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Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

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Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#131
post #58

> Free speech absolutism is possible and is beneficial I don't think we have evidence to support this. Pursuant to the last major thread on the topic, I was thinking further about it, and realized that the vast majority of progress civilization has made has been under conditions much more regulated in terms of which ideas may propagate. We've never had a situation where fake news can and does spread the way it does t…

Well, we have seen how authoritarian repression of alternative viewpoints turned out, with the imprisonment of Galileo, execution of Thomas More, horrors of Stalin and Hitler and too many more to mention.

And we have seen what immense improvements of the conditions of man came through a free society like the founding of USA, with freedom of speech and eventual total abolishment of slavery. (Slavery, which up to then more-or-less had been part of the vast majority of civilizations, from Asia to Africa, to America, to Europe).

And now you argue to run that experiment again, just to be sure?

Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#132
post #126

As somebody from the first world who has had the experience of moderating Internet forums… free speech in the sense of “the government generally shouldn’t control people’s speech, with limited exceptions” is good and necessary. Free speech in the sense of “everybody should be forced to platform every idea” is silly IMO. Left alone user content rapidly devolves into the most low-effort salient content - flame wars, po…

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Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#133
post #58

> Free speech absolutism is possible and is beneficial I don't think we have evidence to support this. Pursuant to the last major thread on the topic, I was thinking further about it, and realized that the vast majority of progress civilization has made has been under conditions much more regulated in terms of which ideas may propagate. We've never had a situation where fake news can and does spread the way it does t…

[deleted]

Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#136
post #30

Sometimes being reckless and a heretic helps society move forward. I'm starting to become a fan of Musk. Guy is sitting on $256B in net worth. That's so rich it's like trying to picture the distance from the earth to the sun, your brain struggles. I get the sense he's going to be the Howard Hughes of our time. Weird ideas and a ton of money make for some interesting moves. Not everything he does will be positive, but…

The most American take possible, I guess.

Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#137

From observing various internet forums, including this one, I noticed that people from the "first world" countries don't know the value of free speech and often take it for granted. Sometimes even coming to such views as "free speech is dangerous" and that "we should limit free speech" (by blocking the views I don't like). Understand this: limits on free speech are far more dangerous to society than allowing fringe e…

So you're against any limits on speech whatsoever, including the proverbial "shouting Fire! in a crowded theater" and inciting an angry mob to lynch their victim?

Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#138

As a Twitter shareholder I would vote against this. Musk says there is tremendous financial potential in Twitter but then offers $54 a share, which is not even 2x the IPO price. That’s not a “tremendous potential” premium. There is a lot of evidence that platforms which de-prioritize moderation have trouble attracting revenue and experience significant compliance costs. See: the sad story of Moot, who ran one of the…

Some valid points here, some FUD.

It might be a hobby decision, or it might be self-protection against censorship; I'd like to know.

As an owner, he wouldn't have to be the person running the shop. Unlike Tesla and SpaceX, I'm sure Twitter can be managed by someone other than himself.

Re: Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private

#139

From observing various internet forums, including this one, I noticed that people from the "first world" countries don't know the value of free speech and often take it for granted. Sometimes even coming to such views as "free speech is dangerous" and that "we should limit free speech" (by blocking the views I don't like). Understand this: limits on free speech are far more dangerous to society than allowing fringe e…

We must stop free speech! I am against Musk's actions - he will end up letting people speak. Saying what you want is too dangerous! When guests speak at colleges scream and yell! We must fight for no free speech!!! I beg you our democracy[1] is at stake! Ban all free thinking discussions!

[1] democracy is a system that only works if everyone thinks the same.

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