@Peter Lord In an attempt to promote u3a.social, I submitted the following article to the editor of my local U3A's newsletter.

I.T. Titbit - Broader Horizons
Would you like to widen your circle of online friends and meet more third-agers in your social media feeds? Well, now you can.

Until very recently, there has been no easy way for a U3A member to find like-minded third agers outside of their local U3A. But now there is. The u3a.social website has just been launched and members of all U3As across the UK are invited to join.

If you have a passion for an esoteric subject and no-one in Charnwood U3A shares your interest, perhaps you will find enthusiasts elsewhere in the country. Or, if you find it difficult to get out and about, your computer can be a gateway to finding new U3A friends, no matter how far away they are.

The u3a.social site is part of the wider Fediverse with connections to many other social media sites, too. Together these sites provide a safe and friendly online community. They don’t carry advertisements and they don’t encourage extreme views. They care about their members.

For information on how to join, please send an email to helpdesk@charnwoodu3a.org.uk and put ‘u3a.social’ in the subject line.

The I.T. Support team.

She replied saying "I don't have room for all the details ... so I've had to summarise it". And our chair added that this is not endorsed by "the national u3a". So it ended up like this:

IT Titbit - Broader Horizons
A new website has just been launched and members of all u3as across the UK are invited to join to connect with other third-agers who share their interests, in a safe, friendly, ad-free online community. Note this is not part of (or endorsed by) the national u3a.
For information about this, please send an email to helpdesk@charnwoodu3a.org.uk and put ‘u3a social’ in the subject line.

That doesn't have the same impact, though. 🙁