“I am quitting Twitter for a while”

[sama]

I'm quitting for awhile. This is not newsworthy.

I will be back, I just want to break the cycle of the compulsion to check it given that I think it's healthier in much smaller doses.

I also think Twitter will make changes to the behavior the product rewards, and it will make it a much better place to be.

Just to say it, I also think Twitter will be a very valuable company.

[philippnagel]

Interpreting your last sentence - Twitter isn't a valuable company yet?

[gloriousduke]

I think this will be a growing trend for all social networks among the more thoughtful crowd (or at least a large curtailing of usage). What value does signing into these platforms many times per day really bring, especially considering the negative effects of distraction?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/modern-world...

[jacques_chester]

There's always a steady migration to new platforms.

A new platform emerges.

The early adopters find other early adopters. They are all enthusiastic. It's a small community so things stay informally OK.

Word gets out. There's a boom. Growing pains.

Eventually it's a mass platform. Everyone is there. It turns out that lots of people's morality is governed by fear of punishment and not fear of guilt and bam, there's a rising tide of nastiness.

A new platform emerges ...

[mmastrac]

I enjoy Twitter myself but it does reward low-effort, high-dopamine-reward behaviour like snark, sarcasm and trolling. I don't blame him at all.

It's a platform built on easy-mode interaction - getting to know people in depth is more difficult.

[aresant]

Twitter's base DNA was building a "broadcast" platform with a simplistic I/O of communication between two parties. (keyword TWO)

This makes sense in the context of Twitter's underpinnings in emergency vehicle / taxi dispatch. (1)

What it's actually becomes is a massive discussion board where information is organized around people rather than topics.

With the genius tweak of limiting to 140 characters to drive word economy and a low commitment tax to open the app and participate.

As such I am baffled why they don't roll some basic community and forum management tools.

People are having discussions! In a group!

So give them some tools to solve the oldest community challenges in the book of trolling, content discovery, relationship development, etc.

(1) http://www.briansolis.com/2011/04/twitter-co-founder-jack-do...

[molecule]

seems like an important qualifier was dropped from the HN headline: "I’m quitting Twitter for awhile."

[kenko]

Why is this newsworthy? It seems like the exact same points have been made hundreds of times.

[jacques_chester]

Sam Altman is more notable to the HN crowd that the hundreds of other folks.

[the_watcher]

I've pretty much entirely quit using Twitter for communication outside of the NBA Twitter micro-community. Besides that, I use it for news and to follow Pinboard, HN Onion, and other parodies.

[simonebrunozzi]

I am wondering if there's an easy way to sell a great Twitter handle (@simon). Suggestions?

[realworldview]

And I'm quitting the gym.

[the_watcher]

> Seems like if you're done you should just be done.

Why? There's no reason someone shouldn't be able to change their mind.