Josef UyedaDec 31, 2022
Gil Duran

By banning some of us, Musk is sending a message to everyone else: Comply with the dictator or lose access. #Twitter has become a virtual simulation of authoritarian rule."

But Musk didn’t build Twitter. We, collectively, turned the bird app into a consequential power. If it remains under the control of a man who sees journalists as enemies, we have a moral responsibility to fly the coop.

(Reposting with paywall-free gift link for those who couldn't access it earlier)

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/elon-musk-twitter-ban-censorship-17680044.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL29waW5pb24vb3BlbmZvcnVtL2FydGljbGUvZWxvbi1tdXNrLXR3aXR0ZXItYmFuLWNlbnNvcnNoaXAtMTc2ODAwNDQucGhw&time=MTY3MjQxODUwMTMyOA==&rid=ZDBhY2NhMjQtNzY2Ny00MWYzLWExNzktMGVmMjljNTdjNDE0&sharecount=MQ==

I got myself banned from Elon Musk’s Twitter. Why you should, too

Next thing you know, it will be against the rules to mention Tesla’s stock price, criticize the Republican Party or link to stories in legitimate news outlets. We can’t enable this.

San Francisco Chronicle
Dec 30, 2022 at 8:44pmWeb
Show threadjgoldweinDec 30, 2022
@gilduran The Twitter share icon on the bottom of many publications and posts needs to be replaced by the Mastodon share icon.
Show threadRachel GreenhamDec 30, 2022
@goldwein @gilduran the operable verb there is *replaced*
Show thread@[email protected] has movedDec 31, 2022

@StrangeNoises @goldwein @gilduran

The Mastodon icon should be the only one there. All the others exist to embed tracking, the share function is just a cover.

Show threadMickey P RoweDec 30, 2022
@gilduran I haven’t managed to get banned yet, but I have blocked Elon. It’s a start…
Show threadGil DuranDec 30, 2022
@MPQRowe I had him blocked and muted!
Show threadRenéeDec 31, 2022
@gilduran Unfortunately his voice is in the fundamental operational decisions now, not just his account itself. The very data you give Twitter by using it is still all his to see and sell. @MPQRowe
Show threadMickey P RoweDec 31, 2022
@reneestephen @gilduran I know… I’m trying to transition away and do expect I’ll be gone from Twitter completely in the not too distant future. I’m spending time blocking people and muting all advertisers in a small effort to downgrade bad actors and starve the platform.
Show threadDispatchesDec 31, 2022
@MPQRowe @reneestephen @gilduran Excellent!
Show threadDispatchesDec 31, 2022

@MPQRowe @gilduran
Just leave. It's comes down to adding another SM link and figure out later whether to keep the bird. Musk's philosophy is insupportable and we need to do the rebuilding. Give it a month or two and we'll be in a better place.

Technology isn't the heart of it, WE are. I'm happy to witness the self-destruction of Elongate from afar.

Show threadH4Heights 🇪🇺🇵🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦Jan 2, 2023
@MPQRowe @gilduran
So have I. There is something to be said for not blocking the psychotic fascists just to keep tabs on them, but some are beyond the pale. Like Incel Musk.
Show threadJDN 6Dec 30, 2022
@gilduran
We have a moral responsibility to use that tool to “make good trouble” for the authoritarians who would co-opt it.
Why leave willingly when you can post criticisms of the owner with the intent of getting kicked off?
Show threadGil DuranDec 30, 2022
@JDN5IX That seems to be the exact point I make in the piece!
Show threadJDN 6Dec 30, 2022
@gilduran
🤙😎
“Make Good Trouble”
Show threadreally? why?Dec 31, 2022

@JDN5IX @gilduran

there is no responsibility to support a fascist billionaire as he assaults the information space.

the best thing for twitter is to aid the migration here

Show threadJDN 6Dec 31, 2022
@reallywhy @gilduran
Aid the migration however you can - make twitter and Elon irrelevant, mock them when and where you can
🤙🤓
Show threadmichelle.catJan 1, 2023
@JDN5IX @gilduran because there is no real way to make a difference on that platform , banning someone is a visible act , it an act of defamation that needs to be tested in court if you ban someone from you home that’s your prerogative if you go on tv and falsely claim someone is using hate speech as the excuse for banning them that’s defamation
Show threadCorrado Dec 30, 2022
@gilduran indeed. The social networks greatest asset are the users.
Show threadCosmic RayDec 30, 2022
@gilduran
Why can't news organizations use Mastodon and the Fediverse to broadcast their pieces to whoever wants to follow
Moderation of comments is nice but optional
Have an unfiltered way to propagate the information
Could repost to other sites, but as they may be censored, they are not the source of record
Show threadEl Jefe "" Dec 30, 2022
@gilduran when you replace the bird icon with the elephant icon on your site's web pages, then we will know you are serious about it.
Show threadMaggieLDec 30, 2022
@gilduran
So what was the message being sent by all the previous bannings?
Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Dec 31, 2022
@MaggieL @gilduran no disinformation (science) or hate speech.
Show threadMaggieLDec 31, 2022

@edgeoforever @gilduran

"Hate speech" is a bullshit category used to justify suppressing speech that you hate. "Disinformation" is in the same category.

Twiiter set itself up as MiniTrue long before Musk got there, and the Twitter Files make that clear.

Lefties are hating on Musk now because he called BS on their scam.

Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Dec 31, 2022
@MaggieL @gilduran It's the 🐂💩the founder of Mastodon believes in. And the rest of us. Not sure why are you here
Show threadMarkDec 31, 2022

@MaggieL @edgeoforever @gilduran Mr Musk is working on turning Twitter into a right-wing echo chamber, like FOX but for social media. To that end he isn't just banning "Lefties" but everyone else as well. To be clear, it's not the far right vs "lefties" it's the far right vs everyone else.

That said, why are you on the fediverse if it bothers you so? Seems like you might be much happier back on Twitter with your flock?

Show threadMaggieLDec 31, 2022

@Westdragon @edgeoforever @gilduran

Its funny how immediately traditional Mastedon users like yourself leap to trying to chase me off the platform. It's just like the old Twitter, except you guys think you own the place, whose architecture was designed to resist ownership. You actually did own Twitter until Elon bought it at a fire sale.

Show threadMarkDec 31, 2022
@MaggieL @edgeoforever @gilduran "Chase you off the platform"? Seems like you are mad on arrival my friend. Please, stay and continue to bash the platform, it is your choice. I just assumed (incorrectly it seems) that you might be happier elsewhere. The fediverse isn't for everyone and thats ok.
Show threadMaggieLDec 31, 2022

@Westdragon @edgeoforever @gilduran

"The Fediverse isn't for everyone."

"Only woquespeak is approved."

"You risk unhappiness unless you live in a bubble as tightly sealed as mine. You should stay among your own kind." 😆

Show threadMarkDec 31, 2022
@MaggieL @edgeoforever @gilduran Eh, yeah I'm going to bow out of your pity party as this is tiring and life is too short. Congrats on being my first block.
Show threadMaggieLDec 31, 2022

@Westdragon @edgeoforever @gilduran

See?

I'm not mad nor am I looking for pity, as foreign as that may seem to you

Show threadMaggieLDec 31, 2022

@Westdragon @edgeoforever @gilduran

Your narrative about what happened to Twitter is mistaken.

"Social media in general, especially Twitter, were eroding civilisation. If civilisation collapses before Mars becomes self-sustaining, then nothing else matters. Human consciousness is gone."

"To be totally frank, almost every conspiracy theory that people had about Twitter turned out to be true."

- Elon Musk.

Show threadMaggieLDec 31, 2022

@Westdragon @edgeoforever @gilduran

I'm currently banned on Twitter for a "targeted harassment" conviction by the pre-Elon politboro documented in detail in the Twitter Files. You should read them, but you won't.

Show threadJarvis SlacksDec 30, 2022
@gilduran I don't need to get banned from the bird site. We all know how bad it is over there.
Show threadiar81bDec 30, 2022
@gilduran As with most dictatorships, the dictator does not build the country. He just acquires power as a result of some circumstances, usually through corruption and violence.
Show threadGlenG🌻 - Support UkraineDec 30, 2022
@gilduran Anyone who mentions flying the coup, gets an automatic follow. :)
Show threadVocal VisionsDec 30, 2022
@gilduran as in most businesses, the people are the ones who create the success of the business. How that gets lost is a travesty. That’s why people have more power as a collective than they realize, but seldom use it enough.
Show threadAfterLand 🤟🌎🎨Dec 30, 2022
@gilduran Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Show threadRebecca BodenheimerDec 30, 2022
@gilduran this is great. I’ve been saying with that whole stunt of banning links to other platforms (which he was then forced to role back), he’s proven he doesn’t even believe in free-market capitalism. He’s just a mini-dictator.
Show threadHeterodox ThisDec 30, 2022
@gilduran
Twitter files charlatan Shellenberger spent time with Lakoff and was very interested in learning from him about framing. I would love to hear something from Mr. Lakoff about his impressions of Shellenberger at that time (and more recently) along with some welcome advice about how we can disrupt his ongoing bad faith propaganda. Thanks!
Show threadPlutusDec 30, 2022

https://twitter.com/SehrLangsam2/status/1608781418162958338?s=20&t=KDEbRj7uKucmI8JOolUOmQ
@gilduran @protecttruth

There is an uneasy link between the original IDW (Weiss Rubin Peterson Douglas Murray etc), the Taibbi Greenwald Tulsi crew, this odious Kim dotcom hacker dude & now w/ Musk. How their msgs on social media seem not only to be in unison but consistent on every word printed.

SehrLangsam on Twitter

“@matthew_pines @JohnSerwach @traderttt9 When the intellectual dark web segues from primarily woke-hating fighters against CRT to all-consuming probers of “Laptop-gate” - interesting to look at how/why they formed, who funds them, why their msg is always in lock-step & who benefits https://t.co/bdAoddYGBt”

Twitter
Show threadPlutusDec 31, 2022

@gilduran @protecttruth
@johnserwach
@ForeignSubstance
Let's just keep focusing on Hunter's laptop - Muskovites (Taibbi, Weiss, IDWers) ; just tip of the iceberg for His Orangeness.

https://twitter.com/petestrzok/status/1608919883508744192?s=20&t=KDEbRj7uKucmI8JOolUOmQ

Pete Strzok on Twitter

“Trump “received more than $55 million in gross income from more than 12 countries, including Azerbaijan, Panama, Canada and Qatar” and his 2020 “returns showed that he filed foreign tax credits in more than 12 countries, including China, Qatar and Israel.” https://t.co/Ilh6gQuWOv”

Twitter
Show threadThattoptootDec 30, 2022
@gilduran one of a few possible actions if you haven't already been banned:
1) stay on birdsite and set up accounts on other social media sites.
I'm sticking around for screenshots.
Show threadPhilip Ives 🖖Dec 30, 2022
@gilduran Musk has helped us see there are much better places than Twitter.
Show threadW6KMEDec 31, 2022

@gilduran I see people saying "we won't let him take this away from us!"

Folks, that's the problem-it was never yours for anyone to take away. Elon didn't take Twitter away from you. YOU were simply sold to another master.

You can choose to continue being someone's product (and live with the consequences of being seen as a supporter of some very evil people), or you can stop and start rebuilding somewhere like here.

I can't understand how so many people are struggling with that choice.

Show threadAlicePaulDec 31, 2022

@gilduran

I’m at the stage where anyone still on Twitter that claims to be of the Blue ilk is being irresponsible and need to leave pronto.

Show threadDispatchesDec 31, 2022
@gilduran
Thank you for the share. Capitalism isn't good at spreading real information.
Show threadKeith DaggettDec 31, 2022
@gilduran
It's nor paywall-free.
Show threadKarlDec 31, 2022
@gilduran we will reach the tipping point once more celebs migrate away. That’s what lots of folks need. We need petitions to circulate on #twitter for people to move away from there.
Show threadveronicatashDec 31, 2022

@gilduran I left right after learning he bought it.

Though I wouldnt promote the fact that you wrote something about "radical conservativism." Conservativism is literally about maintaining the status quo and thus can never be radical.

What you are speaking of is reactionary, not radical, and is fascism, not conservativism. Biden is a conservative, people just wildly misuse the term, as they do with most ideological terms, since Reagan.

Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Dec 31, 2022
@veronicatash @gilduran “conservative “ is a romantic term for Republicans who are trying to promote the illusion that they stand for something. Biden is proving every day to be the most progressive president this country had which took me by surprise.
Show threadveronicatashDec 31, 2022

@edgeoforever @gilduran Republicans do stand for various things. Misogyny, racism, and transphobia are all things. Nationalism is thing.

Biden is hardly progressive. He did feign further left than I expected, but also not as left as he campaigned on. Progressives do not break strikes for rail barons.

Show threadDomDec 31, 2022
@gilduran Great piece, Gil. Musk gets away with a lot because of his buffoonery. Just like Trump. He’s entertaining. But what he’s done here and how he continues to punch down leaves me chilled. Just like Trump.
Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Dec 31, 2022
@doms @gilduran nah, it’s not the buffoonery. It’s just that most media (the decision making segment at least) is on team authoritarian now (Putin, Elmo, DeSantis etc). It’s not for entertainment purposes. It’s a political decision/belonging.
Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Dec 31, 2022
@gilduran I was suspended in the process of deactivating my account. My password was suddenly no good, then I was informed I can deactivate my account if I appeal the suspension . Luckily, previously I had changed my handle to Mastodon so I simply deleted the app. Several people here mentioned suspensions during deactivation. Also, before changing my handle, during the mastodon bannings, I changed my page to this x didn’t seem to elicit a reaction
Show threadChelseaDec 31, 2022
@gilduran I got banned… TWICE. Second time with no explanation, but I did tweet about how I was now unbanned so that probably did it. Ridiculous. I wasn’t even tweeting much to begin with so I have no idea why.
Show threadHughsterDec 31, 2022
@gilduran I don't know if you'd already seen this—pretty damned scary in this context:
https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/insights/2022/how-many-people-come-twitter-for-news
How many people come to Twitter for news? As it turns out, a LOT

We’ve compiled valuable learnings to help give you visibility into how — and how many — people engage with news and current events on Twitter.

Show threadSteveDec 31, 2022
@gilduran kinda like how they used to can people without reason. Humourous.
Show threadOld Man MikeDec 31, 2022
@gilduran exactly. Any journalist remaining on Twitter is stating that they will not write “certain things” about overlord Musk. This is not journalism, this is public relations.
Show threadPeter AbrahamDec 31, 2022
@gilduran Agree...here's my story: https://peterabraham.medium.com/why-i-opted-out-of-twitter-d47456a1ae6b
Why I Opted Out of Twitter - Peter Abraham - Medium

It was Elon Musk’s tweet sharing homophobic misinformation about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. That was the last straw. Just two days after he purchased Twitter for $44 billion and one day…

Medium
Show threadHumanist EngineerDec 31, 2022
@gilduran I got banned then Unbanned. I gave away musk’s #AssasinationCoordinates.
Show threadKimDec 31, 2022
@gilduran Great article. I left for good. Re-creating the ability Twitter had to give power to the Vox Populi in light-speed form is proving more difficult than I thought, but I’m here for it.