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> This issue goes beyond Trump. People have been de-platformed on various social media sites. Twitter has taken on the role of the virtual public space. Twitter

> This issue goes beyond Trump. People have been de-platformed on various social media sites. Twitter has taken on the role of the virtual public space. Twitter is performing a public service in their publishing of tweets People who have been de-platformed can always go to Gab (I know they had issues being dropped a few times but my understanding is they have adopted a decentralized approach and resolved it). It is freely available on the internet. The only reason people are using Twitter instead of Gab is that the marketplace prefers the lightly-moderated Twitter to the complete free-for-all of Gab. Edit: again, Trump is a billionaire, he could easily fund more Gab servers and blast it out to his followers and get his message out. > People don't go out and protest anymore because they do it online. I invite you to visit Washington DC whenever the virus is over and see the large in-person protests that regularly happen in the nation’s capital. Never mind that there’s a physical riot / protest going on yesterday and today over police brutality, today, in Minneapolis. > And they don't go out and protest because they feel like their voice is being broadcast enough through social media. And yet to have that censored by private companies is unacceptable when that in the modern day use case. So the reason they aren’t going out in person is because they aren’t being censored. Look at what is going on in Hong Kong over the past year if you want to see what happens when people in the modern internet-connected world are actually angry. You get millions on the street, not just posting online.

Thorentis 6y ago
> The only reason people are using Twitter instead of Gab is that the marketplace prefers the lightly-moderated Twitter to the complete free-for-all of Gab. No. The reason people are using Twitter is because most other people are using Twitter. The network effect is very real and very strong on social media. If you wanted to protest something, would you go to the least populated public space that people are gathering, or the most populated? We have allowed the most highly populated places where people share ideas, to be controlled by a private company. That is not in the spirit of freedom of speech in the slightest.
- javagram 6y ago
  > No. The reason people are using Twitter is because most other people are using Twitter. The network effect is very real and very strong on social media. Trump has millions of followers on his email lists. He could send out an email or SMS tomorrow inviting his followers to begin posting on a new Donald Trump Gab or Mastodon server. Edit: heck, he could even post it on his twitter! He chooses to post on twitter instead. He doesn’t even try to use an alternative website. This is not about restricting his free speech, this is about him trying to drum up controversy.
  - Thorentis 6y ago
    I already said this goes beyond Trump. Others have been censored before, and they won't be the last. Trump is the only person in a position to actually do something about it.
    - javagram 6y ago
      Trump could set up an alternative to twitter tomorrow using his billion dollar fortune as seed capital. The technology is already out there - GNUSocial, Gab, and Mastodon. Look at theDonald.win as an example. Reddit banned their forum, so they created a new website where they can post. Trump has the audience of millions to create a right-wing only website where his followers can chat together if they wish, or he could encourage his followers to join Gab.
      - Thorentis 6y ago
        Obviously you can't see beyond Trump. I'm trying to make a point about freedom of speech on the Internet, and you can't see beyond "orange man has money". There are broader issues at stake here than partisan politics. The next decade could shape the rest of the century. I certainly don't want that century to be dictated to by private companies whose only guiding principle is profit.

Thorentis 6y ago

> The only reason people are using Twitter instead of Gab is that the marketplace prefers the lightly-moderated Twitter to the complete free-for-all of Gab. No. The reason people are using Twitter is because most other people are using Twitter. The network effect is very real and very strong on social media. If you wanted to protest something, would you go to the least populated public space that people are gathering, or the most populated? We have allowed the most highly populated places where people share ideas, to be controlled by a private company. That is not in the spirit of freedom of speech in the slightest.

javagram 6y ago
> No. The reason people are using Twitter is because most other people are using Twitter. The network effect is very real and very strong on social media. Trump has millions of followers on his email lists. He could send out an email or SMS tomorrow inviting his followers to begin posting on a new Donald Trump Gab or Mastodon server. Edit: heck, he could even post it on his twitter! He chooses to post on twitter instead. He doesn’t even try to use an alternative website. This is not about restricting his free speech, this is about him trying to drum up controversy.
- Thorentis 6y ago
  I already said this goes beyond Trump. Others have been censored before, and they won't be the last. Trump is the only person in a position to actually do something about it.
  - javagram 6y ago
    Trump could set up an alternative to twitter tomorrow using his billion dollar fortune as seed capital. The technology is already out there - GNUSocial, Gab, and Mastodon. Look at theDonald.win as an example. Reddit banned their forum, so they created a new website where they can post. Trump has the audience of millions to create a right-wing only website where his followers can chat together if they wish, or he could encourage his followers to join Gab.
    - Thorentis 6y ago
      Obviously you can't see beyond Trump. I'm trying to make a point about freedom of speech on the Internet, and you can't see beyond "orange man has money". There are broader issues at stake here than partisan politics. The next decade could shape the rest of the century. I certainly don't want that century to be dictated to by private companies whose only guiding principle is profit.