[chucker]

If you’re, say, trans, you might not be very comfortable with the likely future owner of the platform talking about freeze peach.

[Capella]

What chucker said. I've routinely reported hateful things being said to me on my personal and my activism accounts, including a tweet responding to a fundraising effort by donating books about trans kids to protest libraries removing them as inappropriate content by saying that all trans teens should be institutionalized so they grow up 'correct', and I'd say only 1-2 of every hateful tweet I have reported has been acted on. The rest get dismissed by twitter support as "free speech that can stay on the platform but you can block if you don't want to see".

I haven't left Twitter yet because as some of you may know, I've been able to successfully raise over $1,000,000 in donations over the last few years for voting rights and for transgender rights, and I'm proud of the work I've done with my various teams. But logging into an account to see people telling me all the ways they'd like to violate and multilate people like me, that we should be institutionalized, that laws denying us access to treatments that have kept us alive are good and valid... to have some DMs sent to us where people have found the home addresses of em and the other organizers... I will say Twitter Support removes the specific threats of "I'll show up to [address] and show you what I think", but it's still a fucking mess to see dozens of others that say the same thing but just don't list my street, and so they don't get taken down.

Free speech laws protect us from the government doing things, and I think it should be one thing for someone to be able to say at home "I don't like trannies and I support laws taking away their healthcare" without being arrested, but I think it should be another thing for a vile transphobe to be allowed to put it on blast to huge followerships of 50k "hey please send this small group of people doing fundraiser work graphic threats and as long as you don't release their addresses it's okay".

[turtle]

Even though Trump says he's gonna stick with Truth, Musk says he'll reverse Trump's ban on Twitter.

“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake,” Musk said. He did not think it was “correct” to ban Trump, adding that he would reverse the perma-ban. “Banning Trump from Twitter will not end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right, and that is why it is morally wrong and flat-out stupid,” the SpaceX CEO said. ... He’s previously stated that Twitter has a leftward political bias, and he reiterated the point Tuesday. “Twitter needs to be much more even-handed. It currently has a strong left bias. It is based in San Francisco,” he said.

I'm not surprised to see him state the left-bias, but wonder if it is based on due diligence/discovery for the buyout or just his "outside" personal opinion.

[Ryan]

It's entirely his own bullshit opinion. He waived all due diligence.

[kscherer]

Here is a list of high-profile banned accounts. Make of it what you will.

[psmith2.0]

Everyone can relax and de-knot their panties, at least for a while...Musk says the deal is on hold.

To be clear, I have no dog in this hunt, so whether he buys it or not is of no concern to me.

But, separate from that, doesn't this guy seem a bit spazzy and all-over-the-place? How many up-and-downs, ins-and-outs and "I am" and "I'm not" and "well, I might be" has there been in all this in just a few weeks' time? In fact, it'll be one month tomorrow that I made that opening post over in the news thread, before this got split off. In that month, how many roller coaster rides has the story taken?

He seems a little mercurial and unstable, and not quite sure about much of anything, really.

At least that's my overall, general impression. Maybe that's just the general, goofy-ass nature of billionaires. They can afford to be.

[turtle]

Looking like maybe 709 was on to something. Didn't he call it that the deal wouldn't go though? I mean, the fat lady hasn't sung yet... but maybe this is the precursor.

The 26th of last month:

Originally Posted by 709 Personally I feel like he won't go through with the final sale and he'll pay whatever backout-fee Twitter and he agreed to. The guy may be a genius, but he's also a grade school level whiner when things don't go his way. I think he'll quickly realize it's more fun to be an occasional outside agitator than to be scrutinized on what he allows on "his" platform, daily.

[psmith2.0]

I'd certainly never want to own that rat's nest of jackals, "gotcha!" artisans and the perpetually up-in-arms. Especially if I was a billionaire and could, in theory, blow (waste) a ton of money on whatever I wanted (helicopters made out of Pop-Tarts, Elvis Presley's toothbrush, a radioactive meteorite from Albania, Shakira's underwear, an Area 51 hangar, a casino staffed entirely by hovering robots, etc.).

Who needs the headache of answering to all the "trending" drama and crisis du jour of such a platform? Once you're seen as the head/owner of something, the buck stops there and the press/media will never let you up if some dingbat celebrity, mouthy politician or general Twittiot shows their ass in some major way. They're going to come to you, ultimately, with their handwringing, pearl-clutching and answer-demanding.

Who needs all that if you already have a job? You can only delegate so much; at the end of the day, they're still going to come after you for the final word/explanation. No thanks!

He's already disliked in many quarters (look at this thread; you think those attitudes aren't held by many in the media and that they won't act on it?), so maybe he's realizing "I won't get a moment of peace if I'm the owner of this thing, and actually have to answer for shit I didn't even do/say. Screw that...I'd rather pursue breakfast pastry aviation."

[Ryan]

I hope the board shoves this dumb deal down his throat.

[psmith2.0]

I don't see how/why either side truly wants it. Musk doesn't seem truly into it, and I know the Twitter people don't. Just seems like one big "why bother?" for all involved. The thing probably won't even exist in 10 years anyway, so that's what makes all the drama and upheaval consistently surrounding the platform - but especially this past month - even more amusing.

[kieran]

I think this was honestly a way for him to pump up the stock, make some publicity by saying he's going to "fix" twitter, and then sell the shares and make money before the stock tanks when he says he sold.

He put up a bunch of collateral with his Tesla stock, and now that's dropping and losing him a ton of money.

What an ass.

[Bryson]

It's almost as if he has a history of making a big deal about doing a thing, and then failing to actually follow through once there's even the slightest difficulty.

He already runs two big companies that I imagine are a lot of work, why does he insist on trying to get into everything else?

[Ryan]

Snoop coming to the rescue.

https://twitter.com/SnoopDogg/status...43525834121217

[kscherer]

Oooooo, can we rename it Snooper? Instead of tweeting, we can snoop?

That sounds more accurate, anyway.

"Oh, I forgot to snoop, today."

"I got to remember to snoop through Snooper."

"I just don't feel like snooping, today."

The possibilities are endless.

[709]

Originally Posted by kscherer Oooooo, can we rename it Snooper?

Twizzle fo shizzle.

[kscherer]

fo shizzle my nizzle!

Not sure that would apply to you, but still …

[psmith2.0]

The little blue bird gets replaced with a pot leaf? Sure, why not. Hell, in the big scheme of things, Snoop Dogg is about the only public figure/celebrity I can picture myself having a beer with, or not wanting to choke.

You know the guy has some stories, funny and otherwise.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 The little blue bird gets replaced with a pot leaf?

Or Snoopy smoking a doobie?

[Matsu]

Market manipulation lawsuit coming soon.

[psmith2.0]

Couldn't someone like Musk just create their own, separate platform and run it however they wanted? Those who liked his way could go there. And everyone who's happy with Twitter could stay there. No fuss, no crying and gnashing of teeth, no existential crises and breakdowns from some, etc.

Wouldn't that be a better, smarter use of ~$45B? It would have to be a bit easier, big picture, wouldn't it? That's a lot of money to waste just to buy some existing platform, and piss off/alienate a sizable chunk of the population/userbase by your mere presence/ownership.

Roll your own, make it exactly how you want it to be and knowing that everyone on it kinda wants to be there. Leave Twitter to that hobo-looking guy and its happy, loyal base.

[kscherer]

I think $45billion could feed an awful lot of hungry children, or maybe buy some nukes for Ukraine to drop on Moscow.

Hell, I can come up with all sorts of ways to spend $45billion that don't involve Twitter — or anything like Twitter.

I think there's too much emphasis being placed on the notion that we even need Twitter. Let the damn thing die (sorry Ryan) and use the nickels to buy food.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Couldn't someone like Musk just create their own, separate platform and run it however they wanted? Those who liked his way could go there. And everyone who's happy with Twitter could stay there. No fuss, no crying and gnashing of teeth, no existential crises and breakdowns from some, etc. Wouldn't that be a better, smarter use of ~$45B? It would have to be a bit easier, big picture, wouldn't it? That's a lot of money to waste just to buy some existing platform, and piss off/alienate a sizable chunk of the population/userbase by your mere presence/ownership. Roll your own, make it exactly how you want it to be and knowing that everyone on it kinda wants to be there. Leave Twitter to that hobo-looking guy and its happy, loyal base.

This is exactly what Trump tried. It hasn't taken off quite as they probably hoped. Musk could have swooped in and funded that platform, or made yet another clone, but Musk probably wants to play with something successful that actually keeps him the spotlight.

[psmith2.0]

Nutty billionaires and their little hobbies.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Brad This is exactly what Trump tried. It hasn't taken off quite as they probably hoped. Musk could have swooped in and funded that platform, or made yet another clone, but Musk probably wants to play with something successful that actually keeps him the spotlight.

Network effects are a fickle mistress.

[709]

Originally Posted by Ryan Network effects are a fickle mistress.

Yeah, but he'd actually have to engage with those people to make it work. Eww.*

*his words, not mine

[psmith2.0]

Musk threatens to walk away from Twitter deal



Then do it already, you goofy-looking sonofabitch.

This guy acts like some attention-whoring junior high doof who just says stuff for response/reaction, or to make people wonder/ask about him, or if he's "okay", etc. I can't believe all of this is still a thing.

Either buy it or don't. Just STFU about it all. I know 17-year-olds who aren't this annoying, immature and "look at me!". Not many, no. But I do.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 This guy acts like some attention-whoring junior high doof who just says stuff for response/reaction, or to make people wonder/ask about him, or if he's "okay", etc. I can't believe all of this is still a thing.

That’s absolutely who he is. He craves the attention.

He made electric cars mass-market-viable and SpaceX did some cool stuff and now he can’t top that. It’s OK, Elon. Just do something useful like put money into cancer research or whatever.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Musk threatens to walk away from Twitter deal Then do it already, you goofy-looking sonofabitch. This guy acts like some attention-whoring junior high doof who just says stuff for response/reaction, or to make people wonder/ask about him, or if he's "okay", etc. I can't believe all of this is still a thing. Either buy it or don't. Just STFU about it all. I know 17-year-olds who aren't this annoying, immature and "look at me!". Not many, no. But I do.

He can't walk away. The terms of the agreement are very strict.

Which is why this is all still going to get dumber.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by chucker That’s absolutely who he is. He craves the attention. He made electric cars mass-market-viable and SpaceX did some cool stuff and now he can’t top that. It’s OK, Elon. Just do something useful like put money into cancer research or whatever.

I think he's a world-class ding-dong and nothing I've seen, read or heard from (or about) him has ever altered that.

Thing is, when you have that much money, you're allowed to be. Then people line up to call you "eccentric" or "marching to your own drummer" whatever.

But act that way with my bank account levels and you're simply an irritating, obnoxious twat (and you may get chased around by men in white uniforms with nets).

Money may not buy happiness, but it absolutely buys you a huge, thick shield. And a shitload of wiggle room.

Originally Posted by Ryan Which is why this is all still going to get dumber.

How is that even possible?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Thing is, when you have that much money, you're allowed to be. Then people line up to call you "eccentric" or "marching to your own drummer" whatever. But act that way with my bank account levels and you're simply an irritating, obnoxious twat (and you may get chased around by men in white uniforms with nets). Money may not buy happiness, but it absolutely buys you a huge, thick shield. And a shitload of wiggle room.

Yeeeeeeeep