What's With Gettr?

Are any of you folks on it? Does it seem to work well? What are its pluses and minuses? I'm thinking about trying to cross-post to an account there, but I don't want to invest much effort in that unless it seems like a viable platform.

Note that I don't much care (1) whether there are some awful people there (there are some awful people everywhere), and (2) whether they are materially more conservative than I am. As I mentioned when we joined Parler (which drew us lots of readers until it got broken), if we only spoke to people who entirely agreed with us, that wouldn't be much fun.

I hope to inform and persuade people from all over the political spectrum. Indeed, to the extent that I think they have some unsound beliefs, it's part of my job to try to persuade them to change those beliefs (and perhaps I might be a titch more likely to succeed than someone whom they see as firmly on the Left).

To be sure, the odds of any particular person being persuaded on any particular issue are never high. But what's the alternative? Shooting them? Trying to get them all fired so they won't have the money for an Internet connection? Ignoring them and hoping they go away? Staying off their platforms and using my own to call them idiots? (That'll show them!)

By the way, I'd still like to get things set up to automatically post to MeWe, but that will only work if they set things up so we can automatically feed to a MeWe page, as we do on Facebook, Twitter, and Parler; but MeWe doesn't seem to offer such a feature, the way dlvr.it and similar services do it for Facebook and Twitter, and the way Parler does it automatically for us. And while we theoretically could just hand-post each new post to MeWe, practically that wouldn't be sustainable.

Comments

[whey_standard]

Much like Parler, its technical design leaves much to be desired. I am on there as a means to check it out, but it remains to be seen if they'll become a viable platform. If you do go there, I would 1) not use a password you use anywhere else, or give them any information you wouldn't want posted publicly, and 2) don't actually believe their verification system, it is not particularly robust.

Ultimately, it's in the initial stages. Why these sites can't find competent security folks, idk, I've been on darknet forums that are more robustly built, but such is life. I'd say do it. It's very easy to set up an account, so it's not that much of an investment of time, and if it doesn't seem to be active after a while there, just stop posting.

[Ben_]

I think the goal they have for people who aren’t like them is merely that those people suffer — suffer as much as can be arranged.

"Trying to get them all fired so they won't have the money for an Internet connection" is an example of goal-oriented thinking. The haters aren’t problem-solvers. They don’t have a To Do list. They have a list of people or groups they want to hurt and they keep going through it again and again, forever.

They might do anything you mention. Not strategically, just to be mean.

[whey_standard]

Like making a major national security decision (nominating the next Chairman of the JCS, the highest uniformed military officer) purely to spite the SecDef you're mad at, rather than any actual evaluation of ability to perform the function.

[Ben_]

Nope. What a bizarre non sequitur.

Whatever you’re talking about, you might want to monitor it. Inserting completely bizarre unrelated stuff into conversations is a sign of obsession. If it becomes a big problem for you, a psychiatrist can prescribe medication to help.

[whey_standard]

Ah sorry, I thought you were talking about doing things to people you think aren't on your political team without any strategy, but just to be mean. My apologies for reading your words and thinking you meant them.

[Ben_]

Sorry this is happening to you. I hope whatever you’re talking about clears up for you so you can think about something relevant to your life and wellbeing again.

[whey_standard]

You hope your own comments clear up?

[jdgalt1]

I created an account there but have been unable to login for the last ten days. I believe the site is overwhelmed by a flood of new members. There's nothing more I can say about it until I can reliably get onto it.

[jdgalt1]

A follow-up. Today I was able to get on. It's like a very stunted version of Parler. I can subscribe to channels and read their articles, and am allowed to post comments -- but I can't read any of the comments, mine or anyone else's. Until it has that ability it does nothing my podcast-reader apps don't do better. I have sent a "why?" to support, will report back if it's my mistake but I don't think so.

[MatthewSlyfield]

Gettr? Larry the Cable Guy has his own social media platform?

[SKofNJ]

I gotta admit, Eugene, I like you alternatives. (Just kidding, of course.)

[Jaypd]

I suggest you keep your mind out of the gettr

[ah....Clem]

My understanding is that Gettr is an object lesson in what happens when a social media site tries to act as a common carrier and allow anything and everything that is not actually legally actionable.

Agree that there are awful people everywhere, but some places don't allow them to display their awfulness in its full glory.

As an aside, you might want to be careful of any criticism of Gettr - that bastion of unbridled free speech "canceled" Tim Miller for writing an article about it that was somewhat less than flattering.

See https://twitter.com/timodc/status/1413709333968289798?lang=en

[Caphon]

It seems like you’re apologizing for doing this in advance because you’re anticipating blowback. Just do it. No need to apologize.

[Eugene Volokh]

I agree there's no need to apologize, which is why I'm not apologizing. But before I invest time and effort into trying to set something up on Gettr, I'd like to know whether it's worth my while.