I wonder what DU would be like without Twitter

[BWdem4life]

What would happen if people had to actually post content instead of adding clicks to a platform now belonging to Elon Musk anymore?

I'm just wondering.

There's only a tiny possibility of this actually happening.

[Croney]

1. I don't mind that as much as the "Video and MultiMedia" posts

that are just videos of talking heads you're supposed to click on. Seems lazy.

[hlthe2b]

7. Yup... This. Some of those clickbait videos are as bad as the interminable slide show ads

that MS Edge and Bing love to flash at you.

[efhmc]

12. I differ. There are often news and other things on Twitter that I see before they are on DU.

My daughter will not do Twitter but I have pointed out to her that many Twitter items are posted on DU as a resource/supplement of things that are happening elsewhere in the world. Ukraine tweets are an example. I am pretty sure that news items that people in Ukraine who post on Twitter get much more exposure than on DU.

[Native]

25. One of the reasons people see news articles on DU before they have become mainstream

is because people who frequent Twitter see the reporters' tweets about articles expected to drop (teasers) or that have just then dropped. They then get noticed and posted here before they make it to print media or TV.

I remember when DU was adamantly antagonistic about that Twitter thingy. I was embarrassed to recommend DU to friends because so many of us are up in years, and we, at times, give credence to some of the old fart stereotyping that makes the rounds. People here were bashing Twitter and belittling those who use it when they'd never even bothered to explore it themselves.

[Timewas]

18. I would go

For all 3 to disappear

[Native]

20. I'm with you 100%

[zuul]

22. I agree with you about the videos.

I don’t mind Twitter posts so much.

[Ferrets are Cool]

50. Yeah, I'm with ya.

OF course, people can post what they want, within the rules, but I don't have to click on them.

[samnsara]

2. i enjoy twit land but never post something here from them..

..in fact i rarely start a discussion cuz..well you know..people..

[Sneederbunk]

3. Many of the noteworthy posters are cut and paste.

[ZZenith]

4. Let's find out!

Pretty please?

[Scrivener7]

5. A few years ago, you never saw a Tweet on DU. I found posts then more comprehensive and

more informative.

There was a lot more conversation, a lot more information, a lot less "Did you see the stupid comment so-and-so made? Hahaha" or "I'm a witty tweeter saying witty things"

I think DU was better without it.

[ms liberty]

24. This. n/t

[Native]

31. I think it's more than that....

In the earlier years of DU, posters typically shared their opinions or provided additional commentary coincident with a post linking to an article they wanted to share. And we also had fewer online venues on which to share our viewpoints.

And more importantly, we were not deluged with a scandal every 5 minutes. When you're experiencing news whiplash, it's harder to ponder, digest, and discuss because, well, SQUIRREL!

[kysrsoze]

6. Just fine... like it was before Twitter.

Worthwhile contributors will find, or already have other avenues. It’s not like Twitter is the end-all, be-all on internet.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Where would you get real time news?

I think Jack Dorsey's new platform will grow very fast. The left will leave Twitter by 2024.

[efhmc]

15. People are begging us lefties not to leave but I have stated that if these things happen I will:

TFG is allowed back and they start charging. Also if I see a concerted effort to shut down Dems. In the meanwhile, I do what I have always done and consider fun, I block those MAGGOT idiots.

[Native]

36. If you're talking about Bluesky, that's a collaboration between those two besties.

Last edited Sun Oct 30, 2022, 06:09 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.techdirt.com/2022/10/24/as-elon-gets-ready-to-take-over-twitter-bluesky-takes-a-big-step-forward/

I still signed up though.

[CharleyDog]

9. Not just here, but many sites I read- heavily use Twitter pastes in their content

DailyKos, Crooks & Liars, Mock Paper Scissors, Imgur, to name a few. Cutting out Twitter will leave big
holes, yet really, how can we support a cess pool? I mean, no one posts from Gab or that noTruth-to-be-found sites.

I guess we can go down with the ship as Aaron Rupar was saying...

(I deleted my Twitter account yesterday, goodbye to my friends there, it hurts, like it did with Facebook)

[sarcasmo]

10. IMHO, D/U was better before Twitter.

[roamer65]

11. I think we will soon find out.

[FakeNoose]

13. Content is in the tweets, since most journalists broadcast their daily stories via Twitter

If DU bans tweet-posts then we're banning access to the daily news stories. Is that the intention?

[BWdem4life]

16. Just wondering out loud, like I said.

I wouldn't be surprised though if a lot of those journalists find new platforms from which to broadcast pretty soon.

[Scrivener7]

27. If they are journalists, that means they are writing for some publication. So... ah....

there are always those publications...

[LeftInTX]

41. They share breaking news b4 there is time for an article

Court verdicts, SC decisions, NWS alerts etc.

[usonian]

14. There are alternatives.

https://democraticunderground.com/100217292991

I was posting a nice reply and a 403 here at DU wiped out a damn lot of composing.

So here's the short of it.

GET OFF TWITTER.
Drinking poison doesn't immunize you to it.

FOR ELON MUSK, THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE IS A FUCKING MAGNIFYING MIRROR.


Musk is impulsive, reckless and unconcerned about consequences of his decisions and actions.
https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=17295221

EVERY CLICK MONETIZES HIM
DON'T GIVE CLICKS TO DICKS.


Why I don't use twitter.
https://democraticunderground.com/100217294467
My time is precious.

[imavoter]

17. We used to do just fine without twitter.

I've been here a long time, this is my second account that I signed up for after a divorce in 2011.
And I find myself not posting a lot with this new account.
I love it here, but it's really changed.

[Sympthsical]

19. But how would I get very obvious one line hot takes?!

The problem with Twitter is that it's degraded two things:

1. Thinking. A lot of subjects do require at least some nuance. Twitter gears people to do the opposite of nuance. One line that will DESTROY your online enemies and BREAK the internet. I'm not sure if people know how stupid they often sound, because people who agree with them are usually doing full on seal claps in a vast echo chamber.

But as an outside observer, I promise, 90% of it is all just so dumb. Like 12 year olds snickering at a sleep over because they said something "edgy" dumb.

2. News sourcing. So much wrong information, active misinformation, falsehoods, and slashed to hell information gets spread on there. It is daily - I'm not exaggerating here, daily - that I look at something and go, "Welp, that's totally wrong." Because of the problems in Point 1 above, Point 2 holds hands with it to the point people are not bothering to read information. They're taking random people's word for it. "Well, I trust him!" You shouldn't. Because that guy wants clicks and eyeballs, an honest and full recitation of facts isn't often entering that conversation. It's just the clipped out of context bits to get you clicking and sharing.

Twitter makes people dumber. What's really unfortunate is that our media class bought wholly into it for attention. It is all about "Look at me!" and slapfights with one another and, "I DESTROYED him while BREAKING the Internet!"

These are journalists. Can anyone imagine, say, Walter Cronkite behaving like these people?

It's digital high school and not that impressive. It looks as dumb as it sounds 99% of the time.

When I was young, I often looked forward to hanging out with adults and having adult conversations. I'm in my early 40s now. Will that day be arriving soon?

[ProfessorGAC]

54. Excellent Post

Great points throughout.

[Ptah]

21. Here's some information about the next version od DU:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217293512#post55

Scrivener7 (45,361 posts)

55. I asked EarlG if there could be some way for us to trash Twitter on DU.

He's on this already, which is why we love him.

He said DU4 will have small boxes of different colors in the title that will show if an OP is a twitter link or a video link.

That will go a long way to allowing those of us who don't want to engage with Twitter to avoid it.

I asked if those boxes could be trashable. That is not currently in the plans for DU4, but he said he will look into whether there is a way to do this.

[mahina]

23. Our content has been shrinking so there will be even less

[Scrivener7]

26. I think our content has shrunk BECAUSE of our recently acquired dependence on Twitter.

[mahina]

29. Clearly not true because it's been the case for at least six months

Up until he took over, all of the anti-Twitter post folks sounded to me rather like all you kids get off my yard.

The content was good because the information and the sources were good, independent of the platform they were written on.

I personally found and read fabulous thinkers there and I appreciate the platform for my access to them. Without it I would not have that information on a broad spectrum including climate change research, national security, the war in Ukraine, economic information, political information, directly from the thinkers.

I avoid and block all of the shit bags and there are a ton of them.


wonder if the posts don’t show up differently on different devices, OS and apps. I get a block of text and author identified with enough information to let me know if I want to click through or not. What do you see when you see posts from Twitter? Is it just a link with no information? That might explain the polarization of opinion.

[Scrivener7]

30. Often I get only a blue link to a tweet. Unless the post author has added a summary of

what we will find in the link.

But I disagree that you would not have any information without Twitter.

You had information before Twitter.

Are you really better informed now, or do you simply get the same information in smaller bites and more frequently?

[mahina]

33. That may be the heart of the divide. I get a headline and top line. Also

I realize we’re all reading a lot of stuff right now and emotions are high but I did not say that I would not have any information.

I said “ personally found and read fabulous thinkers there and I appreciate the platform for my access to them. Without it I would not have that information on a broad spectrum including climate change research, national security, the war in Ukraine, economic information, political information, directly from the thinkers.”

True a few minutes ago and true now.

If you excuse me I’m going go read what Timothy Snyder, Sir Nicholas Stern and Preet Bharara are thinking about this morning. Cheers.

[Scrivener7]

34. Are your emotions high in this exchange? Mine aren't.

[mahina]

37. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. My reading comprehension is fine

I really don’t enjoy this kind of conversation. I don’t find your reasoning persuasive and you don’t seem to understand or be interested in anything but your own rightness. We’ve been on this platform together for a long time and I have enjoyed and benefited from reading some of your posts. Cheerio.

[Scrivener7]

38. Wow.

[Native]

40. Emotions are definitely heightened, and I feel very much as you do.

And I'm afraid it's only going to get more emotional around here for the next week or so. It's sad when our safe place isn't so safe. We also have the benefit of trolls trying to drum up a little infighting here. Good times!

[Emrys]

46. We used to rely on town criers, word of mouth, and broadsheets

I miss those days. You could really rely on the gossip Mavis at the water pump used to pass on or what the laird decided we peasants should know, bless his cotton britches.

Yes, I am indeed better informed now, because I'm selective from a wider range of information sources than was available in the past when I had to wait for media barons to allow news and information to be spread, and even more selective in what I pass on to others.

Put it this way, if I was reliant on sites like DU for timely, reliable news and information, I'd be better off than people who feel like those parodied in my subject line, but I'd also depend on those sifting information and opinion and posting it here - from where? Most of the time, the very same journalists and pundits who post on Twitter, maybe sometimes hearsay from others, but at least a day late and through the filter of their outlets' editorial screens or a process of rumour at second, third or more hands.

If you're not better informed now, it's your loss. I don't tell you where you can get information, so why are you bothered where I get mine?

[48656c6c6f20]

28. Well since February, I don't know if you would really notice.

[Carlitos Brigante]

32. Better? nt

[brooklynite]

35. Content like this?

Link to tweet

[BWdem4life]

43. Content like that is something I personally can do without

But that's just me personally. I've been reading DU daily for years and years, so stuff like that is just redundant and uninformative. For me. I'm sure it's nice to keep putting it out for people who haven't seen it before, but for me, when you posted that, I saw nothing but a blue "Link to tweet" which I then had to click, wait for the page to load, and then see that it was absolutely nothing new to me. It is a nuisance. So, now multiply that by 25 and you've got the Greatest Page full of content that maybe useful to those new to DU, but to me are just a nuisance because I can't immediately see what they say and would have to add a click to Elon's platform to see that it was in fact nothing new to me.

[brooklynite]

44. I can't speak for your tech...

...but Tweets always load immediately on my computer, tablet and phone.

[BWdem4life]

45. That would be nice

There was a time when they loaded for me on my tablet, but that stopped long ago. I don't know why, don't know how to fix it, and I'm too low tech to try.

[Emrys]

47. What if it had been posted like this?

Link to tweet

Nick Knudsen 🇺🇸
@NickKnudsenUS

The myth that “Republicans are better on the economy” is easily dispelled.

8 of the 10 best state economies are Biden states. 7 of 10 have Dem-led state governments.

8 of the 10 worst state economies are Trump states with GOP-led state governments.

This isn’t rocket science.

It took me a few keystrokes, but would that satisfy you?

[BWdem4life]

52. Sure :)

But good luck getting others to follow suit.

Anyway, it's not all about me.. I should just quit bitching and move on to the next post when I see a blue twitter link.

[Emrys]

53. Quite a few of us do this when we post tweets.

Then somebody will inevitably eventually moan because our posts are too cluttered or repetitive!

[Meowmee]

39. Some of what is added from there has value

So people need to start a new site similar to twitter which is not controlled by a right wing con artist who posts and allows others to post conspiracy crap and hate. That should never be supported, no matter how good some of the content is.

I almost never actually go to twitter to read anything posted from twitter here or anywhere else so I am choosing to not financially support it. Advertisers should pull out imo, like gm did.

One thing I find really annoying about the posts added from twitter here is that there are often numerous repeats of the same tweet so you have scroll down to see if there is anything else worth reading. When twitter posts first started inundating the content here I stopped reading them because of that because it was so annoying. It doesn’t seem to be happening as much lately but I’m not sure why.

I will now not be clicking on anything anywhere that is posted from Twitter. I will simply read what was written in the tweet and comment if I feel the need to do so here or elsewhere.

[underpants]

42. I don't have a problem with Twitter posts

Yeah they may move items down the page but you can surf DU in any number of ways.

[Ferrets are Cool]

48. I remember those days.

[bigtree]

49. you'd have much less independent info, and more media corralled information

...with the ability to just cite a (compromised) major news org report and let it go at that.

We'll all wait for Sunday again for MTP or FTN to hear what lawmakers say.

Bottom line, we'll be had by just a few sources who manage to get our attention in a news forum god knows where.

[doc03]

55. Better nt

[demmiblue]

56. PSA: there is another main forum on DU that is similar to GD, but without the tweets:

Editorials & Other Articles (Forum)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1016

[keithbvadu2]

57. We internet nuts (aficionados) will find somewhere to post our life-saving, earth-shattering info an

We internet nuts (aficionados) will find somewhere to post our life-saving, earth-shattering info and someone will discover it and point it out to the rest of us.

We are hooked!

At times, I have forwarded DU articles, including the URL, to my email list because I thought it was worthy content, especially the comments which often enhance the original topic.

Even to the right wingers, although usually non-partisan, non-political issues.

[sinkingfeeling]

58. Kind of like it was before Twitter.

[malaise]

59. I joined DU years before Twitter

It was great - that is all