Kyle Thayer
@kylethayer.com
Assistant teaching professor at UW iSchool. Interested in Programming, Culture, and Education. PhD from UW CSE. Co-author of Social Media, Ethics, and Automation (bit.ly/smeabook). Opinions my own. He/him.
kylethayer.com
kylethayer.com
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Kyle Thayer
@kylethayer.com
· Nov 26
Social Media, Ethics, and Automation
Free textbook on programming social media bots and considering the ethical implications of having done so. Automation drives our experience of social media platforms, from timeline feeds to disinfo...
social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
"Social Media, Ethics, and Automation" is a free textbook written by me and @susannotess.bsky.social
We teach new programmers to write social media bots (including Bsky), and think about the ethics of what they did.
Visit the textbook here: social-media-ethics-automation.github.io/book/bsky/in...
We teach new programmers to write social media bots (including Bsky), and think about the ethics of what they did.
Visit the textbook here: social-media-ethics-automation.github.io/book/bsky/in...
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
I think a real test of your social media platform is if corporations, and governments, and public figures have a greater range of allowed speech than normal users. Also, miss me with "interest of the public" claims -- social media platforms are not designed to be information utilities.
November 16, 2025 at 1:11 AM
I think a real test of your social media platform is if corporations, and governments, and public figures have a greater range of allowed speech than normal users. Also, miss me with "interest of the public" claims -- social media platforms are not designed to be information utilities.
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
![4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiby6can6k76yzfmv2czxs4pu2l7zie7bqbrpswi7h3ifmiadkuqvu@jpeg)
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
There are obviously worse examples of AI use, but I'm really pissed about the animal videos. That's like the one thing I did several times a day for a timeline cleanse: Three minutes of abused animal gets rescued, then experiences happy transformation. Now I have to assume everything is fake.
November 14, 2025 at 12:58 AM
There are obviously worse examples of AI use, but I'm really pissed about the animal videos. That's like the one thing I did several times a day for a timeline cleanse: Three minutes of abused animal gets rescued, then experiences happy transformation. Now I have to assume everything is fake.
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
I hope @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social ed board calls for his resignation www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Email Cache Reveals How Former Harvard President Larry Summers Stayed in Jeffrey Epstein’s Orbit | News | The Harvard Crimson
A new cache of emails released by a House committee paints a vivid portrait of the relationship between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein. The ...
www.thecrimson.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:44 PM
I hope @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social ed board calls for his resignation www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
We just tried the great Moderator Mayhem game in class today, but the "Look closer" button seems to broken. @mmasnick.bsky.social @randylubin.com @leighb.bsky.social (hopefully the right accounts)
Thought you'd want to know in case you get a chance to fix it.
Thanks for the great educational game!
Thought you'd want to know in case you get a chance to fix it.
Thanks for the great educational game!
November 12, 2025 at 10:07 PM
We just tried the great Moderator Mayhem game in class today, but the "Look closer" button seems to broken. @mmasnick.bsky.social @randylubin.com @leighb.bsky.social (hopefully the right accounts)
Thought you'd want to know in case you get a chance to fix it.
Thanks for the great educational game!
Thought you'd want to know in case you get a chance to fix it.
Thanks for the great educational game!
@merriam-webster.com While the current world is potentially falling apart, are you up for dreaming big and building on your legacy by proposing a new and more intuitive English phoenetic system?
Sounds like a direct continuation of Webster’s simplification work! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster...
Webster's Dictionary - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 12, 2025 at 7:16 PM
@merriam-webster.com While the current world is potentially falling apart, are you up for dreaming big and building on your legacy by proposing a new and more intuitive English phoenetic system?
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Sounds like a direct continuation of Webster’s simplification work! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster...
Webster's Dictionary - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Sounds like a direct continuation of Webster’s simplification work! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster...
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
the republican party is engaged in a cover up to keep the american people from learning whether president trump is president pedo
A direct email exchange from 2011 between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, just released by House Oversight Committee Democrats.
November 12, 2025 at 2:35 PM
the republican party is engaged in a cover up to keep the american people from learning whether president trump is president pedo
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
An unfortunate effect of AI: for all the talk of it enabling “creativity,” many of us feel forced by its utility for plagiarism to move toward more restrictive and surveillant measures in the classroom. In the last few years the classroom is of necessity becoming more locked down than it ever was.
November 12, 2025 at 3:24 PM
An unfortunate effect of AI: for all the talk of it enabling “creativity,” many of us feel forced by its utility for plagiarism to move toward more restrictive and surveillant measures in the classroom. In the last few years the classroom is of necessity becoming more locked down than it ever was.
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Language shifts can be extremely rapid
Verbs, for example, regularize at a rate inversely proportional to the square root of their usage frequency
Years and years ago on my Mormon Mommy Blog I wrote about “slang” spelling & how it was just “spelling things how they sound”
It WERKS if you WERK IT
Verbs, for example, regularize at a rate inversely proportional to the square root of their usage frequency
Years and years ago on my Mormon Mommy Blog I wrote about “slang” spelling & how it was just “spelling things how they sound”
It WERKS if you WERK IT
But we absolutely need a good spelling reform to update and simplify how English is written.
I asoom the most efectiv way to acheev this iz to just start dooing it.
Hoo’s in?
I asoom the most efectiv way to acheev this iz to just start dooing it.
Hoo’s in?
November 12, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Language shifts can be extremely rapid
Verbs, for example, regularize at a rate inversely proportional to the square root of their usage frequency
Years and years ago on my Mormon Mommy Blog I wrote about “slang” spelling & how it was just “spelling things how they sound”
It WERKS if you WERK IT
Verbs, for example, regularize at a rate inversely proportional to the square root of their usage frequency
Years and years ago on my Mormon Mommy Blog I wrote about “slang” spelling & how it was just “spelling things how they sound”
It WERKS if you WERK IT
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
ANYWAY WHY DO WE HAVE TO SPELL LIKE IT IS 1300??
IT IS CLEARLY NOT WORKING WELL
IT IS CLEARLY NOT WORKING WELL
November 12, 2025 at 1:24 PM
ANYWAY WHY DO WE HAVE TO SPELL LIKE IT IS 1300??
IT IS CLEARLY NOT WORKING WELL
IT IS CLEARLY NOT WORKING WELL
I'm all for the escalation from complaining about three-cueing to full on English spelling reform!
Incidentally, this is why I’m against strict spelling. Words should be spelled the way they sound & we spell words as if we’re speaking Middle English for ridiculous class reasons
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
November 12, 2025 at 2:58 PM
I'm all for the escalation from complaining about three-cueing to full on English spelling reform!
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Incidentally, this is why I’m against strict spelling. Words should be spelled the way they sound & we spell words as if we’re speaking Middle English for ridiculous class reasons
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
November 12, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Incidentally, this is why I’m against strict spelling. Words should be spelled the way they sound & we spell words as if we’re speaking Middle English for ridiculous class reasons
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Other folks have said it, but let me just note that:
(1) lots of talented, must-read journalists have been let go from their jobs over the last year
(2) millions of Americans are abandoning current media outlets and looking for new alternatives
Seems like a sure-fire business opportunity here?
(1) lots of talented, must-read journalists have been let go from their jobs over the last year
(2) millions of Americans are abandoning current media outlets and looking for new alternatives
Seems like a sure-fire business opportunity here?
November 12, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Other folks have said it, but let me just note that:
(1) lots of talented, must-read journalists have been let go from their jobs over the last year
(2) millions of Americans are abandoning current media outlets and looking for new alternatives
Seems like a sure-fire business opportunity here?
(1) lots of talented, must-read journalists have been let go from their jobs over the last year
(2) millions of Americans are abandoning current media outlets and looking for new alternatives
Seems like a sure-fire business opportunity here?
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Really wasn't a sure thing a few drops ago (it could have followed one of these shallower historical trajectories and missed the mark), but it's certainly nearly a sure thing now.
November 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Really wasn't a sure thing a few drops ago (it could have followed one of these shallower historical trajectories and missed the mark), but it's certainly nearly a sure thing now.
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
A lot of people like to blame current reading pedagogy for widespread lack of reading comprehension among adults and I must say I think that's incredibly optimistic. Phonics might be good for lots of things but I don't think it would help here
November 11, 2025 at 9:19 PM
A lot of people like to blame current reading pedagogy for widespread lack of reading comprehension among adults and I must say I think that's incredibly optimistic. Phonics might be good for lots of things but I don't think it would help here
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
November 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Wikipedia HERO
A guy discovered a faked photo of a rare blue gas on Wikipedia. So he SYNTHESIZED THE GAS HIMSELF so that he could photograph it. Yesterday he updated the article with this real photo of trifluoronitrosomethane:
A guy discovered a faked photo of a rare blue gas on Wikipedia. So he SYNTHESIZED THE GAS HIMSELF so that he could photograph it. Yesterday he updated the article with this real photo of trifluoronitrosomethane:
November 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Wikipedia HERO
A guy discovered a faked photo of a rare blue gas on Wikipedia. So he SYNTHESIZED THE GAS HIMSELF so that he could photograph it. Yesterday he updated the article with this real photo of trifluoronitrosomethane:
A guy discovered a faked photo of a rare blue gas on Wikipedia. So he SYNTHESIZED THE GAS HIMSELF so that he could photograph it. Yesterday he updated the article with this real photo of trifluoronitrosomethane:
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
you could use this to watch Maggie's series and then mainline all 43 of my adventure game reviews
if you wanted
if you wanted
If you're holding off on getting a Nebula subscription, I got news for you--
They're giving out free 3 day FREE TRIALS if you use my link below!
Now you can watch all of AMY'S DEAD-END DREAMHOUSE... for FREE, BABY!!!
They're giving out free 3 day FREE TRIALS if you use my link below!
Now you can watch all of AMY'S DEAD-END DREAMHOUSE... for FREE, BABY!!!
November 6, 2025 at 9:52 PM
you could use this to watch Maggie's series and then mainline all 43 of my adventure game reviews
if you wanted
if you wanted
@carlbergstrom.com I feel like you might want to know about these UW crows
A few weeks ago I saw a flock of crows rip one of the UW fields of grass to shreds. So UW put in seeds and a "keep out" barrier around it, but apparently the crows are back and they don't respect the sign 🤣
(There were only 5 crows this morning, while the other day I saw dozens)
(There were only 5 crows this morning, while the other day I saw dozens)
November 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM
@carlbergstrom.com I feel like you might want to know about these UW crows
A few weeks ago I saw a flock of crows rip one of the UW fields of grass to shreds. So UW put in seeds and a "keep out" barrier around it, but apparently the crows are back and they don't respect the sign 🤣
(There were only 5 crows this morning, while the other day I saw dozens)
(There were only 5 crows this morning, while the other day I saw dozens)
November 6, 2025 at 5:44 PM
A few weeks ago I saw a flock of crows rip one of the UW fields of grass to shreds. So UW put in seeds and a "keep out" barrier around it, but apparently the crows are back and they don't respect the sign 🤣
(There were only 5 crows this morning, while the other day I saw dozens)
(There were only 5 crows this morning, while the other day I saw dozens)
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister. www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
The Inside Story of How Gen Z Toppled Nepal’s Leader and Chose a New One on Discord
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:04 AM
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister. www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
This belongs in @thelouvreof.bsky.social’s Louvre of Real Life exhibit
November 3, 2025 at 7:27 PM
This belongs in @thelouvreof.bsky.social’s Louvre of Real Life exhibit
Reposted by Kyle Thayer
Computationally, whitespace gets little attention—it’s usually standardized or stripped.
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
November 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Computationally, whitespace gets little attention—it’s usually standardized or stripped.
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...