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atrielienz

@ atrielienz @lemmy.world

Posts
4
Comments
820
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • Internet forums are disappearing because now everything is Reddit and Discord. And that's worrying.

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  • First and foremost I'd like to point out that this alarm has been sounded before. In the early 2010's, in the late 2010's, during the pandemic etc. Part of that is because megaforums like reddit (slack, github, and I guess digg) swallowed them up. Which is more convenient for the average user (younger internet users especially) who only have to go to one or two places with apps that allow them to use their phone to format in a readable/engageable manner for them.

    I would posit that the internet forum isn't dying exactly so much as it has morphed into things like the above mentioned megaforums. Those megaforums have their own trials and tribulations but they are popular for multiple reasons.

    Ease of use - One tap to open an app you're already signed into on a phone or tablet from anywhere.

    Ease of discoverability - An algorithm that helps you to find things to engage with. An algorithm that promotes content that lots of other people engage with so that new users who don't have preferences known yet can still find things they like.

    Ease of navigation and search - I'm still using udm14.com to search for things on lemmy because if I don't save them the search function on the site isn't good and doesn't always provide me with results at all. Reddit's search is pretty bad but it's still more usable than lemmy's in a lot of ways.

    Easy to sign up - I think this speaks for itself. Lemmy has a higher bar to clear for vetting an instance and even understanding the difference between instances than any other corpo platform, and while this has gotten easier over time, it will never be as simple as, go to this website and fill out the form to make an account.

    I say all that to say that 1. we got here by ignoring the warnings for years and years. 2. We can compete but are unlikely to be the number one choice of the general internet masses for a lot of reasons. 3. Smaller forums will continue to die and get swallowed up by megaforum websites or platforms like reddit or lemmy because of the benefit of convenience on the user side and I believe we have probably reached the point of no return in that respect.

    As to what we do about it? We cultivate ours to be better, add features and users in an organic way that would make our platform the preferred one. But we can't really focus on growth alone and part of the reason for that has to do with the user subset who don't want to become like reddit or digg etc. Additionally, I think we might be able to win over the artists and creators if we added something to prevent AI from scraping their works.

    The main thing for users who are already here might just be better decorum. Lemmy users are often mean (myself included in that statement) to people who we view as stupid or ill-informed and we often treat them like trolls. We also assume a certain amount of known information about any given situation and act as if everyone should know, which is problematic.

    One last thing I'd like to point out. People on the internet more and more engage with content they don't have to read. I think that's an important part of why forums are dying. Illiteracy is rising. It's hard to have a conversation in written or typed forums when you don't have that skillset. Discord allows people to engage via voice in ways lemmy just does not (this is not advocacy for discord because it's not a forum and treating it as one is problematic on just about every level).

  • Brian Eno: “The biggest problem about AI is not intrinsic to AI. It’s to do with the fact that it’s owned by the same few people”

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  • Tell that to the man who was accused by Gen AI of having murdered his children.

  • Attorney General Bonta Urgently Issues Consumer Alert for 23andMe Customers

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  • I don't think giving them more information to use against you. Is a good thing. Think about it this way, even if the police have you on camera in an area where a crime is committed, that doesn't mean you can't still plead the fifth and request a lawyer (assuming you're in the US). You aren't required to further their investigation.

  • Attorney General Bonta Urgently Issues Consumer Alert for 23andMe Customers

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  • Several years back now, one of my colleagues was very much into the genealogy thing. She had major problems I think with needing to find herself or where she fit in or whatever. She was very much pushing me to try one of the DNA genealogy testing services and I had to be very firm about not wanting to participate in it.

    This is why. My sense of self has never been in question and I don't need to attribute who or what I am to some people I've never met or culture I haven't participated in or been a part of. I have been considered "other" my whole life by in groups who only wanted me to identify with the bits and pieces of my culture or personality that they approved of and I pretty much had to get over that at a young age in order to not feel inadequate or content with myself.

    As a result these always seemed like services that over promise and under deliver and they ask for way more privileged information than I am comfortable with giving away to anyone (I was skeptical when my doctor wanted me to participate in cancer screening via DNA testing because the only angle I could see for wanting it that would be profitable to an insurance firm was to deny me coverage later). Every time something hits the media about a leak or mismanagement of customer data, I am vindicated in my belief that it's not worth the price of admission.

  • Tesla recalls all Cybertrucks ever made over trim falling off | Electrek

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  • Every dealer pretty much uses third party body shops. But this doesn't require a body shop. It'll more than likely be performed by a Tesla automotive technician at a Tesla service center when parts become available.

    Ford has a very similar recall on their Ford Explorers. There is a trim piece on the A-pillar exterior that becomes detached and can fly off. But there's is plastic because they aren't complete morons. Either way, they're talking about better glue and one piece of attachment hardware. That's well within the capabilities of an automotive technician.

  • Tesla recalls all Cybertrucks ever made over trim falling off | Electrek

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  • Tesla is different. They don't have franchises. They haven't granted them anywhere. They run what's called a Direct to Consumer Business Model. That means they own and operate their own service centers and Galleries/Showrooms. That means it's just Tesla Motors operating everything and carrying the insurance etc.

  • Tesla recalls all Cybertrucks ever made over trim falling off | Electrek

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  • I have questions about what auto shops you think are doing recalls because it's only Tesla's service centers are going to be legally allowed to perform the recall (that's how it works for every automaker). So it's the same place they're already going to protest (in most cases) and the same insurance. Regardless, the recall isn't an "insurance thing per se" because Tesla the company is the insurance in this case. They will be footing to bill for any and all repairs done under recall. And more than likely the recalled vehicles won't be sitting around the shop or lot waiting for parts because it's up to consumers who will absolutely take their vehicle and leave if parts aren't in stock.

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    Elon Musk’s Dad Says He Wasn’t Political as a Kid, Was Friends With His Black Servants

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  • I thought we had a whole community just for Musk BS. This isn't tech.

  • People Are Using AI to Create Influencers With Down Syndrome Who Sell Nudes

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  • Because a lot of the reason that child sexual abuse is so horrific and wrong has to do with their developmental age and understanding of what's happening and ability to give consent. To understand and make an informed decision about what it even means to give consent. And a potentially developmentally challenged adult may not be able to do that. Nobody is overlooking the adult part. They are saying that adult in form doesn't equal able to act as and make decisions as an adult. You are the one ignoring this to further your argument.

  • The Legend Is Spreading

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  • I read that Dan Dan Daaaaaan as the anime not the dramatic music at first and that was kind of hilarious. I probably need sleep.

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    CharGPT Proves God Exists

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  • Is CHAT GPT God in the room with us right now?

  • Opossum in the Underworld #4

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  • I love it.

  • Used Tesla prices tumble as embarrassed owners look to sell

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  • In 2012 a Ford Focus full Electric was almost $40,000 MSRP with a probable markup at just about any dealer in the country. The only thing that makes that kind of investment affordable is the tax break. The Tesla model 3 (in comparison) was around $25,000 MSRP in 2019. With a 3 year auto loan at 5-6% interest that cost is $31,760.50. The electric focus would have cost $49,305.44 for the same loan term and interest rate.

    And they can't even sell these vehicles for bluebook value (assuming that the vehicle is paid off and they aren't upside down on the loan for say a loan term of 5 or 7 years).

    A Mach e? Almost $39,000 MSRP. Chevy Bolt? $27,500 MSRP. Hyundai Ioniq? Almost $40,000 MSRP. Nissan Leaf is just over $29,000.

    There aren't that many cars that are good financial decisions to be made in a market with so few options where range and ability to charge are majorly important to what you buy.

    Toyota's Mirai isn't even top rated and it starts at $52,000. So yes. Huge financial loss, and Tesla's aren't that expensive when compared to other brands (the cybercuck not included).

  • Dodge Chargers Now Have Pop-Up Ads at Every Stoplight

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  • Weren't they going to discontinue both the charger and challenger?

  • We all deserve better than this

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  • That's true but it's a race to the top. Resellers selling cards at a price that is twice or more the MSRP. Meaning that these companies have to jump through hoops not to sell to them or raise prices to make it less likely they'll buy them if they can't profit. And everybody else loses.

  • We all deserve better than this

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  • Most of my hatred for it (if you can call it that) has to do with putting AI in everything. Blockchain makes sense in certain instances. I wouldn't say for money, but for information tracking etc. AI LLM's make sense in certain instances. But it's everywhere and it's taking the place of tech I use daily but doing a worse job overall by a wide enough margin that I just can't stand it. And I don't understand why companies want to put it in everything except that they don't want to be the only ones not shilling it.

    There are always people who come out of the woodwork to claim it works for them but half of them don't even have a good understanding of how or why it works for them, and a lot of them are just lazy. I look at AI as a bandaid type tech in most of its applications right now and I'm tired of fighting to opt out of it.

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    Permanently Deleted

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  • Yeah. It's grift. They want a privatized solution.

  • TIL: photon is an awesome opinionated web client for Lemmy to help users discover the fediverse.

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  • What does "opinionated" mean in this context?

  • Actually, it’s about Ethics in Transgenderism

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  • This is a lot of the problem that I see with social media as a whole. Doesn't matter if it's the fediverse or regular corporate social media platforms. The problem is users in echo chambers spouting a lot of things that don't ever take into account the whole situation.

    The "anyone who naysays anything I believe or say" crowd is alive and well on both sides of the political aisle and they use the same tactics.

    -Anyone who has a logical problem with something I'm trying to do is a Nazi or a sealion.

    -Anyone "who didn't vote because they have a moral reason to abstain to show the political party that it's not good enough to just not be the other guy anymore" is a Trump supporter or a vote for Trump.

    • Anyone who brings up the fact that there are nearing 1 million homeless people in America in 2025 and only 1 in 10 homeless people actually have the opportunity to vote - is using whataboutism arguments.

    What I'm saying is, it's not just the transgender community seeing these problems and the problem is people on social media as a whole existing only in echo chambers.

    The thing is, echo chambers are natural but they're also divisive. The people that exist in them peer pressure each other and subvert every narrative, pitting people who are nominally on the same side against one another because they don't happen to agree on one or two issues, or don't agree on how to effect real change. And anyone who admits that there are problems that need to be fixed before we can move forward, or education that needs to happen in order for everybody to get on the same page and work towards a common goal gets alienated or excommunicated.

    Believe it or not, this happens in every single community. And while I think it's good that baseless reports were ignored in this instance, I don't know that 1. This is happening everywhere, and 2. Every report isn't baseless just because you happen to be on the side of the person who the reports are against.

    The fact that baseless reports were not acknowledged or verified in the other instance is exactly the problem. Because the problem is people. So on the one hand, you have a homeless person being harassed for their politics because their real life experience negates the feeling some people in the platform have and those people reported her for it. And on the other hand you have a deranged individual actively weaponizing the report button in order to harass someone with intent and their reports are at best being phoned in by admins and mods who cannot keep up with the influx, and at worst are being viewed partially rather than impartially and allowed to victimize the user that was targeted, which was the intent.

    The cognitive dissonance is happening on both sides of the aisle, and even though the way it manifests is absolutely different in some ways, the fact is, it is happening and it's a detriment to any movement that organizes or attempts to organize.

  • The New York City Subway Is Using Google Pixels to Listen for Track Defects

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  • It's not just about the mics. The location data, microphone data, and accelerometer/vibration data are also important and the phones are likely cheaper than other specialized equipment, which may have factored into it. Especially if they bought them a generation or so behind.