That’s where T2 and other startups see an opportunity. Instead of worrying about Dunbar’s Number, Cselle is more concerned with the Allee threshold, a biological effect named after the ecologist who postulated it. Basically, it states that in any ecosystem there’s a particular number of inhabitants needed to sustain a healthy population. Cselle thinks that T2 will hit the Allee Threshold this spring when it includes 5,000 people, enough to generate the level of relevant content needed to keep users engaged. The trick needed for T2 to thrive is for it to host a multiplicity of communities, so that the service itself can grow while still maintaining that relevancy for individuals. (That idea is taken to an extreme on Mastodon, which immediately forces newcomers to pick what tribe they will be associated with.)   

To make sure that T2’s communities are healthy, Cselle and his cofounder, trust and safety specialist Oh, are planning to authenticate users. But they won’t be charging $8 for the privilege like Musk’s Twitter. Instead they will actually attempt to confirm users’ identities, which will cut down on hostile attacks and harmful misinformation. “I think there's a space for building an authenticated network, where you actually are pretty sure that if someone claims to be Steven Levy on T2, it is actually Steven Levy,” he says. Right now, that’s easy, because only invited people can join. Later, they may check IDs or try to cross-check with other social media accounts. But Cselle says that while not everyone might have airtight credentials, certainly those with the equivalent of blue checks will.

Cselle got me past the waitlist to peek at the just launched, very alpha version of T2. (I’m user number 76, and the total is still in double figures.) The app is a clean, chronological feed of  comments from testers drawn from personal connections of the founders. Much of the discussion is about T2 itself, as the community workshops the product. But the feed also weaved in asynchronous discussions on vegetable gardens, Oxford commas, and the most recent episode of The Last of Us. The minimalism is refreshing, the vibe is welcoming, and it’s a relief not to have to pose as or promote something. One user comments that the experience is like “a quiet gathering on a large lawn with wine served and a hushed din as guests arrive.” But what will happen when giant flat-panel screens are installed and hordes of beer guzzlers arrive? That’s the hard part.

For now, Cselle’s team is bathing in an idyllic moment of pure potential. T2 is nascent enough that Cselle can ask around for ideas on its interface, taking a poll to see whether people prefer flat or dimensioned (that is, shaded) icons. But it’s telling that his poll was not shared exclusively with the double-figured T2 community, but instead was conducted on the noisy scrum of the platform he’s supposed to be replacing, owned by Elon Musk. Cselle is even planning for T2 to support cross-posting with the rival. Even he realizes that, lost magic or not, T1 will be hard to topple.