Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders • Hacker News Board

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#161

Post by ufmace » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:45 PM UTC

foobiter wrote: post #98

at_a_remove wrote: post #79

A Republican Congresswoman was just locked out of her Twitter account prior to some kind of Dem resolution, at least if you believe https://www.mrctv.org/blog/marjorie-taylor-green-reportedly-... as a source of truth. Nothing to see here, move along.

marjorie taylor green requires more detail than simply “a republican congresswoman” - she’s blamed forest fires on jewish space lasers, among other racist, homophobic, and transphobic conspiracy theories

Is there like a guide somewhere telling people to bring up some specific incident every time a particular UnPerson's name is brought up? I swear there's a few dozen people for which, as soon as their name is mentioned, a dozen green accounts will suddenly post what somebody has determined is "critical context" under which we are supposed to see them.

Okay she made one silly facebook post that doesn't really quite say that. If we're gonna popularize the absurd things said by every freshman congressperson on social media, well we've got a long book to write.

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#162

Post by etxm » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:45 PM UTC

I got an idea, don’t let world leaders use it at all.

They have official means of communicating with the public. Leave Twitter for people without a voice, posting memes, and general bullshitting.

World leaders don’t need to get caught up in quippy bickering.

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#163

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:45 PM UTC

ed312 wrote: post #156

tacostakohashi wrote: post #146

I don't really have much of an opinion on how twitter should approach world leaders. I'm more interested in the approach of world leaders to twitter. As far as I'm concerned, people receiving salaries from the taxpayer shouldn't be spending their time writing free copy for twitter. They should be communicating with the public via government operated websites, or press conferences covered by multiple media organizatio…

Do you also oppose the US President holding press conferences for privately owned broadcast TV channels?

[deleted]

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#164

Post by calvinmorrison » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

ed312 wrote: post #156

tacostakohashi wrote: post #146

I don't really have much of an opinion on how twitter should approach world leaders. I'm more interested in the approach of world leaders to twitter. As far as I'm concerned, people receiving salaries from the taxpayer shouldn't be spending their time writing free copy for twitter. They should be communicating with the public via government operated websites, or press conferences covered by multiple media organizatio…

Do you also oppose the US President holding press conferences for privately owned broadcast TV channels?

or that CPAN is a non-profit run by the networks to bring you full realtime video access into the senate, congress etc?

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#165

Post by shrubble » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

If you know who the first Lord Beaverbrook was, or have read The Fountainhead and remember the character of Gail Wynand, you can understand and almost predict the next moves of Dorsey/Twitter.

Its the same reason for Bezos' purchase of the Washington Post.... having a media outlet gives you political power.

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#166

Post by mtc010170 » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

aww_dang wrote: post #72

ike77 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a point of view, and a pretty cynical one. I would like to point out that regarding moderation, tech companies have been asking for guidelines and new laws for a decade now. Ageing lawmakers have been unable to provide them and we start to see shy initiatives from the EU regarding privacy laws but roughly most of the water in which tech companies operate are still no mans lands. All that make me think that eve…

I like the comparison to unclaimed land. While other industries are heavily regulated, requiring legal compliance and investment, Internet publishing is still largely open. In my view this is one of the reasons why the online service economy is booming in the US, where others are in decline.

I'm curious because I didn't realize this was a trend. Can anyone share some more info/sources on the decline outside the US?

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#167

Post by tacostakohashi » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

ed312 wrote: post #156

tacostakohashi wrote: post #146

I don't really have much of an opinion on how twitter should approach world leaders. I'm more interested in the approach of world leaders to twitter. As far as I'm concerned, people receiving salaries from the taxpayer shouldn't be spending their time writing free copy for twitter. They should be communicating with the public via government operated websites, or press conferences covered by multiple media organizatio…

Do you also oppose the US President holding press conferences for privately owned broadcast TV channels?

I can live with it if there's a pool of such channels and a system for sharing access across them, which is more or less the case for white house press conferences.

If the president were to just pick one favorite channel and only ever be interviewed by them and have them as the only invitee for press conferences, then no.

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#168

Post by cle » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

ed312 wrote: post #156

tacostakohashi wrote: post #146

I don't really have much of an opinion on how twitter should approach world leaders. I'm more interested in the approach of world leaders to twitter. As far as I'm concerned, people receiving salaries from the taxpayer shouldn't be spending their time writing free copy for twitter. They should be communicating with the public via government operated websites, or press conferences covered by multiple media organizatio…

Do you also oppose the US President holding press conferences for privately owned broadcast TV channels?

I'm not. There's a natural scarcity of space for physical cameras and reporters. As far as I understand, the press themselves are largely responsible for figuring out these logistics via the WHCA. (Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken.)

There isn't any practical scarcity for text streams coming from the White House though, so I can't think of a reason why consuming them should be tied to a closed platform like Twitter, other than marginal costs of setting up and operating the infrastructure (perhaps not so marginal once we start talking about government contracts?).

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#169

Post by glitchc » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:48 PM UTC

World leaders should not have a forum on Twitter. We have official government channels for that, where other stakeholders in the system provide their input before the message becomes public.

If an individual moves into the position of a world leader or equivalent, their account should be frozen until such time that the position ends. This is the only sane policy. Anything else is too dangerous for humanity. Twitter and similar forums have the potential to destabilize global peace in the long run.

Ex: A world leader should not be allowed to say "We are going to war" on Twitter, only to have the military turn around and say "We're doing what?!". Most governments have an official process for declaring war for this very reason, otherwise we are regressing back to medieval times.

Re: Calling for public input on our approach to world leaders

#170

Post by khawkins » Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 4:48 PM UTC

ike77 wrote: post #67

ErikVandeWater wrote: post #8

Marketing tip: Always ask the public for input and consult with "experts" before doing what you intended to all along.

That's a point of view, and a pretty cynical one. I would like to point out that regarding moderation, tech companies have been asking for guidelines and new laws for a decade now. Ageing lawmakers have been unable to provide them and we start to see shy initiatives from the EU regarding privacy laws but roughly most of the water in which tech companies operate are still no mans lands. All that make me think that eve…

They banned a sitting president of the United States and yet have allowed for years known despots, genocidal regimes, and terrorists groups to operate with impunity. Bad faith is Twitter's modus operandi until they show otherwise.