No corona virus thread???

[Rusty]

Facebook makes no sense. I tried to share a post about a food giveaway for children. They said it "violated community standards".

 

[Spicoli43]

I know nothing about section 230 but I don't see how Facebook/Twitter/Google have any obligation to be fair or permit speech. They're private companies. There's debate over whether their services amount to "public platforms" but it's astounding to me that anyone takes those ideas seriously. Imagine going to the hardware store barefoot and saying they're violating your rights by asking you to put on shoes. Or if someone came on here calling other people names or spamming erection pills and then saying his rights were violated when he got banned.

What the tech companies should not do, however, is CLAIM they are being absolutely fair when they aren't. That is false advertising, potentially fraud in some cases. Being absolutely fair, and still providing any kind of decent/coherent experience, is probably impossible anyway because of all the edge cases and judgment calls, even if the companies were run by space aliens without any skin in the game.

(Sorry again for off-topic.)

Fakebook deleted a post by the President that said the Flu can be deadlier than Covid, saying it was false and against their health "policies". The problem is it's 100% accurate. Fakebook and Tweeter and Google all pick and choose what they approve to be seen, much like every Leftist "news" website there is.

It's not the same as people showing up here and breaking the rules, getting banned. Anything said here isn't broadcast to the whole world. The question on 230 is when do these fake sites become publishers, which removes their protections. There is the argument that censoring true facts like the President's makes them a publisher. I agree.

 

[Spicoli43]

in the state of Virginia

I wouldn't have paid that BS ticket, and would have never gone back to that backward state. There's really nothing worth going there for. When I lived there, cops would run speed traps from their own driveways. That was hickville though, nothing better to do. The coast is probably different.

 

[Rusty]

A few years back, I was on a deserted road coming back from a job about 60 miles from home. From nowhere a trooper pulled me over and after checking all the lights, he wrote me a ticket for 56 in a 55. $80.00. I paid it because I was booked for weeks ahead and it would have cost me several hundred in money for missing a job. Looked like he was just out of the academy. I don't understand a judge not just throwing a bogus ticket out.

 

[Spicoli43]

A few years back, I was on a deserted road coming back from a job about 60 miles from home. From nowhere a trooper pulled me over and after checking all the lights, he wrote me a ticket for 56 in a 55. $80.00. I paid it because I was booked for weeks ahead and it would have cost me several hundred in money for missing a job. Looked like he was just out of the academy. I don't understand a judge not just throwing a bogus ticket out.

I have gotten one of those 1 overs on a Navy Base. That doesn't make sense because it's proven that both speedometers and radar / laser can be off by more than that. They don't play at all on base though, and this was before all our rights were removed.

 

[slownsteady]

bout the true story of Hunter Biden and his dealings with the Ukrainian company Burisma

the argument that censoring true facts

Just putting the word true in the sentence doesn't mean that it actually is. Just sayin'

 

[Flyover]

Maybe a court will decide otherwise but as far as I can tell Facebook/Twitter/etc. are private companies running private websites; they are not public spaces or utilities or publishers, even if they are very popular. They have the right to ban people for saying the sky is blue if they want to.

What I think they should not be allowed to do is claim that they are fair or impartial or whatever. By the same token I don't think any news outlet should be allowed to claim that either.

And no, stuff on Facebook isn't broadcast to the world; you have to also be on Facebook to have it broadcast to you. Thank goodness for that because I'm not on Facebook or Twitter or any of those social media sites and so I don't see the dumb things people write there. My life is much better for it. (No social media, no smartphone...I should write a book and call it "How to achieve enlightenment in the 21st century"! If I wasn't so stupid maybe I could get away with it!)

 

[Spicoli43]

Just putting the word true in the sentence doesn't mean that it actually is. Just sayin'

Huh?

"The report does not assert that the former vice president pushed for the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor in order to protect Burisma, a central claim made by President Trump and his allies."

Here's the link for that "claim", and a nice video.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hunter-biden-report-burisma-ukraine-senate-republican-released/

 

[Rusty]

Maybe a court will decide otherwise but as far as I can tell Facebook/Twitter/etc. are private companies running private websites; they are not public spaces or utilities or publishers, even if they are very popular. They have the right to ban people for saying the sky is blue if they want to.

What I think they should not be allowed to do is claim that they are fair or impartial or whatever. By the same token I don't think any news outlet should be allowed to claim that either.

And no, stuff on Facebook isn't broadcast to the world; you have to also be on Facebook to have it broadcast to you. Thank goodness for that because I'm not on Facebook or Twitter or any of those social media sites and so I don't see the dumb things people write there. My life is much better for it. (No social media, no smartphone...I should write a book and call it "How to achieve enlightenment in the 21st century"! If I wasn't so stupid maybe I could get away with it!)

I'm on Facebook because it allows me to stay in touch with people from my 1966 graduating class. I can even talk to one who .lives in Thailand.

 

[Flyover]

@Rusty: Facebook "allows" you to stay in touch with them but that doesn't mean you're otherwise disallowed. There are lots of other ways to stay in touch, and that's my point. Facebook is not a public utility and people can easily live without it.

I do not have an account on any social media platform so I don't have a horse in the race.

Hey wait a second...

 

[Flyover]

Any elemental understanding of the issues in Ukraine, compels a journalistic operation to report on the facts.

Apologies in advance; this is kind of a hobby horse of mine.

Journalism is a show put on by people trained in stuff like English Lit and Theater Studies, where they write and talk in ways meant to make them sound like authorities on what is true and important. They have no claim to any real authority on anything besides maybe "how to turn around a story on a deadline".

The show they put on, which we know as The News, is still just a show and just like The Simpsons or Law & Order it is beholden only to whatever rules its creators impose on themselves, and whatever constraints are placed on it by the necessity to sell ad space. Journalism could from this day forth only cover stories about slime molds and two-legged cats and it would not change anything fundamental about what journalism is or what role it fills in our society.

If something is actually critical for you to know about, and/or is some kind of information you can use or take action on, you will hear about it from a source upstream from the newspaper office or production studio.

 

[bud16415]

I haven’t deleted any off topic posts yet other than my own.



Lets keep the topic Covid19 related and if all possible non political please.



We are a home improvement forum, and last I checked the bug shows no political preference in who it takes down. There is a fine line to walk when the government is playing such a large role in addressing our health and safety and our economy and mental well being are so tied to the process. It is now affecting almost every aspect of our lives in some way.



I’m asking everyone to look back thru this thread and self moderate their contributions if not clearly related to Covid19.



Covid19 will be past us at some point and the goal here has always been in working together to help others with home repair issues and the other underlying goal is minimize non-related political and social issues.

Thanks in advance.

 

[havasu]

A dozen post back referred to receiving a speeding ticket for going one MPH over the speed limit. I worked traffic enforcement exclusively for 7 years, and would constantly nail speeders using my Laser Gun going 20-30MPH over the speed limit. I hated to hurt their pocket book, but needed them to understand that going that fast was dangerous, so I would write them instead for going 1-3 MPH over the speed limit. Once they left, they would show others the speeding ticket I wrote, and called me a chicken $#it for writing such a trivial ticket. Many also took me to court saying that all Lasers can me 1 MPH off. I loved going to court, because I explained to the judge that they were actually going 20-30 MPH over the speed limit, but I reduced that speed to only help them. The judge saw my compassion and for wasting his time, he would double or triple the fine to reflect the true violation. I never lost a case in traffic court.

Sorry for derailing the thread, but many times, what you hear is not exactly the truth.

 

[Rusty]

I wasn't speeding this guy was looking for a reason. He checked all my lights first. Then made sure I was wearing a seat belt and then decided I was driving 56 in a 55. I don't think I was even driving 55. Just like the one who stopped me recently because my turn signal was out. Then wrote me a ticket for no seat belt. We don't have a primary seat belt law. And after he drove off, we checked. Nothing wrong with the turn signals. According to a friend who worked in the area, he wrote 11 tickets in 30 minutes. My brother was a cop here for 30 years. He says they do have a quota, and a list of certain people they cannot ticket.

 

[havasu]

Quotas are illegal in all 50 states. They can recommend, suggest, or even give you an average evaluation, but if they demand a quota, you can sue for hundreds of thousands. As far as that cite, if true, would get that cop lambasted. In the academy, 5mph over justifies a stop, but no cite. 10 mph over, probably cite, but leaves room for discretion. 15 over. Should cite.

 

[slownsteady]

I had considered starting a political thread a couple months before the election. I mean, where else can you have a meaningful conversation with individuals across the country - actually all North America - without venturing into all the edges of the internet? I decided against it because we had one about four years ago, and some bitter words passed and we lost a few good and helpful voices from the main reason we all came to this site in the first place -to share DIY knowledge.

So.....BEFORE IT HAPPENS.... I caution everyone to keep the gloves on. Be civil and listen (read) carefully before you speak (write). If you feel yourself getting hot, take a break before going forward.

Thank you.

 

[slownsteady]

The problem with media...be it Mainstream or not....is that they have forgotten to draw the line between news and opinion. The networks probably are holding the line best. The Cable newshows flow effortlessly between the two and before you know it, you are listening to their particular point of view. Almost any video clip can be cut at the right places to support the POV of the producers.

 

[slownsteady]

Okay. .......Moving forward...............

 

[slownsteady]

The surprising thing after all these decades of slanted news is that people are still gullible.

 

[Flyover]

I don't think it's surprising. The only thing journalists are really experts at is passing themselves off as authorities on what's true and important, at least to the people who are inclined to listen to them. You would expect that after several hundred years they've gotten pretty good at it.

There's no such thing as "non-slanted news" and never has been. It's impossible even in theory.