Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors • Hacker News Board

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#421

Post by stale2002 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:23 PM UTC

protomyth wrote: post #369

rossdavidh wrote: post #353

Hypothesis: this is not about Elon running Twitter, controlling society, insuring free speech, or any other such thing. It's simply that he wants insurance against being de-platformed, and now he has it.

9% is a hell of an insurance policy. I don't disagree, the man does not do small things, but I do wonder if he just bought insurance for more people than himself.

>? 9% is a hell of an insurance policy

I mean, you say that. But the literal former president of the USA got de-platformed from twitter, and we don't hear about him nearly as much as when he had a twitter.

Maybe it is actually worth that amount of money, if entire elections can be influenced like that.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#422

Post by bjt2n3904 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:24 PM UTC

The comments in this thread are a gold mine.

1) Twitter doesn't ban people for wrong think! That's a myth!

2) Musk was accused of racism!

3) Musk isn't doing this for freedom of speech, he's only doing it for his own interests!

I want to see the Venn Diagram of people who said one of these things, and were glibly sharing XKCD #1357 whenever someone got banned from Twitter that they disagree with.

The tides have started to slowly turn, and all they can do is play the same three cards over and over: "that's not true, this is racism, capitalism bad!"

Surprise! Nobody believes this anymore. They're sick and tired of being told what to believe by "experts". They're tired of you crying wolf. And they're tired of being gaslit that none of this is happening.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#423

Post by Latty » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:25 PM UTC

Flankk wrote: post #407

ashtonkem wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Praise for Elon tends to diminish the closer you get to him. He’s kind of notorious for being a bad boss; impulsive, poor temperament, and petty. Even if you like his achievements, chances are you would very much not enjoy having him as a boss.

I honestly could not care less. Steve Jobs was the same. I think you are criticizing the very things that made them great.

The idea workers have to suffer under "great men" to produce things of value is provably untrue and just an excuse by those "great men" to act in unacceptable ways, while taking credit for the work done by those people.

A good CEO can of course provide value, but pretending they are alone responsible for success, and abusing staff is a good way to achieve that success is just wrong. Burning out passionate people is a good way to create short-term profit, it isn't "greatness".

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#424

Post by elicash » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:25 PM UTC

next_xibalba wrote: post #401

elicash wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This was almost certainly done by a lawyer working on his behalf. Are you arguing that when he signs his name and certifies that the (short) form is "true, complete and correct" that he is not responsible because the form was prepared by an attorney of his? > being seized upon by the media How did "the media" seize on this? When I last checked, there were zero articles. And even if they had, why wouldn't discussion…

> How did "the media" seize on this? Let me ask you this: how is it that you are aware of the form and how Musk (or, more likely, a lawyer) filled it out? It is being reported [1]. Every word in an article for a major news outlet is meaningful in some way. Journalists are not provided limitless word count, so decisions have to be made about what is and is not included. Now, one could definitely argue that journalists…

Those articles are mostly about announcing as a passive investor -- not whether he misled the public in his filings. This collection of articles only further makes the case that the media has mostly reported uncritically his misleading claim.

RE: handle, thanks!

Also, I have since-posting found one article kinda about this: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/04/elon-musk-thumbs-his-nose-at...

However, even that article is just about the lateness of the filing. It doesn't mention the debate over whether the filing itself was misleading. And this is the best example I could find!

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#425

Post by JamisonM » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:25 PM UTC

keithwhor wrote: post #344

hintymad wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Elon is just one of the board directors. I was wondering why people believe that he will have such sweeping power to change Twitter.

Depends on how much the rest of the board really feels like arguing with Elon. Keep in mind these people have jobs outside of Twitter. https://investor.twitterinc.com/corporate-governance/board-o...

I guess there is a high probability that he will drag boardroom disagreements out into the open, so in that sense they will have to "argue" with him. In general boards vote to settle things and then it is settled, they are not supposed to be arguing indefinitely - the chair calls the question and the matter gets settled.

Can Musk keep his board seat? That is my question, being an unruly character when you don't have full control usually gets you turfed from a board for violating confidences pretty quickly, but IDK.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#426

Post by fullshark » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:25 PM UTC

justapassenger wrote: post #37

jmkni wrote: post #5

I think Twitter's CEO summed it up well, and I agree: > He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon! https://twitter.com/paraga/status/1511320964813910017

That sounds like a typical corporate butt kissing.

Maybe but it’s 100% accurate TBD if he actually is happy to butt heads with Elon.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#427

Post by next_xibalba » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:25 PM UTC

abduhl wrote: post #196

fallingknife wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the USA. You are allowed to insult the government.

You’re allowed to insult the government. You’re not allowed to lie to the government when filing substantive documents.

What is the substantive effect on the public (aka "investors") if this value in this field on this form was incorrect?

This is a tempest in a teapot. People who don't like Musk are pointing to it and saying, "See? SEE!? He is a liar. He is bad."

But the reality is, this doesn't actually hurt anyone and its not really a big deal at all.

But let's take the least charitable interpretation and play it out: Musk filled out the form himself. He intentionally with malice aforethought lied. The day after the SEC form becomes public, he takes a board seat. What is the material damage done to the public?

Twitter shareholders got a huge 2-day pop. That would have happened regardless of Elon's intent.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#428

Post by caffeine » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:26 PM UTC

This is great news! Twitter and the rest of the rotten and censorious platforms could use a proper shake-up. Hope the authoritarians and political repressives and anyone who works on the content moderation team all resign in protest! Good riddance!

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#429

Post by memish » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:26 PM UTC

ashtonkem wrote: post #254

jfoster wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the person, doesn't it? If I were at Twitter, I would be excited about this. I would be expecting the work to become more challenging, but also more important.

Praise for Elon tends to diminish the closer you get to him. He’s kind of notorious for being a bad boss; impulsive, poor temperament, and petty. Even if you like his achievements, chances are you would very much not enjoy having him as a boss.

Working for someone who transforms industries?

Many do enjoy that very much, clearly. Amazing engineers, who can work anywhere they want, choose to work at SpaceX and Tesla. And we all benefit from the electrification of the grid and advances in space.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#430

Post by loceng » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:26 PM UTC

dmamills wrote: post #343

m463 wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So society is that dependent on twitter?

I don't know where the implication that society is dependent on twitter is hidden in my comment. But no, society isn't dependent on twitter, is it relevant to society? Certainly.

Luckily your stating something with no actual argument points to support your statement doesn't hold any weight whatsoever to whether it has any truth to it or not.