I don't blame you at all, Cheryl!
I've used it for some time, although I read more than I post. Some people I know post on there a lot and really embrace it much more than I do. It can be unpleasant sometimes, with people piling on, and so I think it is healthy to be a little careful with it and not crave follower numbers too much because of all that brings with it too.
I've seen people get banned for referring to Mastodon. I've also seen people get banned for being negative about the person you refer to. So much for his drive for free speech, eh?
It is suspected that third party apps are being blocked because they are a way of avoiding ads. This could really backfire, because many of the heavy Twitter users (such as those who partly make their living through it) will use other apps, and so the management will be driving away many of their content producers. Smart move...