Mike Masnick ✅

I am confused as to how a reporter for a major mainstream publication could come onto Mastodon, write an entire article about it that repeatedly insists that posts are called "twoots."

First off, they were called "toots" not "twoots" and second is that that name has been deprecated on many servers, and Mastodon's creator no longer calls them that.

Nov 11, 2022 at 5:03pmWeb
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Nov 11, 2022
If you want to read it for yourself, here you go: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/11/how-to-use-mastodon-i-tried-to-app-heres-what-you-need-to-know.html?&qsearchterm=mastodon
Musk's Twitter takeover sent thousands flocking to Mastodon. Here’s what I discovered using the app

The number of Mastodon users has skyrocketed since Elon Musk took over Twitter, but users are struggling with the app's complicated setup.

CNBC
Show threadmjfuhlhageNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick "Twoots"?
Show threadjunoNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick "twoots", though?
Show threadDogaNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick how did this pass editorial review? It’s not a typo as it’s repeated multiple times in the text. I wonder if it’s the author or copy editor fixing it after the fact. I guess there’d be an update and correction coming any minute.
Show threadWilliam GunnNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick This kind of midwit silliness is exactly what one would expect as Mastodon gets mainstream exposure. Remember all the ridiculous articles about Twitter?
Show threadPrateek WaghreNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick i guess the reporter didn’t give tw(o h)oots…
Show thread🦃 Keith Wagner ✅Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick 🤦‍♂️
Show threadI'm a hwomanNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick hahahaha twoots
Show threadLong TruongNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick if you toot a very excited woot because your sports team won, maybe that's a twoot!
Show threadMichaelNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick the most charitable explanation is "an editor did it"
Show threadMarcosNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick just "posts"?
Show threadMichelle R. SmithNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick twhoops
Show threadbeaiouns Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick What are "computers?" What do they mean for users? How are you supposed to choose?
Show threadmahemoffNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick ok but I’m calling them twoots from now on 😂😂😂
Show threadJim LipseyNov 11, 2022

@mmasnick The way @popehat feels about reporting on a filing without attaching it is how I feel about screen-shotting an article excerpt without linking to it.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/musks-twitter-takeover-sent-thousands-flocking-to-mastodon-here-e2-80-99s-what-i-discovered-using-the-app/ar-AA13Z9oD

https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/950493719798595584

Musk's Twitter takeover sent thousands flocking to Mastodon. Here’s what I discovered using the app

The number of Mastodon users has skyrocketed since Elon Musk took over Twitter, but users are struggling with the app's complicated setup.

MSN
Show threadPatNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick I sometimes think it's more about a fear of losing their audience than an honest critique
Show threadAlexander Hamizdat Nov 11, 2022

@mmasnick

Reporter:
Editor: Toots? Are you fucking kidding me? We can't print this!
Reporter: ...
Editor: You fucking fix this!!!
Reporter: OH I WILL.

Show threadMichael Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick she’ll never be a real twootizen if she doesn’t pay more attention.
Show threadCraig GrannellNov 11, 2022
Man, that author seems like they’re a bit of a twoot for making such an error.
Show threadJeremy J. LittauNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick Is it possible the server the writer joined changed the name to twoots? I seem to recall server admins having capability to alter naming things like that. Only thing I can fathom why a reporter would make a mistake that bad.
Show threadChester JankowskiNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick Just remember, the w is silent.
Show threadjaymerryfield Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick the Twoots thing immediately set off alarms for me. Feels like an incredibly lightly researched article.
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Nov 11, 2022
@jaymerryfield yeah. there are other problems with it.
Show threadKckdNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick I actually kinda like “toot”. It’s such a silly word and makes me smile a little. I mean, it’s hard to take yourself too seriously when you’re tooting.
Show threaddpflugNov 11, 2022
@Kckd @mmasnick 🎶 A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men. 🎶
Show threadTony Corsentino Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick @ryanschultz hahaha amazing
Show threadRandy TaylerNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick What are they called now?
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Nov 11, 2022
@randytayler according to Eugen, just "posts"
Show threadRandy TaylerNov 11, 2022

@mmasnick thanks. I was just suggesting "posts" today because I thought we were still using "toots."

https://mastodon.social/@randytayler/109325411042912910

Show threadMike Masnick ✅Nov 11, 2022
@randytayler you can read about it here: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/108352418240054955
Show threadAndrew LeaheyNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick @ryanschultz a simple trip to The Google would have cleared it up for them.
Show threadRyan SchultzNov 11, 2022
@andrew @mmasnick I know, eh? How lazy.
Show threadJohn PanzerNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick You’re just messing up a narrative with facts, Mike. A reporter for a major mainstream publication is writing on deadline, and can’t be expected to fact check every silly little thing they write!
Show threadJoseph OttingerNov 11, 2022

@mmasnick Somehow I think you're exaggerating, with all due respect: I don't know which reporter wrote that, but a lot of reporters are entirely ignorant when it comes to their "specialization."

I was a "journalist" for TheServerSide, but because I was a "journalist" it was assumed I knew little of what I wrote about... meanwhile, in practice, I used *everything* I wrote about, or else I said that I hadn't used it so I couldn't verify what I wrote.

Show threadMatthew MalthouseNov 11, 2022

@mmasnick

Sadly reporters getting things wrong is pretty standard these days.

Sometimes you think it's to push an agenda. Sometimes just they can't be bothered. 500 words before deadline? No prob. here you go! 😭

Show threadBeepner pushing up glasses arcNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick Twoot, there it is.
Show threadUncle 6 🌁Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick there’s a lot of “mainstream” tech journalism - hell, journalism, full-stop - that could be charitably described as “slovenly”
Show threadリーハイNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick The server(s) I'm on still use "Toot". Is this a software version thing?
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Nov 11, 2022
@lehi i think it's up to each instance
Show threadJulie MeredithNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick It is as though no one remembers early years Twitter and how often it glitched, fail whaled, used new language, etc. None of this is hard… sigh.
Show threadStephen KellatNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick J-school teaches you how to write but not necessarily how to understand what you’re writing about
Show threadKate McGinty / Caryn CaldwellNov 11, 2022
@mmasnick Apparently being on here for two hours makes anyone an expert... 🤨
Show threadThaiis Thei 𓁟Nov 11, 2022
@mmasnick I am completely unsurprised. Completely.
Show threadAlexandre Oliva (moved to @[email protected])Nov 12, 2022
so, who's going to patch their own servers to say "twoots" to fit this narrative?
Show threadThat Anonymous CowardNov 12, 2022

@mmasnick
Mike, this is the same major media that's tried to both sides horrific events, repeats political lies to be "fair", and generally is becoming the lead pipes delivering information to peoples brains...

I miss fact checkers.

Show threadCrystal King 👑Nov 14, 2022
@mmasnick My instance (one of the oldest, I think) still has toots and it makes me crazy. While I agree that it's lazy journalism, this is one of those things that is super confusing. The idea of so many instances that could be different on the platform is a foreign concept for most people using social media.