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Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

fightthefuture.org

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Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#171

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I’m confused. What technology did twitter replace? Oh it didn’t? This is completely new, the ability to communicate to this many people at once? Okay so what ancient rights are being trampled exactly? If anything we probably need to be censoring people on Twitter right now as it doesn’t seem to convince anyone of anything other than that the people on the other-side of their argument are sub-human. Edit: Also, it alw…

Even though Twitter and the like might be new technology, they are still replacing the old. People only have so much time in the day and all the other ways that people engage in politics compete with Twitter and the like. And it seems that Twitter and the like have won that competition. This means that a large chunk of political discourse now happens on services like Twitter.

Yes, but why isn't Twitter allowed to curate political content? They have a 1st amendment right to do so. Just like every newspaper before them got the right to curate who got published in their editorial section.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#172
The rule of thumb I use is to ask: if someone had shouted this in a supermarket or bank line, what would happen?

Internet communities should aspire to be more like local communities. If you're a jerk in real life, people will show you the door.

Making this about grand abstract concepts like free speech or censorship is internet fun for people who like to debate. But it's overcomplicating the situation. Twitter is just showing a jerk the door. They can rejoin the community after an act of contrition.

The nine year thing is misdirection. Twitter's search algorithm in 2019 will still gladly show that tweet if your search term is just so. If tweets are the inventory on Twitter's store shelves, why would any business want to display the tweet in question at any time?

Academic institutions and governments have already hooked themselves up to the Twitter fire hose. All tweets are saved for archival purposes. Twitter itself doesn't have to muddy its product to provide an archival experience.

This is curatorship; not censorship. Unfortunately reality isn't ~~outrageous~~ _engagement-inducing_ enough to make the front page news.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#173
post #90
post #54

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So, based on the second paragraph of article: It’s honestly a very immature tweet. It’s something I wouldn’t say today. I have personally grown past the hate of the two party system. I feel like I have a clearer and more mature view on American elections, as well as seeing past the endless media designed to keep most people angry. This tweet was from a different era in my life. I’m not proud of it, yet it is a part o…

You know, when I read that paragraph I was actually on board with the author. We’ve probably all said stupid things on the internet at one point. Then I read the actual tweet and lost all sympathy. It’s just so horrible, and, I think the author actually shows a lack of growth by dismissing it as this 9 year old “immature” mistake.

Man I’m glad Twitter didn’t exist when I was young because this sort of tweet had nothing on how me and my friends talked to each other, and talked when we were just hanging out shooting the shit. Every passion was inflamed, everything seemed like a pressing battle. We tried to be as offensive as possible to get a rise out of one another. I’d be banned from everything forever. I’ve learned to not talk like a moron, but when does a person get the chance to learn that skill if everything you’ve ever said follows you forever?

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#175
post #123

My account has been locked because I ... used Twitter. I was rarely Tweeting, almost only RT/liking other Tweet. But one day, I started to have a discussion with another user regarding a subject that I was a bit knowledgeable about, and after something like 10 tweets in maybe 20+ minutes my account just got locked for "suspicious activity". Twitter was asking for a phone number to unlock the account. And since I neve…

They were worried you’re a “Russian Bot”. Gotta watch out for those since Silicon Valley believes they’re literally the only reason Donald Trump won.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#176

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Does that justify toxic behavior?

Absolutely not, but raising yourself above the line of visibility for public office (or in fact, any kind of fame) more or less automatically comes with its share of negatives. That doesn't justify the toxic behavior at all, it is just a statement about reality. And the rude tweets are the lowest form of that, at the higher levels it turns into physical assault and sometimes even murder attempts and the occasional ac…

Doesn't mean Twitter needs to host it. HN has its own guidelines. I can't come here insulting you. So while it's perfectly fine to say someone can say something, Twitter has every right to decide that it won't host it. Suggesting otherwise is, in many ways, censorship. And I wouldn't want an HN that wasn't allowed to moderate its discussion.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#177
post #93

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If we look at some differences between Twitter (or insert your favorite social media platform here) and email: * Email providers have zero responsibility for filtering information * Email users form their own networks dynamically through actual relationships rather than some artificial structure of "followers"/"friends" * Email users never get banned from sending email (although maybe in some cases an individual serv…

From your last paragraph the term you are looking for is "common carrier". Email goes over common carrier networks between private hosts and so is pretty close to a common carrier network. Twitter isn't and doesn't. Maybe there should be a way for web services to provide a similar service with similar protections.

In the US, at least, this isn't true. ISPs aren't considered common carriers--you can thank Ajit Pai for that.

If it were true, it would be true for both Twitter and email. Messages from both systems hop between neutral providers in the exact same manner.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#178
post #136

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I’m confused. What technology did twitter replace? Oh it didn’t? This is completely new, the ability to communicate to this many people at once? Okay so what ancient rights are being trampled exactly? If anything we probably need to be censoring people on Twitter right now as it doesn’t seem to convince anyone of anything other than that the people on the other-side of their argument are sub-human. Edit: Also, it alw…

[flagged]

No idea why you're getting down voted. This is a cogent, valid point.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#179
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expression is not public communication. Are you not conflating freedom of speech with freedom to be heard/reach an audience? Even 2 centuries ago, the US government wouldn't intervene to force newspapers to publish the op-eds of hateful people looking to grow their followers. Why would Youtube or Twitter have to?

>Why would Youtube or Twitter have to? Because combined, Google, Twitter, and Facebook have an effective monopoly on modern public discourse.

No they don't. A huge section of the population is not on Twitter and gets their news from old media.

Re: Twitter locked my account for a nine year old tweet

#180
post #168

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> there are some ideas that don't deserve a seat at the table. If you don't like an idea you're free to ignore it. Freedom of speech is really about the freedom for each of us to hear. What you're really advocating is that you don't want other people to have access to ideas with which you personally disapprove. This is such an authoritarian notion that I don't understand how it has become a socially acceptable idea t…

> I don't understand how it has become a socially acceptable idea to espouse. We got fed up of people being murdered because they're black, Jewish, gay, trans, female, etc etc.

Yeah, suppressing free speech is NOT going to help with any of those tragedies. In fact it contributes to them. The reason gay people were able to come out of the closet was because of free speech. Being able to talk about the issue.

You want to cut out the only escape hatch people have. You think we have it all figured out... what is right and wrong. That we are able as a society to correctly label what speech should be allowed, and what shouldn't. But we aren't. We need free speech in order to figure out right-from-wrong. To hash things out verbally and in written form so that we DONT act out horrible ideas.

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