Get Twexit done 😂

[David_Spardo]

@AngelaR

I know this is an incredibly simplistic question but I am genuinely a wee bit puzzled. I find SF to be more than enough in terms of social media personally as there’s only so much social interaction I can cope with in a day but - what is it that Twitter and suchlike gives people that a replacement is necessary to them?

With you on that, the very name with its connotations of the birds wittering on outside my windows to no great import, turns me off.

But I have a confession to make. Many years ago I somehow persuaded myself to have a look and I registered. I started off with only 2 interests, Rugby League and the earthquake in Christchurch (that should tell you what I can’t, that is, which year it was ). Not having much interest in the information received I left it dormant very quickly, and so it remains.

I have Facebook solely for family contact, all of whom are many hundreds or thousands of miles from me, and that is really only for video calls with my son, which have superceded Skype, and with a daughter-in-law with acute medical and family problems at the moment.

Otherwise, I am perfectly happy with the discussions and information on here and Trucknet UK for contacts and memories in exchanges with like minded companions of yesteryear.

[Geof_Cox]

[AngelaR]

Thank you very much, everyone, for taking time to explain what Twitter does for each of you. It makes a lot of sense in your different spheres, even if I can’t see it, or its “equivalents” as being of much use to me At least I understand a bit better now!

[NotALot]

Are these Americans threatening to quit Twitter the same ones who said they were moving to Canada when Trump became POTUS 45 and yet didn’t go anywhere?

My favourite social media site is in a village square with a nice chap named Freddy behind the bar.

[Ancient_Mariner]

This article on abuse via Twitter is interesting.

Scale of abuse of politicians on Twitter revealed

It’s worth asking if some of the comments made on SF could be considered abusive if made towards the individuals concerned.

[NotALot]

“ Developed by Jigsaw, a research unit within Google, it defines a toxic comment as one which is “rude, disrespectful or unreasonable” and “likely to make someone leave a conversation”.

I’m guessing all of SF would be in the Gulag if calling lying, cheating scumbag politicians out for what they are was made a criminal offence.

Seriously, the idea that the media/social media/the establishment is trying to shut down people who call out proven liars as such is worrying.

[John_Scully]

@Ancient_Mariner

comments made on SF could be considered abusive

Well, based on the definition of abusive/toxic (ATs) in the article (sexist, racist, or over-sexualised… violence… etc.) I don’t think so. But there may be some I’ve missed.

However, the article did make me think. The analysis of over 130K tweets discovered that 5% were ATs. So for me that means 95% were valid, I don’t actually think that’s a bad ratio.

I suspect with more filters to remove tweets with certain keywords that percentage could even be improved. Obviously Jigsaw didn’t actually read the 130+K tweets, so if their scanning software could find the ATs so could Twitter’s, if they were bothered.

Looking at the ranking of those that received the highest percentage of ATs I was also surprised that I hadn’t heard of most of the top nine, Mat Hancock coming at number ten with only 6.3% was a surprise too, given his performance as heath Secretary and since.

I note that Johnson received 19,000 ATs, 4% of his total, so that’s 475,000 tweets in total. So I ask myself, who’s actually reading all this stuff, ATs or not, certainly not Boris.

I don’t really like social media but Twitter is what it is (or should that be, was what it was) and politicians aren’t forced to have Twitter accounts. But if they choose to use the platform to express their views, raise their profile and to blow they own trumpet they have to understand there will be push back. Obviously ATs are unacceptable and ultimately pointless, but sometimes that pushback will be inappropriate.

As an aside, they don’t mention what percentage of her overall number Nadine Dorries’ 9,000 ATs were, but it’s obviously below Mat’s 6.3%. Looking at her sycophantic and incompetent performance I think the twitterati have been quite constrained.

[Ancient_Mariner]

That’s OK then, nothing to see here, move along now.

[John_Scully]

Indeed, if they just stop reading the tweets they’ll stop being offended Bit like me and the Mail Online comments.

[Mat_Davies]

@Ancient_Mariner

MPs receive more than 130,000 offensive tweets over a six-week period.

Fair cop - that is mostly me to my MP, but in my defence my MP is Nadine Dorries!!

[billybutcher]

I must admit if Musk decides he wants $$$ to use Twitter (the current rumour) I’m off. I’ll probably join Mastodon, or maybe not - haven’t decided.

[Gareth]

Bit off topic but I do wish the UK had an MP to represent Brits who’ve emigrated, kinda like how the French have 11 politicians in the Senate looking out for them… What do French expat MPs do?

[billybutcher]

It would make a huge amount of sense.

Probably why we don’t do it.

Would need more than an MP though, average constituency size in England is 73000, as it is estimated around 1.2 million Brits live in the EU that would need a team of 16 or 17 at least.

[AngelaR]

It would at least mean that our interests were represented - or at least were meant to be represented. Certainly in the constituency I’m attached to there is no motivation to take any sort of account of us elsewhere. It wasn’t me who left excrement outside her constituency office though…

[Gareth]

@AngelaR

It wasn’t me who left excrement outside her constituency office though…

That’s exactly what I’d expect someone who did leave excrement outside her office to say though!

[AngelaR]

True However, I can provide witness statements to say I was in France at the time

[Geof_Cox]

The MIT Technology Review is reporting that over a million Twitter accounts were closed in the first week of Musk’s ownership.

[John_Scully]

Fascinating. And Facebook in (possibly terminal) decline too. Dot Com bubble II?

[David_Spardo]

Back to Skype then?

[NotALot]

Microsoft ruined that a while back.

Zoom is free for calls under 40 minutes.