FAQ: Online Presence and Social Media

Social Media Presence

Why are you anonymous?

I come from the dark ages of the web, where forum accounts used to be anonymous. Being anonymous shifts the perspective from my character/person to the actual thing I am saying. And I believe, one ought to focus on the content put forth and not who says it. Some of it will be lame, some of it nice, some of it annoying, and most of it memes.

Why are you on social media anyway?

As surprising as it seems to some, I am not on social media to give strong opinions about anything. Occasionally I will post a thing or two, but that in no way requires me to justify, elaborate or dialogue with you on the topic. I am mostly on social media for cat GIFs and memes. And occasionally some serendipity is nice.

(Twitter) Where did your posts go?

Tweets are typically deleted automatically every fixed interval. Some tweets are deleted manually once they serve their purpose. Such tweets include for example replies to people that have seen the tweet and it doesn't serve any use past the point.

Are your posts a reflection of your opinions on things?

Some posts are, some aren't. Sometimes I will post an idea I am entertaining without necessarily holding it. This allows me to see how people react to it and reason about it (which is often poor). It is safe to assume, that what I post and what I believe are separate entities. What I believe is not usually something I share or discuss on social media.

Follows, Blocks and Mutes

You used to follow me, now you do not? What's up with that?

I follow and unfollow people dynamically. Unfollowing you is often not personal, it has to do with the content you are recently posting. The content most likely does not align with what I am interested in seeing on my timeline. That said, I often re-follow later when my interests align with what you are posting. Either way, following does not imply endorsement, and unfollowing does not mean I do not like you as a person or I do not like your content. It could simply be, that your content is not what I want to see for now.

I will also unfollow you if you spam something. I understand sometimes people have things they are interested in, but then I really like to see content from other people too. I would not mute you in this case, because people promoting your content that I follow might pick up something interesting.

What is your policy on muting people?

I do not often mute people on twitter, for the sole reason that I forget who I muted eventually. When I mute someone it is usually associated with a time-interval. I use muting rarely, but mostly when someone makes invalid assertions about my character, notably ad-hominems.

You have blocked me on twitter, why is that?

Typically, I only block people who I suspect are spam accounts. If this occurred, ask a mutual to contact me and remove the block.

Discussion and Comments

You quote-retweeted me, why is that?

There are two reasons I typically quote re-tweet people.

1. The first involves wholesome memes, and this is to share them with the world.
2. The second is to add my own comment on something that was said. This comment could be encouraging or critical of the posted thing (that is, I do not necessarily endorse it). This does not mean I have any interest in continuing a conversation with you.

You linked my tweet in your tweet, why is that?

Typical reasons for doing so are the following:

1. It is a good example of a larger phenomenon I am observing. In this case, I am not concerned with the specifics of your tweet in question. And by extension, I have nothing against you.
2. Your thread/tweet has information I find useful for others to see, but do not necessarily agree or endorse it
3. Dank memes

If you want the link removed, and it is early to do so (people have not started interacting with it), then simply DM me to remove it. I may still not remove it, but I will surely take it into consideration depending on the situation.

I responded to your thread, but you did not continue the conversation with me?

When I start a thread it is rarely to entertain conversations about the topic. They are determined on a person by person basis, higher probability to answer if we are mutuals (I follow you back). If you do not follow me odds of me answering are very low. My twitter is probably a space for me, and while comments are welcome, I do not need to answer each and every one.

Why are you not taking our discussion seriously?

This could be because of one (or more) of the following:

1. You are going off on a tangent that I do not particularly find relevant to the point, and do not feel like addressing it
2. You have switched the focus from the point I am discussing to my character
3. You are not engaging in the conversation in good faith
4. The conversation has reached a point, where going further is no longer constructive
5. You are using a preference as an argument, I generally do not argue preferences, because that is not how it works. If I stop, it means that I recognize your preference and respect it, but have nothing to add to the conversation.

That said, I rarely take on a serious discussion past 1-2 replies. The only conversation that typically go longer, are of technical nature.

Oh my, you linked me to a long article or video, you cannot surely expect me to watch all of that before replying?

Linking you to a long article or video is usually done with the intent to give you something to read if you are interested in the topic you posted, a counter-point, or more information surrounding yours that I think you missed. It does not have to be a rebuttal, it could be a supporting claim too but with more nuance.

I would still like to debate a topic with you, and expect serious replies, what do I do?

Write it in a long form essay, and be sure to meet the burden of proof for your thesis. Then I will happily write an even longer essay commenting on or refuting your point.

When should I send you DMs?

My DMs are always open, feel free to drop comments, send memes, open topics, or send death threats.

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