this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2024
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This is reason #856632 that you don't put vital government services on fucking Twitter.
Reminds me of Canada's emergency alert system.
A custody mixup happens a 5 hour drive away with the child last seen an hour ago? Top priority notification to every device capable of receiving SMS. And then a second one in French. And then a third one because they forgot to give any details about who or what to look for. And then a fourth one in French. And then a fifth one because they settled the mix-up. And then a sixth one in French.
Again, they are IMPOSSIBLE to turn off through general device settings because they're sent at the presidential level (aka. "nuclear launch detected"-level threat).
But an active shooter is going on a killing spree dressed as an officer? Better hope you've liked and subscribed to the right police association on Twitter! Because only one of them sent out anything, and nobody sent out an emergency notification at any level.
The difference being a team of 10 high up administrators took 1 hour to write each of the messages regarding the child.
Active shooter? Good luck getting ANY credible info until after police have killed them. IC, EOC, Unified Command all have to get together and push out the same message.
As others have said, there's a reason why you wait for verified information through proper channels.
How about "If you're around [TownName], get to shelter; people are being shot"?
They don't need long for an earthquake, then they shouldn't need long for a situation where people have already started dying.
... because PDF Warning: 1/2 of active shooter scenarios are over in 5 minutes. Like earthquakes, we don't get warning minutes before the event because of seismometers and +$100,000,000 in detection and automated warning systems. With easily verifiable information and buildings built to resist them.
If you're at a university, they're required to have mass alert systems. They also know their community and can push it to the people who were smart enough to give their college their actual phone number rather than some random shit or not bother to update it when they changed their number.
Everyone else though? Good luck dropping a geofenced 911 alert with actually relevant information besides what people should already know. Run, Hide, Fight. It's literally all that's sent out in any of those college emergency alerts. MAYBE a hall location/area if they got non-panicked lucky info with someone calling Security instead of 911.
After action reports, and debriefs are easily available for most of these events if you want to read them. The FBI and DHS have a LOT of info too.
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-in-the-us-2022-042623.pdf/view
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Nova_Scotia_attacks
This one lasted hours, and the killer was known to be impersonating a police officer.
If they could send an official tweet, they could use the Alert Ready system.
I don't think you understand how infrequent mass shooters are. Nor how predictable lol.
Are you quoting the timeline? Is the alert ready system something unique to Canadia? Does it geofence? Who needs to approve it? How does 911 or equivalent contact them. Do they have it? Do you need supervisor approval? Is your supervisor even there or is he shitting? Half your recent 911 calls in the last 5 minutes have hung up after 20 seconds. Most of them just screaming. Can you triangulate? Do you hang up? Are your other coworkers getting calls too or did you get the only person who had their phone in class because they didn't let their teacher take it?
Life is vastly more intricate and complicated than any of you think in serious situations.
During the hours and hours that the mass shooting took place, they could have used the Alert Ready system. The process to send out an Amber Alert is often measured in minutes rather than hours, which makes sense -- the process was designed to disseminate information as quickly as possible
I don't know about your phone, but at least in mine, they can in fact be turned off in general device settings. There's a "Wireless emergency alerts" section in the options, under which you can individually toggle Extreme Alerts, Severe Alerts, Amber Alerts, and Tests
Those toggles don't work because, in Canada, everything is sent at the Presidential Level, which might be above "Extreme Alerts".
I had to basically plug my phone into my computer to access adb (a command line tool) to deactivate them.
On my old phone, I was able to make the sound at least respect DND. I don't know if it's a Samsung vs. Google thing, or if it's an Android version thing.
Canada ignores complaints because if people got the alert, it's working.
Android ignores complaints because it's Canada's problem, and why would anyone want to completely deactivate all alerts? (Which I've done -- I don't even get texts anymore, which I actually want. But it was all or nothing.)
Oh, I didn't realize. I am in Canada, I turned them off a few months ago after my third amber alert this year for someone at the far end of the province (how likely am I to be able to help someone a 30 hour drive away???) and haven't gotten one since, but it must just be coincidence. That's annoying.
I guess it's up to the phone manufacturer to decide whether the presidential level can be turned off or not
Did you disable all texting in order to avoid the alerts? Just how often did you get them!
No, I disabled the emergency alert feature. I don't know if they come through over SMS in the end, or if they have their own special "lane" that got blocked.
I was hoping I'd still get the text, but I didn't.
The issue wasn't with the frequency (maybe one set every few months) so much as the issue was with my phone blaring an alarm at any hour of the day (say, 3am when you're asleep) that doesn't respect DND or volume settings on my phone.
That sounds like an effective solution… for things that are an immediate threat to the general population!
Yes, but not for custody disputes happening hours away with no information given about the suspect to help anyone search for the child! Lol
There are government text messages and local websites and all sorts of ways of reaching people. Unfortunately, X probably reaches ten times as many people. I think a diversified approach makes sense.
That being said, us gov has sent the text messages and that seems to be the best way to do it. Everyone has a phone. And if you don't, then you like to live on the edge.
All cell phones connected to a Japanese network received a notification regardless of their carrier, brand or what apps they installed.
This is already way better than whatever reach X provides.
Or any other service, that like Twitter, is a closed for profit service of a multinational for profit corporations.
The universe of stupidity is so endless that I don't know in which direction to fight really.
On most public\political subjects people I talk to think I'm delusional, they talk how "free markets don't work", "regulation prevents murderous chaos", "regulation prevents monopolies and wild capitalism" and so on.
But when it's this kind of thing, it suddenly becomes all right for them to offload a public service to a private company. And they suddenly become optimists. Same fscking people. I once had that from a communist.
I think it's primate psychology. Libertarian ideas are seen as delusional because these people fear chaos and the feeling of letting go. And for the same reason big corporations are seen as all right because they are familiar, there's the feeling of order and control. Primates flock to strength.
For the same reason some people defend copyright, I think. They want hierarchy, somebody owning every recognizable picture. A master in the house.
I thin libertarian is just anarchy by another name. Regulated free market is the way to go, if you want democracy, which is the least bad, but those regulations need constant adjustment. The system need constant weeding or corruption grows.
Force platforms like Twitter to support ActivityPub from governments. Then give alerts to citizens that way. Tear down the closed walls at least for government emergency alerts.
NERV is a private service, which rebroadcasts government emergency warnings with better representations.
It annoys me that pretty much every local government agency is on Twitter and FB and don’t even really update their own websites. It’s a shame nobody uses RSS much these days.
Not being on Twitter in this case is like shouting "RUN AWAY!" in several empty rooms and not bothering to go into the room full of people.
Emergency broadcasts should be on all platforms. You need to maximize the chance of reaching people.
Yes, I understand that they’re on Twitter and fb because that’s where their audience is. But I don’t want to be required to use Twitter or fb to read their updates, so it would be nice if they also posted to some sort of neutral platform like idk, their own websites.
They posted on mastodon though
Yes, it’s popular in Japan. In the US you won’t find local police or emergency agencies on mastodon.