bugsmith's recent activity

  1. Comment on What server location should I use for a VPN? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    What makes you trust Mullvad and not, say, Proton or IVPN?

    What makes you trust Mullvad and not, say, Proton or IVPN?

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    No it's not the tech that does it, but it's important that the right tools are available. Without doubt though, it's the administration, policies, and the community that has been attracted that...

    No it's not the tech that does it, but it's important that the right tools are available. Without doubt though, it's the administration, policies, and the community that has been attracted that does it. And I'm not trying to pretend that would be easy to replicate.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Great feedback, thanks for sharing. I think for me, the entire purpose would be to replicate or at least model on the existing foundations written in those documents. There are plenty of link...

    Great feedback, thanks for sharing.

    I think for me, the entire purpose would be to replicate or at least model on the existing foundations written in those documents. There are plenty of link aggregators, discussion forums and Reddit-likes out there - so building just another of those would not be the goal.

    The real goal would be to build a platform that has the tools to enforce and enable those values, with an active maintainer and a cycle of community feedback and development.

    the fact that AI slop generators can't easily get in

    This would certainly be a priority with any new platform. I think the existing invite system is a great filter for that, and would likely be replicated. I think we can also build tools to help identify, or let community members flags suspected meat-proxy interfaces, which is inevitable at some point.

    All your points are great, and I think this would only work with at least a small committee of existing members from community who want to help build something based on those values.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Yes, but it's a very dated codebase. Forking would be easiest, but for something maintainable and extensible it may be better to build fresh with a more modern stack.

    Yes, but it's a very dated codebase. Forking would be easiest, but for something maintainable and extensible it may be better to build fresh with a more modern stack.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Sadly not, at least on the email front.

    Sadly not, at least on the email front.

    3 votes

  6. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Yes, well repeated. I think that's important for anyone interested in this to consider. I'm not sure that it is. I agree that it could split the user base if not managed correctly. But if there is...

    Yes, well repeated. I think that's important for anyone interested in this to consider.

    My feeling is that it's premature to discuss a successor.

    I'm not sure that it is. I agree that it could split the user base if not managed correctly. But if there is interest, I think it's something that should be done with a lot of planning and agreement and it would be good to capture that well before it's needed.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    He didn't. He said the site is naturally being allowed to sunset. You'll notice that invites are not being regenerated for anyone, so there is a limit to how many new users can join. So the user...

    He didn't. He said the site is naturally being allowed to sunset. You'll notice that invites are not being regenerated for anyone, so there is a limit to how many new users can join. So the user base will only move in one direction.

    9 votes

  8. Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I chose the word 'successor', because that's specifically what I'm talking about. I don't disagree with you about letting a thousand flowers bloom. But for me, I'm motivated to make sure there is...

    I chose the word 'successor', because that's specifically what I'm talking about. I don't disagree with you about letting a thousand flowers bloom. But for me, I'm motivated to make sure there is a space just like this one.

    I wouldn't even be opposed to building something based off of the existing code, or at least matching the existing API so theoretically existing third party tools (like Three Cheers) could remain compatible.

    I want more of what you've described too, but here I'm specifically talking about something I'd describe as a successor.

    2 votes

  9. Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor?

    ~tildes Ask (survey)
    I love Tildes. I am not the most active member here, but I do make an effort to contribute. This site fills a hole for me not even close to be filled by other sites. It has that small local pub...

    I love Tildes. I am not the most active member here, but I do make an effort to contribute. This site fills a hole for me not even close to be filled by other sites. It has that small local pub feel. All names are familiar, even if I haven't interacted with people directly and there is a general sense of people being aligned with wanting to be part of a 'better' community.

    I know there has been a lot of discussion about missing features here and that ultimately leading to some users wanting to leave, because they can't block the content they don't want to see.

    With Deimos's announcement that the site is being sunset, it immediately made we ask: Can we build a successor?

    That has to be immediately followed with acknowledgment that it would be extremely hard (both in building the software and building the community) and very unlikely to succeed.

    With that out of the way, is there any interest?

    If there is, I'd like to here from you in this topic with your thoughts on how it should be run, must have features missing from Tildes, any features of Tildes not needed in an MVP (minimum viable product) and really any thoughts you have on the subject. What would be a deal-breaker?

    I am especially interested to hear on thoughts of how it should be administrated. Do we like the benevolent dictator model? Would a committee be better? Are there other examples of systems that work well?

    Tildes isn't going anywhere for a long while by the sounds of it, which I'm really grateful of. Please don't read this as any kind of descent, mutiny or call to leave. I mostly just want to make sure that if there's desire for this community to NOT be sunset, there's at least an option.

    51 votes

  10. Comment on BasicSync and Synctrain: solid apps for bringing Syncthing to phones in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    And using wake lock in such a manner doesn't significantly affect battery life? I'm totally going to try this. I actually much prefer this approach to replacing STF with another similar app.

    And using wake lock in such a manner doesn't significantly affect battery life?

    I'm totally going to try this. I actually much prefer this approach to replacing STF with another similar app.

  11. Comment on BasicSync and Synctrain: solid apps for bringing Syncthing to phones in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Why have I never thought of that? And no issues with Termux being killed as a background task?

    I switched to simply running syncthing inside Termux

    Why have I never thought of that?

    And no issues with Termux being killed as a background task?

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Do you own/run a business? What is it, where is it, how do you get customers? in ~finance

    bugsmith
    (edited )
    Link
    This comment should likely be marked as noise, as I do not and have not ever run a business. But this is the perfect topic for me to share that I frequently fantasize about running one. I'm a...

    This comment should likely be marked as noise, as I do not and have not ever run a business.

    But this is the perfect topic for me to share that I frequently fantasize about running one. I'm a software engineer I've spent many an evening wishing I had a great SaaS idea. I fantasize about the software stack I'd use. I fantasize about using European services to run my business (think Scaleway instead of AWS and Proton over Gmail). I've thought up most every aspect other than a product to sell and business plan.

    Maybe someone else's success story here will inspire me to finally land on an actual idea to execute.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on What are your favourite anime and/or manga? in ~anime

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Ugh. This has been on my backlog for ages, under the assumption it would be at least similar quality. And I really just wanted more. That's a shame to hear.

    There's a sequel called Steins;Gate 0 which is much worse and isn't worth a watch.

    Ugh. This has been on my backlog for ages, under the assumption it would be at least similar quality. And I really just wanted more. That's a shame to hear.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link
    I'm about a third of the way into Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It's gripped me so far. It has managed to keep me perfectly balanced on the edge of expecting everything to be fine or be a total...

    I'm about a third of the way into Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

    It's gripped me so far. It has managed to keep me perfectly balanced on the edge of expecting everything to be fine or be a total disaster.

    I'm really enjoying the setting. I've read a few books now set in east Asia and I really love exploring the cultural differences (whilst appreciating many of them will be exaggerated, embellished and characateured when consuming them indirectly through literature). I'll be looking for more novels set in Korea and Japan particularly.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on What self-help / personal development books did you find valuable? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    My understanding of it is that it depends on what energises you. I consider myself an outgoing introvert. I'm highly sociable and enjoy going out and seeing people, doing things with friends and...

    My understanding of it is that it depends on what energises you. I consider myself an outgoing introvert. I'm highly sociable and enjoy going out and seeing people, doing things with friends and even going to the office occasionally. But it absolutely exhausts me and I need plenty of time between social events to recharge and I thrive on solo time.

  16. Comment on What self-help / personal development books did you find valuable? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I think I'm too European to fully understand this recommendation, but it makes me feel sad :(

    I think I'm too European to fully understand this recommendation, but it makes me feel sad :(

    10 votes

  17. Comment on What self-help / personal development books did you find valuable? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link
    I found Atomic Habits by James Clear to be life-changing. I've read many times that it's the ultimate example of a book that could have been a paragraph, or a blog post, etc. But for me, there is...

    I found Atomic Habits by James Clear to be life-changing. I've read many times that it's the ultimate example of a book that could have been a paragraph, or a blog post, etc. But for me, there is value in spending time with the concepts. I ran the London Marathon this year, which is one of the greatest achievements in my life, and I have no doubt it is ultimately as a result of having read this book a couple of years before.

    15 votes

  19. Comment on Generals.io: a simple yet very cool online real time strategy game in ~games

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Any tips for playing well?

    Any tips for playing well?

    2 votes

  20. Comment on the power of CHOICE (a short film to motivate you) in ~life

    bugsmith
    Link
    Whilst I do find videos like this a bit preachy and showing a black vs white approach, I love them anyway. This one was good, and it's the exact kind of video that pops up on my feed and...

    Whilst I do find videos like this a bit preachy and showing a black vs white approach, I love them anyway. This one was good, and it's the exact kind of video that pops up on my feed and immediately sparks my desire to "do better", and that helps.

    I saw a similar video a while back that had the same style, it may have been an animation though, with a guy making smaller choices, good on one side, bad on the other. On the "good" side, he slowly became slimmer, buffer, and was succeeding at work. On the "bad" side he became fat, lazy and overwhelmed at work. I'll see if I can dig that one out.

    Edit: Found it.

    1 vote