4 ms·

While I'm not against people not-using Twitter/X (or any other platform): would it have been better to keep the account as a 'placeholder' so no one else can gr

While I'm not against people not-using Twitter/X (or any other platform): would it have been better to keep the account as a 'placeholder' so no one else can grab it? Have a post saying "We do not monitor this account." or some such?

conartist6 11mo ago
Why help Twitter be a safer more trustworthy platform when Twitter doesn't seem to want to be a safe or trustworthy platform?
catapart 11mo ago
You only need a placeholder if you think the platform matters enough to hold space for. For example: they don't have a placeholder on MySpace. But if your goal is to prevent other people from having the name altogether, the move I personally enjoyed engaging in was getting my account blocked. That forces them to hold your account only to prevent anyone from using it, lest you might sneak back in and say something "harmful" like "stonetoss is hans kristian graebener".
- GaryBluto 11mo ago
  > the move I personally enjoyed engaging in was getting my account blocked. So you think the FSF should've used the account representing them to troll?
  - Xylakant 11mo ago
    Haven't tested lately, but at least for a while you could get your account blocked by publicly suggesting people follow you some other place.
    - jayknight 11mo ago
      I made my account private and put my bsky address in my profile, so that doesn't appear to be an insta ban.
      - glhaynes 11mo ago
        IIRC, it was for a while and then the decision was reverted.
        latexr 11mo ago
        It received so much backlash it didn’t even last one day. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/19/tech/twitter-elon-musk-deletes-policy https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/19/tech/twitter-elon-musk-de...
    - jsheard 11mo ago
      PG got suspended for directing his followers to Mastodon: https://x.com/alexisohanian/status/1604604968677392386 https://x.com/alexisohanian/status/1604604968677392386 They did walk that policy back due to the backlash, but they really wanted to do it.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - catapart 11mo ago
    No, I described a way of getting blocked that I personally enjoyed. Haters (me) gonna hate, after all. I think the FSF should not be on Twitter at all. Sorry if I was unclear about that in my previous comment, but the first paragraph was meant to contradict OP's suggestion.
  - cocainemonster 11mo ago
    could change birthday to underage and get banned that way
- latexr 11mo ago
  > the move I personally enjoyed engaging in was getting my account blocked. Interesting idea. What did you do? > say something "harmful" like "stonetoss is hans kristian graebener". What that it?
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - DiabloD3 11mo ago
    Stonetoss is a well known comic by an alt-Right Neo-Nazi. He kept his identity secret for years (for obvious reasons), but was outed a few years back. He received a lot of hate over this, and got fired from his tech job over it. The comic was antitrans, antisemitic (with full-on Holocaust denial), racist, and sexist... but Graebener himself is a Latino, so he gets hated on by both the Left and the Right. Websites that cater to the alt-Right ban users for saying his real name and ban people who make Stonetoss memes that shit on Graebener for being a Nazi. And you know why HN is actually a great place? dang isn't going to ban me for repeating verifiable facts.
    - sixtyj 11mo ago
      HN is the safe space. People argue and disagree here but somehow in pleasant way I haven’t seen anywhere else. So dang has easy job :)) And as you can downvote a comment so HN is self-regulating.
      - hyghjiyhu 11mo ago
        It's a sign of someone gifted that they make everything look easy
      - latexr 11mo ago
        > People argue and disagree here but somehow in pleasant way I haven’t seen anywhere else. Turn on `showdead` in your settings (or don’t, probably for the best) and be prepared to read some nasty comments. No substance, only hate. There are a few on this very submission.
verytrivial 11mo ago
I agree. Park the handle with a polite "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy" note and a suggested list of other places for more fruitful discussion.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
jedimastert 11mo ago
I don't think twitter allows someone to take over an account after it's been deleted
- kstrauser 11mo ago
  They absolutely do. Someone’s parked on what use to be my account there.
- KomoD 11mo ago
  During deactivation period nobody can take the username but after deletion I'm pretty sure they can.
- rsynnott 11mo ago
  They do. I believe that, for once, this isn't even Musk's fault; this baffling design decision predates him.
croes 11mo ago
You could still lose your account https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-handle-marketplace https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-handle-marketplace
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
rsynnott 11mo ago
Also, Twitter, bafflingly, allows reuse of usernames. After I deleted my (very old; original id was <1 million) Twitter account, I think it was briefly grabbed by a spammer; the username now shows as 'suspended'. So yeah, a dead placeholder is probably the safest choice.

conartist6 11mo ago

Why help Twitter be a safer more trustworthy platform when Twitter doesn't seem to want to be a safe or trustworthy platform?

catapart 11mo ago

You only need a placeholder if you think the platform matters enough to hold space for. For example: they don't have a placeholder on MySpace. But if your goal is to prevent other people from having the name altogether, the move I personally enjoyed engaging in was getting my account blocked. That forces them to hold your account only to prevent anyone from using it, lest you might sneak back in and say something "harmful" like "stonetoss is hans kristian graebener".

GaryBluto 11mo ago
> the move I personally enjoyed engaging in was getting my account blocked. So you think the FSF should've used the account representing them to troll?
- Xylakant 11mo ago
  Haven't tested lately, but at least for a while you could get your account blocked by publicly suggesting people follow you some other place.
  - jayknight 11mo ago
    I made my account private and put my bsky address in my profile, so that doesn't appear to be an insta ban.
    - glhaynes 11mo ago
      IIRC, it was for a while and then the decision was reverted.
      - latexr 11mo ago
        It received so much backlash it didn’t even last one day. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/19/tech/twitter-elon-musk-deletes-policy https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/19/tech/twitter-elon-musk-de...
  - jsheard 11mo ago
    PG got suspended for directing his followers to Mastodon: https://x.com/alexisohanian/status/1604604968677392386 https://x.com/alexisohanian/status/1604604968677392386 They did walk that policy back due to the backlash, but they really wanted to do it.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- catapart 11mo ago
  No, I described a way of getting blocked that I personally enjoyed. Haters (me) gonna hate, after all. I think the FSF should not be on Twitter at all. Sorry if I was unclear about that in my previous comment, but the first paragraph was meant to contradict OP's suggestion.
- cocainemonster 11mo ago
  could change birthday to underage and get banned that way
latexr 11mo ago
> the move I personally enjoyed engaging in was getting my account blocked. Interesting idea. What did you do? > say something "harmful" like "stonetoss is hans kristian graebener". What that it?
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- DiabloD3 11mo ago
  Stonetoss is a well known comic by an alt-Right Neo-Nazi. He kept his identity secret for years (for obvious reasons), but was outed a few years back. He received a lot of hate over this, and got fired from his tech job over it. The comic was antitrans, antisemitic (with full-on Holocaust denial), racist, and sexist... but Graebener himself is a Latino, so he gets hated on by both the Left and the Right. Websites that cater to the alt-Right ban users for saying his real name and ban people who make Stonetoss memes that shit on Graebener for being a Nazi. And you know why HN is actually a great place? dang isn't going to ban me for repeating verifiable facts.
  - sixtyj 11mo ago
    HN is the safe space. People argue and disagree here but somehow in pleasant way I haven’t seen anywhere else. So dang has easy job :)) And as you can downvote a comment so HN is self-regulating.
    - hyghjiyhu 11mo ago
      It's a sign of someone gifted that they make everything look easy
    - latexr 11mo ago
      > People argue and disagree here but somehow in pleasant way I haven’t seen anywhere else. Turn on `showdead` in your settings (or don’t, probably for the best) and be prepared to read some nasty comments. No substance, only hate. There are a few on this very submission.

verytrivial 11mo ago

I agree. Park the handle with a polite "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy" note and a suggested list of other places for more fruitful discussion.

deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]

jedimastert 11mo ago

I don't think twitter allows someone to take over an account after it's been deleted

kstrauser 11mo ago
They absolutely do. Someone’s parked on what use to be my account there.
KomoD 11mo ago
During deactivation period nobody can take the username but after deletion I'm pretty sure they can.
rsynnott 11mo ago
They do. I believe that, for once, this isn't even Musk's fault; this baffling design decision predates him.

croes 11mo ago

You could still lose your account https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-handle-marketplace https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-handle-marketplace

deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]

rsynnott 11mo ago

Also, Twitter, bafflingly, allows reuse of usernames. After I deleted my (very old; original id was <1 million) Twitter account, I think it was briefly grabbed by a spammer; the username now shows as 'suspended'. So yeah, a dead placeholder is probably the safest choice.