NPR temporarily stopped it's twitter accounts in a "state-media" beef with Elon Musk

[boombox4]

You claimed that the question was whether SpaceX used Russian rockets. My response was; they don't. SpaceX manufacturers their own engines, rocket bodies, fuel tanks, and electronics. Their latest rocket engine design, Raptor, is based off of a Russian design from the 60's and 70's.

No, I said I didn't understand why use of Russian rocket designs (or Russian space technology in general) should be a big deal to anyone, in light of the fact that for maybe 8-10 years NASA was literally sending astronauts to space on literal Russian rockets launched from Russia itself.

My point being that space exploration is supposed to be apolitical, just like other forms of science.

We seem to be going in circles here over the definition of the word "rocket".

 

[Kelly A]

No, I said I didn't understand why use of Russian rocket designs (or Russian space technology in general) should be a big deal to anyone, in light of the fact that for maybe 8-10 years NASA was literally sending astronauts to space on literal Russian rockets launched from Russia itself.

Here's what you said: "I don't understand why there would be a big deal made about whether SpaceX uses Russian rockets."

My point being that space exploration is supposed to be apolitical, just like other forms of science.

And for the most part, it continues to be. Although, Low Earth Orbit is becoming the new international political battleground. The U.S. and China are in quite a battle to dominate that space (literally)

We seem to be going in circles here over the definition of the word "rocket".

Not me. I understand what a rocket is.

 

[boombox4]

Current reports that some NPR stations have found that listener support increased following them leaving twitter:

Following NPR dispute, stations consider their future on Twitter — or off

The spat between NPR and Twitter has prompted dozens of stations to follow the network’s example and suspend their use of the platform.

current.org

Wouldn't surprise me, as some NPR listeners are probably die-hard Democrats who hate Elon and Twitter.

When Elon was buying Twitter I got several posts in my social media newsfeed from liberal friends who were ditching Twitter for Discord and other services. It's their right to do so if they wish, but it's doubtful that they're hurting Twitter when it has more active and monthly users than the United States has people.

 

[boombox4]

Here's what you said: "I don't understand why there would be a big deal made about whether SpaceX uses Russian rockets."

And for the most part, it continues to be. Although, Low Earth Orbit is becoming the new international political battleground. The U.S. and China are in quite a battle to dominate that space (literally)

Not me. I understand what a rocket is.

So do I.

And for years we used real Russian rockets to launch our astronauts. Who was complaining then?

So why should we care about using their rocket engines? Or any other Russian derived designs or parts?

 

[Kelly A]

And for years we used real Russian rockets to launch our astronauts. Who was complaining then?

So why should we care about using their rocket engines? Or any other Russian derived designs or parts?

Could it be due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia?

 

[TheBigA]

Wouldn't surprise me, as some NPR listeners are probably die-hard Democrats who hate Elon and Twitter.

Or perhaps they see this as an unprovoked attack by Elon on free speech and liberty.

it's doubtful that they're hurting Twitter when it has more active and monthly users than the United States has people.

The more Elon attacks his customers, the more they'll leave. At some point, Twitter will become MySpace.

He is damaging his brand, and he is too rich to notice or care. It's the tyranny of the rich.

 

[kevtronics]

NPR reports that the 'government-funded media' label has been removed from its twitter account:

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/21/1171236695/twitter-strips-state-affiliated-government-funded-labels-from-npr-rt-china

But I noticed the disclaimers about RT and China's Global Times being government propaganda outlets have disappeared as well. Now they just listed as a "media and news company".

 

[cc333]

But I noticed the disclaimers about RT and China's Global Times being government propaganda outlets have disappeared as well. Now they just listed as a "media and news company".

And in so doing, they're still undermining the credibility of NPR and the BBC, because by removing the labels from everyone, they're still implying that RT/China's Global Times and NPR/BBC are equivalent, when we know they are not, so it's still a problem and NPR is right to complain, since this amounts to a violation of Twitter's former rules by Twitter itself, and removing the labels altogether is a bad faith attempt at covering up the fact by pretending the rules never existed in the first place.

c

 

[kwthom]

<...> and NPR is right to complain, since this amounts to a violation of Twitter's former rules by Twitter itself, and removing the labels altogether is a bad faith attempt at covering up the fact by pretending the rules never existed in the first place.

Well, it's back to that old problem of it's truly a private space, now controlled by a singular entity.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Or perhaps they see this as an unprovoked attack by Elon on free speech and liberty.



The more Elon attacks his customers, the more they'll leave. At some point, Twitter will become MySpace.

He is damaging his brand, and he is too rich to notice or care. It's the tyranny of the rich.

Elon, or deepfake? Musk must face questions on Autopilot statements

A California judge on Wednesday ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be interviewed under oath about whether he made certain statements regarding the safety and capabilities of the carmaker’s Autopilot features.

www.reuters.com

Also the more Elon Musk sets his companies up to be a target of lawsuits like this. In this case Elon Musk is being sued for stuff that happened at Tesla and he has to appear in court because of them.

 

[wadio]

Then there's this:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/25/1171773181/social-media-teens-mental-health

... and it's not just limited to teens.

If Twitter fails, Musk might have done society a big favor.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Different reason, same result...

New York City's transit authority says it's suspending its use of Twitter for subway and commuter rail service alerts after the agency’s access to the platform was involuntarily interrupted twice in the last two weeks.

MTA suspends sharing service updates on 'unreliable' Twitter

The agency says it experienced two interruptions to its Twitter access this month.

gothamist.com

 

[Kelly A]

Then there's this:

... and it's not just limited to teens.

If Twitter fails, Musk might have done society a big favor.

Maybe once he kills Twitter, he could buy and kill Farsebook next? Getting rid of Facebook would help older folks mental health.

 

[kwthom]

Maybe once he kills Twitter, he could buy and kill Farsebook next? Getting rid of Facebook would help older folks mental health.

 

[gr8oldies]

Or perhaps they see this as an unprovoked attack by Elon on free speech and liberty.



The more Elon attacks his customers, the more they'll leave. At some point, Twitter will become MySpace.

He is damaging his brand, and he is too rich to notice or care. It's the tyranny of the rich.

There are several Twitter alternatives that have popped up, including Spoutible, Mastadon, Post and Jack Dorsey's BlueSky. Most of the users are more liberal Twitter users who didn't want the constant right-wing, racist and misogynistic reply trolls, and other right-wing content. The people who aren't on Twitter are probably less affected, but with the push toward only verified users being seen. they may leave, but 6 or 7 alternatives means niche silos.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

There are several Twitter alternatives that have popped up, including Spoutible, Mastadon, Post and Jack Dorsey's BlueSky.

Spoutible - Don't like the name, based on "spout off" -- seems like an old-man term, not a concept attractive to young people. I went through the signup process and the UI seems very amateurish. even the spelling seems wrong (-ible vs. -able). The site does not inspire confidence.

Mastadon - Tried it. Don't like it. Too geeky to be mainstream.

Post - Another one that seems designed by and for politically-invested adults more than young people. Not really a twitter replacement.

BlueSky - This is the one suddenly getting all the buzz. Signed up for the waitlist a while ago and still didn't get an invite code, so that's a dissatisfying start. It's decentralized which is touted as a good thing, but will use a hodgepodge of different server names which is something I strongly dislike about Mastadon. Still, I think BlueSky is the one with the best prospects of emerging as the winner, considering who's behind it. Let's see how it looks when it actually opens to the public.

 

[wadio]

Spoutible - Don't like the name, based on "spout off" -- seems like an old-man term, not a concept attractive to young people. I went through the signup process and the UI seems very amateurish. even the spelling seems wrong (-ible vs. -able). The site does not inspire confidence.

Mastadon - Tried it. Don't like it. Too geeky to be mainstream.

Post - Another one that seems designed by and for politically-invested adults more than young people. Not really a twitter replacement.

BlueSky - This is the one suddenly getting all the buzz. Signed up for the waitlist a while ago and still didn't get an invite code, so that's a dissatisfying start. It's decentralized which is touted as a good thing, but will use a hodgepodge of different server names which is something I strongly dislike about Mastadon. Still, I think BlueSky is the one with the best prospects of emerging as the winner, considering who's behind it. Let's see how it looks when it actually opens to the public.

You're a brave guy to reveal your IP address to all those sites.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

You're a brave guy to reveal your IP address to all those sites.

This is why some of us get annoyed when RadioDiscussions cloudflare host blocks us while we're using a VPN. There are plenty of good reasons to be behind a VPN that don't involve trying to hack this site.

 

[gr8oldies]

I'm semi-regularly using Spoutible. There are some music geeks on there, in addition to politics. I agree Mastodon is geeky, and Post...meh. Facebook is supposed to be coming out with a Twitter alternative as well.

 

[cc333]

Facebook is supposed to be coming out with a Twitter alternative as well.

I thought Instagram was their Twitter alternative?

c