stu2b50's recent activity
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Comment on SteamDB Joins Nexus Mods in ~games
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Comment on SteamDB Joins Nexus Mods in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean, there's a difference between a paid product, that has revenue flows, that gets worse after acquisition. People essentially expect this one dude to burn his OWN money and time indefinitely...Service starts, is good, gets sold, enshittifies.
I mean, there's a difference between a paid product, that has revenue flows, that gets worse after acquisition.
People essentially expect this one dude to burn his OWN money and time indefinitely for their benefit. That's just absurd.
Steamdb was never sustainable. It's not a company, it doesn't have revenue, it doesn't have employees. Something that's free, and actually free, in the sense it's just burning money from the creator, you should never expect to exist indefinitely as-is.
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Comment on SteamDB Joins Nexus Mods in ~games
stu2b50 LinkI see a lot of people weirdly entitled about SteamDB. In the end, it's a project one dude ran as a hobby out of his own pocket. None of us are owed anything. No one has ever paid the dude a cent....I see a lot of people weirdly entitled about SteamDB. In the end, it's a project one dude ran as a hobby out of his own pocket. None of us are owed anything. No one has ever paid the dude a cent.
He has every right to shut the servers down at any moment he doesn't want to keep it up, in the same way that someone knitting a scarf has every right to stop knitting it if they get bored.
That he shopped around for a buyer is already more than anyone deserves. Maybe NexusMods will run it to the ground. Oh well, that's life.
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Comment on Recommendations for noise cancelling, over ear headphones in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkSony wh-1000xm6 Has probably the best noise cancelling. I'm not sure what you mean, but it doesn't have like a gamer headset mic. They have multi-device support. You can have up to two devices...Sony wh-1000xm6
Has probably the best noise cancelling. I'm not sure what you mean, but it doesn't have like a gamer headset mic.
They have multi-device support. You can have up to two devices connected and it'll try to swap between them.
You can also try the WH-1000xm4. It's more foldable, but has a way worse mic than the xm6.
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Comment on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ snags no. 2 with $15.4m as ‘Spider-Man’ nears ‘Avatar 2’; ‘Dog Stars’ put to sleep in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentIt’s probably the only time they could afford to do it. Ketchup isn’t a very big publisher, and expectations aren’t very high for the movie. This is the time of the year when theaters would be...It’s probably the only time they could afford to do it. Ketchup isn’t a very big publisher, and expectations aren’t very high for the movie. This is the time of the year when theaters would be willing to give them slots.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentEven if you want to describe it like that, it’s nonetheless a harassment campaign that worked - that caught on, that had the power to dupe people. Every day there’s tens of thousands of harassment...Even if you want to describe it like that, it’s nonetheless a harassment campaign that worked - that caught on, that had the power to dupe people.
Every day there’s tens of thousands of harassment campaigns that people try to start, but most fizzle out. Gamergate blew up because it struck a nerve among enough people that they felt the need to vibe in it. A lot of “gamers” felt some kind of anger or irritation in the back of their mind against the media at the time and gamersgate was the outlet.
If you tried to do the opposite today, start a harassment campaign against games media for being too misogynistic, it probably wouldn’t go anyway. And that’s interesting, and worthy of study.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentNot everything has to have a villain. An audience mismatch can exist, and be punishing, even when there is foul play (or serious one, at least). The audience mismatch is that "gamers" became...because it's centered about an obscure game no one has ever heard of, and the conflict of interest at play isn't really that clear cut.
Not everything has to have a villain. An audience mismatch can exist, and be punishing, even when there is foul play (or serious one, at least).
The audience mismatch is that "gamers" became increasingly a population of adults, and working class adults, without college degrees, who just statistically are more misogynistic, more suspicious of "feminism", more critical of what is considered "artsy" content.
All journalists are very much college educated, and of that social class. The Anita moment is the moment when that audience really revolted against what they saw as journalists who didn't represent their views. And that is, what it is. The journalists who continue to be employed today learned to hold their tongue and write more in what a large proportion of the audience wants.
In some ways, this is a microcosm of what happened broadly in US politics. Biden can literally bail out the Teamsters (the biggest union in the US), while Trump is destroying them economically, and yet who do the Teamsters support in 2024? Mr. Trump. No way they're voting for a woman.
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Comment on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ snags no. 2 with $15.4m as ‘Spider-Man’ nears ‘Avatar 2’; ‘Dog Stars’ put to sleep in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentWhy would Ketchup buy the publishing rights to the movie and then intentionally tank it? (And no, it’s not tax write offs, that’s not how taxes work).Why would Ketchup buy the publishing rights to the movie and then intentionally tank it?
(And no, it’s not tax write offs, that’s not how taxes work).
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentIt’s mostly a vocal minority. Most people don’t buy physical games.It’s mostly a vocal minority. Most people don’t buy physical games.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
stu2b50 LinkGamersgate was mostly about audience misalignment. It was a big deal in the vertical of "games media", which isn't that big of a vertical to be clear. In that 2013ish time, it was really the peak...Gamersgate was mostly about audience misalignment. It was a big deal in the vertical of "games media", which isn't that big of a vertical to be clear. In that 2013ish time, it was really the peak of games media online, with ad revenue in a major bubble, and challengers not quite ready. Meanwhile, the population of people who played video games became increasingly working class and older as it got cheaper and more focused on adults.
You can tell the way the mainstream games outlets covered games changed afterwards, for better or for worse. It wasn't just gamergate, but that time was really the cataclysm for traditional games journalism. The ad revenue bubble popped, and alternate media like youtubers took much of the oxygen from outlets like IGN. It's been nothing but layoff after layoff, with no sign of recovery.
In that kind of environment, you can't afford to leave half of your audience pissed off at you, for reasonable or not reasons.
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Comment on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ snags no. 2 with $15.4m as ‘Spider-Man’ nears ‘Avatar 2’; ‘Dog Stars’ put to sleep in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentWay more kids know who skibidi toilet, or Mr. Beast, is than bugs bunny. It do be like that sometimes.The only people that care about them as a thing are people who were around to see the renaissance they had in the 90s.
Way more kids know who skibidi toilet, or Mr. Beast, is than bugs bunny. It do be like that sometimes.
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Comment on Donald Trump says he has secured a vast US stake in Venezuelan oil industry in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean, the government in Venezuela is still a horribly repressive military junta that regularly tortures and imprisons its citizens while the economic implodes. I think there would be pushback...I mean, the government in Venezuela is still a horribly repressive military junta that regularly tortures and imprisons its citizens while the economic implodes. I think there would be pushback from a Democrat administration on whether or not just giving the repressive military junta back the tools.
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Comment on China’s YouTube, Bilibili, plans global expansion, English-language site in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI think this misses the actual value add of YouTube in the year of our lord 2026. Back in the olden days, yes, YouTube was video infrastructure. This was back when you needed flash player. It was...I think this misses the actual value add of YouTube in the year of our lord 2026. Back in the olden days, yes, YouTube was video infrastructure. This was back when you needed flash player. It was a different time.
These days, hosting video is trivial. It’s trivial to do on any number of platforms, it’s trivial to do on your own website. Practically every website with user content has video uploads.
What YouTube provides is an audience. That’s the main value add. It’s really easy to host your video on somewhere else, but no one is going to watch your videos.
Making YouTube peer to peer is solving the wrong problem. The problem isn’t video hosting, it’s audience discovery. YouTube is social media - it resembles TikTok fundamentally more than it does infrastructure like Cloudflare.
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
stu2b50 Link ParentI guess we can leave it at there, since I don’t really care about the legitimacy of the monarchy. Like I said earlier, this isn’t a defense of the British crown. My point was entirely that it’s...To the point of me calling it out in my initial post, I quite frankly do not care whether it's 200 million, 200 billion, or even 2 quid.
I guess we can leave it at there, since I don’t really care about the legitimacy of the monarchy. Like I said earlier, this isn’t a defense of the British crown.
My point was entirely that it’s pretty absurd to say that no one has quantified the economic impacts of the crown, when very very many people have quantified the economic impacts.
It’s like saying no one has studied the Bible - regardless of whether or not Christianity as an institution is good or bad, that’s just fundamentally not true. Every word has been scrutinized to an absurd extent.
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
stu2b50 Link ParentThe tourism effects are estimates but the crown estates is a hard number. Either way, 500m is a pretty small number that I, at least, find pretty easily believable. Dumber things have had greater...I don't think that's much of a stretch when those reports universally call their valuations an estimate.
The tourism effects are estimates but the crown estates is a hard number. Either way, 500m is a pretty small number that I, at least, find pretty easily believable. Dumber things have had greater increases on tourism.
So yeah, like you said. Those estates would generate money if they were seized.
I think you misunderstood the situation; they are already seized, in all but name. The Crown Estates is a vast amount of land that the Crown use to own. In order to settle debts, the King of England made a deal with parliament: Parliament would pay the King's debts, and guarantee the royal family a living stipend. In return, Parliament would own and operate the Crown Estates, and take all revenue from the land.
So the only hypothetical benefit to formally seizing them is not having to pay the Crown $200m/year in living expenses. Which, again, is not a lot of money at these scales.
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
stu2b50 (edited )Link ParentI mean, there’s a difference between “no one has quantified the impact” and “people have quantified the impact but I refuse to believe them”. If it makes things more believable, remember that 500m...I mean, there’s a difference between “no one has quantified the impact” and “people have quantified the impact but I refuse to believe them”.
If it makes things more believable, remember that 500m is not a lot of money. The UK has 147 billion dollars a year of tourism-related GDP. The royal family is not a significant portion of the UK’s tourism.
Disney World generates $36 billion a year in revenue. One Disney castle in Floridian swamps is 76x the royal family.
How does that calculation work for estates? Is it just appreciation for being valuable assets?
All the normal ways one makes money from land: rent, fees, and market appreciation, yes.
Not to be trite, but I did see this response coming. I called it out because I find it irrelevant. The inequality that is inherent to a crown and what it represents is the problem.
To be clear, this isn't a "defense" of the UK royal family. My point is more that the idea that no one has quantified the economic impact of the British Royal Family to be an absurd statement that is patently false - every inch of their every aspect of their lives has been examined somewhere or another. They're the kardashians of the UK. It's free real estate for views.
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
stu2b50 Link ParentAt least for the UK this is something that has been extensively estimated and quantified. This is a random one from Google...you will always have someone defend them and say they bring in more money than they cost... but so far nobody has been able to quantify this.
At least for the UK this is something that has been extensively estimated and quantified. This is a random one from Google https://brandfinance.com/wp-content/uploads/1/brand_finance_monarchy_press_release.pdf
The monarchy “only” costs the UK public ~200m/year. From tourism affects alone, estimates range from 400-600m/yr in benefits to the British economy.
Then the controversial one: if you count the crown estates or not. If you do, it’s not even remotely close - the crown estates brings in well over a billion a year for the UK government. Of course, some people argue that the crown estates includes properties that the crown won by war, but then again all property in the UK was at some point wrested from some other lord on the wrong side of a civil war. You could also say that if the UK formally deposed the monarchy they would seize the crown estates anyway. Who knows how a lawsuit over a centuries old agreement between king and parliament would go, though.
Even if you don’t include the crown estates, it’s still relatively profitable for the UK, and if you do, it’s absurdly profitable for the UK.
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Comment on Xbox announces digital entitlements for disc based games in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentNothing, but you can also do that (and some people do) with refunds. In the end, most people want to be online. Never being able to see what your friends are doing, play any multiplayer game,...Nothing, but you can also do that (and some people do) with refunds. In the end, most people want to be online.
Never being able to see what your friends are doing, play any multiplayer game, download DLC, download patches, or buy anything from the online store is an insane penalty for what, $20 on eBay from selling the old copy?
Remember, almost all games, including physical games, do not have all the data on disk just from size constraints, not to mention they all have day 1 patches that fix critical bugs.
You’d only be able to pull this trick once, and you’d never be able to play a new game on the console. You’d brick your entire Xbox just to be able to sell 1 game. Who is doing that?
At most, maybe someone being cheeky who’s going to get deployed in the military or something. But that’s well within the limits of acceptable loss.
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Comment on Xbox announces digital entitlements for disc based games in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentWhoever most recently boots the disk takes ownership of the copy. So if you claim owner ship and then stuff the disk in your attic, your account will own it forever. If you instead sell the disk...Whoever most recently boots the disk takes ownership of the copy. So if you claim owner ship and then stuff the disk in your attic, your account will own it forever.
If you instead sell the disk to someone, when they put the disk in, their account will now own the game, and it will be removed from your account.
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Comment on Young adults in the US are increasingly wary of AI, concerned it will take jobs in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean, it makes the market. They're market makers. They do two services to the market: one, it optimizes the market. This is what merchants do. If an ounce of fine china porcelain is worth $500...Take quantitative trading firms like Jane Street or whatever. They basically just do arbitrage of stocks on a massive scale, fractions of pennies at microseconds at a time. What value does this actually provide society?
I mean, it makes the market. They're market makers.
They do two services to the market: one, it optimizes the market. This is what merchants do. If an ounce of fine china porcelain is worth $500 in Europe and $10 in China, then merchants will buy in China and sell in Europe in increasing volume until the prices move towards equalization. This both means that the sellers in China have a fairer price and consumers in Europe have a fairer price. This is just that, but for assets.
Second, they are who you buy and sell stock from. When you go on your brokerage app and buy Apple stock, who do you buy it from? A lot of people just see it as "the market". But the market isn't a person. You actually buy it from market makers, who handle liquidity in the market.
This is genuinely very useful - imagine if you wanted to invest in Apple stock, and you had to find another person who owned Apple stock, and then personally negotiate with them a price for them to sell Apple stock to you. That would be incredibly difficult to the point of making stock ownership inaccessible to people with day jobs.
Finally, the theta these companies take is entirely from the stock market. If you believe the stock market is mainly full of the 1%, companies like Jane Street are taking money exclusively from the 1%.
Sure, in the sense that they have free will and free speech.
In that vein, I have the right to say that they’re entitled and dumb. Which I am.