Paul GrahamVerified account

Just realized you could actually take advantage of Twitter's badness in building a version 2. Since people are their worst selves on Twitter, you could use their tweets as an audition for the new service. If they're all snark and memes, don't let them in.

I'm surprised you haven't come out of retirement to build a twitter competitor already. It seems like the perfect startup for you based on all the things you notice that chafe you. Not to mention, how fun it would be to observe how you go about executing

I'm 56, so the opportunity cost matters. And even if I got it right, it wouldn't solve the problem for me, because you can't use a forum you run as an ordinary user could.

never thought of that last point... What are the issues you'd face exactly? That you'd attract unwanted attention and not let organic discussion happen?

If you run a forum and actually use it, then if someone attacks you, you're presumed to have seen it. Which means if you don't reply, it reads as a tacit admission that the attack is valid. Which creates really bad incentives for people.