sanity_is_maddening

Yeah, I agree that with the people with larger numbers of followers there’s an inherent fear of losing relevance.

But surely there’s a sunk cost fallacy at play as well. Especially when I see no effort of these people to build a lateral following in alternative platforms. They can use that same volume of followers to platform the alternatives and pave the road for both themselves and others to find a viable way out. Without that effort in sight, I’m forced to question their intelligence or their intentions. Or both simultaneously.

Having said that, I still can’t justify the ones with no great following that decide to stay.

I know people probably think that they’re taking some level of “warrior keyboarding” right to the other side’s doorststep. All in behalf of raising awareness.

But…

these are not FOSS platforms with no algorithmic reinforcement for engagement. Precisely the opposite. So, all that people do is maximise engagement, and with that raise profit margins for the very people they’re trying to “take down”, and who can control what is visible and what isn’t from the get go.

If all these “nobodies” like myself decided to delete their accounts in these platforms and move on to the FOSS alternatives, and if we all continued to seek legislation to continue to open protocols online as the original promise of the internet that was taken from all of us, then people like Elizabeth May would have to leap as well, as the numbers that made them relevant would be gone elsewhere. And with that, these closed gated platforms with their shitty algorithms would be left in irrelevance with a user base akin to the size of something like TrueSocial. Given their current expenses they would be forced to downsize or file for bankruptcy.

This is the only way to fight conglomerates and their grip.

Doesn’t matter if it’s social platforms, digital services, supermarket chains, fast food giants etc etc

Boycotting accompanied by alternatives aligned with decentralisation and further legislation to insure sovereignty for everyone everywhere.

Absolutely.

I can’t fathom what the hell are the justifications that people will fabricate to keep themselves there. I mean, I understand what the Neo Nazis, incels, Maga and so on are doing there. But everyone else? It has to be morbid curiosity at this point, addiction to rage or something like that. Maybe they want to get acquainted with the new Grok AKA the self-named “Mecha-Hitler”… Urghh

I actually had a Mastodon account for a while, but I never got into the microblogging thing. It’s why I never liked Twitter either. Just isn’t my jam I suppose.

But I’ve started to notice some small companies and newspapers having the mastodon link on the bottom of their websites and that makes me glad to see it.

Thank your for such reply and the link as well. The text you linked shares a lot of inspiration for these trying times.

And oh, how we definitely need it.

Why this level of vitriol and condescension in this exchange?

I’m also going to repeat… Taking your stance to an extreme, and you have yourself a reductionist view of the world with nothing but intolerance or hatred for those who don’t share it. Sounds familiar?

I don’t know what’s going on in your life, you could be going through something and I don’t want to add more to the pile of what you’re already dealing with. So I’m just gonna leave this here, because I suspect that even my concerning tone right now will read as passive aggressive to you. It isn’t. But I can’t control that.

So take care.

Yup. The point is always to extort more. It’s literally the basis of racketeering. I guess they do really need to check the definition of racketeering. I don’t they think they know what’s the name of the game they’re in now.

I understand your anger. I really do. But may I remind you that the Republicans were the ones who took a stand to abolish slavery and even died for it not that long ago really. And look at where they are now.

It’s people like this woman that are fencing any movement from turning corrupt and vile. Unfortunately all too often there’s not enough of them to stop it from happening.

She most likely saw the cloth as a way to reach and help people in need. As it is one way of doing it. And given her very advanced age, when she was young, it was probably one of the very few that existed at her disposal. Especially as a woman.

And you shouldn’t conflate the identity of individuals with the institutions they’re a part of or with their social descriptors. That is precisely what you hate about these groups you brought up. So don’t play for the opposite team and act the same way they do.

And by the way, you were downvoted but I wasn’t one of the ones who did it. As I do think your anger towards these institutions is absolutely warranted and justified. I feel the same way. Just don’t let that keep you from recognising a decent human being when it is very much the case. Otherwise, you allowed them to turn you into what we both hate about what these institutions represent.

This woman is on everyone’s side because she’s fighting for everyone. Even though I’m not religious, I recognise that I aspire to the same as her.

Oh, thank you so much. I wish I let myself believe that I am what you just described. You do seem to fit the description you assigned me very well from this very brief interaction.

Let us all keep spreading warm and fuzzy feels on and on to as many people as we can.

The world certainly needs an antidote to spread against the vile current that is dragging us all into a hole of despair.

We can’t let that happen!

Unfortunately, I often do let myself go in that direction.

So thank you for pulling me the other way.

What a Fucking Legend!!! People such as her should be our icons. Not the plastic ridiculous people that the legacy media and the algorithimc social media keep pushing out like clowns to the circus floor to keep people distracted.

Sue Parfitt. Let’s remember her name. In fact I’m gonna save this post.

And while I’m not one to support religion, between her and the reverend that gave that sermon to Trump’s face in church, I would say “Lady Priests” (apologies for the reductionism) are having a moment and showing the cloth that apparently only the women in it seem to remember what “their calling” is supposed to be all about.

If anyone knows the name of the woman that gave that sermon, tag it under. Please.

It’s not about supporting the church, it’s about giving credit where credit is due.

In fact, we should start making a record of the people who are raising to the occasion these days all over the world, and taking the moral stand and give them the space and the limelight, instead of allowing everything to be about the shitty people doing their shitty deeds. That takes so much of the bandwith as it is, and makes us feel alone in the face of it all.

Be it about the atrocities being committed in Gaza, Ukraine, the U.S. or in any place where wrongful actions are occurring, let us make visible the people that raise to face it. Let us put forward the faces and voices of the ones who still truly give the word “humanity” some of its supposed meaning back.

PS: A lot of people here might not be able to read Spanish. But I do and I really liked the article you linked. It was a really nice complement to the one linked in the post. So, thank you for sharing it.

They want everyone’s private data to be accessible and actionable. It’s not even about avoiding the hassle. It’s about you not being able to avoid them.

Now, think about how much they could use this to crush dissidence and prevent assemblies of protests or worse, jail people because they criticise the government.

I got nothing to hide. By today’s standards. If it changes, and criticising my country’s government becomes a legal offense, then I would be a criminal. So would most people I know.

This is about control. Surveillance is always about control. It’s disguised as a necessity through the paranoia that those in power help veiling over us.

Yeah, RFK does sound like he believes the craziness he’s spewing. He’s gonna get a lot of people killed, that’s for sure. He already has. But the people who believe that he’s only gonna get the dumb side of Americans who believe him killed are so wrong. That’s not how this works. I get a lot of Americans on vacation where I live in Portugal. And it’s also true all over Europe and the rest of the world. And it is terrifying to think of the very probable outbreaks and who knows what else to come.

And thanks, I’ll use Wikipedia to read more about Lysenkoism over the weekend.

Thank you for the reply.

Thank you for clarifying. I’m sorry if I jumped in with my interpretation. I know who Lysenko was. But not much more than that he was a biologist who kept denying science in behalf of the state. So I didn’t know if that was what you meant and that is why I apologised in the advance if I was misinterpreting it.

But yeah, state dictating science. And the U.S. really seems to be headed to that level of catastrophes you described. I need to read more about Lysenkoism. Like I said, I didn’t know much about Lysenko other than he was a scientist betraying science for the state propaganda. I don’t even know if he believed the nonsense he was spreading. But then again, I don’t even know if the ones doing the same now do either. And I have a hard time reading up on people like that. Makes my stomach turn in revolt.

But as a permaculture enthusiastic and someone who has a project with his girlfriend that uses syntropic theory, I’m very curious to read about what kind of nonsense were they applying to farming back then. Do you have any suggestions to read? Like a book or an article? Or should I just put Lysenkoism in a search engine and eventually find the farming part? Would love to know more about this, so if you have some pointers, I would much appreciate to learn more about this.

I think it is comparing the Soviet’s movement spearheaded by a biologist named Trofim Lysenko to the the current lobbying to destroy science’s credibility. It was akin to the current lobbying against scientific integrity that started in the U.S. and bled everywhere else. People will immediately think of the hacks that move through the podcasts these days, I’m sure you can think of a few too. It’s using a veil of pseudoscience to confuse the layman and advance the purpose of a few under another veil, one of an ideology. Lysenko was very much like the figures of today like that kermit the frog imitation that passes for scientific expert on the “dumbtube”. I don’t want to name these horrific hacks. They’re already taking too much of the bandwidth as it is and for far too long. And I hate that most people that think they’re too smart to fall for their crap, fall right into the next trap, which is to go argue and generate more visibility for them. These people never learned the old online code “Do Not Feed The Troll”. We spotted them and let them starve. But I compared them more to Gremlins, because they multiply. The grifers spot the grift and chime in for the take.

I hope I didn’t misinterpreted the comment you asked about. But Lysenkoism is a great shorthand to describe it all indeed.

We can’t wait for the governments to do the right thing. We have to continue to be the annoying friends and coworkers and costumers that keep beating this drum over and over. We need the individuals to form the mass of change.

I know that we will still be vulnerable because our public infrastructure in our countries will still be susceptible to the same influence and possible harm. But we have to be the pressure that accelerates the change. We always do. In all matters. And the old proverbial “who watches the watchmen” has always been answered the same way throughout time… we all do. We all have to remain vigilant of each other. We can’t delegate vigilance. This is the only way for us to watch each other’s backs as much as each other’s transgressions.

But, there are already small businesses who have made the move, local governments that announced the shift and even the city of Lyon has already stated that will move away from Microsoft in the public sector.

Hell, even Pewdiepie is fighting the good fight. And he has a lot of followers to influence a critical mass. Do I like him? No. Do I trust him? Obviously not. But I don’t have to, as I’ll remain vigilant. And we should remain vigilant at all times. Even with the alternatives. Even with our choices. I have a Proton account. Do I support them? Yes. Do I trust them? Absolutely not. Companies should never ever have one’s trust. Trust can only truly exist within intimacy. As you are embedded in it. One should still be vigilant of both the other and of oneself though. As we are all flawed. But strangers, companies and governments should never ever have one’s complacency. They should only have one’s vigilance.

So… Who watches the watchmen?

The true answer is…

Either we are all watchmen, or no-one is allowed to be.

This is why we truly want FOSS and open protocols to everything. And that is why it is the right thing to do.

As you can see, the replies to your comment are like the reactions in general, they split in two factions. The ones who are embarrassed to death and those who believe this was a necessary step in diplomacy, setting aside ego to prevent even worse outcomes.

While I can entertain the second group’s reasoning, I can only accept it as valid if it comes with a further plan to counter the position that led to the necessity of so much grovelling.

Otherwise - and pardon me for the following crude statement - this is like one rolling the red carpet for one’s own rape and murder.

Except this one person is doing this in behalf of many people.

So if there is no plan beyond the grovelling, this one person is rolling that carpet for us all to be left hanging dry to the atrocities that will come after. And so far, I can’t see a trace of a plan. And my only hope is for that to be part of one.

Otherwise, Rutte is just fondling the balls of a rapist, hoping for a more gentle rape when it’s time.

So, let us all hope for that secret plan that we can’t find any trace of really exist somewhere.