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> I’m wondering what the idiots at Twitter are really doing. What if they're not idiots? What if that system is working exactly as intended?

Rjevski 8y ago
Whoever designed how this system is supposed to work (as in, allow the spam to remain) is still an idiot in my view. Granted, I’m sure they have an agenda to justify this (aka boost user numbers as much as possible, even if all of them are bots) but as a user I don’t care - I see spam on the platform and I call them out for it.
- ropeadopepope 8y ago
  > Whoever designed how this system is supposed to work (as in, allow the spam to remain) is still an idiot in my view Why? If you don't know what the goal is, how can you judge the results? Just because you don't care for the result doesn't make the person who designed the system an idiot. It makes you an idiot for continuing to use a system you hate.
  - Rjevski 8y ago
    I never said I used the system. I deleted my account in 2013 when they started making the platform worse and worse with every “upgrade”. I loved Twitter and I wish they get their stuff together and make it enjoyable again, but I’m not expecting anything anymore. They’re most likely going to go down the same way Yahoo did.
    - ropeadopepope 8y ago
      > They’re most likely going to go down the same way Yahoo did. Unlikely. Yahoo actually had to make a profit. In 12 years, Twitter has only reported 1 profitable quarter. And yet, somebody (or somebodies) keep forking over billions of dollars to keep twitter up and running. Whatever their goal is, making money isn't it. My guess is their goal is the same as the major media outlets: to control the flow of information. It's a lot easier to do that without scrutiny if the tools appear to kick people off at random. The harder it is to discern a pattern, the less scrutiny they'll face when taking down accounts that say things they don't like. It also provides cover if there's a big stink and they have to reinstate an account.
  - narrator 8y ago
    AI bugs are the new plausible deniability. You think this is a mess now? Wait till we get robotic AI weapons everywhere.
danudey 8y ago
This is a good point. Maybe Twitter finds that these changes are driving away people who don't monetize as much and appealing to the people who do. Much like Fox News found that scummy "buy gold now!" / "sell your gold now!" ads worked well for their audience, maybe this is what engages people. I mean, it works for spam. Obvious bad english, poor spelling and punctuation, etc. weed out people who know this is an obvious scam, leaving only the type of people who will overlook every red flag imaginable because their gullibility and greed overwhelms them.

Rjevski 8y ago

Whoever designed how this system is supposed to work (as in, allow the spam to remain) is still an idiot in my view. Granted, I’m sure they have an agenda to justify this (aka boost user numbers as much as possible, even if all of them are bots) but as a user I don’t care - I see spam on the platform and I call them out for it.

ropeadopepope 8y ago
> Whoever designed how this system is supposed to work (as in, allow the spam to remain) is still an idiot in my view Why? If you don't know what the goal is, how can you judge the results? Just because you don't care for the result doesn't make the person who designed the system an idiot. It makes you an idiot for continuing to use a system you hate.
- Rjevski 8y ago
  I never said I used the system. I deleted my account in 2013 when they started making the platform worse and worse with every “upgrade”. I loved Twitter and I wish they get their stuff together and make it enjoyable again, but I’m not expecting anything anymore. They’re most likely going to go down the same way Yahoo did.
  - ropeadopepope 8y ago
    > They’re most likely going to go down the same way Yahoo did. Unlikely. Yahoo actually had to make a profit. In 12 years, Twitter has only reported 1 profitable quarter. And yet, somebody (or somebodies) keep forking over billions of dollars to keep twitter up and running. Whatever their goal is, making money isn't it. My guess is their goal is the same as the major media outlets: to control the flow of information. It's a lot easier to do that without scrutiny if the tools appear to kick people off at random. The harder it is to discern a pattern, the less scrutiny they'll face when taking down accounts that say things they don't like. It also provides cover if there's a big stink and they have to reinstate an account.
- narrator 8y ago
  AI bugs are the new plausible deniability. You think this is a mess now? Wait till we get robotic AI weapons everywhere.

danudey 8y ago

This is a good point. Maybe Twitter finds that these changes are driving away people who don't monetize as much and appealing to the people who do. Much like Fox News found that scummy "buy gold now!" / "sell your gold now!" ads worked well for their audience, maybe this is what engages people. I mean, it works for spam. Obvious bad english, poor spelling and punctuation, etc. weed out people who know this is an obvious scam, leaving only the type of people who will overlook every red flag imaginable because their gullibility and greed overwhelms them.