Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

There are a million obvious jokes to make about this. But it really is the end of an era.

I never had any love for #IE (pronounced "aieee!") and IMO the world would have been better off without it. #Mosaic and then #Netscape did a fine job of making the #web, and therefore the #internet, widely accessible. As a web #developer at the time it was rising to dominance, I loathed having to build two versions of every site: one for IE, and one for every other #browser. Its "innovations" were never worthwhile, only clunky versions of other software's features made just different enough to encourage lock-in.

As usual, #Microsoft didn't create a new market with IE, merely exploited and nearly took over an existing one—just as with #Windows itself, and #Excel, and Word, and many others. *Every time*, there were existing and better and commercially successful alternatives, which would have kept flourishing in Microsoft's absence. We'd all be better off it that had been the case.

They've softened their image now, but back then they deserved every ounce of loathing they got, and then some. The only reason they're not another also-ran in the long history of failed software companies is because once upon a time, a company named #IBM made really good typewriters. You know the rest.

With all that said, IE did exist, and it mattered. I won't mourn its passing, but I will note the event. Let us now pause for a moment of silence ...

And now we're done! Back to work.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/microsoft-permanently-disables-internet-explorer/

This ... is a really good point. #Castles, #plantation homes, and the like are often absolutely beautiful. But we know they were built on horror, and I always feel a little guilty about admiring them. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, if the message is "we're still here, but you're gone."

Me too, lion. Me too.

Just had my first mutual blocking on #Mastodon. Now I feel like I belong!

Seen on Quora: this is the best possible answer to the "we have to preserve #history" argument for keeping #Confederate monuments, bases named after Confederate generals, etc.

"A cannon from a Civil War battle is history. A uniform worn by somebody at #Gettysburg is history. Jefferson Davis’ desk is history. Robert E. Lee’s sword is history. A monument made by the #KKK in the 1890s or 1950s isn’t history of the Civil War. It’s just a monument made by the KKK or similar racists, and is no more history than a statue I sculpt today of Pharaoh #Tutankhamen is 'history' of ancient #Egypt."

I imagine some German sailor floating in the water after his ship was sunk by Trident saying, "Those English and their verdammt ... *reindeer games*!"

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/pollyanna-the-reindeer.html

"#Messianic #Jews" are almost universally #Christians who find it convenient to pretend their fellow Christians haven't been cheerfully massacring Jews for a millennium and a half. This isn't the flex she thinks it is.

https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-731310

Context, in case you haven't heard: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/08/jackson-mississippi-republicans-unelected-court-system

Oh, no particular reason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM

Not posted for agreement, if you share please leave my commentary intact, terms and conditions apply.

Like practically every other man, and every other human being regardless of gender, I'm strong in some ways, weak in others. Saying "strong men are ..." anything in particular is part of the problem: it carries with it the implication that men must be strong, in every way and all the time. Well, I feel good when I'm strong, but I'm trying really hard to learn not to beat myself up about weakness. That does nobody any good, not me and not the other people who want me in the world.

Same for other men: our ruthless enforcement of arbitrary rules of masculinity has a lot to do with why we have much higher rates of alcoholism and suicide. I went too far down that road once in my life. I'm not doing it again, and I'm not pushing anyone else down it either.

The older I get, the more I believe there's no real difference between "good man" and "good person who happens to be a man." Good *people* are protective and loving—when they need to be, and also capable of acknowledging when they themselves need protection and love. Good people also, of course, refrain from abuse and spite. When they feel themselves going in that direction, they try to understand what's driving their anger, and open up to the people who love them. The alternative is bottling it up until they lash out, at which point they're no longer good.

Mr. Aleczander's heart is in the right place, I'm sure. I don't criticize him or any man for struggling to reconcile ancient ideas of manhood with overall human decency. Let's all just try not to repeat the same mistakes.

This is a great capsule history. Of course the Republicans who think "DemoKKKrat" is a clever insult will dismiss it ... right before putting on their white sheets and pointy hats for the next campaign rally.

https://www.quora.com/How-did-Democrats-go-from-being-the-party-of-Jim-Crow-and-slavery-to-the-party-of-racism-awareness-black-lives-matter-and-Americas-first-black-president/answer/Mike-Jones-169

I particularly love how they keep going with the theme in the fine print.

This started out flippant and got serious in a hurry. It's not something I need to think about very often these days. When I do, the depth of feeling is always a bit of a surprise. Guess it shouldn't be.

https://www.quora.com/Atheists-imagine-you-went-to-jail-with-solitary-confinement-and-the-only-book-you-had-to-read-in-your-cell-was-the-Bible-How-long-would-it-take-you-to-start-reading-it-knowing-that-the-insights-within-would-turn-you/answer/Daniel-Dvorkin-3