[benmorris]

If it isn't obvious this is the new norm for Twitter. Elon is making up the rules as he goes and ruling like a pissed off insecure reddit mod. I don't buy into all the freedom of speech rhetoric he has been spewing. This is about control and fueling his ego.

It is a real shame because I wanted to continue using Twitter like I always have, but I don't think that will be possible.

[falcolas]

> ruling like a pissed off insecure reddit mod

Ya know, I've heard a lot worse comparisons. And I've seen this kind of thing happen there...

Knowledge and money don't a good moderator make. And Elon Musk has clearly taken on the role of moderator, not just CEO.

So, a spot on comparison.

[paxys]

Elon has been pretty consistent about his rules. You are either 100% loyal to him or you will be banned from the platform.

[richbell]

The closest comparison would be Reddit powermods who ban users from hundreds of the most active subreddits because the user: a) posted in a subreddit they don't like (this is often automated); or b) did or said something the moderator didn't like.

[jasonhansel]

"Free speech, but dissenters will be exiled."

[wombatpm]

Emperor Elon, First of his Name, Savior of Twitter, Defender of Freedom merely desires the respect and adoration he deserves. If some ungrateful blue check freeloaders disagree they may experience his evenhanded judgment and wrath.

[smrtinsert]

No mod of any other major social network issues site wide bans based on the mere mention of another social network.

[elgenie]

The "reddit mod" the comment you're responding to would be one in charge of a particular subreddit, not of the entire network (the latter would be an "admin" in reddit parlance).

A quick perusal of https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/ should be sufficient to understand that subreddit mods indeed do go on power trips of capricious banning, including for the grievous sin of mentioning a competing subreddit.

[sjs7007]

92 of 500 top sudreddits are moderated by same 5 people apparently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23173018

[robswc]

Wym? This happens all the time.

Many of the popular subs will retroactively ban users for posting in other subs.

I was banned from a fair amount of subs because I had a trivial argument with a mod in one sub. IIRC it was literally an "argument" about humidity being worse than dry heat, lol.

Seeing this repeated on twitter, even if its for a day, is alarming.

[geraldwhen]

Reddit bans for linking out to alternative communities. Facebook blocks links to sites it finds problematic, even in private message.

[int_19h]

I remember there was one point when Facebook was blocking links to minds.com.

However, that was quickly explained away as automated spam filter false positive when it was publicized. So even if it happened before, I can't think of any case other than Twitter right now when it was so open and explicit.

[hackernewds]

It definitely dissuades me from working for Twitter for sure.

[sytelus]

Please don't compare Emperor with "insecure reddit mod". Whatever sentence he may utter is the law of the land.

[dm319]

> I don't buy into all the freedom of speech rhetoric he has been spewing.

I think what you meant was you didn't buy into it, and this is proving your point of view.

He's gone from freedom of speech absolutionist to defining the limits of freedom of speech by whether you discuss social interactions on other websites.

It isn't as simple as a one-dimensional scale between freedom of speech absolutism and not, and the fact that so many people seem to believe this makes me think that people don't have a basic grasp of ethics, nor an ethical framework to make decisions on.

[SketchySeaBeast]

> He's gone from freedom of speech absolutionist to defining the limits of freedom of speech by whether you discuss social interactions on other websites.

I don't know how you can say that with a straight face. This is only a small bit of his capricious rules. Earlier this week it was publicly available information about flights, now it's even indirect mentions of social media competition, what happens next week if he decides that no one should talk about other electric cars? It would be entirely in character for his actions to date. Users now have to anticipate that there is going to be a day where the rules change in such a way they earn a retroactive ban. That's not freedom of speech, that's just a tyrant who hasn't come for YOUR speech yet. I don't know why anyone would stay invested in this platform.

If there was any sort of real framework in place there would be a set list in place instead of a flood of randomly generated rules that are just "whatever is ticking Elon off today", and there wouldn't be popularity contests to see if content gets restored.

[nickthegreek]

Not only that, but users will need to check out Musk’s account in the morning to be sure they know the new rules for the day, as there is no tolerance for slip ups.

[dm319]

Er, I think I have been misunderstood. I basically agree with you. There isn't a framework.

[wilde]

Lol by this reasoning any possible moderation decision is consistent with freedom of speech. Dude came in guns blazing on team “any legal speech will be allowed” and is at this point banning all references to perfectly legal competitors.

[dm319]

My post is downvoted, and I agree with the replies, so I think I've been misunderstood. I'm saying he has rowed back on free speech absolutism (which I personally don't agree with anyway), to limits on free speech. And those limits are arbitrary and not based on any ethical (or other!) framework.

[rainsford]

As I said in another reply, I think a far simpler explanation is that the "freedom of speech absolutist" thing was total BS from the start. Other than describing himself that way, nothing about Elon suggests he's actually a big fan of free speech as a general principle.

[dm319]

I agree. At least now the conversion can move to "what are the limits of free speech and why?".

And I think anyone would be hard pushed to explain why journalists and people discussing other social media platforms should be a limit.