[forgottenpass]

The idea of an everyone-can-talk-to-everyone social network is initially appealing. You can write (and there were) thousands of articles about twitter extolling the virtues of the "internet community" or "the conversation" and "personal brands." It was all very 1995 internet enthusiasm with a new coat of paint. Then everyone tried it, and it turns out nobody wants to hear from everybody.

Trolls/abuse/whatever aren't the problem. They're the most extreme manifestation of the real problem: everyone wants to broadcast themselves to as many people as possible but nobody actually wants to listen to anyone but a subset of the people they've already decided to hear from.

But twitter can't restructure as an RSS reader for worthless thoughts (and links to worthwhile thoughts) for those with short attention spans. Maybe they can clamp down on abuse, it might give the flash in the pan a few more years of life.

[sirbetsalot]

So lets see. in about 30 minutes I can deck into the Twitter API and create about 100 accounts and cron job your Twitter account for a post and then inundate you with thousands of crazy insults from random accounts. I can do all of this because you said you didn't like blue cheese and I for one sir think you are an IDIOT and should be taught a severe lesson for not liking blue cheese. ~Twitter Reality.

[forgottenpass]

I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand what your post is trying to say.

I just see a non sequitur about twitter abuse. Did you interpret when I said abuse is not THE problem with twitter, that I meant I don't find abuse on twitter to be A problem?

That wasn't what I was trying to say, but otherwise I'm confused as to how your post is a reply to mine.

[sirbetsalot]

Just in case you don't get it. This is the typical train of thinking on Twitter. You say something intelligent looking for conversation, and eventually you are going to run into the crazies on the platform just looking to broadcast thoughts that have nothing to do with the original point and then quickly turns into negative, abusive slop. (the blue cheese remark should have clued you in.) I understand fully what you are saying, but respectfully disagree. Clearly tales of abuse and outright ugly human behaviour turn millions upon millions of core users off the platform. This has been said a dozen times by Dick Costello himself. That being said, I can see your point, and will pontificate on it.

[sirbetsalot]

Satire is not your strong point?

[kdamken]

This is very true, not just in Twitter but in real life as well. Most people just want to talk, they don't really want to listen to what you have to say.