B. BaerFeb 3, 2023
Mike Masnick ✅

By the way, with Musk already cutting off @Tibor's Movetodon, it's likely that Debirdify and Fedifinder are not long for this world. Even if Musk doesn't kill them immediately, they'll likely die when the API fees kick in next week.

So if you're still on Twitter, or know people there, you might want to encourage them to at least set up accounts here now, before it becomes more difficult.

Feb 3, 2023 at 5:52pmWeb
Show threadAlexis DeveriaFeb 3, 2023
@mmasnick I know we don't know yet how much API access will cost but it seems like the kind of thing the community might be able to pitch in to keep at least one of these services running?
Show threadAdam CookFeb 3, 2023

@Fyrd @mmasnick I think that Twitter will immediately gatekeep API access solely based on Twitter's (Musk's) business objectives - even if, theoretically, any of those service are willing to pay.

The primary objective to Musk is to keep users on Twitter at all costs.

Show threadAlexis DeveriaFeb 3, 2023
@adamjcook @mmasnick You're probably right.
Show threadstrwbrryJenFeb 3, 2023
lol, i just nuked my account over there becasue of how crap its gotten
Show threadLisieshy's blogFeb 3, 2023

@Fyrd @mmasnick Elon himself said it would cost "Just ~100$/month" earlier today.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1621259936524300289

Tweet / Twitter

Twitter
Show threadBenFeb 4, 2023

@Fyrd @mmasnick Probably better to just write a new one which completely bypasses the API. Web scraping is ugly, but at this point I don't think anyone gives a fuck in regards to Twitter.

You're partially right: choosing the lesser of two evils to help people escape is good, but giving Musk money ain't the lesser of those two evils. ;)

Show threadAlexis DeveriaFeb 4, 2023
@adversary Yeah I think that'll probably wind up as the best way forward!
Show threadA2LFeb 4, 2023
@Fyrd @mmasnick Current estimate is at $100/month based off of this tweet x_x
Show threadChris Gervais 🎸🥁💻Feb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor Hopefully a new set of tools will emerge for folks to use their Twitter data exports to seed their Mastodon accounts
Show threadJames Edward Lewis IIFeb 4, 2023
@chrisgervais @mmasnick @Tibor I'm still reading this thread, so the point may have been made already, but Debirdify can already do this, via a textarea that accepts a list of Twitter usernames; what I don't know is whether it will run into problems scraping all of those profiles without the API, or whether it even does use the API once it has the list of usernames.
Show threadAZcoigreachFeb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor I second that motion. Make sure you tell your friends (or don't 🤨)
Show threadProxima CentauriFeb 3, 2023

@mmasnick @Tibor Why can't we scrape the following graphs for a friend? Store it in CSV. Those on the fence won't make it.

It's doable even after the keys close, but then it's sketchy.

Show threadSimon Feb 3, 2023
@mmasnick just grabbed everything from Fedifinder just in case
Show threadJohn BreenFeb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor
Here I am (on Mastodon)
Close your eyes and I'll be Superman (according to my bio)
Here, I, am
Come on, send me RTs while you can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJwV5cxMhjU
Skid Row - Here I Am

YouTube
Show thread👨🏻‍💻☕Feb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor PETTY AF
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Feb 3, 2023
@hunterwalk @Tibor incredibly so. and it screams weakness and insecurity
Show threadUditt Lamba Feb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor I see them monetising api access as an act of desperation. Social media’s like twitter and reddit are enriched by their bots, from genuinely great@ones to the goofy ones. This is another sign of slow death of twitter.
Show threadRobin HooverFeb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor Did it today with Debirdify. So far quite interesting, and the elk.zone app is splendid to use.
Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Feb 3, 2023
@mmasnick used moveodon once. You need to log in twitter so I refused to repeat that. Anyway, I had already found all the people that came up and was following them
Show threadErnie SmithFeb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor What a goddamn coward he is. Runs the business like he’s scared.
Show threadJames TurtonFeb 3, 2023
@ernie @mmasnick @Tibor There's definitely a smell of fear in the air.
Show threadLilian EdwardsFeb 3, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor @RobynCaplan this is shit. Only just learned this will wreck cross posting. Is he doing this at least partly just to kick shit out of Masto??
Show threadRobyn CaplanFeb 3, 2023
@lilianedwards @mmasnick @Tibor I think it’s what he’s said tbh - he’s been looking to the Twitter “super user” as a cash cow in a few ways.
Show threadMattstodon 🏳️‍⚧️Feb 4, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor putting everything behind a paywall is a surefire way to grow your userbase
Show threadIván Cavero BelaundeFeb 4, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor The problem Elon has is that as long as Twitter has a website, he can’t win this war. The next step is a browser extension or lightweight wrapper around WebKit that just sucks out the data by scraping the site.
Show threadauthor_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5Feb 4, 2023
@ivanski @mmasnick @Tibor I've done similar with a Qt/QML app running Chromium – a C++/JavaScript hybrid.
Show threadPeterFeb 4, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor I left Twitter some time ago and will not return unless Musk is replaced.
Show threadAndrea Grandi 🦕Feb 4, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor honestly? If letting nazis back to the platform and removing ban from extremists hasn't convinced them to leave it, I'm not going to waste my time with them 🤷🏻‍♂️
Show threadFrankFeb 4, 2023
@mmasnick @Tibor what‘s the best way to allow the tools to work, while at the same time not risking the twitter profile?