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Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

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Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#241
post #210
post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is so hard about the concept of allowing people to be wrong about things? People act on that basis? If all this stuff was totally disconnected from the real world, then sure yeah whatever, but it isn't. The point is that Pete Pelosi was attacked by a terrorist who'd be radicalized by wrong information. The "groomer" stuff worries me because I know enough queer people who are now more likely to face real, physi…

I'm not responsible for people acting on whatever basis they do unless I actively blackmail or incite them to do something. >The point is that Pete Pelosi was attacked by a terrorist who'd be radicalized by wrong information. Where exactly is the point in this? Clearly this happen before Musk's post about it so where exactly is the connection? >The "groomer" stuff worries me... I could tell by reading your post but I…

So you would have no issue with a concerted, national effort backed by politicians and the owner of the largest public square on the Internet to label you a pedophile and an enemy of the people? And you would react kindly to the wave of death threats and potential violence towards you and your loved ones that would come as a result?

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Conversely I signed up for Mastodon and saw a ton of awesome technical content, geeky chatter and exactly zero hostility or toxicity. Has been that way for the past few years. (Though, a smaller instance, not mastodon.social)

Mastodon really, really needs to work on its PR. Every time I see someone talking about it on twitter, they're trying to work out what the significance of choosing a particular server is. Even a message as simple as "Like email, but social" might help alleviate this.

Eh, I don't think it matters. It's not a business, and it doesn't specifically need more people to join. Over time it propagates anyways. I've personally brought tons of people to the fediverse, people who I care about and I think would benefit from it. So far, so good!

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#243
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't just Twitter now. This is mainstream politics, it's all name calling. The UK Home Secretary blaming the "tofu-eating wokerati" from the dispatch box a couple of weeks ago.

First it was twitter. Then it became mainstream

Ehhh, correlation is not causation. Flamebait rhetoric has seen an increase in all public media, IMHO. To offhandedly attribute it to Twitter is highly [citation needed].

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a significant proportion of the American right wing is, by any meaningful, objective definition, substantially aligned with the Nazi party, fully on board with authoritarian fascism, and ready and willing to murder people for opposing them. Are you being serious or missing a /s?

If you think that this needs a /s, you have not been paying attention to the news in recent months. ETA: Just as a for instance, the inept assassination attempt on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi the other day that sent her husband to the hospital.

One crazy guy breaking into the house of a politician that will obviously get covered by the news versus all the antifa mob attacks that have been participating in looting, riots, and assaulting people for having "wrong" opinions that get called "peaceful" by news outlets because both fight for the bottom line of the establishment.

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#245
I my mind, the main issue with twitter (and the rest of "social") is that they're funded by advertisers. It's a fundamentally broken model, because it makes "engagement" the main metric of success, and this in turn drives all kinds of dark patterns, gradually turning any online space into a cesspool of rage and mediocrity.

I believe that is the primary issue, and most of the issues identified by OP are consequences of this.

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#246
It's an interpersonal/social problem between people who are not being a person. There's numerous things you can (algorithmically) do with regard to people who choose to be real persons on the platform. Especially when payment/business comes into play.

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#247
post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those aren't technical problems. They have nothing to do with the tech stack of Twitter, how it scales, whether it's centralized or decentralized, etc. It's entirely how the experience is structured and what users are allowed to do, how site is designed independent of implementation details.

Those are technical problems. "Technical" doesn't just mean tech stack.

If you use "technical" that broadly, then everything is "technical" because at some point code has to be written for it. The design of Twitter is not technical. The fact that there is no "dislike" button is not a technical issue, it is a design decision.

The point is that when pointing out issues with Twitter, everyone is focusing on internals. The issue is not the implementation. It's the design.

It's like everyone's saying "the reason why TV rots your mind is because it uses CRT's! LCD is obviously better." Neither addresses the actual underlying problem.

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#248
post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are technical problems. "Technical" doesn't just mean tech stack.

If you use "technical" that broadly, then everything is "technical" because at some point code has to be written for it. The design of Twitter is not technical. The fact that there is no "dislike" button is not a technical issue, it is a design decision. The point is that when pointing out issues with Twitter, everyone is focusing on internals . The issue is not the implementation. It's the design. It's like everyone…

You should look up the word in a dictionary. You might be surprised by its definition.

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#249
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you use "technical" that broadly, then everything is "technical" because at some point code has to be written for it. The design of Twitter is not technical. The fact that there is no "dislike" button is not a technical issue, it is a design decision. The point is that when pointing out issues with Twitter, everyone is focusing on internals . The issue is not the implementation. It's the design. It's like everyone…

You should look up the word in a dictionary. You might be surprised by its definition.

[deleted]

Re: Tell HN: The issues of Twitter are not a technical problem to solve

#250
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you use "technical" that broadly, then everything is "technical" because at some point code has to be written for it. The design of Twitter is not technical. The fact that there is no "dislike" button is not a technical issue, it is a design decision. The point is that when pointing out issues with Twitter, everyone is focusing on internals . The issue is not the implementation. It's the design. It's like everyone…

You should look up the word in a dictionary. You might be surprised by its definition.

1. relating to a particular subject, art, or craft, or its techniques. "technical terms"

2. of, involving, or concerned with applied and industrial sciences.

Wow, that was completely useless. What's your point? Or was that just a "zinger" to get the last word in?

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