3456

Fair point, I’m definitely in the latter camp. I can totally see the point that if one believes that Twitter will survive and thrive as a regressive social media juggernaut that allows conspiracy theories and lies to spread faster and more effectively than ever, then this Musk takeover is a big problem. I don’t agree with that viewpoint, but it’s logically consistent.

3457

I didn’t say you can’t care about something being bad. Feel free to call out companies for being bad, I just dislike, when people make a point of saying “I am making a morally superior choice than you, because I am choosing not to consume this thing”. We don’t know everyone’s particular situations or livelihoods. There are definitely groups of artists, authors, comedians, queer and other cool people that live on Twitter. This really sucks for them, and when someone says “Stop using this thing, because some asshole bought it” it is essentially saying to them, you are a bad person for wanting to continue talking to your friends.

Which is why I brought up how basically every media company is bad, and amplifies the assholes that Elon is bringing back on his platform. So, what I am saying is that if you are going to make a judgement about the people that use Twitter, have the same sense to make a judgement about the media and platforms you use as well, and consider how you would feel if someone called you out for using it. Just because it is easy for you to stop using something, doesn’t mean it is easy for everyone to do the same.

I am not going to judge anyone for using Facebook or any website or social platform. Social platforms are important, we are social beings. At least, I am. There are a few relatives I only talk to through facebook, because it is all they have. My FB account literally exists as a messaging platform for a small group of people who still use it. I have been on twitter for a ridiculous 14 years, and I have made a load of friends there. It sucks major ass that the shitgibbon emerald baby has bought Twitter, but I am not going to stop socializing because of it. Hopefully something better comes along, and we will all jump there, but right now, we are stuck.

The especially hilarious people are the ones who got disgusted with Twitter and were like, I am moving to facebook… eyroll.gif

3458

Thank you Jon for saying what I’ve been wanting to say, but far more eloquently.

3459

There’s only so much mileage we can get out of making fun of Lazer!Pig! and debating the merits of the A-10.

3460

Thinking back to Vanity Fair Editor Molly Jung-Fast’s comment I posted upthread that Elon Musk is “turning into the My Pillow Guy right before our very eyes,” I think Howard Hughes might be a better comparison.

Howard Hughes did some amazing work earlier in his life, but then at some point somehow went completely off the rails and ended up a complete mess.

3461

I will probably judge you if you use Gab, Parler, Truth Social or GETTR.

But, those were founded as evil enterprises, not something we all signed up for that then became evil.

For those wanting to get started in Mastodon. It really isn’t too bad to figure out once you get started.

I found a huge list of verified journalists to follow, and that has helped fill my feed with good stuff to read.

3462

There is a difference between a platform which is used by people for bad purposes, and one who actively pushes and engages in evil behavior itself.

Facebook, as a company, is definitely the latter. They have made deliberate choices that are damaging, and even deadly, for society and people all in the name of ‘engagement’. Their choices and actions were done with knowledge, and they chose to destroy because it was more profitable to drive engagement through extremism ratcheting.

Twitter, to this point, had not been a tool for evil in that way. Sure bad people did things, and there were questionable decisions along the way, but it was not as willful as Facebook.

Facebook is a cancer on society, it needs to be destroyed, and while I can understand why some people choose not to leave, it is a choice I do judge, because to do so is contributing to harming society.

3463

I think it may be valid to question whether Elmo was ever on rails…

image

(Plus the various looking into the dubious quality of his claims about his education, prior business accomplishments, etc.)

…other Masters of the Universe will emulate him.

3464

Yet… lol

3465

Absolutely. It is not yet as willfully and intentionally evil as Facebook.

But it is trending in that direction with increased rapidity

3466

One worry I have is if Musk’s hellsite survives all he’s doing to it- that means the only effective regulator will be the government, as the populace / businesses will have failed.

That’s a scary proposition. Imagine a Republican regulating these sites.

@JonRowe the journa.host instance a lot of those journos are on, is being defederated by many instances right now due to some moderation issues, and hosting some rather bad actors.

I fully expect given the instances those journos are on , that they’re not going to have too good a time on mastodon, at least if they’re left-leaning. Others are on perfectly fine instances and shouldn’t have issues, and others will migrate to better ones.

Generally, moderation either silences or defederates an instance. A silence means you can still follow an account on an instance, but it’s not broadcast on the instance, just for you. A defederate blocks.

3467

Probably why Mastodon will fail, in the long run.

You have literally thousands of “content moderation councils” making those decisions, which means it will probably all fall apart.

3468
3469

Seeking only the most Hardcore

3470

Right wingers in current day America’s shit political climate love to think of themselves as the ‘moderate wingers’.

3471

In practice, the places that get too ban-happy end up pretty empty, then get deserted, so it actually manages to work kinda well. You get to choose your moderation standards, as long as someone provides them, and there’s enough folks to interact with you. If you fail in the second part, usually the problem is with you.

(The whole if someone’s an asshole, it’s them, but if everyone’s an asshole, it’s you)

3472

I had something snarky to say about this, but I just can’t. This seems like simple stupidity.

3473

I think that’s fair. And I recognize that we all rate things differently, both in terms of how damaging something is as well as how important a company’s service or product is to our daily lives. It would be pretty trivial for me to boycott Twitter since I’ve rarely used it in the past and pretty much not at all in the past year, aside from reading links posted here. On the other hand I ordered something from Amazon the other day, despite the driver possibly peeing in a bottle to get it to me on time! So I’m not in the business of judging anybody.

I think we all have to pick our battles. And I think it’s okay to pick some battles, knowing that the ones we aren’t fighting are bad situations too. I think that’s better than not fighting at all, if that makes any sense.

3474

I agree with picking battles, but there are some choices I will judge harshly.

Twitter isn’t one of them, but something like Chic-Fil-A would be.

3475