Parler Seems to Be Back; We're There at @VolokhC

Let us know how it's working for you.

Comments

[Jimmy the Dane]

I thought something felt more balanced in the world tonight...

[AmosArch]

Some of the design decisions, like requiring a phone number baffle me for something positioning itself as an alternative to Twitt-urgh. Regardless I hope a healthy ecosystem of alternatives arises for social media.

[mse326]

Going to be honest I don't think Parler fixes the big issue. The big issue with social media is that it is becoming/has become and echo chamber. Parler just becomes another echo chamber, just this time for conservatives and alt right (they are not the same though I get the left treats them that way). If a social media site that truly allowed full rights to opposing speech was viable then we wouldn't be in this mess anyway, so I don't see an alternative popping up that fixes the issue.

[AmosArch]

Two echo chambers is a lot better than the one we have now. Plus assuming rightwingers can get their platforms up despite Big Tech and the 'tolerant openminded' leftists best efforts to kill it. It will provide a proof of concept that will be beneficial to Alttech as a whole. Personally I think uncensorable P2P social media taking off would be great too but not everybody is willing to let go of the convenience of big corporations.

[mse326]

I'm not in anyway against Parler, and I don't like what the big social networks are doing. But I disagree that two echo chambers are better than one. Echo chambers are by definition bad. Multiplying the bad doesn't create a good or even less bad.

I'm all for a fully inclusive social media platform but the reality is that won't happen. It may not be inherent in the business practices but instead client choice, but the "why" doesn't change the "what"

[David K]

I don't think Parler will censor leftists like Facebook and Twitter do to the right. They are welcome to spew their nonsense there. The metaphorical beatdown would be fun to watch.

[mse326]

Read what I said. It isn't about Parler's practice but client choice. Do you actually think "leftists" as you call them are going to be joining Parler?

[Seamus]

Parler gives full rights to people on the left. Problem is, no one on the left wants to be associated with Parler, because Parler refuses to block right-wingers. In fact, lefties regard being on Parler as sufficient grounds for cancellation in and of itself.

[mse326]

I understand that, but it doesn't change the reality that it will be an echo chamber

[TwelveInchPianist]

"In fact, lefties regard being on Parler as sufficient grounds for cancellation in and of itself."

As was covered on this very blog.

[M L]

The big issue with social media isn't that it's an echo chamber. If people voluntarily decide to invite like minded folks into their chamber or their parlor if you will, literally or virtually - who cares?

The big issue with social media (and search, and more) is monopolization and network effects, and the political power and control that comes with that. The problem is when social media platforms do things that users hate vehemently, and yet the user doesn't have a viable alternative. What's needed is people dropping the established platforms and being able to use alternatives. Ultimately the potential result is some kind of open protocol rather than closed platforms.

[mse326]

You act like the majority of social media users "hate vehemently" what they are doing. It is, sadly, quite the opposite. When they allowed speech free of censoring the majority hated it vehemently. That is why they changed. It was in response to to client feedback. That is why they are all in lockstep. Because that is what social media users, whose political leanings are not the same as the whole population, want. "People" won't drop established platforms because those platforms are generally catering to them.

You are mixing cause an effect. The reason so much of social media leans left is because the clientele leans left. Parler can try to fill the gap but the reality is that it won't come close to the level of Twitter or Facebook because the clientele is far smaller. No social network can survive at that level without left leanings. It isn't their monopoly causing anything. It is the political leanings of the pool that drive it. They can have competition but it would still be left leaning.

[M L]

"You act like the majority of social media users “hate vehemently” what they are doing. "

No, I'm not acting like that. It can be a small minority and my point still stands.

"When they allowed speech free of censoring the majority hated it vehemently. That is why they changed."

Evidence? The majority of who? The majority of Democrat politicians and the media who have been nonstop threatening and cajoling them for years to censor rightwing views? The majority of their leftist board of directors? The majority of their leftist employees?

"The reason so much of social media leans left is because the clientele leans left. "

Maybe so. Your point? And you do realize that the "Clientele" is not the users, right? The users are the product. The clientele are the big businesses who pay Facebook and the big investors who invest in it.

"You are mixing cause an effect . . . It isn’t their monopoly causing anything."

No, I'm not. The reason for the extreme, blatant, biased, and widespread political censorship is really irrelevant. The problem is the monopoly. They can censor all they want, and for whatever reason they want. Only when they have monopoly power does it become a problem.

[James Pollock]

"I hope a healthy ecosystem of alternatives arises for social media."

You could try talking to actual people.

[James Pollock]

"I thought something felt more balanced in the world tonight…"

New Meds?

[J'onn J'onzz]

Had a little trouble logging in to Parler, but I'm sure it will get better in time.

[MollyGodiva]

The log in system does have some quirks. I did get in.

[MollyGodiva]

I don't think VC has should be there. Parler is a vile, hate filled site and it degrades the respectability of VC. It is not a place for serious discussions. Think a concentration of the craziest comments on Reason, but 10x worse.

[santamonica811]

I think the VC *moving* to Parler would be awful. But this new location is in addition to this site.

It will be interesting to see if there is a change in the tone of posting. I've noticed a huge change from the very beginning, but I assume that's because the readership has changed from Original Flavor VC (lawyers, law students, etc), to New and Extra Crispy VC, with a ton of commentators who have no exposure to the law. Was one version better than the other? My guess is that reasonable people will disagree about the answer. 🙂

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

You either don't read Vox, NYT, Salon, HuffPo, or other lefty sites, or you are so inured to them that anything to the right is a Nazi.

[AmosArch]

How dare there be a place that people can express themselves not under the control of Sillycon Valley!

[James Pollock]

Because being under the control of somewhere else is better?

[VinniUSMC]

"I don’t think"

We know.

[ScottK]

I agree with MollyGodiva, but the VC long ago ceased to be a place for serious discussion. Being part of Parler is part of the recipe for the kind of society that Prof. Volokh escaped from.

[Stephen Lathrop]

So I clicked on this thread about Parler, and what comes up in the pop-up adds? Hawaiian shirts.

[AmosArch]

Theres a pretty nice one with a bare@ss naked woman lifting weight when I loaded I think maybe it was an Adler post. And I do mean bare. You can basically see her whole backside. Hey I ain't complaining.

[Krayt]

With your phone number, which acts as a globally unique ID for you, they can tie you into the giant advertising databases for fun and profit. Had you clicked on anything like shirts, or Hawaii anywhere in the last few months?

[Dr. Ed 2]

It isn't even that -- I get enough junk calls already and don't want my phone number known.

[Life of Brian]

Pop-up ads? What are those?

[Seriously, I'm always amazed on the rare occasions when I get a new device out of the box and/or use someone else's what an unreadable, unusable mess the Internet is without an adblocker. Try it -- you'll like it.]

[apedad]

Well this is good news!

I was worried there isn't enough right-wing points of view here at the VC.

Having a Parler account will allow some more to bleed over to here.

I wonder how many Parler users know "Parler" is the French verb to speak. I thought they weren't allowed to use dirty, commie, chicken shit French words, e.g. French Fries - Freedom Fries!

[AmosArch]

As far as I know there is nothing preventing leftists from joining Parler. Its stated mission is a free speech alternative to Twitter not necessarily a conservative one. Its just that overwhelmingly conservatives are the ones being kicked off the old social media sites. If your bugaboo is freedom of speech like your post indicated why would you be against an alternative to the Twitter monopoly?

I don't really get why progs get especially venomous about altech especially when they always happily crow 'BuiLd UR oWn' whenever Big Tech censorship strikes.

[James Pollock]

"As far as I know there is nothing preventing leftists from joining Parler."

Common sense. (Provided they have it.)

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

I thought

No...you didn't.

[ThePublius]

I wish the VC would move to a site that has more sophisticated commenting, like a regular forum-type app. That way one could edit posts, and follow posts one's interested in, get notifications for replies to them, or to your own posts, etc.

[MollyGodiva]

No thanks. Those commonly come with the "Load More Comments" button where it only loads a few posts at a time and you have to keep scrolling and clicking to get anywhere. Many of those use Disqus which I despise. The commentating system here is just fine.

[ThePublius]

It works, but none of the images load.

[ME2R]

You mean speech on Parler will “unfettered” by the media and elite? NYT will be clutching their pearls this morning for sure!

For those who missed it, goggle unfettered speech.

[David K]

I'd rather duckduckgo it, not google it.

[M L]

We must fetter the speech!

[M L]

Sorry, I mean the conversations. They must be fettered.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-worries-about-unfettered-conversations-on-clubhouse-where-people-are-free-to-talk-with-whomever-they-want

[ThePublius]

By the way, how do people usually pronounce this, as in French, 'parl-ay,' or as if it's an English word, 'parl-er?'

[James Pollock]

You treat it like any other 4-letter word, and just use the first initial. P----- is up? Wonderful.

[David K]

For me, it's pronounced "par-ley". For my brother, who hates the French, it's "par-lor".

[Paul Hutch]

I thought Parler was supposed to be a free speech platform but since they have banned Milo Yiannopoulos I must be wrong.
It's not a free speech platform it's just a platform that censors a slightly different selection of people than Twitter & Facebook.

[ThePublius]

Seems like a reasonable ban to me.

Milo Yiannopoulos banned from Parler for threatening to murder illegal immigrants

[Mother's Lament]

I thought it was going to be something that was deliberately misinterpreted and then blown out of proportion. But I looked it up and that post was insane.
Milo must have taken too much molly lately.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Parler and the Volokh Conspiracy seems a natural fit.

[Bored Lawyer]

And yet, you're still here.

Kind of like a preacher being caught in a house of ill repute, and claiming he is there to rebuke the residents.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I am here, to some degree -- in particular, to the extent this blog's repeated censorship hasn't diminished my expression here.

May the better ideas win.

Of course, that's easy for me to say. My preferences have prevailed in the American culture war.

[Life of Brian]

to the extent this blog’s repeated censorship hasn’t diminished my expression here.

No, Artie -- nobody at this blog has turned your "expression" here into a tired, bitter, monochromatic, broken record.

You chose to do that yourself.

Own it.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

This blog is one incessant whine by disaffected conservatives at the fringe of mainstream academia, complaining about how right-wingers are disrespected by people and institutions that prefer reason, modernity, and inclusiveness to bigotry, superstition, and backwardness. If you didn’t like polemical, cranky broken records, you would not be here.