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What a drivel! An attack by someone who appears to hold the patent on Free Speech (TM) against a billionaire who is uneducated and thus unable to use free speec

What a drivel! An attack by someone who appears to hold the patent on Free Speech (TM) against a billionaire who is uneducated and thus unable to use free speech to talk about free speech, because, frankly, he didn't pay hundreds of thousands to get a degree in the liberal arts of bullshitting like this author did. You could replace zuckerberg with "layperson" in the essay (because, well he is a layperson) and it would read like a very childish sneer about nothing. Still, good job on fulfilling the monthly "FB hate articles" quota.

dredmorbius 7y ago
Please lable satire. Even when obvious, Poe's law applies.
serf 7y ago
>well he is a layperson 'Mark Zuckerberg is a layperson on the subject of free speech' You don't see the problem with that statement? He's the major head of one of the largest communications networks on the planet. His opinion is one of the most important to sway for those of us that have any opinion, for OR against, freedom of speech. His ignorance on the topic is pretty unforgivable, given the intrinsic nature of the business he runs and moderates. Personally I tend to think that it's political double-talk rather than ignorance. He's just trying to space his answers away from any 'hard' questions so as to maintain a more vague (and politically enticing) persona.
- bko 7y ago
  I think he would have more of a formed opinion on this topic than an armchair professor of media studies. He actually has to make real decisions and run one of the largest organizations in the world which he helped build. His decisions impact billions of people on this earth. You may not like or agree with his decisions but to say he's somehow a layperson on this topic is just wrong. Facebook has to implement these policies across 150 different countries while some professor on media can write a snarky article with no substance and make the brilliant observation that some people aren't honest about their online persona and use it to trick people.
vixen99 7y ago
Drivel is a verb.
- doubleunplussed 7y ago
  No, it's a noun. 'what a drivel' sounds wrong because it is a mass noun, just like you can't say "a sugar".
  - dredmorbius 7y ago
    Depends on how you refer to it. Dextrose is a sugar. She is my sugar. That is a bowl of sugar. (Similarly for water/waters.) I'm not familiar with a general usage describing species of drivel in singular terms, however.
    - doubleunplussed 7y ago
      Yes, many mass nouns have a corresponding count noun with a slightly different meaning. A [type of] sugar, a [glass of] water. I was trying to think of example where this can't be done, but even "a [molecule of] dextrose" is something I could imagine a chemist saying.
- bufferoverflow 7y ago
  It's both. https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Adrivel https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Adrivel
bko 7y ago
The first half of the article is just a list of zingers with no substance: > Facebook’s content regulations have been incoherent in design and in practice > Zuckerberg’s unsophisticated thoughts on free speech generated a manifesto that can only be called incoherent > ... listen to billionaire who seems to have barely cracked a book on the subject and can’t seem to form a clear line of argument > weak undergraduate essay that would earn at most a B- from any university professor > shallowest of platitudes > so weak and poorly structured that it could not have served as worse evidence in an argument for the value of speech itself
zelly 7y ago
I'm getting sick of journalists bullying Zuckerberg just for the sake of bullying Zuckerberg. Especially this article which simultaneously criticizes his understanding of free speech and complains he's not doing enough censorship.

dredmorbius 7y ago

Please lable satire. Even when obvious, Poe's law applies.

serf 7y ago

>well he is a layperson 'Mark Zuckerberg is a layperson on the subject of free speech' You don't see the problem with that statement? He's the major head of one of the largest communications networks on the planet. His opinion is one of the most important to sway for those of us that have any opinion, for OR against, freedom of speech. His ignorance on the topic is pretty unforgivable, given the intrinsic nature of the business he runs and moderates. Personally I tend to think that it's political double-talk rather than ignorance. He's just trying to space his answers away from any 'hard' questions so as to maintain a more vague (and politically enticing) persona.

bko 7y ago
I think he would have more of a formed opinion on this topic than an armchair professor of media studies. He actually has to make real decisions and run one of the largest organizations in the world which he helped build. His decisions impact billions of people on this earth. You may not like or agree with his decisions but to say he's somehow a layperson on this topic is just wrong. Facebook has to implement these policies across 150 different countries while some professor on media can write a snarky article with no substance and make the brilliant observation that some people aren't honest about their online persona and use it to trick people.

vixen99 7y ago

Drivel is a verb.

doubleunplussed 7y ago
No, it's a noun. 'what a drivel' sounds wrong because it is a mass noun, just like you can't say "a sugar".
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  Depends on how you refer to it. Dextrose is a sugar. She is my sugar. That is a bowl of sugar. (Similarly for water/waters.) I'm not familiar with a general usage describing species of drivel in singular terms, however.
  - doubleunplussed 7y ago
    Yes, many mass nouns have a corresponding count noun with a slightly different meaning. A [type of] sugar, a [glass of] water. I was trying to think of example where this can't be done, but even "a [molecule of] dextrose" is something I could imagine a chemist saying.
bufferoverflow 7y ago
It's both. https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Adrivel https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Adrivel

bko 7y ago

The first half of the article is just a list of zingers with no substance: > Facebook’s content regulations have been incoherent in design and in practice > Zuckerberg’s unsophisticated thoughts on free speech generated a manifesto that can only be called incoherent > ... listen to billionaire who seems to have barely cracked a book on the subject and can’t seem to form a clear line of argument > weak undergraduate essay that would earn at most a B- from any university professor > shallowest of platitudes > so weak and poorly structured that it could not have served as worse evidence in an argument for the value of speech itself

zelly 7y ago

I'm getting sick of journalists bullying Zuckerberg just for the sake of bullying Zuckerberg. Especially this article which simultaneously criticizes his understanding of free speech and complains he's not doing enough censorship.