Twitter Announces Plans To Get Rid Of Like Button

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Twitter is constantly under fire. Those who are not Nazis feel as if that Twitter’s seemingly arbitrary banning of everyone except for those spreading sexist and hate speech — while Nazis think that too many of them aren’t allowed to mess with people however they want. I’m in the former camp, the too many Nazis on Twitter one, but it’s clear Twitter, to survive, is going to have to do something to stem the flow of hate speech. Instead Twitter, to the annoyance of pretty much everyone, has announced that it is very likely getting rid of the “like” button, the little heart at the bottom of every Tweet that you click to tell the people around that you like their Tweet. Cool.

Said a Twitter spokesman, as quoted in the Guardian: “We’re experimenting and considering numerous possible changes, all with an eye toward ensuring we’re incentivizing the right behaviors to drive healthy conversation.”

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Uh… will Twitter even have a life without the like button? If people didn’t care about this meaningless currency, then they would go to one of the many Nazi free social media platforms with better communities, where they can express themselves in a positive way in a manner that’s clear. Jack Dorsey! People clearly like the unfettered easy button pressings to notate a brief feeling of joy that comes from seeing just the right Spongebob Squarepants meme!

On the other hand, I sort of get it. Dorsey is trying to make conversation less about getting points through pandering statements and more about saying what’s actually in your heart. Dorsey said at the Wired25 Summit, according to Mashable:

“We have a big like button with a heart on it and we’re incentivizing people to want it to go up. Is that the right thing? Versus contributing to the public conversation or a healthy conversation? How do we incentivize healthy conversation?”

https://twitter.com/edzitron/status/1056920628865847296

https://twitter.com/MaxKennerly/status/1056884241764700166

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Jack Dorsey saying this while more or less keeping Nazis on the site unless people actively protest makes us question his commitment. However, getting rid of the like button might actually make society better. Mainly because I think people will stop using Twitter.

https://twitter.com/MagsVisaggs/status/1056915317815943170

Free us from the hell site Jack by making it very bad, please!

What do you think of Jack Dorsey getting rid of the like button? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.

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