, but I know what to say, I know what I like to talk about, and I have the wonderful trans mega to casually chat in (seriously, you all are the best).

When I first joined this site, I was depressed. Really depressed. I had the wrong hormone in me, after all, and I was pretty alone. Isolated, too autistic, to passionate, too righteous, too hyperfocused on special interests nobody else had, to talk with my peers meaningfully. You all provided community for me, and it's led me to find parts of myself I never knew I had. I like talking to people, for example. I never knew that, I had essentially lived with multiple masks on my whole life, and it's something I still struggle with in real life, even on here sometimes. I'm getting better though. Also you all totally cracked my egg, shoutout to everyone who commented on my (EcoMaowist's) post asking how you all knew you were trans or cis, I don't know if any of you remember that.

That brings us to today with me, excited to participate in community activities (Webfishing), finally being more active on the trans mega and tracha matrix, avoiding my schoolwork. That last one isn't too great, but I'm happy. The point is I'm so happy, probably happier than I have ever been, and I have all of you to thank for it, struggle session and all. Bureaucrat proves that, and proved to me that this is a great space. I am so glad to have found it, I don't know if I would still be here if I haven't.

Thank you all.

Your comrade, fellow poster, Bureaucrat, Bureaucat (I didn't create that account), and maybe to some even a friend

-- Luna

P.S. I wrote this at around 11pm EST last night, and I've changed as little as possible in order to keep it more raw and authentic. I feel like I gushed a lot, but that's fine, and I feel like these emotions are worth recognizing and celebrating. I feel more comfortable posting this now, as the bit has evolved SO FAR beyond my original additions. There's a comm now, I made a megathread there but one of you powerful created an entire comm description, one that I thought was a great addition to the bit. Other users are even planning expansion to other instances, and are, let me highlight this, coordinating ways to make sure other people can experience the bit without the account being banned on those instances. We are one, but we are many, and I will stand by everything I wrote last night, loving every second of this wonderful bit. Take it to the stars, everyone. May it go down in history as proof of what we are able to pull off in terms of discipline and community. Still love you all, Luna but the morning after

P.P.S. Unfortunately I have no evidence of my escapades, I forgot to even gather evidence. Like I said, I DID NOT EXPECT IT GO SO SO FAR AND SO WELL!

P.P.P.S. I finally remembered what I was going to say! I ended up removing 2FA shortly after I added it. I only did it because I've had bad experiences with getting accounts stolen, and I went into fight or flight. You all came up with a better vetting system anyway, the geniuses that you all are!

Anyway, here's the best I can give you. Also, I did not set the comm banner, but whoever did either read my mind, is a genius, or both!

Show

is the exact file that started it all, from the exact same location on my computer, where I am typing now.