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Chinese Journalist Banned From Flying, Buying Property Due To 'Social Credit Score' (cbslocal.com)

schwit1 shares a report from CBS Local: China is rolling out a high-tech plan to give all of its 1.4 billion citizens a personal score, based on how they behave. But there are consequences if a score gets too low, and for some that's cause for concern. When Liu Hu recently tried to book a flight, he was told he was banned from flying because he was on the list of untrustworthy people. Liu is a journalist who was ordered by a court to apologize for a series of tweets he wrote and was then told his apology was insincere. "I can't buy property. My child can't go to a private school," he said. "You feel you're being controlled by the list all the time." And the list is now getting longer as every Chinese citizen is being assigned a social credit score -- a fluctuating rating based on a range of behaviors. It's believed that community service and buying Chinese-made products can raise your score. Fraud, tax evasion and smoking in non-smoking areas can drop it.

404 comments

  1. China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wow, who knew!

    1. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The thought police in your country is in intent and methods the same as the Chinese oppression, yeah.

    2. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Becoming quite restrictive this country though 1.4 Billions is enough people to start an uprising to bring this country up to 1st world standards

    3. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, we're all being banned from flying because we smoke in non-designated areas a lot. The west is so horrible. Chyna numba won!

    4. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, we shouldn't improve our own countries (a fucking thought police, man! Hitler / GDR shit right there! lynchmobs of young students, like Cultural Revolution!) because of something or other. China is worse. Russia is worse. North Korea is also worse. But also, West of 2018 is worse than West of 2008.

    5. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keep your sexual fantasies to yourself. Oh, and your mom said she's ready for you.

    6. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Memnos · · Score: 1

      Our next lesson will cover why conjecture does not equate to proof. Please attend.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    7. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Memnos · · Score: 1

      And my comment apparently was attached to the wrong parent.. in which case, disregard.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    8. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck are you talking about?

    9. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not really. USA had 200,000 troops in the the Iraq war and a financial collapse in 2008.

    10. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      T-t-trump will be impeached any week now, r-right guys?

    11. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other, other news, haters gonna hate, liars gonna lie, and President Trump (still stings, donâ(TM)t it) is gonna be President for a long time.

    12. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well ... are people who non-compliant religious or cultural beliefs allowed to succeed in universities? I'd argue that the evidence suggests that the same effect is being pushed hard in major universities.

    13. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      haters gonna hate, liars gonna lie, and President Trump

      Haters, liars, and Trump. Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.

    14. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      disregard that, I suck cocks

    15. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US, despite having a right-wing president, is going left to a ridiculous degree

      Except it isn't. Look at the numbers. Half the country stayed home in '16. Of the rough quarter that went to Clinton, the vast majority aren't screeching hambeasts with multicolored hair.

      SJWs are a very squeaky minority wheel in the US.

      But now, said hambeasts are now melting the fuck down over Kanye West rocking a signed "Make America Great Again" hat, with a bonus helping of, "What the fuck is wrong with you deranged assholes?" from Kim Freaking Kardashian. It's easy to write off celebrity pop shit if you're a big fucking Slashdot nerd, but this is huge. Like it or not, those two wield immense popular influence.

      The tide is turning, and the end of the absurd cultural power SJWs have had is nigh.

    16. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Everyone wants an "ordered" society. Order is very important. Everyone who thinks differently is a criminal.

      In every society, there are unseen mandarins who seek to impose order. Order is *very* important. It isn't a question of whose order it is. Everyone benefits, after all. Maybe some more than others. But everyone agrees that we must have order. So hush now, and keep shovelling shit.

    17. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SJWs are legion and unstoppable. Mostly because when anyone says, "Hey, maybe don't be such an asshole to black people," there are a thousand assholes that pop up to let them know they are SJWs.

      Every time you do that, our numbers grow, and our meetings get better doughnuts.

    18. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First World standards? What does that even mean? You mean like the US where the rich few have it good and everyone else is pretty much fucked?

    19. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm a YUGE fan of Trump. I'm certain that some parts of the internet regard me as a "Russian bot" for my online campaigning during the election... (For which I received not a single cent and nor would I want to).

      That said, I think you're way off base. The battle is so far from over that to quote Tumblr, "I can't even".

      The left is well known for turning on its own. Kanye and Kim Kardashian will be no exception to this, and I sincerely believe that what we're witnessing now is not even close to the tide turning, but rather a momentary ebb in the flow, for which there will be a severe backlash once the momentum gets going again. If, of course, it can even be argued that the momentum has actually stopped. Gay marriage hasn't been repealed, the leftists still control the vast majority of academic institutions, "sanctuary cities" continue to protect those who enter the country illegally, the wall is not yet built, the swamp is not yet drained, and the mass media machine continues to attack Trump relentlessly, while criminal elements within the government continue to stymie as much as possible the progress that is being made towards sanity.

      Sadly, the truth is that the vast majority of Republicans are essentially no better than the Democrats; bought and controlled just as easily by George Soros, and although I'm about 70% certain of Trump's re-election, I don't see any future for the Republican party after Trump.

      Assuming that Trump is re-elected and serves a full 2nd term, there is still an immense amount of work to be done, and I fear it's the Republicans themselves that will prevent it. Trump's progress so far can largely be attributed to Obama's attempts to side-step congress by issuing executive orders, which Trump can simply sign away and replace with his own... But this is only the beginning. The road to lasting change is getting these executive orders turned into real legislation that's not so easily signed away, but that requires the cooperation of congress and I just don't see it happening.

      I think the SJW's will be back with a vengeance in a few short years - not that they've really gone away in the first place, but when they have the political backing of the government again, we are in for it.

    20. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or at least formalize it so we can properly game it.

    21. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by gnick · · Score: 1

      ...everyone else is pretty much fucked?

      The US has a long way to go, but there are a great number of people in this world that would literally kill to be one of the American "poor".

      The rich few have it good and everyone else is pretty much fed. It would be nice to see them sheltered and treated medically too, but there are worse places to be.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    22. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by butchersong · · Score: 1

      If you think the average person or even a poor person in the US has a low standard of living compared to the a random person in China... you really need to do an honest review of the model you use to understand the world.

    23. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      but there are worse places to be.
      Sure, Somalia, Syria, Sudan ...
      Must be the letter S.

      Most 'hell places' are hell because of unstable government, corrupt police and high crime/high organized crime, not because of poverty. And it might be new to you: those places are that way because the US made them that way. So yes: the people there really are eager to come to the US and kill a bit. But not for the reasons you think.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    24. Re:China has "progressive" thought-police too? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The characteristic of thought police is that they have legal authority. The closest example I can think of in the US is the no-fly list. (Yes, there's plenty of worse injustices. No, they aren't caused by thought police.) People who just complain loudly about what you say and call you names and threaten you because they disagree with you aren't thought police.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    25. Re: China has "progressive" thought-police too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US has committed many sins against many people, but you can't blame them for the entire planet's poverty. Many people would love to go there.

  2. Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by wiretrip · · Score: 5, Informative

    ..and thought 'That's a good idea!'.... Scary..

    1. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by NettiWelho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Perplexing system.. Tweeting gets you grounded and homeless.. Killing +100 million people makes you the leader..

    2. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Being anti-social is a right. Hate speech is protected speech. Now stop being a little bitch.

    3. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      ..and thought 'That's a good idea!'.... Scary..

      I believe the Chinese system predates the black mirror episode though, it was probably inspired by it.

    4. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Carewolf · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It IS a good idea, I've been advocating it for ages.

      I wouldn't use it to ban you from flying though. I'd only use it to affect your right to vote, to claim social benefits (government money), etc.

      You want anything back from society? Stop being antisocial!

      Lose your right to vote for disagreeing with the government???

      Yeah.. No!!!

    5. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Being anti-social is a right. Hate speech is protected speech.

      Being anti-social is your right, yes.

      Just don't expect society to respond when you happen to need something back from it.

      Now stop being a little bitch.

      Touche.

      --
      No sig today...
    6. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by dromgodis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It IS a good idea, I've been advocating it for ages.

      I wouldn't use it to ban you from flying though.

      *You* wouldn't use it at all. You would be used by it, at the whims of whoever would control it.

    7. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As mentioned above, being antisocial is a pretty vague term and possibly treads on protected speech if you're in a country that protects speech.

      However, I do think this would be a good idea if applied to criminal behaviour. Take shitty drivers off the road for driving like dicks, forbid fraudsters and tax evaders from holding business licences and being bondable, that sort of thing. Relevant punishments for relevant crimes. This would reduce the strain on the prison system if we just limit the freedoms of those who abused their freedoms, rather than locking them up. Only lock up violent psychopaths should be locked up, let the rest of society's fuck-ups walk around less-than-free with their heads hung low.

    8. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, fascism has had a bit of a slump. Let's bring it back.

    9. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      First off, the points on your license are only lost because of traffic offenses. You don't lose points for tweeting doubleplusungood opinions or shoplifting. And in some countries you only lose points for serious and dangerous traffic violations, not for doing 90 in an 80 zone. Meaning that a string of little offenses does not escalate into seriousy heavy punishment when some arbitrary threshold is crossed
      Second, the points (and accompanying fine) are issued administratively, but in most (or all?) countries in Europe you do have the right to go to court if you think there has been a mistake.
      Thirdly, if you lose your points you are banned from driving, not from flying or from buying property.

      All this honours the idea that the punishment should fit the crime. The Chinese system on the other hand lets a number of small transgressions turn into a life ruining event. And since it bans you from a large number of activitites that are completely unrelated to each other or to the crime, this smells of cruel and unusual punishment and double jeopardy.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    10. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      Found the wumao.

    11. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called due process. You get charged with a crime then a judge or jury of your peers decides if you are guilty or not. And then your sentence imposes monetary fines or prison or both.

      If it is not worth the time of due process, then it is not an offense worthy of punishment.

    12. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 0

      Lose your right to vote for disagreeing with the government???

      Yeah.. No!!!

      Nope.

      You lose your right to vote for, harassing other people, breaking other people's stuff, littering, speeding, playing loud music at 2am, stealing, "buying" a huge TV on Superbowl weekend then taking to back to the store on Monday...

      ie. All the stuff that would rate you as an "asshole".

      Free speech would be maintained in it's current form:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      No sig today...
    13. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Interesting

      As mentioned above, being antisocial is a pretty vague term and possibly treads on protected speech if you're in a country that protects speech.

      The UK has antisocial behavior laws, eg. They can forbid you from doing anything which has caused nuisance to others in the past, eg. ban you from going down a certain street from going into the town center.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      However, I do think this would be a good idea if applied to criminal behaviour. Take shitty drivers off the road for driving like dicks, forbid fraudsters and tax evaders from holding business licences and being bondable, that sort of thing. Relevant punishments for relevant crimes.

      They don't already do that where you live? Weird.

      I'd take it a step further. Anything you do in public that requires somebody else to go around cleaning up after you? Points off your social score. Any sort of violence or intimidation of other people? Points off your score. Any behavior that puts other people at risk? Points off your score. etc., etc.

      Nobody's asking you to be an angel, be a miserable git if you want, just don't be a drain on society. Society has enough problems without people like you causing extra expense and cleanups.

      You can't stop yourself from being an asshole? Fine, but don't ask for anything in return. Starting with the right to vote.

      This would reduce the strain on the prison system if we just limit the freedoms of those who abused their freedoms, rather than locking them up. Only lock up violent psychopaths should be locked up, let the rest of society's fuck-ups walk around less-than-free with their heads hung low.

      Agree 100% there. The only people who should be in prison are those who cause physical harm to others (or other people's property).

      --
      No sig today...
    14. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lose your right to vote for disagreeing with the government???

      Yeah.. No!!!

      Nope.

      You lose your right to vote for, harassing other people, breaking other people's stuff, littering, speeding, playing loud music at 2am, stealing, "buying" a huge TV on Superbowl weekend then taking to back to the store on Monday...

      LOL. Yeah, riiiight. Here's what will happen: of course you'll get minus points for hate speech, and of course disagreeing with Dear Leader is hateful speech, isn't it, comrade? Isn't it? You want to get negative points too, comrade? So let me ask again, isn't it?

      Three guesses what kind of tweets the guy from TFA got shafted over.

    15. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ie. All the stuff that would rate you as an "asshole".

      All the stuff that would rate you as an 'asshole' today. Unfortunately, once such a system is in place it becomes very easy to use it to disenfranchise people who disagree with either the current leaders or the whoever is currently best at propaganda. How do you think the racial equality movement in the US in the '60s would have done if anyone involved in antisocial actions had lost the right to vote?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    16. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That sounds well and good until you realize that being "anti-social" won't stop society from taking from the people it deems anti-social. I think you'll also find that anti-social is quite open to interpretation and that the worst people will gladly shape it into some awful tyranny. Imagine what the white nationalists might deem as anti-social, and hopefully that gives you enough pause to rethink your idea.

    17. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by LordKronos · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It could possibly be a good idea in theory, but only in theory. Every one of those things you listed has edge cases and/or difference of opinion. Who decides what harassment is? At 2 am even the tiniest sound can wake people who are light sleepers. I'm not into sports at all, but what if I buy a TV on superbowl weekend because of the sales but discover it has some serious usability bugs that could never be observed in a store display?

      But most important of all I think is the opportunity for abuse. Have a Hillary (or Trump) sticker on your car? Look at that, your tail light is out. Hey, you just did 1mph over the limit. Your bumper went an inch over the stop line at the red light. But swap one sticker for the other and you could see the cops looking the other way for a 10mph-over infraction. You already have police displaying that sort of discriminatory discretion, but when even more is on the line...the opportunity to remove your political opponents from the voting pool...you can expect it to be much worse.

    18. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like many other systems, it looks fine only in theory,and thats how the system would be sold to the masses.

      Of course, then the government would only pursue petty offenses by those they don't like, so the end result would be the same. The easier to bust anybody, the better.

    19. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Would you be happy if there was a specific clause that allowed you to say things about the government but not about other people?

      You know, a bit like the USA's "Free Speech" laws? Guess what? They already forbid you from saying anything you want to.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      No sig today...
    20. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by goose-incarnated · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It IS a good idea, I've been advocating it for ages.

      Yeah, well your advocacy is deemed antisocial, so your score just went off a cliff. No school for your kids!!!

      The trouble with advocating authoritarianism the way you do is that it will *always* be used against you. How fast would we have had legalised gay marriages if we were keeping an antisocial scorecard? How long would it have taken to strike-down Jim Crow laws if everyone was kept in check via a non-court scorecard?

      Besides, you want these things implemented? Sure. How about I get your score into negative territory by complaining that your music was loud at 2am, or that you were smoking in a no-smoking area, or that you I saw you littering? With no due process how are you going to defend yourself when it's my word against your word?

      Take it to court? Sorry. Your advocacy was for bypassing the courts when issuing penalties.

      See, the thing is you think your shit don't stink, so these penalties would never apply to you, but the thing your advocating for (bypassing due process) can be used against you by anyone, not just those in power.

      You go ahead and get this implemented, but don't cry foul when you get penalised for blaring music at 2am even though you did no such thing. When you bypass due process, you bypass it for everyone, including yourself.

      --
      I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
    21. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It is a tool that can be abused for corruption. Score too low? Pay off the right people or threaten them to change your score.

    22. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Knightman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem with this solution is that you get a society that stagnates and ossifies. It's a simple solution for a complex problem that causes more problems in the end.

      Anyone fighting for social change would be labeled as antisocial and suddenly their rights are heavily circumscribed.

      Those who think this is a good idea is the same type of people who want to treat the symptoms rather than the cause.

      --
      --- Reality doesn't care about your opinions, it happens anyway and if you are in the way you'll get squished.
    23. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by mjwx · · Score: 1, Interesting

      ..and thought 'That's a good idea!'.... Scary..

      With the Chinese, at least the government is the doing the scoring, so you can understand the nature of the beast, with the US, you're really throwing yourself on the court of public opinion and hoping it isn't spun by Fox News.

      And providing your social media accounts is now mandatory to enter the US.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    24. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would you be happy if there was a specific clause that allowed you to say things about the government but not about other people?

      You know, a bit like the USA's "Free Speech" laws? Guess what? They already forbid you from saying anything you want to.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      No. Such a clause will last about 7 seconds from the moment such a system is established, that's first. And how you're going to protest it's removal now that protesting itself has become illegal? That's 50 points minus for you, comrade.

      Second, what you propose is basically an extrajudicial, administrative system of dealing out punishment for crimes. This *IS* going to get abused, PERIOD. We have a legal system, made precisely for that purpose, AND with all the time-tested checks and balances for a reason. Letting some bureaucrat on the payroll of (and thus, under direct influence from) politicians have the ability to basically eject someone from society without due process is every tyrant's wet dream. They don't have to call it hate speech, if they decide you've pissed them off they can clamp you down for "loitering with malicious intent" every time you wait for a bus at a bus stop, violating one of the ten billion weird native tribal laws that noone has heard of, or some other made up stuff. And if you do allow due process then we already have such a system in place, it's called "law enforcement and courts".

    25. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
      Because I was not a Socialist.

      Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
      Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

      Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
      Because I was not a Jew.

      Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

      --MARTIN NIEMÖLLER

    26. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Who decides what harassment is? At 2 am even the tiniest sound can wake people who are light sleepers.

      Playing loud music at 2am is hardly ever social behavior (and everybody knows that).

      what if I buy a TV on superbowl weekend because of the sales but discover it has some serious usability bugs that could never be observed in a store display?

      That was only an example to make you stop and think. Obviously it's hard to prove somebody's intentions.

      OTOH we all know that there's a certain segment of the population who regularly does that sort of thing and puts up the price of TVs for everybody else.

      I have a suspicion their overall society score will be less than perfect. Maybe the right to "full refund, no questions asked" could also be revoked when your score drops below a certain level. Once you reach that level there's a requirement to show the bugs, exchange for a different model, pay a restocking fee, whatever...

      After all: That sort of thing is a a privilege of society, isn't it?

      Remember that everybody starts with a full score. You don't have to work to earn any privileges. They're only taken away after you're an asshole towards the rest of us.

      --
      No sig today...
    27. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Bongo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, there’s the problem of fallibility, so punishment should err on the side of weak punishment because what if the system made the wrong judgment? and there is the problem of downward spirals, where a few small events are exacerbated.

      I don’t mind that they want meticulous discipline - but you don’t get that by ruining people in unfair and cruel ways. You get... you get the opposite. The Chinese system is shooting itself in the foot, as people will conclude that they already live in chaos, not order.

    28. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Similar to IRS abuses. Depending who is in power, depends on which rich and powerful not-in-power gets audited.

    29. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by LocalH · · Score: 1

      So Antifa gets to lose their right to vote? Maybe I can get behind this...

      --
      FC Closer
    30. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kiliing 100 million people takes a lot of followers to pull that off. Troll tweeting is a singular act.

    31. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We have laws that the punishment must fit the crime (and you admit to that, "relevant punishments for relevant crimes". Being a tax evader should deny you access to the fruits of taxation: Government services. I don't see what being able to sell someone something has anything at all to do with tax evasion.

      Of course, what most who dislike people who believe taxation is theft refuse to admit is they're scared that there really are a large number of people who would immediately stop paying taxes if the penalty did fit the "crime", because there's a large number of people who realize that they pay more in taxation than the system gives them in value. The ones who aren't happy with this punishment are typically what the rest of us call "leeches".

    32. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Memnos · · Score: 2

      I think you have it there. We should refrain from false equivalences, and see China for what it is, or might be becoming again. Control run amok.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    33. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      (...)

      Remember that everybody starts with a full score. You don't have to work to earn any privileges. They're only taken away after you're an asshole towards the rest of us.

      No. They're "only" taken away once some unaccountable bureaucrat on politician's payroll decides without due process that in his opinion you have been an asshole. Very VERY different thing from actually being an asshole.

    34. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Memnos · · Score: 1

      Wow, someone actually said something true on the internet. I'll have to jot this down.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    35. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ah, do you mean like making smoking/possession of marijuana a criminal offense and then using that as a basis to disenfranchise people from voting, employment, welfare, etc.? No free country would ever do something like that, would it?

    36. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 0

      By that logic there shouldn't be any laws at all.

      Imagine if we asked the Mafia what should/shouldn't be legal?

      --
      No sig today...
    37. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Never seen Black Mirror but this plan has been in the works (in the US, too) for over a decade.

    38. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by BronsCon · · Score: 1

      Now stop being a little bitch.

      And when you have a history of antisocial behavior, as is your right, and suddenly want or need something back from society, that's precisely what you can expect the lot of us to respond with, as well.

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    39. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by mrbester · · Score: 1

      "When you kill one person, it is a tragedy. When you kill millions, it is a statistic". Misattributed to Uncle Joe

      --
      "Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
    40. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This has been the case with humans since early recorded history, why would things be different with different technology?

    41. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Being anti-social is a right. Hate speech is protected speech.

      Being anti-social is your right, yes.

      Just don't expect society to respond when you happen to need something back from it.

      Now stop being a little bitch.

      Touche.

      Society is withholding my taxes without asking if I like it. So I DO expect something back unconditionally as well.

    42. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I do think this would be a good idea if applied to criminal behavior.

      Remove the right of people who support legalization of marijuana to vote. I could get behind this. Do they still have the death penalty for possession there?

    43. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even worse, just hang around any college campus and imagine the most sensitive and easily offended of those defining what you are allowed to say and think.

    44. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by merlinokos · · Score: 4, Informative

      And when you kill a man, you're a murderer
      Kill many, and you're a conqueror
      Kill them all, oh you're a god

      -Megadeth, Captive Honour

    45. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Playing loud music at 2am is hardly ever social behavior (and everybody knows that).

      What about playing loud music at 2PM when you know your neighbor works the graveyard shift or they have a newborn?

    46. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by DigiShaman · · Score: 2

      Killing +100 million people makes you the leader..

      Why of course, YES! It's an axiomatic truism in that "The world is governed by the aggressive use of force"

      It's not a statement of how it should be, rather, a perspective for how it is.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    47. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      BINGO! Exactly!

      Make no mistake about it, the "social credit" score isnt' about ran numbers, it's where you ladder-rank among other citizens. And what do you to to climb that rank for "benefits"

      1, Don't do crime
      2. "Volunteer" to do free labor for the state (communism)
      3. Bribe your way to the top.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    48. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It IS a good idea, I've been advocating it for ages.

      I wouldn't use it to ban you from flying though. I'd only use it to affect your right to vote, to claim social benefits (government money), etc.

      You want anything back from society? Stop being antisocial!

      It's always nice to see the mask fall off the leftist lunatic.

    49. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      So, you are in favor of the US equivalent of a Social Justice Score...?

      *shudder*

      I mean, we're getting close to that already voluntarily, I"d be afraid for this country if is was actually mandated by law.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    50. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by DigitalJanitor · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the Archipelago... comrade.

    51. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      You get roads to travel on, cops to deter people who could hurt you, ambulances to carry your unconscoius body to an ER if you almost die, a working market and currency to exchange goods and services with, a global communications network on which to reach other people, etc.

    52. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck society.

      All progress is made by people who say that.

    53. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not authorized to change your score sir. No, I cannot put you in touch with the person who made that complaint. My supervisor? Sure, but I can assure you they cannot change your score either. Hello?

      Actually, this is not that unlike the credit bureaus in the US.

    54. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you fucking retarded?

      That was the worst false equivalence I've ever seen.

      "Hurrr you think my stupid fantasy law is bad, tharfor we should not have any laws ever and I can become a rapist! Durrrr"

    55. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Black people too! Sign me up!

    56. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This sounds incredibly racist... You realize not everyone is a white male with white male ideals, right?

    57. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by lpat2210 · · Score: 1

      Hopefully that journalist didn't make a scene at the airport and get himself on double damage.

    58. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, that is already a heavily controversial topic in the US and gets its own media coverage. More and more states are also changing their laws to make possession and use legal. Criminal statistics neither show an increase nor a decrease in drug related crime as far as I know. So there's no good argument against decriminalization either. Make it legal, tax it like alcohol or tobacco and don't waste millions on persecuting it. It really seems like a win-win. The EU will follow suit in due time.
      So yeah, there's an entirely different trend we're observing in the West there they're in the process of eliminating this particular kind of bullshit, while China is starting to introduce and enforce their kind of bullshit.

    59. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember that everybody starts with a full score. You don't have to work to earn any privileges. They're only taken away after you're an asshole towards the rest of us.

      Wow. You had better hope that never happens. It's pretty clear you are a major asshole.

    60. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by rogoshen1 · · Score: 2

      I'm not so sure; from the perspective of an ordinary Chinese (particularly those old enough to remember before the economic boom of the last 20-30 odd years) the party has greatly benefited their country. And when you're winning, you can get away with quite a lot.

      Besides from the outside looking in; when they think of the West, what do you suppose their opinion is? (Hint: they probably see us as far more chaotic and disorderly -- they might actually prefer the kind of control outlined in the article.)

    61. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0

      A better word for that is stable. China is *all about* stability. Chaos is what they fear, and rightly so. They had quite enough chaos in the last 150 years and Trump's tariffs are threatening even more. China has had a free ride on American prosperity for the last 20 years and it's about to go away.

      Since when does China have any kind of tradition of Western "rights"? They're alien concepts.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    62. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Ryanrule · · Score: 2

      whos gonna argue with the guy who killed 100 million, right?

    63. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What a fucking authoritarian leftist cunt you are.

    64. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You sound like a raging control freak. You know, like the kind of insane asshole who rages against small supposed infractions and lets it fester to the point he rents a truck and mows down bystanders just to show them who's boss. Maybe you should be prevented from driving any motor vehicles. Just to be safe.

    65. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

      You want the power to ban people from voting and getting benefits?

      You are exactly the person who does not get this ability. In fact, no one person gets this ability.

      Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    66. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yet those that kill their thousands
      With napalm in the street,
      They live a good respected life
      And sleep an easy sleep,
      And they'd never shoot an albatross,
      It isn't good to eat.
      Poor old sailor,
      Who shot the gentle bird.

      Captcha: expert

    67. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Memnos · · Score: 2

      It's possible that's exactly what was meant. Drug laws, and the drug war thingy, is an idea that is a non-starter. It doesn't work. And that holds true even forgetting about how benign pot typically is. It's not some evil force that corrupts our society and our kids, it's something to be judged in rational terms. The harm just ain't there for this little weed. Caution? Yes. Waiting until adulthood? Apparently yes to that too, physiologically. Big time harm? Nope. You'll statistically likely to be more overweight if you don't smoke marijuana. In a lot of other metrics, it just doesn't cause harm like many other things. Tobacco and alcohol. Fentanyl. Harm to others? Don't drive.

      And the very basic freedoms, those should be the very last things ever taken away. Probably not until you no longer have a pulse.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    68. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      We would all do it, and we do. The controversy is in how you grade people.

      Person A scores people based on their skin color. Person B on their mystical beliefs (or lack thereof). Person C on whether or they're convicted of any crimes from list #1 or three or more from list #2. Person D grades people on what they say is their favorite Star Trek episode and their favorite Kyuss album. Person E subscribes to all the previous people's grading service, multiplied by certain weights. And so on.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    69. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem with this solution is that you get a society that stagnates and ossifies. It's a simple solution for a complex problem that causes more problems in the end.

      Anyone fighting for social change would be labeled as antisocial and suddenly their rights are heavily circumscribed.

      Those who think this is a good idea is the same type of people who want to treat the symptoms rather than the cause.

      Well this solution is still in development. They just haven't reached "The Final Solution" yet.

    70. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You may not be aware that points on your driving license can be lost while you are not driving any motor vehicle at all?

      Yes, in some places while not driving, like jaywalking or drinking alcohol if under the age of 21, or riding a bicycle on the sidewalk can discount points on your driving license or even all of them.

      So, First off check the facts.

    71. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a white man, I bet if this shit was equally enforced, white men would be overrepresented in the dickwad list

    72. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First off, a *very* incomplete list. Point_system_(driving)

      Second, just a quick look reveals:

      New Jersey: [...]Other offenses that lead to automatic suspension of the motorist's license are the following:

              Failure to pay child support
              Failure to make a court-ordered appearance
              Drug-related charges.
              Drinking alcohol if under the age of 21

    73. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by barc0001 · · Score: 1

      > Those who think this is a good idea is the same type of people who want to treat the symptoms rather than the cause.

      Disagree. Those who think this is a good idea are the type of people who are threatened by change and want things to stay as they are, or even go back to the "good old days", whatever the hell those were, and believe tools like this are a path to accomplishing that stability and regression.

    74. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Perplexing system.. Tweeting gets you grounded and homeless.. Killing +100 million people makes you the leader..

      Why is that perplexing? What is a stronger show of power, voicing an opinion on a disposable ignorable platform, or slaughtering your enemies en-mass?

    75. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      You lose and gain points all administratively without ever the justice system involved.

      The justice system is always involved. Just because the evidence is stacked against people meaning they don't try to fight it doesn't mean there isn't a justice system.

      I mean I could have argued my case before a court to try and get my 3 points back from my last ticket, but really when I got a letter with the fine and de-merrit along with a link to where I could view a video of me running a red light I knew I ran, what would be the point? Just because I didn't go to court didn't mean there wasn't a justice system in place.

      And if you lose all your points you can't drive

      Well yes, not because you shouldn't but rather because you demonstrated you physically can't cope with the driving systems and its rules. Honestly I'm in favour of people who lose their license due to accumulation of demerit never getting their license back. You have to really have a sustained and long term interest in breaking the rules to get to that stage, and frankly shouldn't have a license.

    76. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by SlashGodet · · Score: 2

      Ah, do you mean like making smoking/possession of marijuana a criminal offense and then using that as a basis to disenfranchise people from voting, employment, welfare, etc.?

      ...And permanently seizing expensive possessions like vehicles and houses, without due legal process?

      Civil Forfeiture - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      18 April 2018 100 Sacramento Area Homes Seized -- https://www.reuters.com/articl...

    77. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Look, can we skip doing this to people and do it to companies. You start with a good score and as you do shitty (yet legal) things as a company (poorly worded click through contracts that are hard to understand, deceptive advertising, predatory behavior, even just bad customer service) your score lowers and eventually you can have your corporate license revoked. And if the behavior is bad enough (criminal, and planned) your corporate license (and limited liability) can be retroactively revoked, leaving owners and board member liable for company actions.

    78. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Which part of 'hardly ever' didn't you understand?

      --
      No sig today...
    79. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since when does China have any kind of tradition of Western "rights"?

      As early as 2500 years ago, when Confucianism became a thing.

      Gonna borrow wiki's description of human rights here, bold emphasis mine
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      "Human rights are moral principles or norms that describe certain standards of human behaviour"

      Confucianism was one of the first Chinese philosophy to describe standards of human behavior. Of course it's a different standard than the West's, but it was a standard.

      Whereas the Western standard is concerned about freedom, Confucianism (and I suppose many other Asian schools of thought) is concerned about honor or duty. Both are concerned with how people interact with each other so as to protect everyone's sacred cow (freedom or honor respectively)

    80. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Nonesuch · · Score: 1

      Maybe the right to "full refund, no questions asked" could also be revoked when your score drops below a certain level. Once you reach that level there's a requirement to show the bugs, exchange for a different model, pay a restocking fee, whatever...

      This already exists (and was covered by Slashdot earlier this year), in private agreements and some store's "Return Policies", not codified into the law. Google "The Retail Equation", a private scoring service used by Best Buy, Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, etc.

      To me, the scary part isn't scoring citizens with a secretive formula (that's also how the FICO and other credit/renter/etc scores work). The scary part is when the government is backing up the scoring and can remove what we think of as basic rights (travel, property ownership) when you fail to maintain a good score.

    81. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by butchersong · · Score: 1

      It's a shame you were modded down. There is nothing you've written here that anyone especially a Chinese person would content is factually untrue.

    82. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      You're mixing up the government and society. I have the right to have views people disagree with. (I also have lots of views that lots of people disagree with.) I have no right to ask those individual people to treat me as if I didn't have those views and talk about them (actually, I suppose I have the right, but people don't have any obligation to do what I want). I do have the right to vote or collect Social Security, no matter what sort of antisocial jerk I am. Now, if I start committing actual crimes, I'm going to lose some rights.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    83. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by david_thornley · · Score: 2

      Lunatic I can agree with, but there's nothing about this idea that's particularly leftist.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    84. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The point is obviously about how these social credits violate the basic legal principles we have here in the West related to rights and crimes. If China would legislate a traffic violation as punishable with a death sentence, the unreasonable punishment wouldn't fit the crime but there wouldn't be the same problem if the due and correct process would be followed.

    85. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      That isn't thought crime. There's no antisocial score that gets boosted by littering. It's horribly unjust and unproductive, but it's a crime based on actual things that are done, not opinions.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    86. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      So Antifa gets to lose their right to vote? Maybe I can get behind this...

      Ofcourse you would, fascists are always anti democracy.

    87. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you're saying that the only option is to let people be a drain to society or mass murder? I'm sorry but punishments for small infractions do not lead to mass murder.

    88. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Memnos · · Score: 1

      And Jeff Sessions will pay for that latter with his job. He's a raging racist voice from our past, and I wouldn't bet on much of a future for him.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    89. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

      You may have missed the dogwhistles. "You want anything back from society?" Right there. Leftist.

    90. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Required+Snark · · Score: 1

      BINGO! Exactly!

      Make no mistake about it, the "social credit" score isnt' about ran numbers, it's where you ladder-rank among other citizens. And what do you to to climb that rank for "benefits"

      1, Don't do crime

      2. "Volunteer" to do free labor for the state (communism)

      3. Bribe your way to the top.

      4. Be born rich

      --
      Why is Snark Required?
    91. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably same thing when powers that be in the south realized their apple cart was about to be flipped by abolition. A lot more bloodshed and ironic red-shirting.

    92. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it ironically disharmonizes the society. It'll lead to more stress and more envy and resentment. I'm not even sure what they were thinking, other than maybe "gotta try harder to nail jelly to that tree!".

    93. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Bongo · · Score: 1

      I'm not so sure; from the perspective of an ordinary Chinese (particularly those old enough to remember before the economic boom of the last 20-30 odd years) the party has greatly benefited their country. And when you're winning, you can get away with quite a lot.

      Besides from the outside looking in; when they think of the West, what do you suppose their opinion is? (Hint: they probably see us as far more chaotic and disorderly -- they might actually prefer the kind of control outlined in the article.)

      Yes, there's an argument that culture goes through stages, and what in the West we call "individual freedom" is only possible, it only emerges, once the society is reasonably safe and stable, and that stability was originally built by authoritarian systems. So people do welcome authoritarian control, if it brings stability. Now whether the Chinese - a very large civilisation, so who can generalise - are still in the authoritarian mode, or whether their sense of personal freedom has already grown past it, is the big question, as regards how they take this crap.

    94. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Everybody expects something back from society. Many people are vindictive when seeing someone get something back from society, most notably, currently, the right wing. The social score thing could be a product of either wing, regardless of the exact wording used by one person.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    95. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is there will always be someone more anti-social than someone else. There will always be someone else to punish, unless we are all exactly the same.

    96. Re: Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Socialism always fails. History proves it

    97. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds more like The Orville's "Majority Rule." Congratulations China, you've managed to live up to the standard of a Seth MacFarlane satire.

    98. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

      Everybody expects something back from society. Many people are vindictive when seeing someone get something back from society, most notably, currently, the right wing. The social score thing could be a product of either wing, regardless of the exact wording used by one person.

      And, another mask continues to fall......

    99. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      Now, if I start committing actual crimes, I'm going to lose some rights.

      The problem here is twofold. First, if an "actual crime" is whatever the government defines as a crime—regardless of whether we're talking about the whims of a dictator or a democratic legislature passing laws by popular acclaim—then as far as the law is concerned your legal "rights" are really nothing more than privileges which can be revoked at any time simply by declaring the exercise of the right a crime. Your rights should not be in jeopardy due to any action short of deliberately infringing on the rights of others. Second, it makes a difference which rights you stand to lose. Even when harm has been done, the punishment needs to be in proportion to the crime—no maiming someone for life in punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. Fines for theft, injury for assault, the death penalty for murder. Clemency is always an option, but anything more severe would be unjust. The right you lose is exactly the one you chose not to respect. This is basic estoppel: rights, being universal, either apply to everyone or to no one, and you can't simultaneously claim that a right does not exist (by infringing it) and that it does exist (for yourself).

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
  3. From the makers of the Great Firewall... by volodymyrbiryuk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Big Brother is raising his younger siblings right. Apologize or go to bed without dinner. What a great prospect for the future. It always starts with 'bad' people and before you know it you are labeled a terrorist for expressing your opinion.

    --
    sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
    1. Re:From the makers of the Great Firewall... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Let's get this right. Apologize in a way that other people think sincere, or go to bed without dinner. TFS said that the apology was not accepted. I don't know how you'd fake enough sincerity to avoid the consequences.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  4. Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! Lets abolish all these scores and be/become human!

    1. Re:Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      That is also something The Orville explored in the "Majority Rule" episode.

    2. Re:Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Considering this and things like it have been talked about way before that show was made it's less the Chinese looking at a fictional dystopia for ideas to implement and more just the writers of a fictional dystopia hearing about Chinese plans and adding it to their fictional dystopia.

      It's a horrifying idea none the less and only made even more horrifying by now having been implemented in the worst way possible in real life. Then again considering all the outrageous ways China has tried to control it's population over the decades in an effort to stop them from realizing the absurdity of their one party system this is probably business as usual from their perspective. If you can get thrown into some local Stasi equivalent's jail with nothing resembling a trial and coerced into confessing to all kinds of crazy things just for running a bookstore that sells books critical of the ruling party and system this may not even register for a lot people.

      --
      "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
    3. Re:Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wanna some MeowMoewBeenz??

    4. Re:Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by houghi · · Score: 3, Informative

      Considering this and things like it have been talked about way before that show was made

      One book I know of was written in 1948.
      And another one 6000 years ago where an all seeing being would punish you if you did something naughty. That was also the first reference to "Get of my lawn'"

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    5. Re:Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What this is, is newspeak. The idea is to make people (everywhere) think that Social Credit is a bad thing.

      It is muddying the waters of political and economic philosophy and it is motivated by capitalism. It is international propaganda with a common goal of profit and exploitation. It is not what you would expect, which is why it is perfect. Much like the fact that a Japanese multinational PR firm now controls Canada's national broadcaster, the CBC.

      This is not "Social Credit".

    6. Re:Welcome to the world predicted in Black Mirror! by DigitalJanitor · · Score: 1

      It's a horrifying idea none the less and only made even more horrifying by now having been implemented in the worst way possible in real life.

      You say that as if there could be some better way to implement it that would make it somewhat acceptable! Based on the rest of your comment, I don't thing this is what you meant but still...

  5. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are suckers. They block us from freely trading in China, look up what you have to do and what you have to conform to do business in China as a foreiger, but we allow them to do as they please here.

    We are so fucking stupid. Block the fucking dudes already.

    1. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not only that, it's the same with islam... We have two big enemies, communism (or what's left of it) and islam. And both cultures don't mix with ours. And still both are getting our money, without any conditions attached.... But if we open our mouths, we are shut down again immediately...

    2. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And still both are getting our money,

      A trillon+ US debt is owned by China and Saudi Arabia alone.

      So don't you think you got it backwards?

    3. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you are a fucking retard

    4. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Paying with money and paying with IOUs is basically the same thing, so no, it's not backwards.

    5. Re: Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Money is debt. We get all the stuff they send us and they get our money and IOUs for even more money later.

    6. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tell that to the banks.

    7. Re: Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So.... oil and a couple of planes?

    8. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Summary: those societies' credit scores are lower than ours, according to this one particular formula.

    9. Re:Wow by Cederic · · Score: 1

      The greatest thing Trump could do is declare all that debt null and void.

      It would collapse the Chinese economy, sure, and probably result in them invading neighbours. Would work out nicely for the US though - not least because they'd have a trillion+ to invest in the arms industries to help those neighbours.

    10. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The greatest thing Trump could do is declare all that debt null and void.

      It would collapse the Chinese economy, sure, and probably result in them invading neighbours. Would work out nicely for the US though - not least because they'd have a trillion+ to invest in the arms industries to help those neighbours.

      the dollar would become totally useless as a currency, nobody would accept dollars because the US would have explicitly told the world that dollars are worthless

    11. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure what China would do, but I can guarantee you that the rest of the world would dump any and all US debt, bankrupting the government and taking the US economy with it.

    12. Re:Wow by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      It would collapse the US economy. According to Wikipedia, 55% of the US national debt is held by us. It would also mean that we could no longer borrow money at reasonable rates.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  6. In the US they just put you in the no-fly list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    In the US they just put you in the no-fly list with no explanation and you are pretty much screwed.

    The chinese at least give you some feedback to "improve".

    1. Re:In the US they just put you in the no-fly list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's plenty wrong with the No Fly list, but yes, there's an appeals procedure, and the entire thing is subject to judicial review. It's also not intended as a punishment for anti-government behavior, even if some police forces have abused it for that purpose, whereas the Chinese system is 100% intended to punish dissent (among other activities.)

      If you love China so much, go the fuck there.

  7. Some Merit by JimSadler · · Score: 0

    Although it seems to over control the population it does have some merit. Imagine a world in which those that behave well have far more privilege than those that misbehave. This could start early in life with credit given for those who do well in their studies, take on extras such as school sports teams, school bands etc.. Further those that wish to come and do maintenance for the school a few hours a week could start to step ahead of those that do not. Rewards for doing the right thing might offer a better life for all in society. Even if you are in a very low scoring group the people that feed and take care of the sick and homeless it my well be by volunteers who are earning more points. Look at some of the current people in our government. Many of them are terrible and items like being only allowed to live in low class housing might be wonderful for society as every time they get caught doing wrong their lives decline. As an example Trump has a terrible record socially. his cheating and crimes are well known. Instead of being president he should be allowed only the most humble jobs and living conditions.

    1. Re:Some Merit by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Look at some of the current people in our government.

      The problem with your idea is that those are the people who would decide what your "social score" is. Do you really think that the people who covered up Teddy Kennedy leaving a woman to die would have counted any of his anti-social behavior against him? Or that the people who are angry about Donald Trump's alleged sexual harassment but were OK with Bill Clinton's alleged rapes would have evenly applied "social scores"?

      Basically, the concept only works if you have honest, trustworthy people to implement it, but if you have such people in positions of power, you don't need it.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    2. Re:Some Merit by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The thing about planning any far reaching system is that you need to consider what the damage that can be done if people with less-than-noble intentions take control of the system and use it to further their own goals. It's not just the danger conservatives imposing their ideas on how you're supposed to live your life and think taking over the system, there's also their opposite numbers on the extreme who are particularly keen on trying to prevent people from having opinions that differ from their orthodoxy. If implemented as something run by the government this system is particularly vulnerable to politicians coming in and changing what's rewarded and what's punished to fit their goals.

      If I had to come up with a name for this, it would be the "Monkey with a machine gun"-principle as I think that explains the idea itself pretty well.

      --
      "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
    3. Re:Some Merit by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      This is, in theory how "capitalism" and "the free market" work. They use these points for things called "money."

      If the justice system was fair, you wouldn't need some secondary system to deal with "cheating and crimes [that] are well known."

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    4. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Even if Ted diddo that, he simply wasn't emotionally equiped to deal with the problem and has to be forgiven. After all, he is a Kennedy and they are all high IQ geniuses. The people that did the cover-up are the guilty one by hiding the truth from us.

      See how easy it is to shift your social score to someone else?

      The other smart Kennedy fly a plane into the ground.

    5. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So many fascists on Slashdot. Society should be there for the good of the people, not the other way around. The idea of subsuming your behaviour to conform to the expectations of the lowest common denominator, of what the most unimaginitive prude deems acceptable is abhorrent. You seem to be under the mistaken belief that society and morality have any kind of universal relationship to one another. Both societal and moral expectations vary wildly from culture to culture, and from individual to individual. To take a modern western culture of a few centuries ago:

      What's that? You want to abolish slavery. Obviously not a good member of society. No house, travel or job for you.
      You want to allow women to vote? Disgusting. You can't eat here.
      You want to waste your time on some flying machine that people find off-putting? Not a good member of society, good luck working on that without a home.
      You aren't attending sports but spending all your time tinkering with worthless computers in your basement? Don't expect any support getting that going.

      Such a path leads to the death of culture, the death of freedom and the stagnation and ultimately the death of the society to which it is borne. It is only by doing things outside of the norm, that run contrary to the current worldview of society, to experiment at the edges, that we progress.

    6. Re:Some Merit by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "Teddy Kennedy leaving a woman to die ... Donald Trump's alleged sexual harassment... Bill Clinton's alleged rapes..."

      Why does this site have these throwaway politically charged comments modded up these days?

    7. Re:Some Merit by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem is in the definition of "misbehave". Because even the examples you give send shivers up my spine. And we didn't even touch the usual "praise dear leader and love The Party" bits that will almost certainly make it into the fold.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Useful idiots like you will die building the huts for the next wave of zeks.

    9. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First off, if people accept this, changing the baseline of the algorithm can totally screw up society.

      Everyone doesn't want to be the village idiot, but we need village idiots to experiment with. Conservatives stick to what works but that doesn't work forever; someone's got to do the pathfinding. Arguably our society is too forward-thinking.

      Also, the burden of proof has to be transparent.

      Finally, if a large group of people decided to do crazynesst, the algorithm needs to adjust, not shut society down.

    10. Re: Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes we get it. Democrats bad, Republicans doubleplusgood.

      This unthink certainly helped your social credit score comrade!

    11. Re: Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      OK, you donâ(TM)t like the high profile ones?

      What about the NJ Port Authority âoeEthicsâ Commissioner who spent 20 minutes yelling at a pair of NJ cops, trying to name and title drop, in an attempt to get her daughters friend off the hook for driving an unregistered vehicle?

      Most governments, and the US for sure included, are rife with little corruptions and âoecourtesiesâ for the various members.

      I do not want any of these people to be able to manipulate a âoesocial pointsâ system which is inevitably going to be gamed not only by them but by various parts of society.

      We already ruin lives with prison, a social point system would just push the lowest members to the bottom and raise the highest members. Much like money does today. If you have it you tend to get more of it, and if you do not have it you tend to find it harder to get.

    12. Re:Some Merit by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      Perhaps because this is a politically charged topic?

      And perhaps you missed the politically charged comments made in the post I responded to?

      As an example Trump has a terrible record socially. his cheating and crimes are well known.

      My politically charged comments were to show that Trump's political opponents had just as well-known, and possibly more serious, cheating and crimes.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    13. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jesus Fucking Christ, fascism doesn't work if it's implemented by honest, trustworthy people. It's still fascism!

    14. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, this is the very opposite of how the free market works. Nobody who wants to support the dude, no matter how unpopular his ideas and actions may be, can give him some money and allow him to fly and own property. WTF do they teach in school these days? This is outright fascism and people seem to think it's just a little bit weird, but might have some benefits.

    15. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Honest and trustworthy people are only a start. In a world of fake news, faked photos, and faked videos, and where hacking could easily tamper with data, plus being run by non-perfect humans, such a system is doomed to make serious mistakes. At least with an incorrect credit score I just can't get a credit card or buy a house. But with an incorrect social score, there's plenty of freedoms that could be taken away.

    16. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except most of what is called fake news is just real news that the current doesn't like.

    17. Re: Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Watch out! You are starting to sound remarkably close to advocating for White Privilege.

    18. Re: Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      My politically charged comments were to show that Trump's political opponents had just as well-known, and possibly more serious, cheating and crimes.

      Unfortunately, the right-wing's failure to recognize Trump's own serious crimes and malfeasances is evident, as well as how the Clinton's accusers were guilty of many crimes, including Gingrich, Hyde, Hastert, Livingston and more. That, and how despite decades of trying, the right-wing still relies on specious claims like passing around the so-called "Death List" and completely misrepresenting situations like abortion or immigration.

      Not to mention, more recently, characters like Moore himself. And dozens of others. But what do we hear?

      Well, despite their claims otherwise, it seems that conservatives love to judge and condemn others who disagree with them, while being indifferent, apologetic, and even supportive of their own members behavior. Yet oddly, they ascribe all the follies of this kind of judgment to their nemesis, the dreaded liberals and progressives themselves.

      So whatever criticisms they say that might have some truthful character is undercut by the multitude of lies, hyperbole and hypocrisy that is coming from their own quarters.

      Perhaps if you were being truly bipartisan in your comments, and made more of an effort to emphasize the impropriety to be found on both sides, you might yourself accomplish some degree of effectiveness to your attempts.

      Now me, I could point out some of the follies that Clinton made, such as going along with the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, but then, that would require the GOP to admit the Bush Presidency was the one responsible for it. But they can't do that, they can't even admit they were the ones who started keeping prisoners at Guantanamo or that they even opposed Obama's efforts to bring them to trial.

    19. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although it seems to over control the population it does have some merit.

      The potential for abuse outweighs any social good this system may have.

    20. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The real solution using this method is to only apply the Social Score to elected officials. The score would be derived from the voters who put the elected official into office.

      Now that elected official would actually listen to its voters.

    21. Re:Some Merit by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      Look at some of the current people in our government.

      The problem with your idea is that those are the people who would decide what your "social score" is.

      You mean, if you build this kind of apparatus, politicians you don't like might get to use it in the future? No way!!

    22. Re:Some Merit by DigitalJanitor · · Score: 1

      Jesus Fucking Christ, fascism doesn't work if it's implemented by honest, trustworthy people. It's still fascism!

      And Communism doesn't work if it's implemented by... uhh... anyone... it's still Communism.

    23. Re:Some Merit by crimson+tsunami · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The thing about planning any far reaching system is that you need to consider what the damage that can be done if people with less-than-noble intentions take control of the system and use it to further their own goals

      That's the beauty of the Chinese system, Xi is already emperor for life. So that little problem was already sorted out first :)

    24. Re: Some Merit by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      but then, that would require the GOP to admit the Bush Presidency was the one responsible for it. But they can't do that

      Actually they did. Why do you think the tea party groups happened? Why do you think those GOPe and RINO's started fleeing, and those gop pundits, and so on. All that screeching by them that "the republican party left me!!!!111!11!!!!" and so on. Don't worry though, they were welcomed with open arms by the democrats. Just go look up people like David Frum, just look at all of the accolades by the democrat and progressive establishment he gets.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    25. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. And look at what all that "progress" has brought us?! 70+ imaginary genders, full-time privilege-checkers, gay marriage, grindr, tinder, facebook, the Democrats, "open borders", the Kardashians, etc.

      Have you seen what "progress" has done to Detroit?

      Fuck progress, it has been an unmitigated disaster.

    26. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although it seems to over control the population it does have some merit. Imagine a world in which those that behave well have far more privilege than those that misbehave.

      If Hitler were running the show good behavior would be linked to the number of jews you gassed.

      One persistent lesson from history people especially those living in more or less stable societies are incapable of understanding or internalizing is the simple fact power ALWAYS corrupts the user. Socialists in particular are uniquely unable to accept this basic fact.

      For more information:
      https://wow.gamepedia.com/Fel

      . This could start early in life with credit given for those who do well in their studies, take on extras such as school sports teams, school bands etc.. Further those that wish to come and do maintenance for the school a few hours a week could start to step ahead of those that do not. Rewards for doing the right thing might offer a better life for all in society.

      In other words if you were a jerk off who spent their time playing video games and tagging neighbors you're really fucked now. If you spent all of your free time helping your parents because they were sick or as poor as shit no credits for you. If you hate school or sports or bands no credits for you.

      Do what the king likes get rewarded.
      Do what the king doesn't like get fucked.

      Look at some of the current people in our government. Many of them are terrible and items like being only allowed to live in low class housing might be wonderful for society as every time they get caught doing wrong their lives decline. As an example Trump has a terrible record socially. his cheating and crimes are well known. Instead of being president he should be allowed only the most humble jobs and living conditions.

      He was elected president of the United States by the people of the United States. Who the fuck are you to dictate what he should or should not be able to do? A wannabee totalitarian dictator? Sounds like it.

      The people of the United States deserve to have Trump as their dumbass dipshit president for four whole glorious years. They deserve nothing less. They are WINNING.

    27. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That wold ends with guillotines and molotov cocktails.

      The line from Jurassic Park applies to people as well as the plants it was originally referring to "they are aggressive living things and they'll defend themselves".

    28. Re: Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, I think the other AC was talking about Bush Sr, not Jr. He was talking about (Bill) Clinton's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just before that sentence you quoted.

      That people were upset at Jr does not show they were also upset with Sr.

    29. Re:Some Merit by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Benevolent dictatorships are always tempting, along with extralegal ways to deal with people for the good of society. My problems with benevolent dictatorship as a system of government are, (a) who decides what's benevolent? (b) how do we select the benevolent dictator, (c) how do we insure that the dictator remains benevolent, and (d) how do we get any progress in a population that just accepts dictatorial rule?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    30. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Donald Trump's alleged sexual harassment

      You mean the thing he literally bragged about on tape? Alleged my ass.

    31. Re:Some Merit by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1
      Since Communism and Fascism are two faces of the same coin, of course they don't work.


      What the person you responded to does not understand is that Fascism and Communism do not work for two closely related reasons:
      1. If you had the sort of people you need to run things and make either of them work, you don't need either of them.
      2. The type of people you need running either of those systems to make them work would not do the things necessary to make them work...because those things are evil
      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    32. Re: Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what Tea party actually did after they established a new group? Hmm... Yeah, joined the right again. As time goes by until now, they are somewhat the same group again but with different names.

  8. yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How does this differ from money? don't have money.. you're not allowed on the flight.. Follow the law, work hard, earn money.. omly then you're allowed on the flight.

    1. Re:yeah.. by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 2

      How does this differ from money? don't have money.. you're not allowed on the flight.. Follow the law, work hard, earn money.. omly then you're allowed on the flight.

      Note that there are ways to earn money that don't involve "follow the law, work hard"...

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    2. Re:yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How does this differ from money? don't have money.. you're not allowed on the flight.. Follow the law, work hard, earn money.. omly then you're allowed on the flight.

      Note that there are ways to earn money that don't involve "follow the law, work hard"...

      And this system will be cooooompletely immune to that. Riiiiiiiight.

      Also, this tooootally won't be abused by the government to punish dissidents, no sir! Especially in China, which is famous for its freedom of speech provisions!

    3. Re:yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In a look at it it with squeezed eyes way money is sort of a 'social credit' a reward for how well you're doing in society, or how important society thinks you are.

    4. Re:yeah.. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Actually, I know no ways to earn a lot of money where "work hard" is part of the equation.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's plenty different from money. $1 for me is $1 for you. The value of the $1 is exactly the same (and yes, I know there are some incremental differences for the $1 based on our income but $1 spends the same for everyone or at least it should). In this "new" system, even if you work hard, your job may not be valued. For instance, do you think a hard working sanitation engineer gets as much "credit" as a hard working politician? Which job do think the proles will "value" more? I can think of certain jobs where hard work will simply get your ostracized, like law enforcement or anything in the legal system really.

    6. Re:yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Theft and burglary aren't particularly hard work and can earn a significant amount of money when done right. Plenty of risks, however.

    7. Re:yeah.. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Startup founders work really hard. Some of them make a lot of money. Depending on how much money you think is "a lot", working hard in a company to become a high executive works for some.

      Of course, none of this is nearly as effective as having the right parents.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    8. Re:yeah.. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Hmm... Then it's more sensible than trying a startup, that's high risk AND a lot of work.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. Needs to be transparent by RobinH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We have "demerit" points on our drivers license here in Ontario. As long as the system is transparent (you broke this law, -25 points, you paid your tax on time, +2 points, etc.) then it's not so bad. Post the account history publicly for each person. However, if the algorithm is a secret, that's a really big problem. You know all the Supreme Leader's buddies are going to have padded scores, right...

    --
    "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
    1. Re:Needs to be transparent by Opportunist · · Score: 3

      You know all the Supreme Leader's buddies are going to have padded scores, right...

      You got that wrong. BEING dear leader's buddy IS what pads your score. Criticize dear leader? Down with your score. Praise him publicly? All is forgiven.

      Rest assured, you'll find a LOT of people suddenly applauding whoever is in charge, turning fascist, communist or whatever else is currently en vogue at the drop of a hat. "Public opinion" is, in such a system, more akin to an "official opinion".

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Needs to be transparent by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Transparency won't help. They will just tune the rules to oppress the people they don't like, the same way as they quite openly gerrymander and suppress voters or craft laws that disproportionately criminalize one particular group.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:Needs to be transparent by houghi · · Score: 1

      Post the account history publicly? Fuck no. It should be available for me to look and verify, but not to others. Not even my SO.
      Not only should that not be allowed anywhere but for me, the access to the number of points should be extremely strict.

      They can ask my drivers license and if I have one, good. If I do not have one, then I might not become a taxi driver. If I am 1 point away from loosing my licence or 50 should not matter.

      In Belgium for some jobs you need to show a certificate if there are convictions in your name. If you want to show that, you need to go to the police and it is you who hands it over.

      The information on it just states if there is a conviction, not what it was. And these will be removed after a while, so you have a black slate. Period depends on type of crime.

      This is not perfect. There where talks about having the ability to separate crimes and reason it needs to be shown.e.g. the conviction for fraud should not be shown if you go for a job as dishwasher, but should be shown if you go for a bank.
      There are many other problems with that. Especially with keeping data away from those who should not have the data.
      e.g. you can not ask the company to do the request and also the police has no business to know what company you start looking for for a job or even what you want to do with the paper.

      But in NO way should that be made public.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    4. Re:Needs to be transparent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You cannot compare Ontario's demerit system for driving infractions to a system that will curtail your freedom for criticizing the government.

      Post each person's account history publicly? Are you insane?

      No social-credit system is good, no matter how transparent.

    5. Re:Needs to be transparent by sinij · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We have "demerit" points on our drivers license here in Ontario. As long as the system is transparent (you broke this law, -25 points, you paid your tax on time, +2 points, etc.) then it's not so bad.

      Really? What about...

      Not recycling enough -1 point
      Does not bike to work -1 point
      Ate junk food -1 point
      Does not exercise enough -1 point
      Smoked near school -1 point
      Watches online pornography -1 point
      Neglected front lawn -1 point
      Did not sign co-worker's birthday card -1 point
      Cut someone off merging into highway -1 point
      Likes to listen to loud music at home -1 point
      Some other trivial bullshit -1 point

      At what point would this become oppressive tyranny by points?

    6. Re:Needs to be transparent by sinij · · Score: 1

      Transparency won't help. They will just tune the rules to oppress the people they don't like, the same way as they quite openly gerrymander and suppress voters or craft laws that disproportionately criminalize one particular group.

      Exactly!

      Just think of all possible damage that ideologues of all political kinds could do with such system.

      "Did not go to church on Sunday -1 point" is as damaging to freedom as "Stared at a young woman's ass -1 point".

    7. Re:Needs to be transparent by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

      Except that every politician and law official will get to see your score.

      You are popular and speak out against an official? Oops, your entire history gets dumped on to the internet.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    8. Re:Needs to be transparent by nitehawk214 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Criticized the point system -1000 points.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    9. Re:Needs to be transparent by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Yeah but what's the difference between a drivers license and your freedom of speech? See that's the issue. Driving isn't a right, it's granted a privilege and after you've tested for it. On the other hand, if you don't praise the leader, tell kathlynn wynne that she's the greatest premier in Ontario's history. And you absolutely love the service economy she's forced on the province creating all off those part-time jobs so more people are living pay-to-pay then at any point in history. Well citizen, it looks like you're in a fair bit of trouble aren't you?

      We already have kangaroo courts that fuck with peoples lives, and are a gross abuse of power. If you want the government to control your life more by all means move.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    10. Re:Needs to be transparent by RobinH · · Score: 1

      If it was public, there'd be enough people complaining about it to change it (here anyway). My point is that it's the fact that I don't even know how many points I have, and I try to get on a plane and can't - that's so much worse.

      --
      "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
    11. Re:Needs to be transparent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      revealed top secret point rule - [redacted] points

    12. Re:Needs to be transparent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At what point would this become oppressive tyranny by points?

      Moose -1
      Bit my sister -10
      Sacked the guys who sacked -100

    13. Re:Needs to be transparent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Long posts -1 point
      Short posts -1 point

    14. Re:Needs to be transparent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Driving isn't a right

      Actually, it is. Just not one currently recognized by our totalitarian government. An engineering license, a medical license, a law license, those are privileges. A driver license is simply a cudgel by the insurance companies and state governments to ensure they get a steady cash flow and can threaten loss of employment to anyone they want (since it's damn near impossible to work without a car).

    15. Re:Needs to be transparent by sinij · · Score: 1

      You state, that given such system exists, here is how to make it less evil. I don't accept the premise that such system, in any shape or form should exist.

    16. Re:Needs to be transparent by desdinova+216 · · Score: 2

      or worse than "did not go to church on Sunday" is "going to the wrong church on Sunday"

    17. Re:Needs to be transparent by cmseagle · · Score: 1

      people complaining about it

      Advocating for lascivious and antisocial behavior. -10 points.

    18. Re:Needs to be transparent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a fool and I can only assume such idiocy is coming from a fully indoctrinated Chinese citizen that moved to Ontario. Because only an absolute moron would be okay with a system like this at any level controlling your life. It is the antithesis of freedom and this is going to lead to a world war in the future as China decides that it needs to grow further outside of its own existing borders with a dumb, enslaved citizenry, likely by simply redefining its borders and pretending that it was always that way.

      Some arbitrary, bureaucratic system -- transparent or otherwise -- should not prevent you from moving, educating your child, or generally living in a legal way. The logical next step of this system, for China, is forced reeducation at a certain score. The intelligent will likely be killed off and the less intelligent will slowly shift into whatever China views as "right" at the time.

      Comparing this to driving is flatly dumb. If you prove that you cannot drive (e.g., tickets), then naturally losing your license is a follow-on effect because driving is not a right (in any country that I am aware of). But you can still send your kid to private school, assuming that you can afford it, and you can still fly somewhere. Hell, even if you're a criminal, then that only impacts you directly. Your child may have a social stigma impact him, but he is still able to do anything that you can afford and, as long as there's not a legal reason to keep you to restrict you to a certain area (e.g., jail or bail), then you are free to fly.

  10. Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by gDLL · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Whatever abuse can happen, WILL HAPPEN. If you give power to the state then it's guaranteed someone will come and use it in the worst ways imaginable.

    Socialist dream (tm).

    1. Re:Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by FuzzyDaddy2 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      There's a very old Jewish saying: "Pray for the welfare of the government, without which people would eat each other alive".

      Historically the treatment of jews by European governments in the last thousand years hasn't been great. And yet they recognized that even a very imperfect government was better than chaos. The trick is how to keep the government aligned with the interests of the people.

      Yes, abuses of power will happen; it doesn't mean that power is never used for the common good and should never be granted. There have been, and continue to be, abuses by police officers throughout this country. Despite this, every one I have dealt with has been honorable and helpful, and I live in a place where I don't fear for my children walking around by themselves.

      This chinese system of social control is odious in the extreme, and we should be on the alert for that type of creeping authoritarianism here. But to jump a general condemnation of all government is both wrong, and an insult to the good governence the American people are capable of.

    2. Re:Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a very old Jewish saying: "Pray for the welfare of the government, without which people would eat each other alive".

      That's not Jewish. In fact it's 180 degrees from what the Tanakh says.

      "And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.”

      Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.

      The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”

      I Samuel 12:17-19

    3. Re:Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by FuzzyDaddy2 · · Score: 2
      It's from Pirke Avot 3:2

      Rabbi Chanina taught: "Pray for the welfare of the government, for without fear of governmental authorities people would swallow each other alive"

      Clearly Jewish tradition has mixed feelings about both government and kings, as your quote well illustrates. Even in Pirke Avot there are warnings about getting too close to the government. But it embraces the ambiguity; it sees government as both dangerous and necessary.

    4. Re:Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by gDLL · · Score: 1

      I was not advocating for no government, in fact the American gov is a miracle for its founders recognized exactly what I said and explicitly limited the power of Gov. Few/none others have done so in such a cristaline manner.

    5. Re:Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      There's lots of other governments that don't abuse their power significantly more than ours does. I'm going by empirical observation here, rather than unfounded theorizing.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    6. Re:Whatever can be done, WILL BE DONE ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think there were these revolution and independence thingies, with something reminiscing a constitution of sort. We kinda agreed, and still do that everything shouldn't go. At least some people do still.

  11. Let's take it a step further by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Don't tell anyone what rises or lowers your score and you're one step closer to a religion.

    But seriously, that would actually increase the effectiveness of something like this. Nobody is better at coming up with things to do and not to do than the people themselves, they'll regulate their lives in ways you wouldn't even think possible just to suck up to big daddy.

    Could anyone stop the planet, I want to get off.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Let's take it a step further by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      A step further? FTFS:

      t's believed that community service and buying Chinese-made products can raise your score. Fraud, tax evasion and smoking in non-smoking areas can drop it.

      I had actually planned on complaining "what good is a system of control if you're not going to tell people what you want to control" But you turned me around. Of course, you want to have vague rules.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    2. Re:Let's take it a step further by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      And the best part is that they'll bend over backwards and nobody can complain about your ridiculous rules and requirements because you never really imposed them. It wasn't you that told people to assemble in front of dear leader's statue and put down elaborate flower bouquets they get up for at 4am and weave before work with their bare hands, they do it because they love dear leader that much!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Let's take it a step further by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or your FICO score...

  12. I Felt a Great Disturbance in the Force... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of SJWs suddenly cried out in agreement and were suddenly scheming.

    1. Re:I Felt a Great Disturbance in the Force... by FuzzyDaddy2 · · Score: 2

      It's interesting to note that as of this moment in this discussion thread the acronym "SJW" occurs five times (not countring this post)... and is always posted by an Anonymous Coward.

    2. Re:I Felt a Great Disturbance in the Force... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm OP for this and there's a simple reason for me posting as AC. I won't mention SJWs whilst logged in because even the mildest criticism of them or their ideology could get me doxed, fired or worse. Hell, even just calling them SJWs gets some of them into hissy fits.

  13. Karma by GrokvL · · Score: 3, Funny

    On a smaller scale, imagine the uproar if slashdot visitors were scored based on their comments, and even had their opinions hidden by default if the ruling party didn't like what was said!

    1. Re:Karma by Cederic · · Score: 1

      It's an interesting point. Societies work through public recognition and disapprobation. Look at the public (and online corporate platforms used for public engagement') response to unpopular views around things like immigration or how many genders there are. The marginalised views get silenced, irrespective of their validity.

      At least Slashdot primarily moderates on the comment, not the individual.

    2. Re:Karma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On a smaller scale, imagine the uproar if slashdot visitors were scored based on their comments, and even had their opinions hidden by default if the ruling party didn't like what was said!

      Or more apt, that in order to buy groceries at the store you had to show your post history on slashdot, and depending on how many points you have, you get to buy certain foods and forbidden from other more desirable ones.

  14. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Speaking out against government? No flying. Voicing your concern over a policy that negatively affects you? No school for your kids.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  15. Re:The American equivalent is just as dystopian... by Opportunist · · Score: 1, Insightful

    So, you could, for instance, invest in some local firm or support some party member.

    So at least a solution for rich people exists. Whew. For a moment I was worried the law would apply to them for a change.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  16. Obligatory by little1973 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Orville: Majority Rule
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    --
    Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer. - Ludwig von Mises
    1. Re:Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Life imitating art, or let's run the country like a TV show/Hollywood movie?

    2. Re:Obligatory by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Life imitating art, or let's run the country like a TV show/Hollywood movie?

      Other way around. China's been working on this for several years.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    3. Re:Obligatory by antdude · · Score: 1

      That was a great episode. Didn't Black Mirror do one too since I haven't seen all episodes yet.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  17. Brave new world by ReneR · · Score: 0

    for sure also soon arriving next to you, e.g. in the USA, ... :-/

    1. Re:Brave new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Soon? Don't they already have no-fly lists and credit scoring systems? The latter being something pretty much all western countries have had for a long time.

  18. It's written in the Bible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's how I envisaged this passage would work:

    And he [the "Beast"] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 King James Version)

    You acts (symbolized by right hand) or thinking (symbolized by forehead) not conforming to society's norms (actually, what society is told the norms are - symbolized by the mark of the beast)? Then you will be censured by restricting your economic activities, even the unrelated ones.

    Nice alpha testing there to smooth out the bugs before the international roll-out...

    Then there's those Southern Baptists still waiting for the bar code and/or implanted microchip. (Which admittedly will make the administration of such a system even easier.)

    (Posting AC because of unpopular view - not following the /. groupthink. Hmmm the irony.)

    1. Re:It's written in the Bible by dbreeze · · Score: 1

      Remove all of those who believe the Bible to be the Word of God, those who call Jesus Lord and Saviour, and how long do you think it would take those who remain to line up to be chipped/stamped in order to buy/sell...?

      --
      When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
  19. If by throwaway you mean relevant and ontopic by gDLL · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If by throwaway you mean 100% ontopic and relevant and historical then it's because that is how we predict the future, by past experience! Of course not all of us, some of us are more pie in the sky type of ppl. Do you know the definition of insanity ?

    1. Re:If by throwaway you mean relevant and ontopic by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1

      This is what I mean, you're modded up on a pile of ad-hominems and baseless assertions about decades old allegations and conspiracy theories.

  20. Grounds for refugee status by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets make a new category for a political refugee status: subjected to a low social credit score.

  21. Sounds like a Black Mirror episode by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This system sounds almost exactly like the 'Black Mirror' episode 'Nosedive'. Everybody should watch that episode and think about what such a social credit system might mean in practice.

    Nosedive

  22. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 1
    Does this refer to US or China? its not obvious from the context (or maybe there is little difference).

    Either way, I confidently predict widespread hacking, with serious consequences.

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  23. Someone's been watching sociology 101. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it? Just think of how much better Slashdot (all other forums too) would be if our society implemented this system? Instead of completely cancelling comments like Popular Science, or the cesspool that's Reddit. Things would actually work the way they're suppose to. Too much of our world (and getting worse) is based upon, "I can do whatever I want and not suffer for it".

  24. THEY SHOULD ALL STOP BUYING PROPERTY by AbRASiON · · Score: 0

    INTERNATIONALLY

    Christ the governments of Canada, New Zealand, Australia are retarded.

    Selling the god damn locals out for profit.
    Housing is insane in these 3 countries, immigration is insane in them, this needs to stop, it's ridiculous

  25. Do not call it a social credit score by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It is not a social credit score. Social implies that it is somehow derived from how other people perceive you, where each person can have a greatly different view of you. It also implies that everyone is free to use, or not use, these scores as they see fit.

    Neither is the case, there is nothing social about it. It is a mandatory government conformance and compliance score. It is an instrument of oppression.

    1. Re:Do not call it a social credit score by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Neither is the case, there is nothing social about it. It is a mandatory government conformance and compliance score. It is an instrument of oppression.?

      And yet sickeningly a lot of the posters above seem to 'see some merit' in such a system.

      This system could come back to bite them (the Chinese government) though.

      If you create an entire class of 'un-persons' via this route it could be a recipe for eventual rebellion. I think the Chinese communist party's worst enemy is its own insecurity; they see threats everywhere in even totally innocuous things, so their constant instinct is to crush freedom more and more comprehensively every year - eventually leading to the very result they fear.
      Logically the party should ban/suppress itself, as it is the biggest threat to its own existence.

    2. Re:Do not call it a social credit score by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reply to self: don't know where the stray '?' came from, not meaning to cast doubt on the OP!

  26. And so it begins...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Social credit system soon coming to a country near you.....or maybe YOUR country.

  27. Interesting thing by rkordmaa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If any western government tried something like this, every single citizen and their dog would know about it. I've asked some locals in China about it, none of them had a clue about what I was talking about.

    1. Re:Interesting thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You say that, but this is being implemented in the private sector (admittedly with public backing). This is what credit ratings agencies do (but regulated and with less data) and my dog certainly has no idea about it.

    2. Re:Interesting thing by Greyfox · · Score: 2

      Yeah, no. Well. You know. It's capitalism. So maybe they could come up with some sort of score based on how much money you have. Or are expected to have. You could call it your "money score." And it'd mostly be made up of good solid math, not Chinese hocus-pocus. Although it'd probably be somewhat ambiguous as to everything that goes into the math. Like, would they consider your facebook behavior in that? It'd probably be fair game. And it would dictate whether you could buy a house or a car. And might be looked at by potential employers when deciding to hire you. The only hard part would be assigning you a secure identity that could never in any way be stolen. But you're right, we'd never have anything like that over here!

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    3. Re:Interesting thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ask a random American if they know that the IRS can yank their passport if they are deemed noncompliant.

      And if they know that soon they will need a passport or enhanced ID to travel within the US.

    4. Re:Interesting thing by DigiShaman · · Score: 2

      Most Chinese believe the propaganda the CCP controlled media is saying about the US. Now, I don't live in China, so my perspective is through the voice of others of what I'm hearing. But I tell you, I strongly believe this Anti-US conditioning is all part of the PLCs plan to take Taiwan by force. If so, we're headed towards thermonuclear confrontation if that happens. I shit you not!

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    5. Re:Interesting thing by desdinova+216 · · Score: 1

      I couldn't find any official government or reputable media reports on the second part of that. and Breitbart, RT, and Infowars do not count.

  28. He knows if you've been naughty or nice by s_p_oneil · · Score: 3, Funny

    He knows if you've been naughty or nice. Maybe Xi is really Santa in disguise.

    1. Re:He knows if you've been naughty or nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "HO! HO! HO! Melly Clistmas!"

  29. China copied the system from US. by stooo · · Score: 0

    The same system applies in the US.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
    China just copied the model.

    --
    aaaaaaa
    1. Re:China copied the system from US. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sounds like China's model is based on an individual and what the individual has done (things the individual has control over, even if the "things done" are stupid to care about), rather than the First/Last name you were given by your parents at birth or your race (both things you have no control over). While the US system is terrible, one has to wonder why you didn't bother to publicize that distinction since the Chinese system actually is Black Mirror, while the US System was much better covered by Kafka.

  30. Whuffie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Never thought I'd see whuffie in real life, but this is at least its evil cousin.

  31. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this refer to US or China? its not obvious from the context (or maybe there is little difference).

    I don't know a lot about China, but I do know the US no fly list is troubling; Both republicans and democrats agree with that.

    Republicans say you can't prevent people on the no fly list from buying whatever guns they want since it is largely unaccountable and unquestionable. Democrats say. Okay scratch that. As much as I wish Democrats seemed concerned about this list, they don't really seem that concerned. They are okay with using it to ban guns. I suppose people with a more libertarian mindset would argue that again it is unaccountable and such.

    Preventing people from something like flying is a very serious thing, since it limits job opportunities, vacations, freedom of movement, etc, etc. I'm not really trying to argue against such a list, but rather to argue for transparency and the right of Judicial review. I thought there was some movement there, but I haven't heard much lately. At any rate, make the list accountable, give people the right to question it, and make the process simple. Do all that and it could potentially used to restrict gun purchases as well as whether or not you can fly. Again, it should be high bar to get on such lists. It is not a small thing.

    As far as any Chinese list goes, well it should of course have similar protections.

  32. This is frightening by DaMattster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I could see a social credit score system easily coming to the United States because the big data miners like Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc. would drool at the opportunity like that for a new source of revenue. I'll bet even the credit bureaus are watching the experiment in China unfold and are plotting how they could implement a similar system here in the United States.

    1. Re:This is frightening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It already does exist in the US, in various ways. Ask any convicted felon about their experiences finding work, applying for credit, getting housing... "serving your time" extends well past the prison term.

    2. Re:This is frightening by iggymanz · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      "don't do the crime if you can't do the time..."

    3. Re:This is frightening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "convicted felon" is very, very different than "anti-social tweets"

    4. Re:This is frightening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look at recidivism rates. That's because your average convicted felon is way more likely to re-offend than your average citizen.

    5. Re:This is frightening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not in the UK, where people are going to prison for tweeting "racist" jokes...

    6. Re:This is frightening by Cederic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You may or may not have transgressed the law. You can't afford a lawyer and you're facing 14 charges with a combined 48 years in prison or a plea deal to do time served and a small fine.

      You really think that should also include getting fucked over for the rest of your life?

    7. Re:This is frightening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "don't do the crime if you can't do the time..."

      I wish you were one of those people who were put away for something they didn't do so you'd have to read your own comment about how you deserve to have your life screwed over because "LOL don't do the crime, amirite?"

    8. Re:This is frightening by sad_ · · Score: 1

      something like this is already in place in limited practise, some people get on a black list of xyz for some reason, or aren't allowed/selected for job interviews. you will never know why this happens to you, because these lists are 'secretive'.

      --
      On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
    9. Re:This is frightening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What do you think your FICO score is? It can prevent you from buying a car or a house unless you play the debt games that banks and credit card companies like you to play.

    10. Re:This is frightening by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      if you can't afford a lawyer one will be provided free of charge, actually.

    11. Re:This is frightening by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      Says something about you, most criminals in fact get away with their crimes, whether murder or rape....but here you are wishing ill on the innocent, who made a statement about not committing a crime in the first place. who's the bent one here? it's you.

    12. Re:This is frightening by Cederic · · Score: 2

      Yeah, and his advice will be "you're fucked, take the plea deal".

      I don't think conviction rates in the US are accidentally inversely correlated with wealth.

    13. Re:This is frightening by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      really? https://psmag.com/economics/pu...

      certain subcultures raised to not work for themselves and to be parasites on others commit most the violent crime, yes.

    14. Re:This is frightening by Cederic · · Score: 1

      From the very article you linked:

      The researchers did not look at convictions vs. acquittals.

      Thanks for referencing something that doesn't even fucking address the point I made.

  33. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They don't have scholarships in China?

  34. non-chinese are on it too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    pay attention. they are doing this globally. they are tracking candidate influencers worldwide. they are tracking candidate opposition worldwide.

    They really do want to take over the world. They really are playing the long-game, and playing to win.
    If you don't pay attention, then your grand-kids will kiss their butts goodbye, and need to learn Mandarin to get by. think about it.

  35. What else you expect frm Communist shithole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    --nomsg

  36. say goodbye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd just like to blow this world to smithereens once and for all. Lunacy is the apocalypse !!

  37. Neckbeard twat paradise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So has this site just succumbed to bots and ivans, or are you all genuinely that fucking stupid and full of shit? Cya later slashdot, which I could say it's been nice but since about 2011 this place has been full to the brim with hateful neckbeard cunts and incel types. Have fun killing yourselves.

  38. I've been dreading this since by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    extra credits did this video more than 2 years ago

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHcTKWiZ8sI&vl=en

  39. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    Voicing your concern over a policy that negatively affects you? No school for your kids.

    We're already almost there. Express any concerns about your kids getting "educated" on the current government's ideas of sexual morality? You're some kind of antisocial weirdo.

  40. Accidental Black Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well it IS China after all... Sounds exactly like the black mirror episode "Nosedive".

  41. Revocation or Denial of Passport by Tokolosh · · Score: 1

    https://www.irs.gov/businesses...

    Starting January 22, 2018, passengers with a driver's license issued by a state that is still not compliant with the REAL ID Act (and has not been granted an extension) will need to show an alternative form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel to board their flight.

    --
    Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
    1. Re:Revocation or Denial of Passport by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Passport revoking and Real ID are two different issues.

      All US States have Real ID now. All US Territories except America Samoa have it as well - and A.S. folks don't have to have a passport to fly nationally, just a stack of documents to fly anywhere in the US (US birth certificate or naturalization documents, SS card, and proof of current residence).

      Passports are all about international travel. The government isn't going to let you skip out on your taxes and move abroad.

  42. My post here is oddly on topic. Mod me up by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    I decided to post rather than parent down.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  43. The same things happen in a free society.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...as under a dictatorship. The only difference is that a dictator does everything openly without caring what others think, and in a free society, the actions is hidden.

    Have you heard about the Noflylist in the USA?

  44. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by cayenne8 · · Score: 0
    The equivalent coming in the US, will be your Social Justice Score.....

    It may not be government mandated, but wow...more and more you're starting to see this if you voice an opinion that isn't in line with the new progressive mind hive.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  45. It's not going to register with people by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    because our right wing, pro corporate media doesn't cover it. I only know about it because a video blog on youtube called "Extra Credits" covered it. It's horrifying, but what can I do about it? Are we going to punish China for it? No, we are not. We need their cheap goods to maintain our meager quality of life in the face of globalism. This isn't going to change how anyone on this _forum_ votes much less in the country.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  46. Fraud? Doesn't that make 99% of Party members by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fraud? Doesn't that make 99% of Party members unable to own property and travel?

    For the journalist, take a boat, then use your passport in the next country over.

  47. Trade Wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "It's believed that... buying Chinese-made products can raise your score."

    Some say that Trump's tariffs will start a trade war. China is already fighting it.

  48. their are easier ways to get people to kill themse by edris90 · · Score: 1

    A whole lot of work to, if they hate their countrymen so much they could just bomb their own country, seems like a really round about way to get people to give up living. If a world where you have to fit it, their isn't much motivation to get out of bed. It has to be okay to be disruptive or the days end up being rehashes in the same theme. Boring .

  49. "smoking in non-smoking areas can drop it." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "smoking in non-smoking areas can drop it."

    Nothing wrong with this part of it.

    To many times have I had a meal out ruined by addicts who can't go 30 minutes without lighting up where is says not to.

    In fact, go further. Banning all smokers from flying is a great idea. Even when they aren't smoking they smell. Ok, maybe not that far :).

  50. I worship his shadow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have nine--thousand--six--hundred--eighty--two demerits.

  51. understanding your score is like deciphering taxes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's by design

  52. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by guruevi · · Score: 1

    Not for private Chinese schools, they have scholarships for students studying abroad with the hope that a large portion of those will bring back the knowledge and expertise we have here in higher education.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  53. Re:We need this here. by Quake1v1 · · Score: 1

    Go take your Ritalin

  54. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by RayMarron · · Score: 1

    Yeah, what a perfect hacking target! It can range from manipulating scores for profit, making your elected officials have really bad scores, slowly and secretly poisoning the data until it's no longer trusted, to destroying it and keeping it destroyed.

    --
    ON DELETE CASCADE
  55. Lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is how you create criminals. Great Job!

  56. Black Mirror episode IRL? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Reminds me of that episode of Black Mirror with the social media scores. Hopefully that journalist didn't make a scene at the airport and get himself on double damage.

  57. the nazis banned the jews from doing stuff by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    the nazis banned the jews from doing stuff and later on sent them off to camps.

  58. are you serious? by tacokill · · Score: 1

    With the Chinese, at least the government is the doing the scoring, so you can understand the nature of the beast
    I hope you are joking or this was sarcastic. Chinese transparency isn't high on the priority list in that system of government.

    1. Re:are you serious? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not high on the priority list in many systems of government, including our own.

  59. With the what and the what now?? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    With the Chinese, at least the government is the doing the scoring, so you can understand the nature of the beast....

    Which is that it is tied into every single company which is why he can't fly, or get loans, nor have a kid in private school...

    with the US, you're really throwing yourself on the court of public opinion

    Which also holds no power over who you can and cannot do business with, nor is tied into various government agencies like the TSA so you can still fly.

    And you are painting the situation in China as better???

    And providing your social media accounts is now mandatory to enter the US.

    Half right.

    Yes but they are only looking at that for purpose of visit, to understand if you might overstay a visa.

    It's NOT mandatory for U.S. citizens to provide social media accounts to enter the country. In China you are not even allowed to *leave* if your social score is bad enough.

    And once you are in the U.S. your Facebook Score doesn't matter for what you can do.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  60. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    I agree, when has "abstinence only" sex ed ever worked?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  61. consequences by bugs2squash · · Score: 1

    Fraud, tax evasion and smoking in non-smoking areas can drop it

    Yeah - there are consequences for these things here too. I guess the point is that they don't all add up against you but there again there are examples of harsher sentencing for repeat offenders, 3-strikes laws etc.

    --
    Nullius in verba
  62. Hmmm by PPH · · Score: 1

    A no fly list. How innovative. I wonder how they came up with an idea like that?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  63. Yeah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have to admit that I like the idea of seeing assholes suffer for being assholes.

    But the problem is...the definition of "asshole" is being determined by the worst assholes of them all.

    1. Re:Yeah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about just getting some fucking therapy to deal with your anger issues?!

    2. Re:Yeah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because therapy doesn't stop me from getting shot at a concert by a conservative in a tower. You guys are the ones with anger issues.

  64. Thank you China by reanjr · · Score: 2

    Let's all thank China for introducing this dystopian idea to the world, thus teaching everyone how dystopic this idea is.

    If Apple had come up with this idea, we'd be fucked.

  65. You missed social studies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    * No-fly list
    * Various post-conviction lists

    Our next lesson will be on how our society pushes people to the lowest possible class and economic opportunity, and then works hard to keep them there for life. Please attend.

  66. Re:We need this here. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Look at which party is currently in the White House.

    Now, think of who would be oppressed by a system like this? Who do you think sets the rules for bureaucracy? It ain't your SJW friends, buddy.

  67. worthless slogans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "don't do the crime if you can't do the time..."

    Great slogan, but useless. Most criminals/drug addicts/... have huge (really Yuge!) discount factors: almost any small payoff today is worth it despite large negative consequences tomorrow.

    1. Re:worthless slogans by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      ah but those future huge negative consequences are what that song was about (the opening theme song to TV show Baretta by Sammy Davis Jr.)

      Don't go to bed with no price on your head, no, no (Don't do it), no, no
      Don't do the crime if you can't do the time (Don't do it) (Hurry up)
      Keep your eye on the sparrow when the going gets narrow
      (Don't do it) Don't do it

      Don't roll the dice if you can't pay the price, no, no (Don't do it), don't do it
      Don't run your feet down no dead end street, no, no (Don't do it) (Hurry up)
      Just keep your eye on the sparrow when the going gets narrow
      (Don't do it) Don't do it

      Don't do me dirt or you're gonna get hurt (Don't do it)
      Don't run away 'till you hear what I say, no, no (Don't do it) (Hurry up)
      Keep your eye on the sparrow when the going gets narrow
      (Don't do it) Don't do it

      Ain't gonna fight with no thief in the night, oh no
      (Well, well, well, well, well)

  68. Sounds like china to me. by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 1

    I'm sure a certain level of computer skills can get you a good score and perhaps be used to derail that person you don't like. ( assuming of coarse you don't get caught.)

    I wonder how much you loose in you credit score for not being an atheist. ( I'm sure it is a good chunk from the people I've talked too.)
          Of coarse if there is no God, why shouldn't it be that way. As Pavalov put it 'The sooner human beings get over this idea that free will exists and get on with the business of governing the human race , the better off we will all be". Pretty much consistent with Stalin , Lenin, Hitler and Mussolini. Unless we forget , the Chinese government today is a intellectual descendant of Lenin and Stalin and helped into power by nothing less then the communist party of the USSR.

    --
    âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
    1. Re:Sounds like china to me. by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

      I sense you're trying to pair atheism to a complete lack of morals and human decency, and given past abuses from those who claimed moral superiority and divine right, it's sadly ironic.

      Religious authoritarians have already demonstrated how they deal with those with low social credit scores, and it involves excommunication and being being burned alive at the stake.

      However, there's been no indication that china's sesame score accounts for religious preference, but then the exact method of how the score is generated has been kept secret.

  69. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always the victim, the guy who wishes he could treat people terribly without anyone calling him out on it.

  70. Trump Hater Derangement Warning by SuperKendall · · Score: 1, Informative

    China is *all about* stability. Chaos is what they fear, and rightly so. They had quite enough chaos in the last 150 years and Trump's tariffs are threatening even more.

    Wow, you are lumping together the deaths of hundreds of millions with a tariff, that didn't even get implemented.

    Truly Trump haters are bat-shit insane crazy, like the kind of crazy that literally set fire to themselves because they are so crazy. And people wonder why Trump is on such a winning streak, with people as crazily and slavishly devoted to introducing Trump in any topic on conversation, sane people shy away from you lot in droves.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Trump Hater Derangement Warning by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      About what 100million death myth are you talking?

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  71. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always the sjw, cheering for tyranny under the guise of fighting for the supposedly downtrodden, with all of this control fakery motivated by massive insecurity

  72. Poor Baby! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You think that Freedom of Speech is only for you and your like-minded buddies. I'm sure that you get off ranting about SJWs, brown people and the metric system.

    You see, you revealed the small problem with your argument. "It may not be government mandated..." So it isn't government mandated then, so what is the problem? Oh I know, Obama is going to implement your hated Social Justice Score, right?

    No, Obama's out of power. Well the current SJW occupying the White House, he's going to do it, damn his progressive hide!!!

    No, your Orange God occupies the White House. Hmmm, that's strange.

    WTF exactly is your problem then?

  73. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The actual behavior isn't new. What's changing is the list of values that you're expected to comply with.

  74. Crowdsourced life-ruination by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

    Just like that episode of The Orville. Who's to say that people don't make up shit about people they don't like so they can get their 'social credit score' dinged to ruin their lives for them? Who's to say that the Communist Chinese government isn't doing exactly that; making up shit about people who are 'inconvenient' or 'undesirable' to them but otherwise are fine, just to wreck them? We all know the best way to destroy someone is not killing them, that just creates a martyr (and you can't keep hurting someone who is dead); it's to discredit and disgrace them publicly, then they're a living reminder (and you can keep hurting them forever). The Communist Chinese government is a bunch of fucking assholes.

    1. Re:Crowdsourced life-ruination by eaglesrule · · Score: 2

      Yeah, those assholes for making shit up and ruining people's lives.

      Hmm, that reminds me. I wonder what deplorable is being kicked off Twitter or Facebook today. Probably yet another racist sexist xenophobe misogynist transphobic fascist nazi who absolutely deserved it by expressing a harmful or divisive opinion that disagreed with our political stance. It's amazing how many of these dumbasses don't realize that Free speech has its consequences.

    2. Re:Crowdsourced life-ruination by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      Twitter and Facebook are private companies not owned or run by the government, jackass. Maybe if you weren't a racist sexist xenophobe misogynist transphobic fascist nazi posting your vitriolic nonsense in those plances then maybe they wouldn't have banned your trolling account(s) there.

    3. Re:Crowdsourced life-ruination by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

      "it's a private company not government!" shall be the excuse of tyrants working feverishly to silence dissent and opposition, and to put down the monsters of their own creation.

      Meanwhile, a grade student struggles in understanding the meaning of their reading assignment:

      “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

  75. the threat of Chinese tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is why I, Anonymous Coward, don't worry about the threat of Chinese technology: they are strongly opposed to the kind of open society that produced integrated circuits and the internet. They don't have unlimited access for research, if they did they might accidentally learn about what happened in Tienamen Square in 1989. They will steal the technology, and they will abuse anything the West discovers to control their own population, but they will never win the innovation war.

  76. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by cayenne8 · · Score: 0

    What's changing is the list of values that you're expected to comply with.

    I dunno, I felt MUCH more free to say things in the past, humorists were able to say more things, be more controversial (at least post the 50's)....

    I find it to be very limiting today.

    Many of those "new values" are just downright 180 degrees from anything that has been the norm in the US, and it is really starting to get to the point to where almost NOTHING will be said anymore.

    Noting of merit, or controversy....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  77. Re:Devil's advocate: Shouldn't the West adopt this by Cederic · · Score: 2

    Devil's advocate here: Shouldn't the West adopt this method?

    No.

    This can penalize unpopular behaviors as well

    Thank you for highlight one reason why.

    giving ardent 2A supporters the choice between having military weapons or being able to interact and have full access to society's benefits will definitely be useful

    Only for people that don't believe in democracy.

    They can either give up membership, or be part of society; not both.

    If thoughtcrime becomes illegal you're the first cunt against the wall.

    Everyone has a level playing field.

    Oh sweet sweet summer child.

    Overall, this might be viewed as a tool of a repressive government

    ..because it is.

    realistically, this is a way to keep order

    So is the gulag system. I don't support that either.

    and is the best thing modern technology has for doing so

    I reject your 'order' and will happily do so with extreme violence. Fuck you and your authoritarianism.

  78. Re:We need this here. by Cederic · · Score: 1

    How the fuck did you associate the parent AC with the people he himself describes as SJW?

    You're a bigger fuckwit than he is.

  79. Re:we're getting there ourselves ... by Cederic · · Score: 1

    You can get thrown out of a bar for wearing a MAGA hat

    Bars are indoors. Hats should not be worn indoors. You should throw anybody out for being stupid enough to wear their hat indoors.

    Take the fucking hat off or get the fuck out.

  80. Re:we're getting there ourselves ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can get fired for making a political contribution to a ballot initiative.
    You can get fired if the boss doesn't like your blue socks. It's a good old right-wing principle, freedom to dismiss your employees.
    Maybe your should campaign for that left-wing policy, employment protection, where your boss has to have a valid reason to fire you or it's unfair dismissal.

    You can get thrown out of a bar for wearing a MAGA hat.
    Yeah, and again, good old right-wing principle, freedom to not serve, same would apply if bar owner took exception to your pro-choice t-shirt or your Dallas cowboys shirt.
    Maybe you should be campaigning for a law to force all businesses to serve everyone regardless? Sounds a bit anti-freedom though.

    You can become public enemy #1 for "refusing to denounce" something.
    Pretty meaningless hypebole, pretty much boils down to you are free to speak and others free to criticize what you say.
    You can "be" a hateful bigot for holding Bill and Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's (first term) position on marriage being for a man and a woman. Again, pretty meaningless but if it means anything it's you are free to speak and others free to criticize what you say. Also a lot of right-wingers seem to make a very good living from condemning gay marraige or just gays in general.
    You are branded a "denier" (like a Holocaust denier, get it?? you are horrific and untouchable) for declining to believe what you have been instructed to believe about climate change. Not for actually doing anything polluting, mind you, just for refusing to offer your pinch of incense to the statue of belief.
    Same again. And again a lot of right-wingers seem to make a very good living out of precisely this.

    Most of this pretty much boils down to you being unhappy about being criticised for your opinions or them having consequences. Seems you don't believe in the freedom to hire/fire or the freedom to serve/not serve customers. Seems like you believe in your free speech but not of those who hold different opinions. Frankly you sound like a bit of a snowflake. Man up.

  81. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    but wow...more and more you're starting to see this

    You're only saying that because people are posting it online. The fact is in terms of social norms the hive mind has always existed and voicing something out of line with that has always vilified the person.

    Social justice is nothing new. The only thing new about it is the current flavour of the month.

  82. fuck-me-gently totalitarianism by epine · · Score: 1

    The same system applies in the US.

    Sometimes I'm slow on the uptake.

    I just realized that false equivalence is everyone's old-fashioned slippery slope goosed up with frictionless ropes, massless pulleys, and FTL travel.

    China just copied the model.

    I suspect social exclusion dates back to 93,000 years before Cain and Abel. Some gullible sot (or tribe of gullible sots) bought the story that it was a new squabble.

    Make no mistake, what China is doing here is fuck-me-gently totalitarianism.

    The television series MythBusters investigated the effectiveness of Chinese water torture in episode 25 of its 2005 season. They found that it was effective, capable of causing emotional cracks within a couple of hours, even in a controlled environment.

    If I recall the episode, not exactly hardened targets. But this exercise is stupid beyond belief to begin with, because what makes torture torture is the lack of undo/erase/saved game. Hotel California for the nightmare fuel, deep in the ancient brain.

    Fuck me gently, relatively speaking (Syriana clawback scene—later, Clooney winces just to dial a phone).

  83. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what does it take to get on the US no fly list? Better yet, what does it take to get off of it?

  84. China was always shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China is rich now, but their human rights abuses not only continues but seems to be escalating in reach thanks to their newfound wealth.

    But they're rich, and that seems enough to garner sympathy from immoral Westerners.

  85. So tasty its chocolate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No Chi.com media-banging 5-mile clubbers. So solly .......... Now to repeat with USA Trotsky-slut progresives. Make those bastards walk-thru nibberville and whitesland Ill. Republicans fly-over to crap-bomb SanFran! And no help-parrots to sqauwk! Encourages snowflake suicide hehehe. Frees up the seats and keeps the eats warm.

  86. Possibly the most scary thing I've seen in years. by ShamblerBishop · · Score: 2

    This is a way of ending a persons life, and providing a politically legitimized means of doing it.

    I don't think people understand just how nefarious this is. This can and will be used to control entire societies, in ways that past dictatorships could only dream of.

    You can design this system to silence ALL political dissent, in a very subtle and undetectable way - the same way homelessness is legitimized and acceptable politically, in western society - and the way the system works, will encourage the support of everyone in society (lest they literally be scored into oblivion as well, for not cooperating or being enthusiastic enough...).

    It makes 1984 look like an Athenian democracy, in comparison. It's one of the most ugly and dangerously totalitarian things I've seen in my lifetime.

  87. Wonder how long? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wonder how long it'll be until that's not just a political/advertising thing here, but also more of a legal thing.

    Or - maybe it doesn't have to be. There is sufficient power in the big compute companies such as to possibly make legal use of such data redundant.

  88. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They do have bank loans in China that can be used to pay for a child's education. And parents can start saving money for their child's education before the child is even born.

    And there is nothing to fear when it comes to dealing with the social justice warriors. These guys can't help but irritate the general public with their nonsense. This is the group who played a big part in Clinton not getting elected and ushering in the Trump era. That right there should have the progressives re-evaluating their political platform. They have not asked themselves how their behavior made it possible for someone like Trump to beat them. They never thought their candidate could be defeated and maybe they should ask themselves if they were responsible for their defeat. A lot of people voted for Trump because all the people railing against Trump were insulting a large segment of the population. Any one supporting Trump were described as inbred, non-educated, racists, and rednecks. The condescending attitude when they toned down their attacks just pissed off more people. The far left and far right agitators do not come close to representing the US population. The most diverse population on the planet and still the preferred destination for immigrants wanting a better life. Hundreds of people become US citizens every week in all parts of the country. These are the ones who played by the rules to become naturalized citizens.

    The social warriors should dwell on the fact that while they do not support or take advantage of their 2nd Amendment rights their declared enemies do.

  89. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Translation: I liked it more when other races, homosexuals, and other nationalities were the butt of all the jokes. Now I'm the target, I find I can dish it out but can't take it. Hypocritical and fragile, I waaaah.

  90. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I dunno, I felt MUCH more free to say things in the past, humorists were able to say more things, be more controversial (at least post the 50's)....

    Your feelings don't match reality. The 50s is right around when the Cold War started and the second red scare (McCarthyism) happened.

    When McCarthyism waned after the late 50s things might have FELT better, but it was still practically taboo to show support for communism or socialism. You can see this in fiction where the bad guys are usually some caricature of communism and/or fascism. No room for marketplace of ideas here.

    Instead of blaming video games as they do today, people back then blamed comic books (as they would blame DnD before blaming video games). In response the comic industry self regulated, staying away from controversial topics in their stories. Thus Silver Age comics had all those campy stories, and Adam West's (RIP) career was what it was.

  91. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Preach.

  92. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's no 2nd Amendment in Fascist Russia, Ivan.

  93. "Myth" by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Ok China shill, I know your masters are really trying to have you promote China and that's fine, but you really should be careful whitewashing the deaths of 1 million people

    Granted I had the exact number a bit off, I was thinking more of Russia, but you still look a bit silly arguing the exact number when so many people know what happened generally.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:"Myth" by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      You wrote 100 million, not one million.
      And you are not the first one talking about 100 million in this thread.

      I have no master ...

      Obviously no one on /. has any idea what happened. I suggest to read the relevant wikipedia articles ...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    2. Re: "Myth" by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      A bit off? Fuck off. Guy asked for clarification for not knowing wtf you're ranting about. When you're off by a factor of 100, YOU lose all credibility and should STFU. What an asshole.

  94. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by cayenne8 · · Score: 0

    Translation: I liked it more when other races, homosexuals, and other nationalities were the butt of all the jokes. Now I'm the target, I find I can dish it out but can't take it. Hypocritical and fragile, I waaaah.

    No...I think we ALL need to be open to be valid targets for criticism and laughter.

    Every one of us on earth is flawed and do stupid things, and have things that are funny, even if viewed in a slightly negative manner.

    But these days, people are too snowflake for anyone to poke fun at someone else.....with the possible exception of the white guy.

    Don't get me wrong, white guys are funny, they do stupid things, etc.

    But seriously, why do we have to be careful to whom we point out these bad or funny behaviors?

    I saw a commercial on tv, showed a white guy getting caught breaking into a commercial business I think it was. I started thinking, "Wow...wonder what kind of hell would be raised if the criminal were to be portrayed as a less white skinned actor?"

    I mean, even though we mostly see on the news the criminals reported aren't just a bunch of white guys....you can't point this out anymore anywhere that it could be a black guy?

    You know....those old stereotypes didn't just come out of nowhere, they were based in observable behaviors.

    1. White Guys can't dance....well, c'mon quite often, more than not...they don't do so well on the dance floor.

    2. Asians can't drive....no, they are just the best in the world. Where did they come up with this?

    3. Black guys and penis size....what would you guess on this?

    I mean, really....all people are funny...we all do stupid things, and different races have different traits and cultures, that ARE often funny.

    But with SJ political correctness....they take the fun out of recognizing and laughing at it all.

    Hell, even is unhealthy.....it is so awful these days to get accused of "fat shaming"...when you try to get someone that is morbidly obese to live healthier instead of telling them "its ok, you look wonderful, be yourself, be proud of how you look..and go ahead, have another doughnut".

    Common sense has also fallen victim to all this BS.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  95. context ? by gDLL · · Score: 1

    Rabbi could have meant that "thank god for the State for it holds of the crazies who want to burn our Geto", or even perhaps singing his own tune as he himself was a figure of authority. Or ofc he could have just been an ordinary collectivist.

  96. Put your money where your mouth is by myid · · Score: 1

    I don't buy anything made in China unless I have to. And I'm willing to pay more (and have paid more) for things that were not made there.

    It's good that some tech companies push protection of the environment. But I'd be a lot more impressed with the ethics of those companies if they didn't build manufacturing centers, or technology research centers, in China. (See this article: "Apple investing half a billion dollars in Chinese R&D centers as it announces two more".)

  97. Re:Devil's advocate: Shouldn't the West adopt this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slashdot needs a "give gold" system, similar to Reddit. The parent sums up why.

    There are some things that have no merit to a debate. This crap from Black Mirror is something to put in the ashbin of history, with eugenics, racial cleansing, the Inquisition, and other horrors. A "social credit score" is something that will cause blood will be spilled in mass quantities, sooner or later.

  98. Re:"My child can't go to a private school" by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    What's new is the current flavorS of the month. The US has had a dominant culture for most of its existence, and it's not only splitting, but the minority ones are much more visible. Speaking out against a visible subculture means that subculture is going to say bad things about you, regardless of what subculture that is. If I were to make a public stance that violent video games are bad (which I really don't have evidence for anyway), I'd be similarly roasted for insulting gamers. I've been flamed for saying things that you'd think a SJW would approve of, but not by SJWs.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  99. This came before black mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The writers of Black mirror either saw what was happening in China or they were inspired by the previous ideas of a social credit.
    Either way, China's plans for social credit predate the series and not knowing about them indicates por access to news.

  100. Just think of . . . by sgt_doom · · Score: 1

    what Li Wenzu's score must be - - she's the loyal and loving wife of one of 709 disappeared human rights attorneys - - and she's under house arrest for attempting to march from Beijing to Tianjin to draw attention to her missing husband, thanks to the nefarious government of China and Emperor Xi Jinping.

    https://www.scmp.com/video/chi...

  101. Chinese copy again by Brockmire · · Score: 1

    Black Mirror TV show, this time.

  102. re: serving time by King_TJ · · Score: 1

    Realistically, I don't see how it could ever be another way? If you committed crimes society deems serious enough that you needed to be locked away for years, separated from the masses? You can't *really* just expect to come back after that and have everyone pretend it never happened.

    It's one thing for government to officially declare "time served" as the end of your punishment. But it's another to expect the public not to judge you for your past transgressions.

    Especially when it comes to applying for credit, you're talking about a process shrouded in layers of secrecy as to exactly what earns you the credit score you're given, and exactly what a given score will or won't let you do. Regardless of any prison time, the REST of us aren't always too sure what's going on with the credit thing either. You've got 3 big credit reporting agencies out there who all keep their own records about you and all seem to come up with different scores. Some places try to average 2 or 3 of those together while others just go with a favorite agency's score as the one they use. When trying to get a home loan, they don't even use ANY of those scores, but instead, use one that you're never able to see yourself at all.

  103. Re:we're getting there ourselves ... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Or we could deduct points for stupidity and ignorance.

    Politics and being head of a large organization is always a bit dicey. It's often better to keep one's politics private. Eich would have been seriously hampered as Mozilla's CEO because of his action.

    You can get thrown out of a bar for not wearing a MAGA hat, as wearing hats is not a protected class anywhere I know. Go find another bar.

    Fortunately, "public enemy #1" doesn't actually come with any penalties, other than having ticked off some people.

    You're not a hateful bigot for thinking marriage should be between a man and a woman. You can become a hateful bigot based on pretty much any belief. There's a strong tendency on the political extremes to be assholes to people with other views, and to confuse holding views with being vicious and positively hateful. For example, there's a tendency currently on the right wing to behave obnoxiously and claim they're being punished for their views. See James Damore as an example (and read the findings of the labor relations board).

    Nobody's going to call you a denier for not believing in climate change. You become a denier when you absolutely believe in no climate change and get sufficiently vocal and insistent on it.

    Nobody gets a six-figure fine for not baking a cake. The bakery you're thinking of got it mostly for the internet harassment campaign they started. Read the legal finding of facts, which is the best source for finding why there was that six-figure award.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  104. Re:Devil's advocate: Shouldn't the West adopt this by dbreeze · · Score: 1

    Soon after sincere Christians are removed from the equation, you'll get to see how it works out. "Devil's advocate" is SO appropriate....

    --
    When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
  105. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tyranny?

    Pfft.

  106. Bzzzt! Thanks for playing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, Trump haters are pretty much everybody apart from a small group of deluded Americans. Since the group is "pretty much everybody", it also includes a few people who think Trump is more important than he really is. Trump's tariff threats destabilise world trade somewhat, but they are only minor chaos in the end. Not yuuuuuge at all.

    Most of us just ignore him as best we can. He's taking America down but the rest of the world is doing nicely. Enjoy your insane orange man.

  107. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He isn't wrong, Cayenne. You bitch and moan and cry all the time while screaming we're the snowflakes with butt hurt feelings. You project. A lot.

  108. Re:Possibly the most scary thing I've seen in year by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

    Just wait till general AI is available, or something sufficiently similar to it.

    Then every minute of every day will be tracked and cataloged. You won't be able to step out onto the street without it being registered. It'll be like a political officer assigned to every person, watching, carefully scrutinizing for any sign of thoughtcrime.

    And then, only those who have a sufficient social score will be allowed to have children.

  109. Utopia! by TJHook3r · · Score: 1

    Imagine, if nice people were actually rewarded! I suspect China will not be the ones to crack this particular puzzle, and more likely will have horrific consequences for enemies of the state though... Just think, one day, forum upvotes could actually be worth something :)

  110. Psychopass - IRL edition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Psychopass - IRL edition

  111. so lets give china a social credit score by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    make it zero. bar them from everything, forever. they are now officially, if not before today, complete and utter scum. fuck china

  112. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    I agree, when has "abstinence only" sex ed ever worked?

    If you think the specific content is the point, you missed the point.

  113. Yes it does. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not for you. For *him*.
    Or do you think he would do it because he was "just" born evil? Magic hell demon dust maybe?

    Everyone doing harm does so either by mere accident or because he was harmed. (Incuding manipulation that changed hos views.) Period.

    Prevent the cascade of harm early, and it will not burst out in a shooting later.

  114. not what I said by gDLL · · Score: 1

    But do those govs explicitly write down and go out of their way to Exclude/Limit the power of the central Gov ? I think not.

    1. Re:not what I said by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      In what way does that matter? A government is more oppressive or less oppressive. The exact reasons are important only in that some are more durable than others. A democratic government is not likely to become too oppressive, no matter what. The people running it will lose too many votes.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    2. Re:not what I said by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      A democratic government is not likely to become too oppressive, no matter what. The people running it will lose too many votes.

      You must be assuming that you'll be a member of the majority. A democratic government can be plenty oppressive toward minorities when the majority goes along with it. Of course, the same goes for other systems; even an absolute dictator's capacity for oppression extends only so far as the majority are willing to tolerate. Democracy does not change the fundamental nature of government, it just embraces regularly scheduled changes of leadership in hopes of making them a bit less violent.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
  115. Re:Valid tool, with time limits by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Well, then what is the point?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  116. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You just defined a SJW!

  117. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Petty tyranny.

  118. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Russia isn't fascist, Billy.

  119. We can't even comment. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because commenting on the issue on domestic sites will lower your score, fucky.

  120. Black Mirror episode by h8sg8s · · Score: 1

    Someone in the Chinese government is a fan of Black Mirror.
    Nosedive (2016):
    People rate their online and in-person interactions on a five-star scale. This system cultivates insincere relationships, as a person's rating significantly affects their socioeconomic status. Lacie is a young woman currently rated at 4.2 and keen to achieve self-improvement, hoping to reach a 4.5 rating to qualify for a discount to a luxury apartment. Lacie tries to gain favour from highly-rated people, as they have larger impacts on scores, and sees a great chance to achieve her goal, when school friend Naomi asks her to be maid-of-honour at her upcoming wedding, with many highly-rated guests. After a series of mishaps on her way to the wedding that send her ratings plummeting, Naomi calls Lacie and tells her not to come. Enraged, Lacie manages to get to the celebratory dinner; she grabs the microphone and starts giving the speech she had written. The guests rate her negatively, causing her rating to drop to zero. She becomes dangerously upset and security removes her from the area. She is placed in a cell and has the technology supporting the rating system removed from her eyes. Feeling liberated, she gets into an argument with a man, without worrying about being rated.

    --
    Organization? You must be joking..
  121. Whuffie! by BubbaJonBoy · · Score: 1

    I tell ya Cory Doctrow needs to be given low bows and prognosticator status.

  122. Re:Devil's advocate: Shouldn't the West adopt this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOL, from the mouths of babes, right? Oppressing the most well-armed and people would seem a non-starter. You're right - they're infantile if they think this will result in some wonderful utopia. The worst part is none of them are old enough to remember the results when someone tried this "great idea" over a century ago.

  123. On Face by ComputersKai · · Score: 1

    Could this possibly be just a manifestation of the already prevalent concept in many Asian societies of societal reputation/honor? One's honor/reputation already makes quite an impact there, and transgressing social norms often means ostracism and the necessitation of doing things to redeem oneself. I guess I'm sort of rambling here, but this system kind of just seems like a physical manifestation of what was already an uncodified but present aspect of Chinese society and culture. Then again, no-fly lists and the presence of records on minor crimes and financial history, that follow a person around and affect his/her treatment in society, is not really something unique to China.

  124. Straw will break the dragon's back... by BrianMahoney1357 · · Score: 1

    This plus shutting Neihan Duanzi down and other seemingly small losses of personal freedom might just stir up enough emotion to finally rid China of its oppressive leadership. I've always admired the way many Chinese get around censorship but I can't see how they will beat this personal score tracking system. Not mentioned here is the rating based on what you buy and where you buy it. Buying products made in China is a plus but what if that product is 'immoral' lingerie from Taobao? Or maybe a sex toy? China in revolt would be catastrophic but unless Xi and his cronies loosen things up a bit, that's what looms in the near future.

  125. Re: "My child can't go to a private school" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always the excuse used by the assholes who want to treat people like shit... BUT MUH OPRESSHUN!