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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.

204 of 404 comments (clear)

  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: 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.

    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.

    5. 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.
    6. 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.

    7. 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.
    8. 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
  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 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.

    3. 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!!!

    4. 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...
    5. 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.

    6. 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...
    7. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      Found the wumao.

    8. 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...
    9. 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
    10. 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.

    11. 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.

    12. 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...
    13. 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.
    14. 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.

    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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

    18. 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...
    19. 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.

    20. 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
    21. 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.
    22. 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.

    23. 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.
    24. 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?

    25. 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.
    26. 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!"
    27. 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

    28. 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.
    29. 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.
    30. 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.

    31. 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.........
    32. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by DigitalJanitor · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the Archipelago... comrade.

    33. 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.

    34. 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.

    35. 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.)

    36. Re:Someone's been watching Black Mirror... by Ryanrule · · Score: 2

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

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

      What a fucking authoritarian leftist cunt you are.

    38. 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.

    39. 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
    40. 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.
    41. 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.
    42. 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.

    43. 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?

    44. 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.

    45. 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...

    46. 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.

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

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

      --
      No sig today...
    48. 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.

    49. 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.

    50. 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
    51. 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
    52. 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
    53. 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.

    54. 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.
    55. 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.

    56. 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?
    57. 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.

    58. 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
    59. 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......

    60. 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. 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".

  5. 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"
  6. 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 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?

    5. 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".

    6. 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
    7. 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
    8. 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...
    9. 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
    10. 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.

    11. 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"

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

      people complaining about it

      Advocating for lascivious and antisocial behavior. -10 points.

  7. 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
  8. 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.

  9. 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 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.

    3. 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.

    4. 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
  10. 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."
  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.
  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.

  13. 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."
  14. 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.

  15. 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!
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.

  19. 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).
  20. 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.
  21. 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?

  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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.

  25. Re:Some Merit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

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

  26. 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
  27. 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!

  28. 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.

  29. 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.

  30. 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 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?

    2. 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.
    3. 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.

  31. 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.

  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 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?

    3. 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.
    4. Re:This is frightening by iggymanz · · Score: 1

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

    5. 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.

    6. 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.

    7. 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.

    8. 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. 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.

  34. 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.

  35. 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.
  36. 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

  37. 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.

  38. 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
  39. 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.
  40. 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!!

  41. 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/
  42. 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 .

  43. 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
  44. 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...

  45. Re:We need this here. by Quake1v1 · · Score: 1

    Go take your Ritalin

  46. 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
  47. 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.

  48. 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.

  49. 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.

  50. 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
  51. 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.
  52. 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
  53. 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.
  54. 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.

  55. 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 :)

  56. 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.

  57. 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.
  58. 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...
  59. 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.”

  60. 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.

  61. 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)

  62. 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.

  63. 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.

  64. 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.

  65. 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.

  66. 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).

  67. 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.

  68. "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.

  69. 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.

  70. 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".)

  71. 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
  72. 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...

  73. Chinese copy again by Brockmire · · Score: 1

    Black Mirror TV show, this time.

  74. 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.

  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. 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
  78. 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
  79. 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
  80. 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.

  81. 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 :)

  82. 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
  83. 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.

  84. 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
  85. 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.
  86. 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.
  87. 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..
  88. Whuffie! by BubbaJonBoy · · Score: 1

    I tell ya Cory Doctrow needs to be given low bows and prognosticator status.

  89. 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.

  90. 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.