*banned 4 MarkDown love* @design_RG@qoto.org

@freemo Forgot to mention that it lighted an interest on me for many aspects of that epoch. I purchased a number of other books, seeking more info.

Leibnitz and Newton's relationship and correspondence is mentioned in the novel too.

@freemo It certainly is. Big read, at about 3,000 for all 3 volumes, but he's a great writer.

For someone who likes historical fiction or novels, it's lots of fun.

Neal wrote it all by hand, fountain pen on loose paper, and it came in at about 5,000 pages for the complete manuscript.

It's one of my most favourite books ever.

@freemo LOL, I assume you are a fan?

I read a fantastic set of novels, "The Barroque Cycle", by Neal Stephenson, which had a number of real life persons in it, along with fiction characters.

Isaac Newton was one of them, along with Robert Hooke, and others. All in the twilight of the Scientific method and the founding of the Royal Society.

Great read!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle

@teknonomicon Yes, Amem!!

Much needed statement. Appreciated by the citizens of almost all places where the famous 1st amendment is just something that exists in a foreign jurisdiction.

Your statement is, in my view, a greater right. #Respect is fundamental.

@susi123

Wouldn't you get bored, with someone who never changed?

@Manikandan1994

@freemo

Wow! Congratulations!!

@cowanon

@Hedieh Hello Hedieh, yes, it happens.

Sometimes it depends on the weather outside; Winter months in the Northern latitudes (and the equivalent Southern, low ones) is hard on people.

Short days, long nights. Grey, wet weather. Not good. A sunny day always helps, light up our spirits even if the temperature is low.

It is good to reach out and talk to someone, like here. We might not have local people with similar interests, but on this network we can find like-minded people, new things to consider and read about.

Hope you enjoy your membership and the fediverse. Welcome to Qoto. 😉

@Absinthe There are differences on the way people see 'free speech'. Americans seem to think it allows all, including objectable, inane and offensive things.

People in other countries believe in more civilized behaviour, first of all. The right of one person to speak their mind should not infringe on another person's right to not being attacked, threatened or demeaned, in their own perspective.

I prefer speech that respects your listener, and does not hide under a constitutional amendment in force on a single country. The world is a big place, there are lots of perspectives, respect is a good way to learn and get along with others.

The attitude of the gun owners is also surprising to most people. The text of the second amendment is short and a bit obscure, some could read it as allowing for the formation and operation of militias, as a defence against possible tirany. Doesn't imply the right to carry an assault weapon into a commercial establishment, in some people's views.

No other country seems to have these extreme views on civilian arms, and neither the number of mass casualties from people in the country.

@Sphinx Ah, ok.

My desktop machine hasn't seen much use, the laptops are so comfortable to use on the sofa, they win. But there's a use for a serious desktop. Storage, expansion, big monitor(s) are great.

Saw some nice ones on the off-lease reseller. Workstation class machines for consumer grade prices.

@pganssle Oh, I did not intend to discourage memes. Reacted to the beautiful light saber, mostly, as it's such a cool and dignified weapon.

One that requires skill, close contact to an opponent, much more courage than a loaded assault rifle.

Usenet, I m a believer and long time user. Been off for some time, was tiresome how much poisoning and fakes were showing up on the groups I followed (documentaries mostly).

@chikara
Yes, discussions of the operation of the system, either at the individual instance, or at the large federated level are indeed Technological in nature, and right along Qoto's mandate.

Don't know if you saw it, but I found a great article, an academic study indeed, about how smaller instances can provide better socializing for their members.

I thought you might enjoy reading it, it's very well done.

https://qoto.org/web/statuses/103232702494863935

@khird

@Skip
An easier way -- if you see a post coming from one of those adult domains in the Federated feed, open the post and you should be able to do it from there.

1. Click on the post to expand it.

2. click on the username at the top. It will open their profile page.

3. select the dots menu, and Hide everything from ... the instance.

@Sphinx @freemo

@Skip

Hello Skip, and welcome to Qoto.

Enjoy the network and all it has to offer. If you are new to using Mastodon, there's a good guide here: https://lifehacker.com/a-beginner-s-guide-to-mastodon-1828503235

As Freemo and Sphinx said, yes it is. There are some instances that specialize in adult content and sex worker posts.

That makes filtering those easier. An example is switter.at

Here's a screenshot of how to get to the place you where you can add a instance block.

1. use the search box, enter the domain name, or a user full name/address.

2. Once there, go to user profile, select the 3 dots menu, then block as shown in picture.

Have a good day!

@Sphinx @freemo

@Sphinx Yep, are you buying anything?

Got a new toy on order, should come this week... 😺

@Absinthe I think you did well, explained your reasoning, and even compared to your personal experiences in the past.

I would suggest that an administrator should have a look him/herself at any instances they consider potentially objectionable. I visited some front end pages for instances on gab's orbit, and was dismayed with what was being said and posted there.

Users do have the option of blocking not only a user, but a whole instance in their personal profile -- something I have done and documented here in the past, showing people screenshots and how to do it.

That is rich, that we can set our own limits.

There is a good article on Verge about what happened when the gab people realized tehy could use mastodon as their operating software, and so avoid their past bans for site specific apps -- for atrocious content and the impact on users who sometimes went on to commit criminal acts. The Verge article is here: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/12/20691957/mastodon-decentralized-social-network-gab-migration-fediverse-app-blocking

AS long as they stay in their own very large instance (the largest atm, just over a million accounts listed), it's not a problem.

With the election in US coming closer and closer, that might change. If they went raiding into people's federated conversations and attempting to inhibit them (like it's common in Twitter), then the response from instances administrators would likely be much more active.

The next year is going to be a tough one, no matter the results.

The Atlantic had a recent issue, analyzing the situation and comparing it to what they saw in the US just before the Civil War got started.

Personally, I am not interested in their 'discourse' and prefer not to spend my time and energy in arguing.

@pganssle The light sabers are indeed elegant. Similar to a Katana. I love the Jedi philosophy too.

I would like to be a Jedi Consular, myself. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jedi_Consular

@crackurbones that sounds like an excellent idea. Thank you for the post!

#xp #moa Slowly app for iOS, Android and Web is a tool for Writers and finding #penpals #letters #friendship
---
RT @EvelynYap
Oh my goodness. Nobody knows how to write #letters anymore. Do they even understand what the #Slowly app is? It's not a #chat app. :-/

#messaging #technology #social #penfriends
https://twitter.com/EvelynYap/status/1200733867293859842

@freemo Off to see a friend, bblater!

@users

@freemo
Oh, really? That might stretch it into Monday then, maybe.

Any party planned? The Big 5K. 😜

@users