mala's recent activity
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Comment on Twitter, Elon Musk and the Indigo Blob in ~society
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Comment on Twitter, Elon Musk and the Indigo Blob in ~society
mala LinkNah, you lost me here Nate. The reason why we have public health officials that dictate health policy is because they are experts in health policy and the general public is not. I'll refrain from...For example, if public health officials would strongly prioritize “equity” when coming up with a plan to distribute vaccines but the general public would not, they should defer to the public.
Nah, you lost me here Nate. The reason why we have public health officials that dictate health policy is because they are experts in health policy and the general public is not. I'll refrain from making slippery slope arguments but you can imagine what a stupid idea this is if you apply it to any other field in which leaders with education and experience make decisions on behalf of the public and imagine for yourself the consequences of pursuing this kind of pseudoegalitarian nonsense.
Individuals are a mixed bag, some are intelligent and some are not. Groups are dumber. The general public, as the largest group, is the dumbest of the lot. The general public possesses no special insight or reasoning ability or perspective that would make overriding the considered judgment of health policy officials to make even a little bit of sense.
I already have to live in a society where the general public dictates political leadership. That's an awfully mixed bag even when things operate as they should, without thousands of thumbs and billions of dollars pressed on the scales by people pursuing their own agendas, but it's the way our country works so we do the best we can. That said, I do not want to live in a society where the general public (and all the stupidity and partisanship and conspiratorial thinking and dark money that goes along with that) dictates health policy.
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Comment on Some major cities in the US are getting rid of bus fares in ~transport
mala Link ParentOkay, but bear in mind there's not a single significant public transit system in America that's funded through fares. In fact other than a small handful of systems in Asia I don't think there's a...Okay, but bear in mind there's not a single significant public transit system in America that's funded through fares. In fact other than a small handful of systems in Asia I don't think there's a public transit system in the world that breaks a profit. Fares are never going to cover funding.
The problem isn't that free fare makes funding harder. The problem is that we need to stop thinking of public services like transit as a profit center and recognize them as investment in our communities.
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Comment on All five people on Titan sub dead after 'catastrophic implosion' in ~transport
mala Link ParentThere will definitely be some education taking place, once the dust (debris?) settles and the families of the dead start looking hard at the safety protocols and questionable decisions made by the...There will definitely be some education taking place, once the dust (debris?) settles and the families of the dead start looking hard at the safety protocols and questionable decisions made by the company. I guess we'll need to decide what to call a scandal and investigation involving a company whose name already ends in -gate.
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Comment on Meet Kelpy, the deep tech startup swapping single-use plastics for seaweed in ~enviro
mala Link ParentOkay. But neither of those articles address the kind of production the article talks about. Properly labeled plastics that can be recycled, and that do get recycled, are great. Short of never...Okay. But neither of those articles address the kind of production the article talks about.
Properly labeled plastics that can be recycled, and that do get recycled, are great. Short of never making them in the first place, that's the best case scenario. But as you're probably already aware, the vast majority of plastics (more than 90% of all plastics, and virtually all single-use plastics) are never recycled.
Increasing the amount of plastics that can be effectively recycled, and then increasing the amount of plastics that actually are recycled, are both goals we should be pursuing. In the meantime, all other things being equal, sourcing single-use plastics from seaweed instead of fossil fuels is a win.
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Comment on Meet Kelpy, the deep tech startup swapping single-use plastics for seaweed in ~enviro
mala Link ParentYou're allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. There's no single route out of the climate crisis and we can do multiple things at once. Alternatives to single-use plastics mean reduced...You're allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. There's no single route out of the climate crisis and we can do multiple things at once.
Alternatives to single-use plastics mean reduced dependence on hydrocarbons and reduced plastic waste in landfills. That's a clear unalloyed win, even with no corresponding change in consumer behavior.
This is good news. Take the wins where you can find them.
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Comment on Reddit admins are now approaching mod teams of closed subreddits, looking for moderators who will cooperate and re-open them in ~tech
mala Link ParentThe thing that's really going to sting when the dust settles is, the majority of Redditors do not contribute anything. It's the minority who create all the value, both in moderation and in...The majority of Redditors do use new Reddit and the main Reddit app. The majority don't value long-form discussion-based content. The majority love using the voting system as an agree/disagree button. And the majority love how Reddit is today.
The thing that's really going to sting when the dust settles is, the majority of Redditors do not contribute anything. It's the minority who create all the value, both in moderation and in content, and it's the minority who are leaving.
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Comment on Meta is building an alternative to Twitter in ~tech
mala LinkIn other news, gonorrhea is building an alternative to chlamydia.In other news, gonorrhea is building an alternative to chlamydia.
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Comment on spez/Steve Huffman did not attack third party apps to make the site more valuable for IPO, but rather to reduce the effectiveness of one of the largest progressive platforms on the internet in ~talk
mala LinkNever attribute to ideology that which can be sufficiently explained by greed.Never attribute to ideology that which can be sufficiently explained by greed.
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Comment on Reddit CEO pledges to not force subreddits to reopen. Admin team then immediately threatens moderators who closed their subreddits with removal. in ~tech
mala Link ParentAnd if LLMs can't use the APIs to pull training data, they'll just scrape the site, exactly as they would any other site that does not offer an API. The load on Reddit's servers will actually be...And if LLMs can't use the APIs to pull training data, they'll just scrape the site, exactly as they would any other site that does not offer an API. The load on Reddit's servers will actually be more pronounced with scraping than it would be through the API, so if their goal was to make money and reduce server load by charging LLM trainers, this would be a spectacular self-own.
They're not that stupid though. This was never about LLM training and always about killing third-party apps.
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Comment on Reddit CEO pledges to not force subreddits to reopen. Admin team then immediately threatens moderators who closed their subreddits with removal. in ~tech
mala Link ParentYou can try to request it through Reddit, but good luck with it. I made that request a week ago and they never responded. Ended up backing up and deleting my content myself with scripts.You can try to request it through Reddit, but good luck with it. I made that request a week ago and they never responded. Ended up backing up and deleting my content myself with scripts.
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Comment on Reddit CEO pledges to not force subreddits to reopen. Admin team then immediately threatens moderators who closed their subreddits with removal. in ~tech
mala LinkTech CEOs are frequently unreliable to begin with, but throw in the inevitable corruption once VC money is in the mix and all bets are off. They will say anything and do anything to keep all the...Tech CEOs are frequently unreliable to begin with, but throw in the inevitable corruption once VC money is in the mix and all bets are off. They will say anything and do anything to keep all the sexy profit numbers moving up and to the right. Spez was an asshole already but in the run-up to IPO he has cheerfully shed any remaining shreds of integrity in pursuit of that golden payday.
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Comment on Visual novels and adventure games with choices that matter? in ~games
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Comment on Visual novels and adventure games with choices that matter? in ~games
mala Link ParentGraph-immediate? Not familiar with the term, what does that mean?Graph-immediate? Not familiar with the term, what does that mean?
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Comment on The most liberating decision: just deleted my Reddit account in ~tech
mala Link ParentRight? It was weirdly liberating, watching the script tick through all my old contributions and overwrite and delete them one by one.Right? It was weirdly liberating, watching the script tick through all my old contributions and overwrite and delete them one by one.
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Comment on The most liberating decision: just deleted my Reddit account in ~tech
mala Link ParentAnd yet the entire problem right now is Reddit admins doing everything they possibly can to maximize their profit off of the content and moderation that their users have provided for free. There's...And yet the entire problem right now is Reddit admins doing everything they possibly can to maximize their profit off of the content and moderation that their users have provided for free.
There's value in leaving your old content there for future visitors, sure, but there's also value in removing it. I feel like whether or not to nuke one's contributions on the way out is a pretty personal decision and I wouldn't judge anyone either way.
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Comment on The most liberating decision: just deleted my Reddit account in ~tech
mala LinkDeleted all my posts and comments along with my alts earlier today. Hanging on to my main account for the moment, just in case. Just in case of what tbh I am not sure, maybe it's just reluctance...Deleted all my posts and comments along with my alts earlier today. Hanging on to my main account for the moment, just in case. Just in case of what tbh I am not sure, maybe it's just reluctance to let go. I'll probably delete it by the end of the month if not before since I really don't expect there to be any reason not to.
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Comment on The most liberating decision: just deleted my Reddit account in ~tech
mala Link ParentThere's been a noticeable uptick in GPT-powered comments on the site in the last week, I assume admins have been pre-emptively ramping up artificial activity to make up for the dip in genuine...There's been a noticeable uptick in GPT-powered comments on the site in the last week, I assume admins have been pre-emptively ramping up artificial activity to make up for the dip in genuine activity.
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Comment on US Department of Justice announces charges against Donald Trump in ~news
mala Link ParentI guess it depends on what you consider 'cautious'. The special master ruling effectively put the FBI's investigation on hold at the request of Trump's counsel for no good reason and was reversed...I guess it depends on what you consider 'cautious'. The special master ruling effectively put the FBI's investigation on hold at the request of Trump's counsel for no good reason and was reversed on appeal. Even a lot of conservatives (up to and including Barr) thought it was a bad call made most likely out of favor to Trump over any kind of thoughtfully considered jurisprudence.
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Comment on Introductions | June 2023, part 2 in ~talk
mala Link ParentI'm going to choose to believe you're Neil Patrick Charris, of Doogie Chowser fame. Welcome.I'm going to choose to believe you're Neil Patrick Charris, of Doogie Chowser fame. Welcome.
I've spent years working for and with Bay-area startups, and while I agree that in this specific instance -- the logistics of early vaccine rollout -- government dropped the ball, I'm not sure I follow you from "plucky tech startups save the day by moving fast and breaking things" to "public health policy should be dictated by plucky tech startups".
For every success story and well-meaning tech entrepreneur in this area there's another Elizabeth Holmes or Martin Shkreli just waiting for an opportunity to get rich by convincing investors that public health in America is ripe for disruption. Thanks, but your "general public > health policy officials" argument was bad enough before you shifted to "techbros > health policy officials".