Re: The Elon Musk Appreciation Thread

[CBarca]

You know, I don't have a Twitter so I really had no idea how funny Elon was until I checked his Twitter feed yesterday. Dude is hilarious

Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022

It depends on if you find a grown man acting like an edgelord funny or not.

I'm not even an Elon hater by any means, I find that type just as annoying as his fanboys, but it's hard to find much in common with him, or very much to like about him personally. As said, man is a little too much of an edgelord for me, and too often he's completely disingenuous while acting self righteous. I like his work with Tesla, although I'm ignorant to the many allegations people make about his workplace.

[sportsczy]

Actually, he's not disingenuous.  He got into EV when it was considered an absolute loser and was laughed at... he got into space tech when it was literally dead in the US.  Only reason we have a space program right now is Elon Musk.  NASA's budget was slashed to literally nothing.

Now, he's taking on trying to fix bias in social media...  with everyone laughing at him and calling it impossible in today's political environment.

Heck, he took on visa/amex/mastercard with Paypal when that was considered a ridiculous gamble.

You may not like his sense of humor and communication... but you can't deny that he makes some wild statements and literally almost always ends up backing it up despite the odds.

Is he sometimes immature and irresponsible?  Sure he is.  I'm in crypto pretty heavily.  His statements on bitcoin and his endorsement of Dogecoin (which imo is a complete scam) bugged me... because although I know the Dogecoin play was just for fun, people do take him very seriously.

All in all, the world is a much better place for an Elon Musk being there as opposed to not.  That's my benchmark.  He's done far far more good than harm.

And btw, his talk of open source algorithms and a trustless social media platform... screams of Web3. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Twitter became the first Web3 implementation at scale. Totally something he would do.

[Myesyats]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519735033950470144

oh yea dude definitely has his political intentions... but i guess which multi-billionaire in the world doesn't.

Kanye/Elon ticket for 2024, let's get it

So, according to Elon, the gop conservative is in the same spot now as in 2008?

I appreciate his Tesla and SpaceX work but his twitter output and political takes are retarded. And Elon isnt in the same spot either, far from it since in 2008 he was almost out of cash and now he's richer than Bezos

[CBarca]

Ability in business ventures and vision =\= not being a disingenuous person

[Pedram]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519735033950470144

oh yea dude definitely has his political intentions... but i guess which multi-billionaire in the world doesn't.

Kanye/Elon ticket for 2024, let's get it

He must be trolling if he thinks the right has stayed the same as they were in 2008.

[BarrileteCosmico]

All things considered I'd rather have a 21st century media baron who bets on too little censorship than too much

[Pedram]

[CBarca]

All things considered I'd rather have a 21st century media baron who bets on too little censorship than too much

I agree with this in general [if there was a problem with Twitter's "censorship"]

I'd also agree with this in general [if resorting to only illegal speech being outlawed didn't make Twitter an absolute fucking wasteland of pornography, beheadings, hate speech, and other shit that basically destroys any idea of a productive place of communication]

I actually don't use Twitter much but I appreciate it as a medium of communication that a lot of people rely on to have good discussions and debate/communicate directly with others. Same as I appreciate GL. So its fate is mildly important to me.

Speaking of GL, if we applied Elon to here, we'd still have what's his face screaming racist shit every week instead of getting banned.

[El Gunner]

1. There is indeed a problem with Twitter's censorship (as per how the previous ownership applied it)
2. From my understanding there will still be regulation under Elon because logically there just has to be, you can't just let people run amok and say what they want to say, that would be chaos.

Basically unlawful shit will still be controlled.
- Pornography is legal, so I do not get why you hating on it
- Hate speech is against the law but as we know there is a grey area around anything involving language and it's use, how anything can be manipulated and deflected through semantics... so that can get exploited, just as it would under any type of ownership. The difference here I suspect is that we won't see more right-leaning people getting banned for whatever reasons as they were under the previous clearly left-leaning ownership. Under previous ownership, there was so much weird, diabolical shit that the leftists also said about the right, and i use Twitter a lot, so I could see the clear bias. So hopefully, Elon tries his best to keep everything as fair as possible.

3. Beheadings??

[MindYourThinking]

[FennecFox7]

Contrarian video with no basis in reality.

[CBarca]

This dude was asked to comment on his sexual harassment and in 3 hours must have consulted with his PR teams and decided that his best option was to get out ahead of it by claiming he's a Republican now and that "The Dems" are going to try and play dirty and attack him, using dirty tricks like accusing him of sexual harassment! [All the reporting for the story happened prior to his "switch"]. Did he think all of this wouldn't be so absolutely obvious, either?

I'm not gonna comment on the allegations themselves. Just the comedy of the response.

[CBarca]

1. There is indeed a problem with Twitter's censorship (as per how the previous ownership applied it)
2. From my understanding there will still be regulation under Elon because logically there just has to be, you can't just let people run amok and say what they want to say, that would be chaos.

Basically unlawful shit will still be controlled.
- Pornography is legal, so I do not get why you hating on it
- Hate speech is against the law but as we know there is a grey area around anything involving language and it's use, how anything can be manipulated and deflected through semantics... so that can get exploited, just as it would under any type of ownership. The difference here I suspect is that we won't see more right-leaning people getting banned for whatever reasons as they were under the previous clearly left-leaning ownership. Under previous ownership, there was so much weird, diabolical shit that the leftists also said about the right, and i use Twitter a lot, so I could see the clear bias. So hopefully, Elon tries his best to keep everything as fair as possible.

3. Beheadings??

All the things listed are what a feed on Twitter in Elon's world would immediately become. A toxic wasteland. If you're interested, try and find anyone who does content moderation and listen to them.

As for right vs left, there is a recent study that comes out, I can link it if you like, that actually supports the idea that Twitter is not conservatively or liberally biased to a major degree when it comes to banning, it's that Twitter will ban based on misinformation, and conservatives tend to be much more likely to share misinformation. This is absolutely not a problem, and both conservatives and liberals agree that misinformation should be something a site like Twitter intervenes on.

The idea that Twitter is biased against conservatives is a narrative people are buying into because it *feels* correct. Not because it is. I get it, I see where people are coming from. It's just an incorrect notion

[FennecFox7]

“Toxic wasteland” is your opinion. Just because you don’t agree with something being said doesn’t make it a “toxic wasteland”. No ones opinion is right or wrong. It’s an opinion. This is what the left has forgotten and continues to forget, all while being slaughtered by republicans in elections.

You can link all the studies you want, but studies on social trends tend to be wildly biased and inaccurate depending on who’s doing the study, and Twitter has a VERY extreme left bias, to the point where being an actual communist is normalized. Nothing wrong with that btw, freedom of speech, let them do their thing. But that is the idea one would get using Twitter. Going in the opposite direction is perfectly reasonable and fair

[CBarca]

It's easier to respond to my criticism by framing it as "hurr durr he doesn't like conservative opinions" when that's literally not what I'm saying at all

It's easier to respond to my criticism by saying "hurr durr the studies are ideologically biased from the beginning so you can't trust them" and then just going with your gut feeling that you *think* Twitter is SO OBVIOUSLY LEFT because there's like COMMUNISTS on there. There's fascists on Twitter too buddy.

But deliberately misinterpreting my statements isn't really good faith arguing, and neither is disregarding actual data because it doesn't "feel" right

[Myesyats]

No ones opinion is right or wrong. It’s an opinion.

MY opinion is that minorities should be enslaved.

I'm not wrong huh

[FennecFox7]

No ones opinion is right or wrong. It’s an opinion.

MY opinion is that minorities should be enslaved.

I'm not wrong huh

Strawman argument. But I’ll entertain you even though you’re arguing in bad faith.

let’s say you’re allowed to say that. It is your opinion. And guess what, people are going to call you out for being a complete idiot for saying that. So yeah, go ahead and say it, if people are stupid to even engage someone that says that, it’s on them. And you have communists saying death to America, rich people should die, white people are evil, I mean, that’s fine, let them say that, but let the other side say their stupid shit too.

[FennecFox7]

It's easier to respond to my criticism by framing it as "hurr durr he doesn't like conservative opinions" when that's literally not what I'm saying at all

It's easier to respond to my criticism by saying "hurr durr the studies are ideologically biased from the beginning so you can't trust them" and then just going with your gut feeling that you *think* Twitter is SO OBVIOUSLY LEFT because there's like COMMUNISTS on there. There's fascists on Twitter too buddy.

But deliberately misinterpreting my statements isn't really good faith arguing, and neither is disregarding actual data because it doesn't "feel" right

First off I’m not your buddy. Not to be disrespectful, but you’ve never actually shown me the respect I feel I deserve over the years of GL so yeah, no.

Your posting history shows you don’t like conservatives one bit. That’s perfectly within your rights. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s my point. Let’s get to the point and stop deflecting.

Can people say what they want to say? Yes. That’s free speech. And I support that from the left or right. Twitter has a left leaning bias. That is just mostly due to tech and big tech leaning left. Obviously, the right has dominated media/social media etc before in history, but the left is doing the same thing. Let people say what they want to say from a political standpoint.

Common sense dictates organizing terrorist attacks, etc shouldn’t be allowed. But that’s something BOTH SIDES can agree shouldn’t be allowed.

2022 is about to be a slaughterhouse for the democrats and they only have themselves to blame. Things like this.

[Myesyats]

Well, it's hard to argue against a made-up argument.....since there's no proof of bias against conservatives. Its a fallacy to make folks believe right-wingers are being persecuted or something, or unjustly targeted

In fact there's more data to prove that social media actually amplify right wing voices rather than silence them for "having opinions"

[FennecFox7]

I’d love to see your sources on that regarding Twitter.

We’re talking about Twitter specifically. Please show me your data. The word data and studies gets worshiped by some people and I’m not sure why. Studies and data can and do get manipulated.

If you make a Twitter account and follow 50 prominent right and left wingers, see which one gets more abuse versus support. I’ll wait.

[Myesyats]

If one wants to arm teachers and children and remove windows from schools and the other wants gun control and free mental healthcare for people then I can imagine why one gets more abuse versus the other.

[Myesyats]

False Accusation: The Unfounded Claim that Social Media Companies Censor Conservatives: https://bhr.stern.nyu.edu/bias-report-release-page

The authors of the study also suggested that claims of anti-conservative bias is in itself a form of disinformation, and that leading social media platforms have in fact amplified the right-leaning voices "algorithmically" to reach unprecedented audiences. The NYU study also suggested that this afforded conservatives greater reach than liberal or nonpartisan content creators.

There is no evidence to support the claim that the major social media companies are suppressing, censoring, or otherwise discriminating against conservatives on their platforms. In fact, it is often conservatives who gain the most in terms of engagement and online attention, thanks to the platforms' systems of algorithmic promotion of content," said Paul Barrett, the report's primary author and deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights via a statement.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2021/02/01/conservative-twitter-trending-as-study-claims-there-is-no-anti-conservative-bias/?sh=6ed4248f6883

[CBarca]

https://psyarxiv.com/ay9q5

For the record, I'll throw in what I was referencing as well.

[Hapless_Hans]

Fucking guy is hitting on my gf on Instagram

[El Gunner]

screenshots or you are lying

[FennecFox7]

https://psyarxiv.com/ay9q5

For the record, I'll throw in what I was referencing as well.

Okay. Reading yours first.

So what’s the criteria for democrat or republican users? Right away, this study is just putting these people into arbitrary boxes. It’s not elucidated at all. Furthermore, the sample size is 9,000 people. Really now??

And even then, “republicans” were still banned at a high rate compared to “democrats”. Now all of a sudden, it’s justified because it’s misinformation? Democrats spill just as many lies and misinformation as republicans. Both sides lie and manipulate, so what actually is misinformation? Is it lying about masks working? Is it saying vaccine mandates are necessary? Is it lying about racism not existing? If you say yes or no to these questions depending on who you are, that’s bias. I’m not going to answer whether that’s right or wrong to say, I’m going to defend your right to say masks work even though I disagree. I’m going to defend your right to say capitalism is evil, even though I disagree, Point is, my argument about freedom of speech stands. And that study didn’t really say a whole lot of anything

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