Here’s the weakest part of Demsas’s argument. Twitter *in 2021* was arguably the most influential public square we had. Twitter *in 2025* is, by some estimates, 75% bots. There are still some communities holding fast there. I don’t fault them for it. But let’s not pretend it’s flourishing.
Towards the end of my time on twitter I got called racial slurs, reported them, and got emails from twitter saying no rules were broken. And I'm biracial/somewhat ambiguous! Maybe she doesn't mind it but that shit is infuriating and eventually psychologically damaging. Insane to stay there
The argument for staying on Twitter is that you can find CEOs and elected officials still hobnobbing there. If you are the type of person who enjoys interacting with Bill Ackman and Marc Andreessen, then that can be quite a rush. But only if you avoid saying things that get you blocked by them.
That is what she actually cares about..over everything else.. The sweet sweet tech money and influence
Proud to be a member of the “Blocked by pmarca” club on the old place. Then again, it’s not exactly an exclusive list.
He followed me for awhile! …and then he blocked me.
Well done! It was the “no apartments in Atherton” episode that got me on his list. #noregrets
lol... it's good for research purposes for these kinds of reasons... but when Elon started doing Nazi salutes this really became not an adequate reason to be there
That, again, is a CHOICE. You can engage in arguments with people you disagree with. But only the right arguments, and only in the right tones. X is Elon’s propaganda outlet. It is failing and flailing. It is, at this point, unusable for people like me.
I genuinely don't understand the liberals who think all "debate" is equal. As if arguing over whether McDonalds or Wendy's has better fries holds the same moral weight and relevance as arguing over whether or not the president should be allowed to accept bribes from foreign governments.
"I can debate with people on X over whether or not civilians are valid military targets!" Why is that even a debate? At least one side of that debate is deeply evil and should not be allowed to exist in a public space! And you're proud that you got into that argument! What the shit!
What sort of mental contortions would I need to undergo in order to be the type of liberal intellectual who still flourishes on actually-existing-X today? How would that subtly reshape the arguments that I decided were worth making, in order to stay on the good side of the media owners?
Not just reshape your arguments, but reshape your *thinking.* When you're surrounded by Twitter-style interaction, it *will* alter how you think. I think it's why people who still hang out there seem to have retrograde perspectives on a variety of issues, especially politics/culture.
😂✌🏼
I didn’t leave X because I was worried it was too impure. I left because it fell to shit, and I realized staying there would make me a less interesting thinker and person. That was two years ago. Things have demonstrably gone downhill over there. How is this argument even still a thing???
The question is when will the lazy as F mainstream online news outlets stop crafting articles around six tweets? The inertia of the existing content integration from X has made it feel more relevant than it should over the past year or two.
Surprised you didn't comment on the slug
I agree with basically all of what you said, but the non-English side of Twitter has not fallen to as much shit. You can really feel the increasing presence of bots but it isn’t anywhere as awful as the English side.
Well, this place is even more antisemitic than X, so it's a choice between two absolutely filthy restroom stalls. I know Jewish people who were driven away from this place and find X more accommodating. The Lefties here are bigoted as fuck and completely unwilling to see it.
"How is this argument even still a thing???" I’d guess because too many people’s sense of identity/financial stability/need for “institutional stability” is bound up in this argument being a thing.
I stayed on and off sometimes to help rt people who needs helps and one day Elon axed my account
Thank you for this, Dave. For what it’s worth, I would follow your posts to the ends of the earth.
I’m *still* not changing your grade.
there's always a new incoming class of sophmores
"How is this argument even still a thing???" 💯 I don't give a rat's ass about Twitter. I don't miss it. The End.
I don't even log in to passively lurk any more. I don't miss it one bit. Bluesky is already 100x better, and I almost never see nazi jerkoffs here!
As in at this point, you don't even get noticed even to be blocked by Bill Ackman and Marc Andreessen without a blue checkmark. So it means giving Musk money to promote your posts.
What “public square” ever had access to millions of people? It’s apples and oranges to compare Twitter to Ye Olde Towne Commons.
That’s not even….factually true?? Smith is on here. So is my entire congressional delegation. Tressie McMillan Cottom. Mark Cuban. Ok, maybe not so much with the celebrities, but there are plenty more politics, academics, business examples I could have chosen.
Without question? I don't know. All the dumbshit Trump voters in my area are on Facebook, and none of them are on Twitter. I'd argue Facebook is still bigger than Twitter. Twitter is just bigger among pseudo-intellectuals.
there's another weakness: Twitter is STILL a good tool for the entry level journalist or think tank kid to get noticed...for his fascist advocacy, by the fascists in power! so, yes, true, but it proves the opposite of his point
her
Everyone's on Twitter, it's the center of the discourse, and that's why I need to publicly announce off Twitter that I'm an iconoclast for staying on there.