MetArtScroll's recent activity
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Comment on Great, affordable downtowns that don't require a car? in ~life
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Comment on Paywalls, and the difficulty of accurately tagging them in ~tildes
MetArtScroll Link ParentThere is a difference between “You must turn on Javascript to see the content” or “If you want a light/dark theme, use a browser extension or copy the content and read it offline,” on the one...That's kind of an infinite rabbit-hole where you could end up with people wanting to tag topics with their own pet preferences like whether the site requires Javascript, whether it has a light or dark theme, and so on.
There is a difference between “You must turn on Javascript to see the content” or “If you want a light/dark theme, use a browser extension or copy the content and read it offline,” on the one hand, and “You must register and/or pay to see the content,” on the other hand.
I also feel a little weird about it because (as you're talking about) the paywall status isn't even always the same for different users, locations, etc. It seems strange to me that it can change over time as well, and that a tag might need to be added or removed…
As for geolocks, I did suggest a geolock tag. It might be really useful that the users are informed that it may happen that they may not view the content at all just because they happen to be in the wrong part of the world.
As for changing over time, I would say that it really matters what the status at the time the topic is posted is. Maybe if it is anticipated that the article is going to be un-paywalled within, say, a month, then the submitter can make a notice… or rather just post the topic when the content is free. Otherwise, I would not bother with updating paywall tags on old topics.
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Comment on Paywalls, and the difficulty of accurately tagging them in ~tildes
MetArtScroll LinkI would say that if a specific article is paywalled (hard or soft), then it should be tagged accordingly, whereas non-paywalled articles should not be tagged. The case of location-determined...I would say that if a specific article is paywalled (hard or soft), then it should be tagged accordingly, whereas non-paywalled articles should not be tagged.
The case of location-determined paywalls is trickier. In some cases a geolock tag would suffice (just as with geolocked YouTube videos).
As for article sharing, if the site allows sharing in the context of social media (so it is possible to post the sharing link on Tildes and anyone with the link will be able to view), then maybe the submitter should be recommended to state that the paywall does not apply.
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Comment on Austin HOA pitches in to help cops kill a guy over uncut grass in ~life
MetArtScroll Link ParentI agree that the cops/SWAT are not at fault. But the HOA is.I agree that the cops/SWAT are not at fault. But the HOA is.
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Comment on Austin HOA pitches in to help cops kill a guy over uncut grass in ~life
MetArtScroll Link ParentTo cut the long story short: where it is rarely freezing, vermin multiply quickly in unmown grass.To cut the long story short: where it is rarely freezing, vermin multiply quickly in unmown grass.
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Comment on Austin HOA pitches in to help cops kill a guy over uncut grass in ~life
MetArtScroll LinkHow low can NIMBYism stoop? This time, NIMBYs called SWAT to make a person… mow their lawn, which resulted in that person being shot dead. I can understand SWAT being called to some extreme cases...How low can NIMBYism stoop?
This time, NIMBYs called SWAT to make a person… mow their lawn, which resulted in that person being shot dead.
I can understand SWAT being called to some extreme cases of intra-household violence.
I can understand that in climates like Austin it is necessary to mow one's lawns often (though not as often as HOAs demand).
I can understand that non-compliance with the local HOA rules might result in fines imposed (not that I always agree, but nevertheless).
However, is the fact that a person does not follow their HOA's rules as to lawn mowing sufficient to get that person killed?
There is a message from 1789:
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Comment on The new puritans in ~humanities
MetArtScroll Link ParentYou are right, there are choices in between. However, a cancelled person joining something like RT dot com can have an impact that is even more detrimental than that of a person joining Breitbart....You are right, there are choices in between. However, a cancelled person joining something like
RT dot comcan have an impact that is even more detrimental than that of a person joining Breitbart. And, indeed, @Grzmot is right that the reason for such problematic decisions might be simply the need for money—whether the money to survive or the money to support the lifestyle the person in question has been used to. -
Comment on The new puritans in ~humanities
MetArtScroll Link ParentFirst of all, one who reads this Hobbes' article should realise that while the Hobbes' piece is free, the Atlantic article is soft-paywalled and the Economist article is hard-paywalled. In his...- Exemplary
First of all, one who reads this Hobbes' article should realise that while the Hobbes' piece is free, the Atlantic article is soft-paywalled and the Economist article is hard-paywalled.
In his article, Hobbes recurs to the question of frivolous lawsuits. I must note that while most of those lawsuits are indeed frivolous, they are always lawsuits between a small plaintiff and a big defendant. I think that frivolous lawsuits between big plaintiffs and small defendants, such as SLAPPs, are much bigger a problem.
In his critique of the Atlantic article, Hobbes informs us that Ian Buruma misused his senior editor powers to approve a self-defence article by his colleague. While I would agree that such an infraction would make Ian Buruma ineligible for any journalism (or even non-journalism) jobs involving administrative powers, I cannot agree that this invalidates him as a journalist or as a writer. The Jonah Lerner example cited there, which involved making up quotes, is irrelevant for this case.
Hobbes mentions that Ian Buruma's action caused staff and public backlash, and it might seem from the blog post that the action was the misuse of his administrative privileges. While this might have been partially true in the staff case, I am almost sure that the public backlash resulted from the content of the piece Ian Buruma had authorised.
…Applebaum recounts the tale of Daniel Elder, a composer whose music was pulled from performances because he criticized Black Lives Matter protesters.
It is clear from Applebaum's article that Daniel Elder criticised arsonists hiding under the BLM logo, with the actual arsonist being white.
JK Rowling received widespread criticism after making series of unpopular and bigoted public statements, but has suffered no meaningful consequences.
While there could be no meaningful financial consequences, there is my anecdotal evidence: the
r/HarryPotterDiscord server turned to a shadow of its former self. The activity in my house channel dropped from a few hundred posts per week to a few posts per month (before I left some two weeks ago).“Offensive” is a term almost exclusively associated with the political left. Conservative media has spent years reinforcing the idea that feminists, minorities and college students are too easily offended. When conservative throw tantrums— Dr. Seuss, face masks, Lil Nas X, the “war on Christmas,” we could do this all day — their paroxysms are almost never described using the O-word.
The above is one of the few passages in that blog post I agree.
The American right represents a far greater authoritarian threat than the American left.
I agree entirely. However, every cancelled individual can eventually join the AltRight camp. Imagine a journalist cancelled due to a sleazy remark made 30+ years ago (hey, have you ever heard of the statute of limitations?). That person may
learn to code, but what would be the decision if there is an offer from Breitbart? -
Comment on The new puritans in ~humanities
MetArtScroll Link ParentFor me, the answer is well-known. It is called presumption of innocence.I know that brings up a question of "when believe an accuser" to which I don't know the answer to.
For me, the answer is well-known. It is called presumption of innocence.
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Comment on The new puritans in ~humanities
MetArtScroll LinkThere are really many things to quote from this article. In order not to exceed fair use, I have chosen part of the last two paragraphs. By “[t]he alternative,” the article author means what would...There are really many things to quote from this article. In order not to exceed fair use, I have chosen part of the last two paragraphs.
The alternative, for our cultural institutions and for democratic discourse, is grim. Foundations will do secret background checks on their potential grantees, to make sure they haven’t committed crimes-that-are-not-crimes that could be embarrassing in the future. Anonymous reports and Twitter mobs, not the reasoned judgments of peers, will shape the fate of individuals. Writers and journalists will fear publication. Universities will no longer be dedicated to the creation and dissemination of knowledge but to the promotion of student comfort and the avoidance of social-media attacks.
Worse, if we drive all of the difficult people, the demanding people, and the eccentric people away from the creative professions where they used to thrive, we will become a flatter, duller, less interesting society, a place where manuscripts sit in drawers for fear of arbitrary judgments. The arts, the humanities, and the media will become stiff, predictable, and mediocre.
By “[t]he alternative,” the article author means what would happen if the current trend is not stopped nor, at least partially, reversed.
However, there is an even grimmer alternative. Namely, the individuals who get cancelled—and it is clear from the article that many of those have nothing to do with any kind of bigotry—will join really problematic groups, i.e., groups that were founded, and are run, by people who are really problematic.
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Comment on Restrictive zoning laws worsened the supply chain crisis in ~finance
MetArtScroll Link ParentAs far as I understand, under the normal conditions the operation has been smooth even with those restrictions. However, those restrictions do not make any sense in the first place: the area...As far as I understand, under the normal conditions the operation has been smooth even with those restrictions. However, those restrictions do not make any sense in the first place: the area wasted to house piles of no more than two containers could be used more efficiently (e.g., for more housing) if even a mild four-container restriction were used (and, from some videos I watched, the normal pile is at least six containers).
But it seems like container ships shouldn’t unload until there is space for their containers? The buffer should never completely fill.
You are absolutely right. However, in this case the buffer size was artificially limited by a bunch of NIMBYs.
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Comment on Restrictive zoning laws worsened the supply chain crisis in ~finance
MetArtScroll LinkThis is yet another, and, as I explain below, extreme example of how NIMBYism can exacerbate nearly any problem the society and the economy are dealing with. When I read that passage, I knew the...This is yet another, and, as I explain below, extreme example of how NIMBYism can exacerbate nearly any problem the society and the economy are dealing with.
Until officials in Long Beach, California, issued an emergency order this weekend to temporarily relax those rules, it was illegal for trucking companies to store more than two shipping containers on top of one another in their yards. That's contributed to a massive bottleneck at the terminal yards of trucking companies serving both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach—a bottleneck that's being felt in supply chain shortages across the whole country.
When I read that passage, I knew the most probable reason. Of course, there is nothing related to safety. A few passages below:
There doesn't seem to be any safety-based reason for such a policy, as shipping containers are routinely stacked higher at other ports and while being carried across the open sea. Long Beach's prohibition on stacking more than two-high is "an aesthetic measure intended to preserve visual sightlines in the neighborhood," according to The Maritime Executive, a trade publication.
(The restriction was temporarily loosened to at most four containers atop each other.)
So this is yet another example of a NIMBY legal capture. Unlike many other cases of NIMBYism (e.g., the infamous hysteric laundromat in San Francisco), the negative impact of this individual case is huge in magnitude.
Namely, the operation of the biggest port complex (Los Angeles plus Long Beach) on the Pacific Coast is severely restricted—regardless of the current supply chain crisis in the United States—so that a few dozen NIMBYs have “esthetically pleasing sightlines.”
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Restrictive zoning laws worsened the supply chain crisis
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Comment on Why Section 230 'reform' effectively means Section 230 repeal in ~tech
MetArtScroll LinkI find this article a very well-made classification of the attack vectors on CDA 230, which is the most important law enabling today's Internet, i.e., the Internet where user-generated content...I find this article a very well-made classification of the attack vectors on CDA 230, which is the most important law enabling today's Internet, i.e., the Internet where user-generated content plays a crucial role.
It is, however, not true, that there will be no Internet without CDA 230 (or with any ‘modificastion’ thereof that will make user-generated content and/or moderation litigation-prone). Many sites, e.g., nearly all corporate sites, will remain—they will “only” have to scrap comment sections, sometimes allowing letters to the editor. I also have to note that if the ‘algorithmic’ attack vector succeeds, then even search engines will become litigation-prone (not just Google, all of them).
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Why Section 230 'reform' effectively means Section 230 repeal
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Comment on A case study in NIMBY entitlement: the former mayor of Beverly Hills is so mad about duplexes in ~life
MetArtScroll Link ParentYou are right, I am referring to those who do appraisals for mortgages, refinancing, or sale (here is an article describing that a rich Black family's home in the Marin county [!] was first...You are right, I am referring to those who do appraisals for mortgages, refinancing, or sale (here is an article describing that a rich Black family's home in the Marin county [!] was first terribly under-appraised and then, when they removed any evidence that the owners at that time were Black, another appraiser appraised it at $500k more).
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Comment on A case study in NIMBY entitlement: the former mayor of Beverly Hills is so mad about duplexes in ~life
MetArtScroll Link ParentHere is one of the biggest problems. The value of one's house is often estimated by a private assessor, and those often have the worst of prejudices, so the subjectively negative effect of “being...We had one group who didn't want a retention pond built near their development, even though it was a flood prone area… they're against it because...well, it would have come with a path that would have connected their neighborhood with the adjoining, older and less upmarket one.
Here is one of the biggest problems. The value of one's house is often estimated by a private assessor, and those often have the worst of prejudices, so the subjectively negative effect of “being connected to a less upmarket neighbourhood” is assessed as higher in magnitude than the objectively positive effect of “being protected from floods in a flood-prone area.”
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Comment on A case study in NIMBY entitlement: the former mayor of Beverly Hills is so mad about duplexes in ~life
MetArtScroll LinkSee also this recent topic here: The housing theory of everythingNo homeowner is going to be required to build an ADU in their “garden” or tear down their house and build a duplex in its place. If nobody in your neighborhood wants to do anything along these lines, then your neighborhood will remain entirely single-family. That’s great. That’s fine. The question is: if property owners in your neighborhood do want to build duplexes and/or ADUs, why would you want to stop them?
the italic emphasis is the author's, the bold one is mine.See also this recent topic here: The housing theory of everything
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A case study in NIMBY entitlement: the former mayor of Beverly Hills is so mad about duplexes
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Comment on Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie (Starparade 02.06.1977) in ~music
MetArtScroll (edited )LinkAnd, of course, RIP María Mendiola...And, of course, RIP María Mendiola...
I would suggest Barcelona, but unfortunately, you seem to need a place in the United States.