Custos's recent activity

  1. Comment on Iran's Qassem Soleimani killed in US airstrike at Baghdad airport in ~news

    Custos
    Link Parent
    I haven’t been on Tildes for a while. I was expecting a more reasoned response from folks. The world is the safest and most stable it’s been in centuries. https://ourworldindata.org/war-and-peace...

    I haven’t been on Tildes for a while. I was expecting a more reasoned response from folks.

    The world is the safest and most stable it’s been in centuries. https://ourworldindata.org/war-and-peace

    This is a man that has facilitated the deaths of probably hundreds of thousands of civilians.

    He was a uniformed member of a military actively responsible for the recent death of an American citizen and the attack on a US embassy.

    There was a unanimous security council resolution passed in 2015 preventing his travel outside of Iran.

    This is all too much. I now can understand why the 1940s happened.

    4 votes

  2. Comment on What are your pet peeves? in ~talk

    Custos
    Link Parent
    I always back in. Started 18 years ago as a firefighter. Being able to pull out in an emergency was faster and safer. But I can do it with one turn almost every time.

    I always back in. Started 18 years ago as a firefighter. Being able to pull out in an emergency was faster and safer.

    But I can do it with one turn almost every time.

    5 votes

  3. Comment on Are there any anglers on Tildes? What are your best tips for catching the big one? in ~hobbies

    Custos
    Link
    Angler here. Really only for the last four years! Recently got a Hobie Pro Angler. I’m still trying to learn salt water have caught some stripers, but my favorite was fishing on Walden Pond...

    Angler here. Really only for the last four years!

    Recently got a Hobie Pro Angler.

    I’m still trying to learn salt water have caught some stripers, but my favorite was fishing on Walden Pond (Thoreau) as it was being stocked by trout. Was getting bites every cast w/ a kastmaster. I also have enjoyed bucktail jigs, esepcially as the fish get smarter.

    Easily got 30 fish that day, only kept the daily limit.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on Indonesian policewomen measured through 'purity and beauty', subjected to virginity testing in ~life.women

    Custos
    Link Parent
    The worlds always been this way. We’re just talking about it now. The real scary thing is that we’re probably in the most sane and equal period in humanity’s history.

    The worlds always been this way. We’re just talking about it now.

    The real scary thing is that we’re probably in the most sane and equal period in humanity’s history.

    4 votes

  5. Comment on What game hooked you? in ~games

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Nothing makes me sadder than the fact we’ve lost all the quest series. I’d have enjoyed a new release of each quest every three years. Some police quest on my oculus would be nice :).

    Nothing makes me sadder than the fact we’ve lost all the quest series. I’d have enjoyed a new release of each quest every three years.

    Some police quest on my oculus would be nice :).

    2 votes

  6. Comment on What game hooked you? in ~games

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Couldn’t agree more with this. I was able to extend my experience by running one of the larger player run shards (Cassiopeia) for many years. It’s hard to emphasize how much UO defined parts of my...

    Couldn’t agree more with this. I was able to extend my experience by running one of the larger player run shards (Cassiopeia) for many years.

    It’s hard to emphasize how much UO defined parts of my life.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on I think Tildes should remain invite-only in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link
    Something I’ve really liked is how ghost.org has handled transparency into their business model. I also thing, while this is invite alpha, gentle redirects to donations (unlike Wikipedia’s...

    Something I’ve really liked is how ghost.org has handled transparency into their business model. I also thing, while this is invite alpha, gentle redirects to donations (unlike Wikipedia’s intrusiveness) is interesting. I’d be cool with a quarterly 24 hr campaign.

    4 votes

  8. Comment on Mobile use in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Is that a thing on iOS? I know it’s possible on Android.

    Is that a thing on iOS? I know it’s possible on Android.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Mobile use in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Some folks I know live in the mobile browser, I’ve never connected with that UX :). A few reasons: Inherently the mobile browser causes you to lose screen real estate. It makes it harder to...

    Some folks I know live in the mobile browser, I’ve never connected with that UX :). A few reasons:

    • Inherently the mobile browser causes you to lose screen real estate.
    • It makes it harder to multi-task and browse a site to research a topic while responding.
    • The lack of push notifications makes it hard for me to stay as engaged or as real-time.
    4 votes

  10. Mobile use

    ~tildes Text 77 words
    I got the new iPhone and my home screen shortcut to Tildes was removed. Found myself back on Reddit and just had an experience that reminded me how much distaste I have for their culture. Made me...

    I got the new iPhone and my home screen shortcut to Tildes was removed. Found myself back on Reddit and just had an experience that reminded me how much distaste I have for their culture.

    Made me wonder if we’ll ever have a native mobile app for Tildes. It’s really the biggest reason I’m not here far more often.

    I’m sure it’s been discussed and I know there are tons of competing priorities- only sharing my perspective :).

    12 votes

  11. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    I agree with much of what you've said, but I'm trying not to view anonymity in a black and white construct. I think the blanket view on anonymity in many ways conflicts (and perhaps supports) the...

    I agree with much of what you've said, but I'm trying not to view anonymity in a black and white construct. I think the blanket view on anonymity in many ways conflicts (and perhaps supports) the broader 'Trust' principles I've seen as core drivers of the platform.

    I don't know that verification means I post my name to the world. It certainly could mean that there's a system you use to verify you're a unique human. And maybe a human w/ a certain expertise.

    I think the black and white viewpoint risks stymying what could be a very interesting dialog about the pro's and con's and how you could mitigate the concerns.

    I'm falling in love with this place. I get very anxious about the long-term ability to realize it's vision based on what I'm seeing in a professional capacity.

    And yes - I'm always willing to be a voice of dissent, even in 'toxic' echo chambers. My identity is known by some and pretty easy to find out. That's a personal decision - although I'd hope if Tildes reaches it's potential that more people would be comfortable coming to the same conclusion.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I don't run or influence Tildes, but I believe in the mission. And when I have ideas that pop into my head, I hope sharing them is welcome -- for whatever the reason, your response felt reasonably...

    I don't run or influence Tildes, but I believe in the mission. And when I have ideas that pop into my head, I hope sharing them is welcome -- for whatever the reason, your response felt reasonably adversarial. I don't know that I've drawn conclusions, that's not the intent. I've made observations on the basis of what I do for a living and some fundamental challenges we're dealing with.

    I also don't know that I said this was a US issue (if I did, shame on me). This is about communities being used to manipulate individuals using well researched psychological biases. This scares me, regardless of country.

    I get disappointed by this dialog, it's really concerning for me. Some of the observations you make (e.g., "Not inherently. If an account is throwing out propaganda left and right, it's fairly easy to see that they don't fit Tildes at all") are patently false. Also, verification done well, can be highly disruptive to the scale in which sophisticated actors operate. Making a statement for folks to consume like "Nation states don't have any shortage of currency, circumventing verification is trivial." concern me. You're anchoring viewpoints of others. If this is an opinion based in experience, I would LOVE to chat privately :).

    Interestingly, it's this type of thread that demonstrates the new world of information operations. Your response likely falls into one of three arenas (exaggeration intended):

    • Your experience is vastly different than mine working in this field.
    • The information your providing is based in opinion, not experience/research. The people reading it have no idea which is the case.
    • You're a foreign operative that's trying to influence the dialog (not what I believe to be the case).

    The reality is, regardless of medium, none of the readers have any way to determine which of those three is accurate. And thus, as they read your comment, you're now framing/anchoring an entire dialog - because what you wrote appears well thought out.

  13. Comment on Censorship 2.0: Shadowy forces controlling online conversations in ~tech

    Custos
    Link Parent
    I think it's less about keeping people on the site, and more about maximizing ARPU. Those are two very different things.

    I think it's less about keeping people on the site, and more about maximizing ARPU. Those are two very different things.

  14. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    You make a lot of great points, although I disagree with the black and white views on anonymity. There's a lot of very, very serious downfalls that anonymity is creating in our social discourse....

    You make a lot of great points, although I disagree with the black and white views on anonymity.

    There's a lot of very, very serious downfalls that anonymity is creating in our social discourse. It's causing profound harm to our society and creating the ability to drive mass manipulation of populations.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    How would this make us Facebook? Don't understand that correlation.

    How would this make us Facebook? Don't understand that correlation.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Agree, the current state is working. I thought I've read that the goal is eventually to open this to the world?

    Agree, the current state is working. I thought I've read that the goal is eventually to open this to the world?

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Everything we do is a judgement call! We want to drive the RIGHT kind of participation in this site. We all get busy. At scale, little things that trigger a psychological response in some can have...

    Everything we do is a judgement call!

    We want to drive the RIGHT kind of participation in this site. We all get busy. At scale, little things that trigger a psychological response in some can have pretty meaningful impacts on a community like this.

    This has been studied pretty widely, a few examples: Do badges increase user activity? A field experiment on the effects of gamification and How gamification motivates: An experimental study of the effects of specific game design elements on psychological need satisfaction

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    They make a great point. I would caution against ignoring basic human psychology when building an online community, though :).

    They make a great point. I would caution against ignoring basic human psychology when building an online community, though :).

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Agree, Badges could do what Karma was supposed to do. Incentivize the right behaviors.

    Agree, Badges could do what Karma was supposed to do. Incentivize the right behaviors.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Anonymity on Tildes in ~tildes

    Custos
    Link Parent
    Anonymity should be a choice for those that need it or won't engage without it. Productive users should not be penalized for being anonymous. Verification could influence trust/reputation in...

    Anonymity should be a choice for those that need it or won't engage without it. Productive users should not be penalized for being anonymous.

    Verification could influence trust/reputation in subtle ways, but I suspect folks willing to verify would correlate with higher reputation scores, regardless of any system changes.

    4 votes