Eldritch
@Eldritch@piefed.world
- Comment on I wonder what the Hapsburgs would have thought about pugs 11 hours ago:
Fuck it
- Comment on Servo: A new, independent Web Browser Engine (the core of a web browser) written in Rust. 1 day ago:
Heh well in the scheme of things it is rather new. But yeah, I think I saw a Brodie video where he discussed this. Basically them joining the Linux Foundation and putting out their first ever tagged release. There'd been code for a decade. Just no tagged releases.
- Comment on Hrmmmmm 4 days ago:
I don't think I've ever up voted a comment of yours. But you are 100% on point about Lysenko. His promotion and the treatment of Vavilov are emblematic of a few of the many many flaws of Leninism. Vavilov was at least posthumously exonerated.Though he still died in a Siberian gulag for the crime of disagreeing with comrade Stalin, and sticking to the evidence.
- Comment on Hrmmmmm 4 days ago:
Also Stalin's promotion of Trofim Lysenko and his crackpot ideas on agriculture that mirrored the crackpot ideas of Leninism. Exacerbating famines and helping to kill millions.
- Comment on The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It 6 days ago:
That could definitely give you a different perspective. You might not really remember before twitter and Facebook. Heck before MySpace for that matter. Or when companies didn't advertise their website but rather their AOL keyword.
Activity Pub is a lot like Usenet on steroids. It really is a return to the distributed, democratized Internet. Before all those other things. The only big stumbling block the increasing tighter grip on access and CCP style censorship that many nations are gate-keeping with.
It's all good though, and with the view you've had of it so far I can absolutely understand and agree on how you think things are getting better. Because it is.
- Comment on The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It 1 week ago:
Honest question, I'm just trying to understand here. How long have you used the internet? That could definitely color a lot of different perceptions.
I suppose the best way to put it is that I've had the privilege of access to the Internet. In one form or another for a little over 32 years I think now. While access has improved, and nearly everyone carries a terminal in their pocket. My usage of the Internet is reverting back to more what it was 25 years ago. Just with much better access. Largely because it was better. The underlying internet hasn't changed that profoundly. Just control of or access to it.
There were media streaming services before the oligarchs. They just had access to bigger pipes. And people ceded control to them for access to those bigger pipes. But our connections have improved while media size has decreased in many ways. And so has our need of them. The only new/unique thing they brought us. Was a centralized personal privacy nightmare.
If you really want to stretch things, I suppose you could say that the popularity of their services has helped drive adoption and commoditization of access. But that is as far as someone like myself would be willing to give them.
- Comment on The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It 1 week ago:
All true, but also all the more reason to acknowledge what we've lost. With an eye to the future to make sure that the enshitified centralized internet is one of them.
- Comment on The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It 1 week ago:
Whatever you call it, the Internet is changing and enshitifying. For many it's the death of what it was. The new restrictions and push for chat control/censorship.
AI may just be a tool. And people may be over reacting. But it's inarguable it's being overwhelming leveraged by abject evil.
- Comment on How come NK doesn't just come out and say we are in trouble and need help? Like their lack of food and stuff? I really don't see a downside for a country admit they were wrong and need help 1 week ago:
Out of sight out of mind. It's why authoritarian governments police speech and media. If you control what they see and hear. Then the worst that could happen is they might just feel that something is off. But have no evidence to necessarily back that up. Basically an echo chamber of the size of the nation.
- Comment on Affinity’s new design platform combines everything into one app | The Verge 1 week ago:
The GIMP shop interface has been the default and iterated on for the better part of a decade, If not longer. This is what I always wonder about people who claim that GIMP is somehow less usable. Have they used it much since 3.0? It's 4.X now BTW.
I know my experience personally isn't going to be universal. I first used Photoshop version 2. First version I bought was 3.5. I remember downloading and compiling pre-1.0 unstable binaries of GIMP on Debian back in the 90s. It was wildly awkward back then and for the next couple of versions as someone coming from Photoshop. That hasn't been the case for a long, long time. Honestly, it reminds me so much of the Photoshop I grew up using at this point.
- Comment on Affinity’s new design platform combines everything into one app | The Verge 1 week ago:
Honest question. When you learned on GIMP. Was the palette, the tool options, and the drawing area all separate windows? Because the Photoshop UI and layout has been default for a long time now.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
People often make content for the love of it. But it still takes a lot of work, effort, and resources. It has a cost associated with it. I would love it if tomorrow everyone left YouTube for peertube. The problem is rewarding and supporting those that do. Patreon works for some, but not all of them. That's what YouTube is currently providing and why they stay. There's also things like nebula, but again, that's not available to everyone.
Perhaps a not for profit needs to be formed that will collect funds to maintain several instances of peertube or something similar. And all funds gathered above and beyond that would then be put in a pool to be doled out to the creators whose content was viewed the most. Up to a limit of a liveable wage for their area?
Yes, finding valuable content is a hard thing to do and no amount of AI or algorithms will really help with it. We honestly need to get together and crowdsource a directory of informed presenters as judged by others informed on the subjects.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
I may be biased as an anarchist, but what about anarchism? Why would a flat, answerable government based largely on consent and mutual aid be a bad thing? Isn't the current problem unanswerable people with too much power already. Why would we want to give them more power. That's definitionally madness to me. If my ideals are any good, I think I should be able to convince them of that without force.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
What you are arguing for is authoritarianism. What you want is accountability. The aren't the same thing, and none of what you've posted justifies authoritarianism.
I want accountability as well. The kind of accountability we need will never be achieved by thought policing. Does the irony of what you're calling for really need to be pointed out? The vaccines were only mandatory to be in public school. They always could have opted out and homeschooled. But even that minor inconvenience was enough for them to be harnessed along with similar groups. To install a fascist. A fascist that would be exponentially worse with the kind of power you're dying to give them. They need to understand why and want to be vaccinated. Imposing that on them without that knowledge will only make things worse. Previous generations understood that from personal experience. As well future ones unfortunately. My mother personally suffered from polio, and you better damn well be sure she made sure we were always vaccinated.
The interim solution is education. I get the juvenile need for instant gratification. Again that's part of the problem. Have you ever told a juvenile what they can and can't do? How did it go for you? Now understand the average person is even more juvenile and far more self gratifying. The more you thought police, the more they will push back. Deeper and deeper into the hole you will go. Till you've failed so much you're left with a "final solution". And at that point, no matter how right you started out as. You're wrong.
Literally, read up on lysenkoism. That's what this will be. And it killed MILLIONS. I realize not everyone on ML is ML. And if there's one universal truth it's that we anarchist are shit at gatekeeping. But one would hope your proximity to them might have rubbed off.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
So what's your thoughts on lysenkoism then? He had education in relevant fields. He was wrong and ultimately unscientific as fuck. But that didn't matter. Because Stalin liked what he said over his teacher Vavilov. Vavilov was later vindicated. After he was run out of his university.
I'd like to tell you that was the worst of it. That was not the worst of it. He was sent to a Bolshevik gulag where he spent the rest of his life. Like millions of other victims of the Soviets. I'd like to tell you he still lived to a ripe old age. He did not he suffered and died early from the abuse and neglect the gulags were designed for. As millions of other victims of the Bolsheviks did.
His only crime was being correct and disagreeing with authority. Does that sound like something anyone should be rushing to emulate again, or still.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
This is the correct response.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
Just because something is technically a democracy doesn't mean it has value. Any democracy that is not direct, accountable, or consenting. Isn't much of a democracy. And democracy exterminates nothing. Any democracy that does, isn't much of a democracy. Advocating for authoritarianism absolutely makes things less democratic though.
We didn't get here overnight, and there is nothing we can do that would get us out of this position anytime soon. Especially not reducing democracy. It's going to take a lot of hard work and cultural change. Teaching people to value understanding and knowledge. Only education can eradicate ignorance, but never completely.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
Anything proposed without facts or data can be dismissed without facts or data. And you've given none. So what are you even calling out?
Do I really need to give you more data. When we are literally discussing one of the countries that polices/suppresses speech the most? I wouldn't trust our government with it. Let alone China's. Hell go look up lysenkoism and the persecution Vavilov suffered under a similar administration. Then tell me with a straight face they will value facts regardless of their convenience. Historically its a horrific idea. But I do look forward to any facts or data you have that proves otherwise.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
Then if the establishment supports evil speech and is simultaneously also the only one capable of enforcing this. Why would you want to give them that power? Any establishment given that sort of power. Would instantly use it to suppress speech that is inconvenient to them.
Complex problems generally don't have simple solutions. And anyone offering you a simple solution to a complex problem likely thinks you're a fool.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
That thing doesn't exist and what was proposed would only make it worse.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
It's impossible for everyone to verify the veracity of everything on a daily basis. We absolutely must decide for ourselves on a few arbiters of truth on important subjects. That way we can focus on verifying their understandings of and dedication to the facts. Reducing our load. There's nothing wrong with that. However, when they've shown to be a faulty in their representation of the facts, there have to be consequences.
For instance, on YouTube, I watch an ungodly amount of science and computing content. With a few video essays or let's play YouTubers thrown in to fill in by watching the content. PBS, SciShow, and Space Time are favorites. When it comes to astrophysics, et etc, Matt Odowd definitely knows his stuff and is committed towards representing things fairly. Similarly, with SciShow, Hank Green is all in for testing his hypothesis and admitting or fixing his mistakes. Recently on his own channel, putting up a video about the gros michel banana and banana flavoring. And upon testing his hypothesis and finding it wrong committed towards fixing the mistakes he made years ago.
Contrast with Sabine Hossenfelder. Who as a then particle physics researcher at CERN. Decided to bless everyone via her platform with her misunderstandings on poly sci and biology. Which to the best by knowledge she has never recanted or apologized for. Her content is blocked in my feed, and she is no longer with CERN to say the least.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
If it needs to be banned, we've already failed as a society. Society should reject intolerance and value intelligence/knowledge. Giving anyone the ability to control speech. Gives the worst sort of person the absolute need to wield that ability.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
The problem isn't who is speaking. Even if it's only one out of a thousand doctors, the idiots will seek out and gravitate towards that one that confirms the thing that they want to believe. This will do absolutely nothing to even slow that down. If anything, it will even accelerate it.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
Advocating for authoritarianism from an anarchist instance. Interesting. Yes, we have major problems with misinformation in the United States. And it's coming from within the government. You don't hand that fucking government that power. There is no authoritarian easy fix. The only way to fix this is to foster curiosity and a desire to actually inform oneself.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
100% I certainly wouldn't trust America and all the fake institutions we have here to be the arbiters of news and expert in anything. And someplace like China, where you can already be imprisoned for life. Or even put to death for having the wrong views. Nope. The problem isn't loudmouth idiots. It's the idiots that get their information from loudmouth idiots. As individuals, we should always be looking to understand the expertise and knowledge of individuals and their qualifications to speak on a subject ourselves. Not giving that power to a small group of people guaranteed to abuse it.
- Comment on China bans influencers from speaking on ‘serious’ topics like finance or health without university degree 2 weeks ago:
The problem isn't the village idiot having a place in which to speak.The problem is the village of idiots that get their information from that idiot.
Now you want to give that village of idiots the ability to restrict who can speak and what they can say. That will only make things worse.
- Comment on ADVICE: Running out of storage 2 weeks ago:
Shield user since 2015. Literally just started down this myself. Got this yesterday but was too wiped out last night to set it up. Figured if I can spend less than a hundred dollars For a fourth generation i7 which is capable of decoding AV1. But I can't buy a set top box that will do the same for even close to $100. It was worth a try.
The downside is you lose some power efficiency having a full-blown PC. The upside is configurability and usability. The shield was decent for emulation, but it still can't compete with a full-blown PC. The one other small negative is casting. I'm not aware currently of any great method of casting media to a PC. There's probably something that exists. I just don't know of it yet. But I plan to evaluate a few immutable Linux distributions, including Bazite. With waydroid on top for any Android applications, I find that I just can't get along without yet.
- Comment on ADVICE: Running out of storage 2 weeks ago:
I already mentioned client support. Stating that I was degoogling my clients and moving to htpc so codec support was largely a non issue in my particular case.
TBF, if you're just downloading content. Even h265 can be rare still depending. Release groups sloooooooooowly change formats and workflows. And even then. Older content rarely gets new encodes.
Encoding these days is simple. I can do HQ 2 pass encodes of my DVD on a 6th gen i7 in just a little longer than it takes to watch. Yes 1080p can take over 3-4 hours for a movie. But I have a couple of old ewaste systems I can let churn overnight. I'm not concerned about real time re-encoding. I'm using av1 for quality and space saving.
- Comment on ADVICE: Running out of storage 2 weeks ago:
Yes, I have a single machine where most of my storage is. I host my jellyfin server there, as well as all the home directories for all the users of my systems. Login to any system in the house and you always have the same desktop and data. If I want to replace a system, reinstall or distro hop. It's just a few lines to copy into fstab and a few apps/flatpaks to download at most.
- Comment on ADVICE: Running out of storage 2 weeks ago:
Av1 is better than h256 by quite a bit in many cases. Unfortunately, support is still very spotty if you're running anything other than a home theater pc. But I'm moving to Av1/opus since, I'm actively de-googling/droiding. And moving to htpc.