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
The big reason I see #Meta wanting to federate #Threads is to tap into a potentially massive amount of free content that it can then display to its users.
It might be that for a relatively minor engineering expenditure they would be receiving quite a lot to keep their readers using their service.
I wouldn't even be surprised if the engineering expenditure is dwarfed by the legal expenditure as they, yes, try to figure out how in the world GDPR fits into this whole thing.
I think the difference is mainly due to the types of people who immigrated to this platform, rather than things like QT or UIs.
To be an early adopter here or to leave Twitter for this platform involves a certain filtering that selects for certain types of people.
And solves it usefully, not just wasting heat from lights.
@johncarlosbaez
I imagine not?
If you mean because of algorithms, well each one has benefits, but I mainly think of the additional point of failure of the cross-posting.
There are a lot of funny things there. For example, with ActivityPub the creator is no longer beholden to one company that they can't control but rather an untold number of federated instances that they can't control.
But my main reaction is that a lot of people focus on questions like, Will creators post on Threads? while overlooking that with federation Threads will tap into a massive amount of content for its readers.
Finally, DMs in ActivityPub are a bit different from how they exist in other platforms, as they aren't really a second stream but rather the same as any other public post, just with a smaller declared audience.
To say DMs will not be supported sounds like it might be an issue of terminology.
Oh yep, I didn't even think to mention that lots of these organizations are working with stretched budgets as it is.
I just don't think the EU would easily accept such a loophole.
It sounds like Meta would be anticipating or even intending the client to use the alternative backend, and I imagine that's enough for EU regulators to call them out.
Circling back, though, even if you're right and SCOTUS is wrong on that ruling, keep in mind that you're promoting the ability of the president to have sweeping power to prosecute citizens.
This is the kind of authoritarian thing you sounded so concerned about above.
Should the Court have ruled the way you preferred, based on precedent, it would have been promoting leadership using government power to impose leaders' wills on the people.
I think SCOTUS was correct in its reading of the statute, even in erring in the face of ambiguity not to allow the leadership that authoritarian power.
The solution is crystal clear, though: impeachment.
If Thomas really is as bad as so many of these stories say, then Congress should apply the solution they have in their hands and impeach the guy, removing him from Court.
OR, if he's not actually found to be as bad as all of these stories, if the stories are a bit out there, then it's not really a problem to solve.
Either way, impeachment is on the table, and that will work itself out.
volkris
boosted
@seachanger Last time #journalists wanted to join, they got defederated because some of the #fediverse thinks they're too inquisitive and promotional… 🙄️ https://www.cjr.org/analysis/journalists-want-to-recreate-twitter-on-mastodon-mastodon-is-not-into-it.php
I think a lot of people wondering about #journalism on #Fediverse underappreciate issues of internal processes inside large, established news organizations.
They can't and don't turn on dimes, for better and for worse.
Divisions throughout the organization have consultation and input on such a change, ranging from the IT systems publishing content through marketing and even legal.
It just takes a lot of time and effort to review such an addition to their newsrooms, more than just setting up an instance and beginning to publish.
But yep, a design conducive to the industry and maybe a point of contact willing to work with interested outfits to guide them on board.
My [uninformed] impression is that this wouldn't get them out of having to comply more fully with EU regulations, which would be pretty concerned with the backend, not just the front.
Or to look at it a different way, whatever they could do with an ActivityPub Threads app they could do with a non-AP Threads app.
@coctaanatis@mstdn.social
Right, when I say law I mean all law, not just statutes but also the Constitution, and my statement stands: if we need to change the law, including the Constitution, then we can.
Nothing in recent rulings has been particularly novel to anyone who's been following legal arguments over the last decade or two or longer. Many of these decisions had been telegraphed for quite a while, as the Court cited plenty of background for each.
I don't know why you keep referring to the failed argument as if it's authoritative. Of course I did read the dissents, and I saw that they were wrong. ::shrug::
I mean, if you'd read the winning argument you'd understand that :)
The EPA can certainly act, as Congress has given it plenty of authority. The problem is that it was acting against people outside of the authority that the democratic process had allowed it.
If we DO want the EPA to have this authority, great, we can grant it that authority through the legislative process, and the Court would have had no problem with the action.
This has nothing to do with any other case. It's simply a matter of in this case the executive branch had been prosecuting people illegally.
It could be made legal through legislation, if we want, but at this point it was illegal prosecution.
A significant part of the story that has come out lately is Thomas pointing out that he consulted SCOTUS experts who guided him in applying their code of ethics, which in itself shows that they do have a code of ethics, despite so much misreporting saying the opposite.
As for lifetime appointment meaning something different now, I completely disagree with that.
The goal of the lifetime appointment, upon good behavior, is to insulate the Court, if imperfectly, from political influence and strategic gaming, and that goal remains no matter how long lifetimes may be.
Again, I say there is no perfect solution, just different imperfect options with different tradeoffs, but I personally don't think the lifespan argument makes much difference.
So basically, these right-leaning states aren't implementing left-leaning policies.
This is a really good example of how methodology behind an analysis can shape the result, and how readers really need to pay attention to the methodology instead of simply reacting to headlines.
@coctaanatis@mstdn.social
I mean, if the law is dangerously in need of reform then reform the law. That's the democratic process that the US system is based around.
It's a bit foolish to complain that a judge isn't maintaining an illegal system, kicking the can down the road until the next time it comes in front of a judge, instead of just fixing the law so that the result is durable.
Do you have a link to the standard?
I haven't seen any implementation that strikes me as particularly complete, so I'd be interested in seeing some documentation about it.
It really always feels pretty ad hoc and questionable every time I have read about some implementation of account migration, but maybe I just haven't seen the right description of it.
@devnull @Brendanjones @charlesroper @alexeheath @darnell @atomicpoet
I think the real solution is making it easier and easier for the user to block. Make the suspend button nice and big for the user so it won't be so overwhelming.
Instance blocking because of content should be primarily up to the user, not something for the admin to have to deal with.
If it's overwhelming for the user then that's mainly a sign that it's too hard for the user and needs to be made easier.
I would change the perspective a bit to say that the goal of all of this is not the platform itself, but the user experience. Fediverse does not exist just for the sake of existing.
And so since the point is the user experience, I as the user am more invested in my own experience than anybody else is. Because I'm me :-)
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
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