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My first thought on seeing that picture was a question: is this a person of privilege showing off her new overpriced merch acquisition, or is it someone who feels she is in enemy territory, and is counting coup?

"In conclusion, transphobia is a land of contrasts"

We've never promoted it as that.

I think the whole piece also misses the fact that twitter wasn't ALWAYS a cesspool. It wasn't until post 2010 that abuse of bots, algorithms, etc became a huge problem. People begged for a solution but were offered none, and there was literally no successful alternative. ie...

You and your cohort truly love to play victim. Such social media martyrs!

Fair do's. I have similar experiences after a relatively brief term, but I did get a lifetime ban on the pre Xitter, so it's hard to say what's real in virtual land. I hesitated to resume posting as this a 2nd Dorsey mess, his legacy is still with us from his 1st. But it's not him so much as it's us

I would agree with you on this point: too many people here have decided the best way to disagree is being as explicitly abusive as possible (so lots of GFY's & KYS's). Back on Twitter it would've quickly got them auto-suspended so it didn't tend to happen, but nothing stops it here.

Robert Smith, what do you make of Jemima Kelly's having posted a gift link to X, and framing it this way? cc: @kevinmkruse.bsky.social

You're by far the cringiest person I've seen on here yet. Just utterly fatuous and with zero self-awareness.

POSTSCRIPT bsky.app/profile/bond...

Have you considered crying about it?

Demanding civility without any moral principles is what people are objecting to here. This is a place for people who care about human rights more than about people swearing.

Have you all just considered getting better at posting

Have you ever considered the possibility that what you consider to be erudite takes are actually dog shit? Maybe try that.

A totally minor point I am curious about: does The Bad Place seem cringe to you because you didn’t watch “The Good Place” or because you hated “The Good Place” or because you never heard of “The Good Place”?

Quite specifically it's not about civility but about the actual content: even polite Nazis are not welcome.

The people who live in an echo chamber with lots of block lists are there either because they want to be or because they're from a minority that gets bullied a lot and they need the self protection. Pile on culture is a problem here. Block lists that actually block people reduce the amount of grief.

As a longtime FT subscriber, I've been quite disappointed with the increasing number of low-quality opinion pieces in the paper. Throwaway low effort columns like this are annoying. Giving right-wing wingnuts like Oren Cass column space to spew lies (and blocking reader comments) is much worse.

Seething.

I don't think I've ever seen this refered to as "the civilized" alternative. Just the one that doesn't like nazis. People disagreeing with bad reporting doesn't seem to negate that.

She voiced her opinion. We said her opinion is terrible. That’s the nature of the marketplace of ideas.

Look, if you're so keen on getting blocked, you just had to ask, no need for a multi-skeet spew of garbage takes!

If it’s not the missing Nazi accounts that she’s worried about, what’s an account that’s missing or not amplified enough on Bluesky? Like, one example might be nice. As I read it, she thinks Nazi accounts ARE necessary in order tamp down the echo. I think it’s reasonable to find this idea abhorrent.

Never heard of this woman you are talking about but the replies would make a decent block list for those of us who enjoy civilised echo chambers.

Nobody should be civil to bigots. The reason this place IS more civilised is because bigots like Jemima have found it harder to get a foothold here. That’s a good thing.

The weird thing is this farrago has stopped Bluesky feeling like a @stephenkb.bsky.social / cat meme duopoly

You wrote all those words and never said “trans”, nothing telling about that

Who do you think had the best glow-up in the MAGA camp? Is politics more than aesthetics or a fun and glitzy game?

I'm quite curious what you think one can infer from a reporter adopting the livery of the subject of their reportage. And particularly why one shouldn't assume "affinity" is among those inferences.

She posted bait, and got the response she was looking for, now folks like you are circling the wagons to defend that childish behavior. This isn't rocket science. She talked shit, she got hit on social media. She still works at the Financial Times, and still has a bigger platform than most of us

90+% of the time when someone says “[X’s] politics aren’t easy to categorize” they’re talking about like Mark Robinson, so you’re really doing a bang up job arguing she’s not a nazi

shut da fuk up

Is she or is she not “gender critical” (i.e. transphobic) On this site that’s going to matter a hell of a lot more than if she agrees with the majority on nearly any other “issue”.

Did you hear that yanks? You simply don't understand! Being a Sloaney, Nepo TERF who wants to buy mar-a-largo merch is a quirky english character trait, not an indication of political alignment.....

What's it like having room-temperature mashed potatoes for brains, Robert

yeah everything else aside the story really wasn't well written. it was just weirdly superficial, and they were clearly trolling the bluesky userbase for clicks

Right?! All the whinging and "Americans don't understand!"... dual national here with time in the UK. That's some back-footed upset Limey whinging par excellence.

Just stop it. You made 11 posts about this to arrive at "her politics aren't easy to categorize". It's unsurprising you would find no problem with the politics of someone you work with, that doesn't make things confusing for us looking at her posts and articles. You got your attention. Now fuck off.

This is deeply unserious. If an American went to a N. Farage function or a meeting of Reform and just had to get a picture in a Reform T-Shirt it would be pretty easy for a U K. Citizen to understand where that person falls on the political spectrum.

Hope she sees this sport but it's pathetic how you hope to get in her pants like this!

Wow. You're an idiot.

If you're going to make shit up to suit a crappy argument, be more plausible, or at least attempt to be specific. "She's probably left of some of her critics on many issues"

So do I, but when they are fans of those who want people like me wiped from existence (like when someone writes glowing articles about British TERFs with genocidal ideas about trans people), it rather sours the experience.

This is such a fucking funny place to end up in this passionate defense of a transphobic crybaby.

No, he views are easy to characterize, it is just uncomfortable to you because you like her. She is a Nazi curious dilettante who knows that the Nazis coming into power won't affect her personally.

"I wish I would have bought that FAKE NEWS handbag at Mar a Lago!" Yup, very hard to categorize.

Why do you want me to listen to people I don't want to hear? I am happy for the people who see my posts have consented. If anyone doesn't like my opinion, feel free to mute or block as you wish.

Nah, man. I don't owe anyone my time or attention.

I don't block people for what they believe. I block people for being annoying or threatening. I am not required to sift through annoying or threatening posts. There is no way my life is improved by annoyance & threats. Also: nobody has the right to be annoying or threatening in my general direction.

Ideally, I'll never say or do anything that results in that happening, but miscommunication and snap judgments can happen. If people aren't strict about how to apply the label then it can get dicey.

My dude, I will block people for whatever stupid (or valid) reason I so desire, and I neither need nor want anyone's approval. Its my social media experience, not a round table panel discussion on CBS or whatever.

literally stop whining not everyone has to love you

I'd argue both parties benefit from getting blocked by people who are quick to block off lists. A) the quick blockers get the type of social media they want B) the block listed person doesn't have to deal with the type of people who block off lists Less strife all around.

suck my dick I'll block whoever I want whenever I want and you can fucking cry about it

I honestly don't mind being blocked by people who don't know me and don't care to learn. People can block me for any reason or no reason. It's no skin off my nose. Why should I give a single fuck?

It is actually great, though! (9/11)

How do you know why they were put on block lists?

This too. There are far better qualified specialists on both sides to discuss technicalities, yet we are too often forced into the polarising “if you’re not with us, you must be against us” tribalism of the playground. Solutions will surely evolve best at overlaps, not across chasms.

I've seen this claim made most loudly on behalf of a woman who chairs an anti trans organization and prominently says so in her bio. so excuse my skepticism.

Why would that matter?

Actually, it is great! I think I will block whomever I want to block for any reason I want to block, without even checking with any given cunt at the Financial Times.

What if I blocked her just because I found her annoying? Is that a mistake? Or do I have to do research to verify she holds certain views, and then it’s OK to block her?

rob smith did 9/11

What if I blocked her for publishing an asinine article based on unsupported premises and then whining loudly about people not agreeing with her instead of engaging with legitimate criticism?

It is great, actually. They don't need to have you in their business yelling at them about what you think they believe, and you don't have to be reminded of them ever again & can go on about your life. Not everyone at a party has to become besties, we can ignore one another and it's for the best

Please don't trivialize the weaknesses of online discourse. You can't just expect people to, in masses, wholly understand and respond to a news piece in place of face-to-face conversation. There's no body language, no inflection, no commitment, no facial feedback, and so, so much social pressure.

Maybe those reporting on the use of block should look at the other available tools on Bluesky and expand on their written material. My feed is clear of almost every label on Bluesky Moderation and I now avoid political content, because frankly, you'll always get individuals disputing.

Have you considered that some of us simply don't want to see propaganda disguised as opinion? Having an opt-in model for trusted sources is what I'm here for. Short of exclusively relying on scientific journals, this is a good way to hear what else is going on without a firehouse of falsehoods.

Bigger accounts gace out advice that for Bluesky - one should follow more accounts and then block more freely to get a better experience because of lack of algorithm. Maybe that advice needs to be revisited and people should be less trigger happy with block button.

I don't know who you are or what you believe, but I'm probably going to block you because you're whiny. It's perfectly fine to block people because you're just not interested in the things they say.

I will block whoever the fuck I want for whatever the fuck reason I want. Today might be "I Think You're A Nazi" Day. Tomorrow might be "I Think You're A Transphobe" Day. The next day might be "You Posted A Selfie Wearing A Yellow Shirt" Day. I'll do what the fuck I want.

I'll block whomever I wish to block, thank you very much. You have a right to free speech, not a right to force others to listen! I mean, what more do you want??? Y'all ran us off twitter, and now you want to takeover blusky, too?

absolutely no reason to keep listening to this total stranger to see if my initial interpretation was wrong, or lean over to ask them to clarify. it's actually weird to even suggest I *should* do that. I'm just gonna pop on the ol' noise cancellers and move on so I can enjoy my morning

You can be a booster of things where the community doesn't like you. It's not disqualifying.

Oh no did they call your Nazi-symp columnist bad words? I guess the system is rigged! The whinging for subs here is pathetic.