The Musk Melt-down

[Revoltingest]

Oh, I thought you were talking about (former) Twitter employees. My mistake.

I bear no ill will to employees I don't even know.
It's a darn shame that so many will suffer turmoil
because of Musk's antics.
But with our current severe labor shortage, it's
consolation that they'll quickly find new jobs.

 

[Revoltingest]

Didn't he do the exact opposite, because basically anyone could get a verified account simply paying 8 bucks a month, and he didn't like that?

Musk made the announcement yesterday in a tweet, citing too many "corrupt legacy Blue 'verification' checkmarks" as the reason for removing them. Until yesterday, Twitter's blue checkmarks could be purchased for $7.99/month, leading users to set up fake accounts impersonating brands and people.

Tis as though he makes major changes without
giving them any thought beforehand. Again,
I invoke the Peter Principle.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Correct.
Why so many words just to agree with me?

Perhaps because any agreement with you requires a qualifying statement?

 

[Estro Felino]

Not automatically. There is bias, and then there is shameless manipulation and lying.

Pastiche venues such as Fox News, Info Wars and much of the British media are decisively in the second category. We all ought to accept that and act accordingly.

Mainly because if we do not we end up literally rewarding people for lying to us and making our perceptions twisted and ill informed.

To put it another way: just because there are "two sources" it definitely does not follow that they deserve comparable levels of trust and attention. Particularly in what is currently understood to be "conservative media".

Frankly, that is little more than a virtual cesspool at this point in time. Hardly worth the time of learning their names.

I haven't figured out yet why Twitter is considered a news outlet.
It is not. It is a social platform where people express opinions and share them.

A random Twitter user is not supposed to broadcast or convey any information or any news.
He just tweets random things.

 

[Revoltingest]

Still, my point that socialists leave things better than when they found them...

We've been thru this before.
You've never presented cromulent evidence.
Moreover, the many millions who died in Soviet
famines & purges would disagree about life
having improved after 1917. And be cautious
to trust Soviet proclamations about how great
things were.
As for the Khmer Rouge, the people in the
Killing Fields would disagree...if they hadn't
been exterminated.
I haven't even started on China yet. No need.

 

[Revoltingest]

Recognizing that socialism, just like capitalism, comes in many variants resolves this supposed contradiction.

Then you might want to be clear that you
aren't a "socialist" as dictionaries define
the word.
To eschew terminology that would more
accurately fit systems like Denmark's
strongly suggests a more extreme position.
This is especially so for those who oppose
capitalism, thereby making its elimination
& replacement by socialism (as defined)
the apparent goal.

 

[Revoltingest]

Perhaps because any agreement with you requires a qualifying statement?

Aye, they better be careful.
Nits demand picking!

 

[Debater Slayer]

Then you might want to be clear that you
aren't a "socialist" as dictionaries define
the word.
To eschew terminology that would more
accurately fit systems like Denmark's
strongly suggests a more extreme position.
This is especially so for those who oppose
capitalism, thereby making its elimination
& replacement by socialism (as defined)
the apparent goal.

This is also something multiple people here have clarified to you before—namely, that dictionaries are politically descriptive rather than prescriptive and that the capitalism we oppose is the predatory, exploitative variety as seen in the US.

 

[Twilight Hue]

One can't just dismiss this as just normal
glitches due to a transition. Musk has
personally mis-handled it in obvious ways,
eg, requiring payment for verified status,
but without actually verifying anyone's status.
And allowing offensive speech that's guaranteed
to scatter the advertisers, who are his source
of income.

I think the charges are intended to discourage bot traffic invading the site.

Besides, I'd rather patron the advertisers that support free speech and are anti censorship.

I could care less about the others.

I'm sure the ship will right itself. I don't think you become a billionaire and sustain it by bad decision making.

 

[Stevicus]

We've been thru this before.
You've never presented cromulent evidence.
Moreover, the many millions who died in Soviet
famines & purges would disagree about life
having improved after 1917. And be cautious
to trust Soviet proclamations about how great
things were.

I don't have to trust any Soviet proclamations. As you say, we've been through this before, and I have presented ample evidence in previous discussions. But I don't think anything would convince you, as your mind is already made up. You, like many other Americans (including myself), have been raised and conditioned to believe in Red Scare propaganda, and it takes a great deal of effort and study to step beyond that and see it for what it really is. I've had this discussion many, many times before with many different people over the course of my life, and they all say the same things as you say. It's like you all get your same material from the same source and memorize it verbatim.

I've never said anything about the Khmer Rouge, but even the Soviets didn't like them.

I would also be cautious about assuming what millions who died would agree or disagree with.

 

[Revoltingest]

This is also something multiple people here have clarified to you before—namely, that dictionaries are politically descriptive rather than prescriptive and that the capitalism we oppose is the predatory, exploitative variety as seen in the US.

To claim that the dictionaries are all wrong,
& use the word incorrectly when better
alternatives are available is troubling.
Multiple people have pointed out that
liberals & conservatives get it wrong
when they claim "socialism" is public
schools & roads.

 

[Debater Slayer]

To claim that the dictionaries are all wrong,

That's not what I'm doing; what I'm doing is pointing out that the dictionary definition of "socialism" is one out of many. That makes it incomplete rather than incorrect.

& use the word incorrectly when better
alternatives are available is troubling.
Multiple people have pointed out that
liberals & conservatives get it wrong
when they claim "socialism" is public
schools & roads.

With many forms of socialism, using the word incorrectly would be saying that "socialism" was what North Korea and China were employing right now.

 

[Revoltingest]

I think the charges are intended to discourage bot traffic invading the site.

Besides, I'd rather patron the advertisers that support free speech and are anti censorship.

I could care less about the others.

I'm sure the ship will right itself. I don't think you become a billionaire and sustain it by bad decision making.

Great things about capitalism....
- You can patronize whichever advertisers you want.
- Advertisers may choose whichever platform they pay.
- Companies doing a poor job of garnering income may fail.
- Other companies will rise to replace failed ones.

 

[Heyo]

Why didn't they quit, then?

Have you ever criticized the Italian government? Why didn't you simply leave and keep quiet?

 

[Revoltingest]

I don't have to trust any Soviet proclamations. As you say, we've been through this before, and I have presented ample evidence in previous discussions.

What you've called "evidence" has been lacking.
Praising socialism using USSR as an exemplar
makes me wonder why they ditched your favorite
economic system.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Great things about capitalism....
- You can patronize whichever advertisers you want.
- Advertisers may choose whichever platform they pay.
- Companies doing a poor job of garnering income may fail.
- Other companies will rise to replace failed ones.

Yep.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I bear no ill will to employees I don't even know.
It's a darn shame that so many will suffer turmoil
because of Musk's antics.
But with our current severe labor shortage, it's
consolation that they'll quickly find new jobs.

Granted it's the leadership more than the employees. If your productive, you stay on board.

 

[Revoltingest]

That's not what I'm doing...

Not explicitly.
But it is indeed denying those definitions.

...what I'm doing is pointing out that the dictionary definition of "socialism" is one out of many. That makes it incomplete rather than incorrect.

A typical socialist argument is to use personal definitions
in a manner that favors their system, & demonizes others.
"Socialism" is about caring for people, fairness, not
exploiting people, & freedom from want.
"Capitalism" is about greed, exploitation, & the god
of profit above all else.

Were terminology limited to common recognized
definitions of words, defending socialism & attacking
capitalism would be highly problematic.

With many forms of socialism, using the word incorrectly would be saying that "socialism" was what North Korea and China were employing right now.

N Korea fits the definition.
China started out socialist, embraced capitalism,
& is now steering back towards socialism. Note
that China's conditions improved greatly under
capitalism, eg, ending famines, slightly more liberty.

The upshot here is that systems more socialism
& less capitalism tend towards oppression & woe.

 

[Revoltingest]

I believe that you do the same exact thing as my teacher, sometimes.

Some claims are indeed wrong.
Example...
Creationists say that evolution is a fraud
perpetrated by God haters. This is wrong.
Putin apologists blame NATO for Putin's
invasion of Ukraine. This is wrong.
These cannot be waved away as mere
differing opinions of equal validity

Now, you should also acknowledge that
when socialists come here to say that
using dictionary definitions is wrong,
they too should remind you of the teacher.
But then....they're fellow socialists, who
won't get the same criticism.

 

[Revoltingest]

Granted it's the leadership more than the employees. If your productive, you stay on board.

To fire an employee for criticizing Musk
doesn't seem to be about productivity.
Unless Twitter's product is Musk's image.