Andy

@ andrewrgross @slrpnk.net

Posts

90
Comments

815
Joined

3 yr. ago

Moderating

Fully Automated RPG slrpnk.net

3d ago

Growing sense of embarrassment at FIFA over Donald Trump peace prize
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Andy @slrpnk.net 3d ago
Yeah, the article sounds like it was written by the Onion.
Are they concerned that Trump is diminishing the credibility of the award? The one they invented to transparently flatter the things of this exact, specific egomaniacal madman?
Sure Jan.

3d ago

Democrats preparing for the 2024 election

It isn't even accurate to call it saving Israel.

They say that when you set out for revenge to dig two graves. The genocide perpetrated by Israel has been more destructive to Israel itself morally, economically, and physically than anything their adversaries have tried to inflict.

It's not justice, though. It isn't helping any victims. It's just the wasting of more life, senselessly.

4d ago

Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland

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Andy @slrpnk.net 4d ago

You make a point that I don't see often addressed:

If Denmark, Germany, and Co are serious, they'd be hitting way harder.

I honestly wouldn't be at all surprised if this works, and European leaders just say, 'Sorry folks! We really tried to stop him, but we just got outplayed again! He's too good!'

5d ago

What do you think of the Singapore approach to drugs ?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 5d ago

I don't agree with their approach, but I'll admit that their argument is sound.

Particularly the part about rejecting the opinions of an outsider.

I don't want to live in Singapore, bit if this is genuinely how Singaporeans wish to run their society I do not consider it my place to meddle. Especially because, as they note in the response, all of us should focus on getting our own houses in order before prescribing to others.

5d ago

Bluesky just verified ICE

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Andy @slrpnk.net 5d ago

Personally, I do want a common communication platform for people I despise because I want to be able to keep tabs on their public announcements. Also, I don't want any tech platform to have sole authority over who can communicate, as in the present, that will invariably work against the left more than the right.

I do not want to share close proximity to them on a network graph, or regularly engage with their supporters, though. So I agree that federation is crucial. But to be clear, it's not because I want to ban them from a platform, it's because I want managed distance and better moderation.

I don't mind Bluesky verifying them, but I'm glad that on Mastodon I don't have to share the same giant server as them.

6d ago

How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 6d ago

Yes. It's free and open-license. It's free as in speech AND as in beer.

6d ago

How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 6d ago

I'm a big fan of tabletop RPGs, and I like sci-fi, so a few years ago I moved from playing standard-issue cyberpunk to a homebrew solarpunk game instead.

It was such a radicalizing experience that my friends and I eventually released it as a totally free game, along with a ready to run starter campaign. It's called Fully Automated! Solarpunk RPG.

If you're a fan of TTRPGs and looking for a fun, social way to get better at believing in a better world, go download it. It's a blast, and really makes you want to go out and overthrow fascism.

6d ago

I don't understand how Trump gets away with all his senial BS. How come everyone is not telling him to piss off or use the constitution to shut him the hell up?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 6d ago

Respectfully, I think this is a naive myth.

Ask yourself this: if Bernie won and began executing his agenda with the brash disregard for criticism of Trump, do you think he could do it and people would say the same things we say about Trump? Or do you think we would see the collective power of congress the supreme Court the state governments and the corporate world come down on him in 100 different ways?

I think the more honest truth is that there are people with power who like what Trump is doing, and the people who don't like what he's doing don't have power.

6d ago

‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid

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Andy @slrpnk.net 6d ago

Yeah, it's wild how clearly we can see that Palestine is the world's laboratory for surveillance and state violence tech and tactics.

6d ago

Anyone else about ready to give up on tech?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 6d ago

My aggravation at the people who run big tech companies makes me more interested in hacking than ceding tech to them.

I think stepping back from a lot of specific tools is appropriate. I'm trying to de-Google, and I've left a lot of platforms. I also appreciate unnetworked things like physical media, and music and e-books on non-networked devices.

But leaving tech overall isn't appealing to me. I just recently started getting into mesh radio, for instance. It's dope stuff.

6d ago

Study: At Least 15% of All Reddit Content is Corporate Trolls Trying to Manipulate Public Opinion

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Andy @slrpnk.net 6d ago

This article doesn't really seem to validate it's headline. I was eager to learn more about the methodology and how to better detect corporate content, but I was disappointed that they apparently just made the leap from the claim that 15% of popular subs host a non zero amount of corporate manipulation to the claim that this represents the fraction of total content.

I'm not saying this to dispute how much of the total content is corporate bots. I'm just pointing this out because I actually care about the quality of statistical claims and data science, and I hate to see my ideological allies either misusing data because they're dumb or because they don't have a commitment to truth.

1w ago

Does Science actually need more money?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 1w ago

I read op's question about whether money was the primary bottleneck facing scientists.

And that's actually a reasonable question.

There is, unfortunately, a real efficiency problem in science.

The money spent is generally a great investment: you're not just funding discovery: you're also financially supporting millions of jobs that support discovery that include the businesses that sell to scientists and the restaurant staff in small college towns.

However if we look at where the money goes, it's long been an open secret that a lot of the support costs are taking unjustifiable slices of the pie. Examples include what's called "overhead expenses", which are essentially astronomical rents universities charge their science departments. Also, equipment and repair costs are wildly inflated.

I would like more funding of research, but I would also like reforms to limit this kind of exploitative price gouging in science. But to answer the question: yes, science would still produce more social impact faster if given more money.

1w ago

Does Science actually need more money?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 1w ago

Gotta pay the gravity tax

1w ago

At this point, what should we do about the ICE raids? If an ICE agent breaks in without a warrant or holds you at gunpoint, what do you do?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 1w ago

The federal government is sending masked agents to brutalize and terrorize people is cities that are adversarial to their agenda.

It's bad.

1w ago

Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 1w ago

I wrote a long answer and then accidentally hit the back button and don't have the patience to retype it.

The short version is that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. I don't want any confusion about that.

NATO's influence was that the US has been advancing against Russia for decades even after their country collapsed, and it was obviously nakedly escalatory. Combined with the US is overall foreign policy, which has always been imperial, we've acted as though putting a gun to someone's head and telling them to stay cool was an actual way of calming things rather than the exact opposite.

I'm not saying that a version of NATO couldn't have done what it claims to do. But that's never been the version that has existed.

2w ago

Is it a red flag that your boss asks you to explain yourself in front of other coworkers?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2w ago

Yes, 100%. That's more than a red flag. A red flag is a warning sign of a problem. That's just a problem.

2w ago

Brussels plots open source push to pry Europe off Big Tech

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2w ago

Thank fucking God that they're finally waking up. This is long overdue.

2w ago

Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2w ago

GoddlessCommie's take is valid.

Nato is the core organizing instrument of western imperialism. Nato is like Israel's Iron Dome missile defense shield. It's easy to look at it and say, 'Well how could anyone object to a tool of defense??' But if you know anything about war then you know that establishing an unbreakable defensive capability is what allows an imperial army to slaughter their weaker targets with impunity.

I'm not co-signing GodlessCommie's point. But we gotta ask: did you like Vietnam? Iraq? Afghanistan? Korea? Venezuela? Nicaragua? Georgia? Libya? Ukraine? Gaza? Because arguably, all of this shit rests upon the conditions established by NATO and US imperialism. So... It's not unreasonable to ask whether NATO has actually fostered peace or just fostered peace for the people who wage wars.

2w ago

we need more users

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2w ago

I think that if we want new folks, it would make a big difference is we organized the equivalent of a new member drive.

Currently, look at a default front page for your home instance and ask how enticing it is to a total newbie. There might be some good stuff, but it's foreign and overwhelming. You feel out of place.

Now imagine if the first Friday of January had been "new subscriber day". People on Reddit and Bluesky are taking about the fediverse and if it's any good. And on Lemmy there's a bunch of posts about finding the best instances and memes about being new on Lemmy. That's a much more inviting beginner experience, and it makes it more likely for folks to come back the next day.

I really think planning for bursts of new folks is the way to welcome people.

2w ago

Why is kissing?

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Andy @slrpnk.net 2w ago

This. Put another way: mammals use our mouths for sensing and manipulating. Note that people naturally use their mouths and noses to kiss and smell babies and pets on places other than their mouths.

If we instinctively use our mouths to kiss things, it's natural that when two people want to do this at the same time they're going to both do it to the other person's mouth.