# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 49
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/961 "2022-11-13T19:19:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s all relative. Google employees having been getting awesome free gourmet lunches for years, along with lots of other perks. The only thing Twitter employees have been getting lately is fired. Both companies are vying for the best talent. Where would you rather work? Going to the tweet makes it clear that Wortman doesn’t work for Twitter. And forget about trying to hire the best talent. Musk is giving the employees just one more reason to brush up their resumes. And the way this works, the best ones leave first. I think Musk also expects the survivors to work harder. That’s going to happen. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Google HQ is 35 minutes down US 101 from Twitter HQ. At midnight. If you’re lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/962 "2022-11-13T19:41:45Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > What is the n-dimensional chess strategy according to which it’s a good idea to pick a fight with a sitting US senator? I believe it’s something along the lines of “haha bird app go brrr, wubba lubba dub dub Pickle Rick beeyotch!” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/963 "2022-11-13T19:43:09Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > What is the n-dimensional chess strategy according to which it’s a good idea to pick a fight with a sitting US senator? The Musk fans aren’t much different than the Trump fans. He says what’s on his mind! He answers to nobody! He picks fight with elites! He’s rich and successful and if I’m loud enough about it, maybe I’ll become rich and successful too! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/964 "2022-11-13T20:14:46Z")
Hey! You plagiarized my rap! ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/965 "2022-11-13T21:55:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Google HQ is 35 minutes down US 101 from Twitter HQ. > > At midnight. If you’re lucky. Only a problem if you insist on working in Mountain View. Google San Francisco is two miles away. https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.7843179,-122.4123859&z=15&output=embed&dg=ntvb ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/966 "2022-11-13T22:44:13Z")
I don’t know who Andrew Wortman is. Do you? Does he work for Twitter? Does he represent anyone who works for Twitter? Nearest I can tell he’s nobody. And to PastTense’s point, this is exactly the problem with Twitter. This is one tweet, from a stranger, void of context or relevance. And yet you’ve used it to paint a picture that thousands of Twitter employees are whiny brats. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/967 "2022-11-13T22:54:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Twitter has fact-checked another of Dear Leader’s twits. I bet the employees _really_ enjoy getting to write those. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/968 "2022-11-13T23:18:02Z")
I think the cafeteria staff (or caterer) must have been scaled down over the last 2 years. Musk’s sudden desire to see everyone at the office (and working long into the evenings) resulted in additional demand for the free meals, and he decided the employees weren’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/969 "2022-11-13T23:19:35Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@Cervaise](#): > > > > What is the n-dimensional chess strategy according to which it’s a good idea to pick a fight with a sitting US senator? > > I believe it’s something along the lines of “haha bird app go brrr, wubba lubba dub dub Pickle Rick beeyotch!” > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > The Musk fans aren’t much different than the Trump fans. He says what’s on his mind! He answers to nobody! He picks fight with elites! Yeah he’s posturing before his followers as if he’s Howard Hughes facing Senator Brewster in _The Aviator_ (or maybe Dee Snider making Al (and Tipper) Gore look stupid at the hearings on the PRMC?). Here I am, a real creator and innovator, ridiculing the politically powerful to their face and they can’t touch me! I am SO out of f\*\*\*s to give! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/970 "2022-11-13T23:41:01Z")
> I don’t understand the value of this. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/971 "2022-11-13T23:46:07Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I don’t understand the value of this. It’s… a thing. It’s a feature that was 98% ready to roll when he bought the company, so he can roll it out and say he’s improving it. In fairly short order, Musk will say it was his idea. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/972 "2022-11-13T23:46:15Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I think Musk also expects the survivors to work harder. That’s going to happen. [“The thing is Bob…it’s not that I’m lazy. It’s that I just don’t care.”](https://youtu.be/j_1lIFRdnhA) > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > The Musk fans aren’t much different than the Trump fans. He says what’s on his mind! He answers to nobody! He picks fight with elites! He’s rich and successful and if I’m loud enough about it, maybe I’ll become rich and successful too! Muskies (Muskrats? Muskholes? Elonites?) are totally different from Trump fans. For one, they want to go to Mars because it would be so cool to go to a new planet to hang out with mutants and triple-breasted whores. For another, they don’t want to build a Wall to keep people out; they want a Wall to Power the world. And if it means extracting lithium from delicate ecosystems and rare earth minerals from forced labor, who is to say that those child workers aren’t developing a real sense of worth from their work? If only all billionaires could be like Elon, devoted to improving the world with scammy cryptocurrency schemes and embarrassingly awkward dancing androids. Plus, Elon really cares about all of his children, or at least the ones whose names he can remember, and he’ll improve their lives by jamming electrodes in their brains to neurolink them all together into a hive mind if only the goddammed FDA would get its stupid regulations out of his face. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/973 "2022-11-13T23:49:28Z")
I bet it’s intended as a decentralized form of verification, to fight against the tsunami of impersonation that’s been plaguing his version of the site. If somebody claims to be an employee of, say, Ford Motor Company, the company is supposed to be able to confirm this, so readers can evaluate the tweeter’s claims. Which seems totally insane, because if I’m an employee of Ford Motor Company, I definitely do not want my employer to know “@BigButtCally438” is actually me. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/974 "2022-11-14T00:16:19Z")
> ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/975 "2022-11-14T02:13:36Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Which seems totally insane, because if I’m an employee of Ford Motor Company, I definitely do not want my employer to know “@BigButtCally438” is actually me. The one thing my Fortune 100 employer demands of all its employees is that none of us ever include who we work for or make any noise that sounds like we’re using company info of whatever sort to inform our social media posts. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/976 "2022-11-14T02:23:59Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I bet it’s intended as a decentralized form of verification, to fight against the tsunami of impersonation that’s been plaguing his version of the site. If somebody claims to be an employee of, say, Ford Motor Company, the company is supposed to be able to confirm this, so readers can evaluate the tweeter’s claims. I just don’t see how that’s helpful for the current situation. Eli Lilly knew that the impersonator was not them, for example. And I’m not too clear on how it helps in other situations, really. The employer knows it’s not their employee. What can they do about it? Is it that they can find employees who made accounts and didn’t want to be found–e.g. whistleblowers? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/977 "2022-11-14T02:35:39Z")
> Casey Newtown, a tech reporter who writes [the Substack, Platformer](https://www.platformer.news/), [reported](https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1591848844899540992?s=20&t=Lur7fB-dtTORvdHB6o4YQQ) on Sunday that Twitter laid off approximately 4,400 of its 5,500 contract employees. Newton also reported that the contractors weren’t warned but rather just stripped of access to Slack and email. The “cuts [were] expected to have significant impact to content moderation and the core infrastructure services that keep the site up and running,” > **[Elon Musk has fired even more Twitter workers](https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-fires-more-twitter-workers)** > > More people gone. The massive cuts in content moderation both from regular and contract employees are going to very shortly result in massive increases in hate speech, pornography… on the site making it more and more likely that advertisers will leave the site. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/978 "2022-11-14T03:13:44Z")
It’s almost like he bought it to kill it. Perhaps he and another well-known narcissist who also believes he has been mistreated by Twitter’s content moderation are collaborating. With a side order of certain totalitarian governments paying to shut down a service their downtrodden citizens use to communicate. Nah, couldn’t be. Could it? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/979 "2022-11-14T03:27:45Z")
Free food has always been a better deal for tech employers than employees. How do you get salaried employees to work 80 hours a week for no extra compensation? Historically, by removing every single reason they would ever have to leave the office. The only reason employees don’t have a bedroom next to their desk is because the tech companies can’t get it past NIMBY councils despite many of them trying. That’s why all of the modern tech companies look like adult daycares. It’s not out of any benevolent desire to pamper workers, it’s purely because that shit more than pays for itself if you can convince the average employee to put in even half an hour of extra, uncompensated work. Like every other move by Musk, removing free food is incredibly short sighted and will blow up in his face. Bits of twitter are breaking far faster than the engineering team is able to fix. A component responsible for reporting notification counts on iOS has been broken for a week, I just recently ran into a bug last night where trying to like a tweet gave me an error the tweet had been deleted and I had to refresh two times before it let me like it. Speaking from experience, when a company gets into a position of facing an infinite backlog of P1 bugs, the only variable that affects how hard engineers work is their belief in the company balanced against their desire to preserve their mental health. More or less compensation doesn’t help, being yelled at by management doesn’t help. Having a belief that the product is worth fighting for and that the management has your back in digging the company out of a hole is the only reason to put in more hours. Removing free food is going to have every engineer at 6:30pm thinking why am I putting in all of these extra hours if the company doesn’t even appreciate me enough to give me dinner for staying this late? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/980 "2022-11-14T03:30:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s almost like he bought it to kill it. Once again, I must cite the Universal Truth that explains virtually all human actions: _ **Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.** _ One could also note that Occam’s Razor would have us ask which is more likely, that Musk is the evil genuis architect of a global conspiracy to shut down Twitter, or that Musk is an incompetent dumbass. But Occam’s Razor, like so many other guiding principles when applied to human behaviour, are merely corollaries from the great Universal Truth: stupidity explains everything. The explanatory power of both of Einstein’s theories of relativity taken together pale in comparison with the explanatory power of the great Theory of Stupidity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=48) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=50)