Topic: Twittering in Tehran (Read 11315 times)

onewheelwizzard · « **on:** 24 Jun 2009, 13:12 »

A friend just posted the following Facebook status update:

" If you're on twitter, set your location to Tehran and your time zone to GMT +3.30. Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut Iranians' access to the internet down. Cut & paste & please pass it on."

I figured this was good enough to share. This can move to DISCUSS! if we want to make a serious thread about it, or it can just be a thread about whatever else comes to mind for you about this.

Coward · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 13:19 »

It's quite bad, I know, but my knee-jerk response was 'some of those Iranians are taking this to heart too much...'

I'll get my coat.

Nodaisho · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 13:56 »

I really don't know much about the situation currently, if they get a bunch of people using Tehran as the location, wouldn't they just start looking for the people saying they are from the outlying locations? Seems like some people should set their location as one of the suburbs as well.

And I really hope some of the Iranian twitterers consider changing their location and time zone to something other than a place in Iran.

supersheep · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 14:15 »

This strikes me funny too. Wouldn't it make much more sense to simply search for keywords? If I remember correctly, the Iranians have some good government tech-folk, and they probably have ways around this easily, I'd think.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 14:23 »

It would make more sense as a gesture of solidarity. "We are all Iranians" etc.

Although on another level that might also be crass, who knows. At the end of the day we probably have to accept that there is little we in the outside world can do as individuals right now.

Sox · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 14:26 »

Eh, whatever. It takes me three seconds to do and costs nothing. I'm in.

Patrick · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 14:38 »

Don't those guys think that the Iranian government wouldn't also run a quick IP check? I can't imagine many people in Iran are familiar with using proxies.

Although Darryl is right, it's not exactly gonna hurt me.

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 14:54 »

Comment on said Facebook status:

"This is an urban legend. It doesn't create a logjam since american twitter traffic doesn't originate on the Iranian network anyway. On the other hand, supposing the iranian authorities are collecting twitter user names via the front-end, they can't trace those people back to physical locations because Twitter doesn't share IP address data.

In fact... Read More, all this does is mess with other people in the west trying to get information. They might look at a tool like TwitterVision and see a whole bunch of tweets out of iran about standing in line at Starbucks or Kobe Bryant instead of vital news.

Not to be a downer .."

Oh well. It would've been a cool idea.

Ozymandias · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 15:01 »

Yeah, I was trying to think really hard how any part of this was possible and figured it was one of those vast useless and poorly thought out gestures the internet is so proud of.

nobo · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 15:20 »

i've been following the Iran conflict through fark.com comments section, and there are some crazy things happening there. Latest tally, as of a few days ago, was several hundred dead, several thousand injured. Injured protesters being arrested when they arrive at a hospital seeking treatment, student dorms raided and students being arrested and killed. At least 5 other cities, other than Tehran, are protesting. Its hard to imagine how people could trust the Iranian government if its still standing after this.

MrBlu · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 15:28 »

Done.

supersheep · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 15:38 »

Yeah, that's what I thought OWW. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if this was an Iranian government idea - make getting the news out more difficult, that sorta thing.

As for Iranians not knowing how to use proxies, that sounds a little offensive to me. It's not like using a proxy is all that difficult, you know. There's quite a lot of stuff going on that's fairly technically advanced, and I'm sure that most of the people still getting the news out have got some safety stuff sussed.

Luke C · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 16:24 »

Well it was a nice idea. Khars thoughts that it is a gesture of solidarity is a good one still though.

Reed · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 16:37 »

Quote from: supersheep on 24 Jun 2009, 15:38

As for Iranians not knowing how to use proxies, that sounds a little offensive to me. It's not like using a proxy is all that difficult, you know. There's quite a lot of stuff going on that's fairly technically advanced, and I'm sure that most of the people still getting the news out have got some safety stuff sussed.

Yeah, Iran actually has a pretty good percentage of citizens who have attained higher education, and they have a decent university system. On top of that, the Iranian authorities have been raiding universities and beating the students who live in the dorms for no reason, pretty much ensuring that the students side with Mousavi.

Patrick · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 16:58 »

Quote from: supersheep on 24 Jun 2009, 15:38

Yeah, that's what I thought OWW. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if this was an Iranian government idea - make getting the news out more difficult, that sorta thing.

As for Iranians not knowing how to use proxies, that sounds a little offensive to me. It's not like using a proxy is all that difficult, you know. There's quite a lot of stuff going on that's fairly technically advanced, and I'm sure that most of the people still getting the news out have got some safety stuff sussed.

I never said Iran wasn't advanced enough, nor that the people are ignorant. I'm no damn fool. I'm just not exactly trusting the Iranian government to not censor that kind of stuff out of everything.

Inlander · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 17:58 »

Even if this idea worked, I'd be concerned that it would provide fuel for the Iranian rulers' "The protests are all a Western plot originating outside Iran" fire.

Reed · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 18:02 »

I think that's why we need to keep the support at the citizen level, not the government level (I appreciate that Obama is staying the fuck out of it)

est · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 18:03 »

Also, have you talked to the "average person" in your own home country about proxies? Usually they don't have a fucking clue.

Patrick · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 18:07 »

Hell, I don't even have a fucking clue. I know what they do and how they work on a very basic level, but that's the absolute extent of my knowledge. And I'm the guy who first brought it up here.

Reed · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 18:08 »

Well that's the great thing about the activists having such great support from university students. Even if they don't understand exactly what's happening, I think the students who have been forced out of the universities will teach the average citizen how to properly wage an information war.

(P.S. I have an Iranian friend who is going to university in the US and she has been doing a pretty good job of keeping us all informed via facebook)

Zingoleb · « **Reply #20 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 20:07 »

I just remarked to my roommate that the situation in Iran is depressing.

He started ranting how what is REALLY depressing is that he has to wait two more days to get his Batman game.

Is it bad that I want to cause him bodily harm?

Ozymandias · « **Reply #21 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 20:26 »

No, I totally understand.

I mean, then you'd get to play Batman instead.

Zingoleb · « **Reply #22 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 20:27 »

(I do enjoy me some Batman)

Trollstormur · « **Reply #23 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 20:34 »

I don't get what these people are fighting for. It's like american idol. Cast your votes via twitter to pick the next figurehead under The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

nobo · « **Reply #24 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 20:49 »

one of the 7 demands Mosouvi made was for a new provisional Ayatollah

RallyMonkey · « **Reply #25 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 21:03 »

Quote from: Trollstormur on 24 Jun 2009, 20:34

I don't get what these people are fighting for. It's like american idol. Cast your votes via twitter to pick the next figurehead under The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

I think that is one of the major underlying tenets of what they are fighting for. Some polling suggests that an overwhelming majority of Iranians publicly express their opinion that they want to democratically elect their Supreme Leader.

De_El · « **Reply #26 on:** 24 Jun 2009, 22:21 »

I did this! Like a week ago. I was way into twitter as a way of following news and the rumor mill re: Iran, and I set up a proxy, as well as posted pictures and videos and retweets, etc. Oh and, the thing with proxies is that those capable of getting to the outside world via Twitter were perfectly aware of how to use proxies and were trying to teach others, as well as constantly asking for new ones because eventually the censors would find them.

And what a bunch of them told me is that the deal isn't really Moussavi himself, but the fact that the election was so obviously rigged; that their supposed elective franchise was a lie.

Patrick · « **Reply #27 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 04:37 »

The fact that people on the inside and on the outside can talk to people who are just like them, who want to help, is also going to be a huge step in terms of relations with Iran. It's good for Iran to see that we're not out to get them, and it's good for people at least in the States to see that Iranians aren't as batshit as Ahmedinejad's example would have us believe.

Will · « **Reply #28 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 06:59 »

Off-topic; Nobo, do you post on Fark, or just lurk?

I have to admit, other than a few sweeping generalizations, I'm not up on this situation as much as I'd like to be. Can anyone recommend a solid starting point for some one to get a good recap of what's been going down?

snalin · « **Reply #29 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 11:28 »

The sitting president cheated in the elections, and according to the western press, people want freedom and democracy and no Islam. All they really want is not to be fucked over by the government. The elite is doing what the totalitarian elite always do when the people march the streets, chanting "hey, could you actually care about your own population for a sec?"; shooting people.

Will · « **Reply #30 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 11:33 »

I guess that about sums it up, thanks.

Reed · « **Reply #31 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 13:52 »

I have an Iranian friend who is a student in the US. She just posted this on facebook, and I thought I would share it:

Quote

My mom and brother were beaten today. Tear gas and pepper spray nearly made them blind-they cannot see clearly. Their faces are burnt. My friend Amir Hossein, was brutally beaten by 10 guards, he passed out, blood coming from his ears. One of our neighborhood boys`head was smashed in Kamranieh by Basij`s club. He died. He was 20.

My sister, an intern in Shohadah(martyrs) hospital in Tajrish, could not find her last night protest patients in the morning session. No one knows their whereabouts.

"Those who say this is like the 1979 revolution, come see...Shah was not nearly half brutal as this regime. Shah`s soldiers at least were our countrymen-Quoran in trembling hands of a girl would make them pause for a moment before shooting her in the face, " said my mom. She believes some of these forces are not Iranian. She got that when she was trying to drag Amir Hossein from under their boots.

"We had guns when we protested against Shah-we would shoot back," she said, "but these people`s hands are empty..."

My brother took the injured in his car to Imam Khomeini hospital. No one would let them in. People brought whatever first aid they could find from their homes, but they did not know how to stop blood gushing out of a neck.

my eyes well, I scream, I curse,...

They are anything but sad-" Maryam, wish you were there today to see it with your own eyes. The helicopters fire. People disperse for a few minutes, hold those shot, rise up tall. Our hands with green bands make a fist. We chant louder and louder; Allaho Akbar! Death to the Dictator! "

They are tired. Their voices are scratchy. They are wounded. They are proud.

Patrick · « **Reply #32 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 15:06 »

Jesus. That's absolutely terrifying. And heartbreaking. I don't even know what else to say.

nobo · « **Reply #33 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 16:00 »

Quote from: Will on 25 Jun 2009, 06:59

Off-topic; Nobo, do you post on Fark, or just lurk?

I have to admit, other than a few sweeping generalizations, I'm not up on this situation as much as I'd like to be. Can anyone recommend a solid starting point for some one to get a good recap of what's been going down?

I just lurk.

Check out the first two or three posts here: http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4468747&startid=52202557 and you'll get a pretty good recap of whats going on. I tried to copy paste it but I exceeded the 20,000 character limit.The revolution lives on. Long live the revolution!

SilentJ · « **Reply #34 on:** 25 Jun 2009, 17:50 »

Quote from: Patrick on 25 Jun 2009, 04:37

The fact that people on the inside and on the outside can talk to people who are just like them, who want to help, is also going to be a huge step in terms of relations with Iran. It's good for Iran to see that we're not out to get them, and it's good for people at least in the States to see that Iranians aren't as batshit as Ahmedinejad's example would have us believe.

I feel like that was a small part of the driving force to get Obama into office; to completely distance our country from the image of Bush in power, which seemed to be the country's image as a whole to the outside world; with a man like Obama in power, the rest of the world can see how far the land has come in a short time. And I agree, it's very nice to know that there is a (somewhat) steady exchange of reliable info into/out of the country, and I wish them the best in their efforts.

Quote from: Patrick on 25 Jun 2009, 15:06

Jesus. That's absolutely terrifying. And heartbreaking. I don't even know what else to say.

Yeah, that's... beyond anything I can imagine. Reed, give your friend the best from us all, and wish her to pass that sentiment on to her family.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Twittering in Tehran (Read 11315 times)

Zingoleb

Zingoleb