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I resigned from Twitter

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Re: I resigned from Twitter

#671

Post by hanniabu »

smolder wrote: post #374
jcadam wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it can be fixed. Social media in general is a cancer.

HN is not what I'd call cancer. Social media doesn't need to be an engagement-obsessed, emotionally charged misinformation hose. Social media is broader than the category that twitter and FB live in. It can be less toxic, but less toxic platforms are less exciting and don't get the same kind of attention , which is what all the toxic stuff optimizes for.

It's toxic if you're actually an expert in the subject at hand. People here would rather feel smart than wrong. Lots of armchair experts here touting misinformation but you don't notice it unless there's a topic you know well.

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#672

Post by abootstrapper »

handrous wrote: post #111
afavour wrote: post #7

I have no particular beef with Dorsey but I think this would make sense. He's been CEO of both Square and Twitter for years now and no matter what time you wake up in the morning or however many specials diets you undertake you're not going to be able to give the focus a solo CEO is. I think the bigger issue is who gets to replace him: will it be someone with smart ideas or someone to serve as a puppet of activist in…

I've noticed that lots of C-suite and owner/CEO startup people have like three to five active business roles on their Linkedins. A fun case of "rules for thee, but not for me" when it comes to anti-moonlighting clauses and such. I can't "give it my all" if I take some weekend gigs, but you can hold two C-suite positions, be on two boards, plus have an "advisory" role with some startup? It's a lot like drug testing fo…

If you think that's unfair, wait until you hear how much they're paid!

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#673

Post by trevyn »

Dumblydorr wrote: post #663
mjamil wrote: post #608

I'm in a post-Thanksgiving charitable mood, so thank you, Jack. The execution hasn't been perfect (as has been commented on ad nauseam), but Twitter is the closest to a worldwide-accessible [1] Speaker's Corner [2] I know of, and that - despite all the completely valid criticism - is a valuable public service: mediating access to information has been the defining tool of control for those in power pretty much since c…

Has mediating access to information been the defining tool of control for civilizations? Maybe in tyrannical, despotic societies that is true, but those don't allow Twitter today via firewalls, so that's mostly a moot point in this thread. I'd say the sword and the coin have both been far more controlling than limited information spread. What of free society? Is the government of the USA, UK, or other "enlightened" s…

1) “Those in power” does not mean only the government.

2) Mediating access to information in Western societies is now in a much more advanced state than brute censorship.

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#674

Post by loceng »

zarzavat wrote: post #575
NoGravitas wrote: post #559

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN is extremely toxic for anyone who's not a VC-adjacent techbro. If you're part of the target audience for /pol/, you wouldn't notice that /pol/ is toxic, either.

If HN is "toxic" then you'll have to define the word toxic, because generally this is one of the best-behaved discussion forums on the internet. Even jokes get downvoted.

Even thoughtful, well articulated comments packed with critical thinking and citations get downvoted.

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#675

Post by easytiger »

mjamil wrote: post #608

I'm in a post-Thanksgiving charitable mood, so thank you, Jack. The execution hasn't been perfect (as has been commented on ad nauseam), but Twitter is the closest to a worldwide-accessible [1] Speaker's Corner [2] I know of, and that - despite all the completely valid criticism - is a valuable public service: mediating access to information has been the defining tool of control for those in power pretty much since c…

Speakers corner is crackpots and insanity. So your comparison stands, but I doubt for the reason you intended

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#676

Post by trevyn »

agumonkey wrote: post #668
surfingdino wrote: post #665

He's left to focus on his ideas for making money with Bitcoin. Compared to crypto, Twitter is just not very exciting.

a few videos of him chatting with "investors" are on youtube et al he seems also a bit into the transhumanist narrative

Can you share a couple of the better links?

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#677

Post by syshum »

unethical_ban wrote: post #468
syshum wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem here is that "toxic" is subjective, what I find toxic and disagreeable may not be the same thing you find toxic and disagreeable. Take for example hot button issue of Gun ownership, I believe it an essential right and extension of self defense, others view any talk about guns as toxic that should be banned. Who's worldview should win? Mine, your's, Twitters? IMO platforms like twitter should not be making…

It's their tool, so they get to build it to their liking, until law is created requiring them to do otherwise. The question in the meantime is, "what is moral?" and "do we as an entity (twitter) enforce our morality at all, and to what extent?" For example, millions of people believe the lie , the fabrication that the 2020 presidential election result was fraudulent. If there are organizations on your platform amplif…

There are many facets of this comment I would like to address.

First lets make the assumption that I agree false information should be (or even can be) curbed on social media, things like Flat Earth... The problem here as we saw with COVID picking "authoritative" sources is not always accurate and tends to curb legitimate dissent as much as it does false information. Anything from the origins to COVID to the flip flopping nature of mask wearing, to discussions over mandates have all been censored in various ways under the guise of curbing false information. That is very very dangerous IMO, in fact to me it more dangerous than the false information itself. It is akin to the legal standard of "better 10 guilty people go free, than 1 innocent be imprisoned falsely" well to me, it is better than 10 false statements be spread than 1 true statement be suppressed

Then you have to take into account the clear political bias in deciding what is "false" information, you talk about the "big lie" of election fraud, but what about the continuing lies about the Rittenhouse trail, the protests / riots, the Waukesha Atrocity, Russia Gate, and many others continuing to be spread by the "authoritative sources" that many of these platforms use as Ministries of Truth. None of which has any kind of censorship or fact checking attached to it, it seems only one political camp has these fact checker flagging deployed to them. If you are going to fact check the "Big Lie" on election fraud, then I want to see fack checks on all those other topics as well.

Then you talk about Twitter "flagging" content, I actually agree that is the correct path. What twitter (and youtube) does to add a flag, or content message directing people to different sources is a good thing, I have no problem with this I just want ti deployed in a political neutral, fact based way. Today it is not being done that way.

What I do have a problem with is suppression, bans, and other direct forms os censorship often employed by twitter and other platforms. I am a firm believe that the solution to speech one believes is false or "bad" is more speech you believe is true or "good" not attempts to censor and suppress which often has an amplifying effect.

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#678

Post by LordFast »

Rastonbury wrote: post #53
koheripbal wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter is extremely toxic and divisive, and Dorsey is... the same. People are hoping his removal will allow the platform to mature.

Sorry but cynically toxic and divisive algos drives more attention thus more ad revenue (see FB), it's not going to get better with a more investor friendly CEO

I personally think this move, and to a larger extent the current trends we're seeing in our industry has much more to do with revenue, profits and share price than it does with the product or any social consequences.

Re: I resigned from Twitter

#680

Post by ryantgtg »

nfrankel wrote: post #635
63 wrote: post #620

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference for me has always beem that Twitter is organized by person rather than by topic. In some ways that's good if I'm following someone because I care about them personally, but usually I follow people because I'm interested in a particular aspect of their work like art or announcements. In those cases, I don't want to hear about their political opinions or what their child did that week. I know you can fol…

I've found the solution a while ago: unfollow. I only follow people who tweet about themes that interest me. If somebody wants to tell the world their private life, good for them, but without me.

My solution was to mute words. It was way too tedious to say “show fewer of Bob’s RTs”. So like, I muted the word “Trump”. But I use twitter in a really specific way, and I acknowledge this isn’t a great solution.
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