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  1. #1

    Twitter is locking accounts that swear at famous people

    Twitter is locking accounts that swear at famous people

    Last night, developer Victoria Fierce had some harsh words for Vice President Mike Pence. Incensed over the Trump administration’s recent rollback of transgender protections, Fierce let loose on Pence. “Fuck you,” she tweeted. “I gotta piss, and you’re putting me — an American — in danger of assault by your white supremacist brothers.”

    Almost immediately, she got the notification. Twitter had detected “potentially abusive activity” on her account, and put her in temporary timeout as a result. For the next 12 hours, only followers could see her tweets — which meant she wouldn’t be able to lobby the Vice President.

    It’s part of a broader shift in the way Twitter deals with abuse — one that’s drawn fire from many of the same communities calling for stronger enforcement. In some cases, the account-lock could even be triggered by quote-tweeting a profanity-laced tweet, since the resulting tweet would include both profanity and the source’s handle.

    Still, the abrupt notification caught Fierce by surprise. “It was just one tweet,” Fierce told The Verge, “and certainly not the first time I've told an elected official to fuck off.”

    Twitter says the account throttling is tied to changes that began rolling out last week designed to diminish the reach of abusive accounts. When Twitter determines that an account is being abusive — using criteria that the company has declined to describe in any detail — it hides the account's tweets from anyone who isn't following it. The restrictions last for a set period of time, typically 12 hours for a first offense.

    For the average recipient of abuse, that's good news: when a troll quote-tweets you with an insult, you simply won't see it. But the limits are raising new questions in light of the political speech that is often hosted on Twitter. The average person has an expectation that their account will not receive insulting tweets on a regular basis. But what about, say, the president of the United States?

    All the high-profile incidents have involved verified accounts, but a spokeswoman told The Verge that Twitter's content filters do not currently distinguish between types of accounts. A single tweet will not trigger its filters — you can quote-tweet Vice President Mike Pence and call him a dick if you want to — but a "pattern" of abuse will. The company has declined to offer more details about what constitute a pattern or triggers its content filters, saying that trolls will use the information to game the system. But in The Verge’s own tests, single instances of abuse were not enough to trigger the block.

    The content filters are continually evolving, the spokeswoman said, and Twitter is "thinking a lot about" the use of strong language in relation to political speech.

    The shift comes after sustained criticism of the way Twitter handles abuse, which Twitter has often struggled to respond to. Earlier this year, the company removed notifications telling users that they’ve been added to a list — ostensibly a response to abusive or hostile list names — only to quickly roll back the change after users complained it might actually enable abuse.

    For Fierce, the new lockdowns fall victim to a similar problem. “Politically, I think this sends a message that Twitter considers all forms of abuse equal,” she says. “To their systems, a white supremacist calling for shooting a person of color is just as bad as an angry Latinx renter telling their city's rent board to fuck off.”
    Remember activists, when you lobby for rules, they apply to you too! No more of this "rules for thee, but not for me" dumbshittery.

    FUCKING LOL.
    Unreason and anti-intellectualism abominate thought. Thinking implies disagreement; and disagreement implies nonconformity; and nonconformity implies heresy; and heresy implies disloyalty — so, obviously, thinking must be stopped. But shouting is not a substitute for thinking and reason is not the subversion but the salvation of freedom. - Adlai Stevenson

  2. #2
    Deleted
    But how will I maintain my right wing witch hunt victim complex now?! Facebook better not follow suit, or I'll have to take drastic measures to make people believe that I am being oppressed!

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Livnthedream View Post
    Twitter is locking accounts that swear at famous people



    Remember activists, when you lobby for rules, they apply to you too! No more of this "rules for thee, but not for me" dumbshittery.

    FUCKING LOL.
    It's oddly beautiful.

    Even better is the white supremacist thing. Like those douchebags existing means rules don't get to apply to them.

  4. #4
    You shouldn't say fuck you to people, say "I strongly disagree with your decision". "Fuck you" just makes people dig trenches and settle in for a siege.
    .

    "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

    -- Capt. Copeland

  5. #5
    If they do that, shouldn't they lock them if they swear at anyone? Why should famous people get special treatment?

  6. #6
    Easy fix. Fuck Twitter.

  7. #7
    Stood in the Fire Cherrytie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lemposs View Post
    But how will I maintain my right wing witch hunt victim complex now?! Facebook better not follow suit, or I'll have to take drastic measures to make people believe that I am being oppressed!
    Nah facebook stays classy

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cherrytie View Post
    Nah facebook stays classy
    Well being racist and report a foreign group just because of that will not get anyone anywhere.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cherrytie View Post
    Nah facebook stays classy
    From what I can find it was taken down, but then again some of the first searches is Inforwars and the Donald subreddit, I'll take it with a pinch of salt

  10. #10
    Merely a Setback Sunseeker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Allybeboba View Post
    If they do that, shouldn't they lock them if they swear at anyone? Why should famous people get special treatment?
    Because famous people will sue the shit out of Twitter.
    Human progress isn't measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on a life.

    Just, be kind.

  11. #11
    Are they banning trolls? Wow, what a shocker.

  12. #12
    What would happened to the "Celebrities read mean tweets" series?!


  13. #13
    How dare they not accept what is generally unaccepted behaviour in almost any other context.
    Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -Thomas Jefferson

  14. #14
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    So lots of people call for tougher action against trolls and abusive behavior and twitter, twitter starts banning abusive people, I am shocked.

  15. #15
    Safe spaces come with a price.

  16. #16
    Void Lord Doctor Amadeus's Avatar
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    As someone who swears often, I do approve of this, honestly I am in total support of good sense taking over the internet, it's LONG over due.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Xandrigity View Post
    Safe spaces come with a price.
    Yeah, not having to listen to the stupidity of random idiots with potty mouths.
    Milli Vanilli, Bigger than Elvis

  17. #17
    The Unstoppable Force PC2's Avatar
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    I think we can expect more of this from the big social media sites. As they transitions from growth to maturity it makes sense to replace manual moderation with more automated filters.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Peggle View Post
    So lots of people call for tougher action against trolls and abusive behavior and twitter, twitter starts banning abusive people, I am shocked.
    They are banning the wrong people though. Remember, it is good to be abusive as long as you are "punching up" for the right cause!
    Unreason and anti-intellectualism abominate thought. Thinking implies disagreement; and disagreement implies nonconformity; and nonconformity implies heresy; and heresy implies disloyalty — so, obviously, thinking must be stopped. But shouting is not a substitute for thinking and reason is not the subversion but the salvation of freedom. - Adlai Stevenson

  19. #19
    The Unstoppable Force THE Bigzoman's Avatar
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    Private company. They can do what they want.

    Actions have consequences.

    Fuck off

  20. #20
    Conflating what anyone does on twitter with lobbying is just laughable.

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