That came right after: "Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again."
How can that work? He said "there will be a vote" not that he will do whatever wins, and he can have changes without a vote by deeming them non-major. Now, he did specify — in the vote about whether he should step down as "head of Twitter" — that he "will abide by the results," but what does it really mean to "abide by" the results of a poll? Where's the wiggle room?
My dictionary — the OED — says that to "abide by" means "To stand firm by, remain true to; to act in accordance with, submit to, obey." I see there that William Blackstone wrote "It is an established rule to abide by former precedents, when the same points come again in litigation" (1765). We all know the courts aren't completely locked into precedent, and you don't need to be a lawyer to spot the potential in "the same points" or — a tad more difficult — in "an established rule."
There's also wiggle room in "head." Musk owns Twitter and is the CEO. Perhaps he wants someone else to serve in the role of CEO. He's done with this harrowing period of creative destruction and wants a less showy character to put things back together and to restore confidence. He's the owner. He can interfere whenever he wants and even restore himself as CEO whenever he wants. He needs a rest. He needs to get back to Tesla and Space X and Boring. He needs to step out of the line of fire. And he might merely want his critics to stand down (even as he remains in ultimate control).
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
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97 comments:
Musk has bought the evidence showing how governments used Twitter to curtail human rights. He still owns access should they try again. As for running day to day Twitter; I'm sure he can find an excellent CEO. He did damn well with picking Gwynne Shotwell to run SpaceX. There is bound to be other Chris Best's out there.
Not a shock. He was previously reported to work something like 100 hours per week, sleep on the shop floor, etc. He'll install a loyal lieutenant to execute his vision and also sidestep the recent daily dramas.
Sooner or later all dictionaries will show his picture under the definition of 'workaholic.'
Twitter polls have the form of democratic process, but not really. Only a tiny percentage of twitter users will even see this poll. The ones who will—the high engagers—are the ones most likely to be driven by politics rather than any concern for the future viability of twitter or even whether it’s run well for today. The left, which was happy with the old left-wing twitter, wants him gone. Period. The right is more mixed, but generally supportive of the less anti-conservative atmosphere. Partisan-driven preferences are hardly a sound basis for corporate governance.
Somebody (Instapundit, I think) theorized that he already has his new CEO lined up and is just having a bit of fun. That’s probably right.
AA, your analysis of this is cogent, as expected.
Musk is not stupid. He has truckloads of mail-in ballots at the ready if needed. Or should he be an honest broker, he would install a like minded CEO in charge.
A quasi-autistic reminder: Abide BY is not abide WITH.
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not, abide with me
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me
Abide with me, abide with me
Make changes.
Observe results.
Make revisions.
Rinse.
Repeat.
This is not inconsistent with making planned changes (though does it not necessitate planning, either) as anybody who has observed or done a remodeling project has discovered.
Courts break precedent precisely because they have traditionally understood that no human system can be exhaustive. Only ideologues think they've covered every continency (mostly because they can't conceive of any responses that fall outside their closed system.)
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...
Can’t understand this move, but I’d guess it’s less than obvious. Let that sink in.
Ann: what you said. Musk is still boss, whatever polls he may concoct. This poll is *exactly* a Twitter phenomenon: much self-propagating ado in a virtual space. He gains notoriety and market knowledge from it, but is not functionally bound by it. Maybe if he had staked the voting control of the company on the outcome of an auditable process, we could start to take this more seriously. But this? He’s funnin’ with us in that Musk way of his; and learning all the time.
Pass the popcorn.
Perhaps I’ve missed something, but to me the harrowing thing was someone stalking his child, not the creative destruction.
And maybe it’s messy getting to an even playing field. So be it.
The Dude abides.
"The Dude Abides."
Google 'the meaning of...' and you'll get more than dictionary definitions; some active/passive notes, and some philosophy.
"the harrowing thing was someone stalking his child"
That's the most dramatic one to forefront, but he's been talking more generally about assassination, and his children have always been at risk, even before this recent incident.
And those who've been complaining about his reign over Twitter have themselves been citing safety concerns. He was responding with free-speech ideals. He can't align his actions toward others with what he wants to do for himself and his family. The collapse of his principled position is also harrowing.
In short, there's not just one harrowing thing, but "someone stalking his child" is indeed dramatic.
Long-term he can't devote the time needed as CEO of Twitter and still run his other companies (and new ones in his mind). He can be the bad guy for a short while, then bring in the white knight to save everyone.
"abide by" means he's going to have a couple of White Russians and chill.
"The Dude abides."
I thought about that as I read the OED entries. That usage is rare/archaic. Sounds Biblical. We commonly say we'll "abide by" a rule or a decision or will not abide someone's behavior, but it's much less normal to say "I will abide" -- full stop. But the "Big Lebowski" usage is so familiar that it overshadows the *normal* usage... to the point where it would have been better, I think, for Musk to say "I will follow the results" or "I will adhere to the results" or "I will regard the results of this poll as conclusively binding on me."
He's created a nice soap opera script around a normal planned mundane search for a new Twitter CEO and management team. Let that sink in. Lol.
He is still going to own Twitter. Hopefully he has someone to install as CEO.
Is Musk "the" owner of Twitter? As in sole owner of all equity with 100% voting control.
My understanding is that he is.
But I keep hearing that he has other "investors". I think these are just creditors though with nothing to say about what he does with Twitter as long as he pays the debt.
John Henry
He's tired of all the shit. Just wants to be rocket boy.
Damn shame. Twatter is much better after he bought it. I've seen NO racism, unless you count the usual leftists who don't even recognize their own racism. Not buggy at all after laying off 75% of staff. Still some algorithm issues left over, but definitely more fun.
"My dictionary — the OED..."
What is the OED's definition of a woman? A man? I don't know about the rest of you, but I always check that before I decide whether or not to abide by a dictionary's determination on the meaning of any other word.
Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus
On CNBC, Gene Munster speculated that Musk would just close Twitter and write the loss off.
The Street is so, so liberal.
Should I step down? Yes or no, I may bide my time in abiding by your opinion.
He was cool and he tried to be even cooler, the coolest man in the world, but it didn't work, and he's got to reconfigure his persona. Now: he's the anxious safety-conscious dad.
Couple of things.
Is Musk using all the polls to gain new users?
Is Musk using this as a way to install a CEO that will be directed by Musk to rule with an iron fist, take all the heat and abuse and give some buffer to decisions.
What is being revealed in real time, is the impossibility of writing actionable, sane, censorship rules. To me that is the lesson being learned.
Meade said...
Should I step down?
Meade - you should not step down... you should step up! Step up to getting more comments in, and more of your photos, please!
abide is always the first word I put into Wordle. I think it has a nice mix of the most commonly used consonants and vowels.
Make changes.
Observe results.
Make revisions.
Rinse.
Repeat.
That's what known as an iterative process, which is the way computer code gets built.
I will will abide by the results. You have my word as a Biden.
He needs to get back to Tesla and Space X and Boring.
I expect he will do what he wants, it isn't like he would put that poll out there if he didn't already have plans. But it's a great opportunity for a bit of fun. Chase that laser spot, guys.
My take is that Musk is not really wanting to maintain this extremely high profile as the guardian of Twitter free speech indefinitely - he's got better things to do. But being shrewd, he uses this as an opportunity to set up the transition so that either way this "poll" comes out, he's the winner.
If the vote is 'stay', then he gets bragging rights for his popular stance, and can then stay on for what might only be a short period of time before he hands-off his role to a functional CEO. If the vote is 'step down', then he looks honorable, truthful, and the ultimate example of free speech in action. Either way, he gets what he wants, but embellishes his public credentials.
When a kid throws a serious tantrum, it can be a bit harrowing, but the last thing you do is give in to the little bastard.
“Stand down and stand by” to quote Trump, sometime in January 2021.
Meade - we need you to step up.
"Be careful what you wish for" - Elon Musk
I don't think these two statements were any problem understanding. I assume he's ready to stop with the day-to-day CEO stuff.
However, I did see that he tweeted that he actually doesn't think that he has anyone who could be successful right now. Sigh.
Ann @ 7:11: “… and he's got to reconfigure his persona. Now: he's the anxious safety-conscious dad.” Funny how people can perceive each other differently. Rather than “anxious safety-conscious dad” I had him morphing into a combination of Bruce Willis in “Die Hard,” Mel Gibson in “Ransom,” Liam Neeson in “Taken,” and Clint Eastwood in almost anything. As in “now it’s personal, m—f—.”
How can that work? He said "there will be a vote" not that he will do whatever wins, and he can have changes without a vote by deeming them non-major. Now, he did specify — in the vote about whether he should step down as "head of Twitter" — that he "will abide by the results," but what does it really mean to "abide by" the results of a poll? Where's the wiggle room?
This is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization. DAO for short.
One of the first steps to taking twitter into Web 3.0.
So he’s looking for a new CEO but there is no candidate who can run it AND wants the job right now. Sounds about right.
I hope he means he’s consolidating space at Twitter HQ after all the layoffs and moving the CEO’s office to a lower floor. That would be a better joke than “sink in,” though of the same genre, It’s hard to imagine he misjudged where the balance of voter enthusiasm would lie.
Apparently all the left-whingers who promised they'd leave Twitter were still around to cast their vote.
Elon Abides?
Elon Musk Treats Corporations Like Women!
Now we get to vote for CEO- or at least who he offers the role to. Trump vs. DeSantis? Weiss vs Taibbi? Althouse vs Instapundit? He could troll us forever…
Ann Althouse said...
And those who've been complaining about his reign over Twitter have themselves been citing safety concerns. He was responding with free-speech ideals. He can't align his actions toward others with what he wants to do for himself and his family. The collapse of his principled position is also harrowing.
Ann tries to conflate Musk being targeted by leftist fascists who are aligned and protected by the government who have been actually attacking and killing people with some mythical safety concerns of government regime propagandists.
But that is the sort of false choice we expect form a WAPO reader.
I would expect that he has a team of people he's been talking to, coercing, to come in and get that company healthy again. Musk has too many other avenues he's got to get back to. Monitoring Taylor Lorenz cannot be what this man is here to do. Taylor Lorenz's parents should have been doing that years ago.
Someone strong will come in, with a team of other strong people. And Twitter will evolve into what it needs to be.
He will step down. Next ceo will be from the banking/finance. Probably experience in credit cards and consumer banking
John Henry
The corrupt left won't be satisfied until and unless they can off with him.
Hillary is licking her old nasty chops.
You never take a tool away from the corrupt left.
Sale! Everything must go! We lost our lease!!!*
*(…but we haven’t stopped lookin’ for it!)
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
New Musk poll: Should Twitter file Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy?
"I will will abide by the results. You have my word as a Biden."
Meade is a veteran of the blog wars with many great wounds, all got in battle. He even has a purple heart to show for it, just like Biden's uncle.
He gave his word as a Biden. Meade 2024.
One of the classics of science fiction is "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart.
More people will dislike and disagree with anything than like it, and on the internet the haters are far more vocal, passionate, and determined than the lovers.
Musk has had his fun and doesn't want to be the center of attention and a convenient target anymore. Now for things to get back to normal and the company to focus on profits. Does back to normal mean that a few years down the road (if the company lasts that long) it will be back to its old practices? It's an interesting experiment.
The collapse of his principled position is also harrowing.
Yet you rely on, and support, those who have no principles, like the NYT and WaPo.
“Bob Boyd said...
When a kid throws a serious tantrum, it can be a bit harrowing, but the last thing you do is give in to the little bastard.”
Don’t call me little Little Bastard. — Snake
abide is always the first word I put into Wordle. I think it has a nice mix of the most commonly used consonants and vowels.
I use "aside".
@alanc709: Came here to proclaim the greatness of EARTH ABIDES. One of those books I will never throw out, recycle, be done with. EARTH ABIDES abides.
@alanc709
Earth Abides crossed my mind too. The word abides almost always triggers the association with that book.
Bill Clinton rode on the Lolita express 26 times.
I just watched a documentary on GameStop that included a lot of commentary by Taylor Lorenz. She has a creepy affect, just saying. I don't think it's just because I know that she is either a liar or an idiot, it's there. Her take on Musk was quite different then, too.
Did anyone ask, what is the vote sampling? I don't have faith in votes anymore, and I don't believe a representative cross-section of society really wants Musk to stop what he's doing. This smells like a progressive pig pile.
I'm not sure if this is Musk's intention or not, but the recent polls he's been conducting on twitter have the flavor of a national election. First ones on policy, and now on leadership. I hope this is not where this is headed, but the way he is framing things is there a hint we can have a poll/election on twitter to decide every minutiae of governance? Pure Democracy. Should we invade Iraq? Poll closing in 16 hours. Uphold Roe? Poll closing ...
tin foil hat on/ It would be a complete disaster, but could this be the first step towards that? Maybe he's setting up a run for for President. A Presidency of the people. /tin foil hat off
Don’t call me little Little Bastard. — Snake
Did you just watch Escape From LA?
I love the ambiguity of "abide." So much, in fact, that we named our boat Abide. It's a great-looking word, in all caps with serifs. And what exactly are we abiding? Are we abiding by (or tolerating) something, or abiding with (dwelling, sitting with) a thing? Or, like the Dude, are we just abiding? A little of each, to be honest!
I love the Scripture references, and "Abide with me, the best is yet to be." My husband is a huge Lebowski fan--he wants to name our tender "Donnie" but I'm thinking no.
Adding "Earth Abides" to my reading list...hope we don't regret the name because it just got painted on during a huge re-fit!
The problem is that Musk is using his feelings as a business model and it just makes him seem erratic. He knows he needs to step back. He is likely using this poll as a cover to do just that.
This is window dressing. Besides, is there any way to verify that the vote isn't faked?
All the election experts here and they all believe this vote? lolololol
Given the fact that last week that Musk went back to his Twitter funding partners for more funds, this seems a convenient front for him to accede to their demand to have someone else in charge.
It’s possible that Musk’s seemingly erratic moves are carefully orchestrated (by himself alone). No need to collude when you hold all the cards.
Ass Ponys?
"Did anyone ask, what is the vote sampling?"
It's a vote, not an opinion poll. A poll would help you guess what the answer might end up being. This just gives Musk the answer. So sample doesn't matter, other than how it does in an election -- who shows up and how they vote defines it.
"He knows he needs to step back. He is likely using this poll as a cover to do just that."
Agree. That's why I voted yes. We all like to rubberneck a crash scene, but that doesn't mean we support the crash.
Somebody (Instapundit, I think) theorized that he already has his new CEO lined up and is just having a bit of fun. That’s probably right.
@tim maguire, I saw it on Insty, as well. Probably not the first place the idea was floated, it obviously is the one with greatest reach.
Anyway, FWIW, +1
Just to troll these people, he should dump just enough "No" votes into the totals after the closing of the poll to "win". Hilarity would ensue.
And the ultimate troll here would be to put a Trump as CEO of Twitter.
All the vote shows is that a lot liberal/leftist use twitter. And i wonder how many bots were voting. Elon knows, but we don't. And how many foreigners voted "Yes". its a curious result and suspect.
In any case, Musk wouldn't have asked if he didn't already want to leave. As Althouse stated, why stay as twitter CEO, when he can hire somemone.
On a scale of manic narcissism Musk is more than Trump but less than Kanye.
Of the millions of people around the world who subscribe to Twitter, a miniscule number are even aware of Musk's polls.
I subscribed years ago to follow politics but recently I've followed a couple of K-drama commenters. They were aware of the rumor that Twitter might collapse (they were in panic mode for all of 24 hours) but once it stayed on course, they don't give a flying F if Musk stays or leaves. They have their forum/platform that supports their social media needs and that's all they care about.
Same for sports. Cat videos. The Markles (Gawd, what a rabbit hole that became on my timeline once I liked something about the Prince and Princess of Wales).
I blame "Earth Abides" for my inability to discard a hammer.
The problem is that Musk is using his feelings as a business model and it just makes him seem erratic.
It makes him seem like a woman, at least according to the guy who reliably comments about the feels here -- unfortunately he seems to have taken the day off.
A Biden by the poll, a Harris without biden, a knee to take, perchance to beg.
Origin and meaning of abide
Middle English abiden, from Old English abidan, gebidan "remain, wait, wait for, delay, remain behind," from ge- completive prefix (denoting onward motion; see a- (1)) + bidan "bide, remain, wait, dwell" (see bide).
- OED
"Blogger Fred Drinkwater said...
I blame "Earth Abides" for my inability to discard a hammer."
Last time I made a full count of hammers (a few years ago with my son for a laugh), I had something like 70 hammers. Of course, in my defense, I am a metalsmith so I have everything from 1oz Goldsmith hammers to an 8lb Cross Peen. I just love hammers.
How many of those 16 million are bots?
If Musks puts someone else in as head of Twitter, then he doesn’t have to keep his promise to let Twitter users vote on every major decision.
Of the millions of people around the world who subscribe to Twitter, a miniscule number are even aware of Musk's polls.
Musk has 120 million twitter followers, second only to some guy named Barack. Also, the word you’re misusing is spelled minuscule.
Musk should hire either John Ratcliffe or Richard Grenell as CEO/COO. Watch heads explode.
Earnest Prole - I assume you're talking about rhhardin. He's taken the day off to repair and cool his brain in liquid nitrogen. He's literally a genius. So is narciso. I love their take on things. Like Richard Feynman.
“Ass Ponys?”
Overheard at Meadehouse: “Boyd will get the reference.” And I was right!
“Did you just watch Escape From LA?“
No but I’m going to. Now that I know there’s a character called “Snake.”
His detractors live under the illusion that he is going to leave and give it back to them. I can just tell by some of their comments. I suspect he already has a replacement picked. This is just posturing to get attention to the change.
You probably won't get all the way through the movie because it's terrible, but Kurt Russell says, "Call me Snake" several times right at the beginning. It's the sequel to Escape from NY, which was better. I think he says it in that one too, but it's been a while.
Escape from LA is free on Amazon right now.
As many have pointed out, to me this just indicates that Musk has decided he's had enough fun CEOing Twitter, and now he's going to bring in someone else to do it as their full time job.
Doesn't mean they're going to get to run it leftward
Trigger warning:
Snake repeatedly and unapologetically deadnames a trans woman in the film.
""Did anyone ask, what is the vote sampling?"
..."It's a vote, not an opinion poll."
..."How many of those 16 million are bots?"
Yes, precisely my point. A Progressive Pig Pile.
Musk may be trolling. ˆ I can see him tweeting in the near future "Doesn't matter what you think. Twitter is a private company, and I own it. That's the result of the poll that matters." Or "I've hired Donald J. Trump as the next CEO of twitter."
Sounds like he's going to use the bot claim to renege. Blue checks to poll going forward.
Uh, Musk didn't say when.
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