By "social media" we mean any large computer network that allows people to interact in shared communities. The big ones of course are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but we can't forget newer platforms like Discord and Slack. Dedicated video sites like YouTube have their own threads and are off-topic here.
What we should discuss in this OTC topic are news items, business operations, and activities by the networks themselves, not specific things posted by users. Those should go into threads appropriate to the subjects of those posts. For example, if an actor tweets about a film, we'd discuss that in the Media forum topic for the film, not here. If Facebook changes its policies, that could be discussed here.
It's also not about "dumb thing [public figure] said". If there isn't a specific thread related to the subject of the statement (e.g. US Politics), then it's probably gossip and not worth talking about.
created back in 2020 that we never opened. Unfortunately, it's a little stale, so bumping it isn't going to work very well, but I would like to restart it. The reason I'm doing so is that the Computer Thread seems to have become the de facto place for this sort of talk, and it's a big tonal clash with talking about computer tech.
The hot topic of the day is Elon Musk's bid to acquire Twitter. We first discussed it in the Computer Thread, starting roughly here, and I am not going to rehash the entire discussion. Instead, I am going to resume from the last post:
CNBC: Twitter is reportedly taking another look at Musk takeover bid
Twitter's board is reportedly meeting with Elon Musk and may seek to negotiate on his buyout offer. Musk claims to have secured $46 billion in funding to buy the company at a valuation of $43 billion and is preparing to make a tender offer to its shareholders.
While the board has passed a poison pill, it could be facing resistance to that from groups of shareholders and will want to talk things out rather than face a hostile takeover. It's also possible that Twitter's stock could crash if the offer fails to go through.
Another possible topic was originally posted here.
Ars Technica: EU to unveil landmark law to force Big Tech to police illegal content
Following on from the recently passed Digital Markets Act, which requires large tech companies to unbundle first-party software from hardware platforms, the proposed Digital Services Act will require medium and large social media platforms and search engines to police hate speech and disinformation while adding additional protections for children against targeted marketing.
It also bans "dark patterns", which manipulate or trick people into clicking on ads or other content. The article doesn't explicitly say what that means, but I assume it includes things like disguising ads to look like parts of a site's user interface, hiding "close" buttons, and such.
For large companies, the requirements would go into effect immediately. For medium companies, they would have a grace period to implement the changes.
Thierry Breton, the EU?s internal market commissioner, has warned that Big Tech has become ?too big to care.?
This phrase, "too big to care", intrigues me. It's an indictment of the idea that these companies have decided that growth and engagement metrics overwhelm any sense of social responsibility.
In my opinion, a law like this would be impossible in the United States, since it would be challenged (likely successfully) on First Amendment grounds.
Edited by MacronNotes on Mar 1st 2023 at 10:15:16 AM
Christmas is over, time to change avatars.
I?ll just file this under ?Bad Idea that will Probably Get Turned Around? for the sake of my own sanity.
From this moment onwards, I am the King.
Lost in Space
I've been keeping out of this thread, but I will pop in here to note that paywalling even non-premium accounts might be the thing that makes me drop Twitter/X. I haven't made up my mind yet. There has to be a better way to stop bots, although cutting the platform's legit users by 75 percent might make it not worth their while any more.
Not sure that's a net positive, but I'm not a big-time executive.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Christmas is over, time to change avatars.
Remind me again: it?s been more than a year and what has actually been done to combat bots (that are not simple tools of fun like a Biden insult bot)? Do we have evidence that the usage of harmful bots have been stymied or curtailed at all, beyond changes to the website making people leave and forcing bots to follow them?
I?m pretty sure at this point, it?s shown to be an obvious fig leaf and a half. I can?t imagine anybody still buying that buying Twitter had bots in any section of the mind.
Edited by fredhot16 on Sep 18th 2023 at 5:40:15 AM
From this moment onwards, I am the King.
I get followed by bot accounts every couple of days now, before Musk's takeover it happened a lot less frequently (probably months between bots). None of Musk's decisions have moved the needle in any significant way.
Lost in Space
The overt visibility of spam bots in my feed has gone to nearly zero. The algorithm does a great job of burying them. I can often see some if I look at the "low quality replies", but it's not nearly as many as it used to be.
I guess I'm not important enough to get very many spam follows. It's happened maybe once or twice that I remember. I get way more impersonation spam on YouTube, where it's always some bot pretending to be the channel owner and trying to get you to give them money on Telegram.
But account impersonation, where you pretend to be someone else, block them so they can't see you, and then copy their feed to steal impressions, seems to be just as big as it ever was.
I also have little to no direct experience of "political" bots — that is, accounts made for the purpose of amplifying disinformation or misinformation. People say they exist but either they're very subtle or I just don't follow the right topics to see them.
Edited by Fighteer on Sep 18th 2023 at 10:57:10 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Oh, bother.
From free to freemium to paywall.
I'm just glad they didn't try to somehow "free-to-play" with Twitter, making the base thing free but with a bunch of possible microtransactions for frills.
Disgusted, but not surprised
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Isn't the course usually the reverse? Pay content going freemium in a desperate attempt to keep its userbase?
Oh, wait, Musk never does it the way anyone else does it because he knows better.
I despise hypocrisy, unless of course it is my own.
Movie and TV Goddess
Well, this might be the nail in the coffin for Twitter.
I love animation, TV, movies, YOU NAME IT!
The Nu Mou Enthusiast
Soon it'll be just an echo chamber for people who were willing to pay for the sub.
These idiots fuck, drive, and vote.
🍊orange fursona🧡
I'm already on Mastodon, but I'm considering on going to Bluesky. I'm just curious if when will they open the floodgates for Bluesky as this is happening on the former bird app. I have been waiting for a month, and yet no invite code.
I'm hesitant to ask you guys as mostly my preferences are NSFW feel-good tidbits, vintage fashion, and images that go for the absurd. And art, as I'm also doing commissions.
Edited by alnair20aug93 on Sep 19th 2023 at 12:39:23 AM
A movement becomes a trend when people want the style, but not the lifestyle. ᜇᜎᜈ᜔ᜇᜈ᜔
Apparently the paywall was instead Musk talking about a cheaper tier for Blue, so for the moment the crisis is averted.
🍊orange fursona🧡
Emphasis at "for the moment", I would say.
A movement becomes a trend when people want the style, but not the lifestyle. ᜇᜎᜈ᜔ᜇᜈ᜔
Still was enough to make a number of people jump ship again.
Apparently the paywall was instead Musk talking about a cheaper tier for Blue, so for the moment the crisis is averted.
But... he was the one who raised the price in the first place....
so just walking back what he himself did?
Movie and TV Goddess
So, anyone who goes on Twitter or Bluesky, were there times where you had to block or mute a lot of people or conversations because you were uncomfortable with the subject matter? There were many times on both Twitter and Blue Sky where I had to mute a conversation or someone because I just didn't like the topics they were discussing and I didn't want to feel stressed out by those topics.
I love animation, TV, movies, YOU NAME IT!
Demon King reborn
I don?t use those sites, so I have to ask, why don?t you just not follow the conversation?
Do not look away. You witness a king's revival. And the birth of his new world!
Pretty Sweet For A "Devil"
Muting or blocking people who are talking in ways you don't want to engage with is an entirely normal thing. It almost seems weird to me to be asked about it.
Demon King reborn
It's not that, but how do you get into a conversation that's so bad you don't want to follow the people anymore?
Do not look away. You witness a king's revival. And the birth of his new world!
By... not staying exclusively in echo chambers?
The Nu Mou Enthusiast
Sometimes conversations can go tits up, so you wanna nope out of it.
These idiots fuck, drive, and vote.
Demon King reborn
Fair enough.
Do not look away. You witness a king's revival. And the birth of his new world!
OG Troper
Also sometimes you follow someone for a couple funny posts that go viral but when you see how they are like on the timeline on a daily basis, they become too much.
the statement above is false
Christmas is over, time to change avatars.
@ami Pretty sure that?s not the answer.
@Red Shit happens, bro. One time you?re good friends with somebody, the next night they spit on the floor and call you a fucking Muslim with obvious contempt so you tell them you don?t want to see them around their house anymore.
(It didn?t happen to me but it did happen to my big brother. It?s a fuzzy memory, though. I don?t remember much of the context.)
From this moment onwards, I am the King.
Lost in Space
I don't know how to get out of an echo chamber, but the best way to avoid getting into one is not to reflexively block everyone who expresses a different opinion. Note that incivility is a different matter; there's no need to listen to someone who's screaming at you or being overtly hateful.
Edited by Fighteer on Sep 19th 2023 at 9:28:41 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Twitter already changed the default setting on accounts to only allow people who pay to send you D Ms, so unless Musk changes course I?d expect the other options to be removed eventually.
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran