DrRadfem aka Venice Allan has been blocked from Twitter

All but three of my tweets were removed. Not by me, I've not been on my account in ages. But apparently they were too pro-woman for Twitter.

That’s brilliant DarthArts, thank you. I don’t think you will have much trouble working out where I stand on subjects. I post on a couple of dozen threads a day.😁 I’m going to try to set up an account later tonight and see how I get on.

Yes that's deffo one way to do it but it doesn't negate the problem that you often don't know they've tweeted about you in the first place.

The other option is to have a second "clean" account that you don't really use other than to follow people who've blocked you.

Of course I wouldn't do anything like that

Darth

Re blocked accounts, open the account in a private window, then you will be able to see what they have written about you. Screenshot the tweet and then you can reply to the tweet. They will see the response if you have not blocked them. And see how futile it is.

Of course, if someone blocks you, you should block back because people like those you mentions still like to spy on accounts they have blocked. They would also, of course, be able to see what you have tweeted using the method above.

And it all gets rather silly . No point in making it easy for the fuckers though

On a protected account the user will usually check your profile to see what you've liked, tweeted, retweeted etc to decide if your friend or foe.

I've never protected my account so tbh I'm not sure if you can DM (direct message - like a PM here) a protected account to say you come in peace.

I asked to follow Miranda's alt account and got accepted quite quickly, but one glance at my posting history makes it pretty clear what my stance is .

I'd simply ask to follow and if you don't get accepted let me know via PM and I'll DM Miranda with your twitter name to explain you're a friend.

Since I’m going to be new to Twitter, is there a way if letting Miranda know I’m a friend and not foe? Am I able to send her a message? I was thinking of letting her know my I’d on here. Obviously I wouldn’t post on Twitter under this I’d.

Thank you DarthArts. I’m going to save your posts for future reference, as the whole thing is confusing for a computer no hope, like me. 😁

Sorry for all the typos - fat fingers today...

Explains shadow bans:

nicebrains.com/technology/twitter-shadowban-fix/

Sorry a few more points.

Protected accounts. Obviously this is under the account holders control. It has pros and cons. Yes only followers see your tweets and when someone asks to follow you the opportunity to check their posting history is yours.

It also has the benefit of acting like a closed Facebook group. So if for example you wanted to target another user in a coordinated fashion it's a good base to plan that from.

That said, a lot of people protect their accounts simply to drown out the noise of the twittersphere as it were, no malicious intent whatsoever.

The downside of protection is that your tweets don't make it outside the bubble you've created which makes gaining more followers (if that's your intention) difficult.

I guess the think to be aware of is that many users have multiple accounts.

At an extreme they have one main account to publicise their point of view. A protected account to facilitate group private chat. Then multiple other troll accounts they can use to make complaints or to bait people. By bait I mean make an offensive/controversial tweet about their own cause in the hope people like/comment and then they pile in with their other accounts yelling bigot.

Other behaviour - which is particularly annoying - is when a user whose blocks you is altered (by someone else) to a tweet you've made they object to. They unblock you long enough to tweet as response them block again. The issue being that as the blocked user, you can't see what they've tweeted or know they've tweeted at all and thus have no right of reply. Your only hope is that someone else who is not blocked tweets you to it and screenshots the tweet so you can see and respond. I've seen Helen from Mermaids @mimmymum do this a few times.

I guess the upshot of what I'm saying is that if you know how it works and put the effort in Twitter can absolutely be manipulated to enhance your cause and work to silence your detractors.

If you have a relatively small following tbh it's unlikely your going to get much negative attention, but for bigger hitters it can be a real problem.

Oh, so that's where Miranda Yardley is? I thought she'd gone on holiday or something. I need to google 'shadow banning'.

So you can protect your own account which means only your followers get to see your tweets.

If an account breaks twitter rules then three actions can be taken.

1. You get suspended for a period (a week and few days etc) where your account is effectively locked out.

1. The twitter algorithm (I'm not an expert on this but I think it's at least partially based on the number of complaints) picks up an issue and shadow bans. This is designed to restrict the influence of the account. It means followers don't get notified if you make any tweets and no tweets you make can be re-tweeted. I suspect a lot of TRA's are targeting key accounts and effectively kicking in the protocols for the algorithm via mass complaints.

1. Twitter deletes your account and all the posts you've made are removed and lost.

& I would add that many people using twitter are being manipulated as a consequence and unaware of the full extent.

There is a very concerted effort amongst a group of TRA to get particular accounts blocked , reported and in the very near future permanently banned.
On some accounts blocks are celebrated, tactics shared, blue shields collected (twitter response to the person reporting).
Twitter is being deliberately manipulated .

DarthArts I keep thinking about signing up to Twitter, but am trying to learn as I read. Could you tell me the difference between shadow banned and protected please. Can Twitter make the decision to put you under ‘protected’ status, without your say so?

MY's main account looks shadowbanned but I've just seen her alt account is active but protected.

Hey I'm now on @Evie_Tee but am already shadow banned

I’ve just read this, missed it first time round. I thought the poster was the one who made that decision. 😲 If Twitter is shadow banning people, is it a way of getting a list of ‘watching feminists’? People like me that aren’t ‘on’ Twitter but read. If I join in order to see the shadow banned posters, they will ‘know’ me, iykwim. That’s very worrying.

Looks like Miranda Y is shadow banned on Twitter.

Is MY banned or has Miranda decided to use protected tweets as a way to speak to people without being reported by the TRAs? I don’t use Twitter but read it and Miranda is extremely smart and funny. I’m concerned that I have to make myself known to Twitter in order to read Miranda’s tweets.

just checking - is drradfem's new a/c still active?

Still active, just checked.

Both my daughters have now peaktransed, I'm happy to say. I was nervous about ranting, but they're horrified to hear about the closing down of women's voices.

Looks like Miranda Y is shadow banned on Twitter.

also bear in mind that those who have experienced actual violence and transphobic hatred (more likely from men) and so have signed up to the blocking sites with good reason, will not hear or see posts of people who have been blocked. In a twitter conversation where for example a woman is countering misinformation, this will not be visible to those who have been signed up to the 'terfblockers' if the woman is on block lists.

For anyone new to twitter, I would strongly advise using it to see what is happening first, rather than engaging. There are a number of 'terf blocker accounts' & once you are listed, a whole section of the SM conversations are closed to you. There are also a number of 'troll-like' accounts which will deliberately engage/goad both to prompt a reason to block or report, but also to screen-shot comments to discredit people with genuine concerns about TRA. The debate that matters will not take place on twitter but twitter is being used by TRA to strengthen their position and manipulate the narrative.

Hi DarthArts,

Thank you for that info and the welcome. I remember how strange twitter seemed at first so I'm hoping I'll get to grips with this as well before too long.

My biggest concern at the moment is the GRA and how politics are being manipulated so as to it get it through relatively unchallenged. I think we must get organised politically, I was gutted at the stance Sophie Walker and the WEP have taken.

I'm looking forward to getting involved.

Gotta love cockwomble :)

Just checking - is drradfem's new a/c still active? I've been blocked & it's the same message as the old a/c so not sure it's Venice being careful or twitter @rsing about

I'd be tempted to ask them to explain why president Trump is still active on Twitter with all the offensive tweets he makes, and the way he completely violates all Twitter's rules, but women standing up for themselves get silenced.

But then, it isn't about principles, rules, truth or even plain common decency at all is it, that's the whole point.