We knew this was coming đ
November 15, 2022 9:19 AM Subscribe
From the creator of Best of Nextdoor comes Best of Dying Twitter, a chronicle of the bird site's current Elon Era.
While Best of Dying Twitter retweets some informative threads (Threadreader links here and here), most of the account is devoted to the lulz.
For those who are new to this drama, here's a handy recap (Threadreader). On MetaFilter: previously, previously, previously
Post title inspired by this tweet.
For those who are new to this drama, here's a handy recap (Threadreader). On MetaFilter: previously, previously, previously
Post title inspired by this tweet.
I got a spinny loading circle for the longest time when I clicked the link. Which made me wonder if "dying Twitter" was maybe happening more quickly than anticipated, or if it was just a really good joke that the creator had somehow managed to trick Twitter into doing.
posted by Jeanne at 9:55 AM on November 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Jeanne at 9:55 AM on November 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
I have been following the Elon Era with morbid curiosity and these links will satisfy.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 10:08 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 10:08 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yeah, but it's hosted on Twitter, so no thanks?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:12 AM on November 15, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:12 AM on November 15, 2022 [14 favorites]
SarcasticRover (@SarcasticRover)
If Elon brings his little bitch ass to Mars, I'm gonna run him over.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 10:17 AM on November 15, 2022 [25 favorites]
If Elon brings his little bitch ass to Mars, I'm gonna run him over.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 10:17 AM on November 15, 2022 [25 favorites]
it's hosted on Twitter, so no thanks
I feel OK looking at the trash fire from a respectable distance, without an account and with a functioning adblock.
posted by tigrrrlily at 10:22 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've been trying to bridge this account and others over to my mastodon.social instance and having little luck. @bridge.birb.space seemed to be one that was working, but I'm seeing nothing on the other side. Does anyone have a bridge-y thing that works?
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:29 AM on November 15, 2022
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:29 AM on November 15, 2022
I forgot who said this or I'd quote them, but my favorite quote about this was words to the effect that Twitter right now is like the last few days of middle school when everyone is going to different highschools.
posted by Carillon at 10:34 AM on November 15, 2022 [23 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 10:34 AM on November 15, 2022 [23 favorites]
lol that doesn't happen unless you're rich
posted by ryanrs at 10:45 AM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by ryanrs at 10:45 AM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
I don't know diddley about regulatory oversight (including the FTC consent decree) but this dying twitter retweet about European regulations made me chortle:
@RebekahKTrombleposted by spamandkimchi at 10:49 AM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Before, Twitter only had to answer to the Irish. And, thus, everyone else was mad that the Irish werenât doing enough. 8/
I forgot who said this or I'd quote them, but my favorite quote about this was words to the effect that Twitter right now is like the last few days of middle school when everyone is going to different highschools.
... a group of rowdy kids trying to break the spirits of the substitute teacher before lunchbreak
... the band still playing on the Titanic, only everyone's dunking on the iceberg
... grafittis carved on the walls of Pompeii dissing the erupting volcano
... the epic tale of a mid-life crisis told from the perspective of the sportscar
Too many great quotes to choose from!
posted by sohalt at 11:18 AM on November 15, 2022 [17 favorites]
... a group of rowdy kids trying to break the spirits of the substitute teacher before lunchbreak
... the band still playing on the Titanic, only everyone's dunking on the iceberg
... grafittis carved on the walls of Pompeii dissing the erupting volcano
... the epic tale of a mid-life crisis told from the perspective of the sportscar
Too many great quotes to choose from!
posted by sohalt at 11:18 AM on November 15, 2022 [17 favorites]
Use the nitter version, which strips out all the Musky parts and leaves it fresh
posted by The River Ivel at 11:18 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by The River Ivel at 11:18 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
I actually don't think twitter is going to die soon. I have a sense about it. I dunno.
posted by bleep at 11:26 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by bleep at 11:26 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
@bridge.birb.space seemed to be one that was working, but I'm seeing nothing on the other side. Does anyone have a bridge-y thing that works?
I think most of them are blocked by mastodon.social as third party bots - so even if you find one Iâm not sure how long it will last. My general impression is that theyâre not that approved of.
posted by scorbet at 11:38 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think most of them are blocked by mastodon.social as third party bots - so even if you find one Iâm not sure how long it will last. My general impression is that theyâre not that approved of.
posted by scorbet at 11:38 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just looking at the current top blog post on Twitter is going great, isn't it a huge labor law violation to fire employees for discussing work conditions (such as for-cause terminations) with their coworkers?
posted by muddgirl at 12:00 PM on November 15, 2022
posted by muddgirl at 12:00 PM on November 15, 2022
This is only tangentially related, but the UK Treasury department decided to start a discord server as part of itâs social media strategy. Despite making it read-only, this still went about as well as you would expect
posted by scorbet at 12:08 PM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Others have embraced the fact that letters are included in the list of emojis, and more than 100 people have apparently coordinated to attempt to write out the chancellorâs name, âHuntâ, underneath the post. Unusually, however, every one of them seems to have made the same typing error, accidentally spelling out a vulgarity instead.Treasury Twitter announcement - there are screenshots from the discord in the replies.
posted by scorbet at 12:08 PM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also think Twitter is probably going to keep going, but it may be in the same sense as MySpace has kept going. Still there, but largely irrelevant.
posted by biogeo at 12:26 PM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 12:26 PM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how long it takes before Twitter breaks and is unusable/unfixable with like, NO staff.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:09 PM on November 15, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:09 PM on November 15, 2022
I've noticed a sharp increase in spam in the last week. I had to close my DMs.
posted by AlSweigart at 1:15 PM on November 15, 2022
posted by AlSweigart at 1:15 PM on November 15, 2022
Lots of people do seem determined to stay until the bitter end....
- Leave Twitter just because itâs losing its entire infrastructure and is terribly understaffed? Babe, Iâm in libraries.
- Leave Twitter just because its entire infrastructure is crumbling, its revenue sources have been slashed recently, and it's now run by business bros with zero understanding of humanity or the common good? Babe I'm already in academia.
- Leave Twitter just because it started as a compelling communal experience but evolved into an obsessive practice that heightens division and makes people feel bad? Babe, I study religion.
- Leave Twitter just because it nurtures bullies and white supremacists, it's owned by a capitalist overlord, and it's riddled with security flaws? Please, I live in the United States.
- Leave twitter just because everything is falling apart? Babe, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
- Leave Twitter just because the management is disconnected, the business model makes no sense, and marginalized people are being harmed? Babe Iâm in publishing
- Leave Twitter just because itâs being run by a selfish chaos agent with questionable decision-making skills, who wants freedom but has no concept of actual responsibility? Babe, I have a teenager.
- Leave Twitter just because it wasn't all that great to start with and whatever initial subversive power it had got captured by the worst forces imaginable, though it retains a fragile kernel of radical social possibility? Babe, I'm a Christian.
etc, etc.
But yeah, at some point the site won't load anymore and then that's it, I guess.
posted by sohalt at 1:21 PM on November 15, 2022 [48 favorites]
- Leave Twitter just because itâs losing its entire infrastructure and is terribly understaffed? Babe, Iâm in libraries.
- Leave Twitter just because its entire infrastructure is crumbling, its revenue sources have been slashed recently, and it's now run by business bros with zero understanding of humanity or the common good? Babe I'm already in academia.
- Leave Twitter just because it started as a compelling communal experience but evolved into an obsessive practice that heightens division and makes people feel bad? Babe, I study religion.
- Leave Twitter just because it nurtures bullies and white supremacists, it's owned by a capitalist overlord, and it's riddled with security flaws? Please, I live in the United States.
- Leave twitter just because everything is falling apart? Babe, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
- Leave Twitter just because the management is disconnected, the business model makes no sense, and marginalized people are being harmed? Babe Iâm in publishing
- Leave Twitter just because itâs being run by a selfish chaos agent with questionable decision-making skills, who wants freedom but has no concept of actual responsibility? Babe, I have a teenager.
- Leave Twitter just because it wasn't all that great to start with and whatever initial subversive power it had got captured by the worst forces imaginable, though it retains a fragile kernel of radical social possibility? Babe, I'm a Christian.
etc, etc.
But yeah, at some point the site won't load anymore and then that's it, I guess.
posted by sohalt at 1:21 PM on November 15, 2022 [48 favorites]
McSweeney's has very helpfully shared a list of Fifteen Ways to Share Your Joke After Twitter Implodes
posted by cheshyre at 1:40 PM on November 15, 2022 [21 favorites]
posted by cheshyre at 1:40 PM on November 15, 2022 [21 favorites]
McSweeney's has very helpfully shared a list of Fifteen Ways to Share Your Joke After Twitter Implodes
"Post it to LinkedIn. First, youâll have to reset your password."
LOL
posted by Gorgik at 2:01 PM on November 15, 2022 [12 favorites]
"Post it to LinkedIn. First, youâll have to reset your password."
LOL
posted by Gorgik at 2:01 PM on November 15, 2022 [12 favorites]
I haven't had a Twitter account since I got let go at a job and shut down the work-based account I had, so while I know generally what's happened over there, I'm not paying it much attention.
Is it like when Fametracker imploded? Boy, that was a THING, let me tell you! ::leans on 00s internet cane::
posted by droplet at 2:38 PM on November 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
Is it like when Fametracker imploded? Boy, that was a THING, let me tell you! ::leans on 00s internet cane::
posted by droplet at 2:38 PM on November 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
isn't it a huge labor law violation to fire employees for discussing work conditions (such as for-cause terminations) with their coworkers?
Obviously this varies a lot by jurisdiction but a lot of places it's legal to fire them if they are doing it on company time. Discussions on their own time (including breaks) are often protected.
posted by Mitheral at 2:50 PM on November 15, 2022
Obviously this varies a lot by jurisdiction but a lot of places it's legal to fire them if they are doing it on company time. Discussions on their own time (including breaks) are often protected.
posted by Mitheral at 2:50 PM on November 15, 2022
I'm sure Twitter, of all places, had a written social media policy, which Musk almost certainly didn't get around to revising.
posted by ryanrs at 3:06 PM on November 15, 2022
posted by ryanrs at 3:06 PM on November 15, 2022
This whole takeover has been such a weird business deal. Musk took Twitter private, but in return he's become publicly owned
posted by Merus at 3:24 PM on November 15, 2022 [57 favorites]
posted by Merus at 3:24 PM on November 15, 2022 [57 favorites]
Still there, but largely irrelevant.
Twitter
By Yahoo!
posted by RonButNotStupid at 3:51 PM on November 15, 2022 [13 favorites] I never liked twitter. Couldn't get into it.
I will watch here for a fully non-twitter compilation of the best checkmark impersonations and jokes at Elon's expense. I'd accept any format, including a powerpoint of screenshots.
I'm really excited for where social networks coalesce now, and my unironic thoughts and prayers are with those who had their entire industry ported over to twitter almost on accident in the last 16 years, especially journalists and activists.
posted by shenkerism at 3:59 PM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I will watch here for a fully non-twitter compilation of the best checkmark impersonations and jokes at Elon's expense. I'd accept any format, including a powerpoint of screenshots.
I'm really excited for where social networks coalesce now, and my unironic thoughts and prayers are with those who had their entire industry ported over to twitter almost on accident in the last 16 years, especially journalists and activists.
posted by shenkerism at 3:59 PM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I actually don't think twitter is going to die soon. I have a sense about it. I dunno.
I don't either! The idea that Twitter could actually die seems, I don't know, optimistic.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:38 PM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
I don't either! The idea that Twitter could actually die seems, I don't know, optimistic.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:38 PM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
I quit Twitter when Musk acquired it, as I had announced I was going to do.
I thought I would miss it more than I do. The only thing I find myself actually missing is that every once in a while I want to announce some random personal discovery or weird thing that happened, and I have nowhere to do it. Because I also quit Instagram and Facebook this year. Mostly I tell it to my cat now.
posted by Peach at 5:00 PM on November 15, 2022 [21 favorites]
I thought I would miss it more than I do. The only thing I find myself actually missing is that every once in a while I want to announce some random personal discovery or weird thing that happened, and I have nowhere to do it. Because I also quit Instagram and Facebook this year. Mostly I tell it to my cat now.
posted by Peach at 5:00 PM on November 15, 2022 [21 favorites]
isn't it a huge labor law violation to fire employees for discussing work conditions (such as for-cause terminations) with their coworkers?
They're doing it on the company's paid-for Slack instance, which probably falls under some "misuse of resources" clause.
Dunno what "company time" means when you're a salaried exempt employee.
posted by meowzilla at 5:31 PM on November 15, 2022
They're doing it on the company's paid-for Slack instance, which probably falls under some "misuse of resources" clause.
Dunno what "company time" means when you're a salaried exempt employee.
posted by meowzilla at 5:31 PM on November 15, 2022
Peach, me too! Discord works for my 2 small friend groups.
Group texting different family iterations works too (cousin group, parents and wife, mom and wife etc.)
I get a lot of great interactions here, not gonna loe, great engagement for dog, cat and baling pictures.
posted by kittensofthenight at 5:33 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Group texting different family iterations works too (cousin group, parents and wife, mom and wife etc.)
I get a lot of great interactions here, not gonna loe, great engagement for dog, cat and baling pictures.
posted by kittensofthenight at 5:33 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
The employee got fired for calling out Eloon's lack of understanding of basic Twitter tech. Dude doesn't know what he's talking about, and is making sweeping decisions based on that lack of knowledge. Somehow, pointing out how much of an idiot Eloon is doesn't go over well...I'm sure she'll be fine working somewhere that the owner of the company understands the basic tech of the company, or if not, doesn't pretend he/she does...
posted by Chuffy at 6:53 PM on November 15, 2022
posted by Chuffy at 6:53 PM on November 15, 2022
Anyone who's interested in a twitter compilation of Elon stepping on rakes, this is a good one.
posted by Mavri at 7:03 PM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Mavri at 7:03 PM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
Mavri: that's the "handy recap" link I posted above, though maybe I undersold it a bit. Still, a great thread.
posted by May Kasahara at 7:48 PM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by May Kasahara at 7:48 PM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'd like to believe Twitter is going the way of MySpace, but then again, I'm kind of rooting for a solar flare to knock out all communication networks less robust than the telelgraph.* That said, for that to happen, I'm going to need to see a lot less folks posting Twitter threads of all the dumb things happening at Twitter. That's like calling a friend to tell them AT&T has been broken up.
* Ok, not really. Unimaginable breakdowns of logistics chains, huge loss of human life. No season 3 of The Great. But we would have to talk to people face to face again. Just let me have this fantasy of rolling back the internet for another 5 minutes...
posted by chromecow at 8:02 PM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
* Ok, not really. Unimaginable breakdowns of logistics chains, huge loss of human life. No season 3 of The Great. But we would have to talk to people face to face again. Just let me have this fantasy of rolling back the internet for another 5 minutes...
posted by chromecow at 8:02 PM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
That's my nightmare. A Coronal Mass Ejection the size of the Carrington Event (or maybe even an order of magnitude larger) would make the disruptions caused by the Covid look like a minor blip in the world economy. It would be mind staggeringly bad.
Dunno what "company time" means when you're a salaried exempt employee
No idea legally but I bet Musk thinks it means all time is company time.
posted by Mitheral at 8:47 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Dunno what "company time" means when you're a salaried exempt employee
No idea legally but I bet Musk thinks it means all time is company time.
posted by Mitheral at 8:47 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hot damn I hope twitter implodes with Must at the helm.
It will be absolutely deserved and the schadenfreude will be delectable.
posted by neonamber at 9:05 PM on November 15, 2022
It will be absolutely deserved and the schadenfreude will be delectable.
posted by neonamber at 9:05 PM on November 15, 2022
My personal theory is that the neglected infrastructure will implode sooner rather than later.
Whether it's the load from the World Cup or the fact that most of the people who knew how the place worked are gone, I really think its days in its current form are extremely numbered.
But man is it hilarious while it lasts. Elon is the saddest person alive right now, with the endless postings of đ€Ł to prove it.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:01 PM on November 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
Whether it's the load from the World Cup or the fact that most of the people who knew how the place worked are gone, I really think its days in its current form are extremely numbered.
But man is it hilarious while it lasts. Elon is the saddest person alive right now, with the endless postings of đ€Ł to prove it.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:01 PM on November 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
I feel bad (sort of; not, like, deeply, but slightly sympathetic; similar to seeing someone getting a golf ball to the junk, but maybe not one at full strength) for almost everyone at Twitter , except for Elon, who is living up to my every expectation, perhaps even exceeding them in some ways.
This dumpster fire is a Viking funeral of epic proportions.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 10:12 PM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
This dumpster fire is a Viking funeral of epic proportions.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 10:12 PM on November 15, 2022 [5 favorites]
He clearly despises Twitter's executives, engineers, customer service, and users. He spent 4 billion dollars of other people's money to recreate the pissing Calvin meme in real life.
posted by muddgirl at 7:15 AM on November 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 7:15 AM on November 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
The only thing I find myself actually missing is that every once in a while I want to announce some random personal discovery or weird thing that happened, and I have nowhere to do it. Because I also quit Instagram and Facebook this year. Mostly I tell it to my cat now.
Oh yeah, I get that. I quit twitter back at the beginning of 2017, and I'm sure I have become infinitely more tedious to talk to. Anyone I talk with gets subjected to my "I just heard/read/saw this interesting thing! let me tell you all about it" spiel.
posted by selenized at 8:58 AM on November 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
Oh yeah, I get that. I quit twitter back at the beginning of 2017, and I'm sure I have become infinitely more tedious to talk to. Anyone I talk with gets subjected to my "I just heard/read/saw this interesting thing! let me tell you all about it" spiel.
posted by selenized at 8:58 AM on November 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
Musk just issued an ultimatum to Twitter's (remaining) employees - agree to work "hardcore" hours, or leave now and get a three-month severance. I wonder how many are thinking that a nice paid holiday is preferable to a harried one - followed by termination and no severance.
Musk's desire for 75% layoffs seems achievable now, especially considering all the laid off contractors.
posted by meowzilla at 10:35 AM on November 16, 2022
Musk's desire for 75% layoffs seems achievable now, especially considering all the laid off contractors.
posted by meowzilla at 10:35 AM on November 16, 2022
If I were those employees, I'd want the entire severance paid up front, thanks. No telling what shambles the company will exist in three months from now.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:39 AM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:39 AM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Isn't that how severance usually works; IE: You get a one lump sum? Otherwise it is just employment with no responsibilities.
posted by Mitheral at 11:56 AM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 11:56 AM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
The tech job market has turned cold enough that not as many people will jump ship as might want to, but that offer seems a very good way of getting the remaining high-value engineers to bail. The people who know they can jump to a new job easily.
posted by tavella at 12:11 PM on November 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by tavella at 12:11 PM on November 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Isn't that how severance usually works; IE: You get a one lump sum? Otherwise it is just employment with no responsibilities.
Usually the employer also asks you to sign a bunch of stuff to get the money: promise not to sue, no public disparagement, etc. But maybe he's skipping that part with this "no response = severance" offer.
posted by ryanrs at 12:17 PM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Usually the employer also asks you to sign a bunch of stuff to get the money: promise not to sue, no public disparagement, etc. But maybe he's skipping that part with this "no response = severance" offer.
posted by ryanrs at 12:17 PM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped that part. Due diligence is, like, the opposite of Oxboy's strong suit.
posted by humbug at 1:30 PM on November 16, 2022
posted by humbug at 1:30 PM on November 16, 2022
L. Ron Musk
posted by sjswitzer at 3:56 PM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 3:56 PM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Tech employees sign up for the grindset in expectation of potentially valuable equity compensation. Unless he plans to take Twitter public again thereâs no rational reason to do it unless youâre a cultist or donât think you can land a new job. Heâs not going to keep his best and brightest.
posted by sjswitzer at 4:00 PM on November 16, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 4:00 PM on November 16, 2022 [7 favorites]
The way labor laws work in most states, you have to give notice of termination 60-90 days in advance. So the way it typically works is youâre technically an employee with full pay and benefits for that period but functionally dismissed. I believe this is independent of any severance agreement, but anything over and above that would require you to sign one.
posted by sjswitzer at 4:06 PM on November 16, 2022
posted by sjswitzer at 4:06 PM on November 16, 2022
Twitter was how I convinced my parents I wasn't actually enroute to surprise them, by logging in at an Buenos Aires airport internet cafe and lying about what I was doing! (This was back before I had a smart phone and used my Nokia to text updates.) I stopped being so public about my life online when Facebook wasn't invite online and more of my local friends were there.
Then I used twitter to follow my university professors, well, the cool ones.
It was useful to find out what was going on with bushfires and things like that (now that's on an app).
I also liked to use Twitter to follow the snark for Eurovision. (I'm not committed enough to watch it live, or the Fanfare thread would be a good replacement.)
I haven't logged in in months and haven't posted an update in longer. Missing twitter will actually be missing a different era of my life, rather than the technology/scene itself.
posted by freethefeet at 4:20 PM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Then I used twitter to follow my university professors, well, the cool ones.
It was useful to find out what was going on with bushfires and things like that (now that's on an app).
I also liked to use Twitter to follow the snark for Eurovision. (I'm not committed enough to watch it live, or the Fanfare thread would be a good replacement.)
I haven't logged in in months and haven't posted an update in longer. Missing twitter will actually be missing a different era of my life, rather than the technology/scene itself.
posted by freethefeet at 4:20 PM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
The Tesla shareholder suit seems to be about his insane compensation package and how it was decided. They might also wonder why he isnât coming to work, but that doesnât seem to have come into it much. Yet.
posted by sjswitzer at 5:08 PM on November 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 5:08 PM on November 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Until this post, I've mostly been just ignoring the Elon-Twitter stuff once he brought the sink. I don't use often enough so this seemed like someone else's monkey's.
Reading some of this from the twitter thread, my first thought was how it sure sounds like Musk is having a manic episode. A quick google search shows he announced he was bipolar in 2017.
My thought about him being manic was kinda a joke to myself at first. But, like, I kind of think he is having a manic episode. That really makes this just tragic to watch; especially the lives he's upending. Tragic anyway, but extra tragic if that's the case.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 5:28 PM on November 16, 2022 [9 favorites]
Reading some of this from the twitter thread, my first thought was how it sure sounds like Musk is having a manic episode. A quick google search shows he announced he was bipolar in 2017.
My thought about him being manic was kinda a joke to myself at first. But, like, I kind of think he is having a manic episode. That really makes this just tragic to watch; especially the lives he's upending. Tragic anyway, but extra tragic if that's the case.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 5:28 PM on November 16, 2022 [9 favorites]
Oliver Willis had a great observation on what this might really be about.
posted by sjswitzer at 5:33 PM on November 16, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 5:33 PM on November 16, 2022 [6 favorites]
> My thought about him being manic was kinda a joke to myself at first. But, like, I kind of think he is having a manic episode
Even when he's not having a theoretical manic episode, he still hurts people because of his narcissism, racism, sexism, transphobia, and authoritarianism.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:39 PM on November 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
Even when he's not having a theoretical manic episode, he still hurts people because of his narcissism, racism, sexism, transphobia, and authoritarianism.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:39 PM on November 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
Oh I'm not at all defending him. I just think of how bonkers the chaos he is creating seems to be, and how one person with enough money can upend so many lives, likely destroy a big tech company and all the other damage he's doing in such a short period of time, and no one really able to say "heeeeeeey Elon, you need to dial it back a bit and reassess once you are not feeling like a god."
And in retrospect, its honestly unfair of me to make the assumption of his mental health, its just that everything he is doing is so chaotic and makes so little sense, I cannot see someone in their right mind doing this and mania was the first thing that came to mind.
However, it does fit absolutely perfectly into the scifi dystopia we all find ourselves in these days. Like, this might as well be straight of a novel from my youth.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:07 PM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
And in retrospect, its honestly unfair of me to make the assumption of his mental health, its just that everything he is doing is so chaotic and makes so little sense, I cannot see someone in their right mind doing this and mania was the first thing that came to mind.
However, it does fit absolutely perfectly into the scifi dystopia we all find ourselves in these days. Like, this might as well be straight of a novel from my youth.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:07 PM on November 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
The schadenfreude would be larger if not for the fact that he could have done some real, genuine, long-lasting good for millions of people with that money. It's boring, but fuck, dude, if you're gonna just throw it away...
posted by From Bklyn at 2:35 AM on November 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 2:35 AM on November 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
I Feel the Need to Note that Twitter is full of #RIPTwitter, after mass walkouts. New York Times reports employees hanging up on the conf call as the Twit-in-Chief was talking. Everyone's badge access was revoked, offices locked down.
Folks on Twitter are exchanging new-social-media contact information, referring to it as last-day-of-camp / last-day-of-school vibes.
Some of the folks in San Francisco are not going quietly into the night, with a scrawl projected on the building, lobbing insults at the 44-Billion-Dollar-Manbaby.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:06 PM on November 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Folks on Twitter are exchanging new-social-media contact information, referring to it as last-day-of-camp / last-day-of-school vibes.
Some of the folks in San Francisco are not going quietly into the night, with a scrawl projected on the building, lobbing insults at the 44-Billion-Dollar-Manbaby.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:06 PM on November 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Some people are quite productive hopped up on mania. Who knows, maybe his skeleton crew and him once he starts to come down will be closer to profitable and the site will still work. Either way, I think folks expecting the servers to literally fry, and the apps breaking, eh, I think they'll be disappointed. There's also gonna be a lot of apocalyptic stories being stoked by folks who just lost their jobs and feel insulted, or don't like the new management.
Not an Elon fan, and couldn't care less if Twitter is doomed or not doomed; just saying stuff I think.
posted by Sunflowers Beneath the Snow at 9:36 PM on November 17, 2022
Not an Elon fan, and couldn't care less if Twitter is doomed or not doomed; just saying stuff I think.
posted by Sunflowers Beneath the Snow at 9:36 PM on November 17, 2022
Prediction: the anti-Elon message projected on the Twitter building was done by people that are gonna make the next new hotness. You just know it wasn't one person, but a group of people that started a list and everyone kept added, someone else wanted to do something with that list and this was their clever but petty little jab at a very petty man. Maybe it was a bar, maybe it was in slack, but you know there are also the fuck, we could to this better talks too.
(space Karen FTW)
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:48 PM on November 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
(space Karen FTW)
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:48 PM on November 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
OH GOD THE BUILDING I DIE LAUGHING
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:02 PM on November 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:02 PM on November 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Some people are quite productive hopped up on mania. Who knows, maybe his skeleton crew and him once he starts to come down will be closer to profitable and the site will still work.
His skeleton crew are mostly the people who can't afford to quit because they need the job for their visa. The special productivity powers of mania won't do much, if he's the only one who's manic.
posted by sohalt at 12:03 AM on November 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
His skeleton crew are mostly the people who can't afford to quit because they need the job for their visa. The special productivity powers of mania won't do much, if he's the only one who's manic.
posted by sohalt at 12:03 AM on November 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
I checked Twitter and people were talking like the whole site is just going to go dark tomorrow.
It seems more likely to me that the core functionality of posting and reading text-based Tweets will hang on for months or years, though with more and more temporary outages. If it dies, Twitter will die like a human body, shutting down peripheral systems first: moderation, 2-factor auth, video, Circles, APIs, Teams and all that stuff are likely to go first.
I'm not sure the Elongated Muskrat is even going to run out of money anytime soon: sunk cost fallacy will probably keep his other backers pouring more money in for a while.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:41 AM on November 18, 2022
It seems more likely to me that the core functionality of posting and reading text-based Tweets will hang on for months or years, though with more and more temporary outages. If it dies, Twitter will die like a human body, shutting down peripheral systems first: moderation, 2-factor auth, video, Circles, APIs, Teams and all that stuff are likely to go first.
I'm not sure the Elongated Muskrat is even going to run out of money anytime soon: sunk cost fallacy will probably keep his other backers pouring more money in for a while.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:41 AM on November 18, 2022
The only thing I find myself actually missing is that every once in a while I want to announce some random personal discovery or weird thing that happened, and I have nowhere to do it. Because I also quit Instagram and Facebook this year. Mostly I tell it to my cat now.
There's always free threads!
posted by trig at 4:50 AM on November 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
There's always free threads!
posted by trig at 4:50 AM on November 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Space Karen. It was all worth it for that.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:13 AM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Don Pepino at 6:13 AM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
ThreadReader: As an SRE and sysadmin with 10+ years of industry experience, I wanted to write up a few scenarios that are real threats to the integrity of the bird site over the coming weeks.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:21 AM on November 18, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:21 AM on November 18, 2022 [7 favorites]
The "SRE and sysadmin" thread is wholeheartedly terrifying and I don't know what any of the acronyms mean. I was going to copy/paste some examples but every subsequent point is more terrifying than the one before.
Puts the stakes in a different kind of perspective: It's funny from the side-lines but for huge swaths of people mis-management could feasibly lead to all kinds of misery and nation-state destroying shenanigans. You think the insulin prank was "fine" because it highlighted an obvious injustice/abuse? The same mechanism could lead to ... christ, fill in the blanks - I kind of wonder if Gov won't step in shortly and rein the chaos in.
posted by From Bklyn at 7:08 AM on November 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
Puts the stakes in a different kind of perspective: It's funny from the side-lines but for huge swaths of people mis-management could feasibly lead to all kinds of misery and nation-state destroying shenanigans. You think the insulin prank was "fine" because it highlighted an obvious injustice/abuse? The same mechanism could lead to ... christ, fill in the blanks - I kind of wonder if Gov won't step in shortly and rein the chaos in.
posted by From Bklyn at 7:08 AM on November 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
It seems more likely to me that the core functionality of posting and reading text-based Tweets will hang on for months or years, though with more and more temporary outages.
Digital systems generally don't degrade gracefully like that; they tend to fall over all at once. Like who is going to fix Twitter if something like Heartbleed, WannaCry, or ILOVEYOU strikes or they are the target of a DDoS attack like Dyn in 2016? Is there anyone left who could even figure out what outside contractor to call or how to pay them if they can't fix it in house?
posted by Mitheral at 7:30 AM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Digital systems generally don't degrade gracefully like that; they tend to fall over all at once. Like who is going to fix Twitter if something like Heartbleed, WannaCry, or ILOVEYOU strikes or they are the target of a DDoS attack like Dyn in 2016? Is there anyone left who could even figure out what outside contractor to call or how to pay them if they can't fix it in house?
posted by Mitheral at 7:30 AM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
And if your DNS registration lapses, someone can steal your site! Forever!
This happened (well not the forever part) to Microsoft - Twice. At a time when they theoretically had it all together.
posted by Mitheral at 7:49 AM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
This happened (well not the forever part) to Microsoft - Twice. At a time when they theoretically had it all together.
posted by Mitheral at 7:49 AM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Last I checked Twitterâs main TLS/SSL certificate expires Dec 15. Will anyone remember to update it? Will anyone remember how?
posted by sjswitzer at 11:30 AM on November 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 11:30 AM on November 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Covfefe is for coders â L. Ron Musk
posted by sjswitzer at 9:17 PM on November 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 9:17 PM on November 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
You can say that again.
posted by y2karl at 7:12 PM on November 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by y2karl at 7:12 PM on November 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
After reading May Kasahara's istwitterdownyet.com above, my hatred for Elon Musk is visceral. Forget the testing. Send him to Mars forthwith a.s.a.p.
posted by y2karl at 1:07 PM on November 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 1:07 PM on November 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
⊠this all reminds me of a friendâs manic episode - didnât cost them 44billion, thousands of jobs and god knows what heart-ache, but still it had the same tone and a similar heedlessness. It is the opposite of fun to watch.
posted by From Bklyn at 8:16 PM on November 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 8:16 PM on November 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
No. He's still a billionaire and this is still funny.
Not only has Musk been very stupid, he carried out his idiotic plan with incredible arrogance and breathtaking cruelty. And as a result, he's been in the hot seat for, what, 3 weeks? It's fine.
posted by ryanrs at 1:09 AM on November 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Not only has Musk been very stupid, he carried out his idiotic plan with incredible arrogance and breathtaking cruelty. And as a result, he's been in the hot seat for, what, 3 weeks? It's fine.
posted by ryanrs at 1:09 AM on November 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Elder Rubber Asylum@Rubberasylumposted by sebastienbailard at 6:03 AM on November 21, 2022 [5 favorites]Grandpa? Why do we celebrate the holiday?
Sit on my lap son & let grandpa tell you the story of this day
You see, twitter only had enough engineers remaining to keep it running for one more night, but it miraculously kept working for eight nights
We burn a Tesla in remembrance
4:06 PM · Nov 18, 2022 ·Twitter for Android
Meta employees bribed for taking over accounts
It always felt like FB accounts were being compromised "too often", maybe all the grandparents contributed, but still..
posted by jeffburdges at 4:30 AM on November 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
It always felt like FB accounts were being compromised "too often", maybe all the grandparents contributed, but still..
posted by jeffburdges at 4:30 AM on November 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
After watching him -- and it's not like we have any choice in the matter -- for the past two weeks, I am struck at the corner into which he has painted himself. He's a Never Wrong and the Man Who Owns the World -- like a Donald Trump with money and half a brain. He takes no advice, makes no apology but, man, his Achilles heel is he's the Biggest Bottomless Well of Need in the World. And he is dissolving into the black hole of his gargantuan cyclopean neediness before our enslaved eyes. Now he tweets crap DeSantisized Fauci this, woke that feral fascism non stop -- fearless, confident and so full of shit it runs out nis nose and drips from his eyes.
Like Trump, he is an emotional three year old.
And best candidate for the Anti-Christ for our times: I just hope we survive him. If thought has any metamaterial substance, I fear he may foot in mouth need collapse into a naked singularity like Igli in Glory Road and suck us all through an event horizon where we do not want to go. Man, I would hate to be his Media Manager right now. What a meltdown.
[Must Not Think about Elon Musk] [Must Not Think about Elon Musk] [Must Not Think about Elon Musk]
posted by y2karl at 2:38 PM on December 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Like Trump, he is an emotional three year old.
And best candidate for the Anti-Christ for our times: I just hope we survive him. If thought has any metamaterial substance, I fear he may foot in mouth need collapse into a naked singularity like Igli in Glory Road and suck us all through an event horizon where we do not want to go. Man, I would hate to be his Media Manager right now. What a meltdown.
[Must Not Think about Elon Musk] [Must Not Think about Elon Musk] [Must Not Think about Elon Musk]
posted by y2karl at 2:38 PM on December 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by dnash at 9:35 AM on November 15, 2022 [9 favorites]