stu2b50's recent activity
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Comment on Religious switching into and out of Islam in ~humanities
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Comment on Instead of Adolf Hitler, consider comparing US President Donald Trump to Chairman Mao Zedong in ~society
stu2b50 LinkI don't think the article very convincing. Other than surface level details, the author has to contort situations considerably to make them "parallel". For instance Like, really? We're comparing...I don't think the article very convincing. Other than surface level details, the author has to contort situations considerably to make them "parallel". For instance
After the disastrous Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) Mao was sidelined by technocratic leaders, notably Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, who put China on a path towards economic development. Angry and restive, Mao regained power by launching the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966, a violent convulsion that persecuted millions of people, mostly educated urbanites, driving many to suicide.
Trump, too, was pushed from power after a disastrous term, including a bungled response to the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in 400,000 American deaths, only to return with vengeance and knowledge of the levers of power. Trump purges are just beginning but already thousands of dedicated civil servants fired after years of service are suffering anxiety and depression, and a handful have reportedly taken their lives.
Like, really? We're comparing Trump's first term with the Great Leap Forward, and Trump's second term with the Cultural Revolution? The author is also considerably overstating the amount to which Mao lost power from 1962-1966; it's certainly not comparable to Biden actually being the elected head of state.
The most I can agree with is that indeed they both like the color red and are fat.
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Comment on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentIdk, in this case gameplay > story. If Samus started with ALL of her movement options from the previous game, it would severely hamper the developers ability to design engaging levels. Not to...Idk, in this case gameplay > story. If Samus started with ALL of her movement options from the previous game, it would severely hamper the developers ability to design engaging levels. Not to mention since the powerups need to be in addition it'll just be convoluted.
The feeling of going from not being able to double jump, to double jump, is something that isn't mimicked by adding a triple jump.
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Comment on Virtual Game Card – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentI say this as a serial abuser of Steam’s family share, it’s too abusable, and I’m shocked they haven’t cracked down on it. I suspect more developers will pull their games from being shareable as...But no, this is just... a significantly worse version of Steam's family sharing plan?
I say this as a serial abuser of Steam’s family share, it’s too abusable, and I’m shocked they haven’t cracked down on it. I suspect more developers will pull their games from being shareable as time goes on.
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Comment on Virtual Game Card – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentYou can, but your account can only be active on one switch. So let's say you own Odyssey and BOTW. There are two switches, one for you and one for your child. If your child plays your copy of...You can, but your account can only be active on one switch. So let's say you own Odyssey and BOTW. There are two switches, one for you and one for your child. If your child plays your copy of BOTW, you will not be able to play Odyssey (or any game from your library).
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Comment on Virtual Game Card – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 in ~games
stu2b50 (edited )LinkThe local WiFi requirement is honestly a very clever to reduce abuse of the system, taking advantage of the fact that Nintendo owns the hardware. Categories where publishers want family share to...The local WiFi requirement is honestly a very clever to reduce abuse of the system, taking advantage of the fact that Nintendo owns the hardware.
Categories where publishers want family share to occur: families of adults and dependents where the adults make all the money.
Categories where publishers don't want family share to occur: groups of adults, blood related or not, who all have full time incomes.
With the proposed system, adults and their children will be fine - they're dependents, of course you'll see them in person once every 14 days. Probably see them every day.
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Comment on Why I recommend against Brave in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentAlthough it may have come from an unexpected source, personally I really enjoy the fact that the web has become what java applets promised to be. It's the first truly practical, universal VM. You...Although it may have come from an unexpected source, personally I really enjoy the fact that the web has become what java applets promised to be. It's the first truly practical, universal VM. You can run fully featured, completely sandboxed applications that work the same on mobile and computers and anything in between.
There are so many apps which would have required a sketchy download in the past, which are now just webpages you can go on and then forget about - as it should be.
It's far more useful than a simple document retrieval protocol, which is why that is now a fairly rare use of the web. Which is fine. Things people don't really care about can fade into obscurity.
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Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentIt absolutely is a true Unix environment out of the box. This next point is admittedly pointless, but still illustrative: macOS is POSIX certified and all Linux distros are not, and GNU tools have...Sure, it isn’t true Unix unless you change some obscure settings, and it isn’t Linux, but most developer software works perfectly on the Mac
It absolutely is a true Unix environment out of the box. This next point is admittedly pointless, but still illustrative: macOS is POSIX certified and all Linux distros are not, and GNU tools have non-unix defined behavior. GNU find works quite differently, for instance, whereas it’s the same on macOS and freeBSD.
You can also argue that the non-monolithic kernel of macOS is more in the Unix spirit of composable pieces. Launchd is also much more lightweight and composable compared to systemd Linux distros.
In that aspect, macOS is more of a pure Unix OS than Linux is. Not that it really matters.
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Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentIn my experience, it's fun while you're doing it, then it just becomes part of your daily life, until 6 months later something breaks and now you've forgotten everything about it and now it's...I get this perspective, but for me, this is part of the fun.
In my experience, it's fun while you're doing it, then it just becomes part of your daily life, until 6 months later something breaks and now you've forgotten everything about it and now it's work, because you actually need to get something done so there's time pressure.
I've been moving things from self-hosted to managed offerings by companies (e.g I swapped from vaultwarden to just paying bitwarden, I stopped trying to use nextcloud and just pay dropbox, and so forth) because the entropy was driving me insane.
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Comment on A court orders the Unification Church in Japan dissolved in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentIt's also been the justification for said oppression in most cases. But I digress. To reiterate, my points are twofold: one is that religious organizations should have ZERO additional privilege...Religious belief and identity has been used as one of the the primary axes of governmental oppression throughout history,
It's also been the justification for said oppression in most cases. But I digress.
To reiterate, my points are twofold: one is that religious organizations should have ZERO additional privilege merely because they are "religious". In the class of organization that they reside in, there is nothing special about believing in supernatural forces. If anything, people with beliefs that lie more in reality should have more preference.
That the Japanese government shut down an abusive religious organization should have NO more scrutiny than if they shut down an abusive school, or a vegan group, or an abusive animal shelter, or whatever.
Second is that governments should have the power to shut down organizations unilaterally. This is a necessary step in having the power to properly regulate organizations, which is essential IMO. Of course, this can be used in abusive ways, but that's part and parcel of having proper power to regulate. You can't have your cake and eat it.
In the end, there are far more small (and large), abusive organizations of all shapes that need to be reigned in than vice versa.
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Comment on A court orders the Unification Church in Japan dissolved in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentMy original comment said “business and organizations” to be broad. Governments have the power to do a lot of bad things. That’s part of having enough power to do their job. There are many...My original comment said “business and organizations” to be broad.
But I do think you're downplaying the potential sources of concern when it comes to government action against churches.
Governments have the power to do a lot of bad things. That’s part of having enough power to do their job. There are many organizations of various types focused on community building etc, and they are fully under the jurisdiction of governments. Just because some of them believe in various sky potatoes should not give them any more privilege than organizations which don’t.
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Comment on A court orders the Unification Church in Japan dissolved in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentI don’t believe it inhibits it in a way that matters. Certainly the government should not be able change people’s beliefs (nor does it really have a a way to do that), but everything else is fair...I don’t believe it inhibits it in a way that matters. Certainly the government should not be able change people’s beliefs (nor does it really have a a way to do that), but everything else is fair game.
If a government says, this organization which represents a religion can no longer exist - that’s no different than any other organization. Religion is no different and deserves no special place in the modern age.
Religious organizations gets too much special treatment in US law, and I think it should be stripped of that in the US, and I have no issue with governments exercising their right to regulate and control them in other countries.
I don’t think churches should be tax exempt to begin with.
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Comment on A court orders the Unification Church in Japan dissolved in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentNo one said anything about for profits. Governments can shut down non-profits and not-for-profits. That can be in abusive ways (eg a dictatorship kicking out MSF), but it is a power nonetheless we...No one said anything about for profits. Governments can shut down non-profits and not-for-profits. That can be in abusive ways (eg a dictatorship kicking out MSF), but it is a power nonetheless we expect governments to have.
Everyone is free (in most countries) to associate and speak, but whether or not you get to be an official organization recognized by the state is not a right.
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Comment on A court orders the Unification Church in Japan dissolved in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentIf the government can dissolve companies and other organizations I don’t see why religions should get special treatment. If they want to shut down the Catholic Church, it’s their choice. Not like...If the government can dissolve companies and other organizations I don’t see why religions should get special treatment.
If they want to shut down the Catholic Church, it’s their choice. Not like much of value is lost.
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Comment on What can a software engineer do to help the US? in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentThe difference is that you didn't get to choose everyone. You got some ability to influence who you hang out with - maybe you choose a club or organization in an artsy part of town if that's how...The difference is that you didn't get to choose everyone. You got some ability to influence who you hang out with - maybe you choose a club or organization in an artsy part of town if that's how you hang - but ultimately you get a random lot of people you for all intents and purpose had to deal with them.
Echo chambers form online because entry and exit are both trivial and costless - so it's easy for one subgroup to bully everyone away in a way that isn't possible elsewhere. If you moved into a new neighborhood, and one of neighbors is in a different ideological or political faction, and you just decided to leave - that isn't really a financially feasible decision. But it is in a groupchat.
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Comment on Beware tech career advice from old heads in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentI don't think that's really true. At least depending on the scale. All the major tech companies - I wouldn't even say "big", most startups also fall into this category - have pretty extensive...I don't think that's really true. At least depending on the scale. All the major tech companies - I wouldn't even say "big", most startups also fall into this category - have pretty extensive internship programs. These often pay well over $60/hr - and believe me, 99% of these interns do not do $60/hr of work. Often most of the intern projects either never go into production or are internal dashboards or tooling. These interns are often hired at a 70-80% rate to newgrads.
There's not much point in these programs other than onboarding junior staff.
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Comment on The rise of "dumbphones" in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentHonestly I love this, especially when they let you pay via Apple Pay through the page as well. I hope all restaurants implement it.And don't get me started on the increasing pushes for QR codes and apps over physical menus or maps in malls...
Honestly I love this, especially when they let you pay via Apple Pay through the page as well. I hope all restaurants implement it.
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Comment on How come the mods on here keep editing the titles of my post to be exactly what they already were? in ~tildes
stu2b50 Link? Are you saying that mods are editing your titles... to be the same thing? That's... that's not editing, then lol. Are you sure you're not just mistaking other activity on the mod log? Either...? Are you saying that mods are editing your titles... to be the same thing?
That's... that's not editing, then lol. Are you sure you're not just mistaking other activity on the mod log? Either way, I'm not sure why you'd care if it's the same to begin with?
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Comment on Please stop externalizing your costs directly into my face in ~tech
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Comment on Assassins Creed Shadows and stealth in ~games
stu2b50 LinkIt hasn't been like that for a while. In the end, that kind of stealth become fairly unpopular after the 2000s. The last major AAA game I can remember with it is Dishonored and Dishonored 2, and...It hasn't been like that for a while. In the end, that kind of stealth become fairly unpopular after the 2000s. The last major AAA game I can remember with it is Dishonored and Dishonored 2, and you can still rip and tear through either (you just get the bad ending).
AC has been an action-y 3rd person action game with minor, mostly stylistic stealth (as in, it's more the feeling of stealth, as opposed to stealth being the central gameplay mechanic) for longer than it was an actual stealth-based game.
So it is what it is. There's not a whole lot of people that enjoy stealth (as can be seen by all the complaining about how you need to actually be stealthy in dishonored to get the good ending), and AC is a very mainstream series.
That’s definitely something I’ve thought about whenever the “discourse” lands on Islam in comparison to other religions.
For better or for worse, it seems like Islam has been much at being true to itself throughout the years. I think if you were to go back to 1400 AD, Christianity and Islam would not be all that different, on a macro scale.
But through the ages Christianity seem to have been able to more easily just ignore parts of the religion that are inconvenient for the political and social reality. Today, most mainstream Christian churches barely follow half of their own holy books. A christian monk from 1500 who traveled to today would be horrified. But that’s also made it an easier fit with modern secular societies.
I struggle to name many historically Islamic countries whose governance fits with modern humanistic beliefs. Tunisia, I guess? Meanwhile, there’s many historically Christian countries which are more than happy to just ignore all the parts against sodomy and homosexuality.
So if you go back to 1400, I don’t think Christianity is particularly more violent or repressive than Islam. But Christians have been bad at actually preserving their beliefs and customs throughout the years, whereas Islam has been good at that. Its just… not very humanist.
edit:
Also consider the level of observance from the average Christian and Muslim. Most Christians maybe go to church in Sundays, if they’re feeling like it, and that’s about it?
Muslims have strict dietary restrictions, they have to pray every day, during Ramadan they all fast. Pretty much every Muslim I know actually adheres to at least halal dietary restrictions.