Twitter Launches Trust and Safety Council To Help Put End To Trolling (thestack.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Twitter has announced a new trust and safety council to stamp out bullying and trolling on the microblogging site. The Twitter Trust & Safety Council will initially be formed of around 40 bodies, including the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, ICT Watch, NetSafe, and Samaritans. These organisations, along with safety experts, academics and security researchers, will work to ensure a safe and secure platform for users to express themselves freely and safely. The Council's main focus will be to protect minors, encourage 'greater compassion and empathy on the internet,' and promote efforts in media literacy and digital citizenship. Community groups will also participate to help prevent online 'abuse, harassment, and bullying,' as well as mental health problems and suicide.

Comments

This is a bad idea.

[B33rNinj4]

While I dislike trolling, when you attempt to put controls onto a system, you end up destroying that system.

Re: This is a bad idea.

[Archangel Michael]

Who gets to define "Trolling" and "Bullying". My guess, suddenly all sorts of speech will be suddenly labels "Micro-aggression" and be banned.

"I'm voting for _________" -- not politically correct candidate = BANHAMMER!!!

Re: This is a bad idea.

[NotDrWho]

Well, obviously if you're voting for _________ then you must be a racist and sexist. So anything you say is hate speech.

Re:This is a bad idea.

[kheldan]

It's not just a bad idea, it's not an enforceable system. What's the difference between trolling and arguing, or trolling and someone whose honest opinion just happens to deviate beyond a certain distance from what's considered the norm? It's like trying to set down rules as to what is and is not 'art'; it can't be done.

Re:This is a bad idea.

[PolygamousRanchKid]

The name is a hoot and a half: "Trust and Safety Council". This sounds like something I would expect to see in a dictatorship, like North Korea, the former East Germany, Soviet Russia or a fistful of Middle East Sheikdoms.

Let's just call it what it really is: "Board of Censorship".

Re:This is a bad idea.

[PopeRatzo]

Face it Twitter is the kindergarten play ground of public forums. They basically want to control it by gagging the children and chaining them to a stake in the ground so they can't pester each other.

If you've ever had a kindergarten age kid, you will recognize the appeal of this idea.

...and in other news:

[martinux]

Twitter Launches Church Of We Don't Like Your Opinion So We're Going To Brand You A Troll Council to Help Put End To Hurt Feelings

Re:...and in other news:

[NotDrWho]

Criticize Islam: Banhammer for hate speech
Criticize Christianity: [crickets]

Criticize women's rights movement: Banhammer for misogyny
Criticize men's rights movement: [crickets]

Re:...and in other news:

[Coren22]

will work to ensure a safe and secure platform for users to express themselves freely and safely.

Unless you have an opinion that differs from someone else's. Or if we think you are a troll, because restricting free speech is the quickest way to allowing people to express themselves freely.

Safe Space to Express Yourself Freely

[casings]

These organisations, along with safety experts, academics and security researchers, will work to ensure a safe and secure platform for users to express themselves freely and safely.

So you are free express yourself, as long as you express yourself in a way approved by these organizations?

What fucking hypocritical bullshit.

Re:Safe Space to Express Yourself Freely

[NotDrWho]

Freedom of speech, just watch what you say.

Safe & Secure

[sexconker]

safe and secure platform for users to express themselves freely and safely

As long as your free expression doesn't piss off any of the 40 busybody groups, of course.

f + s = k

[Pseudonymous Powers]

God, I'm so stupid. Here I've been hanging out on the internet for decades now, and I never once realized in all that time that all we had to do to make everyone nice to each other all the time was to institute draconian levels of censorship based on arbitrary rules decided upon by the most hypersensitive and litigious subgroups in the community.

Re:Which part of Edit feature do they not GET?

[Coren22]

Why all the sexism? Are you saying that women can't possibly be the trolls? Or is it agism, that trolling people is somehow a 12 year old thing? Perhaps you should expand your horizons and realize that ANYONE can troll, including the ones making up these rules!

Re:Autists trying to script social interation?

[bmo]

For example, just look at the Rust programming language project. They have a very bureaucratic and tyrannical code of conduct.

Ok, let's look at, specifically, what they define as harrassment:

4. Unacceptable Behavior

The following behaviors are considered harassment and are unacceptable within our community:

Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.
Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
Posting or threatening to post other peopleâ(TM)s personally identifying information ("doxing").
Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.
Inappropriate photography or recording.
Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someoneâ(TM)s consent before touching them.
Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcomed sexual advances.
Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person).
Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.

You have a problem with these? Then stay out. None of these rules are unreasonable. Indeed, since you find them so unreasonable that you have to whine here about it, you sound like the kind of person that any group, that wants to get anything done, should keep out, lest they be trolled into wasting time on your moronic nonsense.

I seriously wonder what you would have done, 25 years ago, when "unprofessional behavior" would have gotten you booted off the entire Internet.

--
BMO

Anita's there...

[Anonymous Coward]

For those who think a lot of the comments are paranoid conspiracy theory, lets take a look at who's on this council:
https://about.twitter.com/safe...

Doing a quick scan, I recognized Anita Sarkeesian (search for "feminist frequency").

That's definitely a neutral unbiased third party who hasn't made controversial videos and never claimed that disagreement with her opinions were trolling and abuse.

Who fucking cares?

[ArchieBunker]

Twitter is a free service. Don't use it if you don't like their policies.