Should DU Remove Twitter Content?

[JCMach1]

I am interested to see people's take on this...

126 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Time expired
	Yes
	51 (40%)
	No
	67 (53%)
	Undecided
	5 (4%)
	Other (explain)
	3 (2%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[NullTuples]

1. Deplatform Elon? Hell yes.

[TheBlackAdder]

30. It would be nice if there were a simple screen grab feature to post images.

.

If DU did it locally, that would require further moderation and a pile storage management.

If there were a simple service to do it that would be better.


I use imgflip often, but that entails a VPN, screen grab, meta data stripping, uploading, saving and attaching.
I'm sure there is some meta that goes with my upload that I can't suppress, but as you can see it's cumbersome.


.

[NullTuples]

62. There are browser plugins that screenshot, u/l to a cloud server & provide a link URL to embed?

I've not dug into how much metadata they strip yet.

[pnwmom]

34. Deplatform Laurence Tribe? He's asked that people NOT leave Twitter.

Link to tweet

I noticed my number of followers drop for the first time in a couple weeks right after Trump‘s return was announced. My advice: If you’re following me, don’t depart Twitter, thus diminishing my reach; just don’t pay attention to Trump!

[NullTuples]

61. Short answer: yes. My follow of him has been dropped 2x now. Also, I'm getting tweets from RW

figures in my timeline and I don't follow them (nor are they retweets from people I follow, nor are they marked as promoted).

Elon has begun using Twitter as a political tool.

I've mostly moved to Mastodon. Most Democratic leaders have, too or are in the process of doing so, as have many journalists & other left/leaning activists. There's a lot more control over there & the creators, developers and maintainers tend to not be right-wing. Rather, quite the opposite.

The real answer is not for people to stay, but for Lawrence Tribe to migrate.

[pnwmom]

65. Laurence Tribe just tweeted that someone's been impersonating him on Mastodon,

so you shouldn't have any more confidence about accounts you're following there.

Link to tweet

[NullTuples]

66. And within hours of him posting that tweet, the imposter was taken down.

Link to tweet

[pnwmom]

70. So? It was up there deceiving people for a period of time before Tribe posted his warning.

Should Tribe have to monitor every social media site for imposters?

And Mastodon is open-source, so it's a ripe target for hackers.

[NullTuples]

71. It was up for mere hours. There are 9 Lawrence Tribes on Twitter; none have been blocked.

"Should Tribe have to monitor every social media site for imposters?"

That's something all public or authority figures already have to do, continually. It's been the case since the first spoofed email nearly a half-century ago. He could solve the problem by doing what so many others do: create an account on the other platform & post it in a location that's easy to access. That way anyone who reads him knows how to verify it's him.


Regarding, "...and Mastodon is open-source, so it's a ripe target for hackers."

A few thoughts from experts on the matter:

Regarding open source software (OSS), it's not necessarily more secure, but security-wise it has a lot going for it, especially with larger projects.
1. Many more eyes are looking to find and fix problems.
2. Open source projects fix vulnerabilities and release patches and new versions a lot faster.
3. Practically all commercial software uses a not-insignificant portion of open source

"Without the source code it is impossible to see what a program does. So open source software is seen as more secure as it is the only kind of software that can be checked for security at all without needing to blindly trust someone"

(note: This is why I run OSS on my home routers, servers & some clients. Most commercial, non-OSS ones send too much encrypted data back to their servers. In some cases it's been discovered they're sending back info about traffic they handle such as URLs visited. I feel sharing my family's internet usage was not included in the purchase price.)

"Open source is not automatically more secure than closed source. The difference is with open source code you can verify for yourself (or pay someone to verify for you) whether the code is secure. With closed source programs you need to take it on faith that a piece of code works properly, open source allows the code to be tested and verified to work properly."

[pnwmom]

73. How do you know the fake account was only up for a few hours, or that it would have been removed

even if Tribe hadn't posted about it?

[NullTuples]

81. By looking at the timestamps?

I don't get it - do we really have to do this dance?

[Cha]

78. I agree & Prof Tribe isn't the

only tweeter for Democracy staying.

Especially for Rev Warnock's Re-Election.

I don't have many followers but I just looked and there's only one who's gone for whatever reason.

TY!

[Emrys]

2. Surely this is a decision for those who actually run DU.

They have built the facility to post tweets into DU's code. It's their decision whether tweets are allowed or not, not some fatuous simplistic poll.

[regnaD kciN]

17. "Vox Populi, Vox Dei!"

[MicaelS]

33. Give us a switch to turn them off.

I do not want to even SEE posts with nothing but Twitter links.

[Lucid Dreamer]

69. Big Ditto. n/t

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

64. No kidding

Kind of like Musk's poll restoring Trump?

Probably not. I imagine it's probably harder to do bots on DU.

[Tetrachloride]

3. I am significantly below my threshold for such a drastic decision.

In general, I don’t have enough information.

This is not a game of checkers.

[JCMach1]

4. Fascism, hate, racism have to be deplatformed from media whose purpose

Essentially is promotion of one kind of another (what Twitter does)...

Elon wants to create 4Chan on steroids and with a payment system to help spread these ideologies, scams and grifts.

Everyone... users, content creators, advertising, everyone needs to GTF off of there as soon as possible.

[JCMach1]

6. Are you kidding me...? I have been a DUer since 2001...

If you want to be on a system that actively supports hate,.feel free.

You can also visited Chic FIL a and stop by Hobby Lobby while you are busy tweeting.

I will not support it with my time, or money at this point.

And frankly, I don't want to see any content from there at this point.

[Emrys]

7. What does how long you've been on DU have to do with anything?

You can decide for yourself, but it certainly doesn't give you seniority to dictate to other members what they do.

[JCMach1]

8. You attacked me personally about why I posted, so I responded.

For anyone else who is reading this, I am putting this person on ignore, for obvious reasons.

[Emrys]

9. What? How was anything I wrote a personal attack?

Your behaviour in waiting until a very quiet time on DU to post this certainly raises my eyebrow, but you may have an explanation for the timing. And as for tone, you're the one who steamed in here laying down the law.

[ZZenith]

12. In your world then, posing a question equates to "steaming in here laying down the law?"

Last edited Mon Nov 21, 2022, 06:25 AM - Edit history (1)

Interesting take.

As for tone, I fully understand why JCMach1 posed the question and the timing of it is immaterial.

I, too, am curious as to the temperature of the room here in re: kicking Twitter to the curb and am glad people are responding.

[muriel_volestrangler]

45. The "laying down of the law" was in reply #4

"Fascism, hate, racism have to be deplatformed from media whose purpose essentially is promotion of one kind of another (what Twitter does)..."

E"veryone... users, content creators, advertising, everyone needs to GTF off of there as soon as possible."

"Have to be", "everyone needs to GTF off" - yes, that's laying down the law.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

57. Exactly

Anyone who doesn't want to see Twitter content can abstain from doing so. But this idea that no one should see it betrays an authoritarian tone, IMO.

[True Blue American]

31. When tweets are reposted here they are just some ones opinions.

I would rather read what the poster thinks. If I wanted to read tweets I would go there. Just my opinion.

[Captain Zero]

10. other, my explanation

Allow Twitter links only in a forum of their own
-or-
If a post in any forum references a twitter link then it should be denoted in the title line.

say you posted a twitter link in the general Discussion forum
then your title could begin with T-

T- Indiana Legislator was a Proud Boys Member in 2018

Users who didn't want to mess with twitter could just leave it alone.

[intrepidity]

40. Agreed. I recall proposing this years ago. nt

[RockRaven]

11. This was already a popular refrain before Elon. We frequently see posts complaining about

posts which consist of nothing but a tweet, and various suggestions about what to do about that. Teasing out the different reasons for an affirmative response might be informative.

[ZZenith]

14. I have always avoided Twitter because I believe it's format inherently inhibits meaningful dialog

about the problems that confront us societally, and view it merely as the world’s largest bathroom wall.

I believed it to be a detriment long before the petulant maniac took it over and wish more DUers would put a little more effort into their posts than the mere regurgitation of another’s thoughts.

[moniss]

21. Thank you for this

and your description for Twitter is colorful and accurate.

[hunter]

52. I agree with this and blacklisted Twitter before Elon Musk bought it.

If I click on a post that's just Link to tweet and nothing else I can instantly back out.

I might stick around if someone has copy-pasted the tweet and offered their own thoughtful opinion about it, but usually not.

I know people enjoy twitter and find it a valuable news alert service but it simply irritates me as a lot of things do.

A "Hide posts containing tweets" option would be a useful feature. I also hide posts containing "Trump" in the title.

[Lucinda]

13. Nope.

[RandySF]

15. No

It’s still a useful way to disseminate news.

[revmclaren]

16. So you are using a poll to try to convince DUers to

Last edited Mon Nov 21, 2022, 09:45 AM - Edit history (1)

suggest banning Twitter.

Didn't Elon Musk just get through using a unscientific poll on Twitter to justify bringing back tRump?

How about a poll to ban Politico? Lots of posters here hate it too.

How about Slate? You'll find alot here as well that cant stand them.

How about allowing nothing from YouTube?

How about nothing from any social media outlets that we personally hate. You can always find enough votes depending on the time of day and night.

Let's all close ourselves totally off from all reality. Put our heads in the sand and not have a say about the fascism and racism and pure evil being posted on sites such as Twitter.

Luckily, the DU admins know better. Luckily it wont happen.

Read, report, repeat. I'm always going to do that at Twitter and other forums.

Sad that so many here seem to have surrendered.

Oh well. I hope enough of us will be left to man the watchtowers.

Good night.

[moniss]

23. I respect your opinion

but I really think that even mentioning banning Slade is a touchy subject. I mean there have been lean years and the plaid pants and jacket aren't for everybody but certainly "Run, Runaway" deserves some respect.

[revmclaren]

25. Just an example that any site has a negative effect

on some.

Any site could be sh%$ canned with enough negative votes in a random poll. That's why these types of polls are crap.

[moniss]

29. I believe

there is some merit to what you say but I think you missed something in my post.

[ZZenith]

37. I got your post and enjoyed it thoroughly.

[True Dough]

39. Here you go

at least until YouTube is banned...

[hlthe2b]

42. I'm guessing you both mean Slate?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

43. Thanks. You just made my day. NT

[hlthe2b]

41. Do you mean Slate? Slade is a rock band, apparently...

[revmclaren]

51. Yes. Tired eyes.

[MicaelS]

75. Posting a bare Twitter link is a lazy fucking way to post.

Give us a way to turn them off so we do not even see them.

[vlyons]

18. Let everyone decide if they want to read tweets or not

nt

[revmclaren]

19. Exactly. Thank you.

No one on DU is on Twitter to post fascist content. We are there to see what's being posted ...to test the wind as it is.

[moniss]

28. But I think what some of us

are seeing coming at us in short order is tons of Tweets about every crackpot Hunter Biden post getting linked over here in posts by trolls. I'd rather not have to spend time wading through all of that. It gets to be a bit like having to wade through hundreds of e-mails every day just to get to the one or two that you need/want to respond to. I think the mods here do a good job and loading them up with having to do tons of removals of hate/racist/anti-Semitic/homophobic etc. tweets that will be getting linked to posts here by the GQP trolls is not necessary and can be mostly avoided. If someone sees something on that platform and wants to say "hey I saw someone say....fill in the blank...." that's fine but you and I know that these kinds of posters are all about misleading people into clicking on something. I don't believe it's necessary for us to give that company/individuals clicks in order for someone to share with us a description of something they saw that they feel may be of interest over here.

This is just my take on it and I don't want to see the DU devolve into more and more crap postings. I know there may be some good people on that site but they have basically gutted their moderation and so I think it is wise to look ahead since we know what happens when moderation is minimal. Therefore I think the poll is timely in order to gauge how people on DU may feel about this and I think the discussion and variety of opinions here on all aspects is healthy.

[irisblue]

20. No.

[chia]

22. No. There are still great journalists on Twitter getting important messages out. Why

would anyone want to stifle that?

[Tetrachloride]

24. +1. nt

[revmclaren]

26. +1.

[pnwmom]

35. And lawyers like Laurence Tribe.

Link to tweet

I noticed my number of followers drop for the first time in a couple weeks right after Trump‘s return was announced. My advice: If you’re following me, don’t depart Twitter, thus diminishing my reach; just don’t pay attention to Trump!

[chia]

53. Exactly. I miss Twitter because of people like Laurence Tribe. Lawyers, scholars, historians,

journalists, educators in the fields of science, medicine, technology. Researchers on domestic terrorism, white nationalism, Jan 6 insurrectionists. People with the knowledge to debunk misinformation and Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine. Good news people like José Andrés and his World Kitchen, distributing meals wherever there is disaster and human need.

Yeah. I miss being there.

[Celerity]

32. No.

[Dorian Gray]

36. I voted against my own interests here

I hate threads that are just a link to a tweet.

But do I think that DU should REMOVE twitter content? No.

I think they should remove twitter content that breaks the stated rules on DU. Offensive content, etc. But twitter content can be news, spur discussion, and a generally all ban on it? That's getting too controlling.

[Lucid Dreamer]

77. I voted OTHER...

I dislike Twit mucho. I have 3 accounts that I used years ago for experiments and to look at for some news.

I don't like the personal interactions that define it now.

BUT I would not be the one to disable it on DU for those who want to use it as a tool.

Threads that don't display I'll just skip over. It would be nice if a summary of the subject would be posted so I could understand what all the replies were referring to.

Thanx, Dorian. Your position parallels mine.

[True Dough]

38. Is book banning next?

We're better than this (or we ought to be).

[hlthe2b]

44. I get the desire based on Musk's actions and future concerns, but much of what we hear from Ukraine

comes from their use of Twitter--likewise Iran and other areas facing a crisis that SHOULD concern us all. Obviously, disinformation bots use it too and that requires discerning readers.

I posted a thread yesterday looking at some of the most respected legal, political, and journalistic sources on Twitter and whether or not they were staying there (for now). I'm not registered on Twitter, but I bookmarked the web address for their streams and follow them that way. It seems to me that many are staying for now and that includes some invaluable sources for us to know what our opponents and political "enemies" are doing behind the scenes--including any threats to democracy.

If this were merely a matter of losing celebrity news or overwhelming misinformation sources that accompany hate and bigotry, I'd be with you. But this is a double-edged sword right now.

Your reasons for wanting it banned here are the same ones that prevented me from EVER registering--even before Musk. But the reasons for thinking it should not still remain.

[Emile]

46. No

I think most of us are smart enough to know the truth.

[mopinko]

47. not only no, but hell no. and it'd be nice if those of us still using it to catch less shade 4 it.

some days the judgy on here gets to me.
it's the modern public square, it just is. no way i will be pushed out by trolls and thugs and liars.
yes, more caution is called 4 these days, but that's not a bad thing.
i've seen very little change on the platform, tho i dont spend tons of time there. there is quite a bit of resistance.

you dont have to be in the arena, but it's just dumb to suggest that we wall off the arena.
none of the content you dont want to see gets posted here, or allowed to stand if it is.

ask yourself who wins if the left leaves the field of battle.

[yardwork]

48. This is silly. /nt

[JuJuChen]

49. basically this

[MaryMagdaline]

50. No. I joined Twitter in 2021 to get videos and updates from Ukraine

A lot of military experts post on Twitter and the updates and comments from ex-military people throughout the world have been informative. I only learned of certain posts because of DUers linking to Twitter.

(I actually am suspicious that Elon Musk is a Putin supporter who is deliberately destroying Twitter because it spreads news of how badly Russia is going. Hope that’s not too tinfoil hat for DU).

[Wednesdays]

54. If there's nothing remaining on Twitter but wingnut drivel, then yes

If there are still good pro-Democratic voices on there, such as Lawrence Tribe, then no.

[quaint]

55. NO!

Alert works for Twitter content, too.

[Talitha]

56. Absolutely not, unless the content of the tweet violates the TOS.

I've been a Twitter-reader for many years and highly value the information learned in tweets from political, scientific and astronomical contributors that I follow. In fact, I learned about quite a few of them right here in DU.

[Treefrog]

58. I voted other because I think a Twitter forum would be great.

Like the video forum, it would go far to unclutter general discussion.

Twitter threads have taken over, and most are just not news.

I just do not care if Kanye or Kathy, Kate or Kim, or even Bette or George tweet something. It doesn't need to be posted in general discussion, imo.

[Maru Kitteh]

59. For now, yes. nt

[Caliman73]

60. Twitter content should not be removed from DU.

It should however, be contextualized, as part of a discussion. The problem I have with ANY content from external sites, is not the content itself, but that often the person posting offers NOTHING in terms of WHY they are posting it. They just plop it down without asking any questions, making any commentary, etc...

So my issue is not necessarily the content, but the posters who don't take the time to put anything behind the external information they bring in, no matter what the source. The TOS says that we shouldn't post right wing hate content, to which I largely agree. However, even the TOS allows for putting up right wing sites or stories if it is properly contextualized.

If I found a story on Breitbart that discussed right wingers new proposal to privatize Social Security, I could post it with commentary such as, "I found this story about how right wingers are starting to formulate a new argument around privatizing Social Security. I think that this new plan is ridiculous but dangerous, what do you all think?" I might even give my reasons why I think the plan was "ridiculous and dangerous" in the opening post.

The point is, I don't think that DU should remove Twitter Content, but the person who posts the content has an obligation to contextualize it for discussion with more than... "Posting this without comment" or some other such nonsense.

[moonscape]

74. Yes, but this concept could be applied to

all posts. Twitter posts (I don’t make them, just observing) have far more native content than posts that say to turn on the TV now, or I can’t believe xyz said that’ etc with no accompanying clue or context. The later category posts can’t even stand on their own and are relatively frequent.

[Caliman73]

79. I agree 100%.

That is why I said, regardless of the source, which would include TV, Newspaper headlines with no article, etc...

Tweets are typically videos or messages, or even re-Tweets of other people's messages. They certainly can have additional context that someone saying, "Biden is killing it right now". They can also be misleading or misinforming without context.

[Polybius]

63. Like they used to say in the 90's, Hell to the No!

Keep it.

[ismnotwasm]

68. No.

[Mr. Sparkle]

72. imo, there are too many posts that are just tweets

[roamer65]

76. Yes.

[LeftInTX]

80. No Trump tweets, please

It feeds the beast

[Doremus]

82. We can discuss the topics/posts without a direct link to their site giving them extra traffic.

[GoodRaisin]

83. Get rid of it everywhere, along with Fox News

If it’s just going to be another hate promoting platform. Bastions of hate all need to go. We’ve all seen what they do..

[Raine]

84. No, no censorship nt