Veteran tech journalist Walt Mossberg announced on Tuesday he was deactivating his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, saying Elon Musk’s takeover of the site turned it into a “cesspool.”

Mr Mossberg is a well-respected name and expert in the US tech writing industry, who also co-founded media sites such as Recode and AllThingsD. He announced his boycotting of X on Meta’s new platform Threads, saying his reasons revolve around business tycoon Mr Musk’s threats to sue the Anti-Defemation League (ADL).

all 39 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 177 points 2 years ago (5 children)

He continued on to say he will only be found on Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram

Mastodon: “Am I a joke to you?“ >:(

  • source
  • hideshow 10 child comments
  • [–] 100 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Hey Mr. Tech journalist, why don’t you write about federated communities and get off the corpo-web? Help us all out with that big name of yours I’ve never heard.

    Edit: oops. That was meant to be a top level comment. Whatever.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [+] 24 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)
  • [–] -4 points 2 years ago

    Building and maintaining his brand is a significant part of his job. Same with understanding what people may be interested in reading about to know how to steer stories and the like.

    If that's your full time job then maybe dont outsource it to some random company that gets bought by some random dude....

    Yeah... Full time work is hard

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] [S] 19 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Someone in another thread said he has a mastodon account. Dunno if he posts there or not.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [+] -57 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    He looks over 60, so he likely saw all the trans people and rainbows thriving there and his innate Boomer deep fear of something novel and amazing and different took over.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 19 points 2 years ago

    Your comment supposes that transphobia and bigotry are not problems in younger generations, and, well, this is absolutely incorrect.

    Maybe measuring social metrics isn't best done by using arbitrary and artificial labels for entire groups of people?

    Nah, it's gotta be those older folks, right, because you're young and free and wild and some shit.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] [S] 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Are they still thriving there? I've seen a few, but there seems to be way more on bluesky.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I spend more time blocking furries on BlueSky than seeing any content of value.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Just yesterday I had an interaction on Mastodon.social that gave me pause and made me question using even the Fediverse.

    Someone posted about KOSA legislation coming to "protect children" from trans people like myself.

    Somebody got in the conversation and had a link to an organization that actually uses the terminology "map" to refer to the people who are more properly called pedophiles.

    I shut that shit down, deleted my comment, and am seriously considering deleting all of my Fediverse accounts.

    Like, I'm not here to make friends, but I am not opposed to it either.

    I am here to be informed, entertained, maybe sometimes outraged a little.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    What do you mean by this? What's a map terminology?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 years ago

    That's definitely fair. I've thankfully not seen that content.

    The only content I've found that I care about were some of the more active folks on Twitter that had insightful takes or were occasionally funny like Popehat, Mike Masnick, and Kashana.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    To continue the previous comment, I want absolutely no association with people that like to play games with terminology like this.

    I don't want any connection with a person that would be okay with sexualizing children, or changing names of the evil people who do it under the guise of being tolerant or pc or some shit.

    I don't want any loli garbage, hentai, nazis, etc.

    And that the Fediverse seems to not have any content moderation ( am I wrong/missing something?) makes me want to give up on it.

    Maybe go outside, write music, read a book.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago*

    The fediverse isn't a unified whole. Some instances don't have moderation or have shitty inconsistent moderation. You should move to an instance like beehaw.org or lemmy.blahaj.zone if you want admins that don't put up with that shit. Both will ban users and other instances that do that allow that kind of shit. While lemmy.world seems fine with it, but if you call out their use of discord they may ban you.

  • source
  • parent
  • [+] -6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    How is that possible when it's still invite-only and closed to the general public?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 years ago

    Why would that prevent them from moving and thriving? They just invite their friends.

    I've seen a few posts from folks complaining about the culture on mastodon and effectively getting harassed there.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    It's not closed to the general public, any member of the general public can join as long as you get an invite. I'm not sure how to get invites as I don't interact with BlueSky much, but I was invited by my brother and he's nothing special on the Internet.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 76 points 2 years ago

    Continuing to use Twitter doesn't automatically make you a Nazi, it just means that Nazism isn't a dealbreaker for you

  • source
  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    How much of an "expert" is this tech guy really? (sarcasm) But seriously, he's left multiple corporate platforms before, like Facebook and now Twitter. If only there was some non-corporate controlled social media that he could use to talk to people. If only.....

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Run that ship right into the ground, Lonnie. You can't get there fast enough.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Let's see all the people who complain about Twitter and Musk and post it ON TWITTER.

    If even 1/2 these clowns that claim to hate him and what he's done simply deleted their accounts, the entire site would collapse. Instead they literally prop-up that toxic site by continuing to use it. Fucken hypocrites.

  • source
  • [+] -7 points 2 years ago

    He was just offended because Musk called out the ADL for being hypocrites.

  • source
  • [+] -8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Twitter has been a cesspool for many years before Elon. I don't know what he's on about.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [+] -5 points 2 years ago (3 children)
  • [+] -14 points 2 years ago

    le epic rant is epic

  • source
  • [+] -20 points 2 years ago (1 child)
    [+] -21 points 2 years ago

    Omg did they? I'm glad I know!

  • source