Qis's recent activity
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Comment on A novel example of namespace clashing in competition between bots in ~tech
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A novel example of namespace clashing in competition between bots
Discuss: namespace clashes expose and ensure instabilities in user-side solutions to interface problems. Case in point -- the RemindMeBot, which will send a timed reminder message to anyone who...
Discuss: namespace clashes expose and ensure instabilities in user-side solutions to interface problems.
Case in point -- the RemindMeBot, which will send a timed reminder message to anyone who calls it in a reddit comment with the phrase "RemindMe!", has been cloned and iterated upon by another bot, Kzreminderbot, which responds to the exact same trigger phrase. Both bots reply to the comment threads where they are summoned. Kzreminderbot has slightly more diverse features, including email/text notification, but the interesting thing here (I think) is the impotence of the response from the creator of RemindMeBot, who has added a link in their comment replies to send annoyed feedback to the second bot.
We talk occasionally about the scramble for usernames on new services, but this is an slightly novel example of the cascading hierarchies of website design. A feature which reddit lacked is added by a bot, but that bot is too provisional to cover the hole which it was meant to fill.
8 votes -
Comment on Someone's set up a clone of RemindMeBot that triggers off the exact same phrase, doubling spam. in ~tech
Qis Link ParentI dunno, Ump, seems like a fast call. I believe the context is sufficiently evident, and the word "ha" does not indicate flippancy as I think you have assumed. I suppose I'll recompose as a text...I dunno, Ump, seems like a fast call. I believe the context is sufficiently evident, and the word "ha" does not indicate flippancy as I think you have assumed. I suppose I'll recompose as a text post, but I think that pretends like the thought preceded the example, which it didn't.
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Comment on Someone's set up a clone of RemindMeBot that triggers off the exact same phrase, doubling spam. in ~tech
Qis Link ParentOh, really? I understand the point about avoiding being a reddit side channel -- but I submitted this because I thought it a superior example of the kinds of web design problem which I understand...Oh, really? I understand the point about avoiding being a reddit side channel -- but I submitted this because I thought it a superior example of the kinds of web design problem which I understand to interest the members of this forum. Would you please consider reinstating the topic? It is only not an event insofar as it represents very recent actions of a small number of people, surely.
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Comment on Someone's set up a clone of RemindMeBot that triggers off the exact same phrase, doubling spam. in ~tech
Qis LinkCheck this out, ha -- the reddit RemindMeBot has added a link to message the creator of a duplicate bot which responds to the same trigger phrase in comment threads. Namespace clashes are...Check this out, ha -- the reddit RemindMeBot has added a link to message the creator of a duplicate bot which responds to the same trigger phrase in comment threads. Namespace clashes are interesting to me -- there's always talk about how quickly usernames get snapped up on a new service but I thought this was a slightly novel version of this kind of squabble.
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Comment on AnnenMayKantereit - Ozean in ~music
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Comment on What if we Nuke a City? | Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell in ~humanities
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Comment on Wait But Why: The Great Battle of Fire and Light in ~misc
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Comment on Contrapoints - Men in ~misc
Qis LinkUgh, she is so hot. All of the looks in this video are incredibly potent. Blackpilled Carmen Sandiego is my favorite but the champagnegligee is wonderful too. Lolled at "Frank-N-Furter / Violet...Ugh, she is so hot. All of the looks in this video are incredibly potent. Blackpilled Carmen Sandiego is my favorite but the champagnegligee is wonderful too. Lolled at "Frank-N-Furter / Violet Chachki / Dita Von Teese spectrum".
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Comment on Mapmaker: The Gerrymandering game that puts the fun in undermining democracy in ~games.tabletop
Qis LinkI own a copy. The political theme is pretty pointless, tbh, but it functions very well as an abstract puzzle game. I would recommend a pen-and-paper adaptation very highly, I should think.I own a copy. The political theme is pretty pointless, tbh, but it functions very well as an abstract puzzle game. I would recommend a pen-and-paper adaptation very highly, I should think.
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Comment on Horticulturists have planted five palm trees in Laugardalur to investigate how these plants respond to Icelandic weather conditions in ~misc
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Comment on Buy Nintendo Switch now or wait for new release? in ~games
Qis LinkI am waiting for the new release. At one point I thought I was waiting for the pokemon title -- but now I think I'm just waiting for a price drop, which is good enough for me. Patient gaming is...I am waiting for the new release. At one point I thought I was waiting for the pokemon title -- but now I think I'm just waiting for a price drop, which is good enough for me. Patient gaming is very rewarding!
1 vote -
Comment on Why You Can't Trust Me in ~misc
Qis Link ParentUgh, I have been such an ingrate. I think "Tom Scott's Intentions Are Good" is a better title for the video, actually. It would get the vibe across that he would still like credit for the work he...Ugh, I have been such an ingrate. I think "Tom Scott's Intentions Are Good" is a better title for the video, actually. It would get the vibe across that he would still like credit for the work he did, going all the way to Australia for that quarrelsome muddle of a town!
1 vote -
Comment on Why You Can't Trust Me in ~misc
Qis (edited )Link ParentI have alleged no conspiracy, but yes, it appears to me disingenuous to introduce a dilemma and apologize for its handling in the same breath. It came off to me as a "she doth protest too much"...I have alleged no conspiracy, but yes, it appears to me disingenuous to introduce a dilemma and apologize for its handling in the same breath. It came off to me as a "she doth protest too much" sort of situation, which played to my general sense that the man tends to overcontrol the narrative in his presentations. Honestly, I think he likes to hear himself talk.
1 vote -
Comment on Why You Can't Trust Me in ~misc
Qis (edited )Link ParentI think I've expressed my opinion pretty thoroughly here. Which of my personal reactions seems unfounded to you? Presumably, the video played well to you; you found the delivery charismatic and...I think I've expressed my opinion pretty thoroughly here. Which of my personal reactions seems unfounded to you? Presumably, the video played well to you; you found the delivery charismatic and his description and framing of the situation convincing. I would agree that it's all very plausible.
Is it ironic that I am doing as the man said, not to trust him as a singular authority? Spare me, please, if you've got no argument to make. I've been describing my own impressions, not advancing some scurrilous critique against a youtuber you like. I didn't like the video, shoot me.
4 votes -
Comment on Why You Can't Trust Me in ~misc
Qis Link ParentNo, I'm not prepared to demonstrate any other inaccuracies in his videos, but also no, I've seen almost everything the man has published and my opinion is formed generally from those. If I've not...No, I'm not prepared to demonstrate any other inaccuracies in his videos, but also no, I've seen almost everything the man has published and my opinion is formed generally from those. If I've not given him the benefit of the doubt here it is because I often perceive his presentation to be somewhat inauthentic. I had the impression that the content of his interviews did not often effect his approach to storytelling, and he confirms that as a part of his process here.
I have also noticed -- and perhaps this is another example? -- that this extends beyond the interviews. Often when Tom Scott shoots himself giving a reaction to something he's presenting on, like the cornered zip line in another recent video, his first response is to loudly exclaim a reaction for the camera. "THAT! was ---" I find that grating; I think it comes off as scripted, overbearing in its interpretation, that often the footage could have spoken for itself.
I agree that a presenter should be candid about the limitations of their approach, and do what they can to help their audience remain mindful and canny. But I still have a hard time recognizing the difference between the standards of accuracy for work as a journalist -- something which Tom Scott says he is not -- and those for the researching, presenting, and editing work of a video documentarian, or a traveloguist, or a science educator.
Even if his script didn't match the facts, he probably still could have pulled together a presentation on the town which did not hinge off the original premise of his own explication. Or he could have committed to a new format, like a blogpost, where whether he spoke face-to-face with someone wouldn't have been the limiting factor on their inclusion or introduced supposed ethical conflicts. I got the message -- sometimes he goes places and it's actually all a muddle and Tom Scott doesn't think he can pull a compelling video out of it. I just don't think that represents a question of journalistic integrity so much as it does a question of ego.
4 votes -
Comment on Why You Can't Trust Me in ~misc
Qis (edited )Link ParentWhat do you mean? This video was my primary example. I felt it came off as disingenuous. He effusively describes his good intentions and the ethic of his research, but forgot to google the name of...What do you mean? This video was my primary example. I felt it came off as disingenuous. He effusively describes his good intentions and the ethic of his research, but forgot to google the name of an interviewee? Perhaps it is an easy mistake to make, perhaps, but I think that should have been a sign that he ought to have left the thing alone -- instead of declaring it too steeped in conflict to be sussed out in his capacity as a youtube presenter. But look at the list of corrections. It is short and many of its entries are pedantically hedged as typos or editing errors, rather than resembling the broader misapprehensions described in this video which had gestured to the list as a sign of his integrity?
I'm not saying he's a bad guy, I just think he ought to have taken his hand off the narrative here. Instead of salvaging a presentation on how "you shouldn't believe everything you hear, buddy!" he could have editorialized less and found a different (or just smaller?) story to tell in the conflicting descriptions he received in his interviews. To me it sounded like he got embarrassed over his incomplete preparation but then lacked the humility to let that guide him to a new course of action.
7 votes -
Comment on Why You Can't Trust Me in ~misc
Qis LinkIffy, I dunno. Sometimes Tom Scott's editorial approach rubs me the wrong way; guy always has an answer for things. He hedges himself in weird ways and I have no trouble believing that he's mostly...Iffy, I dunno. Sometimes Tom Scott's editorial approach rubs me the wrong way; guy always has an answer for things. He hedges himself in weird ways and I have no trouble believing that he's mostly decided what he wants to say before he meets his interviewees. The list of corrections doesn't have much on it -- which might be a credit to him -- but anyone else I've seen maintaining a list of corrections does so to ward off more comprehensive criticisms... Why not skip the video altogether rather than hack out a tortured bit about how even the best research sometimes misses the forest for the trees? Seems like the guy just couldn't get out of his own way.
3 votes -
Comment on Fox News Didn't "Steal" Your Parents in ~news
Qis Link ParentHow does your partner describe their radicalization? That would be a tremendously stressful situation for me; I don't think I could continue to live and work closely with someone whose perspective...How does your partner describe their radicalization? That would be a tremendously stressful situation for me; I don't think I could continue to live and work closely with someone whose perspective had changed that much. Even those things we retain in common would be severely undermined by that kind of brainwashing...
12 votes -
Comment on Journey will release on PC next week, pre-orders available on Epic Store for $4.99 USD (due to current store-wide sale) in ~games
Well, yeah, though I'm not sure what your mean by "the fun". Notification and reminder configuration definitely could be a feature of the website itself, or an extension. RemindMeBot was already designed to behave as sort of a parasite.