Hmm... I guess you could say that's informative? I'm a traffic modeler who, well... Hmm... You could say that I helped change the industry. I worked as, more or less, a traffic engineer. I'd submit a couple of things... That's probably something decided by a traffic engineer and not a civil engineer - though the two are not dissimilar, one is a more specific subset than the other, if you'll allow me to be a bit rough. I'd like to also submit that, while often quoted, I don't actually don't think you fully understand that 85% thing.
Well, for starters, it's 50% and 85%. That's not actually, entirely, about safety. It's about 'credibility.' Yup... Safety is in there but it's about not having a stupidly unbelievably low speed-limit. The safety is actually in that it is not ignored. Just letting a bunch of random people drive the road and setting it to 85% is not quite how it is done. It's kind of complicated and entails many, many things. I'm going to presume that you don't actually want to understand all this information.
Well... That's probably why we use birthday and not conceptionday. I'd think the implication is birthday and not conceptionday unless otherwise stated. Tracking conceptionday might actually be a bit of a problem.
Not only have I spent a whole lot of time in the Boston-area, but;
my career was based on traffic modeling, I worked to computerize traffic engineering is a good way to put it. I've driven professionally - as in that was my MOS for a long, long time (or it seemed it). over the years, I've driven a whole lot - more than probably ten active drivers and I'm not done yet. I've taken *many* advanced driving courses and have even raced and done well at the amateur level (rally). I've gone to Germany, taken lessons, hired coaches, and done laps around Nurburgring in rented exotics. I've specifically worked in Boston (note the career choice). I visit Boston frequently, owning a place on Beech Glen Street. I've played "halfball" at Highland Park - and helped shovel snow to do it.
I said all that just to say this... I'm probably an actual recognized authority on the subject and NOTHING is going to help Boston. Nothing...
If the rest of you have not driven in Boston, keep in mind that I've driven all across the globe (including India, Egypt, and Peru), it's something to behold. Oh, you might have your own little sections of bad driving, bad design, or bad results. They've got NOTHING on Boston.
Imagine, and this is the first I've ever tried to describe driving in Boston so it may not be polished, driving in a little European village or even in a city. Now, throw away all the small cars. No, small car doesn't necessarily mean sturdy or making a good weapon. Throw out any idea of kindness, fiduciary duty, or social contract. Throw out the idea of centralized planning. Boston wasn't blowing itself to rubble in WWII so the US didn't rebuild it.
So, you've got streets designed (literally) to drive sheep and cows, giant American cars, angry drivers, with roads that make no sense - unless you live there and then they don't make sense but you understand them, and then - add snow, rain, hail, sleet, bad pavement, frost heaves (in the right season), freezing wind coming in from the ocean, and the Irish. Also, make everyone in a hurry. Also, make it so that if the impact is behind the driver's side door then it's the fault of the other driver. Also, the white part of me is Irish - with a whole lot of family in the area and was a resident. Also important, they're in a hurry (to stop in traffic) and their car is being used like a weapon.
Add all that together, throw in a municipality that's corrupt as all hell, people who don't give a shit, outright vendettas, and ever-changing weather. Oh, and throw in that they've got shit for signs that are almost as meaningless as a drunk townie asking you for a light.
And you get driving in Boston. Suffice to say, it's not for the "weak of heart." (Pronounced "heaht you fucking queah and fuck your mothah too you fucking fudge packin' faggot and yes I'll be in church next week father, it was an excellent mass.") When I point out my perfect driving record, I'm careful only to point out that I have no at-fault accidents on my record. I've been hit, while stopped at a light, in Boston - twice and once while I was walking back to my car, I saw my car hit again. It had just been hit two days prior. Eventually, you realize that reporting it is futile as they'll just raise your insurance rates. It is actually abnormal to not have a stick or bat in your car if you live in Boston. You just might need it.
Nope. There's no fixing Boston's roads or drivers unless you're gonna tear it all down and rebuild it from scratch. If you did that, it wouldn't be Boston. I'll drive in Boston but not in Paris, France. That's a whole other set of issues. They've still got nothing on Boston.
One of my first experiences in Boston, as an adult and on my own, was living there with a cousin for a couple of months while waiting to join the military. I saw a car drive up on the sidewalk and do the movie thing where they smash into a few things and keep driving with people diving out of the way. Now, imagine 1970's police cars. About 10-15 seconds *later* the sir
It's a bit more complicated than that, specifically with regards to the areas of Africa that I've traveled. Unlike quite a few people, I have traveled to distant lands and seen strange people - often against the advice of friends and family. I've not only done so against the advice of my government but I've had the State Department reach out and tell me that they'd be unable to help me. I've still gone - and I've always enjoyed myself and learned new things.
So, Africa is big. Really, really big. It also has multiple parties that you'd call "warlords." (I'd call 'em that too.) If you can narrow it down, that'd be good. If you mean places without governance, there aren't any - really. Some places have shitty and unofficial governments but they've all got some sort of government. That includes Somalia - they have government. They just have a shitty government that doesn't care about the citizens and have yet to oust that government. They even have paperwork... Very few governments don't have paperwork. They're not really "official" but that's a dubious term.
I've actually *been* to Somalia. Good people, mostly. Well, as far as people go. They've got a shitty government. They're probably better served with less governance as it being better is unlikely. I am a wee bit familiar with the process and, suffice to say, they don't actually get to vote - because of their government.
Of course, don't read more into what I wrote than what I actually said. That'd not only be presumptuous but it'd probably be incorrect. I do not recommend emulating Somalia. But, government is not something Somalia lacks. They don't even lack local government. They do lack a representative government. However, when it comes to governing the populace? They've got that pretty well down pat. In a certain light, you could suggest that they could actually do with less government 'cause they're pretty well governed at all times.
Well yeah. He's a human, isn't he? You can postulate that a human is greedy, arrogant, self-centered, and dishonest and, here's the fun part, be not just right but completely right - the vast majority of the time. People don't care about what doesn't impact them on a personal level.
There are exceptions and we all think we're one of the exceptions. You could say, we all think we're exceptional.
Also, 'snot my fault that people are people. However, I've stomped across the globe and found that people are people pretty much everywhere. Right or wrong, if you're hungry then you worry about your hunger and not that someone else is hungrier. And yes, there are some exceptions. They're exceptional people.
You didn't actually say anything that I didn't say. I'm not entirely sure what prompted your reply, perhaps you read something that wasn't there?
At this point, it's probably best to presume that you're hard at work on designing your skin suit. I'd also like to point out that I live nowhere near Iceland and don't play your game - you probably don't need to add me to your "going to get even" list. In the meantime, enjoy your game.
I'm still trying to figure out why you're telling me things I not only already know but either pointed out directly or alluded to in my post. No, no need to elaborate, I don't want to be party to your skin suit - even at the design level.
For the rest of the readers: Note their reply... Yup... They're an interesting group of people and that's a fine example of 'em. If you see one in real life, keep the skin suit thought in mind. They're probably even working on stitching material strengths and weaknesses.
Well, at least you owned up to that post. That said, you seem to have me confused for someone who's unaware of the technical benefits to using a hosts file. I appreciate that you feel obligated to instruct me on their usage but there's a good chance that I was using a hosts file before you were born.
That said, it's even more amusing that you seem to indicate that you are aware of my goals. Security is about accepting a certain level of risk and hardship in order to achieve a goal. Security is a process, not an application. The greatest security (or privacy) tool you have available to you is in the operator's seat. Unfortunately, that can mean that such is also the least strong tool.
Not only does your program not work for me (and probably never will as you're a Windows user) but it doesn't support things like wildcards. I *like* being able to selectively allow or disallow access to my system based on my goals and what risks I'm willing to accept to reach those goals. I do not rely on uBlock to do anything more than block ads. I have multiple tools in my toolbox. One of those tools is uBlock.
I don't need to prove you factually incorrect. I only need to demonstrate that you're not salient. Not one damned thing you've said actually matters. I know what my tools do. I know how to use them. I've been doing so since the days before you actually had a computer. Your rant has not one damned thing to do with anything I said - not even a little. You're trying to tell me to use a hammer when the actual goal isn't to pound anything in at all.
That, good Sir, is the entire point. I don't HAVE to prove you incorrect. Why would I? I need only demonstrate that you're irrelevant, off-topic, and unable (unwilling?) to actually understand the goals. You're a direct representation of the things you profess to dislike, up to and including sending unsolicited advertisements and refusing to understand the benefits of alternatives.
I've no interest in adding the curating of a hosts file to my day. It does not do what I want it to do for the goals that I have. No, I've got enough compute cycles that enable me to afford them and use multiple approaches to achieve a blended security solution that allows me the greatest amount of refinement and enables me to do so with the least amount of effort. I have zero interest, at this time, in using a hosts file as one of those tools but I am not unfamiliar with the use and have used such in the past. Furthermore, your program is of zero value to me as it simply can not work with my operating system - not even in WINE.
And this is a great example of the behaviors that people dislike. It's like this thread's gonna write itself. You can find 'em stalking my other posts and denying that they are themselves. You can find them making off-topic, inane, posts. You can find them doing all of this stuff. Sadly, their program would (maybe) stand on its own merits but the author is, well... Like I said, I'll let you judge for yourself...
The best part is that they think they're "winning" something or have some sort of victory with such posts. No, APK... We know it's you. It's okay, you can come out now. You don't need to hide. No, your replies don't bother me, don't worry me, and don't have any impact on my future. That's one of the benefits about being retired. Hell, you can make up anything you want and add that to the list. You could write down that I ax murdered a dozen orphans in a small Canadian village and that's probably gonna just make me giggle a little.
They wanted to know who you are. I showed them who you are and gave them links to see who you are. Meh, I'd do it again. You don't really scare me so that's not an actual concern and post stalking is mostly only going to amuse me. It might distract me but that's fine - I didn't have anything better to do. The wonderful life of retirement means I've got a few minutes to get past any distractions while on my way to doing a bunch of nothing. It's not like I have a busy schedule or anything.
At any rate, if you'd like to continue denying that you're you - that's fine. If you'd like to demonstrate the stalking behavior, that's fine. If you'd like to double down on your dishonesty, that's fine too. You're just doing the things that are the reasons people complain about you and making it easier for them to see it. I can assure you, they're not dumb. They can read a few posts, figure out the patterns, and see who you are - even if you use your proxies. You really might want to consider just standing up and being counted. Then you can speak for yourself instead of having others speak for you.
I have a stalker but I think it's meta moderation that killed them. They were bold enough to tell me that they were going to down-mod everything I said. They then tried. They went from 5 points a day to 5 points every few days. Then they went to 5 points a week and then to 3 points. They always did the comments right in a row. Now, presumably, they get no more mod points because they still sometimes leave a drive-by comment to tell me that they hate me for being a whole laundry list of things that I am not. I'm a bit perplexed.
At any rate... I kind of feel sorry for them. Now they don't get any mod points. That has to suck. Besides, I liked the attention. They were giving me their most valuable asset - time. On a good day, I could even get them to respond with just a couple of well-placed sentiments. It was awesome! I've had hate mail but I'd never had a stalker. Well, I'd had stalkers but they were pretty lazy. This one was dedicated to me - and I appreciate that dedication. I also liked the ego inflation. I was so important to them that they'd give me their time. They dedicated a portion of their busy schedule to me. I valued that attention and I did my best to ensure that I kept them engaged.
Alas, they appear to have given up. I don't think they were quite expecting me to have that perspective. I even invited them to go out to dinner with the missus and I. Hell, I went so far as to specify that they were invited, desired, at my New Years Eve festivities. (I did get three Slashdotters to show and two of them brought their families - it was a good time had by all.) I have since learned that our antics were on the "news" (radio) and that's why we had extra company. It turned out pretty well. But, my stalker didn't show up.
I don't really place a whole lot of stock in the whole moderation thing. I have never, not once, considered not saying something because it might be poorly moderated. I will never do so in the future. If I believe something is important, I will say it - moderation be damned. I accept accountability - I actually prefer it for myself. That means that I may not always be right. The moderation may not always be right so that's a consideration as well.
At any rate, when you get a stalker - don't hate 'em. Nah, think about how much power you have over them. Think about how much they're giving you. Think about how important you are to them. It's just a matter of perspective. Of course, treat that power with care. *snickers* Otherwise, you lose your stalker and they start behaving irrationally. That irrational behavior might lead to amusing things like them forgetting to post as AC or going off on a rant in the wrong sub-thread. Maybe we need a book or a guide? "Congratulations and Proper Care for your New Stalker!"
There are about a dozen of us (that I've noticed) who ping off the rev limiter that is the 50 posts per day limit - even if you've maximized your karma level. I have it on good authority that such limits will be either be removed or increased. I've read a few suggestions on the topic and they sound nice but increase complexity.
The idea that it will mean that crap-floods happen is silly. They might. They might happen for a while. Then that person will quickly lose their karma rating and no longer have as many posts. It's a self-correcting problem. Only a few people are suggesting allowing everyone to post unlimited times. I think they're being safely ignored. I think... I hope... There should be sane limits but one should be able to exceed those limits by gaining in karma - like one already can. Those limits should just be higher than what they are once you reach the highest karma ranking and *only* once you reach the highest karma should it be unlimited or nearly unlimited.
If it helps, I already made such a proposal to the new owners and they've indicated support. (I'm avoiding claiming that they'll do it or that they said they'd do it - they did not exactly say either of those two things.) I'd also imagine that it's trivial to change but not all that important in the scope of things. Hopefully they'll let us know when it changes. Otherwise, I might not notice and might not know to be grateful.
It's important to add that (in my humble opinion) I think you should avoid defaults. In other words, greater control and choice. If you're going to implement a feature *and* it is reasonable to do so, make it an option. It can be enabled by default *if* that's a goal/requirement.
We're geeks and nerds. We love buttons. You could probably load up 1000 random extra buttons in our control panels and we'd be content for weeks just pushing them - even if they just changed trivial things. You could put in a button to change the capitalization of every letter E and someone'd be flipping that button - constantly, for at least a week before they get tired of it.
Observation: We love options and hate defaults. We like being able to break our own systems - in fact, we insist on that. Options also means it's not being imposed. Options mean we're still able to choose. Options means greater liberty and greater freedom (those are not pseudonyms) and we generally seem to like that.
There's no way that you'll ever make us all happy. It's not possible. Having a laundry list of things to fix? That's not a bad idea. Having a laundry list of things to really change? Well... I think people believe you have access to a giant control panel and can just make sweeping changes by flipping a switch or inserting a new number - both with a clearly labeled manual. I assume you have no such thing, really. If you do then, well, those sound like buttons to me and I'd hardly fault you for poking them.
Oh, I've loads of thoughts on the subject and would happily write them out. I'm not sure what the value would be. I can even write paragraphs about the merits of various choices. Again, I'm not sure what the value would be. I'd do that but I don't really want to overwhelm (or underwhelm), I don't want to add to the noise, and I'm not sure what levels of change need to be considered - at this point.
Conclusion: A laundry list of things to fix is a good idea - but a list of changes to make in the future (including things like moderation policy) is a bit presumptuous. Options are good, when applicable, and might be the best way to guide instead of force. We like buttons but, sadly, not even that is an absolute at Slashdot. I've been watching/. for a long time and we tend to get displeased when someone tries to use force - but we'll probably click a button. We'll even argue about what settings the buttons should be optimal configuration. It's what we do.
That said, don't forget that silly post threshold for posters with maximum karma - if you've ever got time to look into it. It'd be appreciated and there's a dozen or so of us who bounce off that threshold frequently. It's akin to a rev limiter set for 6000 RPMs on something designed to operate at 10,000 RPMs for short bursts. You can do that but it's probably not going to get the best results possible. On the list of things that impact people by number, that's probably pretty low on the list.
If you'd like, someone (I guess I could - but someone more concise than I may be an optimal choice) could wait for this thread to die down and then re-read it. They could take notes and summarize the thread and maybe do some actual research to see what benefits there are and do some sort of "formal" report. I suppose, they could do both an abstract and maybe even format it in a readable format. 'Snot like we don't have plenty of paper authors and administrators here.
I'm still awaiting that picture with the chicken fried steak batter and party hat.;-)
I think there's some merit to the idea that no, no the rest of the Internet does not actually want us. As I postulated in the last thread about this... The 'net will always make sure that Slashdot exists even if they only do so in order to keep us distracted and out of their comments section.
Do we need all of them, including the ones that I'd call emoticons? Where do we draw the line? I'd like to see more maths symbols. × ÷ + and - are there. is there.
Then, we have your thorn... (I guess we could speculate on the verbiage of "I can't" as opposed to "we can't" and all that.) Is that needed? Does it serve any function? No, really. I have no idea - I think of a thorn and I think of things that stick in you or runes. Except, I don't actually know what it is in reference to runes. I do know what raspberry thorns are like. Who does typing a thorn help and what does the thorn do?
Then, we have the micro symbol. I think we can all agree on that. Well, anyone who doesn't agree is a poop-head. I can type it. I can have it on my screen. It disappears when I hit preview. -- That space, right there, is where there *should* be one. It's not. Oh, it's there on my screen (inserted with R-ALT + M which is a dead key or a Gr key - I've no idea which) but it doesn't get to your screen. That needs fixing. That will help "we" and not just "I" - I believe.
Then, we can type microgram. I'm not so sure you can type thorn. I don't actually know what a thorn is - except something to do with pricks and runes. I'm pretty sure you're reference is for the latter or something else entirely. I'm willing to guess that I've seen a thorn. I'm unwilling to state that they have any applicable value to most - because I don't know if they do. They might, but I can'y say that I've knowingly ever wanted to type one before.
You want to type a thorn. I want to type a pile of poop. You probably have a good reason to want to type a thorn. My only excuse is that I'm easily amused and about as mature as your average five year old. Does the inclusion of either of those help people other than ourselves in any meaningful fashion? 'Cause, I don't know... If you ask Slashdot which they'd prefer, the thorn or poop, Unicode supported - I suspect the poop would get a whole bunch of votes. This being Slashdot, it might get more votes than the thorn.
Dude, you're not fooling anyone. We *know* it is you, APK. This sort of behavior is in line with why people have issues with you. You're given the chance to defend yourself and you're hiding and pretending that you're not you. We can SEE you are you - you use the same verbiage, every. single. time. Hell, we've even told you how to fake it better but you still haven't figured that part out.
And no, no I don't post as an AC. You know that. I also don't hold back and not say what I feel needs to be said. You know that too. You even know how I feel about hosts files, why I don't use them, and how I feel about people causing needless drama, harassing others, and repeating themselves needlessly. So, go ahead and take it out on me, show me whatever it is you think makes you right, or whatever - I can handle it so I don't need to post as an AC. 'Snot like I was doing anything more constructive.
Seriously... The new owner asks who you are and you hide and try to pretend you're not you? You don't even do a good job at hiding. I've raised children. These are not antics you should be proud of, son. Some day, you might have a Mrs. APK and even make baby APKs. Do you REALLY want to subject them to the ridicule they'll face simply by dint of birth?
No? Well, stand up and be a man. Stand up and be counted. Stand up and be who you are. You do it, you're accountable for it. Be accountable - if nothing else. That's where the road to growth starts. I can assure you, we've all got room for growth.
This is not scientific but I searched Google for "slashdot apk ublock" (He talks a lot about uBlock). I clicked the first link. I pressed CTRL + F and entered "APK" and it found 425 instances in this thread: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...
Oh, I can go on and dig out more. However, that doesn't even scratch the surface. Really, CTRL + F and search for APK in just that ONE thread. You can then use Google to find many, many more examples.
If you don't understand, click that first link and consider that that's one of THOUSANDS of them. He will respond and pretend to be someone else who is not him. You can tell by verbiage and writing style - he's been booted off of almost every tech site, at least once, and has a bit of a reputation. Just give that one thread a read, using CTRL + F, and have a peek at it and draw your own conclusions.
I'd also add that he claimed he was leaving, recently actually, on a separate site. He did so. He migrated to a new forum but I think they've kicked him out already.
That said, enable you (or I - almost certainly I) to automatically open posted links in a new tab and links in the summaries in a new tab. Yup. I could code that - it might take me a minute to figure out how to do it automatically in Perl and I'm probably going to cache that setting in a cookie but that's because I suck. I'd assume they'll do a better job than I.
But yes, having the option to automatically open links in a new tab would be great. As it is, I use my mouse's center button out of habit. I'd like to see that as an option and would certainly tick the box to try it out. I'm already doing so - I just have to use the center button to do so or use CTRL or right click... Automatic would be nice as an option. Maybe even the default option...
Also, if the poster takes the time to add about='_blank' then adhere to that. If I've taken the time to make a link open in a new tab, do so. I did it for a reason. Obey the code. It's not something that can be malicious (by itself) or harm the server.
Hmm... Seeing as I'm here... Markdown and a GUI (gasp) editor (optional) might be nice. There are whole libraries that do nothing but add a handy-dandy GUI to the comment facility. Even I, yes I, can probably figure out how to add that. Again, I'm probably gonna cache the settings in the cookie 'cause I suck and hopefully they don't do that as their only option. They should tag it in the user's stored settings in the database. I hate working with a DB thus it's getting stuffed in a cookie if you have me do it. Simple solution? Don't let me do it - unless you want it stored in a cookie. You probably don't just want that.
That's part of why I do not moderate. I never (or very, very seldom) moderate. If I feel like judging your post, I'll judge it. That's my judgment and my judgment shouldn't impact others. If I feel like replying with my opinions, I'll do that. In fact, that's what I'd prefer to do. I much prefer to respond - often in novella form, when I see an insightful, troll, informative, etc. type of post. I guess you could say, that is my moderation. It just doesn't impact how others are going to see the post by means of a moderation score.
And, as I've mentioned this before, I should probably save some time and add this now instead of having to answer this question later...
Don't read more into that than I wrote. I didn't say anything, or even indicate a dislike, about other folks who moderate. I read at -1 and usually don't even really notice the moderation. I can see the system as having value for some people and do not dislike it. I just do not feel that my personal feelings about a post's qualities should be reflected by a number and then missed or seen because of people's filtration systems.
On the other hand, I used to meta moderate but, alas, they altered that system and I don't actually know what my cast votes mean (for certain) so I no longer participate in meta moderation on a regular basis.
I did mentioned earlier that I don't like the 50 post threshold. No matter how high the karma, you can post no more than 50 posts in a day. Maybe that limit can be erased if the user is willing to opt out of moderation? I'm unsure of what effects that might have but it might be worth thinking about.
Can you imagine what people would read into that moderation - even if unintended? Oh my.... I am thinking that's one of the worst moderations they could have but, at the same time, it might be one of the best. I guess that would be a matter of perspective. Err... I don't actually moderate - even though I get points. Though, I get fewer points now but that seemed to happen when I stopped moderating a very long time ago. I suspect there's something automated there as my behavior (and the resulting moderation) hasn't really changed - if anything, my scores increased.
That said, I've a whole bunch of thoughts on this subject but it seems like wasted effort to throw them in with 1200 other comments. Someone is bound to have asked for everything I want and everything I don't want.
But, in the spirit of the thread... This is my big one: Remove, or alter, the arbitrary 50 post per day limit that is still imposed when you reach the highest level of karma. That's just silly. You want good content. You want more content. For better or worse, Slashdot likes my posts. I write a lot. I will write a lot. I bounce off that limit all the time - it's like a rev limiter for no good reason. That limit is like cutting off your own nose to spite your face.
I've done that. Unsurprisingly, there are actual good comments on YouTube. I'm not even kidding. No, there exists high quality comments on YouTube.
Err... Well, they do exist. I've even seen a few. They don't exist in great numbers and you gotta be really bored to go find them but they do exist. Maybe that's a little something to do with what they were getting at with their comment? Sometimes, the world isn't filtered into nice little boxes and you have to make some effort to find what you want.
If we're gonna nit pick, no public office needs to be changed to qualify as an election. We elected to eat in tonight. Fucked if anyone came and held the ladies a ticker tape parade for winning but it was still an election - complete with votes. (It's a long story. don't make me tell it all to you.)
At any rate, you can elect the person in charge of the coffee fund at work. You can elect to have elective surgery. You can elect a public official. You can elect a member of a private board. You can elect membership role filling for that private board. You can elect to have tuna melts, fries, salad, and tomato soup. Only one of those is a public office.
I think, I'm pretty sure, this was still an election. It's still an election, by definition, even if they use some pretty silly ways to finish it off.
That kind of depends on your views of what is and isn't conservative. I am fiscally conservative - which is why I support single payer health care, a strong social safety net, and low up-front cost education. I support those things because I am fiscally conservative. In all of those cases, it's less expensive (overall) than the alternatives that have so far come to light.
If something better comes along, I'll look into it and make new choices based on the new information. Right now, it's cheaper to keep you healthy, fed, and upwardly mobile than it is to put you in prison or hire goons to keep you from stealing my shit. I like my shit. That's why I bought it. I don't support those things because I want your ass on welfare. I support those things because I want your ass up, making money, and paying your share of taxes so that I don't have to. I want you making money because I might make some of that too.
There's no altruism. I'm not a socialist, really. I used reason, logic, and data to come to my conclusions. No feelings about innocent people, no desire to make everyone all smiles, and sure as shit no desire to ensure an equal outcome is had by all (but I'm very much for equal opportunity). Those are the least of my concerns - I don't even LIKE you that much. No... I support those policies because they're cheaper (and better) than the alternatives appear to be. I sure as shit don't support all their policies - just a few and just for that very specific reason and only when it has shown itself to be a financially sound choice enough to at least give it consideration.
The two positions are not, really, difficult to hold. I'm *very* socially liberal (to the point of absurdity by some views). I'm also moderately fiscally conservative. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money if you were gonna end up spending money no matter what. Do you buy the cheapest shoes you can find or a pair that work and lasts for a lot longer than the cheaper shoes but costs a bit more but needs to be replaced less often so cost less in the long run? If so, you've managed to hold both positions at the same time. If not, you're an idiot and enjoy your cheap ass shoes. To drive the analogy into the ground, don't go full retard and buy the most expensive shoes you can find either.
What is with you people and these absolutes that I keep hearing? Why the hell are you making things needlessly complicated? It's cheaper to keep you amusing yourself than it is to keep you locked up while still having to provide for you. It's cheaper to educate you than it is to employ several people to clean up after you. It's cheaper to keep you healthy than it is to deal with your catastrophic health issues. This is not a difficult thing to figure out. Just like it's cheaper to have a library in town than one in your home. It's cheaper to have cops than private security. It's cheaper to have a town fire department than it is to have to keep a whole crew on hand or just let your shit burn the village down because you couldn't afford your own fire department.
This is not complicated stuff. In fact, it's pretty damned simple. You can, easily, be socially liberal and fiscally conservative at the same time - you just need to not be a spittle-flecked zealot who is hell bent on fucking absolutes. Holy shit, this is like explaining economics to my kids - except they actually get it. This is NOT complicated and it doesn't need to be. Stop making shit complicated. You're making it so difficult that you can't understand it. There it is in nice simple words. Yes, you can hold both views at the same time - so long as you're not an idiot.
Interesting? Well... No? I mean, you weren't expecting the results to be different - where you? If you were, why?
It's not like countless people haven't pontificated, postulated, prophesied, and pointed. That *is* what you're going to get. There's no way to change it unless you get everyone on board and that includes the people who have accumulated all the assets and all the power. They're not going to give up their happiness today so that your children can have a better tomorrow.
Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. If I knew the right ways to make things work better, I'd have already told you. I don't. Somehow, we've got to figure it out while still allowing the individual to have liberties and freedom. If we don't have those, we're just existing. Then again, I can afford the luxury of saying that I'd rather be poor than less free. I am not poor.
I can only submit that there are people smarter than I, quite a few actually, and hopefully they will figure it out. Somewhere between alleviating all of human suffering and complete and total financial freedom is a spot to draw a line. I'd humbly submit, the line should probably be moved - but important questions are in which direction, why, and where. It's a pretty safe bet that the current spot is less than idea, regardless of one's political beliefs.
I'll definitely have to give it a shot? I'm not completely anti-television or anything. I'm just not into TV enough to have a dish on my house. I'd probably watch Nova or Frontline if I remembered when they came on. With a TV card, I can even go so far as to do my own DVR thing. That's good thinking, thanks! It might even keep the missus amused but she doesn't seem to be into TV a whole lot either. She just kind of turns it on and meanders around aimlessly. She's kind of taken to playing with VMs of varied OSes as of late. She does the same thing in all of them (mostly contacting friends back home and reading a few sites that she seems to like) but at least she's having fun and mostly harmless.
I guess one technically has to be a mile high to be a mountain or something like that? If that's true, Maine only has one technical mountain. The rest are just hills. They're old and have been rubbed off by glaciation. They're not majestic, like the Rockies, but are old and wise mountains. (That's really what they remind me of.)
So, I'm probably not technically on the side of a mountain at home. At least not on a mountain that's a mile high. I just typed in Rangeley (I don't actually have a zip code of my own) but moving the marker does seem to indicate more than if I type in the name. So, I might get something up on the house. I'm also on the "right" side of the mountain - so I'm exposed to the SSE which lines me up with the side to get reception.
I have a friend with a rather fancy transit. I think that's what they're called. At any rate, leveled out and looking through it has shown that my house is quite a ways up there. The cell phones and GPS all say different heights. All of them. Even if they're on the deck railing, they say different heights. Otherwise, I'd share that information too but it so happens that I not only don't remember it, it's seemingly pretty inaccurate. As I recall, they had as much as 50' of difference between them? (We tried a few in one day, one of which was even a fairly expensive Garmin or the other brand - TomTom I think.)
*snickers* Someone has come along and moderated me as OFF TOPIC. I mean, really? It's not incorrect but that's kind of what I do. I might be on-topic once in a while but it's not intentional! Pfft... Slashdot *IS* my personal blog. Thank you. It was good for a chuckle. I'd say I'm sorry but I'd rather not lie and I am not sorry. In fact, I'm so not sorry that I'll probably do it again tomorrow. 'Cause that's what I do.
Either way, I'll certainly have to look into it. From the looks of things - and doing a little more research, I might not even have to go with an outdoor antenna. I do not actually have an attic (double envelope house - salt-box style if you're curious) but I can probably figure something out internally - if needed. I mostly just stream stuff. I'm not actually sure what I'd do if I didn't have broadband. I've not had it before but I always had something to put on in the background. If it gets really rough, I can read.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm... I guess you could say that's informative? I'm a traffic modeler who, well... Hmm... You could say that I helped change the industry. I worked as, more or less, a traffic engineer. I'd submit a couple of things... That's probably something decided by a traffic engineer and not a civil engineer - though the two are not dissimilar, one is a more specific subset than the other, if you'll allow me to be a bit rough. I'd like to also submit that, while often quoted, I don't actually don't think you fully understand that 85% thing.
Well, for starters, it's 50% and 85%. That's not actually, entirely, about safety. It's about 'credibility.' Yup... Safety is in there but it's about not having a stupidly unbelievably low speed-limit. The safety is actually in that it is not ignored. Just letting a bunch of random people drive the road and setting it to 85% is not quite how it is done. It's kind of complicated and entails many, many things. I'm going to presume that you don't actually want to understand all this information.
If you do want to understand than you can start at this link:
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/spe...
So, starting from there... Well, do you actually want to discuss the rest of your conclusions or?
Well... That's probably why we use birthday and not conceptionday. I'd think the implication is birthday and not conceptionday unless otherwise stated. Tracking conceptionday might actually be a bit of a problem.
Not only have I spent a whole lot of time in the Boston-area, but;
my career was based on traffic modeling, I worked to computerize traffic engineering is a good way to put it.
I've driven professionally - as in that was my MOS for a long, long time (or it seemed it).
over the years, I've driven a whole lot - more than probably ten active drivers and I'm not done yet.
I've taken *many* advanced driving courses and have even raced and done well at the amateur level (rally).
I've gone to Germany, taken lessons, hired coaches, and done laps around Nurburgring in rented exotics.
I've specifically worked in Boston (note the career choice).
I visit Boston frequently, owning a place on Beech Glen Street.
I've played "halfball" at Highland Park - and helped shovel snow to do it.
I said all that just to say this... I'm probably an actual recognized authority on the subject and NOTHING is going to help Boston. Nothing...
If the rest of you have not driven in Boston, keep in mind that I've driven all across the globe (including India, Egypt, and Peru), it's something to behold. Oh, you might have your own little sections of bad driving, bad design, or bad results. They've got NOTHING on Boston.
Imagine, and this is the first I've ever tried to describe driving in Boston so it may not be polished, driving in a little European village or even in a city. Now, throw away all the small cars. No, small car doesn't necessarily mean sturdy or making a good weapon. Throw out any idea of kindness, fiduciary duty, or social contract. Throw out the idea of centralized planning. Boston wasn't blowing itself to rubble in WWII so the US didn't rebuild it.
So, you've got streets designed (literally) to drive sheep and cows, giant American cars, angry drivers, with roads that make no sense - unless you live there and then they don't make sense but you understand them, and then - add snow, rain, hail, sleet, bad pavement, frost heaves (in the right season), freezing wind coming in from the ocean, and the Irish. Also, make everyone in a hurry. Also, make it so that if the impact is behind the driver's side door then it's the fault of the other driver. Also, the white part of me is Irish - with a whole lot of family in the area and was a resident. Also important, they're in a hurry (to stop in traffic) and their car is being used like a weapon.
Add all that together, throw in a municipality that's corrupt as all hell, people who don't give a shit, outright vendettas, and ever-changing weather. Oh, and throw in that they've got shit for signs that are almost as meaningless as a drunk townie asking you for a light.
And you get driving in Boston. Suffice to say, it's not for the "weak of heart." (Pronounced "heaht you fucking queah and fuck your mothah too you fucking fudge packin' faggot and yes I'll be in church next week father, it was an excellent mass.") When I point out my perfect driving record, I'm careful only to point out that I have no at-fault accidents on my record. I've been hit, while stopped at a light, in Boston - twice and once while I was walking back to my car, I saw my car hit again. It had just been hit two days prior. Eventually, you realize that reporting it is futile as they'll just raise your insurance rates. It is actually abnormal to not have a stick or bat in your car if you live in Boston. You just might need it.
Nope. There's no fixing Boston's roads or drivers unless you're gonna tear it all down and rebuild it from scratch. If you did that, it wouldn't be Boston. I'll drive in Boston but not in Paris, France. That's a whole other set of issues. They've still got nothing on Boston.
One of my first experiences in Boston, as an adult and on my own, was living there with a cousin for a couple of months while waiting to join the military. I saw a car drive up on the sidewalk and do the movie thing where they smash into a few things and keep driving with people diving out of the way. Now, imagine 1970's police cars. About 10-15 seconds *later* the sir
It's a bit more complicated than that, specifically with regards to the areas of Africa that I've traveled. Unlike quite a few people, I have traveled to distant lands and seen strange people - often against the advice of friends and family. I've not only done so against the advice of my government but I've had the State Department reach out and tell me that they'd be unable to help me. I've still gone - and I've always enjoyed myself and learned new things.
So, Africa is big. Really, really big. It also has multiple parties that you'd call "warlords." (I'd call 'em that too.) If you can narrow it down, that'd be good. If you mean places without governance, there aren't any - really. Some places have shitty and unofficial governments but they've all got some sort of government. That includes Somalia - they have government. They just have a shitty government that doesn't care about the citizens and have yet to oust that government. They even have paperwork... Very few governments don't have paperwork. They're not really "official" but that's a dubious term.
I've actually *been* to Somalia. Good people, mostly. Well, as far as people go. They've got a shitty government. They're probably better served with less governance as it being better is unlikely. I am a wee bit familiar with the process and, suffice to say, they don't actually get to vote - because of their government.
Of course, don't read more into what I wrote than what I actually said. That'd not only be presumptuous but it'd probably be incorrect. I do not recommend emulating Somalia. But, government is not something Somalia lacks. They don't even lack local government. They do lack a representative government. However, when it comes to governing the populace? They've got that pretty well down pat. In a certain light, you could suggest that they could actually do with less government 'cause they're pretty well governed at all times.
Well yeah. He's a human, isn't he? You can postulate that a human is greedy, arrogant, self-centered, and dishonest and, here's the fun part, be not just right but completely right - the vast majority of the time. People don't care about what doesn't impact them on a personal level.
There are exceptions and we all think we're one of the exceptions. You could say, we all think we're exceptional.
Also, 'snot my fault that people are people. However, I've stomped across the globe and found that people are people pretty much everywhere. Right or wrong, if you're hungry then you worry about your hunger and not that someone else is hungrier. And yes, there are some exceptions. They're exceptional people.
You didn't actually say anything that I didn't say. I'm not entirely sure what prompted your reply, perhaps you read something that wasn't there?
At this point, it's probably best to presume that you're hard at work on designing your skin suit. I'd also like to point out that I live nowhere near Iceland and don't play your game - you probably don't need to add me to your "going to get even" list. In the meantime, enjoy your game.
I'm still trying to figure out why you're telling me things I not only already know but either pointed out directly or alluded to in my post. No, no need to elaborate, I don't want to be party to your skin suit - even at the design level.
For the rest of the readers: Note their reply... Yup... They're an interesting group of people and that's a fine example of 'em. If you see one in real life, keep the skin suit thought in mind. They're probably even working on stitching material strengths and weaknesses.
Mí Español es muy míeda. Es no en Engaís y yo no nescito Magicó© para el diacritico.
Err... Something like that. Probably NOT applicable to the language you speak of. But some support is there. © ® × ¥ ÷ € £ etc... Hmm... I'm also not sure what I actually said. I can't say that I've ever had the opportunity to use those words in Spanish.
×
Well, at least you owned up to that post. That said, you seem to have me confused for someone who's unaware of the technical benefits to using a hosts file. I appreciate that you feel obligated to instruct me on their usage but there's a good chance that I was using a hosts file before you were born.
That said, it's even more amusing that you seem to indicate that you are aware of my goals. Security is about accepting a certain level of risk and hardship in order to achieve a goal. Security is a process, not an application. The greatest security (or privacy) tool you have available to you is in the operator's seat. Unfortunately, that can mean that such is also the least strong tool.
Not only does your program not work for me (and probably never will as you're a Windows user) but it doesn't support things like wildcards. I *like* being able to selectively allow or disallow access to my system based on my goals and what risks I'm willing to accept to reach those goals. I do not rely on uBlock to do anything more than block ads. I have multiple tools in my toolbox. One of those tools is uBlock.
I don't need to prove you factually incorrect. I only need to demonstrate that you're not salient. Not one damned thing you've said actually matters. I know what my tools do. I know how to use them. I've been doing so since the days before you actually had a computer. Your rant has not one damned thing to do with anything I said - not even a little. You're trying to tell me to use a hammer when the actual goal isn't to pound anything in at all.
That, good Sir, is the entire point. I don't HAVE to prove you incorrect. Why would I? I need only demonstrate that you're irrelevant, off-topic, and unable (unwilling?) to actually understand the goals. You're a direct representation of the things you profess to dislike, up to and including sending unsolicited advertisements and refusing to understand the benefits of alternatives.
I've no interest in adding the curating of a hosts file to my day. It does not do what I want it to do for the goals that I have. No, I've got enough compute cycles that enable me to afford them and use multiple approaches to achieve a blended security solution that allows me the greatest amount of refinement and enables me to do so with the least amount of effort. I have zero interest, at this time, in using a hosts file as one of those tools but I am not unfamiliar with the use and have used such in the past. Furthermore, your program is of zero value to me as it simply can not work with my operating system - not even in WINE.
And this is a great example of the behaviors that people dislike. It's like this thread's gonna write itself. You can find 'em stalking my other posts and denying that they are themselves. You can find them making off-topic, inane, posts. You can find them doing all of this stuff. Sadly, their program would (maybe) stand on its own merits but the author is, well... Like I said, I'll let you judge for yourself...
The best part is that they think they're "winning" something or have some sort of victory with such posts. No, APK... We know it's you. It's okay, you can come out now. You don't need to hide. No, your replies don't bother me, don't worry me, and don't have any impact on my future. That's one of the benefits about being retired. Hell, you can make up anything you want and add that to the list. You could write down that I ax murdered a dozen orphans in a small Canadian village and that's probably gonna just make me giggle a little.
They wanted to know who you are. I showed them who you are and gave them links to see who you are. Meh, I'd do it again. You don't really scare me so that's not an actual concern and post stalking is mostly only going to amuse me. It might distract me but that's fine - I didn't have anything better to do. The wonderful life of retirement means I've got a few minutes to get past any distractions while on my way to doing a bunch of nothing. It's not like I have a busy schedule or anything.
At any rate, if you'd like to continue denying that you're you - that's fine. If you'd like to demonstrate the stalking behavior, that's fine. If you'd like to double down on your dishonesty, that's fine too. You're just doing the things that are the reasons people complain about you and making it easier for them to see it. I can assure you, they're not dumb. They can read a few posts, figure out the patterns, and see who you are - even if you use your proxies. You really might want to consider just standing up and being counted. Then you can speak for yourself instead of having others speak for you.
I have a stalker but I think it's meta moderation that killed them. They were bold enough to tell me that they were going to down-mod everything I said. They then tried. They went from 5 points a day to 5 points every few days. Then they went to 5 points a week and then to 3 points. They always did the comments right in a row. Now, presumably, they get no more mod points because they still sometimes leave a drive-by comment to tell me that they hate me for being a whole laundry list of things that I am not. I'm a bit perplexed.
At any rate... I kind of feel sorry for them. Now they don't get any mod points. That has to suck. Besides, I liked the attention. They were giving me their most valuable asset - time. On a good day, I could even get them to respond with just a couple of well-placed sentiments. It was awesome! I've had hate mail but I'd never had a stalker. Well, I'd had stalkers but they were pretty lazy. This one was dedicated to me - and I appreciate that dedication. I also liked the ego inflation. I was so important to them that they'd give me their time. They dedicated a portion of their busy schedule to me. I valued that attention and I did my best to ensure that I kept them engaged.
Alas, they appear to have given up. I don't think they were quite expecting me to have that perspective. I even invited them to go out to dinner with the missus and I. Hell, I went so far as to specify that they were invited, desired, at my New Years Eve festivities. (I did get three Slashdotters to show and two of them brought their families - it was a good time had by all.) I have since learned that our antics were on the "news" (radio) and that's why we had extra company. It turned out pretty well. But, my stalker didn't show up.
I don't really place a whole lot of stock in the whole moderation thing. I have never, not once, considered not saying something because it might be poorly moderated. I will never do so in the future. If I believe something is important, I will say it - moderation be damned. I accept accountability - I actually prefer it for myself. That means that I may not always be right. The moderation may not always be right so that's a consideration as well.
At any rate, when you get a stalker - don't hate 'em. Nah, think about how much power you have over them. Think about how much they're giving you. Think about how important you are to them. It's just a matter of perspective. Of course, treat that power with care. *snickers* Otherwise, you lose your stalker and they start behaving irrationally. That irrational behavior might lead to amusing things like them forgetting to post as AC or going off on a rant in the wrong sub-thread. Maybe we need a book or a guide? "Congratulations and Proper Care for your New Stalker!"
There are about a dozen of us (that I've noticed) who ping off the rev limiter that is the 50 posts per day limit - even if you've maximized your karma level. I have it on good authority that such limits will be either be removed or increased. I've read a few suggestions on the topic and they sound nice but increase complexity.
The idea that it will mean that crap-floods happen is silly. They might. They might happen for a while. Then that person will quickly lose their karma rating and no longer have as many posts. It's a self-correcting problem. Only a few people are suggesting allowing everyone to post unlimited times. I think they're being safely ignored. I think... I hope... There should be sane limits but one should be able to exceed those limits by gaining in karma - like one already can. Those limits should just be higher than what they are once you reach the highest karma ranking and *only* once you reach the highest karma should it be unlimited or nearly unlimited.
If it helps, I already made such a proposal to the new owners and they've indicated support. (I'm avoiding claiming that they'll do it or that they said they'd do it - they did not exactly say either of those two things.) I'd also imagine that it's trivial to change but not all that important in the scope of things. Hopefully they'll let us know when it changes. Otherwise, I might not notice and might not know to be grateful.
It's important to add that (in my humble opinion) I think you should avoid defaults. In other words, greater control and choice. If you're going to implement a feature *and* it is reasonable to do so, make it an option. It can be enabled by default *if* that's a goal/requirement.
We're geeks and nerds. We love buttons. You could probably load up 1000 random extra buttons in our control panels and we'd be content for weeks just pushing them - even if they just changed trivial things. You could put in a button to change the capitalization of every letter E and someone'd be flipping that button - constantly, for at least a week before they get tired of it.
Observation: We love options and hate defaults. We like being able to break our own systems - in fact, we insist on that. Options also means it's not being imposed. Options mean we're still able to choose. Options means greater liberty and greater freedom (those are not pseudonyms) and we generally seem to like that.
There's no way that you'll ever make us all happy. It's not possible. Having a laundry list of things to fix? That's not a bad idea. Having a laundry list of things to really change? Well... I think people believe you have access to a giant control panel and can just make sweeping changes by flipping a switch or inserting a new number - both with a clearly labeled manual. I assume you have no such thing, really. If you do then, well, those sound like buttons to me and I'd hardly fault you for poking them.
Oh, I've loads of thoughts on the subject and would happily write them out. I'm not sure what the value would be. I can even write paragraphs about the merits of various choices. Again, I'm not sure what the value would be. I'd do that but I don't really want to overwhelm (or underwhelm), I don't want to add to the noise, and I'm not sure what levels of change need to be considered - at this point.
Conclusion: A laundry list of things to fix is a good idea - but a list of changes to make in the future (including things like moderation policy) is a bit presumptuous. Options are good, when applicable, and might be the best way to guide instead of force. We like buttons but, sadly, not even that is an absolute at Slashdot. I've been watching /. for a long time and we tend to get displeased when someone tries to use force - but we'll probably click a button. We'll even argue about what settings the buttons should be optimal configuration. It's what we do.
That said, don't forget that silly post threshold for posters with maximum karma - if you've ever got time to look into it. It'd be appreciated and there's a dozen or so of us who bounce off that threshold frequently. It's akin to a rev limiter set for 6000 RPMs on something designed to operate at 10,000 RPMs for short bursts. You can do that but it's probably not going to get the best results possible. On the list of things that impact people by number, that's probably pretty low on the list.
If you'd like, someone (I guess I could - but someone more concise than I may be an optimal choice) could wait for this thread to die down and then re-read it. They could take notes and summarize the thread and maybe do some actual research to see what benefits there are and do some sort of "formal" report. I suppose, they could do both an abstract and maybe even format it in a readable format. 'Snot like we don't have plenty of paper authors and administrators here.
I'm still awaiting that picture with the chicken fried steak batter and party hat. ;-)
I think there's some merit to the idea that no, no the rest of the Internet does not actually want us. As I postulated in the last thread about this... The 'net will always make sure that Slashdot exists even if they only do so in order to keep us distracted and out of their comments section.
You can use some, a limited subset, but there's a limit as to the insertion methods. For some reason, I do not know why, the U+12345 doesn't work but using the keyboard layout works. © ® € £ ¥ ñ, and more, all work well enough. You can even insert < and have it not get eaten (but that one's a bit trickier) if you want to.
Do we need all of them, including the ones that I'd call emoticons? Where do we draw the line? I'd like to see more maths symbols. × ÷ + and - are there. is there.
Then, we have your thorn... (I guess we could speculate on the verbiage of "I can't" as opposed to "we can't" and all that.) Is that needed? Does it serve any function? No, really. I have no idea - I think of a thorn and I think of things that stick in you or runes. Except, I don't actually know what it is in reference to runes. I do know what raspberry thorns are like. Who does typing a thorn help and what does the thorn do?
Then, we have the micro symbol. I think we can all agree on that. Well, anyone who doesn't agree is a poop-head. I can type it. I can have it on my screen. It disappears when I hit preview. -- That space, right there, is where there *should* be one. It's not. Oh, it's there on my screen (inserted with R-ALT + M which is a dead key or a Gr key - I've no idea which) but it doesn't get to your screen. That needs fixing. That will help "we" and not just "I" - I believe.
Then, we can type microgram. I'm not so sure you can type thorn. I don't actually know what a thorn is - except something to do with pricks and runes. I'm pretty sure you're reference is for the latter or something else entirely. I'm willing to guess that I've seen a thorn. I'm unwilling to state that they have any applicable value to most - because I don't know if they do. They might, but I can'y say that I've knowingly ever wanted to type one before.
You want to type a thorn. I want to type a pile of poop. You probably have a good reason to want to type a thorn. My only excuse is that I'm easily amused and about as mature as your average five year old. Does the inclusion of either of those help people other than ourselves in any meaningful fashion? 'Cause, I don't know... If you ask Slashdot which they'd prefer, the thorn or poop, Unicode supported - I suspect the poop would get a whole bunch of votes. This being Slashdot, it might get more votes than the thorn.
Dude, you're not fooling anyone. We *know* it is you, APK. This sort of behavior is in line with why people have issues with you. You're given the chance to defend yourself and you're hiding and pretending that you're not you. We can SEE you are you - you use the same verbiage, every. single. time. Hell, we've even told you how to fake it better but you still haven't figured that part out.
And no, no I don't post as an AC. You know that. I also don't hold back and not say what I feel needs to be said. You know that too. You even know how I feel about hosts files, why I don't use them, and how I feel about people causing needless drama, harassing others, and repeating themselves needlessly. So, go ahead and take it out on me, show me whatever it is you think makes you right, or whatever - I can handle it so I don't need to post as an AC. 'Snot like I was doing anything more constructive.
Seriously... The new owner asks who you are and you hide and try to pretend you're not you? You don't even do a good job at hiding. I've raised children. These are not antics you should be proud of, son. Some day, you might have a Mrs. APK and even make baby APKs. Do you REALLY want to subject them to the ridicule they'll face simply by dint of birth?
No? Well, stand up and be a man. Stand up and be counted. Stand up and be who you are. You do it, you're accountable for it. Be accountable - if nothing else. That's where the road to growth starts. I can assure you, we've all got room for growth.
Hey there, this is APK pretending to be someone other than himself.
http://ask.slashdot.org/commen...
This is not scientific but I searched Google for "slashdot apk ublock" (He talks a lot about uBlock). I clicked the first link. I pressed CTRL + F and entered "APK" and it found 425 instances in this thread:
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...
This is an example post - actually, let me get you multiple examples:
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...
Oh, I can go on and dig out more. However, that doesn't even scratch the surface. Really, CTRL + F and search for APK in just that ONE thread. You can then use Google to find many, many more examples.
If you don't understand, click that first link and consider that that's one of THOUSANDS of them. He will respond and pretend to be someone else who is not him. You can tell by verbiage and writing style - he's been booted off of almost every tech site, at least once, and has a bit of a reputation. Just give that one thread a read, using CTRL + F, and have a peek at it and draw your own conclusions.
I'd also add that he claimed he was leaving, recently actually, on a separate site. He did so. He migrated to a new forum but I think they've kicked him out already.
I am a FIRM believer in options...
That said, enable you (or I - almost certainly I) to automatically open posted links in a new tab and links in the summaries in a new tab. Yup. I could code that - it might take me a minute to figure out how to do it automatically in Perl and I'm probably going to cache that setting in a cookie but that's because I suck. I'd assume they'll do a better job than I.
But yes, having the option to automatically open links in a new tab would be great. As it is, I use my mouse's center button out of habit. I'd like to see that as an option and would certainly tick the box to try it out. I'm already doing so - I just have to use the center button to do so or use CTRL or right click... Automatic would be nice as an option. Maybe even the default option...
Also, if the poster takes the time to add about='_blank' then adhere to that. If I've taken the time to make a link open in a new tab, do so. I did it for a reason. Obey the code. It's not something that can be malicious (by itself) or harm the server.
Hmm... Seeing as I'm here... Markdown and a GUI (gasp) editor (optional) might be nice. There are whole libraries that do nothing but add a handy-dandy GUI to the comment facility. Even I, yes I, can probably figure out how to add that. Again, I'm probably gonna cache the settings in the cookie 'cause I suck and hopefully they don't do that as their only option. They should tag it in the user's stored settings in the database. I hate working with a DB thus it's getting stuffed in a cookie if you have me do it. Simple solution? Don't let me do it - unless you want it stored in a cookie. You probably don't just want that.
That's part of why I do not moderate. I never (or very, very seldom) moderate. If I feel like judging your post, I'll judge it. That's my judgment and my judgment shouldn't impact others. If I feel like replying with my opinions, I'll do that. In fact, that's what I'd prefer to do. I much prefer to respond - often in novella form, when I see an insightful, troll, informative, etc. type of post. I guess you could say, that is my moderation. It just doesn't impact how others are going to see the post by means of a moderation score.
And, as I've mentioned this before, I should probably save some time and add this now instead of having to answer this question later...
Don't read more into that than I wrote. I didn't say anything, or even indicate a dislike, about other folks who moderate. I read at -1 and usually don't even really notice the moderation. I can see the system as having value for some people and do not dislike it. I just do not feel that my personal feelings about a post's qualities should be reflected by a number and then missed or seen because of people's filtration systems.
On the other hand, I used to meta moderate but, alas, they altered that system and I don't actually know what my cast votes mean (for certain) so I no longer participate in meta moderation on a regular basis.
I did mentioned earlier that I don't like the 50 post threshold. No matter how high the karma, you can post no more than 50 posts in a day. Maybe that limit can be erased if the user is willing to opt out of moderation? I'm unsure of what effects that might have but it might be worth thinking about.
Can you imagine what people would read into that moderation - even if unintended? Oh my.... I am thinking that's one of the worst moderations they could have but, at the same time, it might be one of the best. I guess that would be a matter of perspective. Err... I don't actually moderate - even though I get points. Though, I get fewer points now but that seemed to happen when I stopped moderating a very long time ago. I suspect there's something automated there as my behavior (and the resulting moderation) hasn't really changed - if anything, my scores increased.
That said, I've a whole bunch of thoughts on this subject but it seems like wasted effort to throw them in with 1200 other comments. Someone is bound to have asked for everything I want and everything I don't want.
But, in the spirit of the thread... This is my big one:
Remove, or alter, the arbitrary 50 post per day limit that is still imposed when you reach the highest level of karma. That's just silly. You want good content. You want more content. For better or worse, Slashdot likes my posts. I write a lot. I will write a lot. I bounce off that limit all the time - it's like a rev limiter for no good reason. That limit is like cutting off your own nose to spite your face.
I've done that. Unsurprisingly, there are actual good comments on YouTube. I'm not even kidding. No, there exists high quality comments on YouTube.
Err... Well, they do exist. I've even seen a few. They don't exist in great numbers and you gotta be really bored to go find them but they do exist. Maybe that's a little something to do with what they were getting at with their comment? Sometimes, the world isn't filtered into nice little boxes and you have to make some effort to find what you want.
I don't know what you freaky Europeans get up to in your own countries but this here's America, and in America we obey the laws of thermodynamics!
If we're gonna nit pick, no public office needs to be changed to qualify as an election. We elected to eat in tonight. Fucked if anyone came and held the ladies a ticker tape parade for winning but it was still an election - complete with votes. (It's a long story. don't make me tell it all to you.)
At any rate, you can elect the person in charge of the coffee fund at work. You can elect to have elective surgery. You can elect a public official. You can elect a member of a private board. You can elect membership role filling for that private board. You can elect to have tuna melts, fries, salad, and tomato soup. Only one of those is a public office.
I think, I'm pretty sure, this was still an election. It's still an election, by definition, even if they use some pretty silly ways to finish it off.
That kind of depends on your views of what is and isn't conservative. I am fiscally conservative - which is why I support single payer health care, a strong social safety net, and low up-front cost education. I support those things because I am fiscally conservative. In all of those cases, it's less expensive (overall) than the alternatives that have so far come to light.
If something better comes along, I'll look into it and make new choices based on the new information. Right now, it's cheaper to keep you healthy, fed, and upwardly mobile than it is to put you in prison or hire goons to keep you from stealing my shit. I like my shit. That's why I bought it. I don't support those things because I want your ass on welfare. I support those things because I want your ass up, making money, and paying your share of taxes so that I don't have to. I want you making money because I might make some of that too.
There's no altruism. I'm not a socialist, really. I used reason, logic, and data to come to my conclusions. No feelings about innocent people, no desire to make everyone all smiles, and sure as shit no desire to ensure an equal outcome is had by all (but I'm very much for equal opportunity). Those are the least of my concerns - I don't even LIKE you that much. No... I support those policies because they're cheaper (and better) than the alternatives appear to be. I sure as shit don't support all their policies - just a few and just for that very specific reason and only when it has shown itself to be a financially sound choice enough to at least give it consideration.
The two positions are not, really, difficult to hold. I'm *very* socially liberal (to the point of absurdity by some views). I'm also moderately fiscally conservative. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money if you were gonna end up spending money no matter what. Do you buy the cheapest shoes you can find or a pair that work and lasts for a lot longer than the cheaper shoes but costs a bit more but needs to be replaced less often so cost less in the long run? If so, you've managed to hold both positions at the same time. If not, you're an idiot and enjoy your cheap ass shoes. To drive the analogy into the ground, don't go full retard and buy the most expensive shoes you can find either.
What is with you people and these absolutes that I keep hearing? Why the hell are you making things needlessly complicated? It's cheaper to keep you amusing yourself than it is to keep you locked up while still having to provide for you. It's cheaper to educate you than it is to employ several people to clean up after you. It's cheaper to keep you healthy than it is to deal with your catastrophic health issues. This is not a difficult thing to figure out. Just like it's cheaper to have a library in town than one in your home. It's cheaper to have cops than private security. It's cheaper to have a town fire department than it is to have to keep a whole crew on hand or just let your shit burn the village down because you couldn't afford your own fire department.
This is not complicated stuff. In fact, it's pretty damned simple. You can, easily, be socially liberal and fiscally conservative at the same time - you just need to not be a spittle-flecked zealot who is hell bent on fucking absolutes. Holy shit, this is like explaining economics to my kids - except they actually get it. This is NOT complicated and it doesn't need to be. Stop making shit complicated. You're making it so difficult that you can't understand it. There it is in nice simple words. Yes, you can hold both views at the same time - so long as you're not an idiot.
Interesting? Well... No? I mean, you weren't expecting the results to be different - where you? If you were, why?
It's not like countless people haven't pontificated, postulated, prophesied, and pointed. That *is* what you're going to get. There's no way to change it unless you get everyone on board and that includes the people who have accumulated all the assets and all the power. They're not going to give up their happiness today so that your children can have a better tomorrow.
Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. If I knew the right ways to make things work better, I'd have already told you. I don't. Somehow, we've got to figure it out while still allowing the individual to have liberties and freedom. If we don't have those, we're just existing. Then again, I can afford the luxury of saying that I'd rather be poor than less free. I am not poor.
I can only submit that there are people smarter than I, quite a few actually, and hopefully they will figure it out. Somewhere between alleviating all of human suffering and complete and total financial freedom is a spot to draw a line. I'd humbly submit, the line should probably be moved - but important questions are in which direction, why, and where. It's a pretty safe bet that the current spot is less than idea, regardless of one's political beliefs.
I'll definitely have to give it a shot? I'm not completely anti-television or anything. I'm just not into TV enough to have a dish on my house. I'd probably watch Nova or Frontline if I remembered when they came on. With a TV card, I can even go so far as to do my own DVR thing. That's good thinking, thanks! It might even keep the missus amused but she doesn't seem to be into TV a whole lot either. She just kind of turns it on and meanders around aimlessly. She's kind of taken to playing with VMs of varied OSes as of late. She does the same thing in all of them (mostly contacting friends back home and reading a few sites that she seems to like) but at least she's having fun and mostly harmless.
I guess one technically has to be a mile high to be a mountain or something like that? If that's true, Maine only has one technical mountain. The rest are just hills. They're old and have been rubbed off by glaciation. They're not majestic, like the Rockies, but are old and wise mountains. (That's really what they remind me of.)
So, I'm probably not technically on the side of a mountain at home. At least not on a mountain that's a mile high. I just typed in Rangeley (I don't actually have a zip code of my own) but moving the marker does seem to indicate more than if I type in the name. So, I might get something up on the house. I'm also on the "right" side of the mountain - so I'm exposed to the SSE which lines me up with the side to get reception.
I have a friend with a rather fancy transit. I think that's what they're called. At any rate, leveled out and looking through it has shown that my house is quite a ways up there. The cell phones and GPS all say different heights. All of them. Even if they're on the deck railing, they say different heights. Otherwise, I'd share that information too but it so happens that I not only don't remember it, it's seemingly pretty inaccurate. As I recall, they had as much as 50' of difference between them? (We tried a few in one day, one of which was even a fairly expensive Garmin or the other brand - TomTom I think.)
*snickers* Someone has come along and moderated me as OFF TOPIC. I mean, really? It's not incorrect but that's kind of what I do. I might be on-topic once in a while but it's not intentional! Pfft... Slashdot *IS* my personal blog. Thank you. It was good for a chuckle. I'd say I'm sorry but I'd rather not lie and I am not sorry. In fact, I'm so not sorry that I'll probably do it again tomorrow. 'Cause that's what I do.
Either way, I'll certainly have to look into it. From the looks of things - and doing a little more research, I might not even have to go with an outdoor antenna. I do not actually have an attic (double envelope house - salt-box style if you're curious) but I can probably figure something out internally - if needed. I mostly just stream stuff. I'm not actually sure what I'd do if I didn't have broadband. I've not had it before but I always had something to put on in the background. If it gets really rough, I can read.