I am not leaving Twitter

[FelineOverlord]

Until it crashes and burns (likely) or I am banned (also likely after what I tweeted back to Elon and Jack Dorsey).

I will never capitulate to the forces of evil.

I will not let it become a RW echo chamber for domestic terrorists.

Besides, we have the GA runoffs in a couple of weeks!

Link to tweet

[HAB911]

1. haven't left yet

I relish the thought that he goes through this exercise to allow TFG back and he doesn't return because of TSocial

[PatSeg]

58. I haven't officially left

but I never liked Twitter in the first place, so it is really easy for me to just stay away. I never saw the value of Twitter and I've known people who got addicted to it. For many people, it isn't healthy and often serves no real purpose.

[HAB911]

62. I'm the same way

I've come to use it for immediate breaking news, never engage with anyone especially RWNJs

[PatSeg]

63. I get breaking news in my email

from the New York Times and if I'm interested in a story, I can read an actual article that is more than 250 characters. Then if I want to discuss something current, I can come here and have some meaningful exchanges instead of "tweet and run" from people I'll probably never interact with again.

[marble falls]

2. Turn off the lights and lock up when you finally leave.

[Hortensis]

3. Agree. Twitter's not only an international town square where many

of humanity's brightest and best involved share information with each other and the world, but -- as would have to be for a place where that happens -- Twitter overall leans LIBERAL.

[LeftInTX]

14. I just don't think closing my account will have an impact

When corporate and media leaves, then it will die a natural death

I rarely tweet anyway. I don't even scroll twitter, but I do read essential posts on DU and other places where I see embedded tweets.

[Hortensis]

23. :) We'll get to see. Twitter always lost money, but advertisers can be

brought back, as can participants like you and me. But the communities of minds from every field and important event who post there can't just be quickly wooed back if they reestablish elsewhere.

Just imagine if the people reporting from inside what's happening in Iran, and experts analyzing it all, did it elsewhere.

This is so amazing to watch. Who'da thought? No surprise tRump's been given his giant communication capability back again, though.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

29. Exactly. Ditto what you said!!! I have lost

followers and are seeing lots of rw garbage that I never saw before tho. A lot you can tell are bots. But just have to ignore cuz you could spend way too much time blocking.

[Hortensis]

42. :) Interesting view from the town square. Hang in there.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

66. Are you on Twitter?

Just looked and saw that I lost another 30 followers. And I can't help but think that no one would take the time to unfollow people before they left. Must mean that if you actually deactivate your account it must remove the link to all the people you follow?? But like someone said it's not an easy thing to deactivate.

[Hortensis]

67. Hmmm, must. I have an account but have used it almost entirely to

read tweets. At one time, some time ago, I started posting info on political media coverage but got really busy for a while and didn't continue. Send your account name and pick up a follower who should always have been.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

68. I'm @noladoll ( used to live in Quarter)

But no worries ... Fading too fast lol

[yardwork]

16. Well said.

[paleotn]

34. The thing about electronic town squares....

They're relatively easy to replicate. The question in my mind is how long can humanity's brightest and best stand the cesspool Twitter is bound to become? There were already problems with what policing it did have pre man-child. With the org now gutted, there's few if any to watch the content store. My prediction is utter chaos within 6 months.

[Emrys]

47. If it was that easy, it would have been done.

None of the options currently available offer anything like the breadth and reach and variety of Twitter, warts and all, and none are likely to do so for quite a number of years. They're either rival behemoths, like Facebook (which I wouldn't touch with a bargepole for a variety of reasons), or relative backwaters.

[Hortensis]

59. Good question, though noting that their parts aren't where

the sewage tends to collect, at least most of them. You could be right anyway. One political user said yesterday that Twitter felt dirtier (tRump reinstated), and that distaste may become pervasive. He's directing followers to a new platform.

I got a kick, though, out of a new genre of posts from other account holders rolling their eyes at the idea that they'd be among those thrown and anxious at what's happening.

"...me concerned? My dear, I'm... an anthropologist, an evolutionary psychologist living through a golden era of material, an anarcho-socialist revolutionary leader (my motto's "the ABSOLUTELY worse the better" ), an astrophysicist, a collector of ancient pornography pre- and post- civilizational collapses."

[bucolic_frolic]

4. It will eventually slide far to the right and become irrelevant to social discourse

Until such time we should maintain a sequestered presence of liberal thought

[Laura PourMeADrink]

32. So far ( knock on wood). Still only seeing exactly who

I want to see in my feed of people and orgs to follow. Took years to cultivate... Hope it doesn't go away. That will definitely be the end if I have to weed thru nutcases.

[Johonny]

5. No thanks

Deleted on the news of Trump. I won't be back.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

33. He's not posting

[paleotn]

36. It's the point that counts.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Or since we may have not done a great job at calling out

his crazy, let him do it himself strategy

Besides, I saw a survey one time of things trump lovers DIDN'T like about trump and excessive crazy tweets was on the top! If he ever starts up again. Truth Social has to go down first?

[paleotn]

40. One or the other will probably collapse....

His presence is the only thing keeping "Truth" afloat.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

65. Who got $17 b from Saudis??

[C_U_L8R]

6. I've stayed but am not tweeting, sharing or liking.

And definitely not looking at or clicking ads.

Perhaps it’s dumpster fire curiosity.

I don't think Twitter can reverse its fortunes with Musk at the helm. He's quickly proven himself totally incompetent and entirely unfamiliar with managing a consumer social media enterprise. If he had any sense, he'd banish himself from the platform and bring in a solid CEO to lead the Twitter team and repair the damage he's done.

[Tree Lady]

30. Same here but other than email

I gave no phone number or address. Last thing I did was vote no on Trump coming back.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

37. Good point. He needs to be a 100% silent partner.

[Celerity]

7. Same.

[NewHendoLib]

8. I departed it - and FB - a few years ago - two of the best decisions I've ever made.

[JuJuChen]

9. Elon knows you're not leaving Twitter, and he has a wonderful plan for your life....

[gulliver]

10. Trump's right if he stays away from Twitter now

Musk "allowing" Trump back onto the platform puts Musk in a position of status over Trump. The message warnings about some tweet containing disputed information are weak sauce. Musk can mock Trump to much greater effect. The way to fight disinformation is with bold free speech, not priggish tsk-tsking or canned, say-nothing warnings.

[Bettie]

11. Not willing to cede any more ground to the fascists

they can boot me off or they can go down, but I'm staying.

[barbtries]

12. certainly it's your choice.

i have deactivated my account, but i'm still on fb along with most of my extended family scattered to all corners of the USA. a lot of people think it's wrong. it's my choice and it's yours.

[Mz Pip]

13. I haven't left, either.

I won’t pay to stay but until I have to I’ll do my part in debunking the RWNJs.

[yardwork]

15. I enjoy reading people on Twitter and I hope it survives.

For one thing, it's often hilarious.

[Emrys]

17. Same.

They'll have to drag my mouse out of my sweaty, Cheeto-stained hands.

[Emrys]

18. Let me be self-indulgent for a minute and copy something I posted as a reply elsewhere, FWIW.

It's the closest I've gotten to summarizing my mindset and stubbornness about refusing to be driven off, and I don't think DU needs yet another OP about Twitter at the moment:

Other than from time to time re-posting content from Twitter on DU, Musk doesn't really make any money from me at the moment. Given the state of Twitter's advertising, any clicks that generates aren't very well monetized anyway. If he tries to change that, I'll certainly reconsider and weigh the pros and cons.

I'm a somewhat strange user in that I've never tweeted! I started an account solely because I wanted more control over what I saw on Twitter and my experience of it.

I think there's a mindset among some of us older (ex-)activists - those who're old enough to have been around during the days of cyclostyled leaflets tapped out on ancient typewriters by candlelight, desperate small or large demos to try to make an impact, NVDA and the resulting court cases, letters to papers, phone trees, mailed newsletters, all that sort of stuff, but not cowed by new technology - that boggles at the tools available nowadays and wonders what the world might have been like now if they'd been available back in the day when there were more prospects of disarmament, more time to combat climate change etc., etc.

Being resourceful in those days often meant hijacking media and assets of the state that we might have disapproved of. Conceiving of what's going on as a Twitter insurgency might be a bit grandiose, but quite a few people on DU have certainly enjoyed some of the verbal beatings Musk has taken on Twitter in the last few weeks!

And as I've pointed out a few times, when I joined Twitter, Trump was very active there. Nevertheless, I saw much more of Trump and his tweets on DU than I ever did on Twitter because I generally blocked or ignored his output there.

[Swede]

19. I'm staying.

News from Ukraine, Iran instantly before you. NATO, US government and so many others post daily.

[LeftInTX]

64. Yeah, that's why I don't delete it..breaking news..heck the NWS uses twitter.

[ancianita]

20. I celebrate this.

Never been on Twitter. But I've seen its influence on corporate media framing of politics. Jeff Tiedrich is one influencer.

Recent on the ground Tweets can do what corporate media don't -- provide instant facts.
One example from corporate MSNBC that un-framed everything other media have said for at least six years (including MSNBC).

Link to tweet

This fact debunked two arguments even our elected leaders have made -- Once and for all, Democrats don't have a "messaging problem"; that voters and Democrats are in touch with each other, even if Democrats don't get enough straight ticket voting.

I'm with Tweeters who won't let capitalist platforms promote corporate fascist divisive messaging.


Here's a Florida guy who does a good job at that. Jim Wright on Stonekettle.

https://twitter.com/Stonekettle

[ancianita]

24. Also

[Emrys]

45. Jim Wright has long been a gem.

His writings used to only be available on his blog or via re-posts. It's great to see him gain a wider readership.

[ancianita]

48. A gem, but also former military and intel. He's logical & clear but I never heard of "former" intel.

He's strictstrict in demanding that you ask permission before you repost him.

So I can see why he hasn't been posted here. I just emailed asking permission. I'll see if he responds.

[Emrys]

49. His background is a not insignificant part of his appeal to me.

He set me on the road of seeking voices online who weren't the usual sorts of people I'd encounter in real life.

That was something of a turning point for me in raking through all the information and opinion out there, and I've found many others since who certainly don't share all my beliefs but have valuable insights to offer.

[ancianita]

61. Same here.

I appreciate your history of looking for wide ranging sources and insights. He attracts me for similar reasons. But from what I've learned about the intelligence world, they're never really out of that arena. He could have just meant that by "intelligence officer," he had some classified clearance during his military tenure. We don't know. But it does me pause, although I intend to keep checking in on him.

[brooklynite]

21. I'm staying as well...

[relayerbob]

22. Agreed

Leaving only emboldens the bullies. I have backups on Mastodon, and elsewhere, as there is a greater than zero chance Twitter will just crash hard.

[Pluvious]

25. I'm staying to watch how it all unravels... For a good list and...

…explanation on what all can go wrong, read :

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217394573

[Traildogbob]

26. I was banned for

Life for calling Tomi Lauren a Street Lamp Post appendage about 3 years ago. Ya think Musty, will do a pole to reinstate me?

[paleotn]

38. Same here.

Lost it on an MTG rant and was banished forever. I still stand by what I typed.

[Bev54]

27. As long as you are quite willing to have your personal information sold

to foreign countries, then fine. You must understand he has to make money somehow and you are a product to be sold.

[GoodRaisin]

35. We have a winner.

The very reason I’m off Twitter and Facebook. And tired of having my privacy stomped all over.

[Emrys]

44. Anyone who isn't careful about what information they disclose to online entities

is either very brave or very foolish, or has measured the risk and decided it's worth it and doesn't matter a hill of beans.

Twitter has the absolute bare minimum information on me required to let me set up an account.

It's actually far less than I've given DU, which has my real-life email address and payment details.

[Bev54]

50. You don't need financial and email to gather an incredible amount of information

on people using twitter.

[Emrys]

51. Well, they can no doubt see what accounts I check in on regularly.

Other than that, I never tweet, I never reply, retweet or like, and I vote on the occasional poll, not expecting that doing so will have any real meaning whatsoever.

They have my login nym and the email address I gave them, apart from that they have nothing. Good luck to Musk making his interest payments on my back. Hell, I almost certainly cost him money.

[Bev54]

52. Well that is you but many are tweeting regularly

[Emrys]

53. What in my first reply to you gave you the idea I was talking about anyone but myself? n/t

[Bev54]

54. My original post was to the OP

[Emrys]

55. Well, it was couched in terms of "you", so I responded accordingly.

I wasn't aware you weren't using "you" in the sense of the generic "one" and were having a private exchange with the OP.

[Bev54]

56. Oh please, just stop

[Emrys]

57. It takes two to tango n/t

[LudwigPastorius]

28. I never had an account, and now...

I never will.

[Lucinda]

31. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[LetMyPeopleVote]

41. I am staying for now

I have a high tolerance for BS

[Takket]

43. I quit, and was hestitant about it for about 48 hours.......

until Musk amplified the right wing conspiracy about the Paul Pelosi attack, and I have not regretted leaving for an instant since then. I had also promised myself that reinstating drumpf was a red line i would not cross.

I have not deleted my account and remain hopeful that Musk will either bail out, bankrupt out, or simply admit he doesn't know how to run a company (LOL. no way) and twitter might pull out of its nosedive.

I've considered Masatdon but with none of the people I enjoy following there, there seems to be little point to signing up for it

[nini]

46. I was raised boycotting companies who did things against the greater good.

People need to relearn that and not enable fascists like Musk in any way.

[Cha]

60. Yeah, I understand.. I'm

there until the bitter end.

All I do is Rt those who are Fighting to Save Our Democracy, anyway.