DefinitelyNotAFae's recent activity

  1. Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Indeed it might but that doesn't matter to me (◠‿・)—☆ Also don't make assumptions about how many systems I reject, such hallucinations may suggest a lack of consciousness. (Nah it's just hogwash)

    Indeed it might but that doesn't matter to me (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

    Also don't make assumptions about how many systems I reject, such hallucinations may suggest a lack of consciousness.

    (Nah it's just hogwash)

    5 votes

  2. Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    It might but since I reject the external determination of my consciousness it doesn't really matter. It's a bit like how I retired from the game

    It might but since I reject the external determination of my consciousness it doesn't really matter.

    It's a bit like how I retired from the game

    5 votes

  3. Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    The Journal of Human Specialness doesn't exist. It's not accounting for neurodivergence but that's because it fails everyone. I just don't want you to stress about it (✿^‿^)

    The Journal of Human Specialness doesn't exist. It's not accounting for neurodivergence but that's because it fails everyone.

    I just don't want you to stress about it (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

    15 votes

  4. Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Answering the same question with different answers gives a fail. So no, i suspect not.

    Answering the same question with different answers gives a fail. So no, i suspect not.

    6 votes

  5. Comment on Digg has shutdown (again) in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Gotcha, so that also would influence what was available in those invites. Thanks. This is definitely more than I cared about it but ah well.

    Gotcha, so that also would influence what was available in those invites. Thanks. This is definitely more than I cared about it but ah well.

  6. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Ok, I said given that narrative I'm not so excited to see it come back. It can feel fine to you or not, as you like. Yes. He can be inspired by whatever he likes, obviously. But it seems he was in...

    That feels fine to me.

    Ok, I said given that narrative I'm not so excited to see it come back. It can feel fine to you or not, as you like.

    The issue with the lost cause narrative is that it’s trying to override history to defend a rebellion that started over chattel slavery.

    Yes.

    Firefly is pure fiction. It’s not trying to override real history. If Whedon was inspired by the vibes of lost cause media, to me, that is completely acceptable so long as the fiction itself is not trying to argue that chattel slavery is good. And, while it’s been a while since I watched it, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. Being fiction, you can make the rebels actually just and the empire actually bad.

    He can be inspired by whatever he likes, obviously. But it seems he was in fact inspired by this thing so I'm pointing out this thing that inspired him. I do know how fiction works. Since it apparently needs said: I enjoyed the show, I watched the show repeatedly. I am not interested in more of that narrative in 2026 and I'm glad Whedon isn't involved in the show in 2026.

    But the person was doubting the connection, not whether it's different in fiction.

    Even calling it “Lost Cause narrative” feels weird. Are you letting the confederates own an entire sub-genre of rebellion stories? I wouldn’t give them that kind of power.

    How is identifying a specific theme giving "them" power? As if not pointing it out would erase it? The sub-genre of rebellion stories here are only the Confederate Lost Cause ones, not all rebellions, not all westerns. It's silly to suggest that by saying "hey, the guy that said he was inspired by a civil war book to write a Western that follows the same basic starting premise of Confederate westerns and I personally don't like that vibe" is giving anyone else power.

    14 votes

  7. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Yeah, you'd think then there might be some Chinese people the 'verse then. It does hint towards that future and then does nothing with it.

    Why would this be a problem? I thought it hints towards a future where China has become so significant that the language has received a place as lingua franca.

    Yeah, you'd think then there might be some Chinese people the 'verse then. It does hint towards that future and then does nothing with it.

    7 votes

  8. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    He would also respond to people criticizing his comments (such as comparing same sex marriage to a father marrying his son for tax benefits) with personal insults, mostly about their weight and...

    He would also respond to people criticizing his comments (such as comparing same sex marriage to a father marrying his son for tax benefits) with personal insults, mostly about their weight and appearance. It's just bullying behavior that even if his politics were different is a turn off from a fan perspective.

    8 votes

  9. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Interesting, I don't get Star Wars at all, it's much more Western than the Chosen One styled like Samurai (+ Vietnam war for the dogfighting) vibes of Star Wars IMO. At least until you get to...

    Interesting, I don't get Star Wars at all, it's much more Western than the Chosen One styled like Samurai (+ Vietnam war for the dogfighting) vibes of Star Wars IMO. At least until you get to Mandolorian which is Lone Wolf and Cub + Western IMO. But at some point you edge ever closer to the monomyth (which I'm not an advocate for really) and there are overlaps.

    I agree it's not about slavery. And the westerns weren't either, they focused on the hero having to start over after the tragedy of losing the war/family being killed, whatever and just focused on his positive aspects while making the former/current Union presence the enemies when applicable. So then remove that one step further, off earth into space and so the fight is different, etc. but the string still goes back to that Lost Cause Confederate plot with new scene dressing.

    It's something I didn't notice then and do notice now. And now I'm not as excited to see more of is all.

    6 votes

  10. Comment on Digg has shutdown (again) in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Gotcha. Yeah I asked since I didn't know. Seems like the website worked but they were pushing folks toward mobile/assuming mobile access would be primary

    Gotcha. Yeah I asked since I didn't know. Seems like the website worked but they were pushing folks toward mobile/assuming mobile access would be primary

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Yep, it was definitely of its time and better for being shorter in retrospect.

    Yep, it was definitely of its time and better for being shorter in retrospect.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    He was reading The Killer Angels A Classic Civil War Novel Served As Joss Whedon's Inspiration For Firefly 2002 interview So sure he elaborated on "early frontier life" but the book is about the...
    • Exemplary

    He was reading The Killer Angels
    A Classic Civil War Novel Served As Joss Whedon's Inspiration For Firefly

    2002 interview

    Whedon was inspired to create "Firefly" after reading Michael Shaara's Civil War book "The Killer Angels" about the Battle of Gettysburg. "I got obsessed with the minutiae of life way back then," Whedon said, "early frontier life and when things were not as convenient as they are now. We wanted to do a show in the future that had a sense of history, that we don't solve all our problems and have impeccably clean spaceships."

    So sure he elaborated on "early frontier life" but the book is about the Battle of Gettysburg, not old school westerns and not early frontier life. So, what did inspire him?

    A lot of westerns around the same time did focus on the Confederate soldier fleeing from the Union, starting over in the "wild west" though. And there's a really clear through line from one to the next. It's not that they're set after the civil war, it's that the protagonist and his personal conflict is often directly tied to the war. Think the Outlaw Josey Wales.

    He also named the character of Jubal Early, a real life Confederate general and featured in the book, (in part because Fillion is a descendant) which I think makes it clear that the Confederacy is explicitly on his mind.

    That btw doesn't even start with all the textual examples in the show.

    I'm not saying Whedon was like "whoohoo slavery." I'm saying his narrative aligned with those Confederate westerns and he stated he was explicitly inspired by a Civil War novel while naming a notable character after a Confederate general. Lost Cause narratives focus on the loyalty and toughness of their (former) Confederate characters. They lost but they lost for the cause they believed in, their country and fellow men.

    The show was fun, but with more media literacy now than I had then, I'm less excited about that narrative. As I'm less excited about his views on and portrayals of women. Maybe he'd have been able to do something interesting with the LC style narrative, but based on the bits of plot plans released I don't really have high hopes.

    ETA: also as noted by another poster, this is indeed literary criticism. I'm calling it a Lost Cause narrative; so while I can provide evidence that supports that, and did, the source is also DefinitelyNotAFae on the ides of March in the 4.5 billionth year (est.) of this planet's existence

    17 votes

  13. Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    (edited )
    Link
    Its good Whedon isn't involved, his vision for the show - being a thinly veiled Confederate Lost Cause in space, speaking Chinese without any Chinese people, and specifically his plans for Inara -...

    Its good Whedon isn't involved, his vision for the show - being a thinly veiled Confederate Lost Cause in space, speaking Chinese without any Chinese people, and specifically his plans for Inara - is better left in the past.

    I am not sure that this will be good...but it falls into a "just don't watch" if I don't want to. I am not nearly as excited as I would have been 20 years ago.

    Edit: I'm not apologizing for criticizing the problematic nostalgic fave and I'm not backing off of mentioning topics of race, history and identity, but fuck this is the most exhausting thing about being here. I'm out of this thread.

    21 votes

  14. Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    The Gothamist article is also good. I too get emotional damages whenever Wal-Mart doesn't let me on their wifi.

    The Gothamist article is also good.

    I too get emotional damages whenever Wal-Mart doesn't let me on their wifi.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Digg has shutdown (again) in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    Got it, the language used didn't make sense to me as a website vs mobile app.

    Got it, the language used didn't make sense to me as a website vs mobile app.

  16. Comment on Digg has shutdown (again) in ~tech

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    The other person said the "desktop" version was just a website. Are you just making a cynical guess because you seem like you're not speaking from experience?

    The other person said the "desktop" version was just a website. Are you just making a cynical guess because you seem like you're not speaking from experience?

    2 votes

  17. Comment on The US Mint dropped the olive branch from the dime. What does that mean for the country? in ~society

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    The anti-piracy wars seem to refer not to "the standing navy does patrols sometimes" but the West Indies Operation - the creation of a US Navy squadron of like 16 ships designated to find and...

    The anti-piracy wars seem to refer not to "the standing navy does patrols sometimes" but the West Indies Operation - the creation of a US Navy squadron of like 16 ships designated to find and fight the pirates rather than the status quo of just a single ship finding and attacking another ship.

    Whether or not they should count as "in conflict/at war" is debatable, but they're not just patrols, they're an organized military operation, making them equivalent of others. (If there's another era you were speaking of, lmk)

    2 votes

  18. Comment on 'Buffy' reboot starring Sarah Michelle Gellar dead at Hulu in ~tv

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    I mostly feel the same but given all the Firefly hype right now I'd rather have a reboot of Buffy by women who loved it.

    I mostly feel the same but given all the Firefly hype right now I'd rather have a reboot of Buffy by women who loved it.

    4 votes

  19. Comment on In noisy surroundings, your techniques to learn to center attention and ignore distraction? in ~life

    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link Parent
    The Pixel Pro 2 Buds also have a noise cancellation/transparency feature fwiw. I don't know about other brands nor if they work with iPhones. They work pretty great for me!

    The Pixel Pro 2 Buds also have a noise cancellation/transparency feature fwiw. I don't know about other brands nor if they work with iPhones.

    They work pretty great for me!

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Digg has shutdown (again) in ~tech