‘#RIPTwitter’ trends as users await site’s potential collapse

(NEXSTAR) — After reports of mass resignations at Twitter on Thursday evening, users of the social media site eulogized the application — sending hashtags like #RIPTwitter and #GoodbyeTwitter to the top of Twitter’s What’s Happening section.

The tweet floodgates opened as a deadline set by Twitter owner Elon Musk expired. As the New York Times reports, on Wednesday, Twitter employees were given until 5 p.m. ET Thursday to decide to commit to the company and continue their employment in building “Twitter 2.0.”

The email, obtained by NY, was titled “A Fork in the Road,” and as of the deadline Thursday, hundreds of employees chose to leave the company, which has faced critical difficulties since Tesla CEO Musk, 51, took control in late October. The email promised further “long hours at high intensity” for those who remained.

The resignations leave the operability of Twitter in serious jeopardy, the Washington Post explained Thursday. Even before Thursday’s exodus, Musk had already triggered thousands of layoffs. Some operational divisions had already been reduced to single digits — for a website which hosted about 238 million daily active users, according to the company in October.

“I thought my soul was already fully crushed after the last two weeks. I was so wrong. Today has been rough,” one former Twitter employee tweeted Thursday. “There will never be a better culture than what we had. We know it. Every other tech company knows it. #LoveWhereYouWorked.”

Many non-affiliated users reminisced about their favorite moments on the site, like certain memes and trends. Others, meanwhile, lamented the cultural impact of certain minority communities on the site, like segments known as “Black Twitter” and “Gay Twitter.”

“Twitter has given me access to people, experts, data and opinions that have made me more reflective, smarter, radicalized and a better human being and teacher. I’ve met people who are my friends. [There will] never be a space like Black Twitter. Single fist raised. It’s been real,” tweeted one user.

Twitter currently has no communications department to contact for comment. As of Thursday evening, Musk himself had not specifically addressed the resignations, tweeting only at 7:25 p.m., “How do you make a small fortune in social media? Start out with a large one.”

The company’s offices are set to be closed through Monday for all employees, Reuters and other outlets report.

Twitter was founded in 2006 in San Francisco.