Snugglebug

joined 1 year ago
 
 
[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

Advertising to people currently on the Fediverse probably isn't their goal. Neither is just joining the Fediverse. Their goal is to become the Fediverse to swallow it whole.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish

They also have no incentive to share anti-spam tech. They would be giving up a massive sellin g point of their instance if they did.

Additionally, Threads is already stripping its implementation of ActivityPub of some features like alt text and CWs. Worse though is that they're removing the option for a chronological timeline, forcing their algorithm as the only option for its users. This would be fine, except it would also effect content on all instances (to an extent). Given that Threads will no doubt have a userbase larger than that of most instances, and that posts which play into its algorithm will show up for significantly more people, posts which engage with Threads' algorithm will be boosted more often, thus showing up for more people who aren't using Threads.

Say Threads' algorithm really likes posts that get lots of replies. Someone writes a controversial post on mastodon.social and lots of people on Threads immediately get in arguments in the replies. This post is then promoted by Threads' algorithm, causing it to be seen by more people on Threads. More eyes on a post means more likelihood of getting a higher number of boosts. Lots of accounts on Threads boost the post, which causes it to be seen by more people in federated instances. Again, more eyes means more likelihood of getting boosted. At this point the post is popular not just in Threads, but also in instances federated with Threads. Which means it'll pop up more often on other instances that do not federate with Threads. Threads' algorithm, only being implemented on Threads, extends its toxic influence out even to servers which refuse to federate with Threads.

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 32 points 1 year ago

Tankie refers to people who support authoritarian "communist" regimes and often deny or justify the atrocities they commit. Stalinists mostly, but also supporters of the authoritarian aspects of China and even North Korea

 
[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

There are some great guides at https://www.diybookscanner.org/ that you can check out. Some of them are a bit outdated so I would recommend software like tesseract and phone cameras should be good enough for general use

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I feel like any response I provide would already be covered by the reply from @Thorned_Rose@kbin.social so I will just suggest that if you have free time you might want to consider volunteering for a local organization that does outreach to houseless people (preferably one that aligns with principles such as Housing First). I do have some recommendations for alternatives to reading books though:

(All YouTube links proxies through a common Invidious instance)

Wikipedia articles. While this is often ridiculed, they often provide a great starting point for knowledge. Then, if there's a claim you're skeptical of or that is especially interesting to you, follow the citation provided. If it's a paywalled article, sci-hub (not a legal endorsement, for educational purposes only) should get around it, and for books that you might want to read a section on that get paywalled the same applies to libgen (same disclaimer too).

Podcasts. This is one you have to be careful with. A lot of podcasts can sound authoritative on a subject while completely misrepresenting it (see Joe Rogan, any IDW-adjacent podcast, etc.) So check sources vigilantly. I personally recommend The Iron Dice: a history podcast currently going over the fall of Weimar Germany. [Also check out the creator's YouTube channel Three Arrows.

YouTube Channels. The same warning given to podcasts applies to these as well. Some personal endorsements:

  • Jonas Čeika - CCK Philosophy. Heavy emphasis on philosophy and applying it to history and politics.
  • Anark. Communicates anarchist theory providing historical examples and practical applications.
  • Not Just Bikes. Brief explorations into urban planning and the importance of diversifying our available modes of transportation.
  • Eco Gecko. Another channel largely focused on urban planning, but from a more theoretical and heavily research-backed standpoint.
[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The Ohio prison department says it allowed one unillustrated version of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” into a prison because it didn’t show symbols associated with any white supremacist groups.

Flawless logic

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

From everyone I've come across addicted to something like that it's always been life circumstances spiraling out of control that pushed them to it. The study itself acknowledges that "Nearly one quarter (24%) noted that substance use currently them health, legal, or financial problems."

The 31% number specifically is in the following context: "Many participants reported using drugs and alcohol to help them cope with the circumstances of homelessness."

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

It's likely a mix, but life circumstances are almost certainly going to be the cause for most. Living on the streets is hellish, of course people are going to look for some temporary escape

 

Article link (paywalled): https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-20/homeless-crisis-housing-californians-older-seniors-study

Excerpts:

Public policy and common perception have long tied the road to homelessness with mental illness and drug addiction.

But a new study out Tuesday — the largest and most comprehensive investigation of California’s homeless population in decades — found another cause is propelling much of the crisis on our streets: the precarious poverty of the working poor, especially Black and brown seniors.

Kushel and her team found that nearly half of single adults living on our streets are over the age of 50. And 7% of all homeless adults, single or in families, are over 65.

And 41% of those older, single Californians had never been homeless — not one day in their lives — before the age of 50.

“What people need to know is there are professionals on the street,” DeDe Hancock told me. She’s a member of the lived experience advisory council for the study.

“People who are middle income are dropping to low,” Hancock said. “People working every day are living in cars.”

And though Kushel points out that the perception is that most people on the street are using drugs, “it’s not everybody,” she said. Only about a third said they were regular users of meth — the most common drug reported.

But Kushel found that even for people with those other factors, financial instability was the tipping point.

She discovered that of the older people living on the streets were employed for most of their lives, often in physically demanding jobs such as waitressing, warehouse work or construction. The kind of jobs our economy depends on, where workers are easily replaced and often are.

 
 
[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 20 points 1 year ago

While the number of files is important for the scale of the operation, keep in mind that what makes it illegal is deliberately withholding the documents and lying about returning them all that he is being charged with. The crime is trying to keep them when asked to return them and deceiving federal agencies, not just taking the files themselves

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If there's content on Reddit you absolutely must view, I definitely endorse RSS readers. No need for an account and you get rid of the infinite scrolling and data mining of the Front-page view

 

Prepare for a surge in immigration leading to a rise in xenophobia and fascism in the coming decades...

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 9 points 1 year ago

I think it's more of a structural issue. During adolescence we're incentivized to socialize with others. School is a community environment, with one of its primary functions being to socialize people gradually into adulthood. Once out of this environment, building connections with others takes active effort. No longer are we encouraged to make friends by our surroundings.

A lot of great places to meet new people and start to form bonds with them are community or interest groups. If you have a hobby or want to get into one, there are generally plenty of options in your local area. Sites like Meetup can be a great starting place for finding these kinds of groups

 
 
 

What does Beehaw think about a community revolving around dark and horror related content? I'm an avid fan of the genre and think a community focusing on it could be really fun!

Potential types of content for it:

  • Media discussions and recommendations
  • Art showcases
  • Horror-oriented memes
  • Real world event histories, true crime
  • ARGs
[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

For me it's PDF Doc Scan. It's lightweight, easy to use and doesn't restrict you to specifically defined page sizes

IzzyOnDroid link: https://android.izzysoft.de/repo/apk/com.littletrickster.scanner

[–] Snugglebug@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don't get sleep paralysis thankfully, but I wonder if practicing lucid dreaming techniques might help to recognize it? Reality checks, dream journaling etc. may be useful?

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