Odysseus's recent activity
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Comment on RMS addresses the free software community in ~tech
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Internet Dramatical Service - HOLY FRIDAY (2021)
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Comment on Brutalist buildings aren’t unlovable. You’re looking at them wrong. in ~design
Odysseus LinkI appreciate brutalist architecture for what it is, and I think that they are an absolutely valuable part of architectural history. In Japan, the raw concrete aesthetic is in vogue at the moment,...I appreciate brutalist architecture for what it is, and I think that they are an absolutely valuable part of architectural history. In Japan, the raw concrete aesthetic is in vogue at the moment, along with bare wood, I think as a response to the pastel and plastic of the late Shōwa and early Heisei eras.
With that said, I hate it and I think it ages poorly if it isn't CONSTANTLY kept free of dirt and mold. Brand new, adorned with greenery and natural light, I think it can look quite nice, but being around brutalist architecture gets really depressing really fast for me. I spent this past winter in Moscow, and while there was a certain, sad sort of beauty to the old soviet era buildings in the snow against the warm glow of the streetlights, I can't say that I'd want to spend my life around them.
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Comment on Iran and China sign economic and security agreement, challenging US pressure on the state in ~news
Odysseus Link ParentWhat do you mean? I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you referring to a specific sanction? The practice of sanctions in general? The multilateral aspect? The US-led aspect?What do you mean? I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you referring to a specific sanction? The practice of sanctions in general? The multilateral aspect? The US-led aspect?
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Comment on White House unveils $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan, setting up giant battle over size and cost of government in ~news
Odysseus LinkHonestly, a lot of this stuff feels way overdue. Yes, the package is absolutely massive, but I feel a lot of that is because we've been under-investing in infrastructure since before the end of...Honestly, a lot of this stuff feels way overdue. Yes, the package is absolutely massive, but I feel a lot of that is because we've been under-investing in infrastructure since before the end of the Cold War. We're basically scrambling to play catch up.
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Comment on We selected 10,000 American neighborhoods at random. If we dropped you into one of them, could you guess how most people there voted? in ~misc
Odysseus LinkI got 17/19 correct judging solely off how old the cars were. Of the two I got wrong, one didn't have a lot of cars visible and and the other had a mix of older and newer cars. Maybe I just got...I got 17/19 correct judging solely off how old the cars were. Of the two I got wrong, one didn't have a lot of cars visible and and the other had a mix of older and newer cars. Maybe I just got lucky, but the suburbs with newer cars seemed to lean biden, while the suburbs with older cars seemed to lean Trump, regardless of what the houses themselves looked like. I'm not sure if that means anything, but I found it interesting
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Comment on Iran and China sign economic and security agreement, challenging US pressure on the state in ~news
Odysseus Link ParentUseless is a strong statement. Unilateral sanctions in the style of the Trump Administration are without a doubt less effective today than they would've been in, say the 1990s, but US-led...Useless is a strong statement. Unilateral sanctions in the style of the Trump Administration are without a doubt less effective today than they would've been in, say the 1990s, but US-led multilateral sanctions ARE effective. We see that still with US-led sanctions on Russia and North Korea, both of which also have a decent amount of support from the PRC, with the Kim regime being more or less entirely kept afloat by the Chinese.
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Comment on Repeatedly finding myself upset with the conversations on Tildes in ~talk
Odysseus Link ParentI'm not sure it's reasonable to expect those ideas to never come up in the first place. I don't think it would be possible for a site that (I believe) is trying to include a very broad and diverse...I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect those ideas to never come up in the first place. I don't think it would be possible for a site that (I believe) is trying to include a very broad and diverse range of topics and conversation. So long as you have a wide mix of people, you're going to have people sharing ideas and topics that some others are going to find harmful in one way or another.
I'm not saying that there can't be clear topics that shouldn't be given platform (the most overt of which really aren't seen on this site), but where the line is drawn can be different for everyone and there's always going to be a gray area where some people are going to think something is an okay discussion topic while others will not.That's why I chose to address moderation more than just culture. I'm not saying we shouldn't try our best to cultivate the sort of culture we'd like to see around here, but not everyone agrees on what that is. To be honest, I'm not even sure Deimos knows exactly the sort of culture he's hoping to see here.
For now, we have to rely on moderators to make the right call in those gray areas, and I don't think it's fair to them right now to expect to never see topics we find harmful before the moderators have a chance to address them. -
Comment on Repeatedly finding myself upset with the conversations on Tildes in ~talk
Odysseus Link ParentThis website is quite small. Bad threads are removed within hours. How fast can you reasonably expect a site with such limited resources site to be able to moderate itself? There's limited...This website is quite small. Bad threads are removed within hours. How fast can you reasonably expect a site with such limited resources site to be able to moderate itself? There's limited moderators, all volunteers, and I'd imagine that here has to be some thought as to whether or not a topic should or should not be nuked. In a perfect world, we'd all be in the same boat with the same moral priorities and lines in the sand where we could actively moderate ourselves as a community, but people are different with different degrees of ideas they find tolerable.
And like you said, the topics are removed, and fairly quickly. What more could you ask for?
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Comment on Repeatedly finding myself upset with the conversations on Tildes in ~talk
Odysseus Link ParentThat's the thing about language isn't it? Language isn't perfect. We'll never be able to write rules, axioms, or guidelines that bad actors wouldn't be able to skirt around on a technicality....That's the thing about language isn't it? Language isn't perfect. We'll never be able to write rules, axioms, or guidelines that bad actors wouldn't be able to skirt around on a technicality. That's why court systems and lawyers exist. With that said, Tildes is a website. The stakes are much lower. We leave it up to moderators to make judgements to the best of their abilities in regards to whether something is within guidelines or posted in good faith. They too, aren't perfect, and they will make mistakes, but they don't have to be. You just have to be able to do a good enough job where the kind of culture you want to see can thrive and that bad actors will see it's not worth the effort to stick around. The tricky part is that we don't know what that culture looks like yet.
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Comment on Zack Snyder's Justice League - Discussion Thread in ~movies
Odysseus LinkI thought it was fine. I wasn't really expecting anything, but with suicide squad and the original justice league as my baseline, I was pleasantly surprised. It's no masterpiece, but it's fine for...I thought it was fine. I wasn't really expecting anything, but with suicide squad and the original justice league as my baseline, I was pleasantly surprised. It's no masterpiece, but it's fine for what it is.
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Comment on China's reckoning (Part 1/3): Chinese demography in ~life
Odysseus Link ParentIt's not that people lost motivation to work, it's that people aren't willing to give their entire lives to the company anymore. Plus, with the Japanese work culture, it's more important to look...It's not that people lost motivation to work, it's that people aren't willing to give their entire lives to the company anymore. Plus, with the Japanese work culture, it's more important to look like you're working hard than it is to be productive and finish early.
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Comment on China's reckoning (Part 1/3): Chinese demography in ~life
Odysseus Link ParentPeople are brought up differently these days. There isn't the post-war sense of responsibility to rebuild anymore. The nationalistic dedication to being a contributing member of society isn't...People are brought up differently these days. There isn't the post-war sense of responsibility to rebuild anymore. The nationalistic dedication to being a contributing member of society isn't there either. It's more "normal", and the old work culture doesn't fit. People grew up watching their parents work themselves to death, never being around, and that's not what they want anymore.
I think a bigger part though is that Japan is expensive now. Back then, Japan was China. All that manufacturing generated a lot of wealth. No real reason for most companies to make things in Japan anymore.
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Comment on Why America sucks at everything in ~misc
Odysseus LinkI'm not quite sure what the aim of this video is. Plenty of valid criticisms, but as I watched through the video, that seems to be it . No call to action, no path to a better tomorrow, just...I'm not quite sure what the aim of this video is. Plenty of valid criticisms, but as I watched through the video, that seems to be it . No call to action, no path to a better tomorrow, just "America is Terrible". I checked out their channel a bit more, and they look like they're trying to be lefty PragerU, which is interesting, but this video in particular feels aimless. Yes, there's still the "capitalism is bad" messaging, which is on brand for this channel, but not a whole lot of "socialism is good".
None of the information presented in this video is new to me, but it kinda left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It didn't want to make me embrace socialist ideas, it made me want to give up on America.
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Comment on Thoughts about article: The miseducation of America's elites in ~talk
Odysseus Link ParentThat's just it, isn't it. If you hammer them, then the other side gets go "See, they're basically the thought police. I thought this was America." It's unfair and it's exhausting, but at the end...I am tired of having to have perfect communication when the topic gets brought up when the opposing side gets to response with ridiculous, unfounded statement a la: “Then you’ll be blacklisted from all the private schools and you’ll be known as a racist, which is worse than being called a murderer.”
That's just it, isn't it. If you hammer them, then the other side gets go "See, they're basically the thought police. I thought this was America."
It's unfair and it's exhausting, but at the end of the day, the right wing message of "just keep things as it is" is a LOT easier to sell than "work, change, improve". Change is scary, the best thing we can do for people on the fence is to make that change less scary.
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Comment on Where would you live if you had no ties to where you are now? in ~talk
Odysseus LinkMoney and immigration always seems to be the biggest issue. I never finished college, so finding work abroad is incredibly challenging when you need a visa sponsored. With that said, if I knew I...Money and immigration always seems to be the biggest issue. I never finished college, so finding work abroad is incredibly challenging when you need a visa sponsored. With that said, if I knew I could land a decent paying job, there's a few places I'd consider moving to.
Sweden - I spent a year there doing nothing in particular and I thought it was nice. People were friendly, but not too chummy. The air was clean. Lots of nature. Decent healthcare, though I'm not sure about how available good dentistry is. I never looked, but it's a lot less than in Japan (there are just a lot of dentists in Japan). Taxes were a bit high though and those winters are DARK.
Japan - Well, I live here now and if it wasn't for the work culture, it'd be close to perfect for me. I lucked out with my current job being pretty relaxed, even by western standards, but the wages aren't exactly very high by first world standards. Still, it's more than enough for a comfortable life, though I doubt I could raise kids on it. Summer is stupid humid, but winter is pleasantly mild south of Tokyo. The food is excellent. Even cheap, supermarket stuff for the most part is very decent. While not every place is amazing, I've never eaten at a place and thought "wow, this is not good".
Southern France - Never been, and it would be pretty different from any place else I'd lived. One of my best friends is from some tiny town down on the mediterranean and he painted a real idyllic, if a bit rough around the edges, picture. Seems laid back enough. Besides, cooking seems cheap there. I like to cook.
United States of America - America has EVERYTHING you could imagine. The sky (and your wallet) is the limit. From sea to shining sea, then again to Hawaii and Alaska, there's something for everyone. The land of the free is full of exceedingly friendly, generous, and passionate people. Plus, all the unnecessary junk you could want is so much cheaper stateside than anywhere else. iPhones, Televisions, robot vacuum cleaners- you name it, America's got it, and it's cheap.
The only reason I'm not living stateside anymore is that I didn't see a future there for me. Job prospects are slim for a college dropout. My hometown is pricey and rural with little career opportunities for anyone. With public transportation being virtually nonexistent outside of expensive major cities, the cost of getting a car along with all the usual expenses make moving almost prohibitively expensive. Pursuing an education while supporting myself and my wife (immigrant with limited education) seems like a pipe dream.
Plus, most buildings are ugly and people are angry these days. Even talking to my own family, it seems like with all the ever changing, conflicting, emotionally charged media coverage out there, people don't know what to believe anymore. It just doesn't seem like a healthy environment.Russia - The center of Moscow, to this day, is still the happiest place I've ever been to, and that's including Disneyland. I've never been to a more friendly, jovial city in my entire life. People were laughing in the streets, grown men were playing in the snow, and there was an unmistakable sense of optimism in the air. My wife tells me that it wasn't normal and that she'd never ever seen the city like that before. While she found it bizarre, I like to think that maybe it isn't so uncommon. The rest of Moscow was more normal, but I'd really like the chance to spend a few years outside of the capital. Maybe someplace in Krasnoyarsk or Karelia. I definitely wouldn't want to raise children there and the healthcare, according to my wife, can be inconsistent at best, so maybe this would be a short term move
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Comment on Rush Limbaugh dead at 70 in ~news
Odysseus Link ParentI generally never celebrate anyone's death, not for any logical reason, but just because it never felt right. I'm not saying that it's right or wrong to celebrate a person's passing, just that it...I generally never celebrate anyone's death, not for any logical reason, but just because it never felt right. I'm not saying that it's right or wrong to celebrate a person's passing, just that it didn't feel right to me.
Now, if we're celebrating that someone will no longer have any impact on the world as a result of their passing, is that any different from celebrating their death? Whenever I ask people this question, I usually get something back about the suffering and pain of the family of the deceased. It's a fair point, but I don't think anyone was celebrating that to begin with. -
Comment on Will American ideas tear France apart? Some of its leaders think so. in ~misc
Odysseus Link ParentSpeaking as a (non-black) person of color, I have mixed feelings on this. Of course there are enormous societal problems unique to each group of people that need to be addressed, but there seems...Speaking as a (non-black) person of color, I have mixed feelings on this. Of course there are enormous societal problems unique to each group of people that need to be addressed, but there seems to be an almost uniquely American obsession with dividing people up into separate boxes that encourages the sort of tribalism we see there today. My other issue with this is that I've seen race and gender issues used as a way to pull the conversation away from economic/class issues which disproportionately affect the very minority groups that people claim to support.
I haven't lived back in the US for a few years now, but I can't imagine this sort of disunity is good for a society either.
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Is the traditional ACLU view of free speech still viable? Ira Glasser speaks out.
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Comment on The problem of free speech in an age of disinformation in ~news
Odysseus (edited )Link ParentThose are all fair points. I'll admit, my views are probably a bit biased due to a personal distrust of government and power. In regards to acting in bad faith, I understand that an action doesn't...Those are all fair points. I'll admit, my views are probably a bit biased due to a personal distrust of government and power.
In regards to acting in bad faith, I understand that an action doesn't need to be in good faith or bad faith for a law to be broken, I was referring to the specific and vague definition of a belief. If the revision of the first amendment would protect beliefs, it becomes hard to tell what's a genuine belief and whats a statement with an intent to deceive.
On your last point, in this context, I am referring exclusively to the ability of the government to infringe on your right to speech. To use your example, so long as it isn't the government painting groups as communist extreme-left terror organizations and thereby limiting these people's access to government run platforms, then that it is a problem for society at large to address.
I'm not against regulations in speech entirely. There are laws against libel, slander, and false advertising. I wholeheartedly agree with regulations like that. The difference there is that these laws are very pointed and specific. What I disagree with is placing vague and broad restrictions on speech in the constitution.
Maybe I'm being too charitable, I haven't followed RMS nor any of the scandals around him very closely beyond what I've seen on tildes, but based off this kinda shitty apology, I don't think he really grasps why he offends people. Writing a good apology in itself requires knowing what you did wrong, but also why what he did was wrong. He seems to have gotten the what, but it doesn't seem like he gets the why beyond "these actions upset people".