When he considered his other posts from that time period, there appeared to be little to justify that suspension — which, according to the official notification, had been imposed by the company for “violating our rules against platform manipulation and spam”.

Then he returned to the fact that his Irish Examiner column had focused on online spam and platform manipulation.

Could that be the reason for the suspension?

If so, then that is ominous news for many people who use the platform. It is often deployed as an advertising space, a job-hunting aid, a promotional vehicle, or simply to seek help — the site’s visibility and reach are its main assets. At least they were.

The deterioration of the platform since it was taken over by Elon Musk in October 2022 has been noted by many.

Behind the scenes, the company has reportedly lost 70% of its value since Musk assumed control. The user experience is now compromised by the masses of bots using the site, as O’Reilly indicated in his column.

The central issue here is not one of profit or coding. It is that Musk likes to depict himself as committed to free speech, a concept that is so fundamental to his belief system he is willing to give his own critics a voice on his website.

Yet when some relatively mild criticism of that website appears, the author of that criticism suddenly has his account suspended? This is further evidence of the decline of X, which is bad news for the many people who have benefited from using it over the years. Restricting the freedom to say so on the website does not alter that fact.

Egregious spending

Cork City Council recently revealed the cost of restoring the Fireman’s Rest, a small shed that once stood on St Patrick’s St in the city.

The Rest was recently unveiled outside the city’s main fire station on Anglesea St, but council officials told city councillors this week that the first phase of the restoration has cost over €200,000, that the work is ongoing, and about another €100,000 could be spent on it before the project is finished.

The council’s corporate affairs director of services, Paul Moynihan, said the restoration project is ongoing and final details on the overall costs were not possible at this stage, but said that the money involved includes professional fees and the detailed recording of the restoration project.

Independent councillor Ken O’Flynn, who raised the matter, pointed out that the Rest had been allowed to deteriorate in a council yard for 20 years when it might have been maintained, something that might have reduced the present cost of restoring the building.

However, O’Flynn also made the most salient point about this enormous bill.

“We are now spending almost €300,000 restoring a piece of Cork history which should never have been removed, and certainly, should have been stored better,” he said. 

It’s the cost of a council house for something the size of a garden shed. 

At a time when accommodation is a pressing concern all over the country, this seems far too much money to spend remedying a situation the council allowed to develop in its own backyard, literally. 

The lack of clarity on expenditure to date is not encouraging either and does not bode well for future spending on the project.