29.12.2024, 18:56

Dear supporters of the appeal to the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK),

at the moment, hardly a day goes by without the X platform underlining the urgency of our appeal to universities and showing how important it is to end their activities on X. The list is getting longer and longer: interference in democratic elections in the US and now also in Germany, support for extremist parties and anti-climate change positions, incitement to hatred and violence against refugees in the UK, etc., etc.

It is inconceivable that universities in Germany choose to remain on such a platform “in order not to lose reach”. Staying on X is not compatible with the commitment to democracy, the protection of minorities and the fight against climate change as stated on their websites. Slowly, those in charge are beginning to realize this and the number of X account closures is continuously increasing. At the same time, the number of followers of the universities' Mastodon accounts is increasing and the Fediverse is becoming an established part of science communication. That is great. We can make the world a better place.

We would like to take this as an opportunity to thank you for your support at the end of the year. We think that the many signatures under our appeal have contributed significantly to the rethinking at universities.

In order to convince the remaining universities, we would like to ask you to win over more signatories in the last week of our collection:
openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon (everybody from within or outside Germany may sign). Because the petition ends on January 6, 2025, and we would like to hand it over to the German Rectors' Conference in Berlin on January 15, 2025. So the countdown has begun.

Those who have already signed are welcome to contact the university administrations or social media departments directly. Many people there are now rather open to the arguments in favor of an eXit, and Mastodon is well established meanwhile. We wish you success in your activities and a happy new year 2025, which we hope will bring us more of a digitization oriented towards common good.