Social-media researchers overemphasized the platform now called X for years. But now, as it rapidly changes into something new and frightening, we risk paying too little attention.
In the old days, there was a hierarchy of reputability. At the top you had the bluechecks that generally represented reputable sources of information, who had premium billing in the platform. Then you had the normies. Then you had the slush-pit of soft-blocked people that were shoved into the “other replies” box because everybody hated them and they only followed their network of bots.
Now, the hierarchy is reversed. The slush-pit people are now have blue-checks, the algorithmic boost on blue-checks is even stronger, and half of the old reputable blue-checks have left.
This is like saying “Reddit/Lemmy has always been awful” if we made the upvotes/downvotes of all the worst people on the site worth 100X what a normal person’s upvote/downvote was worth. Yes, there have always been problems, but they can get worse.
You must not pay attention, I’m new to Lemmy, but Reddit’s been garbage for years. Seems like a lot of that garbage made it’s way to Lemmy too. Face it anything that you can hide behind a screen and a keyboard with relative anonymity is fucking shit. It outs people for the kind of person they REALLY are when they don’t have to face the repercussions of saying shit to someones face.
This isn’t pointed out enough, IMO. People act like it went sharply downhill under Musk but this is the platform that enabled extremists for years and only even banned Trump when he literally tried to overthrow democracy. Maybe Twitter was good in like 2010 but I really don’t think Musk changed THAT much about it.
It’s just because people are being TOLD that it’s bad now. It’s literally no worse than it was 5 years ago. Twitter has always been a cesspool of human “thought”.
Agree completely. I think it might be easier for journalists (et al) to tell themselves “Elon made it bad” than it is to admit they had been contributing their efforts to a bad place all this time. Twitter was never very big, and most people avoided it like the plague, but there is a certain class of person who got addicted easily.
Lol I got down voted for saying hi to a fellow trekkie that’s also on the same trek instance as me. I’m pretty sure we are a small instance, so randomly coming across another person from our instance is kinda rare.
It’s always been bad.
This is overstated.
In the old days, there was a hierarchy of reputability. At the top you had the bluechecks that generally represented reputable sources of information, who had premium billing in the platform. Then you had the normies. Then you had the slush-pit of soft-blocked people that were shoved into the “other replies” box because everybody hated them and they only followed their network of bots.
Now, the hierarchy is reversed. The slush-pit people are now have blue-checks, the algorithmic boost on blue-checks is even stronger, and half of the old reputable blue-checks have left.
This is like saying “Reddit/Lemmy has always been awful” if we made the upvotes/downvotes of all the worst people on the site worth 100X what a normal person’s upvote/downvote was worth. Yes, there have always been problems, but they can get worse.
You must not pay attention, I’m new to Lemmy, but Reddit’s been garbage for years. Seems like a lot of that garbage made it’s way to Lemmy too. Face it anything that you can hide behind a screen and a keyboard with relative anonymity is fucking shit. It outs people for the kind of person they REALLY are when they don’t have to face the repercussions of saying shit to someones face.
Yes.
But here’s the thing:
Reddit/Lemmy: those people have equal voice to you or me. Of course they can amplify that voice with sockpuppets, but still - one account one vote.
Old Twitter: those people have downmodded influence. Twitter knew everybody hates them and treated them like the garbage they are.
New Twitter: those people rule the roost, because they’re willing to pay Elon $8/mo for a megaphone for their jackassery.
You can pay $8/mo and have your own platform too. What’s the issue?
Once coined as: John Gabriel’s G.I.F.T.
I still reference G.I.F.T. a few times a year. Glad to see someone else doing it.
Damn, UT 2003 was 20 years ago…
This isn’t pointed out enough, IMO. People act like it went sharply downhill under Musk but this is the platform that enabled extremists for years and only even banned Trump when he literally tried to overthrow democracy. Maybe Twitter was good in like 2010 but I really don’t think Musk changed THAT much about it.
Okay, but the new Twitter reinstated him, and a bunch of Nazis.
I mean, old Twitter was jokingly called “the hellsite” by its users but its new Elongated form is quite a lot worse.
It’s just because people are being TOLD that it’s bad now. It’s literally no worse than it was 5 years ago. Twitter has always been a cesspool of human “thought”.
Agree completely. I think it might be easier for journalists (et al) to tell themselves “Elon made it bad” than it is to admit they had been contributing their efforts to a bad place all this time. Twitter was never very big, and most people avoided it like the plague, but there is a certain class of person who got addicted easily.
👋 hello fellow trekkie in the wild
🖖 Hello fellow Website user!
Lol I got down voted for saying hi to a fellow trekkie that’s also on the same trek instance as me. I’m pretty sure we are a small instance, so randomly coming across another person from our instance is kinda rare.
Illogical.
but it has become much worse in the past year
unrelated to your comment, but demon sword or demon’s word?
Fuck, now I’m more interested in finding that out than anything about the article.
TBF I’m more interested in pretty much anything than Twitter.
why not both? :)
Asking the important questions.
…. but yeah, which one is it?
the former, the latter, or none – depending on context
because you’re being told it is. twitter has always been a cesspool.
old twitter at least pretended to fight hate speech and disinformation, the
“new” twitterX doesn’t give a flying fuck to both issuesNot nearly this bad. Go read the article. It’s much easier to spread crap nowadays, even though you could before.