Elon Buys Twitter [LOCKED DUE TO POLITICS AND INSULTS]

[TheLastStarfighter]

Board changed mind, accepted offer.

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[JBee]

Things are changing. I hope this goes according to EMs plan and doesn't become a stumbling block. To much good work done already to stop now. Time to start swimming against the tide.

 

[MaoTorresMadrid]

I believe Elon is genuine in his goal of making society a better place in a livable planet and managing information through twitter could be a very efficient way of assuring this and I hope Elon gets his way.

 

[Crissa]

I don't think he knows what he's getting into. It's a massive distraction.

The idea that Twitter isn't already the best website for free speech is misled. At no point has abuse, spam, and false statements been 'free speech'. Freedom of speech isn't freedom from consequence.

-Crissa

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

I don't think he knows what he's getting into. It's a massive distraction.

The idea that Twitter isn't already the best website for free speech is misled. At no point has abuse, spam, and false statements been 'free speech'. Freedom of speech isn't freedom from consequence.

-Crissa

I think Twitter is pretty free. What I'd really like to see is the algorithms be open source as he suggested. Then we would know if there is any bias. It's one thing to have rules, it's another to not know entirely what the rules are, and what the consequences are. One of the sketchiest things I've seen is the arrival of "shadowbanning", where people are unaware that their content is being given lower priority, and they don't even know why the shadow is there. That's extremely dangerous to a free and open society, and could easily be used to manipulate the public.

 

[Crissa]

While I would appreciate it being open source, the spammers will not be, so they have an advantage.

My spouse has built defensive software for her work. She absolutely hated doing it, who wants to be corporate building their ice? But eventually she turned it into a crafty plan to snag the baddies and use their input to guide the system.

See, them not knowing why their bots were failing meant that gives more time for the humans on the moderation side to catch up. It's far too easy for the bad actors to just create spam that someone has to clean up and use that to keep ahead of being moderated for their bullying and abuse.

-Crissa

 

[CyberGus]

While I would appreciate it being open source, the spammers will not be, so they have an advantage...

I'm thinking Elon will plug Optimus into the Twitter admin console. It will find the spammers, and send a fleet of autonomous vehicles to their house to honk all night.

 

[Macgyverfever]

Has anyone seen the movie 'Ex Machina'? That's all I keep thinking about for some reason; while not entirely apples to apples,

Twitter is 'Blue Book', and Optimus is 'Ava'

To answer: I care, but I really need that truck..

 

[rlhamil]

I don't think he knows what he's getting into. It's a massive distraction.

The idea that Twitter isn't already the best website for free speech is misled. At no point has abuse, spam, and false statements been 'free speech'. Freedom of speech isn't freedom from consequence.

-Crissa

For that which is not illegal (such as kiddie porn or conspiracy to commit some crime), it is the right and responsibility of each listener to individually evaluate whether the "speech" is abuse, spam, false, hateful, etc. In practice, a lot of speakers are imperfect like the rest of us, being somewhere between positive and harmless most of the time, and objectionable (but not illegal) sometimes.

Having the right to speak does not mean having anyone required to listen, so if someone is persistently full of __it, just un-follow them.

And it is probably better to let demagogues speak and be recognized by most for what they are (and kept an eye on if there is cause) rather than scheming and "conspiring" in secret - even at risk that they might recruit more followers by being able to speak openly.

It is also very difficult to have and demonstrate an objective and non-political standard of what legal speech should be allowed and what shouldn't. Maybe there needs to be a special forum for the very fragile, where anything but singing togetherness songs is forbidden; but the rest of us need more, even to keep ourselves aware of what those we strongly disagree with are up to.

(which is why I sometimes browse MSNBC or RT (Russian news in English - but anything like that via Tor and a VPN so I'm not trackable by the Bad Guys), not that I don't despise everything they stand for, but that I want to know what sort of propaganda and schemes they're slinging today; substitute FOX or VOA if that's really how you feel, but the principle still holds; and yes, I don't trust as absolute truth even those I mostly agree with; ALL mass communicators and ALL politicians are subject to corruption by the temptations of power)

All that said, everyone IMO needs early and regular reminders that anything on social media or in writing or that could be recorded can come back to bite them and destroy opportunities for them even years later. I personally don't see the point holding against someone some offensive thing they said a decade ago IF their subsequent speech and conduct has not been like that, and esp. if there was also a plausibly sincere apology long BEFORE it was forced; but "opposition research" or even background checks are about looking for liabilities to either exploit or turn someone down, so there will always be those who whether for foul or pragmatic reasons are less forgiving.

 

[KrodEKid]

So does this count as Tesla spending money on advertising

 

[Sirfun]

So does this count as Tesla spending money on advertising

Nope, Tesla isn't spending any money, they have nothing to do with this.

 

[Crissa]

Twitter: “Saying men...

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+common+is+ovarian+cancer

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+common+is+ovarian+cysts

Let's not do the easily found bigotry, okay?

-Crissa

 

[electricAK]

I just don't get it. When Elon says he wants to improve/protect "freedom of speech" on Twitter, what exactly does he mean? Open source algorithms would be great. Sure.

But it sounds more like he wants to allow people to spread false information and hate speech. How is he planning to tackle these issues? Twitter has rules, and people who violate the rules need to be banned. That's pretty non-negotiable, and filtering the world's tweets looking for violations is notoriously difficult...near impossible.

Elon needs to be more clear on what changes he wants to make and how the twitter terms of use may or may not change. Until he clarifies this, people are going to keep freaking out.

 

[Crissa]

Having the right to speak does not mean having anyone required to listen, so if someone is persistently full of __it, just un-follow them.

The problem with that is it's very easy to get inundated with responses. A single person is only one person with only so much time in a day... The internet, though, can send tens or hundreds or even thousands of people to that one person's doorstep, and then they don't have the time to 'unfollow' the bs. Pile-ons are super-unhealthy for a social animal.

And it is probably better to let demagogues speak and be recognized by most for what they are (and kept an eye on if there is cause) rather than scheming and "conspiring" in secret - even at risk that they might recruit more followers by being able to speak openly.

...But then you're letting them conspire and act and abuse others without acting. People suffer actual violence from this media being accepted and transmitted. The guys who organized the 'Unite the Right' rally did so in the open, churches were vandalized, torches were raised against a synagogue, and one of them injured dozens and killed another had online described doing exactly what he ended up doing that resulted in a woman's death. Not to mention the scattered assault and batteries across the day and the attempt to shoot and kill someone in the park.

Consequences need to happen before they injure others. Consequences which are in scale with the offenses, which being muted or downrated or banned are.

And it's perfectly easy to demonstrate what is appropriate speech and what isn't - because it's not magical words, it's context. When, to whom, and how all matter. What's impossible is to give an exhaustive list of what's not okay, because abusers will constantly make up new things to avoid the old things.

-Crissa

 

[RMK!]

From transaction processing, to auto engineer to rocket engineer to social engineer (some intentionally omitted for brevity).

That's an Interesting career path. Perhaps the Peter Principle is about to kick in.

On a side note, I find the nickname Muskrat very compelling for some reason.

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