A lot of potentially useful info here for other FOSS projects, particularly those who might not have access to the legal assistance required to set up something like this.
I will say IANAL - just someone who's read of the difficulties some projects have getting/affording legal advice specifically for FOSS projects.. hopefully it might be useful to someone, in some way!
When a legal takedown request arrives, whether itโs about copyright,censorship, privacy, or something more vague, how a Free and Open SourceSoftware (FOSS) p...
So some people are now talking about possible amendments to the #OnlineSafetyAct. One possibility being talked about is a "tiered" approach where very small sites get a pass on the requirements, but have to notify Ofcom that they're running a site under this exemption - presumably providing contact information in case Ofcom need to deal with any - let's face it - nonconforming speech.
Incredibly disappointing to see that many people, including @openrightsgroup appear to have had their expectations of what a "free Internet" means reframed to such an extent.
We shouldn't be bargaining for the right to gather and communicate online. This shouldn't be a conversation that we're having. Indeed, we tried this approach, and we were roundly ignored.
This is a human rights issue. This is a freedom of expression issue. You do not bargain with human rights abusers.
Fight this. Commit to fighting instances where Ofcom and the prosecutor pick a fight. Commit to bringing cases in front of the ECHR. Work with other digital rights organisations to give some sliver of hope to people who end up being targeted by this. Give people a little bit of confidence to flout this unjust legislation.
If you can't afford to do any of that, I still think legitimising this by effectively admitting to government that sites need to be on some sort of "register" and that gatherings of people online need to be carefully monitored is massively damaging to the cause.
Hot take but: If you're asking someone why they might need E2EE for their chat messenger, then you're probably sitting on some mighty fine throne of privilege my friend.
I think there'll be *some* outliers, of course. There's a good chunk of Z+ that I'm seeing in retro circles, who are very much trying to keep that alive. Just worried there's not enough of them.
I think the rise of games consoles in the European market and the switch from coding being part of computer literacy education to Spreadsheets and windows office drone work shortchanged millenials onward when it comes to computer literacy. People went from learning to type programs to typing word documents.
there are some genius Z programmers doing game reverse engineering stuff right now. I don't think all hope is lost. But yea, it is worrying. Roots of tech stuff are thanks to boomers too, there are some that know a thing or two.
@colinstu i was referring to more.to casual users than people in the field. "What is a folder structure" is not a question i imagined getting asked of me by someone significantly younger than me but (thanks to most tech interactions moving off PCs and onto walled garden phones and tablets) here we are
@colinstu Exactly. I donโt understand the details about FAT32, NTFS, etc, but I understand the basics about drives, partitioning, folder structures, etc.
In particularly dislike Microsoftโs โWe handle all of this for you/put it all on the cloudโ crap. It dumbs down the system way too much.
" Exactly. I donโt understand the details about FAT32, NTFS, etc, but I understand the basics about drives, partitioning, folder structures, etc."
Nor do you...or should you need to. There is such a thing as a middle-ground here.
Understanding how a computer works down to the bit level is not empowering. But understanding how to file away files and categorise folders DOES. It is this empowerment that big tech wants to take away through gradual dumbing down. And it has worked. You can always count on human laziness.
One of the two original creators of the UNIX operating system, Ken Thompson, is still alive and doing well at 82 years young. That really drives home how young the field of computing really is. 1970 was only 55 years ago, hardly long enough to even register in terms of human technological development.
"WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE WAVES! ARE WE GOING TO CAPSIZE?" "CALM DOWN! It's Kaiju Mating season." "So you're telling me all these unexpected waves are Kaiju getting it on?" "Got it in one"
I haven't had to much exposure to Kaiju's before reading the "The Kaiju Preservation Society" by John Scalzi and now this book comes to mind every time they pop up.
Randomly, I seem to have become a bit of a fan of Wacky the Wolf from a ten-year-old children's show called A.N.T. Farm. He's the school mascot and shows up briefly in pretty much every episode, either as a background character or actually interacting with the main characters. No one really calls attention to him specifically, he's just another person who happens to be there, just fluffy and mute. As it should be!
Today! (Well, yesterday as it's now well past midnight.) I achieved something! I've been meaning to do this for a while and it's been ages in the planning, but I got the physical work done in just a few hours on a single day. I've installed a hanging rail inside the under-the-stairs cupboard so we can hang our coats in there. We now have a proper Jeeves cupboard! And we no longer have to have the free-standing hanging rail cluttering up the hallway. Of course, now I need to find some other home for the ironing board, step ladders, clothes airers and such that won't fit any more now that there's a rail in the way! It was a simple matter of four screws (two into plasterboard, two into plasterboard-then-probably-breezeblock), plus a bunch of time making sure it was all as level and square as I could get it, and cutting the rail to length, but I'm kinda proud of myself. Just finding all the tools in the incredibly full garage was a challenge in itself. But it's done!
30 August: I got out on my bike! Having had some servicing done recently (11 August apparently! Oof, I'm really not getting out much) I really ought to get out on the roads more, but at least I got out on one day. This is a selfie in the mirrored doors of the hall wardrobe at the old house, so I must have visited there that day.
I think 12 August was about the sunniest day we've had since the solar panels got put on the roof. It's certainly the one with the best graph - it's nice and smooth and you can clearly see the "shoulders" in the morning and afternoon where the panels on the garage are shaded by the houses on either side; the couple of cloudy periods in the middle of the day are easy to ignore and don't prevent seeing the shape of the curve.
I've been slipping behind in so much lately. I was only a few days behind on my timeline, then got busy briefly and suddenly BAM - I'm a week behind. Ugh. Catching up again, hopefully, now.
I've taken several photos recently with the intention of posting here, but for some reason hadn't got round to. Maybe because posting is not as convenient as it could be. Video requires me to SFTP the file to one of my servers, squish it to a more web-friendly form factor with ffmpeg, stuff it in a specific folder and link it from a post. Photos Friendica can actually handle natively but it's still a bit of a faff, especially as I do prefer to write alt text.
So anyway, first photo.
28 August: Look! My kitchen window has been decorated! Halloween's come early. ;)
I haven't been very active here lately, but my convention season finally starts next week! Please get excited with me and check out my boyo's lovely new video here: ๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐
Hey guys,the time has finally come! After a long wait, we have finally finished the video for the last Eurofurence. I would like to thank all the furries who...
There's another name I haven't heard in ages. This makes me want to pull out some of my old con photos. I kind of miss conventions sometimes, I haven't been to one since 2010. But they're so different now I don't know if I would even enjoy it at this point.
I'm enjoying smaller conventions - not that I make it to many - but the big mega-cons are just too much work and stress leading up to 'em. I don't want to get a membership, then stress for weeks until the room block opens and hope to get a room in the thirty seconds before they sell out. I'm doing this for *fun*.
@xoagray Furry cons are just having trouble making the jump to big attendances - back when I was hitting haunt trade shows and IAAPA they had huge crowds but ran far smoother.
*nods* It's not only that though, even if you find a room sometimes physically meeting up with people can be difficult with that many people. And there are other things. Neither I nor the fandom are anything like we were 15 years ago.
what if your oven only allowed you to cook foods that its makers approved of what if your car only allowed you to drive on roads its makers approved of what if your scissors only allowed you to cut paper in shapes its maker approved of
why when it comes to electronic devices then suddenly it's completely fine for the maker to have a say on what you're allowed and not allowed to do with your own device you have possession of
Iโve long been a fan of Armistead Maupinโs Tales of the Cityโฆwatching the characters evolve and have adventures over 5 decades has been a joy to follow. And at the heart of it is Mrs Madrigal. The perfect landlady and grannyโฆand yes sheโs #trans. It wouldnโt work without her.
This is the first in a series of conversations weโll be filming, with Armistead reflecting on whatโs happening in politics todayโqueer and otherwise.
"Be a human being and let people be who they are." Love it!
I read the first six books, probably around 1990. Loved them all except for the last of them, but hadn't realized he'd written more. I might tear through the entire series from the start!
YouTube made AI enhancements to videos without telling users or asking permission. As AI quietly mediates our world, what happens to our shared connections with real life?
in general I just hate how p2p is so damn neglected with modern tech, it's now extremely easy to send real time video to a server to the other side of the world
but it's a pain in the ass to have basic communication between two devices on the same room without an intermediary (in an open way, I know that for example apple devices so some direct connection stuff, but it's a proprietary closed system)
John Parry reports on a new, remote control, gyro-balanced film camera that can be mounted to a vehicle on the end of a suspended boom. Equipped with three g...
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesThe Janitor ยท Celestial NavigationsChapter Iโ 2006 Geoff Levin MusicReleased on: 1986-01-01Auto-generated by Yo...
Is "they/them" ever "offensive" or "wrong" to use? Like, if you don't know, or can't remember pronouns for a subject, is defaulting to "they/them" safe until otherwise informed?
They/Them is generally a safe default (92%, 58 votes)
No, it's not a safe default - do something else (3%, 2 votes)
IMO a safe default, if you do it for everyone; and in practical terms, often there is just no way to ask a person their preferred pronouns before you use them. But some transgender folks get really upset at the idea of just using they/them for everyone, and for others, being called they is a continuing sign that "you don't pass yet".
personally most people i've spoken with who i don't know the pronouns of are fine with being called they/them. i think there was one exception but i can't remember much.
@pippin I'm a he / him kinda' guy, but don't care of I'm referred to as they / them or even she / her. Playing Warframe makes you kinda' used to it. (The roster of playable "frames" is about 50/50 male / female and most people play both.)
Content warning: Mangled fake German, USA, circa 1960s
ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENSPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FรR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKEN.
IST NICHT FรR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HรNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
Lessons are better learned mid-flight (I guess). Hyperious, the otter, takes the captainโs seat, steering their oversized paper airplane. Nova the raccoon and Wren hold on for dear life, meanwhile for Av, the rubber husky, itโs the best rollercoaster ever built. Donโt worry, though, they all landed safelyโฆ eventually.
Picture for illustrating a panel that Hyperious and all his crew are running at BFC Featuring Hyperious, Nova, Wren and AvWuff Digital. Procreate
If you want to take a look on the short time-lapse process video of this piece, you can watch it on the first comment of this submission on my Telegram art channel: https://t.me/panda_paco
There is also a longer version with all the process of it, I shared it exclusive for Ko-Fi and Patreon supporters. You can join, check it out, and also check all the process videos I record (or export from Procreate, like in this case), and check some WIPs and more drawings that I haven't posted yet on my galleries. Your support would help me a lot to keep creating more art. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/pandapaco Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/panda_paco Thank you!
Content warning: re: ukpol, OSA
Fight this. Commit to fighting instances where Ofcom and the prosecutor pick a fight. Commit to bringing cases in front of the ECHR. Work with other digital rights organisations to give some sliver of hope to people who end up being targeted by this. Give people a little bit of confidence to flout this unjust legislation.
If you can't afford to do any of that, I still think legitimising this by effectively admitting to government that sites need to be on some sort of "register" and that gatherings of people online need to be carefully monitored is massively damaging to the cause.
Do not propose that.