#GoodbyeTwitter
There are a lot of other options out there. Unfortunately all of them are owned by someone.
The internet was new to me in the mid 90’s (that’s 1990’s). It was all text-based. None of these videos, porno, memes, assorted illustrations. We had Lynx as our browser and that was also text based. The main reason is that we hooked to our “shell account” using a “modem” that was 2400 bps (that’s bits per second). As a comparison, my DSL has a download speed of 25 kbps (that’s 25,000 bits per second).
We didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, etc. We had something called Usenet News. You would install a Usenet client on your computer, and the configuration program would have a couple of server entries. You would use your client to connect to one of the servers so you could read and post news to your “newsgroup”.
There were many Usenet servers run by altruistic people on their own dime. They believed this sort of communication was important and supported it. All the Usenet servers “talked” to each other, and updated their information when any was added to any of the servers.
Nobody owned the Usenet system. It was controlled by a protocol called an RFC (request for comment), specifically RFC 1036. Anyone could code a Usenet server if they followed the protocol. So a specific admin could ban you from their server if you were a robot scraping the information or if you just pissed them off, but there were hundreds of other servers you could attach to.
Anyone could post anything to any Usenet newsgroup. There were moderated newsgroups specifically set up so that any post to the group was sent to the moderator first. But you chose to join those groups and follow their rules.
But the other groups were the “wild west”. Anyone could post anything. And trolls abounded.
Everyone’s client had a Kill File. It was a text file on their computer containing the server and client information for those who you didn’t want to read. Enter their information into what was affectionately referred to as a “twit filter”, and the annoying troll would never be seen by you again. You control your own Usenet group experience. There were no “Terms of Service”. There was no “moderator” to protect you. Your enemies were not shadow banned, throttled, or otherwise hindered on your behalf. You were responsible for your Usenet experience. And since the servers were distributed, no one person or group of persons controlled the discussion.
There was no such thing as “disinformation” classified by a central authority. You read it, then did some research to see if it was likely to be true. They did not support one political party over another, simply because there was no “they” and there was nobody able to control the discussion except you.
Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter, and has stated a commitment to free speech on the platform, many of the blue checkmarks* are losing their shit. And speaking about blue checkmarks. What about this?
An account with almost 3/4 million followers doesn’t have a blue check and an obscure band with a couple thousand does. Elon Musk vows to change that. And verify people as human.
I would love to see a decentralized Twitter alternative, not controlled by a central authority. But in the interim, I’m going to have fun watching what Elon Musk does. And if any lefty complains about it, I’m going to hit them with:
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* Blue checkmark accounts must be of “public interest”, defined by the central authority.