Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump • Hacker News Board

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#821

Post by rconti » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:29 AM UTC

dheera wrote: post #351

handmodel wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the logic isn't that hard. Person says bad things to whip up a mob - Twitter unsure to take him seriously or literally. Mob actually materializes and several people die - Twitter sure they now have to take him literally

I reckon it also has a lot to do with ad revenue. Trump is the ONLY reason I'm on Twitter. There is literally no other benefit I gain from being on Twitter. Also, people only ever respond to me if I tweet against Trump's policies. If I say anything about science or tech or humanity or art or say some interesting ideas, nobody listens to me. Nobody retweets me. Nobody follows me. It's like talking to a wall. His term…

That's why Twitter is such a toxic site. The greatest incentive is to create outrage and agreement or disagreement, and it's on a descending scale from there. "Quality content" is pretty far down the list, and of course the format makes quality content even harder.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#822

Post by codelord » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:30 AM UTC

"He's done worse before, why now?" is not a very strong argument IMO. Are we better off without him on twitter? IMO, yes. Then this is a positive move. I also think Twitter/Facebook should have clear guidelines for intolerable content that applies to everyone. Encouraging violence could be a good red line. Although, I have little confidence that any of the social media platforms would establish and equally enforce a standard policy. They usually take the path of least business risk which is understandable but not satisfying.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#823

Post by pupdogg » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:31 AM UTC

ve55 wrote: post #44

This ban seems to heavily take advantage of the current moment, as it's obvious that he has tweeted worse things in the past. It's strange that they picked such a poor way to justify the ban when they could have made a significantly stronger case, and in doing so could have convinced millions more people that they are trying their best to apply policies evenly. For example, I have a hard time imagining why they chose…

Regardless of your beliefs, today is a sad day for free speech.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#824

Post by dijereedan » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:32 AM UTC

Y'know I'm worried this will have the opposite of the intended effect. That it will only embolden them further, so they come back stronger. Also feeds into those liberal stereotypes they endorse.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#825

Post by hooande » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:33 AM UTC

bargl wrote: post #510

dredmorbius wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The environment has changed. Previously theoretic risks are now manifest, demonstrated, and cognizable. Actual riots, insurrection, disruption of government, assaults on law enforcement, damage to government buildings, theft of government property, violence, and deaths, have occurred. The instigator is unrepentent and non-credible in what are at best tepid disavowals. The totality of context has changed. If "he has t…

I agree with the action and disagree with their justification. Because of the weakness of their justification, this could be further gasoline on the fire for his 74 million supporters. I frequently find myself having to argue with said supporters, and I can't argue that this justification makes sense other than to say... well they should have banned him before hand. It feels like they were looking for almost anything…

Tell the trump supporters you know that this is about imminent threat. trump's words just started a historic riot, and it looks like he may say more things that spark unrest in the immediate future. This isn't about both sides or BLM. He just, two days ago, caused insurrection. It would be negligent to just watch him do it again

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#826

Post by dang » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:34 AM UTC

imgabe wrote: post #702

Who is going to get banned for the BLM protestor that shot and killed a Trump supporter?

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25692148.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#827

Post by beerandt » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:34 AM UTC

yongjik wrote: post #739

oceanplexian wrote: post #537

IMHO there are things that are much more scary than some trespassing into government buildings or a riot. The possibility that we might slide backwards from traditionally liberal ideas spawned from the enlightenment is utterly terrifying. And we are rapidly heading in that direction.

> IMHO there are things that are much more scary than some trespassing into government buildings or a riot. Yeah, like, some people trespassing into government buildings in the middle of officially declaring the next president, with an intention to disrupt the procedure, at the urge of the current outgoing president. Now that is some scary shit.

And occupying the Senate building for the SCOTUS confirmation, admittedly to intimidate senators to change their vote, is different how? Other than one was met with resistance and the other was given unfettered access.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#828

Post by o_p » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:37 AM UTC

Instead of banning him when they should, they milked the cow as far as they could, now hes some days to be irrelevant so they can virtue signal for free. Twitter are not the good guys at all

Social networks have more power than they can handle, I hope they suffer more regulations, the influence in politics is too much

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#829

Post by willis936 » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:38 AM UTC

shiado wrote: post #115

74 million voters. This is not going to play out well. There's really no coming back from this moment, the technocratic elite have changed American democracy forever. Edit: I mean this in the way Snowden tweeted yesterday, it will be interesting how this plays out for better or worse, but it is a monumental policy shift that will be a date marked in history books.

Trump is the one who chose twitter. No position on the planet has more choices to spread a message to an audience than the POTUS. Twitter owes Trump nothing. He broke their rules and faces the consequences. One politician being banned on social media sites is not a sign of the technocracy subverting democracy; it’s a sign that no one is above consequences of their own actions.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#830

Post by boringg » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 2:40 AM UTC

allendoerfer wrote: post #167

Does anybody have a solution to the bigger underlying question of de-platforming and censorship on online platforms? As far as I can tell, there are two general viewpoints: a) Censorship is bad, free speech is good. You should counter bad arguments with better arguments. b) There are types of speech, which are proven to lead to violence in the long-run. Also, some things can be proven as untrue. Lies are bad. I have…

I will say the real challenge with true free speech is the people who abuse the meaning of it compound that with people who make money on viewership. They have no incentive to tell the truth since they make money on getting the most attention. It really leads down a disheartening future where truth doesn't matter but viewership volume does.

I'd like to think most people take the quality of their content (i.e. truth and thought) as important to how they consume. All data currently points to the latter in terms of quality of content. I am concerned for the world my children and my children's children will be raised in if this trajectory keeps going.