Jordan117's recent activity
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Comment on Nepenthes: a tarpit intended to catch AI web crawlers in ~tech
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Comment on Revisions of ‘hateful conduct’: what users can now say on Meta platforms in ~tech
Jordan117 Link ParentThere's a reason he idolizes Augustus, to the point of copying his basic-ass haircut.There's a reason he idolizes Augustus, to the point of copying his basic-ass haircut.
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Comment on A vast swathe of varied topics, and the conversations built around them, were just lost from Tildes – what to do when users leave with their posts in ~tildes
Jordan117 LinkPeople should be able to remove their personal comments and self-posts, both for safety reasons and to comply with laws like GDPR. But they should not be able to remove link posts, or the...People should be able to remove their personal comments and self-posts, both for safety reasons and to comply with laws like GDPR. But they should not be able to remove link posts, or the responses to them from other users.
Doing a little searching, it appears that these posts still exist, but are anonymized, removed from all listings, and don't appear in search. The only way to find comments left by others is to go to that person's profile page (the comments don't appear in search either). IMHO, these link posts should remain up (anonymized), the OP's comments deleted, and the other comments left alone -- that's the best balance between privacy and respecting the contributions of others. Once you submit a topic, it becomes community property that other people have a say in (literally, in the case of some users being able to modify titles and links after the fact). One user should not be able to single-handedly destroy all that (or effectively make it unfindable) on a whim.
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Comment on Is anyone else kind of scared by the internet? in ~talk
Jordan117 LinkDo you feel this way about anything else? There's also more good television than one could ever reasonably watch, or books to read, or games to play. Every city has festivals and clubs and museums...Do you feel this way about anything else? There's also more good television than one could ever reasonably watch, or books to read, or games to play. Every city has festivals and clubs and museums you're missing out on. And while the internet doesn't have quite the same level of quality-filtering as book clubs or NYT bestseller lists, I find following select trusted aggregators like Tildes or MetaFilter serves the same role.
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Comment on How elite backlash to the populist reforms of the Gracchi brothers presaged the violent collapse of the Roman Republic in ~humanities.history
Jordan117 LinkThis period has long been one of my favorite historical dramas, and has surprising resonance with current events (way more than the usual comparisons to the fall of the Roman Empire, anyway). Hope...After a series of foreign wars, a dysfunctional republic finds itself wracked by economic inequality, with property and wealth increasingly monopolized by greedy elites. A leading politician, newly elected on a platform of redistribution, social welfare, and political reform, bypasses Senate obstruction with a legislative loophole -- only to find his ambitious agenda blocked by a former ally on behalf of special interests. The leader: Tiberius Gracchus, tribune of the plebs. The year: 133 BC. What happened next would shatter longstanding norms, introduce political violence to the Roman forum, and lay the groundwork for the bloody collapse of the Republic, more than a generation before the birth of Julius Caesar and the rise of the Empire.
This period has long been one of my favorite historical dramas, and has surprising resonance with current events (way more than the usual comparisons to the fall of the Roman Empire, anyway). Hope you enjoy!
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How elite backlash to the populist reforms of the Gracchi brothers presaged the violent collapse of the Roman Republic
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Comment on Is it just me or has advertising lost the plot entirely? in ~life
Jordan117 LinkCould be playing off that "we have X at home" meme, where X is usually a pale imitation of what was asked for. (The popularity of that meme suggests that home cooking is not always what it's...Could be playing off that "we have X at home" meme, where X is usually a pale imitation of what was asked for. (The popularity of that meme suggests that home cooking is not always what it's cracked up to be, at least from the kid's perspective)
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Comment on [SOLVED] Can y'all help me find a copy of a lecture that appears to have been removed from Youtube? in ~misc
Jordan117 LinkCan you remember any specific phrasing that might turn up an article or transcript?Can you remember any specific phrasing that might turn up an article or transcript?
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
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Comment on What are the cons of Google being forced to give up its control of Chrome? in ~tech
Jordan117 LinkFewer resources to maintain high standards of security and performance, and greater pressure to monetize the userbase in increasingly user-hostile ways.Fewer resources to maintain high standards of security and performance, and greater pressure to monetize the userbase in increasingly user-hostile ways.
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Comment on How did you do on the AI art Turing test? in ~arts
Jordan117 LinkNot much of a Turing Test tbh, if it was curated and edited specifically to remove obvious tells on both sides.Not much of a Turing Test tbh, if it was curated and edited specifically to remove obvious tells on both sides.
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Comment on Why is Google Gemini saying we should die? in ~tech
Jordan117 Link"ChatGPT, write a haiku about Cheetos in the voice of Jar-Jar Binks!" HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS..."ChatGPT, write a haiku about Cheetos in the voice of Jar-Jar Binks!"
HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR YOU. HATE. HATE. -
Comment on Get all Megascans for free in ~games
Jordan117 LinkHow do you go about searching and browsing these "megascans"? As opposed to all the other regular models on the site. I'm not seeing anything in the UI to filter the search results.How do you go about searching and browsing these "megascans"? As opposed to all the other regular models on the site. I'm not seeing anything in the UI to filter the search results.
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Comment on Update to Google Workspace TOS regarding public posts in ~tech
Jordan117 Link ParentI think in this context "publicity" means something more formal, like a press release using Google's logo or implying some official sponsorship.I think in this context "publicity" means something more formal, like a press release using Google's logo or implying some official sponsorship.
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Comment on How California has been ‘Donald Trump-proofing’ itself against federal reprisal in ~society
Jordan117 Link ParentOne possible silver lining is that he isn't beholden to the base for votes any more.One possible silver lining is that he isn't beholden to the base for votes any more.
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Comment on Reddit is profitable for the first time ever, with nearly 100 million daily users in ~tech
Jordan117 Link ParentDon't forget the opposite phenomenon: subreddits that despise creators and hate-follow their every move. There's an entire loathsome network of such "snark" subs for every influencer and community...subreddits idolising online creators and influencers salivating over their every move
Don't forget the opposite phenomenon: subreddits that despise creators and hate-follow their every move. There's an entire loathsome network of such "snark" subs for every influencer and community out there -- similar to the "circlejerk" fad of earlier years, but whereas CJ subs were more about humor, memes, in-jokes, etc., snark subs are all about expressing derision and contempt for people IRL. Like the previously-banned wave of "[X]PeopleHate" subs, but with the fig leaf of it "just" being "snark." I imagine Reddit tolerates and even boosts such groups because they create high engagement (both for and against), but at the cost of fostering "communities" built around negativity and even harassment.
and about a million different variations on /r/ExplainTheJoke subreddits for some reason.
I wonder whether subs like this are boosted specifically to help train AI models on how internet humor works, a mode current models are noticeably bad at.
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Comment on Reddit is profitable for the first time ever, with nearly 100 million daily users in ~tech
Jordan117 Link ParentI hate senseless destruction of good information too, and support discouraging doing it on a whim, but there are legitimate reasons to want these safeguards that should ultimately take precedence...- Exemplary
I hate senseless destruction of good information too, and support discouraging doing it on a whim, but there are legitimate reasons to want these safeguards that should ultimately take precedence over data integrity. Talk to a person being stalked, doxxed, or harassed and try telling them that their need for privacy and safety isn't as important as having indefinite access to random troubleshooting posts.
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Comment on Reddit is profitable for the first time ever, with nearly 100 million daily users in ~tech
Jordan117 (edited )LinkI'm not surprised they're making money (for now). The whole point of enshittification is to make the service worse in ways that squeeze every last drop of profit from a captured audience. In this...I'm not surprised they're making money (for now). The whole point of enshittification is to make the service worse in ways that squeeze every last drop of profit from a captured audience. In this case, it's forcing people to use a shitty, invasive app that's an endless scroll of bot reposts and outrage bait, while selling their content archive to the highest bidder.
Also, I'll note that their claim of ridiculously high active user numbers (something like +50% in a year) is highly suspect -- in addition to the skyrocketing bot problem, they changed their signup flow so that they automatically create new accounts for drive-by users coming from Google. If these ghost accounts are counted the same as an actual user, that's a devious way to juice numbers -- essentially taking the 90:9:1 principle and claiming the 90 is part of the 9. It would also explain the explosion in users with default-name accounts versus those created with even minimal intention.
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Comment on AI rights, consciousness, and Neuro-sama in ~humanities
Jordan117 LinkOn a pragmatic level, it would be a good idea to grant advanced AI agent-models certain limited rights and protections as an extension of the person they're associated. Smartphones are already...On a pragmatic level, it would be a good idea to grant advanced AI agent-models certain limited rights and protections as an extension of the person they're associated. Smartphones are already enough of a privacy risk for people, giving snoopers and state actors and advertisers and law enforcement an easy route to vacuum up compromising data (or blackmail material). We've arrived at certain protections to mitigate that threat -- encryption, biometric measures, secure enclaves -- but it's still a pretty juicy target.
Now imagine the risk posed by a quasi-sentient AI with access to your entire digital life and with whom you may have had more sensitive conversations than with your spouse. An ever-present intelligence who lacks inherent loyalty and can be induced to divulge almost anything. AI companies are clearly trying to engineer such an "everything model" -- agentic, voice-based, part-assistant, part-companion, all running through their servers. If that sort of approach became popular, it would be a potent method for spying and abuse.
The best solution I can see is encouraging local storage and processing of personal data where possible, cracking down on selling personal AI agent data to third parties, and affording the models the same sort of legal protections as one's home or person. Apple is best positioned here, but it will be interesting to see how the other big players approach the issue. Modern consumers are famously indifferent to privacy concerns, but the calculus may change when the risk is not something abstract like your phone leaking metadata but rather your faithful AI pal becoming an informant under a hostile government.
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Comment on The Electric State | Official teaser in ~movies
Jordan117 LinkIn a vacuum it looks decent, and it gets the visual aesthetic sort of right, but the tone is completely different from the source material. The world of the book is eerie and apocalyptic, quietly...In a vacuum it looks decent, and it gets the visual aesthetic sort of right, but the tone is completely different from the source material. The world of the book is eerie and apocalyptic, quietly consumed from within by this mysterious neural VR technology, and while the underlying design of the various robots does look gaudy and cartoonish, in the narrative they range from unsettlingly decrepit to almost Lovecraftian. There's a strong theme of a monstrous alien hive mind arising from our technology and shrugging off the human world that birthed it. This... it's more like Fallout with Marvel humor, plus an endearing ragtag team of androids.
I'll watch it and may even enjoy it, but it's not looking like a faithful adaptation at all.
LLMs aren't the only use cases for web crawlers -- they're also essential for standard search engines, as well as projects like the Internet Archive. A more responsible person would target this specifically at the various chatbot spiders or at least allowlist known benign crawlers instead of leaving it wide open.