Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry • Hacker News Board

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#61

Post by exit » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:23 AM UTC

tom_mellior wrote: post #55

guessmyname wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> … but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I created a Twitter account in 2012 and it was immediately put in “private mode” because I didn’t want to post anything; ±7 years later the account is still empty, no posts, no followers, nada. The only reason I created that account was to prevent cybersquatting over…

1. Most Twitter users are not malicious in the way you suggest. EDIT: 1'. Twitter has rules and procedures against impersonation: https://help.twitter.com/forms/impersonation though I don't know how effective they are if you are not going by a real name but by an Internet handle that you claim is unique. 2. If you have such an important personal brand to protect, your Twitter account should not be in private mode. It…

> 1. Most Twitter users are not malicious in the way you suggest.

the odds of, at a minimum, any given twitter profile being at least wildly off-brand for your namespace colliding persona are still very high. this looks like a legitimate edge case anxiety to me.

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#62

Post by jiqiren » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:27 AM UTC

guessmyname wrote: post #51

Sendotsh wrote: post #15

I understand why some people are upset about it (Eg due to accounts of deceased people), but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I definitely feel like they could compromise and at least delete those blatantly unused ones.

> … but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I created a Twitter account in 2012 and it was immediately put in “private mode” because I didn’t want to post anything; ±7 years later the account is still empty, no posts, no followers, nada. The only reason I created that account was to prevent cybersquatting over…

Burden is on you to simply login. That’s all twitter is asking - login to show you still want the username.

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#63

Post by Cthulhu_ » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:51 AM UTC

jiqiren wrote: post #62

guessmyname wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> … but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I created a Twitter account in 2012 and it was immediately put in “private mode” because I didn’t want to post anything; ±7 years later the account is still empty, no posts, no followers, nada. The only reason I created that account was to prevent cybersquatting over…

Burden is on you to simply login. That’s all twitter is asking - login to show you still want the username.

And agree to their new terms and conditions - THAT is the real reason why they're doing this. I'm sure the new T&C's grant Twitter the right to do more with existing accounts / tweets.

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#64

Post by Joe-Z » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:54 AM UTC

FeepingCreature wrote: post #59

mapcars wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and then someone starts posting malicious messages to make my username look bad That's kinda easy, you create a real account and verify it/link it in all your other profiles.

That's literally what they did.

To me it didn't sound like they linked this dead account anywhere. They literally just squatted a name to never use for anything.

Real class move btw, I hope GPs account gets deleted soon. (And then the flood of people having nothing better to do than destroy some nobody's reputation on social media comes in I guess...)

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#65

Post by WalterBright » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:56 AM UTC

guessmyname wrote: post #51

Sendotsh wrote: post #15

I understand why some people are upset about it (Eg due to accounts of deceased people), but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I definitely feel like they could compromise and at least delete those blatantly unused ones.

> … but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I created a Twitter account in 2012 and it was immediately put in “private mode” because I didn’t want to post anything; ±7 years later the account is still empty, no posts, no followers, nada. The only reason I created that account was to prevent cybersquatting over…

> which I have to clarify is not “guessmyname”

That's just what you want us to think!

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#66

Post by ForHackernews » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:56 AM UTC

tom_mellior wrote: post #55

guessmyname wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> … but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I created a Twitter account in 2012 and it was immediately put in “private mode” because I didn’t want to post anything; ±7 years later the account is still empty, no posts, no followers, nada. The only reason I created that account was to prevent cybersquatting over…

1. Most Twitter users are not malicious in the way you suggest. EDIT: 1'. Twitter has rules and procedures against impersonation: https://help.twitter.com/forms/impersonation though I don't know how effective they are if you are not going by a real name but by an Internet handle that you claim is unique. 2. If you have such an important personal brand to protect, your Twitter account should not be in private mode. It…

> If you have such an important personal brand to protect, you presumably have something interesting to say

Sorry, but do you actually believe this? In my experience, nearly everyone who talks about their "personal brand" is some variation of a dull-as-dishwater marketing drone. Be a human, not a brand.

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#67

Post by manderley » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 9:58 AM UTC

Joe-Z wrote: post #64

FeepingCreature wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's literally what they did.

To me it didn't sound like they linked this dead account anywhere. They literally just squatted a name to never use for anything. Real class move btw, I hope GPs account gets deleted soon. (And then the flood of people having nothing better to do than destroy some nobody's reputation on social media comes in I guess...)

It's a Twitter account name. Let's not act like this is some huge imposition.

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#68

Post by somehnguy » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 10:06 AM UTC

ForHackernews wrote: post #66

tom_mellior wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Most Twitter users are not malicious in the way you suggest. EDIT: 1'. Twitter has rules and procedures against impersonation: https://help.twitter.com/forms/impersonation though I don't know how effective they are if you are not going by a real name but by an Internet handle that you claim is unique. 2. If you have such an important personal brand to protect, your Twitter account should not be in private mode. It…

> If you have such an important personal brand to protect, you presumably have something interesting to say Sorry, but do you actually believe this? In my experience, nearly everyone who talks about their "personal brand" is some variation of a dull-as-dishwater marketing drone. Be a human, not a brand.

I think you took it too literally and missed the intent

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#69

Post by trianglem » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 10:07 AM UTC

guessmyname wrote: post #51

Sendotsh wrote: post #15

I understand why some people are upset about it (Eg due to accounts of deceased people), but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I definitely feel like they could compromise and at least delete those blatantly unused ones.

> … but I was really REALLY hoping to snap my first name which was registered by a European person 10 years ago, has 0 followers, and has never posted. I created a Twitter account in 2012 and it was immediately put in “private mode” because I didn’t want to post anything; ±7 years later the account is still empty, no posts, no followers, nada. The only reason I created that account was to prevent cybersquatting over…

I would assume the way Twitter is doing this is deleting inactive accounts and permanently retiring those deleted account names, right?

Re: Twitter account deletions on 'pause' after outcry

#70

Post by tragic » Thu, Nov 28, 2019, 10:08 AM UTC

pmontra wrote: post #39

What they mean about GDPR compliance is a mistery. GDPR doesn't apply to deceased persons: Recital 27 > This Regulation does not apply to the personal data of deceased persons. > Member States may provide for rules regarding the processing of personal data of deceased persons. Each country has its own rules. This is a summary https://www.twobirds.com/en/in-focus/general-data-protection... However the tweets of a dece…

The GDPR angle is that this was why they decided to indiscriminately delete inactive accounts. Deceased users are the reason they're delaying it, not the reason they're doing it.