# Twitter suspends alt-right accounts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 16, 2016, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136 "2016-11-16T07:42:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CatandMouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/21 "2016-11-16T16:46:07Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I’m sure this is not going to go over well. Twitter has suspended some alt-right accounts for tweeting what Twitter is calling hate speech. > > [Twitter suspends alt-right accounts](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/11/15/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/93943194/) Good for Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![CatandMouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/22 "2016-11-16T16:48:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Anyone aggrieved by Twitter’s decision is free to start their own platform and attract their own audience. Exactly! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/23 "2016-11-16T16:52:13Z")
I would suggest that if one wants to talk about censorship on a general, non-governmental level, and leave it there, one shouldn’t compare Twitter to the Weimar Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/24 "2016-11-16T16:55:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I thought “alt-” as a prefix came from internet newsgroups–many of them had alt-something names, alt-cats, alt-athiesm, alt-sex, etc. [They were originally alt.dot.something, but having a period/dot in a name can be problematic.] They tended to be not too mainstream discussions. Back before the proliferation message boards, newsgroups were unmoderated places for discussion. I guess they’re still around–I don’t follow any of them anymore. Used to get some good cat health tips from one of them. I don’t know if that’s where “alt-right” started, but the name follows the naming conventions of that type of group. > > Here’s some [info](http://www.tech-faq.com/how-to-access-free-alt-newsgroups.html)about alt groups. Go [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newsgroups)and scroll down to “alt hierarchy.” > > I don’t consider myself extremely knowledgeable about the interwebs, but surely someone else has come up with this explanation of the name “alt-right” besides me? My bad-should have put a 😉 at the end of my post. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/25 "2016-11-16T16:58:54Z")
The ramifications of this are interesting. Now, self-evident rights and constitutional freedoms are left to the discretion not of elected government bodies, but corporations that own and control the venues for expression and even behavior. The first chink in this armor came with the development of shopping malls, where “Main Street” became private property. It was a natural evolution to this, and it is easy to predict its future course. “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause.” – Padme Amidala, Revenge Of The Sith ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/26 "2016-11-16T17:04:00Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The ramifications of this are interesting. Now, self-evident rights and constitutional freedoms are left to the discretion not lf elected government bodies, but corporations that own and control the venues for expression and even behavior. > > The first chink in this armor came with the development of shopping malls, where “Main Street” became private property. It was a natural evolution to this, and it is easy to predict its future course. > “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause.” > – Padme Amidala, Revenge Of The Sith The “ramifications” of this is that the so-called “alt-right” has been denied one of their many fortresses, paid for and maintained by others, that they used to cravenly attack people they disagree with. They were not denied access for their message, but for their methods. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/27 "2016-11-16T17:22:50Z")
I thought the same thing as Thelma Lou. It seemed kind of weird that a probably obsolete Usenet term was in use again, but I keep finding that past notions and terminology mean entirely different things nowadays. It means those damn Millenials are the new right-wing whackos. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/28 "2016-11-16T18:22:09Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Being a part time amateur pedant, I too approve of well placed pedantry. The Pedant’s Revolt, lead by Which Tyler… ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/29 "2016-11-16T18:22:17Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The ramifications of this are interesting. Now, self-evident rights and constitutional freedoms are left to the discretion not of elected government bodies, but corporations that own and control the venues for expression and even behavior. > > The first chink in this armor came with the development of shopping malls, where “Main Street” became private property. It was a natural evolution to this, and it is easy to predict its future course. > “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause.” > – Padme Amidala, Revenge Of The Sith A fundamentally ignorant perspective. Constitutional protections were ever only applicable to State force. I can eject you from my store or my front yard for any reason I damn well please, except for a fairly narrow list of protected classes, of which ideological alignment isn’t one. But the persecution narrative is strong in this one. It must be nice to reject objective reality and substitute your own ideologically compatible one. Since this is outside the sphere of Constitutional protections, the market solution holds: find a platform that welcomes you. Vote with the feet, and with the dollar. If it becomes an echo chamber, well, that’s too bad. That’s the marketplace of ideas for you. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/30 "2016-11-16T18:29:58Z")
Seems a bit hypocritical to ban these people while happily providing a platform for your president to peddle his scumbag agendas. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/31 "2016-11-16T18:37:15Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Seems a bit hypocritical to ban these people while happily providing a platform for your president to peddle his scumbag agendas. I don’t hypocrisy is a business liability, unless it interferes with your marketing. This is Twitter. They try to make money. If they have to balance the majority of their customers who aren’t alt-righters with the minority who are, the dollars make the decision practically for them. Hence, no hypocrisy in any sense that matters: making more money rather than less. This is not the League of Women Voters. This is not a public foundation. This is not a civic organization. This is a business. If it’s legal, and it makes more money than the alternative, it’s inevitable. (It’s not madness, either. It’s Sparta.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/32 "2016-11-16T19:31:31Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > A fundamentally ignorant perspective. Constitutional protections were ever only applicable to State force. I can eject you from my store or my front yard for any reason I damn well please, except for a fairly narrow list of protected classes, of which ideological alignment isn’t one. It’s not ignorant at all. In fact, you seem to have misunderstood the comment you replied to. The differences is that there used to be more of a public space in which the _only restriction_ was state force. And that space is increasingly vanishing (or in the case of online, never really existed). Yes, you can kick people out of your store, because it’s not public, but then they can stand on the sidewalk and say whatever they want. But the internet is entirely composed of people’s stores. There’s no place to speak that is subject only to the state’s control where the first amendment protects you. You can start your own website, but that’s not a public space either. It requires, at a minimum, the cooperation of telecommunications companies to carry your traffic. I’m not saying that Twitter should be forced to keep people on their service that they don’t want. But the problem is that there’s no place on the internet (and increasingly vanishing places in the real world) in which you are free to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/34 "2016-11-16T19:54:24Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In my opinion, it’s more accurate to say that while government censorship is held to very limited boundaries, a private actor is free to limit speech much more broadly, and that while it is censorious, it’s not the type of censorship that the First Amendment prevents. Interestingly, it was in a conservative publication (can’t recall the name) where I read the following (paraphrased): _You have the right to say whatever you want, and I have the right to decline to provide you with a platform from which to say it._ I agree, and have no issue with it working both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/35 "2016-11-16T20:14:27Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > It’s not ignorant at all. In fact, you seem to have misunderstood the comment you replied to. The differences is that there used to be more of a public space in which the _only restriction_ was state force. And that space is increasingly vanishing (or in the case of online, never really existed). > > Yes, you can kick people out of your store, because it’s not public, but then they can stand on the sidewalk and say whatever they want. > > But the internet is entirely composed of people’s stores. There’s no place to speak that is subject only to the state’s control where the first amendment protects you. You can start your own website, but that’s not a public space either. It requires, at a minimum, the cooperation of telecommunications companies to carry your traffic. > > I’m not saying that Twitter should be forced to keep people on their service that they don’t want. But the problem is that there’s no place on the internet (and increasingly vanishing places in the real world) in which you are free to speak. Very nicely put! It has long been a desire of mine to see the issues of public vs. private space on the internet debated and, hopefully, settled in court rulings. There are too many open questions currently. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/36 "2016-11-16T21:20:50Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Anyone aggrieved by Twitter’s decision is free to start their own platform and attract their own audience. They can call it ‘Bitter’. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/37 "2016-11-16T21:34:24Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > They can call it ‘Bitter’. No, it’s Twitter. They call me Twitter Salad. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/38 "2016-11-16T22:02:29Z")
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” – Sinclair Lewis ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/39 "2016-11-16T23:30:30Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > A fundamentally ignorant perspective. Constitutional protections were ever only applicable to State force. I can eject you from my store or my front yard for any reason I damn well please, except for a fairly narrow list of protected classes, of which ideological alignment isn’t one. > > But the persecution narrative is strong in this one. It must be nice to reject objective reality and substitute your own ideologically compatible one. > > Since this is outside the sphere of Constitutional protections, the market solution holds: find a platform that welcomes you. Vote with the feet, and with the dollar. If it becomes an echo chamber, well, that’s too bad. That’s the marketplace of ideas for you. My point was not about this specific issue, but the general fact that America has been so privatized, that it is increasingly rare for a person to be engaging in any activity in a public venue where the constitutional rights hold sway. You can’t be heard shouting on a soapbox anymore, because there is no public place to put the soapbox where people can hear you. Any person who is in a public place has his windows rolled up an the AC on and his music blaring. And even public spaces often have “protest zones” well removed from the people you wish to address. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/40 "2016-11-16T23:51:36Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > My point was not about this specific issue, but the general fact that America has been so privatized, that it is increasingly rare for a person to be engaging in any activity in a public venue where the constitutional rights hold sway. You can’t be heard shouting on a soapbox anymore, because there is no public place to put the soapbox where people can hear you. Any person who is in a public place has his windows rolled up an the AC on and his music blaring. And even public spaces often have “protest zones” well removed from the people you wish to address. This is such total nonsense. If the alt right had something truthful and non-hateful to say, they have a million places from which to shout it out. As it stands, they’re stuck with a well-known website, some radio talk shows and an office in the White House, which permits them to say anything they want, regardless of how false and hateful it is. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136/41 "2016-11-17T00:06:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I thought “alt-” as a prefix came from internet newsgroups–many of them had alt-something names, alt-cats, alt-athiesm, alt-sex, etc. [They were originally alt.dot.something, but having a period/dot in a name can be problematic.] They tended to be not too mainstream discussions. Back before the proliferation message boards, newsgroups were unmoderated places for discussion. I guess they’re still around–I don’t follow any of them anymore. Used to get some good cat health tips from one of them. I don’t know if that’s where “alt-right” started, but the name follows the naming conventions of that type of group. > > Here’s some [info](http://www.tech-faq.com/how-to-access-free-alt-newsgroups.html)about alt groups. Go [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newsgroups)and scroll down to “alt hierarchy.” > > I don’t consider myself extremely knowledgeable about the interwebs, but surely someone else has come up with this explanation of the name “alt-right” besides me? > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I thought the same thing as Thelma Lou. It seemed kind of weird that a probably obsolete Usenet term was in use again, but I keep finding that past notions and terminology mean entirely different things nowadays. > > It means those damn Millenials are the new right-wing whackos. From [Rationalwiki](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Alt-Right): > [@](#): > > The term originated with Richard Spencer’s white nationalist magazine/blog Alternative Right, nicknamed “AltRight”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/772136.md?page=3)