2 ms·

I'm very much on the side of xcancel and nitter on this one, but I do think it's fair to point out that Twitter is free of monetary charge. It's not free in the

I'm very much on the side of xcancel and nitter on this one, but I do think it's fair to point out that Twitter is free of monetary charge. It's not free in the sense that you do have to provide some personal information and data to them in exchange for that free account, but it isn't a huge roadblock for most people, however annoying it may be. Now that said, I sure hope Elon will pivot this and make these services unnecessary. I'm not holding my breath though.

angoragoats 12d ago
The phrase "free speech" does not typically mean "free as in beer," rather it means "free as in freedom," so in this case you're conflating the two meanings of "free" in English. The fact that Twitter is login-gated makes it objectively less free as in freedom.
- freedomben 12d ago
  Indeed, fair point. I've conflated those in my comment above!
- alt227 11d ago
  Generally we in the western world consider ourselves 'free' citizens. Yet to live this life you need to register your birth, get a social security number, and enroll in education etc. I dont see signing up to twitter any differently to this. You register with an email address and you are granted access. Similarly to registering a birth and being granted access to 'society'.
Operyl 12d ago
The biggest frustration for a lot of people is that their municipalities use Twitter almost exclusively to communicate with their constituents, it _sucks_. I've pleaded and begged my city and county to have some other form of communication, in addition to Twitter/X, to mass distribute information.
- Forgeties79 12d ago
  Many municipalities have text message alerts these days. I doubt it’s 100% coverage but I bet most of us can live with that or currently do.
  - Operyl 12d ago
    My municipality does! Guess what they still don't really use... most of it still ends up on X exclusively.
- mitxela 11d ago
  Be the change to want to see. Mirror their tweets on cityname.com
bakies 12d ago
right, it's not free, like you said
InsideOutSanta 12d ago
Elon Musk, gratis speech absolutist.

angoragoats 12d ago

The phrase "free speech" does not typically mean "free as in beer," rather it means "free as in freedom," so in this case you're conflating the two meanings of "free" in English. The fact that Twitter is login-gated makes it objectively less free as in freedom.

freedomben 12d ago
Indeed, fair point. I've conflated those in my comment above!
alt227 11d ago
Generally we in the western world consider ourselves 'free' citizens. Yet to live this life you need to register your birth, get a social security number, and enroll in education etc. I dont see signing up to twitter any differently to this. You register with an email address and you are granted access. Similarly to registering a birth and being granted access to 'society'.

Operyl 12d ago

The biggest frustration for a lot of people is that their municipalities use Twitter almost exclusively to communicate with their constituents, it _sucks_. I've pleaded and begged my city and county to have some other form of communication, in addition to Twitter/X, to mass distribute information.

Forgeties79 12d ago
Many municipalities have text message alerts these days. I doubt it’s 100% coverage but I bet most of us can live with that or currently do.
- Operyl 12d ago
  My municipality does! Guess what they still don't really use... most of it still ends up on X exclusively.
mitxela 11d ago
Be the change to want to see. Mirror their tweets on cityname.com

bakies 12d ago

right, it's not free, like you said

InsideOutSanta 12d ago

Elon Musk, gratis speech absolutist.