Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
from the so-you-say dept
This week, our first place winner on the insightful side That One Guy with a comment about Congress ignoring bills to protect the press:
Gee, I wonder why they’d fear honest reporting so much…
When the head of your party is a convicted felon and a core pillar of said party is that any criticism against either you or it is an illegal attack and should be treated as such ‘journalists holding the government accountable’ and ‘traitors and criminals’ become the same thing.
When reality and truth are seen and treated as crimes ‘journalists’ is just another name for ‘traitor’.
In second place, it’s an anonymous comment in a thread about what the election of Trump says about voters:
Yeah, Hitler “got” the German people in the 1930s also. They wanted an authoritarian leader who promised to hurt other people for their benefit. Ask all the dead German soldiers and the citizens of Dresden how that worked out. Ask all the Jewish people, gay people, and communists if they think they just didn’t understand the people who voted for fascism enough.
We understand Trump voters. But there’s a breaking point where you can’t appeal to them without engaging in false narratives and morally corrupt approaches. If “understanding” them means becoming like Trump, I’d rather lose.
For editor’s choice on the insightful side, we’ve got an anonymous comment about Senator Tom Cotton’s comment about members of the press not being better than anyone else:
This is also true with a lot of profession, starting with being a Senator.
Next, it’s Ehud Gavron with a comment about liability on second parties and beyond:
Far reaching implications.
My company was providing hosting services to Backpage’s servers in our datacenter. We had no content input. 1 level removed
Those server required power, which is provided by the electric utility company. 2-removed
When their techs installed servers or updated them, they’d occasionally make use of the water in the restroom and drinking fountain, which is provided by the water utility. 2-removed
The electric utility and water utility make use of fossil fuels to power their generators and pumps. Those are provided by refined fuel and natural gas companies. 3-removed
Those companies have service vehicles provided by generally Ford or Mercedes. 4-removed
Chase Bank or equivalent provided banking services allowing those companies to purchase/finance their vehicles. 5-removed
At that point does it become too remote to be in some way participatory in the CONTENT that allegedly was sex traficking? I have to agree with “very very stupid” that anyone other than Backpage (the company) should be in any way held liable for unlawful actions related to that content.
We could take this to its illogical extreme and get higher than ten levels removed. It’s absurd.
E
Over on the funny side, our first place winner is MrWilson with a comment about our Kickstarter for the new card game, One Billion Users (which you can still buy now that the campaign has succeeded):
I’m not even interested in playing the game, but I pledged just to spite the trolls. Fortunately, I have friends who might enjoy it.
In second place, it’s an anonymous comment apparently from one of the winners in last week’s anonymous sweep of the comments:
I don’t always sign in, but when I forget to, I get voted most insightful…
For editor’s choice on the funny side, we start out with the comment from Stephen T. Stone which that comment was replying to:
Congrats to all the nameless winners—long may you be remembered! 🙃
Finally, it’s an anonymous comment about ExTwitter and TikTok:
One is a propaganda farm run by corrupt foreign influence.
The other is Tiktok.
That’s all for this week, folks!
Comments on “Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt”
Doh, just 2nd place this time.
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Hey, stop pretending to be me!
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I am you. We should stop talking to ourselves.
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It’s an echo chamber in here.
TEN degrees of separation??
I’m sorry, Mr. Bacon, you’re going to have to turn yourself in. We’re pretty sure you’re connected to this somehow.
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ORANGE MAN BAD!
REPUBLICAN MAGA(TS)/NAZIS!!
Fucking dorks. This is why you lost.
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It’s fun how you group all your enemies together as if they were a single entity.
How long are you going to shout “You lost”? Four yeears again? Is this what you do with a win?
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TBH, they’re not the only one. There’s a lot of trolls here that confuse different ACs and even named commenters with each other, even when they have very different writing styles.
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Damn bro that one sure did hit home. Be sure to tell us over and over again how much you don’t care. Bonus points if it sounds like you were crying as you type.
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Can’t wait until Dear Leader takes away your right to vote.
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being edgy we see
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It’s the only semblance of humanity they have left.
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Sorry hun, unlike you I don’t live in a shithole country.
Please try again.
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Re: Re: Re:2
Dear Leader will soon annex Canada and purchase Greenland, and then invade Mexico. Will you still be safe?
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keep making us laugh at you edge lord
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None of that will happen, but you’ll still be in your basement fantasizing about it when Trump is gone.
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Bruh…
Here’s a hint. Your ass is too broke to fly here.
Actually that doesn’t really narrow it down that much.
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Well, someone’s a sore winner.
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I hope this administrations grinds you degenerates into bone meal.
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edgy much?
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Yes, yes, you want to kill as many minorities as possible, we get it. Is there someone you can call to talk about your murder fantasies, or is this site really all you have left after alienating everyone else in your life by being a bigoted prick?
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You’re a mentally-defective sub-human to me, Stone.
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And I’m still a better person than you will ever be.
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I repeat: you’re not a person to me.
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And I’m still a better person than you will ever be.
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YEAH YOU TELL HIM HOW MUCH YOU DON’T CARE!
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You seem to think your opinion matters. You’ve been given the impression that it does by people who wanted your mindless vote. But you’re just a spectator cheering on your favorite sports team. You’re not on the team. And they don’t see you as human. They see you as a useful idiot. But your usefulness will end one day.
The only person’s humanity you have the ability to revoke is your own.
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You can’t help but respond to the troll’s bait. Are you part of the problem?
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Do you think that trolls actually go away if you don’t respond to them? Do you think the idea that they’re baiting us into responding is relevant? It’s the rule of goats. It doesn’t matter if they’re serious or if they’re just baiting or both. It’s important to respond and not let the nazis take over the bar. It’s important to refute their bullshit because not saying anything only leaves their comments on record. Look up the counterspeech doctrine.
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Of course it matters whether or not you reply to them. If they post a bait comment and no one replies to it, their effort to sow chaos and spread pain is short-circuited! Even Mike has chimed in to say this explicitly in response to people responding to the trolls.
No disrespect to you, someone I don’t know personally, but c’mon man!
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I spent years moderating comments on Gawker websites. They don’t go away with silence. That’s a myth.
Mike has responded to trolls frequently. He’s used harsher language than I have with Matt.
The counterspeech doctrine is the default response if the trolls aren’t getting banned and their comments deleted. And Techdirt literally has a “more speech” and a “counter speech” tag for stories.
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Ohhh now tell us hiw much you don’t care; but try to mean it this time!
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Yuuuppp that absolutely sounds like tears hitting the keyboard.
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Yes, if you call a fascist a fascist, they’ll embrace fascism more. But if you are nice to them and don’t call them a fascist, they magically turn into a caring, humane person. That logic definitely checks out. And the opinion of a rando like me on the internet is likely to sway the entire election.
This is why we laugh at you when you think you’re laughing at us. Trump will likely be gone in 4 years, after much upheaval and many shitstorms. You’ll still be an idiot betraying your own interests for the sake of your useless hate, if you haven’t died over your refusal to get vaccinated during the bird flu pandemic that Trump ushers in. Enjoy the essential oils that RFK Jr. sends you for treatment.
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He will be gone. He is constitutionally barred from serving another term. And while some of his ass-kissing right-wing dipshit “friends” might say otherwise, the Constitution says nothing about serving two “consecutive” terms before being term-limited. Even the current Supreme Court, willing as the majority of that group may be to stand with the political power of the GOP and its alt-right allies, wouldn’t rule against the plain language of the Constitution.
That isn’t to say he won’t still be around in politics. He’ll probably be involved with the GOP until the day he dies, at which point his idiot adult children will try (and fail) to be kingmakers. But he’ll never be able to run for the Oval Office again. Anyone who dares to tell you otherwise is a fascist who can rightfully be laughed at for being a fucking idiot.
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This is what I meant. I could see him trying to get the GOP to appoint him to a position so he can still wield some power. Presidents usually retire after their terms are over (except Taft), but norms have been violated already multiple times. I’m guessing they’ll drop him when it’s over, but someone will try something, even if they fail. Some sycophant will float the idea before realizing others are ready to move on.
I also meant that Trump might not be on this mortal plane in four or so years. He’s overweight. He has heart disease and cholesterol issues. He’s past the average lifespan for Americans. Yes, he has good healthcare, but he’s also stubborn, doesn’t exercise, and eats like shit, not to mention any possible drug use that has been suspected.
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Trump is grooming Vance to succeed him. The DNC’s decision to block any primary challenge to an obviously senile Biden has handed Republicans the perfect opportunity to return Trump to power and reignite their campaign for generational dominance. There may not be another Democratic president for years—if ever.
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Vance isn’t a billionaire and Vance has even less charm than Trump, and that is saying a whole helluva lot since Trump has the charm of a porcupine’s taint. Trump chose Vance because any competent option was unavailable as a running mate. Vance can’t even handle a impromptu conversation with a young service worker.
If the pattern holds, there’s a back and forth between the parties in which no party has more than 12 years in the presidency at a time for at least the last 100 years.
You seem to be missing the fact that Trump was popular among Republican voters. He’s not actually popular among Republican politicians. They won’t necessarily try to continue his legacy and style.
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“There may not be another Democratic president for years…”
Ummmm, who’s going to be the one to tell him?
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Trump is constitutionally barred from being elected to a third term as POTUS, which is not at all the same thing.
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Exactly.
Didn’t Trump’s dom-daddy Putin skirt similar restrictions by becoming VP, and his pet prez stepping down?
I’d be more worried about such a ploy happening to us if Trump wasn’t already both
A) so lazy and incapable
B) so old and mentally deteriorating
Once we get closer to 2028 I’ll revise how worried about it I ought to be.
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source: trust me bro
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source: trust me bro -rando ac
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If you feel incapable of performing a quick search to find out what the Constitution says for yourself, I’m not sure how anyone here can help you.
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“If you feel incapable of performing a quick search to find out what the Constitution says for yourself, I’m not sure how anyone here can help you.” aka am too lazy to give you a source so i will just make up shit
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AKA I am too lazy to read the 22nd Amendment of the US constitution, so I will just make up shit to attack someone better informed than me.
Someone called my leader a Nazi, should I:
A) Examine my views to determine if they line up with fascist ideology
B) Give a response detailing why my leader isn’t a Nazi; or
C) Call him a fucking dork
Guess what option the Trump voter took.
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You’ll be one of the first sent to the re-education camps.
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You’ve already bought into the fascist ideology that some people don’t deserve to live only because of who they are. But what happens when you get rid of all the vulnerable minorities that you’re so desperate to eradicate? Will you be satisfied that the genocide you wanted took care of all your enemies, or will you look to your in-group to find traitors and “non-believers” who think that maybe you’ve taken your holy crusade a step too far?
And I don’t really care if you’re doing this shit as a troll act. The mask you’ve worn has become your face, and that is your burden to bear. If you want to take it off, don’t ask any of us for help—you’re the one who has to stop believing in fascism, even if you keep telling yourself that you believe in it “as a joke”. You are who you’ve pretended to be, and it’s all your fault.
Shame, really. You might’ve been a decent person if you weren’t so interested in/proud of laughing at the pain, misery, torture, and murder of people who aren’t you. But alas, your ouroboros awaits.
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I’m literally a crypto-fascist. 🙄
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You’re not being “crypto” about it when you’re openly talking about concentration camps and murder.
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Oh don’t burst his delusion that he’s an aryan super man as opposed to the mostly useless idiot that he is.
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You know if you have a crush on someone here you can just ask them out.
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May you be treated with the same kindness you treat others.
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‘How dare they suggest that I’m a terrible person for supporting an even worse person, just for that I’ll vote for that person and really show them!’
I don’t see what’s particularly insightful about misconstruing how liability of secondary parties works. Especially when Mike’s original article literally explains one of the many reasons it doesn’t work like that, and that the decision doesn’t claim it works like that.
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There’s no reason why it couldn’t go out a bunch of degrees of separation.
Except that the plaintiff still has to prove that whoever they’re suing knew it was going on.
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Except he is literally mocking the court for misconstruing liability in exactly that way.
So yes, the comment was insightful in that it exactly calls out how stupid and wrong the Firth Circuit’s decision is.
It’s hard not to feel crushed seeing the same cycle play out over and over again. The articles are sharp, the insights are spot-on, and the comments here are full of wit and understanding. But what does it change? The system marches on, untouched by reason or cleverness, and those in power seem immune to even the best arguments. I used to believe that if enough of us saw the truth and spoke out, things could get better. Now, it feels like shouting into the void. Maybe I’m just tired, but I don’t see how we win anymore.
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First, don’t expect that comments on a website are intended to change the significant injustices of your society, so you won’t be disappointed when they don’t. The comments are take-it-or-leave-it perspectives on what’s going on. It’s information, some of it misinformation, some of it speculation, etc.
Much of the course of society is out of your hands. There’s a freedom in that. You’re not responsible for it, so you’re not failing. Focus on what you can do, for yourself and the people around you. Getting into a positive feedback loop of negativity isn’t productive. Find something you can do and do that. If that includes not doomscrolling all the bad news daily, so be it.
There will always be negative news out there even in the best of times. You control what information you access. You control what information you focus on. Empower yourself to focus on the things that are best for you. Weather the storms that come when they come with the help of the people who you also help.
Justice ebbs and flows throughout history. The pendulum will swing back.
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Fun fact: Trump is not a convicted felon. A conviction is formally in place only upon sentencing.
But still I understand the confusion. Ignorance is a common condition among the far-wingers of the left and right.
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Donald Trump is a convicted felon. Don’t try to twist yourself in knots for a guy who couldn’t give a shit about you.
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Fun fact: that’s not true. Conviction means found guilty.
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The American and English Encyclopaedia of Law (1898).
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New York State Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Article 380. (The state where Trump was convicted.)
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Oxford English Dictionary.
Re: Not like I have to ask
“Ignorance is a common condition among the far-wingers of the left and right.”
So which wing are you?
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Fun fact: Trump is indeed a convicted felon. A felon cannot be sentenced unless they have first been convicted.
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So insightful!
My what an original thought. Trump is Hitler and the voters Nazis.
Never had I heard such a thing! The insight required to formulate such a thought is rare and precious and should not be squandered. The mind behind that revelation should consider a career as a politician or cable pundit.
Nobody believes it anymore. The idiots who still make such claims are only showing their utter ignorance. Grow up, folks.
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Not too bright, are you?
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The point of my comment wasn’t that Trump is a fascist or that the people who voted for him wanted fascism or at best were okay with fascism. This was already obvious and, as said, stated a lot. The point is that the voters are victims of their own rush to embrace a strong leader who promises to hurt other people for them. The point is to not be smug and happy when you’re hurting yourself in the long run. But you can’t help but think you’re smarter than other people.
“Nobody believes it anymore,” indeed. What Trump supporters believe has never been a reliable gauge of reality.
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You posted that joke of a comment. With “Grow up, folks.” as a punchline.
I’d be willing to be you’ve had a lot of people say “we’re laughing at you not with you, in your lifetime.
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I can’t wait for Dear Leader to start shutting down hostile media like the Jew York Times.
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Shh hun, the adults are talking.
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Said no American ever.