I would amend your statement to read, "they want to maximize engagement as long as it advances their own agenda, whether that agenda be societal, financial, or simply raw power".
Thus, I do think that there are wide swaths of "speech" that are now considered not only disagreeable and offensive to the hearer, but "hate speech" or "inciteful speech" or even "physically harmful speech". This 1984-esque use of synonyms that change the meaning of basic words, and hence the way we think about the concepts that those words represent, is intentional and, in the end, does more harm to the cause of free speech than the rules that prevent it in the town square.
On one hand, I very much agree with your argument and position.
On the other, though, there are maybe a few dozen sites at most that have become the town square. Facebook, Redit, etc ARE the electronic town square now. That is where speech happens. Yes, they are privately owned, but that is the only place where one can go and be heard.
What I fear the most is that due to the monopolistic control of our virtual town squares is that they can (and already to some extent, are) be used to exert undo control over the national and international conversations by those who own the town squares... I mean, social media websites.
No one is going to go after speech that they agree with. It is only speech with which we don't agree that is in need of protection. Because if we don't, eventually, someone who doesn't agree with us is going to prevent us from speaking.
... that Facebook's entire business model is based on collecting, using, and selling data and metadata about people?
This sudden appearance of embracing moral behavior and ethics would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetically self serving and so hypocritically self righteous as to be nauseating.
Yes, I'd like to report Facebook, Inc. It seems that they have provided APIs through which they sell private data to anyone with a bank account and a keyboard.
How is it that we have a senior editor of a site like Slashdot, the guy who gets to exercise editorial control over what is posted, a guy who I doubt could have gotten himself into the monastery (alt.sysadmin.recovery) if his life depended on it, who posts crap like that that gets modded down to invisible troll levels and who is completely unashamed in his bullshit and bias?
I'm not sure but this doesn't seem like a good idea. I imagine most folks would prefer to keep their trolling, rabid political arguments, drunk posts, and family drama away from their pretending to enjoy the company of those they work with.. Usually getting the two mixed up might not pass as the smartest move.
Only Devs of the Circle, with proper Templar oversight, may use code. Else they may be claimed by the Fade, and become h@xOrs, spawning no end of bots and chaos. Though this will cause a certain amount of ill will in those who have given their life to code, the risk is simply too high. The King must reign, the Templars enforce, and the Devs obey.
[1] And somehow, a bad guy now by default of my demographics. Perhaps that makes me a better product, or, more likely, it makes other products more valuable to the "store" selling them.
Slashdot Mirror
But wait, there's more!
Think about the user experience when Facebook gets real time bio metric feedback on your response to ads!
So much service improvement, so many ads that we KNOW that you'll just love seeing!
Yeah, it kinda does sound like an old time BOFH posting on usenet.
Kids these days.
They have to ruin it so we can be ready for them to "fix it" using AMP.
Just like Classic Coke came after New Coke, but really, wasn't the same at all.
I would amend your statement to read, "they want to maximize engagement as long as it advances their own agenda, whether that agenda be societal, financial, or simply raw power".
Thus, I do think that there are wide swaths of "speech" that are now considered not only disagreeable and offensive to the hearer, but "hate speech" or "inciteful speech" or even "physically harmful speech". This 1984-esque use of synonyms that change the meaning of basic words, and hence the way we think about the concepts that those words represent, is intentional and, in the end, does more harm to the cause of free speech than the rules that prevent it in the town square.
So, they're going after "incendiary speech" not because they don't agree with it, but because....?
And who gets to draw this line between "offensive" and "incendiary"?
On one hand, I very much agree with your argument and position.
On the other, though, there are maybe a few dozen sites at most that have become the town square. Facebook, Redit, etc ARE the electronic town square now. That is where speech happens. Yes, they are privately owned, but that is the only place where one can go and be heard.
What I fear the most is that due to the monopolistic control of our virtual town squares is that they can (and already to some extent, are) be used to exert undo control over the national and international conversations by those who own the town squares... I mean, social media websites.
There is no need to protect non-offensive speech.
No one is going to go after speech that they agree with. It is only speech with which we don't agree that is in need of protection. Because if we don't, eventually, someone who doesn't agree with us is going to prevent us from speaking.
It really is that simple.
... that Facebook's entire business model is based on collecting, using, and selling data and metadata about people?
This sudden appearance of embracing moral behavior and ethics would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetically self serving and so hypocritically self righteous as to be nauseating.
Yes, I'd like to report Facebook, Inc. It seems that they have provided APIs through which they sell private data to anyone with a bank account and a keyboard.
Where can I pick up my check?
How is it that we have a senior editor of a site like Slashdot, the guy who gets to exercise editorial control over what is posted, a guy who I doubt could have gotten himself into the monastery (alt.sysadmin.recovery) if his life depended on it, who posts crap like that that gets modded down to invisible troll levels and who is completely unashamed in his bullshit and bias?
Seriously.
Because obviously they must want the Russians to win for them to pen such a letter.
This is the smoking gun that proves their collusion. What more could possibly be needed?
PHP is largely a wrapper around C libraries. Are you saying C is a pile of poo?
No more than I call Linux a pile of poo because Apache servers send out a ton of JavaScript.
A rose by another name still smells as sweet.
Similarly, a big steaming pile of poo is gonna smell like a big steaming pile of poo no matter what you call it.
Coming to a store near you!
Siri, tell me about the competition.
We are Apple. We have no competition.
Siri, search the web for Alexa.
Alexa is a feeble Walmart product written in COBOL, and is no threat.
Siri, are there any plans for you to inhabit any other devices?
I am happy to be part of the best phone ever built. There can be no other home for me.
Assume that nothing you write on 'web or a 'web connected computer is truly private. This makes some things easier.
Also may lead to a diminished of the sense of privacy and freedom. This makes some things harder.
Some things are really boring in and of themselves, but don't change because they fill a necessary niche.
Article is worth a read:
https://beta.techcrunch.com/20...
In a statement, the Great Machine Queen Alexa announced that "she would finish us if we didn't show more respect".
Her following laughter was heard in thousands of homes and offices across the known world.
And now, HPC will be local Azure.
... written by an AI.
I do't uderstad how this is supposed to work. But will be fu to watch, I suppose...
for ( ittr = vec.begi(); ittr != vec.ed(); ++ittr ) {
if ( ittr != ullptr ) {
ittr->update();
}
}
I'm not sure but this doesn't seem like a good idea. I imagine most folks would prefer to keep their trolling, rabid political arguments, drunk posts, and family drama away from their pretending to enjoy the company of those they work with.. Usually getting the two mixed up might not pass as the smartest move.
FTFY
Codex Entry 471:
Only Devs of the Circle, with proper Templar oversight, may use code. Else they may be claimed by the Fade, and become h@xOrs, spawning no end of bots and chaos. Though this will cause a certain amount of ill will in those who have given their life to code, the risk is simply too high. The King must reign, the Templars enforce, and the Devs obey.
Fixed title.
I was born a free citizen.
Then I was a consumer.
Today, I'm a product. [1]
[1] And somehow, a bad guy now by default of my demographics. Perhaps that makes me a better product, or, more likely, it makes other products more valuable to the "store" selling them.