pallas's recent activity
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Comment on Google's new app will help warn you about nude images in Messages in ~tech
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Comment on What To Use Instead of PGP in ~comp
pallas (edited )Link ParentSigstore, as used by PyPI and PEP 470, which is what the author gives as an example, is even worse. It's not just that your web of trust must include big corporations. In order to use it, you must...I don't know the exact details of sigstore, but the initial pitch sounds a lot like 'Let's Encrypt certs, but different for the sake of being different.'
Sigstore, as used by PyPI and PEP 470, which is what the author gives as an example, is even worse. It's not just that your web of trust must include big corporations. In order to use it, you must delegate package uploads and your binary package build process to one of four, for-profit companies: Microsoft, Google, ActiveState, or GitLab. Proponents will argue that, in principle, other organizations could be added, and these are only the initial ones, but in practice, that often amounts to nothing.
It's a bit odd to see someone start out their post with vaguely anti-capitalist, or at least anti-corporate, comments, and then proceed to promote a process that moves control of signed packaging entirely into the control of a handful of companies.
Meanwhile, Signal, while I use it extensively, would seem quite limited for security reports. It's essentially a phone instant messenger. It doesn't have any of the features that might be needed for something beyond a small personal project with one maintainer.
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Comment on How do I know if a USB-C PCIe card supports 4k video output? in ~tech
pallas Link ParentTo put it another way: DisplayPort alternate mode literally sends DisplayPort signals through some pins on a Type C cable, instead of normal USB signals. So you need that DisplayPort signal to get...To put it another way: DisplayPort alternate mode literally sends DisplayPort signals through some pins on a Type C cable, instead of normal USB signals. So you need that DisplayPort signal to get to the port somehow.
I've more commonly seen Type C ports on GPUs themselves.
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Comment on Wikipedia article blocked worldwide by Delhi high court in ~tech
pallas LinkTo give some more context: Jimbo Wales made a comment explaining some of the WMF's reasoning here. It appears the decision here was to remove the page temporarily in order to comply with the legal...To give some more context: Jimbo Wales made a comment explaining some of the WMF's reasoning here. It appears the decision here was to remove the page temporarily in order to comply with the legal process and ensure Wikipedia continued to have a chance of winning a case they see as winnable, rather than losing on a technicality.
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Comment on Did you live in a city then move out? How was it? Did it change your energy towards the day-to-day? in ~life
pallas (edited )LinkI would suggest that, while there are some practical differences that create some tendencies in various directions, experiences are likely far more influenced by the specifics of the places...I would suggest that, while there are some practical differences that create some tendencies in various directions, experiences are likely far more influenced by the specifics of the places involved and your preferences and personality, rather than a general urban/rural divide. I also think on Tildes you'll often find people with particular preferences toward particular urban and town environments, which might not be the same preferences as yours.
Driving is not necessarily a burden or an impediment to spontaneity, depending on the area. It can also have the advantage of letting you choose when to be around or not be around people, both those who are your friends and those who are not, and which people to be around. Or it can, depending on the area, be completely isolating and burdensome. A heavily walkable area, meanwhile, can actually be surprisingly unpleasant and isolating if you don't enjoy the people there, or even if a relatively small number are hostile. If you do enjoy the people, it can be wonderful.
I'd also largely disagree with people saying that rural areas are generally not cheaper than urban areas: I think this is heavily dependent on the areas being compared. I think, too, that there can be a tendency, for people who moved to the countryside, to think about what prices had been when they were in a city, when prices have increased everywhere.
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Comment on ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ to lose $150 million to $200 million in theatrical run after bombing at box office in ~movies
pallas (edited )Link ParentI'm not a fan of the entire genre, and so am perhaps not the best person to comment, but reading the Wikipedia summary of critical reviews, the suggestion seems to be that rather than making fans...I'm not a fan of the entire genre, and so am perhaps not the best person to comment, but reading the Wikipedia summary of critical reviews, the suggestion seems to be that rather than making fans of the first movie feel insulted because it was written with a different audience in mind, the film feels written specifically to resonate with those fans by criticizing them and their perspectives (justifiably!) and making them uncomfortable. Thus, people who hated the first movie might be more likely to simply find the second movie uninteresting.
If the goal of the films was to do something like Lolita, presenting the perspective of a monster who is still clearly a monster, then I feel like the first film needed to do a better job making a character who wasn't just consistently off-putting to a wide audience, while also consistently having points where even specific narrower audiences would find the character horrible and be made uncomfortable by any sympathy they had. Doing the latter in a second film, years later, after that narrower audience celebrated the first, seems ineffective.
Or perhaps, with the way our connected society enables the formation of niche subcultural groups with closely shared and extreme views, such a work is now simply bound to find people who simply celebrate the monster, and then have them become ardent and vocal enough fans that they define the work's wider reception.
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Comment on Advice for dealing with racist/pro-Donald Trump family? in ~health.mental
pallas Link ParentI realize that I am often not the majority view here, and that I certainly often feel unwelcome, but on this I would like to comment: there seems to be a tendency in online communities, especially...- Exemplary
I've noticed there's (mostly) a combination of takes suggesting to 1) just not talk about politics or 2) lean towards cutting off contact.
I realize that I am often not the majority view here, and that I certainly often feel unwelcome, but on this I would like to comment: there seems to be a tendency in online communities, especially those like reddit and tildes, to argue for abandoning relationships and cutting off contact when those relationships aren't built around an idealistic and unrealistic perfect concordance of views and behavior, or approaching the handling of relationships by presenting absolute, non-negotiable demands. The vast online population, and potential for filtering of views that allows for niche spaces of extreme agreement, perhaps creates a skewed sense of what local and family relationships should be like. There is an online admiration of isolationism and hostility that is dismaying: as you note, it seems like something that makes problems worse and at a societal level leads toward increasing strife; I'd add that it tends toward the encouragement of some form of online dependency.
Personally, in relating to people whom I think are good in some deeper sense, but also have views I find horrible, especially around Trumpism, when they want to discuss those topics, I try to seek out and focus conversation onto the points where we can find common ground and interest. It is in those spaces where we can relate amicably, and in those spaces where I can hope to have some influence on their views of the world. They are usually not impossible to find. Even if Trump himself is largely politically incoherent, for example, Trumpism is built on some real problems and discontent, with absurd and hateful answers and explanations for them. Focusing on those problems can be an area of agreement, and an opportunity to discuss different ideas around them. Within Christianity, the kindness, the charity, the forgiveness and understanding, the acceptance of imperfection, can be potential points of agreement, veering away from narrow specific quotations for particular hostile views. With your brother, what is behind those views on women, or a racial other? What is it he fears about them? Is it some sense of precarity or vulnerability that he feels? Are there ways to relate through those?
I am reminded in these matters of my mother's childhood friend, whose father was a conservative, fire-and-brimstone Baptist minister. Two of his children were gay, something he just couldn't see or relate to. He was at first oblivious in his patriarchal domination, then, when they were older and out, was for years horrified and angry about their sinfulness. But I never knew him that way: by the time I was a child, I saw only the thoughtful, kind, elderly theologian who was an assistant minister for his son at his son's inclusive church, officiated the wedding of his son and son-in-law, and was deeply reflective about his past mistreatment of his own children. When he died, he was remembered primarily by a community he would, many years before, have been willing to crusade against. I have to think that, had his children, and anyone who had a different view of the world, simply cut off contact with him entirely, and cut off that exposure to other perspectives, he would never have changed, and that his not changing, more than people associating with him despite (but mindful of) his views, would have ultimately been a disservice.
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Comment on I quit teaching because of ChatGPT in ~creative
pallas Link ParentThe example is even less typical than that. The author appears to have been specifically teaching English courses for (presumably incoming) international students (at the New Jersey Institute of...The author is teaching doctoral students, not undergrads. A technical PhD student is working 60+ hour weeks on research, classes, and TA responsibilities combined. I can easily see how they just do not give a shit about the writing class they're being forced to take.
The example is even less typical than that. The author appears to have been specifically teaching English courses for (presumably incoming) international students (at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, also oddly not mentioned). So these were likely writing classes that students were being required to take while others in their cohort were not, and were likely entirely outside of their department's program and normal requirements.
There could be significant motivation to cheat or cut corners in that context, and the students' departments might not care, or might even unofficially encourage it. The author could well have been caught more in inter-departmental drama than a breakdown of student behavior.
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Comment on I quit teaching because of ChatGPT in ~creative
pallas (edited )Link ParentI was perplexed by the statements like these about doctoral students, and a sense of vagueness about the university and the course, so I looked it up. The author taught for the English Language...She comments that her students were not "developed enough" to recognize the nuances between their original writing vs. the generated writing:
I was perplexed by the statements like these about doctoral students, and a sense of vagueness about the university and the course, so I looked it up. The author taught for the English Language Program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology; it appears she was specifically teaching English courses for international students and non-native speakers. It does not appear that she was teaching a general technical writing course. Here is a syllabus she had, for example.
That context considerably changes my interpretation of her comments about her students' comprehension. I feel it also makes understanding the students' choices more difficult without knowing more about the organization of the program: this could well have been a course all international students were forced into regardless of English proficiency, for example, and seen more as a busy-work impediment to their actual program more than an opportunity for learning.
It's not clear to me why the author chose to be vague about this context.
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Comment on Clean, crisp bedding brings comfort like nothing else. Research shows fresh sheets improve sleep (and even our romantic lives). in ~life.style
pallas (edited )LinkThis article does not, of course, actually give a direct citation to the supposed research it references. In reality, the work it refers to appears to be a 2012 market research telephone poll, the...- Exemplary
This article does not, of course, actually give a direct citation to the supposed research it references. In reality, the work it refers to appears to be a 2012 market research telephone poll, the 2012 Bedroom Poll by the National Sleep Foundation. The National Sleep Foundation is a controversial, industry-funded non-profit that has over the years been criticized for using sleeping pill manufacturer funding to push an "insomnia awareness day" and promotion of insomnia as an epidemic, endorsing bedding product companies, and at one point actually selling MyPillow pillows on its website.
Even they, however, do not claim what the author of this article is claiming. The two most related questions in the survey appear to be on the perceived importance for (a) "getting a good night's sleep" and (b) "creating a romantic environment" of (a) a "clean bedroom", and (b) "comfortable feel of sheets and bedding" (emphasis mine). While the PDF I found frustratingly does not seem to have searchable text, the 73% number appears to be the response for "creating a romantic environment" and "comfortable feel of sheets and bedding".
This is not at all the same as "sleep better on fresh sheets". And, of course, it is completely inappropriate to claim that a market research survey on bedding products and sleep habits was a study that produced concrete findings on sleep quality.
As an academic, my writing an article centred around intentionally misrepresenting results like this one would be potentially career ending. It is extremely frustrating to see them published with no consequence by journalists, and it is articles like these that make me somewhat disappointed there is no way to downvote or report posts on Tildes, even if I generally like the absence of downvotes, including for posts.
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Comment on What gay men’s stunning success might teach us about the academic gender gap in ~lgbt
pallas (edited )LinkThis piece starts out with research results, but then, when comparing to straight women, moves toward speculation. And while I don't disagree with that speculation—it's actually something I can...This piece starts out with research results, but then, when comparing to straight women, moves toward speculation.
And while I don't disagree with that speculation—it's actually something I can relate to in a way—another possible factor in the comparative academic success of gay men and straight women could be that there are two separate sets of expectations involved: the cultural pressure of too much interest in intellectual work as being seen as outside of traditional masculinity, and misogynist views of women as being intellectually inferior. While boys are pressured, particularly by their peers, not to apply themselves too much or be too interested in academics, girls are pressured, particularly by teachers and parents, to see topics and academic achievements past certain levels as beyond them, or are kept from classes and experiences that would have given them a chance to become inspired or apply themselves. Gay male students, while facing different challenges in school, perhaps manage to fit in between these two, having the opportunities and encouragement often denied to female students, while escaping the pressures of traditional masculinity that make it harder for straight male students to take advantage of those opportunities.
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Comment on The Internet Archive lost their latest appeal. Here’s what that means for you. in ~tech
pallas Link ParentTo emphasize this: the entire Anna's Archive torrent list, which is enormously redundant, and contains everything from many different pirate libraries, is around 940 TB. An individual could store...Text is really, really small and compressible. That makes it pretty easy to port around and pop back up. So these shadow libraries are probably even harder to kill than ThePirateBay.
To emphasize this: the entire Anna's Archive torrent list, which is enormously redundant, and contains everything from many different pirate libraries, is around 940 TB. An individual could store the entire collection for ~$5k-$30k, depending on storage medium. AA actively encourages distributed storage and seeding of the collection.
TBP, by comparison, had 2,500 TB seeded in 2020, is likely not the largest pirate non-library site by any means, and is not an arguably close-to-complete collection of the entirety of all piracy of a type of work.
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Comment on Who here leaves a review? in ~life
pallas (edited )Link ParentWhat frustrates me about small businesses and reviews is that unlike large companies, which might spam requests but won't go much further, I've had experiences with small businesses that seem to...And when a small business is pushy (in person) about asking me to leave a review, that annoys me as well. A sign on your counter or a kind remark in passing is fine. Drilling me before I leave with "you'll leave a good review on Google, right?" is not acceptable.
What frustrates me about small businesses and reviews is that unlike large companies, which might spam requests but won't go much further, I've had experiences with small businesses that seem to outright expect reviews as some sort of social obligation, and actively remember and dislike customers who don't leave them. I don't post public reviews, as a matter of personal privacy; particularly for some small, particularly owner-operated hotels, once the owner finds out that I won't be leaving a review I've gone from enjoying my stay to feeling that I won't be able to return, even if I suggest that I will be privately recommending them.
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Comment on Google halts its four-plus-year plan to turn off tracking cookies by default in Chrome in ~tech
pallas Link ParentIf advertisements online were contextual, I'd be less likely to block them. Advertisements in many print publications are actually useful and often a benefit to the reader in some sense. I recall...This seems like a large logical leap to me. I'm skeptical of the effectiveness of targeted ads in general; contextual, IMO, seems easier for niche products: buy ads on a website that has strong overlap with your target audience.
If advertisements online were contextual, I'd be less likely to block them. Advertisements in many print publications are actually useful and often a benefit to the reader in some sense.
I recall the frustrating difference for a literary journal, where the print advertisements were for new books, conferences, art openings, etc, and at least reasonably vetted (and the occasional self-published eccentric pushing their own work with small advertisements was somewhat endearing), while the advertising attached to their podcast, being data-based and having little context other than location based on my IP address, would play advertisements for a car dealership.
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Comment on Rapper BG ordered to have all future songs approved by US government in ~music
pallas (edited )Link ParentThis is not weird, except inasmuch as the history of the NRA is weird. The NRA before 1977 was a different organization with different leadership, was focused on marksmanship, recreation, and...Edit to add that this bill was supported by the NRA, weird.
This is not weird, except inasmuch as the history of the NRA is weird. The NRA before 1977 was a different organization with different leadership, was focused on marksmanship, recreation, and hunting, and had consistently supported gun control measures. They supported major federal gun control acts in 1934, 1938, and 1968, and were largely nonpartisan. In 1934, its president testified to Congress:
I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one. I have when I felt it was desirable to do so for my own protection. I know that applies in most of the instances where guns are used effectively in self-defense or in places of business and in the home. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.
Then in the 1977 Revolt at Cincinnati, political gun activists voted out the old leadership, and reshaped the organization to focus on 'promiscuous toting of guns' and political campaigning, making it into the organization it is today.
I'm sure there was racism involved, but it would not be right to say the NRA supporting a gun control measure in the 60s was unusual. It simply wasn't the same organization.
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Comment on Internet Archive forced to remove 500,000 books after publishers’ court win in ~tech
pallas Link ParentOf those, I'd note that Sci-Hub is somewhat different. The rest are indisputably both violating copyright and generally seen as piracy. Scholarly papers, however, exist in an complex, shifting...Of those, I'd note that Sci-Hub is somewhat different. The rest are indisputably both violating copyright and generally seen as piracy. Scholarly papers, however, exist in an complex, shifting environment very different from other publications, where many of the most open and frequent copyright violations are by the authors of the copied works, authors see no negative impacts to copyright infringement, payments primarily go from authors to publishers, publishers primarily profit in distribution from large-scale contracts to libraries and individual sales don't really matter, publishers are limited in their ability to pursue many copyright violators if they wish to remain viable (because they are also usually frequent authors), and the general direction of the industry seems to be going more toward profiting from authors (and their institutions and funders) and providing free access for readers.
While technically not legal in most places, I'd have little anxiety about using Sci-Hub, or recommending it, for downloading individual papers.
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Comment on Why not ban left turns on busy streets? in ~transport
pallas Link ParentWhile your suggestions will work for roads that are laid out reasonably well for driving, there are many places where they don't hold, unfortunately. There may not be a next intersection for some...While your suggestions will work for roads that are laid out reasonably well for driving, there are many places where they don't hold, unfortunately. There may not be a next intersection for some time, or anywhere to turn at all. It may be that the next intersections will not allow a series of turns that will make returning and turning onto the original path viable, either legally (eg, a series of no u-turns, far turns onto streets not allowing turn-arounds, or near turns onto streets that don't allow far turns back onto the original street), or physically (passing a barrier to streets like a valley, canal, or motorway, a street that becomes physically divided with no turns across it, streets that simply don't have other connections, streets that become something else, etc). In complex street layouts, it may be very difficult to find your way back onto a viable route, to the point that it might require referring to a map. In some cases you will not arrive at anywhere near the same time if you don't take the correct turn, even if that turn is one that is difficult and poorly designed, or it may be the case that you must take a poorly designed turn at some point, and your only option is which one.
While the bad left turn followed by miles of no U-turn signs is something I've primarily seen in the US, the more general case of a bad intersection, often involving a difficult turn, followed by no alternative is more general, and something that seems fairly common in major European city centres, especially in older areas with complex streets not originally designed for cars.
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Comment on Science fiction or fantasy recommendations for children in ~books
pallas (edited )LinkIf I might suggest: if she's interested in trying to read Red Mars, why not let her try reading it? Yes, it's complex and political, and yes, there are aspects and nuances that she might have...If I might suggest: if she's interested in trying to read Red Mars, why not let her try reading it? Yes, it's complex and political, and yes, there are aspects and nuances that she might have trouble understanding. But a reader can enjoy, and find meaning, in a book, without understanding all aspects of it. Looking back at my reading that age, I know there is much that I missed in the books I read. But I can say the same for books I read in my early twenties. I will likely say the same of books I'm reading now. Appreciating works in new ways when coming back to them, finding new meaning as one matures, is a benefit, not risk, of reading. Ambition in reading has little risk; the worst that would happen is that she would lose interest, and move to reading some other book, while she could alternatively thoroughly enjoy reading it even without understanding everything, and be inspired at the potential of the nuance and complexity. There are books that might simply not be enjoyable without understanding some portions of them, but I think that situation is less common than many adults might expect, and I think holding or losing interest in a book means that a child will simply move away from those.
As a child of that age, I specifically disliked the idea of withholding books based on age, or encouraging books seen as suited to a particular age; the entire concept of YA as an explicit genre seemed largely patronizing, and still seems that way to me. I had the advantage of enormous access; I practically grew up on university campuses, and some of my earliest memories are of carrels in the vast stacks of university libraries. My partner, growing up in a far more restrictive environment, and with different interests, had the same feelings, in her case, fighting against a school library that outright labelled and restricted borrowing of every book by their view of the age best suited for reading it, with color-coded stickers on the spines.
On my part, for science fiction, I largely started reading older classics. The first novel I read as a child (I was likely seven or so?) was War of the Worlds, which I enjoyed, and which encouraged my interest in classic science fiction, even though I know there were vast aspects I didn't understand at all, especially the implied commentaries on imperialism. I read Wells, Verne, Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein (not that I'd necessarily recommend him) and so on; thinking back, I would have probably enjoyed Lem's short stories, especially The Cyberiad, which is a combination of science fiction and fantasy, and is conceptual while being light-hearted, some sort of meaningful easy reading; I would have also enjoyed some Vernor Vinge. While not science fiction, as an example of not enjoying something from not understanding it well, I tried reading The Name of the Rose at some point and largely lost interest, but that did not keep me from being very fond of Eco's works now. I expect something similar would have happened had I tried to read Borges.
For various reasons, in part in reading the accepted classical canon at the time, my science fiction reading was also decidedly not diverse in authors; I read A Wrinkle in Time, it being recommended to me, but largely found it less interesting and didn't continue with it; I do enjoy Octavia Butler's short stories as an adult. Classics also have an advantage of time acting as a filter, if an imperfect one, for quality.
I know that there were many things I missed in reading those; there's actually a certain enjoyment in rereading the works I read at the time, seeing the things I didn't see then, and the things I did in a different light.
In some sense, to a child, I think I'd particularly recommend suggesting short stories, and perhaps anthologies, as being a good way of gathering a sense of different authors' styles and themes, trying them out quickly, and finding authors whose works they might want to seek out. Then, from there, they can read both the short stories and novels of the authors they enjoy.
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Comment on Sony Pictures acquires Alamo Drafthouse cinema in landmark deal that puts studios back in theater game in ~movies
pallas (edited )Link ParentThe removal of the Paramount Decree restrictions, and the sense of weakening strength and reputation of US regulation generally, however, give studios exciting opportunities in the business that...With covid and movie theaters generally scraping by, it's surprising for a studio to step into this game.
The removal of the Paramount Decree restrictions, and the sense of weakening strength and reputation of US regulation generally, however, give studios exciting opportunities in the business that independent theatres don't have. There's a chance to return, with the added advantages technology, data mining, and targeted advertising brings, to the very profitable studio system, and much more effectively exploit consumers.
With both streaming and theatre ownership, a studio could ensure that they control all distribution methods for their films, and directly receive all revenue. The question of how quickly to switch to streaming would no longer be a question of cutting out independent intermediaries. Exclusive theatrical runs, cutting out independent theatres, could offer considerable control. With popular franchises, studios could offer 'experiences' of offerings at a high, studio-set price point to maximally engage devoted fan bases, presenting new productions either earlier before streaming, or 'enhanced' performances only ever shown at the studio's theatres. Merchandising could also be integrated into the theatre space more effectively, perhaps also, especially for children's films, incorporating Disney's innovations in displays of others' experience of 'privileged' consumption to induce feelings of envy and unlovedness in children and guilt in parents. And utilizing viewing and demographic data from their streaming platform, and enhanced data collection in theatres, a studio could precisely target both what they screened at any particular theatre (and how and when they screened it), and how they advertised. Modern multiplex theatres could be particularly suited to precise targeting.
Sony is perhaps not in the best position for these sorts of strategies; a studio like Disney could do very well, but is probably still concerned about being a target for regulation. But you can see the ideas forming, with the "Sony Pictures Experiences" name, and the mention of the theatre's "differentiated moviegoing experience" and how "our Crunchyroll business aligns well with their audience's interests" before feeling the need to add on that they "will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors".
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Comment on Straight romances in tv and movies in ~lgbt
pallas Link ParentIt's worth noting this is something that has probably improved over time: the completely incongruous romance subplot was a staple of films in the early to mid 20th century, and they were often...A lot of the time it's very obviously an attempt to try to appeal to more demographics, and Hollywood sees romance as the go-to shortcut for women.
It's worth noting this is something that has probably improved over time: the completely incongruous romance subplot was a staple of films in the early to mid 20th century, and they were often absurdly bad and pointless. Particularly for adaptations of novels and short stories, there would frequently be cases of a single added female character who obviously was there for the sole purpose of a contrived romance subplot with the protagonist that in no way fit the original story, but was required based on the cultural view of studios at the time that women would simply be unable to appreciate a film that didn't have romance, however contrived.
What was perhaps more horrifying about that article than just the criminal investigation was Google seemed to suggest that its view was above that of law enforcement. The police investigated, determined the situations were not crimes (and thus presumably not CSAM), and closed the investigations. Yet, when presented with the cases, by the NY Times, and asked for comments, Google not only didn't back down, or, as might be expected, say they couldn't comment on the cases: their spokesperson disagreed, gave private details of the users' content suggesting they thought the images were CSAM and were not as described, and said Google stood by their decisions to permanently ban the users and deny access to any of their content. That the police disagreed did not matter. That the NY Times was writing an article with details about the cases did not matter. Google's scanning, in Google's view, was right.