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I agree with > The implication that tweets - and by extension, history - should be mutable feels like 1984. You've pointed out the problem: people in a democr
by delish 11y ago
I agree with
> The implication that tweets - and by extension, history - should be mutable feels like 1984.
You've pointed out the problem: people in a democracy need access to the truest history possible; mutable history is a slippery slope.
But I disagree with
> Then don't tweet dumb stuff?
The challenges we're facing are new, and need new solutions. Political entities are acting on incomplete information and perspective; inevitably, they'll tweet dumb stuff (like I and many on HN have). I'm not saying that they should be able to delete tweets, I'm saying that politicians haven't had this ability before. Now that they have it, we (the democracy) have to decide what to do about it. "Don't tweet dumb stuff" is impractical and simplistic (sorry!).
Considering a democratic populace wants from its leaders intelligence, strategy, and (at least in the US) authenticity, American leaders will be struggling with a tension between authenticity and advertisement. This struggle leads to the deleting of tweets. I don't know the solution; knowing the solution is a different matter.
- angersock 11y agoI don't know the solution; knowing the solution is a different matter. The solution is to actually be intelligent, strategic, and authentic. On a really good day, a given politician is batting two of three there. I think that part of the accountability of these folks is precisely that their gaffs are on easy public record. If we allow memory holes for the elite, they can keep fucking up and we're none the wiser.
- tzs 11y agoPerhaps replace the ability to delete tweets with the ability for the tweeter to add notes the tweet. That way you cannot get rid of your twitter past, but you can attach context or a defense to it.