Twitter and The Musk

[Edward64]

I'm just an occasional user of Threads (and X). But don't understand the rationale here, sees like a mistake to have all these words blocked. I'm going to guess there'll be significant blowback and Meta will compromise some, but interesting to see how this plays out.

MSN

Meta acknowledged in a statement to The Washington Post that Threads is intentionally blocking the search terms and said that other terms are being blocked, but the company declined to provide a list of them. A search by The Post discovered that the words “sex,” “nude,” “gore,” “porn,” “coronavirus,” “vaccines” and “vaccination” are also among blocked words.

“The search functionality temporarily doesn’t provide results for keywords that may show potentially sensitive content,” the statement said, adding that the company will add search functionality for terms only “once we are confident in the quality of the results.”

Lucky Tran, director of science communication at Columbia University, discovered this himself when he attempted to use Threads to seek out research related to covid, something he says he does every day. “I was excited by search [on Threads],” he said. “When I typed in covid, I came up with no search results.”

[GrantDawg]

Threads had a chance to grab some of the post-twitter real estate. After getting out quickly, all they have done is shoot themselves in the foot.

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[Ghost Econ]

I for one have my checkbook ready to pay for Twitter.

Elon Musk says Twitter, now X, is to charge all users subscription fees | X (formerly known as Twitter) | The Guardian

[Lathum]

That has to be the death knell, no?

[Mota]

I'm enjoying BlueSky a lot more than Twitter now. My timeline was flooded with weird right wing nuttiness, and BlueSky is just nice and fun. Thanks to GrandDawg for the invite and the Wheel of Time chat.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Threads had a chance to grab some of the post-twitter real estate. After getting out quickly, all they have done is shoot themselves in the foot.

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Did you still have that Bluesky invite?

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'd miss Twitter for its use in aggregating HS football scores on Friday nights.

Other than that, ehhhhhh

[GrantDawg]

I have one. I will get it to you when I get home.

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[Ghost Econ]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'd miss Twitter for its use in aggregating HS football scores on Friday nights.

Other than that, ehhhhhh

My local news stations all have constantly updating scoreboard on their website. Are they not as thorough in GS?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

My local news stations all have constantly updating scoreboard on their website. Are they not as thorough in GS?

My experience, there is a pretty big lag in some scores back when I kept up with high-school ball. Especially from the more rural schools. I imagine if you follow the right people you can get live updates faster.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Mota

I'm enjoying BlueSky a lot more than Twitter now. My timeline was flooded with weird right wing nuttiness, and BlueSky is just nice and fun. Thanks to GrandDawg for the invite and the Wheel of Time chat.

You're welcome! Sorry for my weirdness there. I like it, but I do need to figure out how to get into more subjects on there. I am good with the Wheel of Time stream (obviously), but other than that I follow a couple of lawyers that talk about court stuff and I have followed few sports people. None of the sports people are active on there though. The way the feed is set where it shows you every bodies comments as well as posts makes me wary to go too broad on follows. If you follow a bunch of people with a bunch of crazy interests, the timeline can get cluttered. As it was I had to unfollow one person that had followed on twitter. She was a WOT and gamer fan on twitter, but she was thirst-trapping on Bluesky. Too many nude/mostly nude posts and comments on nude/mostly nude posts that first of all would get me in trouble from my wife. Secondly, not something I really wanted to see.

[RainMaker]

I mostly just use it to find information on something happening in a game. Saw Chubb got hurt and went on Twitter to look up info last night. Plenty of views of the injury with reporters giving updates. That's probably its most valuable function.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I mostly just use it to find information on something happening in a game. Saw Chubb got hurt and went on Twitter to look up info last night. Plenty of views of the injury with reporters giving updates. That's probably its most valuable function.

That's exactly how I used to use Twitter...but I used to be able to do that effectively without an account/signup, and one of the recent updates seemingly put a stop to that for unregistered users, and I'll be damned if I'm going to register for Twitter NOW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

My local news stations all have constantly updating scoreboard on their website. Are they not as thorough in GS?

I don't think any of the TV stations here do that, plus with close to 200 games statewide every Friday it gets a little ... hectic

There's a site that does little else but scoreboard (ScoreATL), there's ScoreStream, tho both of those are prone to error and often lag 1-3 hours behind real time. There's several newspapers that do their area in fairly real time, there's several more web-entities covering HS sports in a geographic area that do that as well (largely aggregating). And a fair number of teams tweet updates in real-time or at least every quarter.

Over the years I've managed to cobble together a pretty good list of accounts that are both reliable and timely.

Of the two regions I follow most closely (my alma mater and Will's alma mater) there are 14-16 teams. At any given moment on a Friday night, I can tell you the score within a half hour of real time for nearly all of them. As well as the next opponent for the alma mater, most of their past opponents, and half or more of the teams in the region that would be their first round playoff matchup.

[Ksyrup]

I created my Bluesky account a few weeks ago, but between issues with my dad's health and an Alaska cruise - plus the commitment needed to try to find accounts to follow that mimic what I have on Twitter right now - I've only logged in once.

[Flasch186]

Anyone want to share an invite?


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[Mota]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Anyone want to share an invite?


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I'll send you one right now.

[GrantDawg]

I got another if someone needs one. Call it in here since my DM alerts don't go off for some reason.

[cuervo72]

Seems more and more that some people I follow are only showing up in the "For You" side and not the "Following" side.

[RainMaker]

There's been some dumb moves but removing the headline and description from links posted is up there pretty high.

[GrantDawg]

He is removing the "like" and "repost" buttons.

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[Ksyrup]

What's the reason? Moving them to premium?

[GrantDawg]

He says it makes reading post hard, so they are being removed. You can still like and repost by using "gestures", and the only way to see the like and repost numbers will be opening the post. The only thing that will still be visible is view numbers.

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[Bobble]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

You can still like and repost by using "gestures",

I've got a gesture for him...

[Ksyrup]

Judging by the percentage of ads in my Twitter timeline, if Cheech and Chong's CBD chews business goes bankrupt, Twitter will cease to exist in about 2 days.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Seems more and more that some people I follow are only showing up in the "For You" side and not the "Following" side.

similar problems

it just feels like every change they are making is to frustrate and annoy users exactly like me

[Ksyrup]

One of my gripes with Twitter from the start has always been the constantly changing flow of the timeline when it's overloaded. Meaning, unlike a messageboard where it's easy to track down topics, if I miss a post or 10 by someone I follow, I miss them. I don't even know they happened. It's just kind of a "drink from the fire hose" experience when you are on the platform and what goes on when I'm off of it is an unknown.

So how do you know you're missing anything? There are very few times I track down a particular poster to see what they have tweeted. I either see it, or I don't and it never happened. Particularly now, with so many people leaving Twitter or drastically cutting back on posting, that would be my first thought as to why I don't see a particular poster's tweets.

[GrantDawg]

Misplaced

[GrantDawg]

X (Twitter) is going to start charging NEW users $1 a year in order tweet, retweet, like tweets, etc. https://t.co/8InV4Ojgy9

— Yashar Ali �� (@yashar) October 18, 2023

[Mota]

Twitter isn't worth $1, sorry.

Although I'm also on Bluesky and Threads, and they are still pretty barren compared to Twitter.

[GrantDawg]

Got 4 Bluesky invites.

[thesloppy]

Can any of these other sites provide me with almost-real-time sports highlights? That's really all I use Twitter for these days.

[Ksyrup]

I have struggled with getting started on Bluesky. Trying to build a timeline that comes close to matching my Twitter timeline is tough. One, there's not enough people and two, I lack the motivation to spend the time necessary to try to find the right people to add. Twitter is fully baked. That's the dilemma.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Can any of these other sites provide me with almost-real-time sports highlights? That's really all I use Twitter for these days.

Agreed. That gets to part of the challenge with building the type of timeline I've already got with Twitter. And sports, frankly, is the least affected of the subgroups of people who are motivated to leave Twitter for political or altruistic reasons. It's just about sports.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Can any of these other sites provide me with almost-real-time sports highlights? That's really all I use Twitter for these days.

Threads would probably be the best bet right now. There are more reporters and organizations available on there since it is linked to Instagram. Bluesky is still invite only. Not many major sports reporters, and doesn't have embedded video yet.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I have struggled with getting started on Bluesky. Trying to build a timeline that comes close to matching my Twitter timeline is tough. One, there's not enough people and two, I lack the motivation to spend the time necessary to try to find the right people to add. Twitter is fully baked. That's the dilemma.

Best advice is get into a feed on a subject you are interested in. That should expose you to people to follow on your interest.

[albionmoonlight]

I think that it is evolving, but my sense is that Threads is becoming the place that is getting more sports/entertainment/news stuff going on. It isn't close to Twitter in its heyday, but this weekend, there were enough active NFL writers that it kept me engaged.

Bluesky, by virtue of being invite-only, still seems to be a bit more for the "Look at MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!" social media crowd.

[Ksyrup]

Well until Twitter collapses and I feel like all other options are completely unsatisfactory, I will not be joining Threads. I have absolutely no interest in joining TikTok in order to get access and I quit FB 2 years ago so why would I go back to the same people who ruined a decent thing?

For now, my experience on Twitter has not changed all that much - especially the sports content. And I have a hard time taking some sort of moral stand by leaving Twitter because of Musk just to end up with Zuckerberg at Threads.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I think that it is evolving, but my sense is that Threads is becoming the place that is getting more sports/entertainment/news stuff going on. It isn't close to Twitter in its heyday, but this weekend, there were enough active NFL writers that it kept me engaged.

Bluesky, by virtue of being invite-only, still seems to be a bit more for the "Look at MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!" social media crowd.

I haven't found Bluesky to be that at all, but I imagine it is all in who you follow. I'm just following Wheel of Time people and a couple of legal experts. Those are the only posts I see. but I am not following a general feed.

[CrimsonFox]

Musk offers to buy wikipedia for dumb reason

[Mota]

Based on how things went with Twitter, I don't think any company should want to sell to Musk.

[flere-imsaho]

Why not? If you sell a company to Musk, you're going to get paid as part of the transaction. Now, if you're dumb enough to retain a stake in the company (as Jack Dorsey has done, apparently), that's a different story.

It's exactly the same as Trump (or, indeed, the vast majority of leveraged buyouts). Sure, the company will likely be run into backruptcy, but what do you care if the check (which has likely come from the lender, not the buyer) clears the bank at close?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Why not? If you sell a company to Musk, you're going to get paid as part of the transaction. Now, if you're dumb enough to retain a stake in the company (as Jack Dorsey has done, apparently), that's a different story.

It's exactly the same as Trump (or, indeed, the vast majority of leveraged buyouts). Sure, the company will likely be run into backruptcy, but what do you care if the check (which has likely come from the lender, not the buyer) clears the bank at close?

If you are publicly traded, you might actually be forced to. You have a fiduciary responsibility to stockholders to get the best return on their investment. That is basically what happened to Twitter. He made such a stupid bid they couldn't legally turn it down.
Wiki on the other hand is a non-profit and has zero legal obligation to sell to anybody. Heck, can you even buy a non-profit? Wouldn't it be a transaction like "I will donate this amount of money if you give me control of the board" or some such?

[Mota]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Why not? If you sell a company to Musk, you're going to get paid as part of the transaction. Now, if you're dumb enough to retain a stake in the company (as Jack Dorsey has done, apparently), that's a different story.

It's exactly the same as Trump (or, indeed, the vast majority of leveraged buyouts). Sure, the company will likely be run into backruptcy, but what do you care if the check (which has likely come from the lender, not the buyer) clears the bank at close?

Well I'm mostly thinking about the 1-2 years of lawsuits and back and forth that happened, after Elon grandstanded about buying the company, waffled back and forth, etc. And then proceeded to destroy the company almost immediately. I wouldn't want to put in years of my life, take a huge payout, and then see my life's work destroyed almost immediately. I guess the money can pay for the therapy sessions.

[albionmoonlight]

I'm finding myself settling on Threads.

I go to X occasionally to find an individual poster sometimes who is only over there.

But my default is Threads now.

X is just annoying to browse now.

[Ksyrup]

I've found myself gravitating to Reddit, which I've known about for years, of course, but never joined. Regardless of the Twitter clone I try to use, there's just just too much heavy lifting involved to try to replicate my Twitter timeline. Either not enough familiar people are there (particularly sports content), or I can't find them. And trying to search topics/individuals is next to impossible and a crapshoot. I don't jump on one of those apps to go to work, I simply want to read my timeline and it's just not there. The first one of these that can somehow import/match users from Twitter to its users (or even "if you followed Z person on Twitter, you may like..." functionality) may get some traction.

For now, it's like building the Lego Taj Mahal and having someone steal it, disassemble it, remove half the pieces, and make me put it back together somewhere else. Mentally, I am not up for that challenge.

Reddit scratches two of my itches - I prefer a messageboard-like experience and they have pretty deep groups for a wide-range of topics I want to read about and engage with. While I enjoy Twitter, I have never liked the "rushing river" feel of how the timeline works in a lot of respects. For in-the-moment news/sports discussions, it's great. For regular topics and discussions, it sucks. Having to find a new Twitter-like place to go made me realize how much of a waste a lot of Twitter is for me.

[albionmoonlight]

He apparently now claims that people who died of COVID on ventilators actually died from the ventilators and not the virus.

I cannot believe that this guy still gets US military contracts.

[GrantDawg]

Why does 99% of people that enter hospice care die in the first year? Why is hospice care killing all these people? I'm just asking questions. I am very smart.

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[albionmoonlight]

He's only in his early 50s.

I just can't imagine a world where he'll be showing his ass like this for another 3-4 decades. But that seems to be what we are in for.

[albionmoonlight]

dola: I get that this is mostly a me problem.

That guy lives in my head rent-free.

I find him and his acolytes horrifically fascinating.