The problem this letter ID's is that B and C list twitter celebs learned to drag people for likes, which sometimes goes badly. Time was, the only real (instead of merely the main) way to get chattering class members fired was to mobilize right-wing radio. https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

The letter tries to address this by saying "While we have come to expect this on the radical right," which lets e.g. Brooks sign it while feeling serious. But of course two of his own Op-Ed page buddies tried to get people fired for saying what they think.

I think many of the chattering class signatories would like their public to exist in a permanent state of respectful admiration at their steely courage, wisdom, and truth-telling, but Twitter really messes up that vibe because it's widely-read, context-free, and full of jerks.

Ironically, I think what a lot of the signatories are pining for is a world where serious conversations can happen in context-preserving ways with trusted interlocutors, well-established conventions participation and bounded disagreement, and barriers preventing public cascades.

Small magazines are like that. Seminars are like that. Universities and disciplines are often like that. Perhaps surprisingly, due to their structure blogs were and podcasts are like that, to a degree. Twitter is not. The phrase I'm reaching for here, of course, is "safe space".