Post AO004kyMuWV5i4e2Rk by gert@social.coop
(DIR) More posts by gert@social.coop
(DIR) Post #ANw3izr6WCymgKHqBE by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-25T20:55:56Z
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People who think "Open Source is thriving, it's everywhere!" and are all optimistic about it are doing the same thing as the people with electric cars and solar panels on their McMansions thinking that we're on track to deal with the climate crisis.The *real* solutions for a healthy sustainable FLO world are all still marginalized and struggling, and the capitalist #greenwashing and #openwashing serve mainly to delude people about the state of things.
(DIR) Post #ANwA6NF6KcN1bJ2dLE by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-25T21:47:43Z
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@wolftune yep, #mainstreaming is obviously a #deathcult we do need to keep saying this.
(DIR) Post #ANwA6O8kzgtENv555k by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-25T21:51:11Z
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@witchescauldron well, mainstreaming is a deathcult given the status quo of what the mainstream is. I don't want to be forever counter-culture. I don't want to be rebellious for the sake of rebellion. I want environmental sustainability and economic democracy to *become* mainstream.
(DIR) Post #ANwESxE5cpZDODahrE by pixelherodev@fosstodon.org
2022-09-25T23:36:19Z
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@falktx @wolftune I don't think *profit* seeking is really the problem - *long-term* profit seeking actually harmonizes really well with both genuine environmental and free-software efforts.IMO the issue is *short-term* profits [and growth, see e.g. Uber] over all else. They'd rather make one buck now than $100 ten years from now, and *that*'s inherently unsustainable.Any model of *long-term* profit inherently requires a functioning society.
(DIR) Post #ANziIeySDC4vz7AGzw by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-25T22:17:22Z
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@wolftune @witchescauldron When people are changing the way that they do things, so that your ideas/methods are becoming mainstream, then you've won. :DThe mainstreaming of your technology is what success looks like. :D
(DIR) Post #ANziIfTIMWkTWlau4O by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-26T04:15:28Z
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@BillySmith @witchescauldron "Win" is not a binary strong dichotomy here. But if it were, and this moment were the end of the game and we counted up the "points" with a measure like the amount people in the world use proprietary software vs FLO software, then FLO **loses** massively.I get the optimistic spin. The push for freedom as a concept *won* in the U.S. because it's supported in the founding documents right? Nevermind slavery continuing for another generation and racism beyond that.
(DIR) Post #ANziIfx4ZoZH17WgU4 by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-26T04:18:59Z
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@BillySmith @witchescauldron Maybe slavery's end *was* driven by the inherent conflict with the founding concepts of the U.S., maybe embracing the concept was the first step toward eventually living up to it more.FLO ideas *are* much more widespread now than some years ago.But I don't think the abolitionists had already "won" in 1850 or something just because their ideas were gaining influence and people were reacting to them.
(DIR) Post #ANziIgMF4EhWHBImiO by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T15:54:50Z
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@wolftune @witchescauldron @BillySmith Oh yeah, slavery's end was totally driven by the inherent conflict with the founding concepts of the U.S.A. that neither Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Mexico or Canada have, which is why the US ended slavery long before any of those oh wait
(DIR) Post #ANzjXjdnF89MkxFkmm by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-26T07:10:21Z
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@wolftune @witchescauldron One of the main reasons that slavery lost, is that feeding/housing slaves when they weren't working was more expensive than feeding coal into a steam engine that could run 24 hours a day.Yes, the moral arguments existed on the fringes, but they didn't become adopted by the empires until the economic arguments had already won.Even then, it's a surface victory.There are still slaves on our planet, and it needs to be stopped.
(DIR) Post #ANzjXk4jcxhW6VrGmO by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-26T07:33:29Z
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@BillySmith @wolftune are you hinting that we need to get on with classwar and stop wanking over liberal "common sense".Or am I being unhelpfully polemical ;)
(DIR) Post #ANzjXkadiLDnhSmkVc by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-26T11:22:06Z
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@witchescauldron @wolftune Some of your replies are unhelpful.Instead of arguing about whether this situation exists, and, complaining about it not being discussed on mainstream media, start working on constructive creative solutions and document those.
(DIR) Post #ANzjXkvuRGEelQjjf6 by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-26T11:30:48Z
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@BillySmith @wolftune The are well document alt that I push with every use of the hashtags #OGB #OMN #4opens etc. The problem we way to often face is people wanking liberal "common sense" in the era of the #deathcult so need to make this point forcefully, ideas for doing this better please :)
(DIR) Post #ANzjXlOyhBUIDaKwyG by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-26T11:38:46Z
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@BillySmith @wolftune For our liberals (of every type) this comes across as toxic positively if they can see the positive side at all.When they don't I call this #BLOCKING and often get blocked for doing so ;)Compost and shit comes to mind.Ps. shit is good compost, so this is NOT actually a negative statement, it's part of the story.http://hamishcampbell.com/2022/09/19/lets-talk-about-the-hashtag-story/
(DIR) Post #ANzjXlpD7eTHWwbtrM by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T16:08:43Z
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@witchescauldron Thank you for a glossary of the hashtags I was getting pretty confused there. You misspelled #techchurn but it's kind of a stupid speling in the first place. You might add OGB and OMN to that, with links. Also "encryptionists" isn't about encryption. It's about #blockchains, proof of work algorithms, and Byzantine consensus. Please don't hate on encryption it's our only hope.
(DIR) Post #ANzkEqStkKgWNDiIPQ by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-27T16:16:34Z
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@cy #encryptionists is about that, but It's also about the feeling of total control that encryption gives the #geekproblem this is key because all good progressive society are based on trust, which is about giving up this desire.The problem in geek is the problem of socialisation... a known geek issue :) in itself is fine, am not judging. BUT this is embedded in code that shapes society, it becomes a "problem".Good to think a bit more on this one. With power comes responsibility.
(DIR) Post #ANzlAeYqACzKFW3eFs by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T16:27:02Z
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@pixelherodev @wolftune @falktx Long or short-term, profit seeking always leads to resource exhaustion. We live in an ultimately 0-sum universe, and that's just reality. Profit must be limited and not considered good, or we will consume all available resources, since that makes more profit. We must have a buffer: resources we do not profit from, and do not use, just in case.
(DIR) Post #ANzoBll1C0qAijygMK by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-27T17:00:47Z
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@cy @witchescauldron @BillySmith Yup. And the greenwashing climate pledges of today's polluting corporations and the "we love Open Source" stuff from Microsoft etc. — that intellectual conflict is surely going to end up supporting our transition to true FLO sustainable world. oh wait
(DIR) Post #ANzpnMseEV1KWa2T3Y by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T17:18:47Z
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@witchescauldron At first, only the wealthy were able to assert their identity without an authority there to decide who they were, with expensive wax seals. What few peasants who were literate could sign a document, but nothing stopped anyone from changing it after they signed, and only the wealthy and powerful could afford the professional analysts to verify said signatures. (My last will and testament? Oh I probably gave it all to the local landlord.)
(DIR) Post #ANzxrut2XVC4mitzGa by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-26T20:47:31Z
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@witchescauldron @wolftune The above link is just a glossary of the hashtags, but it doesn't give anyone a reason to look them up, so you're reducing your range of future conversations to the people who already know what you're talking about.This is a poor strategy, as you end up creating your own filter bubble, which is part of the problem you are complaining about.
(DIR) Post #ANzxrx0udCgBNibIoa by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-26T20:53:06Z
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@witchescauldron @wolftune The next post is another example:http://hamishcampbell.com/2022/09/26/focus-on-things-we-dont-actually-know-are-going-to-fail/It talks about the general problem, but it doesn't go into any specifics about the problems.You're just saying "Things are bad" without discussing potential solutions, or even potential ranges of potential solutions.If you can't state the problem in a clear succinct way, then we won't be able to start changing things.
(DIR) Post #ANzxrxP1BZxgaTsYO8 by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-26T20:58:33Z
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@BillySmith @wolftune This is an interesting and key point.I think real solutions come from movements, not facts. From clectives not highracys, thus all the tools am involved in setting up reflect this.Your "criticism" is my solution. Good to think on how to communicate this :)
(DIR) Post #ANzxrxsnOrmU4poKno by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-26T20:59:44Z
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@BillySmith @wolftune have a look at the Greenham Common film I made, it's about this under the story https://youtu.be/JKoWKF3ktXI
(DIR) Post #ANzxryMDdTJhY5ZpfE by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T18:49:17Z
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@witchescauldron It's a pretty good film, if a little disenheartening since I can't talk to "other women" about organizing, I can't be a mother of young children, nothing is common land, and there are no village halls to sleep in around here. And... of course that segregation was used to undermine the movement. Good lesson, I suppose, if anyone would learn it...
(DIR) Post #ANzxs7mQbOd4lyuOGW by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-26T21:04:25Z
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@BillySmith @wolftune All the projects am working on don't have "structure" because they don't have structure. The hashtags are lossy defined to leave space to define them, the story is untold so you can tell it.This is why people are #BLOCKING because they are blind and affrade to open their eyes ;)Remember how Greenham was vilified, and is now main streaming history. This has been the same for the hundreds of movement i have been involved in.#nothingnew here.
(DIR) Post #ANzyjdDkRANzdGCXrc by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T18:58:58Z
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@wolftune Open source is necessary for freedom everywhere. The software industry is a priesthood, keeping the peasantry illiterate through closed source. Making things harder to understand deliberately for profit must be stopped. Open source is necessary, but not sufficient. It's like companies pledging to not swindle you. (unlike our competitors!) Like "Yeah, you're not. You better not. Now let's replace your company with an open org who can't get away with polluting."
(DIR) Post #ANzz8xZftqn9zuXE0m by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T19:03:35Z
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@witchescauldron Most could only make an X, in the presence of a notary priest if they were lucky. But digital signatures can be signed by anyone, and easily verified by anyone, with no authority possessing the power to override that. It's the first time in history we've been able to self-authorize. So... yes it gives people power, and control. Power to trust the people you need to, instead of being forced to trust whatever street gang claims to be "the police."
(DIR) Post #AO004bd7e99qjZdRa4 by gert@social.coop
2022-09-26T16:21:49Z
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@wolftune This is what we get under neoliberal rule. Some experiments are allowed, many others not. And only when someone wins the lottery is when we hear about it. We never hear from all the things that never got started. @aral
(DIR) Post #AO004cHtCZlem0i07k by gert@social.coop
2022-09-26T23:15:06Z
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@wolftune @aral Perhaps this has been the defining moment for FOSS when the Github owners took the collaborative money ($7.5B) in 2018 and sold everyone out. And then MS was ready to start cashing in.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Wanstrath
(DIR) Post #AO004cvaoxWil9Hi0e by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-27T16:58:22Z
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@gert @aral Oh I dunno, GitHub was *proprietary* all along, brazen hypocrisy — we build a front-end and community around FLO software development, and no, of course our software isn't FLO.https://tom.preston-werner.com/2011/11/22/open-source-everything.html and Tom's anti-GPL screed and other antagonistic ideas were around the whole time.Anyone who felt "sold out" when MS bought it was delusional to start with.
(DIR) Post #AO004gq4HRU4tAjLxB by gert@social.coop
2022-09-27T09:25:58Z
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@wolftune @aral BTW, same goes for hardware innovation. The open standard Risc-V technology is totally under control of Big Tech, through their membership of RISC-V International, a Swiss nonprofit business association.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RISC-V
(DIR) Post #AO004kyMuWV5i4e2Rk by gert@social.coop
2022-09-27T09:45:59Z
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@wolftune @aral What this is going to lead to is a giant lock-in. E.g. once I asked a "green" hosting business why they weren't hosting ARM servers. Surely they are far more energy efficient. He said: no way, that is different architecture and a whole different ballgame. But he also said: But it would be nice if we could have more efficient dedicated encryption coprocessors.
(DIR) Post #AO01CTs8TRAKwbybPk by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-27T19:26:35Z
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@cy @pixelherodev @wolftune @falktx From looking at projects i've worked on in the past, while generating a profit for profit's sake, causes the damage we see when the losses are applied as "externalities", there is still the need to create a surplus of energy to reduce the natural effects of entropy.And, yes, buffers give you breathing space and increase resilience. :D
(DIR) Post #AO0FCSvNOcgnMaNZMO by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-26T07:01:57Z
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@wolftune @witchescauldron FLOSS has already won.Most of the server market has been almost fully FLOSS for the last couple of decades.Yes, each vendor tries to push their own specific flavour of the services offered, but the underlying technology is FLOSS.Whether that victory translates into Freedom for individuals, or just reduced costs for the sociopaths & warlords using corporations as a tool for repression and control, is another question.
(DIR) Post #AO0FCTRdSgUeydTKds by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-09-27T22:03:13Z
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@BillySmith> FLOSS has already won.(Corporatized) Open Source has won. Software freedom has not, at least not yet. The distinction between these two motives for free code licensing has never been more important, which is why I don't fudge them together with terms like "FLOSS" or "FLO".@wolftune @witchescauldron
(DIR) Post #AO0FVjxqGbi3iHiubw by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-09-27T22:04:20Z
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@BillySmith> FLOSS has already won.(Corporatized) Open Source has won. Software freedom has not, at least not yet. The distinction between these two motives for free code licensing has never been more important, which is why I don't fudge them together with terms like "FLOSS" or "FLO".@wolftune @witchescauldron#SoftwareFreedom #FreeCode #OpenSource #FLOSS #FLO
(DIR) Post #AO0GV2SO7s2MjRExnM by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-27T22:11:38Z
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@strypey "FLO" is not about fudging them together, and everything around how I and others use "FLO" is free of the problems that come with "FLOSS" because FLOSS is a thing, refers to software under certain licenses. FLO is the qualities that matter including the ethics, and openness is one of those qualities.https://wiki.snowdrift.coop/about/free-libre-open@BillySmith @witchescauldron
(DIR) Post #AO0JMAPbTn7cf0Oo8e by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-27T22:50:05Z
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@BillySmith I agree that sleazebags deserve to be shot in the face, using the remains of their children as bullets, when they foist their problems off as externalities. Those people are horrible. But even if you hold them accountable, profit still means increasing both efficiency, and consumption to their limit. That's why social democracy crumbled into neoliberalism. The fundamentally flawed assumption that profit is never bad.
(DIR) Post #AO0JtSAkT3dFIdK5XU by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-27T22:56:04Z
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@cy Even subsistence farmers are seeking a surplus, as otherwise they have no seeds saved to grow next year's crop. :D
(DIR) Post #AO0ZyCYZYJylaBkiO0 by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T01:56:14Z
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@BillySmith Did I say profit was never good? But specifically, having seeds saved to grow next year is bad if it's for profit, because then everyone else doesn't get any seeds. In sane societies, since ancient times, seeds have been shared resources. Profit is not simply gain. It's personal gain.
(DIR) Post #AO0dQsMk055HDqaCps by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-09-28T02:34:46Z
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@wolftuneI get that, no judgement. I'm just finding myself more and more agreeing with the FSF that any term that avoids saying "free" or "freedom" is a missed opportunity to emphasize why software liberty matters to everyone (not just devs).@BillySmith @witchescauldron
(DIR) Post #AO0fE29EWFNvhlGjdA by lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-09-28T02:53:43Z
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@strypey @wolftune @BillySmith @witchescauldron good to see this discussion happening!
(DIR) Post #AO0gzGsPfxKQwwURF2 by wolftune@social.coop
2022-09-28T03:14:37Z
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@strypey What I'm saying is "FLO" is *not* avoiding saying "free" or "freedom", and FLO as a label does not miss that opportunity, it prompts people to be interested in what it means, and it absolutely means freedom and more.@BillySmith @witchescauldron
(DIR) Post #AO0hp9pT7hSU9Or0me by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T03:24:13Z
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@BillySmith What I'd call "good" profit is like if you already have a sailboat but don't know how to use it, then you learn how to use it, you just gained one sailboat's worth of profit. Be careful of equivocation though, because the moment you give 'em an inch, profiteers will start claiming their profits aren't any less benevolent. They're creating jobs, you know!
(DIR) Post #AO0mJtT0PK9UCJG676 by sj_zero@social.fbxl.net
2022-09-28T04:14:37.775511Z
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The world isn't always zero sum. The most important thing produced in the past 50 years is made out of sand. Before the application of skill and knowledge it was just worthless sand. Afterwards it becomes important, valuable, and sought after. In many cases that just application of skill and knowledge takes something that was not a resource previously and turns it into a resource. In this way, the resources in the world increase despite living on the same marble we lived on yesterday.Of course there is good and evil, and just and unjust. You can create something worthwhile through self control and grit and skill and knowledge or you can extract from other people's works without adding much at all. It's true that at this moment in time the latter is disproportionately winning the game. Historically it doesn't last forever, and it's likely we're seeing a turning point.
(DIR) Post #AO0rkq1ho2Nh7K9mSW by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T05:15:29Z
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@sj_zero @BillySmith All that important stuff didn't magically appear out of nowhere. Our sun's energy powered our planet to evolve humans, who took a look at sand and started learning about it. A computer is a more efficient use of sand than, say, computing by moving around grains of sand, but it's still the same sand, and what was added to it was taken from the life of our sun.
(DIR) Post #AO0sAi9zfw50FWN34K by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T05:19:45Z
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@BillySmith @sj_zero We can alter what energy does in its passage toward entropic decay, but we can't make something from nothing. We are made of energy, so in a sense it's energy altering itself, like sworls of turbulence in a flowing creek. The water always goes downhill, but in the right conditions it can briefly, momentarily go up. In this case momentarily is like "5 billion years" but...
(DIR) Post #AO0sIJU9If3u2QQINM by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T05:21:33Z
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@BillySmith @sj_zero Though in 5 billion years there are plenty of sworls in creeks, and plenty of places where water only flows downstream, so shorter time periods do often resemble the ultimate fate of the sun, on a much smaller scale.
(DIR) Post #AO1Bg0ad6QoTVvSzrc by sj_zero@social.fbxl.net
2022-09-28T08:58:45.055781Z
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Funny that you mentioned water, because that's a fantastic example of a renewable resource. I can drink as much water as I want, it's going to get pulled out of the lake, I'm going to borrow it for a bit, and then it's going to re-enter the ecosystem in the same lake that we pulled it from.Growing up, I had the skill to fix things that were garbage for most people... They'd be about to throw a broken thing out, and they'd give it to me instead because they knew I tinkered with things. If I couldn't fix it, it would go to the garbage, but if I could fix it then suddenly people would want it back, even though that wasn't the deal. I eventually learned that if I was going to fix something, I should wait until after the person who gave me the thing couldn't see I'd fixed it to try. You could say "but those are limited atoms and you're depriving others of them!" And be mad at me for stealing another person's valuable item, but I didn't steal anything. It was bound for a landfill and I was the last step before it was sent there, and I saved it from the landfill for a while longer. It was literal garbage, and the application of skill resulted in it no longer being garbage. The amount of value in the world increased, at least for a while.I see something similar around a lot of resources. Some people will consume even something like a house, the thing will be destroyed once they're done with it. Other people improve upon it, and the thing is a better thing for having been held by that person. Land that would be useless and ignored is instead cultivated, and so something worthless becomes something of value. It may be "the same land", but it isn't really. The amount of actual valuable stuff in the world increased. Of course, there is no value without an observer with a set of values to deem it so. Nothing is valuable without a subjective judge to deem it so. Whether it's a pile of sand or a pile of e-waste or a pile of refurbished electronics or a pile of brand new electronics, it's all just sand until someone sees a purpose in it. This is why value can be created by something otherwise worthless.
(DIR) Post #AO1iNYI0sfPp17Z9UW by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T15:05:10Z
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@sj_zero @BillySmith I reeeeally hate to link this, and you're right water is very renewable and we can use it sustainably but...https://www.yahoo.com/news/ogallala-aquifer-dropped-12-inches-120031757.htmlAs for your skill...
(DIR) Post #AO1jz600c0JAEabvJg by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T15:23:08Z
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@sj_zero Do you think that the richest people in the world earned their wealth through hard work, skill and ingenuity? They're just thieves who got lucky! When you attack all those evil people seeking to take advantage of the skilled, you're wasting your effort on people with a tiny fraction of the wealth, while the "more" skilled continue to rob us of everything we're worth.
(DIR) Post #AO1kSbr5FcWTQqVdTM by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-28T15:28:27Z
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@sj_zero So... don't worry about it. It's fine if people want things you fixed. Just tell them no, or let them have it and remember what you did for them. If they don't publically thank you, or give you any sort of receipt, never help them again. If they force you to give it back, let everyone know what happened and never help them again. That should take care of the problem. Now what are we gonna do about the ones on top making us all fight over the scraps?
(DIR) Post #AO2QRX5xMVvgHDC9Mu by BillySmith@mastodon.social
2022-09-27T22:47:15Z
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@wolftune @strypey @witchescauldron The Snowdrift co-op looks interesting :DHave you come across Cotech?https://www.coops.tech/
(DIR) Post #AO2QRXbVTDANr3xLXs by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-09-28T23:18:36Z
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@BillySmith@cotechThat's the tech co-op network in the UK. Do they have a fediverse account?If I remember rightly, the name CoTech is also used by a tech co-op in the US. Searching for their website I also found that name being used by a UK web shop:http://www.cotech.co.uk/... an employee-owned engineering firm in China:https://www.cotechinc.com/about-cotech/... and a variety of others.@wolftune @witchescauldron
(DIR) Post #AO3JmBSeUEhYjxfduC by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-29T09:38:54Z
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@cy the is a minority role for "encryption" the #encryptionst hashtag is for the group of people who push this minority use over to many things.Social change/challenge to rebuild society based on "trust" is a social issue and social solution. The #geekproblem is seeing technical solutions and PUSHING this over the obviously hard social path. This is not only pointless it's damage.Can you think of a way of explaining this to people who "common sense" do this?
(DIR) Post #AO3bQPpkATha7UF1jE by sj_zero@social.fbxl.net
2022-09-29T12:56:41.455361Z
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I have a bad habit of drafting and redrafting posts long past the point that it's beneficial to do so, and in the process I end up cutting a lot of good ideas that probably should have stayed in.The big thing that I didn't mention before that I should have is that we need to be very careful not to throw out something that's good because it can be used for evil. It is inarguable that there's a massive disconnect between the productivity of the common worker and the wages of the common worker. There is a graph that whatifalthist on YouTube routinely shows that shows the disconnect between wages and productivity that shows that despite being more productive than ever before, the common worker is getting wages that are not commensurate with that. So it's inarguable that the common man is getting screwed and inappropriate amounts of wealth and power are going to a tiny number of people.That being said, that is the evil but the fact that something can result in evil doesn't make it inherently evil, especially when that same thing can and has resulted in some of the greatest good in history.Proper capitalism is almost communistic. People only make money when things are working properly when they do something or provide something that other people want more than they want that money themselves. That's the only way to make a profit in such a situation is to help others.A few of the wealthiest people on the face of the planet actually did get to their position at least initially by doing that. Jeff bezos for example really was instrumental in changing the world for a lot of people around the world. There's a lot of stuff that simply wasn't available to purchase at any price in a lot of areas, and suddenly with the help of Amazon it's a very reasonable price and two days shipping away.On the other hand, there is an old saying that you can become a millionaire through honest hard work and innovation, but you can't become a billionaire. A lot of the people who became Rich beyond imagination were relying on systems that aren't fundamentally fair. The rules for a megacorp and a rules for startup, not to mention the rules for startup that isn't part of the blessed caste out of silicon valley are all quite different. I won't get into it because this post is already getting too long, but that unequal treatment is dangerous, and results in winners and losers being picked separately from merit. You end up with a sort of modern feudalism, with all powerful deities at the top, and abused serfs at the bottom, and God help you if you aren't even in the system.
(DIR) Post #AO3jU1oiCcH2QPzafQ by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-29T14:26:58Z
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@sj_zero Oh yeah I agree. Plus it's not like Amazon pioneerered the concept of shipping to remote locations. The fact that they engage in anticompetitive practices is strong evidence that without Amazon we would have figured out a better way to do what they do. That's the reason for monopolizing things: to stop better ways from succeeding.
(DIR) Post #AO3jtG904Tnu6FVsQa by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-29T14:31:30Z
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@witchescauldron I understand that there are social problems, but I can't walk up to my neighbor and say "Hey there's this great app to learn about people who live near you, without sending your data to any giant multinational corp, or anyone outside the area," because that technology doesn't exist yet. What do I tell them? "You need to rebuild society by trusting me because I say so, and you do it by I dunno you figure it out?"
(DIR) Post #AO3kFtQYhKUGIzWD56 by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-29T14:35:36Z
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@witchescauldron I don't even want apps. I just want techniques, strategies for building community and resisting pigopolists undermining it. The police start paying drug pushers to come get violent to justify higher police budgets, and now cops are patrolling the streets and have declared public friendship illegal. What do we do? That's technology just as much as a phone app.
(DIR) Post #AO3kWS9jLUFeeCXlw0 by Hyolobrika@gleasonator.com
2022-09-29T14:38:36.109020Z
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>declared public friendship illegalNow this is some serious hyperbole.
(DIR) Post #AO3kqOVQcs197QCYM4 by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-29T14:42:12Z
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@Hyolobrika @witchescauldron Well what else do you call arresting people for loitering and gang activity? I get that friendship can be brutal and cruel and dangerous, but they're ensuring that the only place we have to socialize is the supermarket!
(DIR) Post #AO3lBuwrCWb5onIIJU by Hyolobrika@gleasonator.com
2022-09-29T14:46:06.233298Z
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Yeah. "Loitering" has always struck me as a stupid and authoritarian charge.It's illegal to stand somewhere? Say what?
(DIR) Post #AO3sQzaCx1IsDPpr5U by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-29T16:06:45Z
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@cy do you remember when the was a big healthy alt/grassroots/DIY culture.In the UK in the 1970's to around 2010.This imploded/smashed. In the latter years think of orgs like RTS, indymedia, climate camp etc.You can see a few thousand videos from this time on http://visionon.tv I made meany of them.Am talking/planing from this prospective, and yes you are right people like this do not exist anymore. Thus the hashtags.Ideas for stepping away from the current mess?
(DIR) Post #AO3vBlBUVCjj4rhcXo by cy@mstdn.io
2022-09-29T16:37:32Z
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@witchescauldron Why did it implode, and how to stop that from happening again? Whatever the answer is, I think it lies in what they used to destroy the culture in the 70's, and in other eras. I don't mind ancient technology, but if elites already have figured out how to undermine a technique or movement, it's obviously not gonna work again without some... adaptation. So how to counter propaganda covering up unethical crackdowns...
(DIR) Post #AO3wbZ8Y176zCEC8m0 by witchescauldron@activism.openworlds.info
2022-09-29T16:53:58Z
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@cy I have always been interested in the internal stress and self destructive group behaviour, and yes a lot of this is PUSHED by outside agenda. But it's native to the movements as are the solutions, at the time we had pretty good working solutions, but getting people to use them is was always the failing part. Reboot and try some of these Agen, we know much of this stuff works.