I’d actually be willing to pay for blue-like backend features that have no visible profile affordances. Selling fun affiliation badges or NFT display ability is also fine. Pretending the platform’s verification responsibility is a status “product” is just deeply disingenuous.
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Contra many people's take on this, I don't think the bluecheck was *ever* an actual status symbol. Where it did not actually point to an external credential that needed verification protection, it was a lolcow badge only ever made fun of. The insult was the canonical perception.
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Replying to
> [the bluecheck] was a lolcow badge only ever made fun of
hmm I don't think this is actually true. An analogy is yachts: I don't think I've ever heard of anyone talk about yacht owners in a positive light, and yet they still get bought as, and work as, a status symbol.
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's ideas are key here: (i) humans are attracted to dominance, but ashamed of this, and so we pretend we're not, and (ii) more generally we've evolved very deep faculties for self-deception
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And I definitely remember when *I* got a bluecheck: my system-2 brain was of course dismissive but my system-1 brain definitely felt good about it, and not in a "yay my followers get protected from scams" way
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Hmm. When did you get your blue check? Because after 2017 or so you have been the biggest scam/impersonation risk around. If you hadn’t gotten it and I was twitter security I’d probably have enforced it anyway.
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I never even thought about getting it. Seemed completely pointless at least for me. It seemed like a drivers license or passport except no actual use for me or anyone in relation to me.
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I forget when but I think it probably was around 2017 or so. Maybe shortly before the scams started becoming a big deal.
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I’m honestly surprised you had any validation reaction at all. By 2017 you were already above the social band where credentials are meaningful.
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Few say no to an Oscar, even if they don't respect the Academy.
The blue check is a digital Oscar to Twitter's Marlon Brandos, Sally Fields, and obscure indigenous directors whose actors speak in clicks.
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Oh come on. While verification was open to all early on, note that most people *didn’t* bother applying for it. Besides people with an actual need due to impersonators, I only saw a few weird insecure types get it.
The NIMBY vibes from blue checks, esp. ones who's "fame" is primarily from social media, are off the charts. Like a bunch of poors are about to destroy their property values. That home, that Oscar, is bolted to their identity. We're seeing them go through the stages of grief.


