The justification of the slippery slope is pretty simple.

They ask to add in a DoB field that must be filled out and reported at all times. So we add it into our systems and say no big deal. If you hate it put down your birthday as 1900-01-01 and call it a day.

But what is the problem with a self reported, unconfirmed field like this? It is utterly useless BECAUSE it is a self reported, unconfirmed field. It doesn’t solve any problem AND it doesn’t provide any real personal information. So why even ask for it?

The two options are malicious intent and stupidity that tech can’t be worked around.

We can skip the latter as stupid people will always be stupid. So the former, malicious intent. When they point out that this new law isn’t actually fixing things because of the fact people are lying about their age they will inevitably say we need government IDs added to the system. They will not only make sure you are the correct age for content, but know WHO is viewing such content and they will be tracking it.

Now you might say, wait there is a third option, benevolent people actually wanting safety. Creating a system where personal information is mandatory to your interaction with the internet creates a security target that we all know cannot be covered. And we also know that all tech can be broken so kids will find a way around this stuff. Using your parent’s ID, a globally shared fake ID, hacking the protocol for certification. they will get around it.

The slope is slippery because the only options are

• Stupid => which falls down the hill on accident
• Benevolent => which falls down the hill because its a vertical cliff face that can’t be scaled
• Malicious => they push you down the hill because they are assholes

Super cereal

This is my biggest pet peeve of OSS projects. Someone writes some code and that is where it ends for them. The rest of the infrastructure is so free and so easy that there is no need for dedication to the project.

This is literally how killer computers come into existence.

Amazon Farms™

I am talking about when the price is no longer based supply. When we see their market bottom out on AI one would expect to see the price drop. But looking at recent history these massive companies keep the price high because consumers see it as the new normal.

Consumers will find a way to eventually afford this price bump when its not food, shelter or medical care. It just takes a little longer when it is not a necessity.

But consumers are stupid. when they start selling ram again at a high price we should all boycot buying computers. instead a lot of people will just accept the new price. we saw it after the pandemic, people just accepting prices instead of holding fast and forcing prices down.

it is not much better than just running a linter over your code.

you know when the bubble pops and they no longer have AI companies buying RAM they will switch back to consumers and keep the high prices.

There is no such thing as a ban you idiot. You can companies by passing laws.

How the fuck do you think a ban happens?

if the law makes their business not viable it’s a ban. and if all they can do is show ads and not allow people to post BS then they will go away.

you ban them by making good laws that make why they are shit illegal. it’s really not that hard. force them to have validation of political claims. if they don’t then shut them down. not difficult.

i agree the need will be there but banning the ones that exist by coming up with good laws is the point.

force them to verify all political claims. All ads need to have very apparent sources of funding. don’t let legal entities funnel money to pay for anything. not difficult.

just think if the EU banned twitter, facebook, instagram, and the rest. the world might instantly get a little smarter.

the crazy prices will eventually lose users. so the price will drop but the phone manufactureres won’t just accept the loss. instead they will sell you as a commodity even harder.

because the thing they strive for is getting more. it’s about status. they only give it away if it somehow nets them more wealth.

with being a walled garden i have a feeling we will eventually see phones become genuinely free because you will not have an option to keep your data away from advertisers. AOSP is barely holding on to maintain a safe place for users. when all hardware is locked down we will be stuck.

because you actually watch porn for the plot?

I love that all those games are now being ported to retro consoles. I have all the Commander Keen games in my pocket for when I feel like fighting aliens.