Grzmot's recent activity

  1. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? in ~tech

  2. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? in ~tech

  3. Comment on The Witch Trials of JK Rowling in ~lgbt

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    I recently listened to the full podcast because I'm working on a video on Hogwarts Legacy and felt compelled to add a disclaimer at the start that this video is about the game and not Rowling. I...

    I recently listened to the full podcast because I'm working on a video on Hogwarts Legacy and felt compelled to add a disclaimer at the start that this video is about the game and not Rowling. I wanted to add a couple of resources for viewers, among them both Contrapoints videos. But I also wanted to add the podcast because, as you write here, it is Rowling expressing her thoughts in the purest form.

    But that's not entirely true either. They are Rowling's most palatable opinions, not her purest. They are also couched by the host of the podcast in a lot of lead-up that makes Rowling seem more sympathetic even while spouting vitriol. Outside of the singular episode featuring Noah and Natalie, there is a distinct lack of support for the trans point of view (POV), while Rowling's POV is supported by a number of professors and researchers and whatnot. I find this way of presenting it quite problematic because the host of the podcast presents herself as impartial, as wanting to push for a conversation, but then presents the trans side of the discussion as hateful twitter warriors while everyone supporting Rowling is calm, collected and usually comes with credentials attached to their name.

    The podcast wastes time by recounting a lot of stuff instead of collecting Rowling's statements and then challenging them. It does add some nuance to Rowling's statements and I am convinced that her opinions are not driven by hate, but that they are of course damaging to trans people as a whole. She seems to be fine in general with people transitioning, but is dead certain that the societal acceptance of gender as social construct and the ability for people to change their own gender legally without many barriers is going to eradicate women's only spaces and offer predators a way in to abuse women.

    It was honestly the question I was most looking forward to; if someone was going to ask a TERF "the bathroom question", because a common TERF argument against the ability to change your own gender legally is that it will make bathrooms unsafe, and I just wanted to know how Rowling would support her opinion on it because she went to great lengths in the podcast to talk about how much research she is doing both for her opinions and also for her writing (which is funny because her writing never seemed very researched at all, especially in relation to cultures foreign to the UK).

    Rowling says that while it's true that bathrooms are not a legally protected space, but a socially protected space (men can actually just go into women's bathrooms at any time, it's just a social norm not to), she cites some study where 88% of all sexual assaults happen in mixed-sex spaces and that the ability for people to change their gender without anyone else interfering legally would remove the awareness in society to call out a man entering the wrong bathroom (most likely with nefarious intentions) because I guess witnesses would see the man as trans and entering the right bathroom?

    This thought in particular seems to terrify her, and it fits with her recent detective novels where there was a male serial killer who crossdressed to get close to his victims.

    It still sounds wrong to me though. Disguises help you get into places when there are lots of people around, which you aren't going to be doing if you want to catch a lone victim away from everyone else. In addition, you can already execute such a plot if you really wanted to. In addition addition, even if there is a causal link between an increase in sexual assaults in women's spaces and the ability to legally change your own gender "at whim", how many people stand to benefit vs. how many people stand to suffer from it? I'm certain that even if it were true (and I don't think it is), there would be ways to reduce the number of people suffering.

    In general though, I do agree with you. I think a lot of this stuff happened because Rowling decided to spend her time on Twitter of all places during the pandemic. It's a terrible website and social network.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on Do not buy NZXT | Predatory, evil rental computer scam investigated in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    Paul is so far down the content rabbit hole that anything that gets him clicks (equals fame equals money) is good. I expect one of the harshest mid-life crises possible for that guy, but then...

    Paul is so far down the content rabbit hole that anything that gets him clicks (equals fame equals money) is good. I expect one of the harshest mid-life crises possible for that guy, but then again, reality tv has existed for a long time and this is basically its replacement, except it's with real people. There is a whole (very large group) of twitch streamers and youtubers who do basically nothing of value except entertain or chat with people all day.

    Then there is the growing genre of investigator youtubers (chiefly Coffeezilla right now, and iDubbbz a long time ago) who go around exposing slimey practices and part of me wonders (probably hopes) if the audience of Beast, Paul and the like grow up and want a more realistic perspective on what they do. The more realistic side knows that whoever grows up on content like this not going to be critically questioning much.

    4 votes

  5. Comment on Do not buy NZXT | Predatory, evil rental computer scam investigated in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    Yeah, for some reason it became normal for adults to produce content aimed at children without any further checks and balances. Creators like Logan Paul and MrBeast are very aware of the fact that...

    Yeah, for some reason it became normal for adults to produce content aimed at children without any further checks and balances. Creators like Logan Paul and MrBeast are very aware of the fact that the majority of their audience is literal children and optimize their content and the stuff they sell in that direction, and it's just incredibly slimey.

    The person who said "pay for a month and win a Fortnite competition" should really take a step back and check themselves. Is that really what you want to do with life?

    12 votes

  6. Comment on Do not buy NZXT | Predatory, evil rental computer scam investigated in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    It'll depend on the negotiation of the influencer with the advertiser, but usually the influencer writes the ad read and mentions some points or even specific quotes like "no strings" and "no...

    It'll depend on the negotiation of the influencer with the advertiser, but usually the influencer writes the ad read and mentions some points or even specific quotes like "no strings" and "no contract" in their ad read as given to them by the advertiser. That's why you saw that pattern among a lot of different influencers.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Do not buy NZXT | Predatory, evil rental computer scam investigated in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    This video got me to sign up for their Patreon. I've been toying with the idea ever since they ran the EK investigation, but this sealed the deal. It's the mental disconnect between getting the...

    This video got me to sign up for their Patreon. I've been toying with the idea ever since they ran the EK investigation, but this sealed the deal.

    The ad-spots that Steve features in the video are disgusting, I can't believe that these "influencers" can sleep at night the way they're manipulating actual children.

    It's the mental disconnect between getting the money from NZXT into your bank account and not seeing the harm done. It's this nebulous link between action and consequence where a lot of good people do bad things.

    15 votes

  8. Comment on In praise of Arcane season 2 in ~tv

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    SPOILERS ALL OF SEASON 2 OF ARCANE It was still bautiful and I had a good time with it, but that was only because I really like the Victor's arc. I fully recognize that Jayce/Victor are completely...

    SPOILERS ALL OF SEASON 2 OF ARCANE

    It was still bautiful and I had a good time with it, but that was only because I really like the Victor's arc. I fully recognize that Jayce/Victor are completely separated from the rest in a similar way as Mel and her stuff.

    Season 2 should've been about a Zaun/Piltover civil war and them ultimately coming together to defend themselves against Noxus. But Mel, Victor and Jayce really needed to get through their stuff to set up future shows I guess. It did not mesh well, and instead of being connected by the plot, the only thing that connects the 2 climaxes of the invasion and then whatever the fuck you want to call Victor's ending weren't actually connected by any plot. The only thing that connected them was that they happened at the same time, in the same place.

    They really needed to kill their darlings in S2 and focus on one plot, and that was the civil arc stuff because it's the logical conclusion after Silko's death in S1. I still had a great time with it though.

    5 votes

  9. Comment on Stellar Blade: The fake outrage in ~games

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    It's quite central to the point Shaun is making though: That this fake controversy is not about the game at all, because the game is alright. I can see how people could be really into it. But the...

    Discussing for a decent chunk of a time the mediocrity of a game for reasons that I do not even actually fundamentally disagree with, just think were overblown.

    It's quite central to the point Shaun is making though: That this fake controversy is not about the game at all, because the game is alright. I can see how people could be really into it. But the point is that outside accounts have been flip-flopping on this being the best game ever or the worst game ever for reasons that have nothing to do with the game itself.

    In addition, while he relies on the twitter account for the most, he shows plenty of screenshots of videos with a couple thousand views each also discussing the "controversy".

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Stellar Blade: The fake outrage in ~games

    Grzmot
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Just use Chat GPT to give you a bullet list of stuff to go through and eventually synthesize your voice using AI and boom, the channel runs itself.

    Just use Chat GPT to give you a bullet list of stuff to go through and eventually synthesize your voice using AI and boom, the channel runs itself.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Making a fake movie to understand Hollywood’s shady accounting in ~movies

    Grzmot
    Link
    A fun short video detailing how Hollywood accounting works in principle. To make it simple: Each movie has a production LLC which gets dissolved after the production ends and is basically a shell...

    A fun short video detailing how Hollywood accounting works in principle.

    To make it simple: Each movie has a production LLC which gets dissolved after the production ends and is basically a shell company through which everything passes. Producers usually sell everything needed for production to those LLCs at extremely inflated prices to reduce profits on paper, even though at the end you're just passing money between 2 corporate entities you both own.

    9 votes

  13. Comment on Forced to upgrade [from iPhone 8] in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    Dumb phones have become somewhat impossible for me to even consider because of all the 2FA stuff. I literally cannot access my bank account without my phone, and it needs to be a smartphone,...

    Dumb phones have become somewhat impossible for me to even consider because of all the 2FA stuff. I literally cannot access my bank account without my phone, and it needs to be a smartphone, because the 2FA is proprietary inside my bank's app.

    It sucks, but I get it. But it sucks.

    20 votes

  14. Comment on Stellar Blade: The fake outrage in ~games

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    Of course a huge aspect of it is that it is financially rewarding, especially for the channels that put out shit daily or even more more than once per day. I don't think Shaun was very interested...

    Of course a huge aspect of it is that it is financially rewarding, especially for the channels that put out shit daily or even more more than once per day. I don't think Shaun was very interested in making it apparent that it is profitable to lie on the internet; that seems like an obvious statement to me.

    I think the angle he picked with going with this die-hard believer of the cause who kept ranting on about shit on Twitter more than 20 years after he has done anything relevant at all is a fantastic one. Having watched the whole thing, he doesn't outright insult Grummz at any point aside of mentioning his age towards the start of the video.

    The fact that a 56 year old guy is firing off twitter messages hourly about something completely irrelevant and largely made up is so intriguing. I think he's a believer of his own bullshit, and that's more interesting to explore than grifters who do it for profit only, because grifters are the same wherever you go.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on Stellar Blade: The fake outrage in ~games

    Grzmot
    Link
    As someone who once regretfully described himself as a gamergater in 2016, and trust me, I wish I was closer to 14 rather than 18 back then, this is a curious look into how this movement has fared...
    • Exemplary

    As someone who once regretfully described himself as a gamergater in 2016, and trust me, I wish I was closer to 14 rather than 18 back then, this is a curious look into how this movement has fared over the years.

    The Stellar Blade "Controversy" is a fantastic example of just how insulated you can become in your little social media bubble, and looking back on it now, how outright cringe it all was back then too. People posting multiple videos a day, all just reurgitating the same uninformed hot takes for an on-screen audience that has nothing better to do than watch a guy known for shit like being good at WoW or having worked at Blizzard 20 years ago trying to find purpose in being angry.

    Reading all of the content shown in the video, especially the main character of Grummz, always updating this "culture war" narrative like it's the marvel cinematic universe is one of the worst deja-vus I've had the displeasure of experiencing. It reminds me of falling into r/KotakuInAction and checking it daily for the newest updates on how something completely irrelevant not impacting my life at all was evolving, especially because most of the controversy was just made up to get angry and drive engagement, because holy shit do people love being angry.

    I'm so happy I got away from it.

    37 votes

  17. Comment on Google is testing the ‘impact’ of removing EU news from search results in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    Kagi still gets reddit, but that's only coz they pay Google.

    Kagi still gets reddit, but that's only coz they pay Google.

    13 votes

  18. Comment on I've added ~society for topics related to politics, law, policies, and similar societal-level subjects in ~tildes.official

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    We bow to you, King.

    We bow to you, King.

    10 votes

  19. Comment on The Browser Company announces Arc Browser will no longer be their flagship product in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    It makes sense to have a native browser for your operating system. I'm not denouncing Safari, but what I mean is that for Apple, Safari is part of a package that sells their hardware, so it can be...

    It makes sense to have a native browser for your operating system. I'm not denouncing Safari, but what I mean is that for Apple, Safari is part of a package that sells their hardware, so it can be free in the sense that you need to buy a device from them to get to it. They don't need to monetize Safari itself.

    The Browser Company however, does. It's in their name, they want to make Browsers only. But clearly they are still in the stage of achieving infinite growth so this is what they do. Don't build a stable product and focus on serving the user base (which, if they didn't have investors hounding them, they could at least attempt) instead of, I'm assuming here, putting Arc in maintenance mode and developing something else. It feels to me like Arc is being put into maintenance mode.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on The Browser Company announces Arc Browser will no longer be their flagship product in ~tech

    Grzmot
    Link Parent
    When Arc got announced and it was discussed here on Tildes, I wrote a comment detailing my reservations about adopting Arc as my main browser. It's very clear that the company making it is...

    When Arc got announced and it was discussed here on Tildes, I wrote a comment detailing my reservations about adopting Arc as my main browser. It's very clear that the company making it is following the typical tech company startup scheme, i.e. get seed funding, grow fast, worry about how to monetize it later.

    You can read between the lines of the CEO's announcement video that this is exactly what's happening. Their key performance indicator is user growth, and the CEO said in the video that with the current growth rate, they are not going to reach a billion users. Read, or listen, in this case, between the lines: they are not growing fast enough.

    Browsers have been free for over two decades. Chrome exists because Google wants data, Firefox exists because Google really doesn't want Chrome to be designated a monopoly, Safari exists because Apple is obsessed with end-to-end control. And Browsers are the only thing this company is presumably going to be making.

    They have no path to profitability, they don't even have the concept of a plan of profitability, and they are not growing fast enough to make the people funding them right now happy. This is what this is. They made something good, but too niche for tech investors. They are also headquartered in New York, so I imagine their upkeep is expensive.

    This is what this is. They cannot, or are unwilling for whatever reason, to monetize their current userbase. So to get more funding, they have to keep growing. This is their attempt.

    22 votes