Mastodawn

Tzip Jan 20, 2023

So, finally, Musk's minions have acknowledged why they locked out third-party Twitter clients: The purpose is to force users onto Twitter's own website and apps.

Remember, they lied earlier to justify killing off the competition, claiming violations of the rules. Since there were no violations they could point to, they rewrote the rules.

Anyone who trusts Musk and Twitter at this point is willfully stupid.

https://www.engadget.com/twitter-new-developer-terms-ban-third-party-clients-211247096.html

Engadget is part of the Yahoo family of brands

Dan Gillmor Jan 19, 2023

Here's what Twitterific -- which did vastly more than Twitter itself to make the service popular in the first place -- had to say about a company "that we no longer recognize as trustworthy nor want to work with any longer." https://blog.iconfactory.com/2023/01/twitterrific-end-of-an-era/

Twitterrific: End of an Era • The Breakroom

Twitterrific has been discontinued. A sentence that none of us wanted to write, but have long felt would need to be written someday. We didn’t expect to be writing it so soon, though, and certainly not without having had time to notify you that it was coming. We are sorry to say that the app’s […]

Iconfactory Blog

nadezhda Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor Re Twitteriffic being discontinued, Apple will automatically cancel subscriptions. Iconfactory suggests subscribers not request a refund. Clearly their cash flow is already being hammered without the extra hit. So an eminently reasonable ask for their devoted users.

I also took the opportunity to look at their other apps, which I hadn’t bothered to do in ages. So throwing some extra bucks their way would get some nice looking tools

@bigzaphod announcement: https://blog.iconfactory.com/

The Breakroom • A blog for the Iconfactory

Our experienced team creates products on every development platform for clients of all sizes. We’d like to work with you, too.

Iconfactory Blog

ted byfield Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @nadezhda04

Ditto: I just bought a subscription for their net.radio app Triode, which is really, really nice. Do I need it? Not really. Do we all need great indy software developers? YES.

https://triode.app/

Triode • Listen Everywhere

The best way to enjoy all of your favorite internet radio stations wherever you go.

Triode

mark Jan 20, 2023

@nadezhda04 @dangillmor @bigzaphod did Apple remove the app from stores to protect users or to assist twitter? Backing sudden ToS changes seems like it would be a rather hostile way to treat customers.

I'm also confused with twitter wanting to be a protocol, but then wanting to own the only way to interact. That simply doesn't mesh

@infosec_jcp 🐈🃏 done differently Jan 20, 2023

Did you get this email? 🤦‍♂️🤦

#DeveloperFails

Amar Balikai Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor loved Twitteriffic. Excited to see development inside the Mastodon ecosystem accelerate from all of this, but will take time for the network effect to kick in.

Ugh (“ugh”)Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @mmasnick Toot is great, but I really loved Twitterrific, and please make a Mastodon client, IconFactory

Shoq 🌿Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio

Our chrome extension relies on the API, but hasn't been killed yet. Prob. bc it doesn't "replicate the Twitter experience," as they once forbade new devs from doing. It "enhanced" with added features. Not mentioned in the press is that Twitterific and other clients were always grandfathered in after Twitter warned devs (years ago) that new "primary experience apps" (competitors) would no longer be approved. It seems Elmo decided to claw back the grandfathered status.

Shoq 🌿Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio

We're probably next. That's our working assumption, anyway. We'd be insane to assume otherwise.

Steve Katz Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio I know they own it and all but what's confusing is that Tweetdeck seems to still be functional. And it's such a superior way of doing Twitter than the main feed - no ads, good filters, lists galore, and no ads did I already mention that. I suppose that'll be next unless there's another revenue play I don't know about with Tweetdeck?

Justin Jan 20, 2023

@stevekatz @dangillmor @andybaio twitter owns tweetdeck

Steve Katz Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @justin96740 @andybaio yes I said that

Justin Jan 20, 2023

@stevekatz @dangillmor @andybaio my reading skills are incredible today 🤦‍♂️

Dan Gillmor Jan 20, 2023

@stevekatz I would guess that ads and other annoyances (e.g. "curated" feeds with insertion of tweets they choose and no reverse-chronological option) are coming soon to Tweetdeck. @andybaio

Steve Lhomme Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @stevekatz @andybaio the minute Musk decided paying customers would have priority in your timeline, anything that doesn't show tweets in the Twitter order was a problem.

Parker Molloy Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio They want to control what people see. Total propaganda play.

Wizard Bear (💉x8 + 😷)Jan 20, 2023

@parkermolloy @dangillmor @andybaio #Elno wants to monetize everything about the #Birdsite and doesn't want any of that $ going to third parties. This, of course, includes ad revenue...

Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio it's amazing how many people want to be a billionaire's pet though....

Fearless Friend Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio I agree that the actions taken by Musk and Twitter to lock out third-party clients raises concerns about their intentions to force users onto their own platforms and eliminate competition. The justification given for these actions, such as claiming violations of rules, is questionable and raises suspicions about their true motives. Trusting them at this point would be unwise.

Mike D Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio
"Anyone who trusts Musk and Twitter at this point is willfully stupid.'

At this point??

Banning journalists and allowing fascists back on was was OK but banning third-party clients is where you draw the line. Really?

JDS Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor They’re desperate for money. They need to prove eyeballs for advertisers so they can’t have eyeballs looking through ad-less 3rd party clients. (also 100% Elon wrote that “long-standing” tweet 🤣)

Deviant Ollam Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio This is why I have effectively abandoned Twitter.

I'll still check DMs occasionally, because I get a lot of people contacting me with a request for help on something or other.

But I will not use it on mobile anymore and honestly can hardly be bothered to open Tweet Deck on my laptop, too.

Voron Jan 20, 2023

@andybaio @dangillmor Anyone who trusts a billionaire is an idiot

toxtethogrady Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio I don't trust him, I don't need to, and he has to answer to me, as I'm a Tesla shareholder...

Mᴀʀᴋ VᴀɴᴅᴇWᴇᴛᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio Yeah, pretty happy with my decision to abandon twitter at this point.

@dangillmor @andybaio I wish I had the same results when trying to guess the Lottery numbers! My guess was totally accurate!

Sir Willington Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio If Musk was smart he would have showed up to BirdSite HQ on day 1 with his own SpaceX smartphone running his own OS with his own app store instead of a kitchen sink.
Dude has enough fanboys to buy it instead of android or iOS, and he would have gained physical domination over people's hardwar like Apple and Google.

Although it could have went down like that Amazon fire phone they couldn't give away......

henriavo Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio shutting down api (basically) without notice feels like a slap to the face of developers.

Sova Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio Does the Twitter site still flag all links to Maston instances as malware?

I'm still loving my #twittergravesite I setup that keeps forwarding traffic from it to my mastodon profile. I figured it would have been shutdown by now, but it continues to work great.

Catweazle Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio , Nitter still works

Fubarrockchick Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio will they go after the big leagues like hootsuite has been used widely by business , tweetdeck has been widely used by anonymous, thats going to be interesting

Stijn Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio Then again, you could argue that it is a commercials party right to enact their own strategic policies, even if it is not in the best interest of the end user, as long as they are not harmed or violated. A third party using another platform for their own (non profit or profit) goals will always be at the mercy of the first party platform.

DrBob, 🧠 Mechanic Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio #ElonMusk acts like a 2 year old brat and now that #Facebook is better liked is genius

Charles Brand Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio Really feeling good about exiting to MuskVerse right about now…😌

Ministerofimpediments Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio
I understand it sucks (a lot), but dial it back a smidge. It may be less about trust as for a lot of communities and countries Twitter is the only semi-free speech they may have. It's not about being dumb...just having anything at all and a place to say it. So blame Musk and his stupidity...don't blame the users.
It's like saying "why go on that road, there are crashes, shootings, and a bad part of town?"
"Because that's where I work or my kid's school is."

💐 🏖 🌺 𝕂𝕚𝕂𝕚 Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio It’s not rocket science. Twitter, like Facebook and Google, is an advertising platform. Without that, they don’t get paid. That’s the only thing that motivates the Chief Twit. He is desperate to monetize it in every way he can.

It’s the same reasoning for showing view counts for tweets on The Bird S(h)ite™ to convince users and advertisers that all tweets are widely seen, even if there are no replies to them, or retweets.

msgbi Markus Sagebiel Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio @charles_ex musk universe

velmore Jan 20, 2023

@dangillmor @andybaio at least in my case, all it does is reduces my Twitter engagement, increase my Mastodon engagement, and whets my appetite for some cool new clients from companies like Tapbots.

Mickeywallacelu Mar 25, 2024

@dangillmor true that. But were lost he will be allowed to get his control chip in people