town square

English[edit]

town square (plural town squares)

An open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town, used for community gatherings.
Synonyms: city square, public square, piazza, urban square
(by extension) An online space or platform which serves a similar function.
Synonym: public square
- 2019 November 7, Ben Hubbard, “Why Spy on Twitter? For Saudi Arabia, It’s the Town Square”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:
  In Saudi Arabia, where a relatively closed culture leaves citizens few public forums to discuss news and politics, Twitter has become a kind of town square, the place where citizens meet to swap information and debate the latest issues.
- 2022 April 25, Melina Delkic, quoting Elon Musk, “4 ways Twitter could change under Elon Musk.”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:
  Mr. Musk has frequently expressed concern that Twitter’s content moderators go too far and intervene too much on the platform, which he sees as the internet’s “de facto town square.”
- 2022 October 27, Lauren Hirsch, quoting Elon Musk, “Elon Musk Reaches Out to Advertisers Ahead of Deadline for Twitter Deal”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN:
  Mr. Musk went on to say that the reason he was buying Twitter was “because it is important to the future of the civilization to have a common digital town square,” where a “wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner without resorting to violence.”

an open area in a town