Cory Doctorow NONCONSENSUAL BLUE TICK Profile picture
Nov 13, 2022 26 tweets 26 min read Read on X
Today's Twitter threads (a Twitter thread).

Inside: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've ever broken; and more!

Archived at: pluralistic.net/2022/11/13/gra…

#Pluralistic 1/ A disassembled Framework laptop; a man's hand reaches into t
Hey #DC! There's a *very special* invite-only book party for "Chokepoint Capitalism" on Nov 17 and while it's not a public event, there's a limited number of spaces I can distribute on a first come/first serve basis. If you'd like to come, email doctorow@craphound.com! 2/
Today (11/13), I'm presenting at @AaronSwartzDay:
aaronswartzday.org/asd-2022-lives…

11/16, I'm in DC for the Arthur C Clarke Award:
clarkefoundation.org/2022-awards-ev…

11/17, I'm part of a @library_futures webinar:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… 3/
The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've ever broken: If you only pay attention to how things work, you'll be screwed when they fail.

4/
Hey look at this

* It's Not Just You: NYC Has a Serious Dungeon Master Shortage hellgatenyc.com/no-on-wants-to… (h/t @YvesSmith)

* FTC Restores Rigorous Enforcement of Law Banning Unfair Methods of Competition ftc.gov/news-events/ne… (h/t Brooke Fox) 5/
#20yrsago Argentina: stranger than fiction infinitematrix.net/columns/sterli…

#20yrsago Reliable TCP’s weird symbiosis with unreliable IP joelonsoftware.com/2002/11/11/the…

#15yrsago John @Scalzi’s snarky science fiction tour of the Creation Museum whatever.scalzi.com/2007/11/12/you… 6/
#15yrsago Geek Mafia: Mile Zero: nerdy caper novel, the sequel memex.craphound.com/2007/11/12/gee…

#15yrsago A dusty epidemic of cremains at Disneyland web.archive.org/web/2007121302…

#15yrsago JK Rowling sues to stop publication of Potter reference book web.archive.org/web/2007111504… 7/
#15yrsago Gitmo operating manual leak web.archive.org/web/2007121609…

#15yrsago Magic and Showmanship: Classic book about conjuring has many lessons for writers memex.craphound.com/2007/11/13/mag…

#10yrsago UPS to Scouts: no more money until you drop anti-gay policy bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2… 8/
#10yrsago Wall Street is not made up of “numbers guys” scienceblogs.com/principles/201…

#10yrsago Tune: Derek Kirk Kim’s alien abduction romcom memex.craphound.com/2012/11/13/tun…

#10yrsago Ken Macleod on socialism, Singularity, and the rapture of the nerds web.archive.org/web/2013012109… 9/
#10yrsago Super Scratch Programming Adventure! an excellent way to get started in Scratch memex.craphound.com/2012/11/12/sup…

#5yrsago Equifax’s total bill for leaking 145.5 million US records to date: $87.5 million bleepingcomputer.com/news/business/… 10/
#5yrsago One week after release, iPhone X’s Face ID reportedly defeated by a $150 mask theverge.com/2017/11/13/166…

#5yrsago The secretive wealthy family behind the opioid epidemic are using the same tactics to kill public education salon.com/2017/11/15/the… 11/
#5yrsago Bernie Sanders: to fix the Democratic Party, curb superdelegates, make it easier to vote in primaries, and account for funds politico.com/magazine/story… 12/
#5yrsago Watson for Oncology isn’t an AI that fights cancer, it’s an unproven mechanical turk that represents the guesses of a small group of doctors statnews.com/2017/09/05/wat… 13/
#5yrsago Roy Moore’s scandal is just the tip of American evangelical Christianity’s child bride problem web.archive.org/web/2017111904…

#1yrago How to be safe(r) online pluralistic.net/2021/11/13/ops…

#1yrago American corporate criminals in the crosshairs (finally) pluralistic.net/2021/11/12/wit… 14/
Friday's threads: Apple's business model made Chinese oppression inevitable; and more!

15/
My latest book is Chokepoint Capitalism (with @rgibli), nonfiction about monopoly and fairness in creative labor markets.

chokepointcapitalism.com

Signed copies available from @BookSoup:

booksoup.com/book/978080700… 16/
My latest novel is Attack Surface, a sequel to my bestselling Little Brother books, now in paperback, wherever books are sold.

Signed copies at @darkdel:

darkdel.com/store/p1840/Co… 17/
My ebooks and audiobooks (from @torbooks, @HoZ_Books, @mcsweeneys, @beaconPressBks et al) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

craphound.com/shop/ 18/
Upcoming appearances:

* @AaronSwartzDay and International Hackathon, Nov 13:
aaronswartzday.org/asd-2022-lives…

* Arthur C Clarke Award (DC), 11/16
clarkefoundation.org/2022-awards-ev…

* @library_futures Webinar, 11/17
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… 19/
Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* Chokepoint Capitalism at @ThePeale Museum (Baltimore), 11/18:
thepeale.org/event/book-tal…

* Big Ideas Live (London), 11/19
news.sky.com/bigideaslive

* Conversation with @Superwuster, #Informed22/@knightfdn (Miami), 11/30:
informed22.interkinnect.com 20/
Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* @Aus_Digital Copyright Forum (Canberra), 2/17:
digital.org.au/2022/11/08/doc… 21/
Recent appearances:

* How big tech traps consumers and shafts creators (@IrishTimes)
shows.acast.com/inside-politic…

* Copyright Waffle (@UKCopyrightLit)
soundcloud.com/user-243274189…

* Surviving Apocalyptic Economics (@teamhumanshow)
teamhuman.fm/episodes/survi… 22/
You can also follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ads, trackers, or data-collection!

Here's today's edition: pluralistic.net/2022/11/13/gra… 23/
If you're a @Medium subscriber, you can read these essays - as well as previews of upcoming magazine columns and early exclusives on doctorow.medium.com.

My latest Medium column is "The End of the Road to Serfdom"

doctorow.medium.com/the-end-of-the… 24/
If you prefer a newsletter, subscribe to the plura-list, which is also ad- and tracker-free, and is utterly unadorned save a single daily emoji. Today's is "🙆🏾‍♀️". Suggestions solicited for future emojis!

Subscribe here: pluralistic.net/plura-list 25/
Are you trying to wean yourself off Big Tech? Follow these threads on the #fediverse at @pluralistic@mamot.fr.

Here's today's edition: mamot.fr/@pluralistic/1… 26/

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More from @doctorow

Feb 9
It's hard to talk about the Epstein class without thinking about "The Economy" (in the sense of a mystical, free-floating entity whose health or sickness determines the outcomes for all of us, whom we must make sacrifices to if we are to prosper).

1/ A detail of a US $100 bill. Jeffrey Epstein's mugshot has been overlaid over Benjamin Franklin's portrait. Peter Theil's portrait has been swapped for the US Dept of Treasury seal. Trump's signature has been swapped for the US Treasurer's signature. The line of zeroes after the 100, top and bottom, has been extended to the edge of the image. The image has been roughed up and recolored in a hellish mix of reds and yellows.  Image: Gage Skidmore (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Thiel_(51876609719).jpg  CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2026/02/09/slo…

2/
As nebulous as "The Economy" is as an entity, there's an economic priesthood that claims it can measure and even alter the course of the economy using complex mathematics. We probably won't ever understand their methods, but we can at least follow an indicator or two.

3/
Read 31 tweets
Jan 26
The best summary of Trump's trade "philosophy" comes from Trashfuture's November Kelly, who said that Trump is flipping over the table in a poker game that's rigged in his favor because he resents having to pretend to play the game at all.

1/ A detail from a US $100 bill. The bill has been tinted orange. Ben Franklin's face has been replaced with an indistinct blur surmounted by Trump's hair. The lettering in the scrollwork beneath the portrait reads 'TRUMP.' The '100's have been turned into '000's. The writing 'ONE HUNDRED' now reads 'NONE HUNDRED.' The series issue has been changed to '47.' The Secretary of the Treasury's signature has been replaced with Trump's.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2026/01/26/i-d…

2/
After all, the global system of trade was designed and enforced by American officials, especially the US Trade Representative.

3/
Read 84 tweets
Jan 17
Ireland is a tax haven. In the 1970s and 1980s, life in the civil-war wracked country was hard - between poverty, scarce employment and civil unrest, the country hemorrhaged its best and brightest. As the saying went, "Ireland's top export is the Irish."

1/ A green Irish pillarbox, standing before a verdant, rolling Irish countryside. The pillarbox is emblazoned with the poop emoji from the cover of 'Enshittification,' with angry eyebrows and a grawlix-scrawled black bar over its mouth.  Image: Stuart Caie (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Double_aperture_Irish_pillar_box_in_Dublin_2008.jpg  CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en  --  Sourabh.biswas003 (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PXL_20231216_105219694-Ballygalley_Larne_UK-_Irish_Countryside-Northern_Ireland_06.jpg  CC BY-SA 3.0 ht...
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2026/01/17/eri…

2/
In desperation, Ireland's political class hit on a wild gambit: they would weaponize Ireland's sovereignty in service to corporate tax evasion.

3/
Read 35 tweets
Jan 6
Code is a liability (not an asset). Tech bosses don't understand this. They think AI is great because it produces 10,000 times more code than a programmer, but that just means it's producing 10,000 times more liabilities.

1/ A shredder, shredding a giant US$100 bill. Benjamin Franklin's head has been replaced with a cliched 'hacker in a hoodie' illustration. The machine's faceplate bears the Claude Code wordmark. The background is the hostile red eye of HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.'  Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg  CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2026/01/06/100…

2/
AI is the asbestos we're shoveling into the walls of our high-tech society:



Code is a liability. Code's *capabilities* are assets.

3/pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/eco…
Read 48 tweets
Dec 16, 2025
We are about to get a "post-American internet," because we are entering a post-American *era* and a post-American *world*. Some of that is Trump's doing, and some of that is down to his predecessors.

1/ Uncle Sam staring into a funhouse mirror that has made him painfully thin. The reflection is wearing a Trump wig and has orange skin. He stands atop a map of the world that stretches to infinity. In the background is a shantytown with the TRUMP logomark rising in the sky over it.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2025/12/16/k-s…

2/
When we think about the American century, we rightly focus on America's hard power - the invasions, military bases, arms exports, and CIA coups.

3/
Read 86 tweets
Dec 13, 2025
Look, I'm not trying to say that new technologies *never* raise gnarly new legal questions. But what I *am* saying is that a lot of the time, the "new legal challenges" raised by technology are somewhere between 95-100% bullshit.

1/ A modified FBI badge. It now reads 'Federal Wallet Investigators.' It is made out to 'Timothy J Shotspotter.' It is held in the three-fingered, gloved grip of a cartoon character. Around its edges, we see a cartoon room from a public domain Betty Boop cartoon.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2025/12/13/unc…

2/
It's ginned up by none-too-bright tech bros and their investors, and then swallowed by regulators and lawmakers who are either so credulous they'd lose a game of peek-a-boo, or (likely) in on the scam.

3/
Read 68 tweets

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