• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Meta launches Instagram-linked Twitter replacement “Threads” tomorrow

LegendOfKage

LegendOfKage

Member
Hudo said:
Twitter is one of the worst ideas humanity ever came up with. For the love of god, let Musk destroy it and don't replace it.
Click to expand...
So do you not want there to be free speech on the internet? Twitter is one of the only places fighting that fight. If it goes, where do you suggest people go to have an open conversations that aren't being indirectly censored by the government, or the unelected morality police, or those taking it upon themselves to decide what is true and censor "misinformation"?

I think people for a long time hated twitter and just wanted it gone no matter what, but you have to look at the extreme censorship we've seen in the last several years, and put everything into that context. If not twitter, then where?
 
Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
LegendOfKage said:
So do you not want there to be free speech on the internet? Twitter is one of the only places fighting that fight. If it goes, where do you suggest people go to have an open conversations that aren't being indirectly censored by the government, or the unelected morality police, or those taking it upon themselves to decide what is true and censor "misinformation"?

I think people for a long time hated twitter and just wanted it gone no matter what, but you have to look at the extreme censorship we've seen in the last several years, and put everything into that context. If not twitter, then where?
Click to expand...
What did people do about free speech prior to the internet?
 
Kilau

Kilau

Member
DeepEnigma said:
Everything thread is a threat to my identity. You literally are murdering me with your words!
Click to expand...
Bring It Reaction GIF
 
AGRacing

AGRacing

Member
LegendOfKage said:
So do you not want there to be free speech on the internet? Twitter is one of the only places fighting that fight. If it goes, where do you suggest people go to have an open conversations that aren't being indirectly censored by the government, or the unelected morality police, or those taking it upon themselves to decide what is true and censor "misinformation"?

I think people for a long time hated twitter and just wanted it gone no matter what, but you have to look at the extreme censorship we've seen in the last several years, and put everything into that context. If not twitter, then where?
Click to expand...
Yeah. I won't abandon Twitter for some new platform that will be quietly but inevitably apologizing for censoring the wrong information in January of 2025. "OH we got the laptop thing wrong! Oops!" "OH we got the covid origins thing wrong! Oops!" No thanks.
 
BadBurger

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
EviLore said:
Trade secrets huh. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I mean, he's claiming they poached employees to purposefully build a Twitter clone, and yet he immediately laid off or offered severance to nearly his entire workforce without even bothering to honor any contracts or agreements - worldwide. I'm no lawyer but it sounds like a judge would probably clown him right our of court and reject the suit.
 
EviLore

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
BadBurger said:
I mean, he's claiming they poached employees to purposefully build a Twitter clone, and yet he immediately laid off or offered severance to nearly his entire workforce without even bothering to honor any contracts or agreements - worldwide. I'm no lawyer but it sounds like a judge would probably clown him right our of court and reject the suit.
Click to expand...
Threads is much more of an extension of Instagram than a clone of Twitter. TBH, I'm not sure it's differentiated enough from Instagram to be a separate app as it currently stands.
 
Hudo

Hudo

Member
LegendOfKage said:
So do you not want there to be free speech on the internet? Twitter is one of the only places fighting that fight. If it goes, where do you suggest people go to have an open conversations that aren't being indirectly censored by the government, or the unelected morality police, or those taking it upon themselves to decide what is true and censor "misinformation"?

I think people for a long time hated twitter and just wanted it gone no matter what, but you have to look at the extreme censorship we've seen in the last several years, and put everything into that context. If not twitter, then where?
Click to expand...
Free speech isn't going away if Twitter ceases to exist. If it really hinges on Twitters existence then that should give everyone pause for thought because that should be scary as fuck. No. Twitter is just a platform where people can publicly voice anything they like for everyone to see (as long as that doesn't violate the terms, of course...). And behold: 95% of shit people say is just...shit. Either in general or towards each other. There's nothing valuable there, actually more harmful.

Let people say what they want to say, sure. But do we really need a public platform where people shout every little shitty thought into it for everyone to see? And instead of journalists stepping up and actually editing and vetting shit, they're just acting like a Twitter relay. So even people who don't frequent Twitter are confronted with bullshit that has been said there.

And BTW, you're fooling yourself if you think that Twitter is somehow fighting for free speech. They're a business. They're fighting for what earns them money, which is their objective.
 
Last edited:
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
LegendOfKage said:
So do you not want there to be free speech on the internet? Twitter is one of the only places fighting that fight. If it goes, where do you suggest people go to have an open conversations that aren't being indirectly censored by the government, or the unelected morality police, or those taking it upon themselves to decide what is true and censor "misinformation"?

I think people for a long time hated twitter and just wanted it gone no matter what, but you have to look at the extreme censorship we've seen in the last several years, and put everything into that context. If not twitter, then where?
Click to expand...
I think I understand what you're trying to say, and as a fellow advocate for freedom of speech, I am sympathetic to that cause. However, I think you are granting Twitter and Elon more credit than they are due in their role of "the preservation of free speech in modern society".

Free speech existed before Twitter, and even without Twitter can still exist. Elon the self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" also compromises free speech when it suits his needs, usually financial. Elevating what Twitter was, what Twitter is, and what Twitter could be, beyond what it deserves, isn't very compelling to me. As long as The Constitution exists and our institutions still take it seriously, I really can't feel that much of a desire for Twitter needing to be the shield bearer for free speech.
 
decisions

decisions

Member
It’s hilarious how spineless people are, how many now want to give Meta a monopoly over mainstream social media (aside from….TikTok) because Elon Musk idiotically gave some fake tech babble for server issues that occurred for 24 hrs.
 
Last edited:
AGRacing

AGRacing

Member
Hudo said:
Free speech isn't going away if Twitter ceases to exist. If it really hinges on Twitters existence then that should give everyone pause for thought because that should be scary as fuck. No. Twitter is just a platform where people can publicly voice anything they like for everyone to see (as long as that doesn't violate the terms, of course...). And behold: 95% of shit people say is just...shit. Either in general or towards each other. There's nothing valuable there, actually more harmful.

Let people say what they want to say, sure. But do we really need a public platform where people shout every little shitty thought into it for everyone to see? And instead of journalists stepping up and actually editing and vetting shit, they're just acting like a Twitter relay. So even people who don't frequent Twitter are confronted with bullshit that has been said there.

And BTW, you're fooling yourself if you think that Twitter is somehow fighting for free speech. They're a business. They're fighting for what earns them money, which is their objective.
Click to expand...
Elon bought twitter for 44 billion when it "worth 20" to make money and that's it eh? I mean sure it's a goal. It certainly not the only one or even the 1st one. It's not a public company anymore either. He doesn't have that downward pressure to deal with.

He hasn't made a penny on it yet... and he won't anytime soon.

If you let people control speech on any platform their biases will be a problem. The last few years have been an absolute circus of biased censorship on all relevant platforms.
 
AGRacing

AGRacing

Member
decisions said:
It’s hilarious how spineless people are, how many now want to give Meta a monopoly over mainstream social media (aside from….TikTok) because Elon Musk idiotically gave some fake tech babble for server issues that occurred for 24 hrs.
Click to expand...
Well that's the public bs reasoning. The real private reasoning is pretty obvious.
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
decisions said:
It’s hilarious how spineless people are, how many now want to give Meta a monopoly over mainstream social media (aside from….TikTok) because Elon Musk idiotically gave some fake tech babble for server issues that occurred for 24 hrs.
Click to expand...
The majority of people aren't going to make this decision based on ideology. You either like a good/service or you don't. That's capitalism.

No one "wanted" to give Amazon a near monopoly on online sales. They just did first and "better" than anyone else did.

If Threads becomes more popular than Twitter, it's because Threads gave the people what they want. If it doesn't, then it didn't.
 
BadBurger

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
My sentiments after being bombarded with Threads screenshots for the past hour:

Bs1dRWa.png



Maiden Voyage said:
I can’t wait to see how this integrates with the Metaverse
Click to expand...

If you think about what Zuck wanted the Metaverse to be, Threads so far makes sense. You stumble through a barrage of ads and company brands until a celebrity responds to you and then seconds later tries to sell you an Apple Watch or bottle of their latest brand of vodka.
 
Last edited:
Toons

Toons

Member
Hudo said:
Twitter is one of the worst ideas humanity ever came up with. For the love of god, let Musk destroy it and don't replace it.
Click to expand...

Its platform of mass instant international communication has basically become a mainstay of small business functionality, government to populace relations, corporate PR, Hollywood marketing, musician fan appeal, and everything else. Theres simply no putting this back in the box.

If its not Twitter something else is going to take its place quickly.
 
Toons

Toons

Member
LegendOfKage said:
So do you not want there to be free speech on the internet? Twitter is one of the only places fighting that fight. If it goes, where do you suggest people go to have an open conversations that aren't being indirectly censored by the government, or the unelected morality police, or those taking it upon themselves to decide what is true and censor "misinformation"?

I think people for a long time hated twitter and just wanted it gone no matter what, but you have to look at the extreme censorship we've seen in the last several years, and put everything into that context. If not twitter, then where?
Click to expand...

Lol, morality police and the court of public opinion predates Twitter by either decades or centuries depending on your criteria.

Also, so long as Twitter or any other public company has advertising obligations, there is going to be a terms of service and content regulation. Twitter also has this, and just because you happen to agree with its extremities more doesn't mean it isn't there. It has to have it if it wants to actually make money.

Twitter isn't fighting that fight. that fight was lost long ago when capitalist gain(ad revenue) became the baseline of sustainability for something like this.
 
Last edited:
LegendOfKage

LegendOfKage

Member
funkygunther said:
No it's not. It's censorship you agree with or ignore, nothing to do with free speech.
Click to expand...
That's not true. What opinion, belief, or statement am I currently not allowed to post on twitter, in the US, that isn't a violation of law?

Maiden Voyage said:
What did people do about free speech prior to the internet?
Click to expand...

What did they do before newspapers, books, phones, and television? Is it okay if the government decides what is true, and puts pressure on companies and prevents people from voicing their opinions using these methods as well?

BadBurger said:
I mean, he's claiming they poached employees to purposefully build a Twitter clone, and yet he immediately laid off or offered severance to nearly his entire workforce without even bothering to honor any contracts or agreements - worldwide. I'm no lawyer but it sounds like a judge would probably clown him right our of court and reject the suit.
Click to expand...

He gave them more pay and notice than he needed to, so you're wrong when it comes to that part. But yeah, unless they signed non-compete clauses, Musk can screw himself if he has a problem with people he fired going to work for a competitor.

And imagine the same week your competitor launches their new service, you screw with your own platform, not allow people to read anymore unless they have an account, and you limit how much people with accounts can use the service?

Why is THIS the guy fighting government censorship online? Musk is a joke, but I'm not seeing any real alternatives, and no one seems to be suggesting any.

Hudo said:
Free speech isn't going away if Twitter ceases to exist. If it really hinges on Twitters existence then that should give everyone pause for thought because that should be scary as fuck. No. Twitter is just a platform where people can publicly voice anything they like for everyone to see (as long as that doesn't violate the terms, of course...). And behold: 95% of shit people say is just...shit. Either in general or towards each other. There's nothing valuable there, actually more harmful.

Let people say what they want to say, sure. But do we really need a public platform where people shout every little shitty thought into it for everyone to see? And instead of journalists stepping up and actually editing and vetting shit, they're just acting like a Twitter relay. So even people who don't frequent Twitter are confronted with bullshit that has been said there.

And BTW, you're fooling yourself if you think that Twitter is somehow fighting for free speech. They're a business. They're fighting for what earns them money, which is their objective.
Click to expand...

You didn't answer my question, you just wrote a bunch of things that ignore it. If not twitter, then where?

Rentahamster said:
I think I understand what you're trying to say, and as a fellow advocate for freedom of speech, I am sympathetic to that cause. However, I think you are granting Twitter and Elon more credit than they are due in their role of "the preservation of free speech in modern society".

Free speech existed before Twitter, and even without Twitter can still exist. Elon the self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" also compromises free speech when it suits his needs, usually financial. Elevating what Twitter was, what Twitter is, and what Twitter could be, beyond what it deserves, isn't very compelling to me. As long as The Constitution exists and our institutions still take it seriously, I really can't feel that much of a desire for Twitter needing to be the shield bearer for free speech.
Click to expand...
Many of our institutions don't take it seriously. That's the problem. And I agree with a lot of what you said, but please, finish the thought. You can't really feel that much of a desire for Twitter needing to be the shield bearer for online free speech because of which online alternative?

We can agree Musk is doing a really crap job of what he said he'd do, but the question is who is currently doing a better job?
 
Last edited:
Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
LegendOfKage said:
What did they do before newspapers, books, phones, and television? Is it okay if the government decides what is true, and puts pressure on companies and prevents people from voicing their opinions using these methods as well?
Click to expand...
The first amendment applies to only the government.
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
LegendOfKage said:
Many of our institutions don't take it seriously. That's the problem.
Click to expand...
Like what? The Constitution and the rule of law is upheld, for the most part, in all of our public institutions, as far as I can tell. I don't live in fear of the government prosecuting me for what I say or what religion I practice, for example.

LegendOfKage said:
And I agree with a lot of what you said, but please, finish the thought. You can't really feel that much of a desire for Twitter needing to be the shield bearer for online free speech because of which online alternative?
Click to expand...
I did finish the thought in that post. Freedom of speech existed before Twitter, and the same mechanisms in place that created an environment for freedom of speech to flourish will still exist with or without Twitter. I don't need an online alternative. It's not part of my calculations. Any privately run entity like Twitter is not beholden to The Constitution. They're beholden to profit, which is not inherently free.

LegendOfKage said:
We can agree Musk is doing a really crap job of what he said he'd do, but the question is who is currently doing a better job?
Click to expand...
We need to choose our words and ask more specific questions. "Better" is not specific enough because it's too subjective. Is the question "are there other platforms that let you do or say whatever you want with no consequences"? Yes, there are, but they come with a host of other problems too, which don't necessarily make them "better".
 
LegendOfKage

LegendOfKage

Member
Maiden Voyage said:
Why the fixation on just the internet? No bad will toward the FTC?
Click to expand...
No, I'm very critical of how little we seem to care about anti-trust issues anymore as well. But it's a somewhat separate issue than what I'm talking about, even though it is a factor.

And I'm focused on the internet, because that seems to be where speech is being censored most.
 
LegendOfKage

LegendOfKage

Member
Rentahamster said:
Like what? The Constitution and the rule of law is upheld, for the most part, in all of our public institutions, as far as I can tell. I don't live in fear of the government prosecuting me for what I say or what religion I practice, for example.
Click to expand...
Why would they need to prosecute you, when they can just silence you from any large successful platform where you might try to speak? That's what all this is about. My focus here is on government influenced censorship. If you're not speaking directly about that subject, and that aspect of this topic, then that's not what I'm talking about.
 
Last edited:
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
LegendOfKage said:
Why would they need to prosecute you, when they can just silence you from any large successful platform where you might try to speak? That's what all this is about. My focus here is on government influenced censorship. If you're not speaking directly about that subject, and that aspect of this topic, then that's not what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...

I also don't live in fear of the government exerting influence to silence me on any of my private platforms either. This doesn't mean it doesn't or couldn't happen to anyone else, of course. I am aware of the particular examples that trouble you in regards to this issue. However, it is my personal view that although we're never going to get a perfect system, it works well enough and while these examples are troubling, I don't see us running into a constitutional crisis anytime soon because of them. Is this a classic frog boiling in the pot scenario? Maybe. But probably not.

In practical terms, the only real form of censorship that the government has ever really imposed on me within the context of telecommunications is when I couldn't say "fuck my cunt" on TV. But that's a minor issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Meta wants to flood Instagram and Facebook with AI bots | Anyone will soon be able to generate accounts, complete with bio and profile picture.
43
2K
Days like these... replied
Meta wants users to pay $17 per month to remove ads on Facebook and Instagram
Social Business
45
3K
MayauMiao replied
  • Locked
Ubisoft (yes, again) sued by allegedly selling players data to Meta
1
592
G-DannY replied
Xbox will sell games directly in the Android app next month
39
2K
Killjoy-NL replied
Apple forced to open up to Appstore to external payment links. Makes it as unappealing as possible.
News
45
5K
Kenpachii replied
Top Bottom