Elon Musk’s X Has Started Selling Off Old Twitter Handles For Upwards Of $50,000

As soon as he directly assigns value to them, he turns the reclamation of accounts from an admin technicality to theft.
- Can't steal something you don't own. And people should never forget you don't own anything on these platforms.
  
  I disagree that you don't own it. Just because a business writes something into its terms and conditions, that doesn't mean it is legitimate. The user behind the account has a stronger claim to the value of the account than the website - the user was the one who created the value, not the website. The website created the platform and then the marketplace, but the users are the ones who impart the value.
  If the username is just a username and not being sold, then there isn't really anything actionable, but because X are looking to sell it for significant value then it is actionable, and the user has the stronger claim.
  This would be like a bank claiming all the money in your savings account because you haven't made any deposits or withdrawals recently.
  
  Can’t steal something you don’t own
  🤔 think you got that backwards?

50k for a username on a dieing platform.
Something something, fools and their money...
- I mean… people buying it are fools and we don’t know if anyone has actually done so. The person selling it might be an idiot, but is it foolish to ask for money? Doesn’t hurt, especially if you need it desperately.

So he is going to pay the @X guy $50,000 now?
- That guy already had more than enough compensation with that hoodie and the office tour they gave him.
  
  Did they give him lunch at least?

So anyone who hasn't logged in for 30 days is considered inactive and their account may be subject to being seized and sold? Fuck that shit.
- They can have my useless handle, i already purged and deleted my Twitter account.

Also why is this a shitty MSN version of an actual article?
Original article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2023/11/03/elon-musk-x-has-started-selling-off-old-twitter-handles/
Archive version: https://web.archive.org/web/20231104024223/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2023/11/03/elon-musk-x-has-started-selling-off-old-twitter-handles/
- Explanation from my point of view:
  at work I use Edge and it has the page with the clickbait at start. If I click, then the news is in the msn page with no direct link to the source (or hidden in a way that's not immediate)
  Most times, at least in my country, the source is paywalled while the MSN version isn't
  
  I mean, I've certainly found myself reading an MSN article after the title caught my eye in a search, but if you're sharing something you should take the time to review it and share a better link. In this case, the Forbes link does not appear to be paywalled, and archive.org should bypass that.

At this stage it's starting to look like a Ponzi scheme. Squeeze out as much as possible before it sinks?

How long before the X-NFT campaign?
- Maybe if your account is big enough to make money off TwitX some day, you'll be paid in Dogecoin.
  
  That would be great, even without a real use, DOGE is still above 0 USD. Just imagine if it did have some use! 🚀🌝

Basically, use Twitter or they let people impersonate you.
$50,000 is nothing to pretend to be a major newspaper and ruin their reputation.
Fuck Musk.

Is it better to periodically clear unused handles and have them snatched up by bots or should they sell them? To me selling them gives people a chance to get the handle they want and stops bots from grabbing up popular handles.
If I want the handle fizz I'll pay about $10 if someone wants to pay more then they want it more than me. I'd rather be able to bid on it than have it grabbed by a bot.
- You think those are mutually exclusive? What's to stop a bot/bad actor with some money from buying "unused" handles?
  I guess this isn't the worst idea he's had for twitter but it seems like a short term money grab while the ship is sinking. By his own valuation twitter is worth half what it was a year ago and still not profitable, selling usernames won't change that
- If I want the handle fizz I’ll pay about $10 if someone wants to pay more then they want it more than me.
  No, if someone is willing to pay more than you they may want it less but also value their money less because they have a lot of it, or they may think they can use it to make more money than you are willing to pay for it. capital=power, not desire
  
  In my opinion that still results in the handle going to someone who wants it more.
- Maybe just don't recycle them, as was the policy until now
- But if you were the legitimate person behind a username, why should it be taken from you just because you've been idly waiting for any value to be realised and not actively using it? In particular, they're taking it with no compensation, for the purpose of keeping all of the new value for themselves.
  It would be far more reasonable if they took away everyone's accounts and sold them all. That would be equal and fair.
  But equal and fair and reasonable isn't the goal of X and Musk. The goal is to stir as much shit as possible before the business inevitably closes due to excessive debt, as a direct result of the initial leveraged buyout. Then, new platforms can be put in its place, and the more dodgy stuff X gets away with the more these new platforms can also.
  
  Because it's their platform and you aren't using the name. They don't want all the good handles stuck on dead users.

Liquidation has commenced.

I don't see the issue of this. Usernames aren't property.
- Because it'll be used by questionable sources to farm accounts with history and of well known people to enroll in astroturfing, propaganda and straight up scams.
  
  Those accounts are already being used for that purpose and are sold on underground forums

I probably should sell mine for 49,999 and save whoever want my handle a buck.