NeilBru

@NeilBru@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Signatures skyrocket for Stop Killing Games campaign after big youtubers take up the cause, resulting in 100k signatures in 2 days. (Details on how to help in text body of post)⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  The typeface must be 16pt, bold, and the copy itself should be on the front page and be required on the cover description(s).

  My beef isn’t even with a games-as-a-service premise at all. It’s the corporatist trend in arguing that single-player experiences need perpetual online connectivity, or that releasing self-hosted PvP server functionality is prima fascia “unrealistic in every scenario”. Some games, like WoW, no way. I get the depth of the server stack for MMOs. Other games that are PvP-competitive could easily be self-hosted. These companies could still make money Off of these old competitive online games, even though they’ve deprecated their own self-hosted server stack. They’re just too short-visioned and run by assholes who don’t give a shit about games.

  “Stop Killing Games” needs more refined language about what it’s asking for, no doubt. There are many scenarios where blanket statements about demanding source code are just not feasible.

  However, let’s not pretend that the industry is not pushing enshittification tactics used by almost every business that’s publicly traded. That’s the spirit in which this movement is fighting against.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Signatures skyrocket for Stop Killing Games campaign after big youtubers take up the cause, resulting in 100k signatures in 2 days. (Details on how to help in text body of post)⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Good.

  Require it; if I buy something I require every feature of my own product, if I purchased it

  Too hard? Fine.

  Then the law should require the fact that you the seller must say I’m renting a game or product, or purchased a limited license. They can’t say I “bought it and own it” if they can prevent me from using it however I want whenever they want. Force them to be explicitly clear about what I’m getting for my money.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Signatures skyrocket for Stop Killing Games campaign after big youtubers take up the cause, resulting in 100k signatures in 2 days. (Details on how to help in text body of post)⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  The Dutch allow me to vote for the Water Management Board of my town. Other than that, no, I can’t vote in the other elections. 😢

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Signatures skyrocket for Stop Killing Games campaign after big youtubers take up the cause, resulting in 100k signatures in 2 days. (Details on how to help in text body of post)⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Unless someone corrects me, I think his argument boils down to, “we shouldn’t allow the release of server binaries for online-enabled games because it’s too hard for the developers”.

  Well, if that’s the case, then Thor, that’s a “you” (the company) problem. Not a “me” (the consumer) problem. And if you’re not going to release a server binary but we’re “buying” the game, purchasers have legitimate moral and legal grounds to demand that they be informed that they are buying a license, or renting, the game; they are not owning a functional copy of the game outright.

  I’m turning 42 this. I’ve been a software developer for 15 years now. I’d like to even say that a few of those years I even came across like I knew what I was talking about. But this basic issue is not about software development. This is about consumer advocacy, And it was a super huge turn off to watch him perform the mental gymnastics on why people should be screwed over.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Signatures skyrocket for Stop Killing Games campaign after big youtubers take up the cause, resulting in 100k signatures in 2 days. (Details on how to help in text body of post)⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m an American citizen living in the Netherlands; I have a renewed 5-year residency permit. Am I allowed to sign? I’m guessing no, but maybe there’s an allowance for EU residents, not just citizens?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Massive internet outage reported: Google services, Cloudflare, Character.AI among dozens of services impacted⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Fundamentally, the brain still receives “bite-size-chocolate” dopamine hits from Lemmy by receiving positive affirmations from upvotes, cortisol from downvotes, and lends to dark behavior patterns like any forum. Adrenaline dumps when engaged in “online arguments”.

  The nature of forums’ stimulation of our over-sized and over-active (but evolutionarily necessary for our ancestors’ survival) amygdala fosters social media addiction.

  People like Lemmy for many reasons. Some of them are good. However, let’s not pretend that it’s “all of the good with none of the bad.” It’s healthy to be skeptical of Lemmy instances too.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Massive internet outage reported: Google services, Cloudflare, Character.AI among dozens of services impacted⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  realize you’re addicted to social media like a drug

  Lemmy included.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT 'got absolutely wrecked' by Atari 2600 in beginner's chess match — OpenAI's newest model bamboozled by 1970s logic⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with your clarification.

  My career path, as I stated in a different comment, In regards to neural networks is focused on generative DNNs for CAD applications and parametric 3D modeling. Before that, I began as a researcher in cancerous tissue classification and object detection in medical diagnostic imaging.

  Thus, large language models are well out of my area of expertise in terms of the architecture of their models.

  However, fundamentally it boils down to the fact that the specific large language models was designed to predict text and not necessarily solve problems/play games to “win”/“survive”.

  I admit that I’m just parroting what you stated and maybe rehashing what I stated even before that, but I like repeating and refining in simple terms to explain to laymen and, dare I say, clients. It helps me make make I don’t come off as too pompous when talking about this subject; forgive my tedium.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT 'got absolutely wrecked' by Atari 2600 in beginner's chess match — OpenAI's newest model bamboozled by 1970s logic⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Absolutely interested. Thank you if you’re willing to share that.

  My career path in neural networks began as a researcher for cancerous tissue object detection medical diagnostic imaging. Now it is switched to generative models for CAD (architecture, product design, game assets, etc.). I don’t really mess about with fine-tuning LLMs.

  However, I do self-host my own LLMs as code assistants. Thus, I’m only tangentially involved with the current LLM craze.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT 'got absolutely wrecked' by Atari 2600 in beginner's chess match — OpenAI's newest model bamboozled by 1970s logic⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m impressed, if that’s true! In general, an LLM’s training cost vs. an LSTM, RNN, or some other more appropriate DNN algorithm suitable for the ruleset is laughably high.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT 'got absolutely wrecked' by Atari 2600 in beginner's chess match — OpenAI's newest model bamboozled by 1970s logic⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  An LLM is a poor computational paradigm for playing chess.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[JS Required] EU unveils DNS4EU, a public DNS resolver intended as a European alternative to services like Google’s Public DNS and Cloudflare’s DNS.⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Mullvad DNS has been great also.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Baldur's Gate 3 dev calls Randy Pitchford's $80 Borderlands 4 comments "gross" because it implies the FPS is more important than "making it day to day"⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Look, you can charge whatever you want.

  “Is your game worth $80?”

  That is the question every studio executive needs to ask themselves.

  Given the recent trends in AAA-funded projects, for the most part, that answer is “Oh, hell no.”

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨A Fond Farewell To Polygon, From The People Who Worked There - Aftermath⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Absolutely not.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨A cheat sheet for why using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Oof, ok, my apologies.

  I am, admittedly,0 “GPU rich”; I have at ~48GB of VRAM at my disposal on my main workstation, and 24GB on my gaming rig. Thus, I am using Q8 and Q6_L quantized GGUFs.

  Naturally, my experience with the “fidelity” of my LLM models re: hallucinations would be better.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨A cheat sheet for why using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Self-hosted LLMs are the way.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨All four major web browsers are about to lose 80% of their funding | by Dan Fabulich | Apr, 2025⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Necessary Necessity is the mother of invention

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are most people here left-wing?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  There is no such thing as liberalism — or progressivism, etc.

  There is only conservatism. No other political philosophy actually exists; by the political analogue of Gresham’s Law, conservatism has driven every other idea out of circulation.

  There might be, and should be, anti-conservatism; but it does not yet exist. What would it be? In order to answer that question, it is necessary and sufficient to characterize conservatism. Fortunately, this can be done very concisely.

  Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit:

  There must be in-groups whom the law protectes but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

  There is nothing more or else to it, and there never has been, in any place or time.

  For millenia, conservatism had no name, because no other model of polity had ever been proposed. “The king can do no wrong.” In practice, this immunity was always extended to the king’s friends, however fungible a group they might have been. Today, we still have the king’s friends even where there is no king (dictator, etc.). Another way to look at this is that the king is a faction, rather than an individual.

  As the core proposition of conservatism is indefensible if stated baldly, it has always been surrounded by an elaborate backwash of pseudophilosophy, amounting over time to millions of pages. All such is axiomatically dishonest and undeserving of serious scrutiny. Today, the accelerating de-education of humanity has reached a point where the market for pseudophilosophy is vanishing; it is, as The Kids Say These Days, tl;dr . All that is left is the core proposition itself — backed up, no longer by misdirection and sophistry, but by violence.

  So this tells us what anti-conservatism must be: the proposition that the law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone, and cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.

  Then the appearance arises that the task is to map “liberalism”, or “progressivism”, or “socialism”, or whateverthefuckkindofstupidnoise-ism, onto the core proposition of anti-conservatism.

  No, it a’n’t. The task is to throw all those things on the exact same burn pile as the collected works of all the apologists for conservatism, and start fresh. The core proposition of anti-conservatism requires no supplementation and no exegesis. It is as sufficient as it is necessary. What you see is what you get:

  The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.

  • Frank Wilhoit
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unshittification: 3 tech companies that recently made my life… better⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  UnDeshittification

  Makes more sense to me if the pre “en” is used in “enshittification”.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is it in so many people that makes them want to sabotage people who are doing well? I get it stems from jealousy but is that proof human nature is to be isolated rather than tribal?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Thanks for the kind compliment, but my title for my response is my opinion. The rest of the text is taken from a Wikipedia article about “Crabs in a Bucket Mentality” and was pasted in a way to support my first statement.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is it in so many people that makes them want to sabotage people who are doing well? I get it stems from jealousy but is that proof human nature is to be isolated rather than tribal?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Most Many people are complete dicks.

  Self-evaluation maintenance theory

  Tesser’s self-evaluation maintenance theory (SEM) suggests that individuals engage in self-evaluation not only through introspection but also through comparison to others, especially those within their close social circles. When someone close to an individual excels in areas they value, they may feel threatened and act in ways that downplay their achievements. This mechanism can partly explain why individuals may attempt to pull down those who achieve more than themselves as a way to protect their own self-esteem and social standing. Emotions such as envy may be generated when individuals feel threatened during self-evaluation. This can lead to a desire to diminish the well-being of others, particularly when their success highlights the individual’s own failures or inadequacies.

  Relative deprivation theory

  Relative deprivation theory proposes that feelings of dissatisfaction and injustice arise when people compare their situation unfavorably with others’ situations. This sense of inequality, rooted in subjective perceptions rather than objective measures, can deeply influence social behavior, including the phenomenon of crab mentality. When individuals see their peers achieving success or receiving the recognition they feel is undeserved or unattainable for themselves, it can trigger actions aimed at undermining these peers’ accomplishments. The concept emerged from a study of American soldiers by Stouffer. Soldiers in units with more promotions were paradoxically less satisfied, feeling left out if not promoted themselves, despite better odds of advancement. This reflects how relative deprivation fuels dissatisfaction by comparing one’s situation to others. By “dragging” others down to a similar level, individuals might feel a sense of satisfaction. Thus, crab mentality can be viewed as a response to perceived social inequality, where pulling others down becomes a strategy to cope with feelings of inadequacy or injustice.

  Zero-sum bias

  Zero-sum bias, where individuals perceive that they can only gain at the expense of others, may contribute to crab mentality. This bias is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of success and resource distribution, leading to the incorrect belief that success and resources are limited and one person’s gain is necessarily another’s loss. Such a worldview fosters competitive rather than collaborative social interactions, encouraging behaviors that aim at hindering others’ achievements to protect one’s perceived share of limited resources, like crabs in a bucket. In Daniel V. Meegan’s study, researchers found that students expected lower grades for peers after seeing many high grades already awarded, despite being in a system where high grades are unlimited. This illustrates how people often view success as a limited resource. Thus, when they see their peers successfully “climbing out of the bucket”, they may try to hinder their progress to ensure their own chances of success remain unchanged.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I moved to the Netherlands from the U.S. in July of 2022.

  My opinion now? There are morons everywhere. I think more, per capita, back in the U.S. of A.

  The world is a circus, but in the U.S., you have front row seats.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  ACH, beat me to it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Bluesky says it won’t train AI on your posts⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Sure.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Ubisoft launches NFT game with figures costing up to $63K⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Is there any public record of anyone actually buying that tripe?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Linus Torvalds reckons AI is ‘90% marketing and 10% reality’⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I make DNNs (deep neural networks), the current trend in artificial intelligence modeling, for a living.

  Much of my ancillary work consists of deflating tempering the C-suite’s hype and expectations of what “AI” solutions can solve or completely automate.

  DNN algorithms can be powerful tools and muses in scientific, engineering, creativity and innovation. They aren’t full replacements for the power of the human mind.

  I can safely say that many, if not most, of my peers in DNN programming and data science are humble in our approach to developing these systems for deployment.

  If anything, studying this field has given me an even more profound respect for the billions of years of evolution required to display the power and subtleties of intelligence as we narrowly understand it in an anthropological, neuro-scientific, and/or historical framework(s).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What I learned from 3 years of running Windows 11 on “unsupported” PCs⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Run a Windows VM in <insertYourDistroHere> and run Roblox?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What I learned from 3 years of running Windows 11 on “unsupported” PCs⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Run a Windows VM in <insertYourDistroHere> and run Roblox?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What I learned from 3 years of running Windows 11 on “unsupported” PCs⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Can you run a virtual machine?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Linus Torvalds affirms expulsion of Russian maintainers⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Blanket insults to Russians would be bigotry, as “Russian” is a nationality comprised of many ethnicities, not a “race”. Words have meanings.

  So, yes, let’s not ostracize Russians carte blanche. Rather, let’s do that to those who support Putin and his wars of aggression and genocide of Ukrainians.

  Simply put, “Fuck Russianz.”