111–120 of 122 posts
Already done a few months back. Also logged out from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and removed those apps from my phone too.
One of these is not like the rest and it doesn't make sense to remove it.
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One of these is not like the rest and it doesn't make sense to remove it.
WhatsApp is not a social network, but it is owned by Big Tech and is being exploited to monetize users attention. Also, the conversations may be encrypted, but the metadata (the really interesting part for FB) is being mined. Good on OP that they got it out of their device.
I would also like to know how is WhatsApp exploited to keep my attention, you think I randomly search for users or not even sure how could I keep attention to it without actually writing or reading messages.
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WhatsApp is not a social network, but it is owned by Big Tech and is being exploited to monetize users attention. Also, the conversations may be encrypted, but the metadata (the really interesting part for FB) is being mined. Good on OP that they got it out of their device.
Good luck communicating with people without using Big Tech products. I just wonder what operating system they use in their mobile device considering Android and iOS are both developed by Big Tech. I would also like to know how is WhatsApp exploited to keep my attention, you think I randomly search for users or not even sure how could I keep attention to it without actually writing or reading messages.
> Good luck communicating with people without using Big Tech products.
There are alternatives. Signal is already known even by non-techies. Matrix is not perfect, but usable and it can be setup in a way to bridge with other protocols, like Discord, Telegram, XMPP and even whatsapp.
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Good luck communicating with people without using Big Tech products. I just wonder what operating system they use in their mobile device considering Android and iOS are both developed by Big Tech. I would also like to know how is WhatsApp exploited to keep my attention, you think I randomly search for users or not even sure how could I keep attention to it without actually writing or reading messages.
In Brazil, e.g, WhatsApp is the facto tool used by people to talk with their doctors, to order food from a restaurant or for group chat with hundreds/thousands of users, some of them political or sensitive in nature. Facebook can correlate your messaging partners, location and even time to know what ads to offer you on their other properties. > Good luck communicating with people without using Big Tech products. Ther…
And what device and operating system not from Big Tech you use to run these "alternatives"?
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In Brazil, e.g, WhatsApp is the facto tool used by people to talk with their doctors, to order food from a restaurant or for group chat with hundreds/thousands of users, some of them political or sensitive in nature. Facebook can correlate your messaging partners, location and even time to know what ads to offer you on their other properties. > Good luck communicating with people without using Big Tech products. Ther…
That's all nice except I don't use any other Facebook product besides Whatsapp. And what device and operating system not from Big Tech you use to run these "alternatives"?
You are still being tracked, your data is still being available to every site you visit and has tracking codes from Facebook and your data can still end up on some shady exchange.
> what device and operating system not from Big Tech you use to run these "alternatives"
I am running /e/OS, an Android base without Google bits, on a Fairphone 3. It has its own app store that proxies to Google's, so you can use any app that works with microg. You can also use F-Droid, which gives you a huge catalog of FOSS alternatives.
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https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/15/elon-musk-demonstrates-h... Namely I think he vastly underestimates how complex content moderation at scale is.
He seems to be intending to take Twitter back to the type and scale of content moderation social media firms had pre-2015, which is perhaps not co-incidentally when they achieved their huge levels of growth. Too many HN readers appear to be trying to convince themselves of this idea: that content moderation is some insanely hard problem. It's not. Social media grew to billions of users with relatively straightforward…
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Actually, he sounds to me like he has an entirely reasonable understanding of twitter. Can you provide specific areas where you think his understanding is deficient?
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/15/elon-musk-demonstrates-h... Namely I think he vastly underestimates how complex content moderation at scale is.
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https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/15/elon-musk-demonstrates-h... Namely I think he vastly underestimates how complex content moderation at scale is.
He seems to be intending to take Twitter back to the type and scale of content moderation social media firms had pre-2015, which is perhaps not co-incidentally when they achieved their huge levels of growth. Too many HN readers appear to be trying to convince themselves of this idea: that content moderation is some insanely hard problem. It's not. Social media grew to billions of users with relatively straightforward…
1. Requires a common definition of spamming. If a bot is posting headlines for the NYT on their official account is that spam? A person really eagerly replying to everyone about their favorite band? Someone trying really hard to sell you their diet pills? Musk seems to think all these are equally OK (except maybe the nyt bot).
2. Musk has been sanctioned by the SEC for illegal stock manipulation based on his tweets. He argues he should be able to. Who decides?
3. What about calling a British citizen a pedofile because you're angry he didn't like your idea? In the UK that's a crime (libel laws are different than the US, and I'm certainly no expert) but simply hiding it to UK citizens doesn't actually comply with the laws. Jurisdiction isn't clear cut.
The examples I gave are reasons why a self-described "free speech absolutist" probably isn't going to be adequately equipped to tackle these issues.
Content moderation at scale - leaving out political content or opinions - requires proactive decisions that are often murky at best. And many can have consequences for the platform, especially with both sides of the American political system attacking Section 230 and seeking to hold those platforms responsible for the content of their users.
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He seems to be intending to take Twitter back to the type and scale of content moderation social media firms had pre-2015, which is perhaps not co-incidentally when they achieved their huge levels of growth. Too many HN readers appear to be trying to convince themselves of this idea: that content moderation is some insanely hard problem. It's not. Social media grew to billions of users with relatively straightforward…
The challenge seems to be that 1-3 in your list are highly subjective. 1. Requires a common definition of spamming. If a bot is posting headlines for the NYT on their official account is that spam? A person really eagerly replying to everyone about their favorite band? Someone trying really hard to sell you their diet pills? Musk seems to think all these are equally OK (except maybe the nyt bot). 2. Musk has been san…
1a. No, automated posting is not spamming any more than a mailing list is the same thing as spam.
1b. No, a fan "really eagerly replying" is not spam.
1c. Someone "trying really hard" to sell diet pills can be, you've been too vague to answer there.
Generally, sites impose usage limits on accounts to something reasonable that few people will ever hit organically. Whether you post within those limits using tools or manually doesn't matter. Then the rules say you're not allowed more than a small number of accounts. Anti-spam then mostly boils down to stopping people working around the usage limits.
Musk very obviously doesn't think they're all the same and it's a strawman to claim it is. I used to work in anti-spam and the stuff you're raising is easy. Spam fighting is hard, but not getting distracted by ideological noise that's trying to argue political censorship = spam fighting is really, really easy.