volkris @volkris@qoto.org
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
@maggiejk Well just to name one problem I have with such a requirement, I really don't want government involving itself in my own employment arrangements. It's just none of their business how I sell my labor.
Even though I would pass the check, I don't want government involved in it at all. Just stay out of my labor.
I could go on, but that's just off the top of my head.
@johnzajac I think you're missing that American society backs the harm. They want it to be there.
So that's democracy for you. The people want this negative stuff, so they get it.
It's not corruption really; it's the government responding to the wants of the population.
@enlightenedferalboy Well it's more that he's accountable to people who don't approve of the deal.
@Mrfunkedude I think it's more that we keep electing and reelecting idiots who don't know how to govern.
Saying it's performative gives them too much credit.
Biden signed the law that he is supposedly trying to get out from under here. It's as if he's a moron who didn't realize what the law meant. And we should hold these people accountable for being really bad at their jobs.
@Lyle It's not out of corruption or disinterest in inequity that these measures haven't been adopted, but rather they have been discussed for generations and found to be problematic if not outright counterproductive.
Sometimes such measures can even promote corruption, insulating powerful people from accountability, particularly democratic accountability.
These are bad ideas, but Biden has never been particularly insightful so it's no surprise that he would glom onto them.
@manton part of the problem is that it's not clear what the law actually requires. The impact of the law on third parties hasn't been sorted out because this has been so rushed.
So yes, arguably the shutdown of TikTok is required by law, practically if not theoretically.
The company has taken this position legally under threat of penalty if they were lying, so Yes, this is what we're working with.
@danwentzel he contributed to it!
@joe Well then definitely don't listen to Jon Stewart, because he is just going to sap up energy with his monologues.
@LeftistLawyer that is not my experience when I look around here.
There is so much ignorance and intolerance in my Mastodon feeds...
@breedlov Well, that's why we have checks and balances in the US system, so we don't have to trust any individuals like this.
@darnell but moderation efforts are even worse around here.
@byteseu but... why does it ACTUALLY matter?
Johnson isn't a king. He can't do anything outside of what the people we elected want to do.
It doesn't matter what he does. It matters what the hundreds of people that we elected do.
@voorstad reactions like this seem to miss the most core part of the story: the people.
The people are unsatisfied with their governments. Their governments should do better.
Big Tech, or whatever conspiracy one would like to trot out, wouldn't have an opportunity to wade in if the people were happy with how governments were governing.
@AliceStollmeyer
@joshisanonymous I wouldn't put it that way.
It's not so much that these are separate flavors but rather they are different interfaces to the same system.
Mastodon and PeerTube don't exist in separate bubbles. They are different UIs viewing the same fediverse universe through different lenses.
@wjmaggos but why?
There's no sense forking Mastodon to fix it when BlueSky is already there and functioning.
@futurebird it's not about wrong, but about a different approach.
Fediverse isn't so much decentralized as it's REcentralized around instances, and that can be seen as problematic. We see every day users complaining about butting heads with instance owners who are empowered by this architecture.
Tweaks to the UI can't change that.
Other platforms didn't go that direction and are more decentralized, putting more power in the hands of the end users.
Free Our Feeds seems to be really focused on getting away from centralization, so the centralization around instances wouldn't be the approach they'd want to follow.
@HarriettMB no it wouldn't.
I assure you there was contraception and immunization before the ACA.
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
