Phil Landmeier @shuttersparks@social.cleverlibre.org

Both #Google and #Apple will soon be facing an uncomfortable and crucial inflection point, brought about by Elon's #Twitter.

The terms of service for both firms' mobile app stores prohibit hate speech and a variety of other kinds of toxic speech that are rapidly becoming the norm on Twitter under Musk, and that (judging from his continuing statements) could soon become the majority of posts on the platform.

While it is arguable how well both Apple and Google have handled apps up to now that catered to the far right end of the political spectrum from day one, Twitter is a different case, since it has had (at least up to now) a much broader spectrum of users who by and large are not as tolerant of the kinds of speech on which most users of those other platforms thrive. The same can be said of most advertisers, many of whom have already paused their Twitter ad buys out of concerns regarding Musk's behavior and actions. Yet another factor is EU regulations that specifically prohibit much of the kinds of speech that Musk is now gleefully inviting back onto the platform.

The situation is complicated by many firms and municipalities using Twitter for important announcements, but as Twitter skews toward catering to fascism these entities would be wise to plan for other communications channels as soon as possible.

More imminently, it is likely that both Google and Apple, along with various of Twitter's infrastructure providers (some of whom, reportedly, haven't been paid for bills that preceded Elon's coronation), will be under pressure to reassess their participation in an increasingly toxic Twitter ecosystem. In the cases of Apple and Google, the calls for them to enforce their Terms of Service as written can only be ignored at the firms' own peril over time.

This will be an ethical test on a grand scale. We will all be watching. -L

@shuttersparks Or as I've seen it put: We're not locked in here with him, he's locked in here with us.

I sat by an election denier on the airplane and he started poking me in the arm to be emphatic about his views on people stealing ballots secretly and the airplane was full and I couldn’t move anywhere so I started explaining the yellow fever in very great detail, all the way down to telling him about the bloody vomit that looks like coffee grounds and it worked. He stopped talking to me. The moral of this story is you can’t out-weird an academic; our toolset is too vast. #vastearlyamerica

Just got a notice from our reputation tracking service that they can no longer guarantee takedowns on the birdsite because, well, nobody's around to respond to requests.

This open door for abuse is a long way from getting shut.

#InfoSec #CyberSecurity

More excuses from Elon. Now he's saying that he didn't create the promised #Twitter content moderation council because political/social groups "starving" Twitter of advertising broke "the deal". Hogwash. Advertisers are bailing because his behavior is chaotic and they're already seeing a massive increase in content on Twitter that is unacceptable to them.

And if Elon was actually dedicated to the content moderation council idea (fat chance!), he could *still* easily find experts to serve of every political persuasion, from around the world -- who have no affiliation with any activist groups nor advertisers.

The much more likely reality is that he either never really intended to form the council, or if he had formed the council he would have ignored any advice from it that conflicted with his mood of the hour.

He's not fooling anybody.

@pivoinebleue I really hope that Bolsonaro doesn't resort to an autogolpe to remain in power.
It certainly sounds as if he's considering one.
#Politics #Bolsonaro #autogolpe

Where do I find the Toots that want me to
1) raise my hand if I agree,
2) reply in the next hour with a specific hashtag, or
3) reply to get a followback?

It's almost like no one is being paid for their influence/engagement here.

#politics #twittermigation #twitter

Living in L.A. my entire life, I've met a lot of celebrities just in the course of ordinary activities. That's just the way L.A. is. But one of the high points was definitely meeting Larry Fine of "The Three Stooges".

He was suffering the effects of a stroke and was in a wheelchair, but he still had his sense of humor.

I remember this very fondly every time I watch those wonderful Stooges shorts ...

Obviously there are a number of firms now rushing to deploy #Twitter "replacements" -- some being planned, some up in beta, others beyond that. Some other platforms that have been in place much longer are now positioning themselves to try pull over as many Twitter expats as possible.

It is very much unclear to me how this will shake out, in the short, medium, and long terms.

I sense that among a significant percentage of Twitter users, their confidence in any private firm controlling their social media experience has been badly shaken by Musk's actions. Other firms trying to attract those users may have a difficult time doing so for long, especially if those users now find the #Mastodon ecosystem to be sufficiently functional, without the risk of billionaires coming along and sucking it into seas of chaos -- a risk that will continue to exist for most firms.

That said, the challenges facing Mastodon are profound -- in terms of technology, policies, and more, and the probability of major scaling problems proving to be intractable in a practical sense is far from small.

All of the above is easy to say. Unfortunately, predicting where this is going to lead is a much tougher challenge, and in a way we are only at the start of the social media journey, jolted into high gear by Twitter's rapid deterioration.

It will be a very bumpy, but definitely interesting ride. -L

Mr. G is not here (yet). If/when he arrives he will use this account. Do not accept any other account claiming to be Neil Gaiman.

-- the web goblin

My humble base station. #hamradio #cw #morse

Midterms are over, Republicans said gas prices would surge because Biden was keeping them artificially low.

Um, gas prices here have plummeted after the midterms, now sub-$3 again.

#random #politics

Mystery object time! What is it?

Removed from a Male to Female BNC thing. Plate in the middle is a spacer, ie. has no circuit purpose.

Math will get you within 2 ohms of measured resistance. Resistors are 2.44mm/0.096" thick and 6.13mm/0.241" long

https://www.connectorpeople.com/Connector/TYCO-AMP-TE_CONNECTIVITY/1/1310751-1

Thanksgiving hack. Three ingredients, better than the cooked stuff.

Ah, one of the great #climate and #reporters from the LA Times is here, @ianjames -- give him a follow!

The Supreme Court Just Handed A Blow To Black and Latino Voters In Texas

The Supreme Court just declined to hear an appeal by Black and Hispanic Texas voters who were accusing the Republican-led legislators of redrawing state Senate districts to intentionally diminish their voting power, according to Reuters. A panel of three judges decided although the new state Senate map may “disproportionately affect minority voters” in Tarrant County, there was no evidence indicating that the legislature’s “true intent was racial.” #Texas #gerrymandering #Politics

https://flip.it/vAGnFQ