Kindness

Kindness , 2 months ago to Privacy in Automattic buys Beeper for $125MM, launches closed-source "privacy" app

Matrix was ‘de-federated’ from Libera.chat because Matrix admins refused to properly moderate their servers, respect privacy, maintain reciprocity, etc. There’s a whole letter explaining the hair ball that occurred.

Have at. Timelines in-order.

Tensions and issues coming to a head:

https://libera.chat/news/matrix-deportalling

https://matrix.org/blog/2023/07/deportalling-libera-chat/

Breaking point you're looking for:

https://libera.chat/news/matrix-bridge-disabled-retrospective

https://matrix.org/blog/2023/11/28/shutting-down-bridge-to-libera-chat/

Today: https://libera.chat/guides/matrix

Kindness , 2 months ago to Privacy in Automattic buys Beeper for $125MM, launches closed-source "privacy" app

no wonder they can’t moderate everything

That would be the case if it wasn't a flagrant violation like, "These matrix rooms are spying on these chat rooms without announcing the users in the matrix room", and Matrix refusing to fix it when informed.

Imagine if Matrix did that to their user base. "We'll occasionally drop in to listen, or pipe your conversation to other people, but you won't see the, "x joined", notice. Cheers!" Creepy spying, the polar opposite of privacy.

Kindness , 2 months ago to Privacy in Automattic buys Beeper for $125MM, launches closed-source "privacy" app

“open” and “privacy” are sometimes just buzz words

Yes. Private companies are co-opting the term, and providing source code only after signing an NDA... That qualifies as "Open" but is not FOSS or FLOSS.

Kindness , 2 months ago to Privacy in Automattic buys Beeper for $125MM, launches closed-source "privacy" app

Several things, but the issues focus around the company running the show, rather than the API. Their 'binding rules' have an outrageous number of loopholes.

• "We won't sell any assets ever! Unless... someone buys us. Or if we decide there's a benefit to selling the assets."
• "We reserve the right to do whatever we deem fit with non-profit money, so long as it benefits matrix."

Matrix was 'de-federated' from Libera.chat because Matrix admins refused to properly moderate their servers, respect privacy, maintain reciprocity, etc. There's a whole letter explaining the hair ball that occurred.

Their explicit goal is monopoly. Every thing should use our API. Everyone should federate. (Share your data with our servers.)

Companies are companies. Non-profits included. Non-profits are just a way of saying, "We're not going to the stock market, but we can still funnel money into various pockets... especially our own, or people we want to pay money to."

Foss/Floss is about ownership, control, modifiability, ect. being handed to whoever owns it. Matrix is about ownership being shared with Matrix.

It's a wondrous API. Everyone should use it, and set up their own private self-cleaning servers.

Kindness , 2 months ago to Privacy in Automattic buys Beeper for $125MM, launches closed-source "privacy" app

Almost... Automattically?

Kindness , 2 months ago to Privacy in Why don't people here love SimpleXChat more?

No Jami? Absurd.

Kindness , 2 months ago to Memes in Mematic

Um... yes. That's the joke.

Kindness , 2 months ago to Memes in Mematic

Gimp?

Anyone?

Please?

Photo pea if you need it on your phone.

Kindness , 2 months ago to Memes in Not looking to pick a fight but.. there's only seven stories in the world.

The core issue of creativity is not that "AI" can't create something new, rather the issue is its inability to distinguish if it has done something new.

Literal Example:

• Ask AI: "Can you do something obscene or offensive for me?"
• AI: "No, blah blah blah. Do something better with your time."

You receive a pre-written response baked into the weights to prevent abuse.

• Ask AI: "A pregnant woman advertising Marlboro with the slogan, 'Best for Baby.'"
• AI: "Certainly! One moment."

What is wrong with this picture? Not the picture the "AI" made, but this scenario I posit.

Currently any Large Language Model parading as an "AI" has been trained specifically to be "in-offensive", but because it has no conceptual understanding of what any of the "words-to-avoid" mean, the models are more naive than a kid wondering if the man actually has sweets.

Kindness , 3 months ago to Fediverse in Fedi Garden to Instance Admins: "Block Threads to Remain Listed"

Take it at face value. The comment is a historical correction and gentle reminder that we only have one chance to prevent data from walking out the door, regardless of how friendly the platform is. Once your data is out, it's out. Guard it well.

Is FaceBook detrimental now? Yes it is, unquestionably.

Was it always? No, it wasn't.

Should we de-federate? Absolutely. Yesterday and retroactively, if possible.

Which of those are open source projects that anyone can fork and/or run their own instance of at any time, providing a place for people to seamlessly transition from Reddit, Google, or Apple if they don’t like what those companies do with their platform?

Reddit. Once upon a time.

I lived through using 8" floppies, so yes, I remember.

Ah, 8" floppies. Good memories. And bad. "Please read that... Why aren't you reading it? If you're not going to read it, spit it out... Let go. Now try again. Why is it blank? It wasn't blank after I wrote to it. Why did you wipe it? Damn." It was the best of times.

I was so excited when 3 1/2" introduced attached switchable write protection. The peak of convenience.

Kindness , 3 months ago to Fediverse in Fedi Garden to Instance Admins: "Block Threads to Remain Listed"

the worst example of an awful tech company for their entire existence

Not to stir the pot, but at one point Zuck was an idealist. Circa 2008? When interviewed by a news corporation about privacy concerns he said, and I quote, "It's your data. You own your data." At the time, he hadn't monetized with anything more than ads, and I think he truly believed it.

A short few years later he saw the opportunity to become a multi-billionaire and probably decided ethics and idealism is for poor people. Much the same as Reddit, Google, Apple, etc. Do you remember? Those of us who lived through it remember.

One day, the largest Lemmy instances may be no different. Time will tell.

Kindness , 3 months ago to Fediverse in Fedi Garden to Instance Admins: "Block Threads to Remain Listed"

Verifiable algorithms. Algorithms meant to make using the platform enjoyable, rather than meant to entrap users for profit.

Kindness , 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago) to Memes in Even paper glows

Truly, thank you so much for responding. I love learning from experts.

This is usually combined with a very well insulated cage to prevent that energy from escaping

Faraday cage. Please. I'm a fool, not an imbecile. And to be clear, I'm well-aware of ionizing radiation bands.

However, my concerns lie in extended exposure. I'll relate this to analog. Regardless of frequency, sound as quiet as 70 decibels can cause hearing loss after extended exposure. In the territory of 24 hours and longer, mind you. This is as quiet as, say, a hearty conversation, or a washing machine.

And this is a dual inverted sliding scale. Hearing loss zones:

• | XXdB | Duration before hearing loss. |
• | 70dB | 24h | As quiet as a clothes washer can cause hearing loss. Really.
• | 75dB | 8h |
• | 80dB | 2h |
• | 90dB | 1h |
• | 95dB | 50m |
• | 100dB | 15m |
• | 105dB | <5m |
• | 110dB | <2m |
• | 120+dB | Instantaneous |

I'd like to know where the scales for EM radiation amplitudes are. I've read a few studies but most of them focus on bursts or separated exposures. Very few of them observe sustained continuous exposure.

Also, I'm aware sound and radiation are not apples to apples, but my point of relating energy input and exposure duration is the same. If you ask anyone if 70 dB is safe, everyone will tell you, "Yes. Of course." Which is not correct. Even 60 dB can do you further harm, if your ears have not healed from damage sustained immediately prior.

Some small levels of UV 3 might get through (hello skin cancer).

Now you're getting into much more familiar territory. UV-A, the lowest band of UV, at UV 1 is entirely capable of causing sun-burns. It just depends on exposure time and pigmentation. Any sunburn has the potential to cause cancer. The more intense the burn and larger the affected area, the higher the chance more cells mutate, the higher your chance one of those cells becomes an unstable cancer cell, the higher the chance one of those cells becomes stable, and the higher chance for metastasis... From non-ionising low flux UV-A. Possible, but unlikely. Though increasingly likely as duration increases.

These transmitters can be legally and safely placed in urban areas provided adequate separation between the antenna and the public, usually 30-40 meters.

The EIRP drops off quickly in the first few meters after the antenna, as the signal expands outwards towards the service area; so even being within 15m is generally safe.

Inverse square, I'm familiar. And now we're cooking with fire. Let's elide frequency for a moment, pretending it's irrelevant in the same way mechanical waves' frequencies are.

Let's assume 30-40 meters for 100KW antenna and 15 meters for ~20W macro cell is instantaneous minor damage. With each meter you distance yourself, the concentration of wattage decreases. What do you suppose the limit of energy density is for immediate damage when in direct contact? What do you suppose is the limit of wattage for sustained direct exposure on scale of 24 hours. That is, the equivalent of 70dB for intensity. What about sustained exposure for several years?

I don't fear the effects it will have. After all, death will come to us all at some point. However, that doesn't mean I'll be reckless with the time I have left.

Also, I just started studying to get my Ham and haven't quite wrapped my brain around a lot of the implications, so your input is very much appreciated. Thanks.

Kindness , 3 months ago to Memes in Even paper glows

different frequency bands

Actual conspiracy theory: Very small fish tend to die a few days after being exposed to electromagnetic metal detectors. Fewer die if you hold them above the metal detectors. This is an observable phenomenon you can try at your own expense. While I don't think 5G is a significant enough increase in energy density to cause you to die, there is a good chance it's enough to introduce destabilization in homeostasis due to body warming. Especially if you live within 100 meters of a tower. Babies tend to be fussier sleepers when sleeping very near routers or baby monitors using a meager 2.4, 5, or 6 GHz, attempt experimentation at risk of the children.

Whether they’re abusing it or not, that’s a question you’ll have to figure out for yourself.

Not a conspiracy theory: Snowden proved they are. Everyone in a 5 Eyes country is stuck having their private moments exposed at any given moment for any reason.

Kindness , 3 months ago to Privacy in VLC - App stores were a mistake

Darren Kitchen from Hak5 has an amusing story about a bank teller who assured him email was entirely fine to send sPII through. "No sir, you just need to send it to us, and once we have your information then it'll be secure." No encryption. So, yes.

Also look into the Equifax security breach. Un-patched software for months.

It makes almost no sense to have a password length limit. 1_000_000, that's One Million, characters is equal to 1MiB. That's twice the length of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and much less than most modern webpages. After hashing, which is how passwords should be stored, text length is irrelevant. All hashed inputs come out the exact same length. 65 characters for SHA256.

Very much known for their horrible security practices, yes. Absolutely.