Rob has updated his Twitter likes and follows

[Asclepius]

Jeez.

Led to the Doug and Rob twitters after reading on Cookd and Bombd of Doug’s ‘There’ll be no more tweeting from the official account’ etc. tweet it led me to dig into Rob’s twitter.

Heck. I think we see what Chris might be like if he had social media rather than just an HTML editor.

The first ‘liked’ tweets I saw were from Martina Navratilova on, of course, trans issues. And then came the Nigel Farage bank account thing.

Cripes, who does he follow to be liking this sort of stuff, I thought…?

His follows list is an odd one. As any fool doth know, Twitter sticks your lists of who you’re following into chronological order of when you started to follow them.

From that we can see Rob’s journey of following RD related accounts and those of other comedians to an account whose profile includes the lovely ‘women don’t have cocks’, then Andrew Doyle, that awful Birbalsingh headteacher, Kemi Badenoch, Spiked, then straight to – one after another – Laurence Fox, the current SDP leader (!), James Dreyfuss, Navratilova, and Farage.

A little while later he starts to follow our own Ian Symes and Jonathan Capps! Possibly after their excellent interview with him a few months back?

Anyway, they say ‘never meet your heroes’. The 2020s version should probably be ‘don’t click on your heroes’ Twitter likes and follows’.

Yes, I probably didn’t need to be so nosey, but what a cess pit.

Maybe he could have chipped in helping Doug with Timewave…

Topic

[Flap Jack]

Well

Fuck

[RunawayTrain]

Cripes, who does he follow to be liking this sort of stuff, I thought…? 

I feel moderately compelled to point out that Twitter is really bad at constantly showing you loads of stuff that’s even remotely related to tweets you interact with (using the same word, for instance) – especially making ‘for you’ the default rather than ‘following’ for a lot of people and there don’t always realise it – but that’s kind of irrelevant in the context here, because you don’t go ‘liking’ stuff you don’t agree with. 

(If Twitter’s dragged Rob down like that, can you imagine how bad Chris would be if he were on it??!!)

Ugh.

Maybe the lesson is ‘just don’t have heroes’.  I feel pretty safe in admiring the archaeologists I do, but alas there’s always capacity for people to change in the wrong direction :(

[International Debris]

Oh for fuck’s sake

[Flap Jack]

This is truly cursed knowledge. How the fuck does a notional liberal not only follow Nigel Farage, but make him his first right wing follow?! No easing into it with some alcopops Guardian journalists first, just a pint of fascist absinthe straight down the hatch?

I’m trying to focus on how funny it is that he followed Danny so long before following Cappsy and Ian, but it’s not working.

[Jonathan Capps]

Following Kellie-Jay Keen is pretty unambiguous, innit?

Fuck.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

You’re surprised the man that wrote Incompetence, a book that’s basically ragging on supranational European bureaucracy, follows Nigel Farage?

Other than Fox the rest of those names I don’t know thankfully. 

But Rob is of the same generation as Farage, and that generation is rather right wing “freedom from”, I’m not surprised he finds himself agreeing with some of the politics to be honest b

[International Debris]

Other than Fox the rest of those names I don’t know thankfully. 

A very disturbing number of vocal transphobes, sadly.

[Jonathan Capps]

Yeah I wouldn’t have been at all surprised he was right wing, but that is very different to the notable transphobes he’s following. KJK is nakedly genocidal, too.

[Flap Jack]

You’re surprised the man that wrote Incompetence, a book that’s
basically ragging on supranational European bureaucracy, follows Nigel
Farage?

I mean, call me naive, but… yeah? If Incompetence was the only creative work by Rob that I knew of, or Farage was in any way good at hiding his racist nationalism, then sure, not a surprise at all. But as it is, if someone has any political intelligence at all, then there’s plenty of room to be “eurosceptic” without supporting the British Nazis over it.

Other than Fox the rest of those names I don’t know thankfully.

For posterity, cunt follows not mentioned thus far include Toby Young, Helen Joyce, and J.K. Rowling.

He also follows an account which claims to be Germaine Greer (another famously transphobic piece of shit), but it only has 3 tweets in its history, all from the same day in 2010, and the last one is “I enjoy bestiality”. So I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s not the real Germaine Greer. Does Rob think it is, somehow? Who knows!

And for some reason Rob follows a Kellie-Jay Keen parody account as well as the real one. I can only assume he did that by mistake and never thought to unfollow because it doesn’t tweet much.

[cwickham]

[Flap Jack]

[Moonlight]

Hahahahahaha, this is gross and makes me unhappy. Although it is darkly amusing that I now think Rob’s Timewave would have been way worse.

Did I mention I’m a lesbian and have tons and tons of trans girl friends? Fucking lord, why does everyone want the queers dead? We’re sick and based, yo.

Nobody check my Twitter follows. It’s all Sonic shit and socialist propaganda.

[Jo]

Oof. This one genuinely hurts. 

Nobody check my Twitter follows. It’s all Sonic shit and socialist propaganda.

Sounds good to me!

[Jenuall]

Dwarf always felt like a show that, broadly at least, leaned toward the more socialist, left-wing side of the fence. I generally ascribed to the perspective that Lister was the “creator insert” of the show and he was who we as the audience were supposed to be sympathetic with, but maybe all along Rob was actually wanting us to aspire to be like Rimmer…

Ugh, this is just depressing. 

[International Debris]

Yeah, it’s usually tried to be progressive, although it hasn’t always got it right.

And yeah, I don’t have an issue with Euroscepticism especially, even if I’m broadly pro-EU, but Farage is a sexist, racist, homophobic, anti-vaxxer nutjob.

Doug, earlier this year, checking Rob’s Twitter: fuck this, I’m scrambling the password for the RD account in case he gets his grubby mitts on it.

[Stephen Abootman]

[Jenuall]

[Jonathan Capps]

Nobody check my Twitter follows. It’s all Sonic shit and socialist propaganda.

[Carlito]

Can’t defend the Likes, but it seems reasonable to point out that following someone doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with their views. I follow some utter cunts (your Trumps and Johnson and Farage types) out of public interest or morbid curiosity to see what drivel they’re spouting into their echo chambers so I know what I’m up against in this world.

[Jonathan Capps]

Can’t defend the Likes, but it seems reasonable to point out that following someone doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with their views

I think everyone here gets that, but it’s the sheer volume of those types that have recently been followed that is the damning detail. It’s a bit like saying that just because I follow lots of Red Dwarf fans doesn’t necessarily mean I like Red Dwarf.

[Flap Jack]

Also, “he’s just following them to know what they’re up to” doesn’t explain the apparent absence of left wing follows. In combination with the likes and the lack of his own tweets against them, this pretty much has to be Occam’s razor.

[Asclepius]

I pressed the ‘submit’ button this afternoon after much thought and then ran away for a bit. Was I going to be berated for sniffing too deep, and would people be defending Rob’s free thinking and right to follow who he wants?

But no, you didn’t. You’re a fucking great bunch of cunts.

I’ll write at some point about what Red Dwarf means and has meant to be over the years, but the Dwarfcasts only came into my life earlier this year when I became aware of the Return of Rob and the excellent interview that was done with him. From there I eventually listened to every one of the ‘live reaction’ Casts, and am now on the book club. And it’s all lovely. Really rude, filthy, and hilarious. But lovely in a warm way that’s continually filled with great people who don’t ever punch down. And even when the book ones are led by three (?) white (??) men (???) it’s always bang on in what you call out.

Spot on products, spot on fandom. And the response to this twitter stuff speaks of a great fandom.

And a reminder that Doug, although he’s often got it so wrong (“and here’s Kryten having a chuckle while evil Lister is dragged off to be raped”) we definitely had the better half in control these last 28 years.

[cwickham]

I also don’t think the “following someone doesn’t necessarily imply endorsement” really applies when you’re following an actual fascist who openly says they want trans people to die.

[Flap Jack]

[Asclepius]

Also, “he’s just following them to know what they’re up to” doesn’t explain the apparent absence of left wing follows. In combination with the likes and the lack of his own tweets against them, this pretty much has to be Occam’s razor.

I’m not even asking for ‘left wing’. I’ll take flabby centrism. I’d take the Richards Osman and Cole without wincing too much. But this is just horrible. Really grim and unrelenting.

Timewave, Dear Dave’s ending and Krytie TV got nothing on this.

[Frank Smeghammer]

And a reminder that Doug, although he’s often got it so wrong (“and here’s Kryten having a chuckle while evil Lister is dragged off to be raped”)

I…. uhm….

I’m really struggling to recall what this is a reference to and it’s sort of important I find out before I go to sleep tonight

[Jonathan Capps]

That is lovely, thank you Asclepius. My own motivation to keep doing any of this is the fandom and more specifically the people that decide to part of the G&T community.

[Jonathan Capps]

I’m really struggling to recall what this is a reference to and it’s sort of important I find out before I go to sleep tonight

I believe this is a Last Human deep cut

[Asclepius]

And a reminder that Doug, although he’s often got it so wrong (“and here’s Kryten having a chuckle while evil Lister is dragged off to be raped”)
I…. uhm….
I’m really struggling to recall what this is a reference to and it’s sort of important I find out before I go to sleep tonight

The concise summary on one of the Last Human book clubs of a key plot line. It’s obviously not written as that in the text, but that is what happens. Lots of non consensual sex in that tome.
I remember buying it and starting to read it around at my Nans*. I suppose I’d have been about 15. It was a lot.

*Not to my Nan**

**It was to your Nan.

[Frank Smeghammer]

I believe this is a Last Human deep cut

A very deep cut indeed – I’ve only read that book 3 times in total so that’ll be why I can’t remember

[Jonathan Capps]

I’m not even asking for ‘left wing’. I’ll take flabby centrism. I’d take the Richards Osman and Cole without wincing too much. But this is just horrible. Really grim and unrelenting.

Yeah, the bar has got so low that anyone that doesn’t buy into horrific disregard of human beings’ existence is all I ask for.

[Jonathan Capps]

I believe this is a Last Human deep cut

A very deep cut indeed – I’ve only read that book 3 times in total so that’ll be why I can’t remember

Ooh I could trap a leopard

[Unrumble]

And a reminder that Doug, although he’s often got it so wrong (“and here’s Kryten having a chuckle while evil Lister is dragged off to be raped”)

I…. uhm….
I’m really struggling to recall what this is a reference to and it’s sort of important I find out before I go to sleep tonight

I can’t recall the specific scene/context, but ‘evil Lister’ must surely be a Last Human reference?

-EDIT- once again beaten to the punch by failing to refresh again before posting. 

[Asclepius]

That is lovely, thank you Asclepius. My own motivation to keep doing any of this is the fandom and more specifically the people that decide to part of the G&T community.

It’s a cracking community. You love the show. A lot. But aren’t ever wary of calling out stuff that has aged poorly. Or that was written five years ago and should never have been. It’s a joy to revel in and be nostalgic in, but to have that nostalgia challenged, too. Great stuff to run too. Or walk back from school drop off to.

[Frank Smeghammer]

The concise summary on one of the Last Human book clubs of a key plot line. It’s obviously not written as that in the text, but that is what happens. Lots of non consensual sex in that tome.
I remember buying it and starting to read it around at my Nans. I suppose I’d have been about 15. It was a lot.

Without question, the less said about Last Human the better. I don’t find it grossly offensive to my sensibilities (although I get 100% what you mean). It’s more that it’s lacking in both compelling Sci-Fi elements, humour, and general readworthiness.

Which are important components in a sci-fi comedy novel if you ask me.

[Dave]

That is lovely, thank you Asclepius. My own motivation to keep doing any of this is the fandom and more specifically the people that decide to part of the G&T community.

Aw. But we only come here because of the great community you’ve built.

Rob’s follows are a bit off-putting but I do tend to think that people are complicated beings and your online social media profile isn’t everything. Rob is not only the co-creator of Red Dwarf but also in my mind he’s the guy who put so much time and effort into the quarantine commentaries and lockdown theatres and fundraising efforts, all that good stuff that helped us to stop going crazy during covid. So as much as these Twitter follows definitely fall under the heading of “questionable” for me, I’m not going to base my entire opinion of him on it.

It’s more a bit of an “oh that’s a shame”.

[Flap Jack]

Oh, by the by, I noticed an issue with the text editor while making my last post – if you add an HTML Smega-Drive image which has quotes in its caption into code view, when switching code view off the text editor changes every word in the caption after the ones in quotes (in the alt text) to attributes, which get discarded when you submit. So the alt text gets cut off.

Hey, compared to the main subject of the thread, a website bug report is almost cheery.

I believe this is a Last Human deep cut

That’s exactly right, a reference to not just this plot point but any plot point in Last Human counts as a deep cut. It takes active effort not to suppress the memory of it.

[Frank Smeghammer]

Ooh I could trap a leopard

[Jonathan Capps]

Oh, by the by, I noticed an issue with the text editor while making my last post – if you add an HTML Smega-Drive image which has quotes in its caption into code view, when switching code view off the text editor changes every word in the caption after the ones in quotes (in the alt text) to attributes, which get discarded when you submit. So the alt text gets cut off.

This is commitment to QA.

To be honest the whole text editor is shite and I need to find a better one.

[Asclepius]

I don’t find it grossly offensive to my sensibilities (although I get 100% what you mean). It’s more that it’s lacking in both compelling Sci-Fi elements, humour, and general readworthiness.
Which are important components in a sci-fi comedy novel if you ask me.

This is why I’m finding the Book Casts so interesting. I’ve not finished the LH one yet but, to me as a teenager, I preferred LH. I loved the plot and thought it clever. And then our Book Club guys keep driving huge trucks through stuff that I had just accepted at the time. I thought it had plot and a bit of humour, whereas Backwards veered towards gross-out humour a little too much. I’ve read both a few times and am looking forward to hearing my memories and nostalgia challenged. But I’m sure there was too much genital-based torture.

[Jonathan Capps]

Rob’s follows are a bit off-putting but I do tend to think that people are complicated beings and your online social media profile isn’t everything. Rob is not only the co-creator of Red Dwarf but also in my mind he’s the guy who put so much time and effort into the quarantine commentaries and lockdown theatres and fundraising efforts, all that good stuff that helped us to stop going crazy during covid. So as much as these Twitter follows definitely fall under the heading of “questionable” for me, I’m not going to base my entire opinion of him on it.

I live in eternal hope that eventually the GC adjacent people who have been conned into this bigotry will move past it.

[Frank Smeghammer]

Being gender critical is just a phase, and I think we need to intervene before they permanently ruin their social media profile only to regret it later

[Jenuall]

Maybe this is what those “musical differences” we’re back in the day :(

[International Debris]

That is lovely, thank you Asclepius. My own motivation to keep doing any of this is the fandom and more specifically the people that decide to part of the G&T community.
Aw. But we only come here because of the great community you’ve built.
Rob’s follows are a bit off-putting but I do tend to think that people are complicated beings and your online social media profile isn’t everything. Rob is not only the co-creator of Red Dwarf but also in my mind he’s the guy who put so much time and effort into the quarantine commentaries and lockdown theatres and fundraising efforts, all that good stuff that helped us to stop going crazy during covid. So as much as these Twitter follows definitely fall under the heading of “questionable” for me, I’m not going to base my entire opinion of him on it.
It’s more a bit of an “oh that’s a shame”.

It’s really difficult, because I don’t like being judge, jury and executioner, but this is the kind of thing people were saying about Glinner at first. There might be some other reason he seems to be supporting a very large number of hideous bigots with a specific focus on a particular issue that seems to be very popular at the moment in terms of trying to erase the rights of an especially marginalised group in society who are already been hounded by governments all over the world, but then again he might not, which means he’s joined a group of some of the most awful people in the current social and political landscape of the west. And even if there’s a 50/50 chance, that’s exceptionally depressing.

[clem]

Rob’s follows are a bit off-putting but I do tend to think that people are complicated beings and your online social media profile isn’t everything.

I dunno. I’d love to be able to take that kind of hanlon’s razor attitude to stuff like this but fucking hell this is just so upsetting.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

I take a sabbatical and leave you all alone for one fucking day…

[Nick R]

[loadoftottnumb]

Might have to be one of those where you separate the artist from the art if you can, like with Michael Jackson, Morrisey and Graham Linehan. 

I guess it’s a good thing that other than Farage I haven’t heard of most of these people, I know Rowling of course but have missed most of the drama there as I’m not interested in Harry Potter and I know who James Dreyfus is but again haven’t seen or heard of him since about 1996.

[Jonathan Capps]

You’re very fortunate to not be embroiled in the sewer that is Twitter and modern gender bigoty in general, but the damage these people do is very widespread and real regardless of your awareness of them.

[GlenTokyo]

Another nail in Dimensions Jumps coffin.
I swear to God, I’m like two more problematic/ bigoted cast and crew members away from just burying all my Red Dwarf stuff in the garden and attempting to get into Space 1999 or something.

Christ.

[Author]

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