FZeroRacer's recent activity

  1. Comment on How Joe Biden can win over Bernie Sanders voters in ~society

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    Again, as I have to constantly repeat apparently: The Primary is not the General Election. They are two separate things. The amount of voters that show up during the GE is an order of magnitudes...

    Again, as I have to constantly repeat apparently: The Primary is not the General Election.

    They are two separate things. The amount of voters that show up during the GE is an order of magnitudes greater than during the Primary and I would argue that the Primary tends to overvalue older voters. Simply because younger voters (for whatever reason) avoid turning out for primaries but come out for generals.

    The 'youth vote' (and the vote Bernie did generally well in) consisting of ages 18-39 was 36% of the total vote. Those people overwhelmingly came out in favor of the democrats, compared to 40+ which was instead in favor of Republicans.

    Biden cannot win if he alienates 36% of the voters, full stop.

    1 vote
  2. Comment on How Joe Biden can win over Bernie Sanders voters in ~society

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    Counterpoint: Yes it is. Every day we go without fixing our broken medical system is a day where more Americans die because of it. Biden simply isn't going to fix it and I doubt he's even going to...

    Yes we need to address climate change, yes America needs Medicare for All. No a vote for Biden isn't literally killing people.

    Counterpoint: Yes it is. Every day we go without fixing our broken medical system is a day where more Americans die because of it. Biden simply isn't going to fix it and I doubt he's even going to try. I can hardly trust him to not lie for five seconds considering his last debate performance.

    And remember that during this entire time we're talking about primary voters. Not general voters. The general is a massively different field compared to the primary and if Biden does zero outreach to the youth vote, he will lose the general.

    4 votes
  3. Comment on What does PewDiePie really believe? The biggest YouTuber in the world has been accused of being a closet white nationalist and even inspiring mass shootings. He says it’s all a misunderstanding in ~tech

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    Keep in mind that, 4chan didn't 'orchestrate' the OK symbol shit. They had been using it long before that post to recognize each other because they adopted one of the many mannerisms of Donald...

    Keep in mind that, 4chan didn't 'orchestrate' the OK symbol shit. They had been using it long before that post to recognize each other because they adopted one of the many mannerisms of Donald Trump. The typical behavior of anyone from there is to claim responsibility for literally anything controversial. When the Steele dossier first came out, they immediately claimed that they wrote it, that it was one of them, and started distributing fake documents made to look like something out of the Steele dossier.

    1 vote
  4. Comment on What does PewDiePie really believe? The biggest YouTuber in the world has been accused of being a closet white nationalist and even inspiring mass shootings. He says it’s all a misunderstanding in ~tech

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    It's weird that the cycle seems to be PDP has a Heated Gamer Moment every so often, followed by an apology, then he does some stupid shit again leading to another Heated Gamer Moment. If someone...

    It's weird that the cycle seems to be PDP has a Heated Gamer Moment every so often, followed by an apology, then he does some stupid shit again leading to another Heated Gamer Moment.

    If someone constantly says racist shit, apologizes, then devotes time to crying about people who criticize him leading up to saying more racist shit, why should anyone ever take his apologizes seriously? What exactly has he learned?

    And in a 'bad position'? He's wealthy as hell! He could stop being a celebrity and still retire a rich man.

    9 votes
  5. Comment on I think I may be out of the loop in ~tildes

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    I do trust you Deimos, but surely you see a problem by now right? Every few months you get a thread like this popping up where people are confused about the state of Tildes, why certain users are...

    I do trust you Deimos, but surely you see a problem by now right? Every few months you get a thread like this popping up where people are confused about the state of Tildes, why certain users are banned or the conduct that caused it. If Tildes grows larger, that cycle is going to become faster and eventually you'll have to simply lock or ban those discussions, which then creates discontent or resentment among the users. Worse, you'll get just as many bad faith actors who will take advantage of those situations to try and spin someone as a martyr, something we also literally saw a few months ago.

    No one is expecting full open insight into moderator discussion but saying it's unreasonable to expect some sort of a paper trail would just be wrong considering how many forums have such a thing. And I don't see Tildes as somehow being a fundamentally different platform compared to said forums.

    6 votes
  6. Comment on I think I may be out of the loop in ~tildes

    FZeroRacer
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    See, the thing is that as a result, SomethingAwful has bans and moderation taken at various levels of seriousness depending on the subforum. You're right that there are some that will send out...

    See, the thing is that as a result, SomethingAwful has bans and moderation taken at various levels of seriousness depending on the subforum.

    You're right that there are some that will send out bans for little things, but there are other (like Games) which has a higher bar for post quality. SomethingAwful has managed to survive through multiple cultural shifts on the internet and a large amount of that is due to the moderation.

    And as an aside, your earlier arguments revolved around the invisible interactions you had with Alyaza and their toxicity to the community. When people brought up the idea of a moderation log, you said it wouldn't be helpful, despite you complaining of many issues that people couldn't see.

    I'm not going to debate the toxicity of Alyaza but I sincerely think as a forum admin you cannot have your cake and eat it too. If you're not willing to publish moderation logs, then I don't think you can complain of the things people didn't see when you ban someone. I can understanding witholding things for privacy and security reasons, but if you don't keep a log of that stuff then you should expect this problem to get worse, not better as Tildes grows.

    I also don't think the comparison to 4chan is apt, considering Tildes shares a lot more in common with a forum like SA than a fully anonymous uncontrolled mess like 4chan. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking some influence from other forums as Tildes has from Reddit.

    8 votes
  7. Comment on I think I may be out of the loop in ~tildes

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    I'm going to be a bit of an asshole here, so bear with me: Your argument sounds a lot like arguments white moderates use. The white moderates that MLK brought up in his Birmingham jail letter....

    I'm going to be a bit of an asshole here, so bear with me:

    Your argument sounds a lot like arguments white moderates use. The white moderates that MLK brought up in his Birmingham jail letter. Specifically, these calls for calm, rational discussion in emotionally charged arguments is one of those things that comes from a high level of privilege and safety.

    The reason why there are so many emotionally charged subjects is because for a lot of people it's reaching a breaking point. LGBT people hardly feel safe, especially when there's a case going to the supreme Court about the legality of firing them for the sake of who they are. Minorities feel threatened as the police gun down black people in their home and racists chase away people who look even slightly different.

    Yes, these are all america-centric topics but issues with the alt-right and fascism is an issue world wide and often home grown in the US. If you think these arguments are tiring then imagine what it's like having to live with their impacts.

    I agree we should strive to use facts and strive to be rational. But there is nothing stopping someone from being both emotional and rational.

    6 votes
  8. Comment on I think I may be out of the loop in ~tildes

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    I have to disagree with you here. As I have pointed out in the past, SomethingAwful has moderation logs and it's rarely if at all used by conspiracy theorist or gotcha moments. Considering you...

    I have to disagree with you here. As I have pointed out in the past, SomethingAwful has moderation logs and it's rarely if at all used by conspiracy theorist or gotcha moments. Considering you have to pay money to post on SA, you would assume that the higher stakes means people are more incentivized to attempt to overturn moderator decisions but that's generally not the case.

    I'd have to argue that the moderation logs you've tried in the past must've been poorly implemented and/or lacking information. If anything, it becomes a tool for people to understand the trends of other posters; if someone has a long history of probations or bans you can see the context and understand if said person is arguing from a point of sincerity or not.

    Considering how long SomethingAwful has managed to survive, I'm always surprised by communities not researching how and why it's lasted so long.

    6 votes
  9. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    I really don't think restricting the use of your software like that means it isn't 'open-source'. The only way the open source community can survive is by ensuring bad faith actors don't...

    I really don't think restricting the use of your software like that means it isn't 'open-source'. The only way the open source community can survive is by ensuring bad faith actors don't infiltrate the community in ways that harms it as a whole. After all, it's not like FOSS has a history of corporate entities attempting to take control over said software so that they can privatize and profit off of it...

    Otherwise, aren't we going back to the usual free speech argument? Where you're not truly a platform of 'free speech' unless you allow anyone to say anything, which results in platforms like Gab where the most virulent rule the site? If anything efforts like what Seth did is one of the most effective forms of protest you can do as a software engineer if you're writing popular open source code.

    27 votes
  10. Comment on 'They actually stopped': Women buying sex to ensure safe experience in ~life

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    I'm going to have to disagree with you. They may be similar reasons, but they are not the same reasons. There's still a large power imbalance when it comes to sex where the men are far more pushy...

    I'm going to have to disagree with you. They may be similar reasons, but they are not the same reasons.

    There's still a large power imbalance when it comes to sex where the men are far more pushy and dangerous. Points which are brought in in the article and why women fear that the man will stalk them, not listen to them during sex and so forth. Does this mean that women can't behave like that? Well, no, but that ends up being far less common than the opposite.

    It's similar to the dating site experience. Women encounter a lot more creepy men, stalkers and so forth than men encounter creepy women. Trying to equate the two by saying for example 'reasons why women avoid dating sites are also reasons why men avoid dating sites' would be fallacious.

    14 votes
  11. Comment on Remove Richard Stallman in ~tech

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    The first few posts in this thread that you made consisted of Claims that the author was merely looking for something to be mad about and hoping that RMS would sue the people involved Calling out...

    The first few posts in this thread that you made consisted of

    • Claims that the author was merely looking for something to be mad about and hoping that RMS would sue the people involved
    • Calling out Toast at the top level, claiming his comment was indicative of reddit-esque behavior and demanding instances of his behavior (both of which could've been found in the article or through a very, very brief cursory search)

    I called you out for engaging in bad faith because from the beginning it seemed like you weren't actually willing to engage here and when people did engage you, you shrugged them off. And frequently when I see men accused of such behavior (with a history of said behavior!) I've seen arguments and demands for 'evidence' in a way that honestly becomes really fuckin' obnoxious. Especially when the article in question directly had evidence of what occurred.

    And I'm sorry, but I don't think it's 'unjustified' or 'unfair'. It's an argument. If multiple people here are telling you something stinks, maybe it has something to do with the tone and the way you set the stage.

    6 votes
  12. Comment on Remove Richard Stallman in ~tech

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    I'm going to go the full distance here and accuse you of arguing in bad faith. Posters have more than substantiated their claims against Stallman and even a little bit of cursory searches can tell...

    I'm going to go the full distance here and accuse you of arguing in bad faith.

    Posters have more than substantiated their claims against Stallman and even a little bit of cursory searches can tell you that he has this pattern of behavior. As someone in the software industry I've heard my fair share about him.

    Your post if anything reminds me of the Reddit-style of argumentation where you immediately sweep away all claims against Stallman while demanding evidence that'll never actually convince you. As another poster says, it seems a lot like sealioning. Especially when there's multiple types of evidence here, ranging from testimonials to actual chat logs and screenshots. In fact there's even been an update with even more details.

    13 votes
  13. Comment on How eating out keeps you poor in ~finance

    FZeroRacer
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I've lived in some fairly deep poverty before. A lot of people tend to not understand the financial and time constraints poverty puts on your family. My family didn't really have the ability to...

    I've lived in some fairly deep poverty before. A lot of people tend to not understand the financial and time constraints poverty puts on your family.

    My family didn't really have the ability to buy food in bulk and often our trips to the grocery store simply couldn't be efficient enough for a family of three. We'd generally eat one actual meal a day using a pound of ground beef and some other staples split among three people. The beef alone cost around $3-$4 in addition to the other items we'd have to buy. At that point going to McDonald's and ordering food off their dollar menu was about as efficient if not moreso.

    We'd get around $200 a month from food stamps to feed everyone which, needless to say, is sort of a tight budget especially when your parents are not very well educated in terms of making that money go the full distance. When I started getting my own benefits in college it made things quite a bit easier as I could afford to eat a lot more (for reference, I got around $190. For a single person and not a family of three). But we'd usually run out of money rather quickly, which meant we'd resort to eating out using funds from SSI to either buy food or eat out, which usually wasn't much since most of those funds went to pay rent, power etc. We also got gouged on bills badly because we couldn't afford to move or challenge it. We paid around $200 a month in power bills despite doing nothing to necessitate it, for example.

    It doesn't help that they are incredibly computer illiterate and I think a lot of people take for granted their ability to search for and optimize the deals they can find to save money on groceries. There's a lot of little things that people tend to just not understand unless you've lived in that sort of state before.

    8 votes
  14. Comment on Inside the ghosting, racism, and exploitation at game publisher Nicalis in ~games

    FZeroRacer
    Link
    As I had mentioned in a post a short while ago, Nicalis has had a sort of poor internal rep among developers for a while now. I'm glad people are speaking up and exposing the shitty behavior.

    As I had mentioned in a post a short while ago, Nicalis has had a sort of poor internal rep among developers for a while now. I'm glad people are speaking up and exposing the shitty behavior.

    5 votes
  15. Comment on The myth of the free speech crisis: How overblown fears of censorship have normalised hate speech and silenced minorities in ~life

    FZeroRacer
    Link
    This article perfectly captures my thoughts with the way people in the modern tech scene argue about free speech. It's never truly about ensuring corporations control less of our lives, but about...

    This article perfectly captures my thoughts with the way people in the modern tech scene argue about free speech.

    It's never truly about ensuring corporations control less of our lives, but about the ability to silence minority voices. When they say they want 'freedom of speech' what they want is freedom from the consequences of said speech. They want to yell at minorities, scream obscenities and vulgarities all the while claiming if you take offense to them being an ass you're the one somehow wrong. Then you have a bunch of either willfully ignorant or downright gullible people following along because they believe in the platonic ideal of free speech which in reality is free speech for me and not for thee.

    It's frankly infuriating because when you have actual issues of freedom of speech cropping up (like the government silencing dissent or engaging in viewpoint discrimination against LGBT individuals) all of those freedom of speech advocates suddenly go silent.

    8 votes
  16. Comment on Starbound developer Chucklefish allegedly did not pay around a dozen of its workers in ~games

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    It's a combination of hearsay + friends + my own opinions as a software engineer. There were similar murmurs of discontent when Risk of Rain first came out with Chucklefish. ConcernedApe dropped...

    It's a combination of hearsay + friends + my own opinions as a software engineer. There were similar murmurs of discontent when Risk of Rain first came out with Chucklefish. ConcernedApe dropped them almost entirely outside of the platforms you mentioned which my guess was an ironclad part of the contract.

    4 votes
  17. Comment on Starbound developer Chucklefish allegedly did not pay around a dozen of its workers in ~games

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    These attempts at damage control are fairly poor since Chucklefish already had a history of being shitty to developers. That's why both the Risk of Rain developers as well as the dev behind...

    These attempts at damage control are fairly poor since Chucklefish already had a history of being shitty to developers. That's why both the Risk of Rain developers as well as the dev behind Stardew Valley stopped working with them cold turkey.

    I earnestly hope that people stop working with both Chucklefish and Nicalis since it's been very clear that they're doing the publisher equivalent of grifting.

    5 votes
  18. Comment on The magical thinking of guys who love logic in ~life.men

    FZeroRacer
    Link
    I've very much noticed that when people self-describe themselves as a rationalist, what they're really saying is that everyone else around them is irrational. It's a mechanism to make themselves...
    • Exemplary

    I've very much noticed that when people self-describe themselves as a rationalist, what they're really saying is that everyone else around them is irrational. It's a mechanism to make themselves seem like they're truly smarter and above all of the nonsense that other lowly irrationalists deal with.
    And most of the time, they're just as irrational as anyone else. They just seemingly lack self-awareness; when you start using your own citations, they dismiss because it doesn't fit their narrow and rational worldview that surely must be the right worldview. The only way to get through to them and get them to acknowledge your worldview is that somehow you have to get them to admit when they're being irrational which...well, is difficult when their entire existence depends on them being rational.

    7 votes
  19. Comment on Why is Joe Rogan so popular? He understands men in America better than most people do. The rest of the country should start paying attention. in ~life.men

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    To me, this is Peak Centrism. Would you like to discuss the positive benefits of genocide? Or how about how if we just killed all those damn gay people how much better the world would be? Yes,...

    The notion that there are thoughts or ideas that are so harmful they should never be discussed seems silly

    To me, this is Peak Centrism. Would you like to discuss the positive benefits of genocide? Or how about how if we just killed all those damn gay people how much better the world would be?

    Yes, some ideas are Bad To Discuss. And the fact that Joe Rogan entertains people like Alex Jones without an iota of friction considering the harm he's done I think is a more than worthy point of criticism.

    18 votes
  20. Comment on Ask Andrew W.K.: My Dad Is a Right-Wing Asshole in ~society

    FZeroRacer
    Link Parent
    To use your own argument, are you talking with Akir, or talking at Akir? The reason why I bring this up is because often in these sort of arguments I see people advocating for talking to the...

    To use your own argument, are you talking with Akir, or talking at Akir?

    The reason why I bring this up is because often in these sort of arguments I see people advocating for talking to the alt-right, the racists, the bigots. Try to understand them, try to make emotional appeals. But you end up making the exact same argument that you argue against: It seems to come from a place of not understanding the reasons why someone decides to avoid engaging said toxic elements altogether. A black man choosing to engage a racist could end up with him getting killed if that man turns out to be a cop. Trying to engage with a man throwing anti-Muslim slurs can get you knifed [1]. And trying to defend yourself or your friends ends up with accusations of 'you just don't understand them'.

    Do you understand those viewpoints and why people choose to demonize instead of engage? Can you put yourself in their shoes and be willing to risk your own life for the sake of convincing someone who is abusive or willing to assault you? This becomes more akin to cult deprogramming than a simple engagement of wits, and deprogramming isn't something that everyone can do. No one should have to convince someone else that their life is worth value, trying to argue that 'if you just understood why that person thinks you should literally be dead maybe you could convince them your life has value' always seems to come from an area of especially high privilege.

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Portland_train_attack

    4 votes