4 ms·

X (twitter) is useless for threads unless you're logged in. How can I read this thread?

ghosty141 3y ago
Yeah somebody should mirror it. In general I dont understand why people post things like this on X. Its a horrible platform.
- bookofjoe 3y ago
  For some; for technically dumb people like me, it's the only platform that's easy to use.
- bagels 3y ago
  What are some better alternatives?
  - omoikane 3y ago
    Current best answer seem to be Mastodon and Bluesky. If we are going by the number of users, Facebook has more users than Twitter and Threads has about the same order of magnitude, but we still see a lot more Twitter submissions to HN compared to Facebook and Threads[1]. If users prefer the microblog format, Mastodon and Bluesky appear to be the most compelling alternatives, both have been steadily gaining users[2]. [1] Submissions from various sites: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=twitter.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=twitter.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=threads.net https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=threads.net https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=facebook.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=facebook.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=bsky.app https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=bsky.app Not sure how we can find the number of Mastodon links since it has so many domains. [2] Mastodon and Bluesky user counts: https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/112131206329058510 https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/11213120632905851... https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3klzrudt4uk2z https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3klzrudt4uk2z https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkv3clm3su2h https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkv3clm3su2h
- kens 3y ago
  Serious answer: I post things on Twitter because it is easy, lets a huge number of people read my thread, and provides easy interaction. I post the same threads to Mastodon and get orders of magnitude less interest. I also write blog posts, which take a huge amount of time (a week versus an hour) and are hit-or-miss. Sometimes they are very popular and sometimes they disappear without a trace.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    Might it be that it takes a week because you spend time thinking things through in a much more coherent manner rather than just submitting stream of conscious level tweets? Sounding professional instead of trendy?
  - nickloewen 3y ago
    I’m always delighted when I visit HN and see one of your blog posts on the front page; they posts are great and they elicit some of the most interesting HN discussions. It took me a little while to realize that all these good posts were on the same blog, but once I did I had a lovely time browsing through the archive and reading more of the “deep cuts.” The posts about the System/360 consoles come to mind, for example. I’m not sure how “popular” those were(?), but they’ve been very helpful as references for an art project I’m working on!
  - fragmede 3y ago
    Why not Threads?
nebalee 3y ago
This was also posted on mastodon https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861 https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861 (I assume it's the same post, couldn't read the one on twitter)
- bragr 3y ago
  Can confirm it's the same
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
kens 3y ago
Three ways you can read the thread: a) Log into Twitter. b) Read the same thread on Mastodon [1]. c) Wait until I turn it into a blog post. [1] https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861 https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861
- dclowd9901 3y ago
  Can I ask as a genuine question: why use twitter at all for a post like this? I’m not trying to be a Luddite or even just anti-twitter. I just don’t understand using it for long form deep topics like this. And yes I fully understand many people do use it this way, and to them I’d ask the same question.
  - dt3ft 3y ago
    Off the top of my head: Clicks/ Hype/Sharing/Reach.
  - kens 3y ago
    I answered that question elsewhere in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39768125 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39768125
dpifke 3y ago
From the guidelines[0]: Please don't complain about tangential annoyances—e.g. article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. They're too common to be interesting. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Yeah somebody should mirror it. In general I dont understand why people post things like this on X. Its a horrible platform.

bookofjoe 3y ago
For some; for technically dumb people like me, it's the only platform that's easy to use.
bagels 3y ago
What are some better alternatives?
- omoikane 3y ago
  Current best answer seem to be Mastodon and Bluesky. If we are going by the number of users, Facebook has more users than Twitter and Threads has about the same order of magnitude, but we still see a lot more Twitter submissions to HN compared to Facebook and Threads[1]. If users prefer the microblog format, Mastodon and Bluesky appear to be the most compelling alternatives, both have been steadily gaining users[2]. [1] Submissions from various sites: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=twitter.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=twitter.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=threads.net https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=threads.net https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=facebook.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=facebook.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=bsky.app https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=bsky.app Not sure how we can find the number of Mastodon links since it has so many domains. [2] Mastodon and Bluesky user counts: https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/112131206329058510 https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/11213120632905851... https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3klzrudt4uk2z https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3klzrudt4uk2z https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkv3clm3su2h https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkv3clm3su2h
kens 3y ago
Serious answer: I post things on Twitter because it is easy, lets a huge number of people read my thread, and provides easy interaction. I post the same threads to Mastodon and get orders of magnitude less interest. I also write blog posts, which take a huge amount of time (a week versus an hour) and are hit-or-miss. Sometimes they are very popular and sometimes they disappear without a trace.
- dylan604 3y ago
  Might it be that it takes a week because you spend time thinking things through in a much more coherent manner rather than just submitting stream of conscious level tweets? Sounding professional instead of trendy?
- nickloewen 3y ago
  I’m always delighted when I visit HN and see one of your blog posts on the front page; they posts are great and they elicit some of the most interesting HN discussions. It took me a little while to realize that all these good posts were on the same blog, but once I did I had a lovely time browsing through the archive and reading more of the “deep cuts.” The posts about the System/360 consoles come to mind, for example. I’m not sure how “popular” those were(?), but they’ve been very helpful as references for an art project I’m working on!
- fragmede 3y ago
  Why not Threads?

nebalee 3y ago

This was also posted on mastodon https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861 https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861 (I assume it's the same post, couldn't read the one on twitter)

bragr 3y ago
Can confirm it's the same

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

kens 3y ago

Three ways you can read the thread: a) Log into Twitter. b) Read the same thread on Mastodon [1]. c) Wait until I turn it into a blog post. [1] https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861 https://oldbytes.space/@kenshirriff/112124283096167861

dclowd9901 3y ago
Can I ask as a genuine question: why use twitter at all for a post like this? I’m not trying to be a Luddite or even just anti-twitter. I just don’t understand using it for long form deep topics like this. And yes I fully understand many people do use it this way, and to them I’d ask the same question.
- dt3ft 3y ago
  Off the top of my head: Clicks/ Hype/Sharing/Reach.
- kens 3y ago
  I answered that question elsewhere in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39768125 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39768125

dpifke 3y ago

From the guidelines[0]: Please don't complain about tangential annoyances—e.g. article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. They're too common to be interesting. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

deleted 3y ago

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deleted 3y ago

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