Japanese disaster prevention X account can’t post anymore after hitting API limit - The issue has arisen after major Tsunami warnings have been issued in areas of Japan following a strong earthquake::undefined

  • @[email protected]
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    35910 months ago

    Why governments would ever use a private service for critical use baffles me.

    Create your own emergency notification system!

    • @echo64
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      27010 months ago

      They have one, but you also want information to be where people are. Especially if where people are is full of misinformation and rumours.

    • @[email protected]
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      11510 months ago

      Japan has various earthquake notification systems. Tweets are just one more way to get the information to the people on a platform they use.

    • @AbidanYre
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      3710 months ago

      Create your own emergency notification system!

      Those never turn out well.

      Running their own mastodon instance should be viable though.

      • Otter
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        10 months ago

        I remember seeing that they did have a fediverse account? This seems related to that

        Yup see here:

        https://lemmy.ca/post/3167523

        It’s also in the article linked above:

        Luckily, the creators of the NERV App, Gehirn Inc, have created an app-based alternative for users to get information in real-time, as well as running a Mastodon account.

        • @[email protected]
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          910 months ago

          Does that go through regular EAS? Wondering.

          FWIW, Japan does have emergency alerts on iOS and Android, same thing as the Netherlands and the UK.

      • @hansl
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        210 months ago

        Is Mastodon even viable for time sensitive information? You need to wait for your instance to propagate the post from their instance which can take time.

        • @AbidanYre
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          1710 months ago

          As opposed to waiting until next month for your API call limit to reset?

          • @hansl
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            210 months ago

            I’d suggest they join a system that has users, proper SLA and an open frontpage.

            As much as you might like Mastodon for being open, there are no SLA between instances. Bluesky or Threads likely do.

            Not saying they shouldn’t start their own Mastodon, but not for emergency and time sensitive things. Or just for people who can’t access those other services. More options also mean more reach.

        • @[email protected]
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          10 months ago

          Is Twitter/X viable for that? They can decide, and have, to randomly put information behind login walls.

          • @hansl
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            110 months ago

            They technically still have an SLA, but it’s unclear how much they respect it. And if X isn’t viable there are other platforms that are.

            • @[email protected]
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              410 months ago

              SLA? If that means something like “service level agreement” (I don’t know, you didn’t specify, I’m guessing) then I can still find examples where it falls well below what I would expect from a public service such that if there was an agreement in place that I would definitely be opposed to it as a tax payer.

              And if X isn’t viable there are other platforms that are.

              I mean yes obviously, there are much more viable platforms like Mastodon, or even a self-hosted website.

              • @hansl
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                -110 months ago

                And again, which was the point of my original comment, Mastodon may not do great when you need to propagate the post to other platforms. Unless you know something I don’t, Mastodon is horrible for time sensitive information, since it can take hours to get to your instance.

      • @[email protected]
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        110 months ago

        It’s a secondary feature of a mysterious enterprise, unknown to americans, called “public media”

    • The Pantser
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      2410 months ago

      Cell phones already have the emergency alert system they could just use that.

      • @BetaSalmon
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        10 months ago

        deleted by creator

        • @Fishytricks
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          10 months ago

          I’m able to take a screenshot and translate this comment in the photos app in iOS.

          https://ibb.co/xJsZLzH

          Edit: I have no idea how good the translation is, but I’ve done it this way for things that needed translation.

          • @BetaSalmon
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            10 months ago

            deleted by creator

    • forty2
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      10 months ago

      Remember when just about every government employee was carrying around a BlackBerry device for official business?

      Pepperidge Farm remembers.

      • @BradleyUffner
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        810 months ago

        That’s different. They had signed contacts and were legally obligated to provide service. Twitter is a free service that can be turned off at any time, with no notice, and is run by a schizophrenic twat with a god complex. It’s just monumentally stupid to put lives on the line through a service like that.

      • @AbidanYre
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        110 months ago

        I remember when they all loved the Nextel PTT phones.

    • @[email protected]
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      510 months ago

      This same issue happened during wildfire season in BC, Canada if I recall. A small polite media outrage over it, then forgotten.

      Best case scenario would be an independent, international system developed within and for the emergency services community worldwide. Judging by the way firefighters travel internationally to fight forest fires worldwide, the community could be strong enough to support a solution like that, in my opinion.

        • @[email protected]
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          110 months ago

          For reference, the article I’m referring to:

          https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/twitter-policy-change-hampers-drivebc-1.6894793

          “Social media’s reliability in emergencies questioned after Twitter limit blocks DriveBC posts” (Jul 12).

          Whether a provincial traffic account posting emergency info counts as news links for these large companies or not, it’s a pretty ugly look for them to have been blocking emergency information, and it doesn’t look any better now 6 months later.

          The whole thing is pretty typical (Canadian) government “not enough, and too late” -style regulation regardless, but these social media sites could think twice about playing the villain so readily in response.

    • @Pacmanlives
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      310 months ago

      Hate to say it but I would commonly get alerts from Twitter in the before times about local issues before I would get notified by my local government. Sadly they switched to encrypted radios so I can’t even keep up that way either these days

    • @[email protected]
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      310 months ago

      It makes a lot of sense to post where the people are. Roll your own and note the people need your app/etc. granted, everyone is reading X on their smartphone and I’m 100% positive that Japan has the same kind of emergency broadcast system that we have in North America, but again that’s not meant for lots of messages, where a social networking site is.

    • @[email protected]
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      210 months ago

      NERV isnt owned by gov and:

      Luckily, the creators of the NERV App, Gehirn Inc, have created an app-based alternative for users to get information in real-time, as well as running a Mastodon account.

    • @LemmyIsFantastic
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      10 months ago

      Because it’s often easier, cheaper, and more efficient in cases that mirror public needs. Alerting, SMS, cloud storage, all are solved and competitively priced. And don’t get me wrong, there ARE use cases for doing certain things custom or internally. There will need to be a mix of things.

      The issue, is having an appropriate SLA and having the ability to hold companies accountable when it’s not met. You need stated provisions that won’t happen. Most commercial enterprises already operate under this model successfully, however many of the tools don’t have SLAs around an earth quake. Most companies are willing to provide those provisions but it totally will come with extra cost which is typically not budgeted or sales teams or contracting officers are not equipped to have these conversations.