Righteous Kvetching About an Algorithm

 

Every once in a while, one must simply allow oneself to gripe. As a dedicated curmudgeon, ‘once-in-a-while’ happens frequently.

Case in point is a current gripe with FaceBook or rather the ’bots at FB. I’ve been given (given? Ha! ) another 30-day suspension.

Another one, mind you. 

The more recent one about which this writer is kvetching, resulted from a three-word post in response to a post about a current bill awaiting a vote in the Senate, namely, HR1, the ‘For the People Act’, to expand and further secure the voting rights of Americans. There are many more bits of Biden’s agenda headed to the Senate floor, including one on gun control which will face lock-step republican recalcitrance.

The responding post in question read ‘Kill the filibuster!’; quick, simple, to the point and on we go to the next one. After about 5 minutes (time is elastic and relative when streaming down the black hole of one’s FaceBook wall), the proviso from the ‘bot announced that my account was suspended for 7 days because of a violation of community standards. What followed moments later, was a more detailed pronouncement asking if I disputed the finding. The confirmation of the ‘bot’s ruling came quick on the heels of my ephemeral protest. (funny, that...)

‘Kill the filibuster’ promoted violence, it was ruled by the algorithm.

Huh? WTF!? Over...

Did the algorithm assume that ‘filibuster’ was a person?

‘Kill the lights'. 'Kill the music'. 'Kill the engine'. Those all promote violence?

Right...

And to add injury to insult, the ‘bot ruled that since I had been a bad boy before this, the suspension would be for 30 days not 7.

The previous offense had resulted from using the word ‘pussy’. A Trumpian simpleton had whinged about something or other and I had advised him not to be such a pussy. It was advice. Snarky, sure but...

In my defense, I had tried to edit the post, replacing ‘pussy’ with ‘snowflake’ but was interrupted by the ‘bot’s ruling that such language was considered ‘bullying’.

‘Bot says; ‘30-day suspension’!  
Talk about ‘snowflakes’. Scurry to your safe place...

There are plenty of better things to pass the pandemic time then doom scrolling the FB wall, of course. Re-arranging my sock drawer (again) come to mind. However, to be stymied by a ‘bot and stifled by an algorithm which red-flags words out of context is something to righteously kvetch about, thus wasting more time.

 Thus, endeth the gripe.

Now, how about that drink?