Lexinonymous's recent activity
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Comment on Rediscovering “Columbo” in 2020 in ~comics
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Comment on Overwatch 2 now: how does it look to you? in ~games
Lexinonymous LinkOf my time playing multiplayer games, both older and modern, the only title I ever got angry at was Overwatch. In retrospect, the thing that actually bothered me about the game was that it was so...Of my time playing multiplayer games, both older and modern, the only title I ever got angry at was Overwatch.
In retrospect, the thing that actually bothered me about the game was that it was so team and teamfight-focused that I could never find the fun in losing - I would always be mad at my team for not coordinating or myself for falling short of my own expectations.
In a game like TF2 or Battlefield the teams were so large that it felt like winning vs losing never really mattered, as long as you had fun. Even in other smaller games that were team-oriented, like Dota 2 or Rainbow Six: Siege, I felt like the game had enough mechanical complexity to chew into that even in a loss I could come away felling good because I learned something or had my own little small victories.
So yeah, I stopped having fun with Overwatch long before the sequel came out. I played a bit of Overwatch 2 and it felt like pretty much the same game. I think the only thing that could bring me back would be if they added a 12v12 mode or some other silly mode that I could feel like I could play the game for fun with.
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Comment on Synology caves, walks back some drive restrictions on upcoming NAS models in ~tech
Lexinonymous Link ParentI was also considering a Synology NAS. Their decision-making resulted in me getting a USB DAS instead.I was also considering a Synology NAS. Their decision-making resulted in me getting a USB DAS instead.
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Comment on As Bari Weiss arrives at CBS News, staffers hold their breath for what comes next in ~tv
Lexinonymous Link ParentI'd put it in an even simpler way. "Both sides suck" is true, but if someone is using that as an excuse instead of an indictment, then they don't actually think both sides suck.I'd put it in an even simpler way. "Both sides suck" is true, but if someone is using that as an excuse instead of an indictment, then they don't actually think both sides suck.
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Comment on NFS at 40 – Remembering the Sun Microsystems Network File System in ~comp
Lexinonymous LinkHow does modern NFS compare to modern Samba these days? It's been ages since I've had to tinker with either, but back when I was messing around with them, it seemed like Samba had "won" both due...How does modern NFS compare to modern Samba these days?
It's been ages since I've had to tinker with either, but back when I was messing around with them, it seemed like Samba had "won" both due to the network effects (heh) of Windows clients, plus at least a vibes-based perception based on personal experience that Samba was more reliable and less likely to get wedged or leave files in an indeterminate state.
These days, I try to avoid both due to a gut feeling that trying to model filesystem semantics over a network is inherently problematic and not something that most applications expect. But not having to have touched these technologies in about a half-decade means that my gut feeling might be out of date.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Lexinonymous Link ParentBlueSky reminds me of Obama-era Twitter. I didn't much care for Obama-era Twitter, despite being orders of magnitude better than the current Musk-era Twitter.BlueSky reminds me of Obama-era Twitter. I didn't much care for Obama-era Twitter, despite being orders of magnitude better than the current Musk-era Twitter.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Lexinonymous Link ParentOne of the things I appreciate most about Mastodon is its culture of tagging and content warnings.One of the things I appreciate most about Mastodon is its culture of tagging and content warnings.
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Comment on Elon Musk plans to take on Wikipedia with 'Grokipedia' in ~tech
Lexinonymous Link ParentThe problem is that when you create parallel products, being "Foo but conservative" isn't a selling point by itself except to preach to the choir. The only way to kill Wikipedia is to subvert it...The problem is that when you create parallel products, being "Foo but conservative" isn't a selling point by itself except to preach to the choir.
The only way to kill Wikipedia is to subvert it directly, then coast on the branding. Elon should know this, having done this exact strategy with Twitter.
The fact that he's doing this instead tells me he's out of ideas and is trying to grab headlines by shouting "AI" at the top of his lungs.
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Comment on What are some of your personal misheard lyrics? in ~music
Lexinonymous LinkNo misheard lyrics jump out to me. I know it's happened to me before, but I can't recall anything specific. However, there's a related affliction that I suffer from severely. Whenever a song comes...No misheard lyrics jump out to me. I know it's happened to me before, but I can't recall anything specific.
However, there's a related affliction that I suffer from severely. Whenever a song comes on that was ever parodied by Weird Al or featured in Neil Cicierega's Mouth series, I hear the Weird Al/Mouth versions of them in the back of my mind.
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Comment on EA is reportedly about to be sold in a record-setting $50 billion buyout to an investor group that includes private equity and Saudi Arabia in ~games
Lexinonymous Link ParentI've always had issues with this line of argumentation. You can say that you don't want to participate in a boycott without trying to tear down the people who do by trying to point out some sort...I think this anger would be valid if it weren't for the double standards everybody had been displaying.
I've always had issues with this line of argumentation. You can say that you don't want to participate in a boycott without trying to tear down the people who do by trying to point out some sort of hypocrisy.
"There is no ethical consumption under capitalism" isn't meant to be a cop-out.
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
Lexinonymous Link ParentI already contribute to open source, and I do it with both eyes open. I wish more people would understand what they're giving away when they do, and think very carefully about what they're giving...I already contribute to open source, and I do it with both eyes open.
I wish more people would understand what they're giving away when they do, and think very carefully about what they're giving away before starting a greenfield project with a permissive license.
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
Lexinonymous (edited )Link ParentWhat I'm trying to say is that "Open Source" as a movement is rotten, because it sets projects up to either be vehicles of exploitation or be exploited themselves. Sometimes one or the other,...What I'm trying to say is that "Open Source" as a movement is rotten, because it sets projects up to either be vehicles of exploitation or be exploited themselves. Sometimes one or the other, sometimes both at different times, sometimes never due to circumstance, but the seeds of possibility are always there.
What I'm not trying to say is that all open source projects are inherently and naturally exploitative. If that's the impression I gave than I'm sorry for not being more clear.
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
Lexinonymous Link ParentYou can just use the wayback machine to dig up one of the older versions of the OSI website that goes into detail about the history and origins of Open Source This is how Open Source is sold to...You can just use the wayback machine to dig up one of the older versions of the OSI website that goes into detail about the history and origins of Open Source
This is how Open Source is sold to the business world. Pragmatic and business friendly approach to development, without the moralizing.
Check out who the biggest sponsors of the OSI are. Near the top of the list is Automattic. Next up, Google, Microsoft and Red Hat. That list at one point contained AWS and Meta. Seems to me like they're getting their money's worth.
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
Lexinonymous Link ParentMullenweg also benefits from the WordPress community's open source code contributions. He is also a large enough player to steer the direction of the project wherever he pleases, regardless of the...Mullenweg also benefits from the WordPress community's open source code contributions. He is also a large enough player to steer the direction of the project wherever he pleases, regardless of the desires of the community. This fact was keenly demonstrated with his bull-in-china-shop approach to his users while navigating the WPEngine drama.
This isn't an accident, these are the rotten grounds on which the Open Source movement was founded. An open, pragmatic, and business-friendly alternative to Free Software, without such an emphasis on pesky moralizing and user control.
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Comment on Chris Houlihan is real in ~games
Lexinonymous Link ParentUnreal that this turned out to be true. For the curious, here is more information about why the room exists.Unreal that this turned out to be true.
For the curious, here is more information about why the room exists.
Chris Houlihan's Room is a failsafe in the game - it is only accessed when the game cannot load the room associated with a hole Link is falling into because of corrupt location data.
[...]
In the Game Boy Advance port of this game, the corrupt location data bug was patched, and the room can only be accessed through glitching or using cheating devices. -
Comment on Throwback Thursday: Let's talk old flash and memes! in ~talk
Lexinonymous Link ParentDon't forget about Irrational Exuberance - otherwise known as the Yatta song meme.Don't forget about Irrational Exuberance - otherwise known as the Yatta song meme.
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Comment on Three years in the wild: how a fugitive father has hidden his children for so long in ~life.men
Lexinonymous Link ParentOh thank goodness.All three children are unharmed, Rogers said.
Oh thank goodness.
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Comment on Bear is now source-available in ~tech
Lexinonymous Link ParentI only point it out because it's not a small distinction, it's a very fundamental differences in the baseline set of morals that underpin the two. And if I'm being honest, I don't blame people for...Though in retrospect it's probably a safe bet that people on the Tech subforum of Tildes in a thread about code licensing would be able to discern the two terms.
I only point it out because it's not a small distinction, it's a very fundamental differences in the baseline set of morals that underpin the two.
And if I'm being honest, I don't blame people for getting them conflated. The Free Software Foundation has been a horrendous steward of Free Software and Copyleft over the past few decades, and has essentially sat back and let Open Source eat its lunch after releasing a compromised version of the GPL that was at once too principled for some (Tivoization) and didn't go far enough in the parts that actually mattered (The network hole).
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Comment on Bear is now source-available in ~tech
Lexinonymous (edited )Link ParentYou are confusing Free Software and Open Source. Free Software prioritizes user freedoms above all else. Open Source is a non-confrontational, pragmatic and business-focused movement that extols...Open source is a philosophy. It's based on the belief that I should be allowed to know what runs on my computer, and I should be allowed to freely modify the behaviour of code running on my computer, because it's MY computer. If there are restrictions on my ability to modify code on my computer, then it stops really being my computer: I am giving the developers of whatever program I'm running power over my computer.
You are confusing Free Software and Open Source.
Free Software prioritizes user freedoms above all else. Open Source is a non-confrontational, pragmatic and business-focused movement that extols the benefits of an open development process from the businesses' point of view.
Here it is, straight from the horses' mouth. To wit:
We realized it was time to dump the confrontational attitude that has been associated with "free software" in the past and sell the idea strictly on the same pragmatic, business-case grounds that motivated Netscape.
In other words, Open Source being friendly to businesses isn't a second-order effect that fell out of moral obligation to its users. Instead, the point was to promote the use of an open development process to businesses, so they could take advantage of free labor, without the "confrontational" moral arguments concerning user freedom. And the sponsors of the OSI are certainly getting their money's worth.
In my opinion, Open Source licenses are ill-suited for any individual, community, or small business software project unless:
- You don't particularly care that you're giving away free labor to large corporations, or your competition.
- You are a large corporation and have enough resources to steer a project and ignore the needs of the community.
Unfortunately, I suspect most developers default to MIT out of habit, not thinking the project will go anywhere, or remembering a time where a copyleft or source-available license prevented them from using a particular piece of software, and only discover the downsides of Open Source after they've personally been bitten.
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Comment on Dallas Cowboys are trading three-time All-Pro LB Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in ~sports.american_football
Lexinonymous Link ParentThat's fair. I don't know many Cowboy fans personally, and was judging based on outside observation. I'm also not old enough to remember the reaction to the Jimmy Johnson trade first-hand. Still,...That's fair. I don't know many Cowboy fans personally, and was judging based on outside observation. I'm also not old enough to remember the reaction to the Jimmy Johnson trade first-hand.
Still, they've had a lot of contract screwups and post-seasons collapses in the recent past, and it was always fun to laugh at their misfortunes. But something felt different about this. It's the first time I can recall genuinely feeling bad for Cowboys fans.
That fact also didn't occur to me until hearing it mentioned while watching Columbo: Intrigue Without Mystery.
But upon reflection, I don't necessarily disagree with the idea that it's part of the appeal. There is a certain catharsis in watching the kinds of people who seem like the kind who would normally escape justice...actually getting caught.