Comment on Elon Musk and company take @x handle from its original user. He got zero dollars for it.
pjhenry1216@kbin.social 1 year agoBecause there's precedent that handles have value (on the order of thousands of USD). They're taking value from a customer. It'd be interesting to see what swag they offered in exchange, but considering the guy's net worth, he could have afforded some decency. I mean, Gmail can just take your email address to, but it is how many identify themselves in business, so it can harm them financially. Sure, that's the risk with doing that, but it is what it is. Musk could have generated some good will but instead generated more bad publicity. I'm beginning to think he has no PR on staff or just surrounds himself with people who never say no.
anteaters@feddit.de 1 year ago
Is there a precedent for Twitter buying an account “back” from a user? IIRC all deals regarding Twitter accounts have been made between users.
pjhenry1216@kbin.social 1 year ago
The precedent is that the handle has value. It's a bad look when a company destroys value for a user, regardless of whether they have the right to or not. The internet is full of people complaining when Google shuts down a YouTube channel. It's essentially the same thing. You expect a good reason or exchange to occur to make the customer whole.
I don't understand where your confusion lies. The guy got screwed over for being a loyal user of the service, despite Musk not owning it for that whole duration.
The guy was offered swag, but I couldn't find details of what it was. And as far as I can tell, this isn't really decrying the lack of money. Just how they handled the situation as a whole.
You understand how it's an asshole move, but don't understand why someone would expect some compensation for the dick move? When someone gives their spouse some roses because they acted like an ass, are you confused by the roses?