Mike Csees @mikecsees@qoto.org

The @NobelPrize was established on this day in 1895. Here is one of the greatest acceptance speeches ever given, by Bertrand Russell, on the 4 desires driving all human behavior https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/09/21/bertrand-russell-nobel-prize-acceptance-speech/

I do not like that site of birds
I do not like its awful words
I do not like what it became
I do not like its cult of shame
I do not like intrusive ads
I do not like the vapid fads
I do not like the clout it’s given
I do not like its algorithm
But I shall miss that weird bird town
I do not like it burning down

The Closest view of Jupiter ever taken!
NASA / SPACE X

We need to remember the #DigitalDivide. The web we know is not inclusive, not universal, not accessible, and actually, it's never been.

Digital divide is easy to miss, especially when you are enthusiastic about new developments. When digital divide combined with the #EchoChamber problem, it became more dangerous to make assumptions and predictions about new web-based experiences and their possibilities.

# CNet news has mentioned QOTO

https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/i-want-to-like-mastodon-the-decentralized-network-isnt-making-that-easy/

#QOTO #CNet #Eugen

So, the European Union has set up its own Mastodon instance, EU Voice, as an official channel/platform for all its many institutions - what a great initiative https://social.network.europa.eu/about
#TwitterMigration #europe #Diplomacy #Transparency

Countering the various "Why I Left / You Should Leave Twitter" arguments going around this a.m. is this perspective from @jeffjarvis. I think a fair description of his arguments this morning would be (1) there is utility in staying where one's relationships remain, (2) there is utility in staying on Twitter to convince others to leave, and (3) Musk's ownership is likely to be temporary, leaving hope that the older dynamic can be reestablished.

https://mastodon.social/@jeffjarvis/109416286862897899

📣📣📣 REMINDER: The 2023 #ACA Open Enrollment Period is currently underway!

Here's 1️⃣3️⃣ important things to remember before. you #GetCovered: https://acasignups.net/22/11/02/its-time-again-heres-13-important-things-remember-you-getcovered-2023 #Healthcare #HealthInsurance #Obamacare #OpenEnrollment

Alphonso Davies was born in a refugee camp in Ghana, after his parents fled the civil war in Liberia. He spent the first 5 years of his life there before his family moved to Canada. Today, he scored Canada's first World Cup goal. Refugees can do anything ❤️

#WorldCup #Canada #Refugees

I'm writing a short article on getting started with Mastodon for Computers in Libraries and have found @nikodemus guide invaluable. You might too. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D9gfeKg_-hlsU66R-dLEvUeyMsqEfyIx2pnfUeX0t_E/edit?usp=sharing

#RealNames

Let me be really clear about this. Any social media platform that is toying with the idea of requiring public "real names" use by users is playing with a ticking hydrogen bomb.

It should have been obvious enough how complicated this is given all the problems #Facebook caused when other sites started to require real names Facebook logins for access to comments and other features on those other sites.

I worked with some of these issues at Google, where originally Google Plus was using real names, though this was later wisely changed.

There is a long list of issues associated with forcing people to publicly use real names. Some people are just fine with using their real names on some sites, but on other sites dealing with other topics there's simply no good reason why they should be required to use their real names. An obvious example is someone being forced to use their real name to ask questions about a medical or other personal issue for which they could face discrimination in employment or elsewhere.

There is a controversial argument to be made, that I am frankly somewhat sympathetic toward (though I very much wish we had not come to this point), that in *some* situations where individuals are going to be posting to very large audiences, some way to identify those individuals in cases of extreme abuse may be necessary. I suspect that regulatory changes are headed in that direction.

BUT, and this is crucial, this should not mean that even those individuals would have to use their real names on posts, and their identities would need to be carefully protected, probably by a third party.

In practice, though it's easy to say all this in theory, I have doubts that it would work in the real world. Disadvantaged individuals and groups, whistleblowers, etc. are at special risk. Data leaks might reveal identity associations. It's all so very complicated. Perhaps -- even likely -- it's completely impossible to accomplish in a safe manner.

We're going to be seeing ever more calls for real names having some sort of role on the Internet. Some movement in this direction may be inevitable. But it is crucial that we don't fall hook, line, and sinker for social media firms trying to force individuals to use their real names publicly in the course of regular social media activities. That, is a trap. -L

These are the 10 largest countries in the world imagined at the equator for size comparison.

They look different because a traditional Mercator map distorts countries, making them appear larger toward the poles.

You can make comparisons at https://www.thetruesize.com #world

So this image is a great visual for teaching about trauma. None of the plates are broken and they’ll stay in tact as long as we don’t open the door. But they’re also not usable that way.

If we open the hutch, some of them will probably fall and break, but we can’t clean up and see what’s still salvageable until we do.

We can prepare before opening the door so that as little as possible gets broken - that’s skill building.

1/2

How it’s made: #Corgi

What's sort of interesting about this is that with all the talk of 'decentralization' and the affinity that right-libertarians have for it, Mastodon seems to be attracting a crowd that's fundamentally left-leaning and pro-democracy, with some left-libertarian anti-state sentiment too.

Right now the poll on Twitter is a bit more 'yay' than on here, but that's a function of my followers, too. Will be interested to see where it ends up.

For my part, I think Rand is ridiculous.

"To the extent that people remain active on #Twitter, they preserve the fragile viability of #Musk’s gambit. The illusory sense of community that still lingers on the platform is one of Musk’s most significant assets. No matter which side prevails, the true victor in any war is the person selling weapons to both sides."

New from @Jelaniya on why battles "are [not] worth fighting on terms set by those who win by having the conflict drag on endlessly."

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-i-quit-elon-musks-twitter

“Mercy on me, was ever man before so be-pelted with a child’s talk as I am! It is his desire of sympathy that lies at the bottom of the great heap of his babblement.”

This is inexpressibly sweet https://www.themarginalian.org/2022/11/26/twenty-days-with-julian-and-little-bunny-by-papa-hawthorne/

“These ministers . . . strip the love of God of its beauty, and leave the throng of religion a huge, horrible, repulsive form. It is a religion for oppressors, tyrants, man-stealers, and thugs. It is not that ‘pure and undefiled religion’ which is from above.” -Frederick Douglass (such a smart, wise person) @bookstodon #Religion #ChristianNationalism #uspol https://www.mguhlin.org/2022/07/mynotes-christians-against-christanity.html via @oberyhendricks (author)

This week's highlightable delights: Storytelling and the art of tenderness, David Bowie on creativity and his advice to artists, the poetic science of the aurora borealis https://mailchi.mp/themarginalian/bowie-borealis

Good night, #fediverse
Wo kommt denn jetzt plötzlich der #schiffssamstag her? ⛴️

#photography #fotografie #novascotia #canada