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The Hacker Ethos is to build your own media platform and stop whining about someone else’s (unless net neutrality is at play).

Reelin 6y ago
It's generally a good attitude to have, but network effects are real. Disregarding them is a mistake.
read_if_gay_ 6y ago
What happens next is your platform either gets zero traction, or it gets ridiculed as alt-right conspiracy theorist shithole, which is basically a self fulfilling prophecy.
- smaryjerry 6y ago
  Don’t forget plants/trolls. People that don’t like a platform will go there act like the worst human alive just to get it banned or looked down upon. How many news stories now use proof of what you said by using “one user said..and another said..” therefore we have proof that this platform is or allows xyz. Its effective.
kill-procrustes 6y ago
I'm pretty sure being critical of efforts to censor information is part of the hacker ethos ("information should be free"). I think this is actually why the Twitter approach ("some or all of this tweet is disputed") is a good way to go. You're providing more information—links to people who disagree—rather than hiding information.
- kenjackson 6y ago
  Misinformation is more akin to me saying that I want gcc to ship my malware. No one is saying you can’t ship malware, but gcc doesn’t have to be your vehicle.
  - kill-procrustes 6y ago
    This is a classic problem of "who decides?" Unlike malware, lots of things initially written off as misinformation turn out to be true. I'm not going to argue that YouTube doesn't have a legal right to do what they're doing, but assuming that they're specially knowledgeable about truth and falsity strikes me as an incredible act of hubris. All of that said, I recognize that disinformation and misinformation is a serious and tricky problem. I think the American right partially has themselves to blame for throwing so much mud at the wall. I understand YouTube not wanting to be hijacked and used as a political vehicle. But at the end of the day they function as a commons, and I think society is worse off when they censor content like this.
- lliamander 6y ago
  The idea of what Twitter is doing isn't necessarily bad, but its application has been terrible.
lawnchair_larry 6y ago
No it isn’t. How many hackers can you name who built their own media platform?

Reelin 6y ago

It's generally a good attitude to have, but network effects are real. Disregarding them is a mistake.

read_if_gay_ 6y ago

What happens next is your platform either gets zero traction, or it gets ridiculed as alt-right conspiracy theorist shithole, which is basically a self fulfilling prophecy.

smaryjerry 6y ago
Don’t forget plants/trolls. People that don’t like a platform will go there act like the worst human alive just to get it banned or looked down upon. How many news stories now use proof of what you said by using “one user said..and another said..” therefore we have proof that this platform is or allows xyz. Its effective.

kill-procrustes 6y ago

I'm pretty sure being critical of efforts to censor information is part of the hacker ethos ("information should be free"). I think this is actually why the Twitter approach ("some or all of this tweet is disputed") is a good way to go. You're providing more information—links to people who disagree—rather than hiding information.

kenjackson 6y ago
Misinformation is more akin to me saying that I want gcc to ship my malware. No one is saying you can’t ship malware, but gcc doesn’t have to be your vehicle.
- kill-procrustes 6y ago
  This is a classic problem of "who decides?" Unlike malware, lots of things initially written off as misinformation turn out to be true. I'm not going to argue that YouTube doesn't have a legal right to do what they're doing, but assuming that they're specially knowledgeable about truth and falsity strikes me as an incredible act of hubris. All of that said, I recognize that disinformation and misinformation is a serious and tricky problem. I think the American right partially has themselves to blame for throwing so much mud at the wall. I understand YouTube not wanting to be hijacked and used as a political vehicle. But at the end of the day they function as a commons, and I think society is worse off when they censor content like this.
lliamander 6y ago
The idea of what Twitter is doing isn't necessarily bad, but its application has been terrible.

lawnchair_larry 6y ago

No it isn’t. How many hackers can you name who built their own media platform?