• Twitter tried to ban sharing links to other social networks and it went down incredibly poorly.
• The policy change has since been walked back entirely with all evidence of it being wiped from Twitter.
• Shortly after this walk back, Elon Musk polled users on whether he should step down as Chief Twit.

While the world was watching the final of the World Cup, Twitter tried to slip in a major policy change.

This change prevented sharing links to other social networks including Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr, and Post. Essentially, users would no longer be allowed to share their links to these websites in their bio and accounts that solely promoted pages on other social networks would be instantly banned. While Musk clarified that the occasional tweet with a link would be okay, the policy highlights a misunderstanding of Twitter’s place in the digital ecosystem.

Twitter has, and will likely always be, a way to funnel users elsewhere on the web. As much as Musk talks up the new features he wants to introduce those features don’t exist yet and as such, Twitter is still serving the same function it did before the takeover. Changing the rules to match a new, as-yet unrealised vision is silly especially when those new features could be a year away. Even then, Twitter would be the first platform in recent memory to ban links to the likes of Facebook and Instagram for no reason other than competition.

As you might expect this policy didn’t last long and it has since seemingly been walked back entirely. The web page containing the policy is no longer available and the thread from the official Twitter support account announcing it has been removed.

However, that isn’t all.

The new owner of Twitter has polled users as to whether he should step down as the head of Twitter. As of time of writing with six hours left to vote and 11 million users having voted, the billionaire may be out of the job before lunch.

Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022

Of course Musk will still be the owner of Twitter but perhaps without him at the helm overseeing daily operations, stability could make a welcome return.

The most recent upheaval for Twitter was a policy update that banned the sharing of live location data. This policy was updated following Musk’s child allegedly being accosted by a “crazy stalker”. The ban included the ElonJet account which Musk had previously promised he wouldn’t ban.

Journalists including Aaron Rupar and Donie O’Sullivan were banned for reporting on the news that ElonJet was banned from Twitter. These journalists and others who were banned for similar offenses had their suspensions lifted but the ban on sharing live location data remains.

Perhaps Musk stepping down as the Chief Twit is the best idea as the way the firm is currently being run is causing far too much upheaval not only for the users but potentially for advertisers as well.

We now wait to see the outcome of the poll and if Musk does indeed abide by the results.