law experts--very useful to hear from especially now--and respected Democratic political leaders like Eric Swalwell, Jamie Raskin, and others--real-time weather sources, etc. DU with Twitter still has the most workable interphase for posting such information--even while I join others in asking that the text be posted as well, for those who, on occasion, can't read tweets.

Threads is not similarly embeddable and a lot of us get rather cranky at always having to follow a link for something we have no idea whether worth it or not. Even when I do follow a Threads link, it renders really poorly for those of us without an account (and I refuse to register for it or Instagram, just as I do Twitter) with very light small font text and images that usually won't load.

Do I agree with those who want Twitter to just go away, but want a more reliable, honest, benign substitute? Hell yes. But that is the answer to your question, at least in my humble opinion.

Wish everyone could just leave, all at once.

This is how they control us but as frogs in a slow to boil pot...

The majority are between 20 & 45 yrs old and there are way more Democrats than Republicans.

So you think all Dems should leave and only Republicans should influence the younger people just because you don’t like Elon.

Twitter is biggest instant source of news. Even the NYT will post breaking news on Twitter before their news site.

Hello???

Exactly where I said,

So you think all Dems should leave and only Republicans should influence the younger people just because you don’t like Elon.

You're welcome to never read it, but its the best platform for real-time news.

But I'll keep my freedom to read whatever I want.

Musk and his form of fascism?

And an important, overall liberal, anti-fascism force. He purchased the platform, but he can't own or control the global community that is Twitter.

I still find so many good sources for real info there, despite Melon's best efforts.

I block any and all ads. My small contribution to the cause. At my age, I understand you can't make anyone do what you want them to do. Its called freedom.

from doing what they WANT to do. So yes, people can be made to do things against their will....but I digress.

Enjoy your freedom to use Twitter. I hope it fails soon so NO ONE can use it.

People are getting the blue check big time so they can make money by posting.

I'm entirely read-only, so I'm basically a fee rider who costs Musk money. The only traces of my use I leave are blocking the ads that interperse some threads and muting or blocking those whose tweets I choose not to see for various reasons.

I do selectively post tweets if I think they're significant enough to outweigh any considerations of sending traffic Musk's way, but I always include transcripts and standalone versions of any images I can isolate, so it's individual DUers' choice whether they click through.

I also sometimes post roundups of memes found on Twitter on specific momentous occasions, which people seem to enjoy a lot. I directly link the Twitter images, so they're basically a drain on Twitter without adding any traffic that can be used as a selling point to Musk's advertisers (I'm sure Musk would love to ban this sort of hotlinking, but so far it doesn't seem to have crossed the threshold of his ketamine-addled consciousness, and it might be tricky to do without unintended consequences anyway).

The information I find on Twitter after a few years of building up trusted sources can be used to counter Musk's various agendas. The tweets I see are generally overwhelmingly hostile to Musk in ways that exceed anything you'll find on DU.

Bernie Sanders?
AOC?
Rachel Maddow?

liberal because of breadth of valuable INFORMATION. Approximately half its 450M or so monthly visitors come for news and information posted by people worth listening to. Those communities, perhaps 10% or so, post there in networks they've developed over years of work to reach each other and the planet. Together they are of incredible value to humanity.

(This is not a realistic understanding: "Twitter has become so toxic and hopelessly broken that it needs to die ASAP.." )

In an extremely real sense, its users ARE Twitter. Musk certainly isn't. He's invaded their country, but they occupy the Twitter platform, it can't survive without them, and he can't control it or them.

Musk, social media brawlers, the bad and downright scary actors Musk's inviting back are rumbling in its alleys and parking lots, true. Except for a few favorite brawlers I seek out, I don't see that side, and no one needs to.

So why haven't they haven't all just surrendered and abandoned their field? You might ask why any resistance arises and fights to save what they have to lose instead of just rushing to surrender it. Actually, most are just serenely continuing as before, a genuine "fuck Musk," with many duplicating their work on competing platforms while they wait to see where they will gather in future, leaving wherever they don't empty software husks.

Their is, in reality, quite a simple answer.

They enjoy the content that Twitter provides.

I rarely post there, but I still get a lot of info there.

Somewhere along the line I joined Mastodon, which I'm really enjoying... though I'm mostly following artists. So I go there to unwind.

I never post there, just use the links because its simple and easy, not everything HAS to be a political statement sheesh

My phone or tablet! I only use social media sites in the Firefox browser with container tabs that prevent them from tracking you, with the additional protectIon of anti-trackers like Ghostery.

All kinds. For example, every day I "heart" every tweet posted by the Auschwitz Memorial account commemorating that day's birthdates of Holocaust victims.

For now there is still too much valuable and easily accessible material on Twitter ( what I still call it) for me to give it up. Also, Devin Nunes' Cow followed me back (I never tweet anything myself)! Not gonna give that up, LOL!

I'm on a life-long quest to find the ethically perfect corporation, but have nothing to show for it.

I could see where it was headed and I was right.

I also do not understand why anyone on the left still uses it

Half of Japanese adults use it.

It’s kind of a world forum - not just Dems and Republicans.

Especially silly cat videos and other trivial crap. I understand following political or newsworthy posts, but silly videos of puppies? Posting that crap on this forum is illogical.

I don't belong to Twitter anymore, but I really like the animal tweets. They warm my heart.

this thread was about twitter?

Sorry...Spock...some of us "illogicals" like the "trivial crap" of animal videos.

I also follow many accounts by front line reporters on Ukraine.

Marcy Wheeler (@emptywheel) and multiple other legal analysts for insightful overviews of #TraitorTrump’s trials, J6 defendants, coup plotters etc. are indispensable for understanding nuances.

Fun accounts like @Buittengeg - a Norwegian guy who posts fun animal vids.

I’ve got friends there from around the planet who gather to connect.

I really hate the policing of others choices, especially fellow Dems who’ve been associates for years in some cases. Sucks. Maybe cut your fellow Dems some slack and trust that we’re not nefarious?

Don't you think that Agent Orange went back there to scoop up a few bucks?

https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-x-twitter-follower-data
Elon Musk's X follower count bloated by millions of new, inactive accounts
We took a close look at Elon Musk's more than 150 million followers on X aka Twitter. What we found is…concerning.

It's a great tool. Like why do you still use the satellites for communication?

Link to tweet

Prez Biden, Prez Zelensky, VP Harris, the White House has a separate account, blue state governors, Nancy Pelosi and her daughter, Adam Schiff, AOC, Justin Trudeau, Prez Obama, Michelle Obama, "Jack Smith," I mean the list is endless.

Nobody has to see ugly content unless one goes looking for it.

I love that Prez Zelensky's tweets are in both Russian and English; Justin Trudeau's are in French and English; Beto O'Rourk's are in Spanish and English.

on Twitter.. Mahalo MB!

I don't see much ugliness either.. if I do sometimes I reply to the original tweet with something positive..

Sometimes I tweet something positive, too.

Other times I let them have it.

Lots more good stuff, and good people. They are easy to find.

I'm pretty active on FB.

With twitter, it's more of a resource. I tweet occasionally, but it's rare. It's usually to tag an elected official. Mostly I get breaking news from twitter.

Threads is from Meta, the parent company of Facebook. I guess you forgot about the whole Facebook/Cambridge Analytica controversy in which data from more than 50 million Facebook users was obtained without their permission and then used to target ads in the 2016 presidential election, as in the same election Trump won. I mean Zuckerberg has his own history of being shitty.

So if I had a problem with Twitter, why would I use Threads as an alternative? Not only that, but Threads is not nearly as good as Twitter in terms of usability.

Now one insane egomaniac is wrecking it, and it can’t be replaced overnight.

Japan has almost as many Twitter users as US. Just about 50% of Japanese people have a Twitter account. Countries with next highest usage - India, Brazil and Indonesia.

…dictators. Before Musk.

Recently I read an Op-ed piece by a scientist who says scientists were using Twitter extensively to share info, have conversations, and even share papers. Before Musk.

Now the scientists are leaving in droves, hounded by trolls they cannot block, hide, or defend themselves from, and by Musk’s decision to make sure the scientists’ factual postings are buried under mountains of anti-science toxic dumps.

I never was a poster on Twitter, and I admit I joined the crew of DUers who reflexively dissed it. It’s only now that we are watching Musk insanely reduce it to rubble, that I am reading how valuable it actually was. The scientist mentioned above acknowledged that Mastodon and so forth have potential, but said nobody as yet has anything like the infrastructure and utility of the original Twitter.

are leaving in droves, hounded by trolls they cannot block, hide, or defend themselves from, and by Musk’s decision to make sure the scientists’ factual postings are buried under mountains of anti-science toxic dumps."

What scientists specifically? I can look them up.

Of course anyone with a twitter profile can defend themselves. But defending oneself from trolls is pointless. Easier to block them. I just blocked several MAGAts yesterday, and deleted tweets that feature MAGAts.

…have been sick with a relapsing case of COVID for several weeks, so have not been quite up to speed with downloading and labeling articles of interest, and could not find it again.

DU is great for keeping us accurate. Anything else in my statements you take issue with?

and for the consensus new site.

DUers who use Twitter are “culties”? lol, how dare someone disagree with you?!?1!

Last edited Tue Aug 29, 2023, 12:59 PM - Edit history (1)

I know how to avoid "toxic and hopelessly broken," and find joy.

Link to tweet

Buitengebieden's feed is nothing but gorgeous, touching, and humorous videos.

Maybe check it out. I think you might like it.

like that.

I put that tweet in my Bookmarks.. Thank You!

Link to tweet

I do the same thing at Reddit. 🌷

state that the shitgibbons site is something we should be going to, are you fecking nuts?!

Example:

Follow him and you'll know MORE about the Ukraine War than 99.999% of the public and 99.9% of talking morons on TV.

https://twitter.com/RALee85

It's a bit like asking why Americans don't give up their cars or eating beef in the face of human-civilization-threatening climate change... Prepare yourself to hear a million reasons why it is structurally impractical if not impossible to do so.

I only tweet (tag tweet), the Texas lege while they're in session. They're constantly looking at their phones. We have groups that tag committee members and we voice our opinion.

I also subscribe to the Armenian National Committee's alerts. They send out Action Alerts via twitter to whoever is making decisions that have an impact on Armenians. We were tag tweeting Joe Biden prior to April 2021!

Other than that, I rarely tweet. Rarely tweeted before Musk came along.

It's been interesting to see the various reasons. Some of them seem to be some form of "Twitter is great for information and breaking news," and some seem to be "Zuckerberg is also horrible so why would we ever switch to Threads?"

On the first reason: I'm probably not as big a news junkie or am not after the same kinds of information as some of you, but I don't find myself lacking for news sources after leaving Twitter. I scroll through Threads regularly and get all kinds of breaking news from various sources. Also, almost all the public figures I pay attention to are on Threads. But don't get me wrong -- Threads is not my only source. I look at various sites on the Internet and never feel starved for content after leaving Twitter

As for the "Zuckerberg is terrible too" argument, I don't really understand this. Yes, Zuckerberg is bad. Is he as bad as Elon? In my opinion: Not. Even. Close. Elon is a full-on, unabashed fascist and vile human being in every respect. He screwed thousands of employees, doesn't pay his vendors, and deliberately gives fascists and racists a platform on Twitter. To use a different analogy: Zuckerberg is Romney, Elon is Trump. Both are bad, but one is WAY worse than the other.

And those are my thoughts for now.

when you signed up, presumably firstly to Instagram, then to Threads.

It's incredibly intrusive, and Zuckerberg and Meta have a well-deserved reputation for absolutely not safeguarding personal data and for allowing it to be used for nefarious purposes. You may recall a bit of a fuss a while back about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook and election shenanigans. If not, I suggest you Google it.

Hell will freeze over before I let Zuckerberg own me in this way. It's the reason I've never joined Facebook, for instance. It's far more personally intrusive than a site like Twitter, where's it's easy to be anonymous, because it's intertwined with real-life personal relationships. That makes its propaganda effects and potential for real-life abuse more insidious.

Add to that the fact that Threads is in no way intended to be a replacement for Twitter. Zuckerberg and high-ups in Meta indicated when it started up that they saw Threads as a chat add-on for existing Instagram users, and were not inclined to subject themselves to the hassle of moderating political content, so its algorithms would not favour that type of content.

Then take a look at what's been happening in Canada:

Canadians shouldn't trust Meta, Zuckerberg has 'too much power', warns ex-Facebook exec

That's just one jurisdiction that's at loggerheads with Zuckerberg. Threads has not been launched in EU countries because they have strict regulations on data protection and public influence of online platforms, and Threads just isn't compliant. Aside from the indicator that this means there are serious problems with the platform, that is a major and influential chunk of the world online population you won't find on Threads. You may be able to live without that input, I and others can't and see no reason why we should have to.

Musk's fascistic tendencies aren't in doubt. How successful he's been and will be at imposing them on the massive hard core of progressives who've long had communities on Twitter is a totally different question. Many, if not most, have him blocked along with many sources of RW content, and from my point of view, I read a lot more about him and various right-wingers etc. on DU than I ever do on Twitter.

Read my reply to someone else upthread, and you'll see how my usage of Twitter doesn't enrich or enable Musk in any meaningful way.

I'm torn whether your OP was a genuine question or a complaint. If it's a complaint, well, this discussion has been had on DU numerous times since Musk took over. Addressing the same issues over and over again gets quite tiresome. You use the internet as you wish, and others will do what they wish.

For instance, despite all I've written above, I'm not going to start OP after OP asking and bemoaning why DUers use Threads or Facebook or whatever. If they find useful and verifiable content there, I'll pay attention whatever the source, and leave their consciences and concerns where they belong - at their own discretion.

"Yes, Zuckerberg is bad. Is he as bad as Elon? In my opinion: Not. Even. Close."

Yet here you are.

it's media, and we're here being social. So...yeah.

No need for sadness.

There is no way it isn't. That si what is sad. It is 100% the same as Reddit, FB, Twitter, LinkedIN, Youtube, Instagram, etc.

I have an account so I can see what people are linking to, read the replies if they seem worthwhile, and post a threadreader link for those who don't want to give clicks to elon.

The only reason people keep linking there is that main sources of news are still using it. Until media and the White House leave...



I completely understand why people don't go there. I rarely do go there without following a link, but until the big wigs leave, it's still a thing.

This makes me angry for the same reason it makes other people angry: another insane, overfed toddler has decided to buy and break a toy just because he can, and all of us feel the fallout. Given the storm barreling down on my area this weekend, the fact that the broken 'toy' was an incredible communication tool that could save lives, but is no longer considered trustworthy - not lost on me at all.

But went back bc I missed some of the accounts I followed and while I have started to get a bit more involved with Mastadon, there is still really nothing that completely replaces Twitter right now.

I am a busy professional where social media outreach comes with the job. So, that’s a reason.