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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 (X), and Instagram, but we can't forget newer platforms like Discord and Slack.

Dedicated video sites are off-topic here and YouTube has its own separate thread.

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.

The politics, motives, competency and wider business activities of the owners and leaders of social media companies (e.g. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg) are also off-topic — except in situations where they are directly making specific policy for the platform.

Talking about a particular Instagram policy change (or a high-profile ban on a specific user) directly announced by Mark Zuckerberg would be acceptable in this thread, speculating about Zuckerberg's wider motivations wouldn't be.

One exception is Truth Social, due to its connection to Donald Trump. As there is a forum ban on US Politics, all discussion of Truth Social is off-topic and posts about the platform may be thumped.

The thread's also not about "dumb thing [public figure] said on [social media platform]". If there isn't a specific thread related to the subject of the statement, then it's probably gossip and not worth talking about.


     Thread OP 
So, I was looking for a dedicated social media thread and apparently there was this one 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 Mrph1 on Nov 8th 2024 at 5:16:31 PM

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#301: Apr 27th 2022 at 12:39:44 PM

I doubt anything will come of this specifically, but dear god he's an idiot.

You made an agreement, Elon, try to stick to it for more than one fucking day.

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#302: Apr 27th 2022 at 12:40:47 PM

Literally all he has to do is shut up or talk about anything else. This is not hard! Even I don't find it impossible to not talk about a tiny selection of specific people!

Edited by RainehDaze on Apr 27th 2022 at 8:41:32 PM

Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#303: Apr 27th 2022 at 12:46:56 PM

Elon Musk is just like the ex-president. Can't stop himself from commenting on whatever he wants to try to make it about him.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
HalfFaust Since: Jan, 2019
#305: Apr 27th 2022 at 12:47:33 PM

This isn't particularly out of character. He talks a lot, and has said many troublesome things before.

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#306: Apr 27th 2022 at 12:49:35 PM

I think this is a new record.

And I expect if anything does come of this, then it'll be met with accusations of censorship despite being agreed to.

Altris from the Vortex Since: Aug, 2019 Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
#307: Apr 27th 2022 at 12:51:46 PM

If this turns out to have negative consequences for Musk re: the purchase agreement, I will be pleasantly surprised, but I don't really see that happening.

So, let's hang an anchor from the sun... also my Tumblr
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#308: Apr 27th 2022 at 2:47:01 PM

Elon does seem to have a chronic problem with being told "no, you can't". It just makes him want to do it anyway as a show of rebellion.

He will even do so when it actively hurts his own cause, like in this case, which is why I think it is some sort of compulsion of his. Something he would indeed have in common with Trump.

It probably won't have any consequences beyond annoying his lawyers and possibly denting his company's stock prices for a bit.

Edited by Redmess on Apr 27th 2022 at 11:48:18 AM

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
PhilosopherStones Anyways Here's Darude Sandstorm from The North (lots of planets have them) (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Anyways Here's Darude Sandstorm
#309: Apr 27th 2022 at 2:48:49 PM

This is now the Elon Musk Psychoanalysis Thread.

GIVE ME YOUR FACE
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#310: Apr 27th 2022 at 2:49:33 PM

...and filed it to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Ah, there it is...

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#311: Apr 27th 2022 at 2:54:59 PM

Oh, and look what he was actually tweeting about:

Gadde’s team, which is in charge of content moderation decisions at Twitter, briefly blocked a link to an October New York Post article about a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, son of soon-to-be-US president Joe Biden. It also temporarily locked the Post’s account. The laptop was eventually confirmed to be Biden’s, and then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey apologized, saying Twitter made a mistake.

On Tuesday, Musk jumped into the fray, in essence agreeing with Enjeti’s critique of Gadde. “Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” he tweeted.

Yep, it's the old Hunter Biden story. This guy clearly is anti-Biden, if not outright Republican.

This says so much about what Musk's Twitter will be like. It is going to be a haven for this sort of conspiracy mongering and fake news stories.

Edited by Redmess on Apr 27th 2022 at 11:56:10 AM

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#312: Apr 27th 2022 at 3:01:20 PM

The news is also reporting that Twitter still won't allow Musk to tweet whatever he wants about Tesla, specifically anything that could influence stock prices.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#313: Apr 27th 2022 at 3:02:38 PM

I thought that was an agreement with the SEC that required him to go through someone else for that?

FergardStratoavis A Fluff Ringer from Bellveins (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: A gay little love melody
A Fluff Ringer
#314: Apr 27th 2022 at 3:16:04 PM

Musk might not buy Twitter after all:

Four years ago, Elon Musk vowed to set up a peanut brittle company to take on Warren Buffett’s iconic U.S. confectioner See’s Candies. Then he changed his mind. It wouldn't be surprising if Musk's $44 billion deal to buy social network Twitter went the same way.

Sure, the Tesla boss was clearly serious about acquiring Twitter as of recently. The financing from Morgan Stanley is shored up. The agreement includes a fee of $1 billion that he – or Twitter – would have to pay if they renege on the contract. And Twitter’s lawyers even wedged in a so-called “specific performance” clause, which could theoretically force Musk to buy the company if he threatens to back out, though in practice this could probably be settled by adding to the break fee.

There are good reasons for him to get cold feet. The biggest is Tesla. The electric-vehicle maker’s stock has fallen around a fifth since Musk first revealed his stake in Twitter, partly because Musk may sell shares to fund his new adventure. If Tesla’s stock bounces back – likely if the Twitter deal falls away – the $40 billion of recouped wealth would more than make up for the break fee.

China is a major sticking point too. Tesla produces half of its vehicles there, as well as a quarter of its revenue. But Twitter is no friend to the People's Republic, most recently for defying Beijing in its handling of content related to Hong Kong protests. China could easily hold Tesla to ransom if a Musk-owned Twitter didn’t play ball. That’s uncomfortable for a self-professed “free speech absolutist.”

In reality, Musk’s absolutism probably won't survive a Twitter deal anyway. European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton told the Financial Times this week that the company must police illegal or harmful content or risk being banned. In the United States, where regulators are less aggressive, other technology firms could effectively create the same threat. Apple, for example, gets to decide which apps appear in its influential store.

One thing makes it easier for Musk to walk away before any of this becomes a problem: The market partly anticipates it already. Twitter’s stock is currently trading 11% below his offer price – a fairly wide spread for a deal with little antitrust pushback. Musk’s tweets criticizing some company actions – potentially flouting the merger agreement - already suggest he might be starting to lose interest. Most likely, Musk's attention will wander elsewhere. It wouldn't be the first time.

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#315: Apr 27th 2022 at 3:24:25 PM

That would be a little late now, as he's already signed a contract where he will be on the hook for a billion dollars if he pulls out of the deal.

Honestly, that story sounds like an oped that is a bit behind the facts at this point.

Edited by Redmess on Apr 27th 2022 at 12:25:43 PM

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Perseus Since: Nov, 2009
#316: Apr 27th 2022 at 3:26:43 PM

It is an opinion piece, and it explicitly addresses the existence of that fee.

Edited by Perseus on Apr 27th 2022 at 8:26:54 PM

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#317: Apr 27th 2022 at 3:29:44 PM

I saw, I misinterpreted the title at first.

It's certainly not impossible for him to get cold feet, which is a natural reaction after making a rash multibillion purchase. And this is why you shouldn't buy companies on a whim...

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
kotrenn from San Diego, CA Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: Omelette du fromage~
#318: Apr 27th 2022 at 5:57:23 PM

Bit late to the conversation, so lemme summarize my thoughts:

- Having an anonymous alt is important. I used it to explore expressing myself as feminine, which helped me with later coming out to myself as trans.

- Elon Musk is Jonas Venture Sr., a man who thinks he's a super scientist helping the world, but instead just fucks everything up, and it can take a while to see the consequences of his actions

- Social media should always support an "algorithm" for the chronological feed. For anything more complex, I am in theory in favor of open-sourcing the algorithm + any training datasets (it's okay to start off with data based on white college students, but it better fucking expand later)

- We really need a place to handle the distribution of porn. One that is opt-in, moderates users (i.e. prevents kids from following porn creators), and moderates content (turns in child porn creators to the authorities). Tumblr used to be a great place for this, but we all know how that turned out. Fur Affinity works for its userbase, but it's not general purpose and always feels like its servers are being held together by duct tape.

At the moment I currently favor Tumblr for the "modern" social media, while classic forums such as what TV Tropes uses are just nice for navigating. That said, I still keep a Reddit account for all the communities I like to follow that prefer to post there (Factorio, Path of Exile, The Owl House, etc).

Edited by kotrenn on Apr 27th 2022 at 6:05:58 AM

The Man in Black fled across the Island, and The Doctor followed.
Brandon Deadly Vu! from Between Thanksgiving and Christmas (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#320: Apr 27th 2022 at 7:32:58 PM

Twitter admits it censored all mention of an HBO documentary series investigating and debunking Q-Anon.

Officially there reasons were:

Twitter admitted that it was restricting the reach of tweets about the series after the director, Cullen Hoback, tried paying to boost his own tweet publicizing the film’s iTunes debut on March 21. He was barred from buying promotion for his tweet. An email from Twitter’s ad department stated the film had been "manually reviewed" and deemed to be in violation of the social network’s "inappropriate content" policy.

The less charitable reasons is that the documentary shined a lot of light on Twitter's actions, or lack thereof, that helped Q-Anon explode in popularity in the first place.

PhilosopherStones Anyways Here's Darude Sandstorm from The North (lots of planets have them) (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Anyways Here's Darude Sandstorm
#321: Apr 27th 2022 at 7:33:15 PM

And the far-left hardly registers on a national level.

GIVE ME YOUR FACE
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#322: Apr 27th 2022 at 7:40:38 PM

[up][up][up] Ah, the Golden Mean Fallacy strikes again!

Also, "far left" is often used to mean "anything that even slightly hints at regulation". Because Nazis are the same as, say, required working conditions. Or paying people.

MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#323: Apr 27th 2022 at 8:01:33 PM

[up] I wouldn't be surprised if they used the boogieman of Commie-Nazis to further their malignant goals, even those there is no such thing except in the heads of the stupid and paranoid. Therefore, by extention I'm not surprised that they would try to paint the far left as the sam,e as the far right (plus projection)

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Apr 27th 2022 at 8:01:45 AM

PhysicalStamina ain't nothin' but a party y'all (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
ain't nothin' but a party y'all
#324: Apr 27th 2022 at 8:50:51 PM

One of the main problems with Twitter is that it's designed to make people angry to keep them on the site, and the guy talking about he wants to "fix" Twitter is now talking about upsetting people.

What is it gonna take for people to realize this man is full of shit?

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Apr 27th 2022 at 11:54:28 AM

Do not spare the feelings of those who would not spare yours.
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#325: Apr 27th 2022 at 11:12:46 PM

I assure you, Elon does not want to upset the far right. Though it would be hilarious if they started attacking him on social media — say, Twitter, for example.

He's acting like he would actually be prepared for something like that.

Edited by BearyScary on Apr 27th 2022 at 10:13:13 AM

Do not obey in advance.

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