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
For anyone who cares about Elon #Musk , videos like this by Everyday Astronaut are critical to, well, criticize.
Notice how the host prompts Elon. The host puts out these ideas and asks Elon to confirm them.
That's really how the mythology around Musk is built. He's not asking for it, people are projecting it onto him. And so much stuff that people complain about Musk over come down to things that are being projected onto him. And for his sake, he's rich enough to just take it.
And this is a lesson because it can also be applied #Trump.
Rightly or wrongly, these are public figures that are loved and hated based on what is being projected onto them, not their own stuff.
I think it's really important to recognize this phenomenon, and it goes both ways: If you love Musk/Trump you need to realize that what you love might be a projection and not actually part of the person. If you hate them, same thing.
It's academically really interesting. It's practically really sad.
"This case is not about whether States can disarm people who threaten others. States have a ready mechanism for disarming anyone who uses a firearm to threaten physical violence: criminal prosecution." -- Thomas
Folks saying #Thomas voted to arm abusers miss that he emphasizes the exact opposite.
Instead, he voted to maintain the rights of the innocent, which is a pretty different story.
All of these claims that the Supreme Court is delaying rulings on #Trump matters for political reasons don't even make sense strategically.
Firstly, they're based on misunderstandings about how the US government actually functions, but setting that aside:
If #SCOTUS really wanted to delay trials as claimed they could simply issue rulings that would result in drawn out procedures. There's NO reason they'd hold the ball and take all of this heat when they could pass it along to lower courts.
It's unfortunate that so many people in the US, and on this social media platform, keep promoting those conspiracy theories.
If nothing else, they shield from accountability those who are actually responsible for the things we're critical of.
volkris
boosted
@jsbilsbrough for general design, full Affinity and never regretted it. For video, DaVinci Resolve. Digital art in Procreate and Affinity and for animation a mix of OpenToonz and Procreate Dreams. And some little apps here and there for some random tasks.
The dark side of #fediverse
The sad thing is that I personally probably align well with that community, and the only reason I even learned about the block was that I tried to ...
My main (and far out) hope with regard to the #Trump verdict is that it causes at least some people to notice that he and the media ecosystem around him have been lying to them about the trial this whole time.
For months they've been spouting that this is a case without merit, without evidence, without even charges. It's a slam dunk: OF COURSE he'll be let off.
Well, the guilty verdict is going to cause at least some people to wonder what went wrong, look into it, and notice they were told so wrong.
Maybe Trump will appeal and have the charges reversed. BUT he'd never be able to unring the bell of people noticing that he (and media figures) mislead them so, well, hugely.
#TrumpTrial #JuryInstructions are on the NYcourts website: https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/People%20v.%20DJT%20Jury%20Instructions%2...
volkris
boosted
"2 + 2 = 4"
"No it doesn't!"
"Why not?"
"2 + 3"
"What?"
"I am tired of your stupidity"
I think whenever I see a headline or a person making some claim about #section230 the first reaction needs to be, "Okay, section 230 of what? What do you think that refers to?"
So many people have no idea what section 230 actually says, or does, but at least this response would help weed out the most uninformed of the people spouting out about it.
I wonder how well YouTube sharing goes on this platform.
Kind of an interesting behavior to see in the wild and wonder what's behind it
I do not understand why someone would boost (share) your post, only to quickly un-boost (un-share). I doubt it is by mistake as I notice a few w...
Media is promoting headlines that Democrats are bailing out Mike Johnson when in reality, that's just how it's supposed to work.
It's not bailing out, it's functioning as a chamber that has different representatives representing different districts.
This is really important to call out because this notion of Us versus them, team red versus team blue is really sensationalized, misleading, and just plain corrupting to the US system of government.
The Speaker of the House is the speaker of the entire House, Democrats and Republicans and independents.
There are majority leaders and minority leaders to represent the two major parties, and it's just ignorance of basic civics to conflate the speaker with those other offices.
When Marjorie Taylor Greene hammers Johnson on the basis of his being "the Republican leader" she shows her own ignorance, but more importantly, she expresses a critical misunderstanding that's pretty rife throughout the US population.
No, Johnson is not the Republican leader. As Speaker he's the voice of the entire House, including Democrats, in contrast to Steve Scalise, who as Majority Leader is the actual Republican leader.
The reason this isn't mere technicality is that Democrats absolutely have a say in the Speaker and can support or oppose the ouster of a speaker and choice of a new one.
#MTG is an idiot, though the public can be excused for not knowing this detail. Unfortunately, politicians take advantage of that, contributing to congressional dysfunction.
volkris
boosted
Anyone got an example of an #ActivityPub object with type: "Article"? #mastoDev
volkris
boosted
@m well it's not that posts are called notes but that of the types defined by ActivityStreams some interfaces have chosen to mark content that way.
As per the standard a note "Represents a short written work typically less than a single paragraph in length."
Arguably this that I'm typing here is a document, not a note, regardless of what Mastodon thinks of it.
https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-vocabulary/#object-types
volkris
boosted
@timbray
Mastodon restrictions:
Issue 1: You can only upload max 4 photos per post.
Issue 2: You can only see max 4 photos per post EVEN if that post have more than 4 attached. It throws everything else to a black hole without informing its users that they are missing something.
For Issue 2, all other #fediverse software will display the images attached. They won't shoot content into a blackhole.
For Issue 1, different fediverse software have different limitations, but definitely not max of 4 per post.
So, personally, if you want to use the fediverse for images, art, photography, your best option is Pixelfed; or any other fediverse software for that matter as long as it is not Mastodon.
^_~
@dansup
An update on and description of #BlueSky distributed capabilities, including a long segment on distributed labeling and moderation, and how the way #Mastodon / #Fediverse handles it promotes contention on this platform.
I always say, there's a lack of focus on technology serving users here, with instances being the primary focus, and that's a shame.
volkris
boosted
Listening to #metal #music? Posting about it on mastodon.social?
There are more underground ways to metal up your timeline! Join metalhead.club 
💪
... and contribute to a more decentralized #Fediverse 🤘
Conservative media loves to repeat that the NY court imposed improper penalties against Trump's businesses considering that they were already being overseen by a court appointed official that would keep them from doing wrong.
Problem is, the overseer reported to the court that they kept doing wrong.
It's a case where the details swing the superficial claim in the other direction.
So many get wrong, and so many misreport, that the #SCOTUS is to rule on the safety of mifepristone. It is not.
The Court has neither the expertise, the legal jurisdiction, nor the interest in making such a determination. It's absolutely not what the Court is doing.
Instead, what the Court is to rule on is specifically the legal questions surrounding whether the executive branch followed legal procedures as it acted.
It seems that the FDA didn't follow the legal process and botched this, and we should be holding executive branch officials responsible for their failure there.
All of the drama protesting the Court misplaces the real blame and lets those responsible off the hook, and is so counterproductive to the goals of those protesters.
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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