the-boy-sebastian's recent activity
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Comment on Looking for a laptop to take on a Latin America trip - what advice do you have for finding cheap and sturdy in ~tech
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Comment on The more I use Linux, the more I hate every distro in ~tech
the-boy-sebastian LinkMy Arch experience is wildly different to yours. I've been using some form of Arch for five or six years now and it's broken once or twice and always been my fault (mostly fiddling around with the...My Arch experience is wildly different to yours. I've been using some form of Arch for five or six years now and it's broken once or twice and always been my fault (mostly fiddling around with the bootloader) and easy to fix in a chroot. I've also had the linux, linux-lts, and linux-zen kernels installed at the same time and they all showed up in systemd-boot with no hassle.
I see comments about Arch breaking/being unstable a lot but I've never experienced it myself. Maybe I've just gotten lucky with it? In what way was it breaking?
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
the-boy-sebastian LinkCrawlers' debut album The Mess We Seem To Make came out today and it's a brilliant album. Going to see them perform the whole thing live at Pryzm next Thursday and I can't wait!Crawlers' debut album The Mess We Seem To Make came out today and it's a brilliant album. Going to see them perform the whole thing live at Pryzm next Thursday and I can't wait!
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Comment on What's a recent queer milestone you've reached? in ~lgbt
the-boy-sebastian LinkMe and my friends joined another queer group having left our previous one in August. It's a much better vibe than the previous one we went to and I'm glad we started going.Me and my friends joined another queer group having left our previous one in August. It's a much better vibe than the previous one we went to and I'm glad we started going.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
the-boy-sebastian Link ParentYou keep trying to paint me as some sort of spin doctor making accusations here which was never my intention -- my initial comment was written as I read the post and was my gut reaction to reading...accuse
made it up
assumed the worstYou keep trying to paint me as some sort of spin doctor making accusations here which was never my intention -- my initial comment was written as I read the post and was my gut reaction to reading it. I don't have any reason or the inclination to start making things up to frame OP as a bad person.
It is way too common these days that you are called all kinds of names just for expressing an opinion someone disagrees with. It is also common that opinions are misrepresented. These are all "innocent" reasons to be afraid to express opinions. Being justifiably called out on your opinion is far from the only reason people might be afraid to express their opinions.
I accept that this is true -- but I don't think this is the thrust of the post. If it is, then why the mention in OP's post of "profile descriptions" (i.e bios) and "server rules"? Are people being called names or having their opinions being misrepresented through those areas? I've not seen that happen and it doesn't really make sense to mention them otherwise.
why did you even start talking about expecting to find a place where voices are suppressed?
User bios are used to express a person's individuality, and more often on the Fediverse than on other platforms people are members of an oppressed group. Most instances also make specific reference to discrimination against specific groups in their rules.
I drew parallels between what I knew about the Fediverse culture, historical criticisms I'd heard of the Fediverse which took a similar tone and the flawed logic of other interpretations and came to a conclusion that made sense to me. I wasn't trying to make things up or misconstrue OP's point.
I tried to read your first comment again and I see no omitting or misrepresenting. I left out some things for brevity but I am convinced that the point I was trying to make is valid.
How? Again, I see no misrepresentation.
I make a lot of qualifications throughout both my comments that are left out completely from any quotes you've taken -- which to me looks like I said what I said as if it was unqualified fact. I'm not nearly arrogant enough to say such things as if they are facts. From your responses I don't think you did this deliberately and I apologise for assuming that you did.
you assumed the worst without anything that would suggest that this is what HeyNiceLunchBox thinks.
I don't agree that there was nothing to suggest that my interpretation is possible because of a couple reasons.
Firstly, I wrote it in the first place. I know you'll just have to take my word for it, but I wouldn't waste my time and energy on writing a critique like that (or indeed, defending it) if I didn't think there was some merit to my points. Secondly, other people have had similar concerns about OP's post throughout this comment section. If I was the only one saying the things I said I might be more inclined to agree with you but the way I see it is not limited to just me.
I'll say it again, if OP wants to explain how I'm wrong about what I've said they can, and I'll happily make a full retraction. In this instance, I'd be very happy to be proved wrong.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
the-boy-sebastian Link ParentNot sure why else you would be afraid of expressing an opinion if not because you might get called out on it. I also qualified that section by saying: and omitting that is misrepresenting what I...It is assumed that when you talk about being afraid of expressing an opinion, you mean "saying discriminatory or harmful things and then getting called out on it"
Not sure why else you would be afraid of expressing an opinion if not because you might get called out on it. I also qualified that section by saying:
I'm not sure what you mean by comments being "pulled or influenced into..." different topics. If you mean...
and omitting that is misrepresenting what I said and rather disingenuous. I'm perfectly happy for the OP to tell me I interpreted that section wrongly.
You were probably just "expecting to find a place where these groups' voices are suppressed".
I think that OP's complaints about the Fediverse were a mask off moment for me. The part about bios is to me an implicit criticism of people being open about who they are on the internet, as is prevalent on a space like the Fediverse. Many instances also have rules explicitly prohibiting many different types of discrimination, and I'm not sure what else the part about server rules could be referencing.
Of course since all of the criticism is hidden behind references to a nebulous "it", no one apart from OP can be sure exactly what is meant here. Clarification would be welcome.
Also you yet again misrepresent my words -- here's the full text:
If you went to Mastodon expecting to find a place where these groups' voices are suppressed, you were sorely mistaken.
And some moralizing thrown your way: "you're so paranoid that your opinions will receive backlash you should be a little introspective and take a critical look at your views and people's response to your views and ask yourself why people are responding negatively to what you say rather than coming here to complain about any backlash."
My intent was not to moralise -- I actually only brought up the topic of paranoia because it was explicitly mentioned in the last section of the post, the part about conversations on the internet being "overshadowed by paranoia".
And for the third time you incorrectly quote my words, so here's the bit you missed for context:
I think if you're so paranoid [...]
I don't think it's an unfair assumption that someone posting about online conversations being "overshadowed by paranoia" might be a bit paranoid about reactions to the things they say.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
the-boy-sebastian (edited )LinkI was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I've known of the album for a while as my sound teacher was a producer on it but I didn't listen to...I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I've known of the album for a while as my sound teacher was a producer on it but I didn't listen to any of the songs until Killing the Blues was played at a concert at my school (with someone playing pedal steel, which was impressive!) and I was hooked.
My top three this week included Belle and Sebastian and R.E.M, which is pretty usual, but also Good Shoes, who had a couple indie No. 1s in the late '00s and has my mum's friend's brother's (very Spaceballs relationship) as a band member.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
the-boy-sebastian Link Parentahh I see, I didn't think of it that way. those sort of people are actively harmful to an ethos like the one here on Tildes and I can understand the frustration someone might have with them...ahh I see, I didn't think of it that way. those sort of people are actively harmful to an ethos like the one here on Tildes and I can understand the frustration someone might have with them (albeit that sort of antagonistic behaviour being nothing new, as you said)
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Comment on If you came into a lot of money, what would be the indulgent thing you would buy? in ~talk
the-boy-sebastian Link Parentas a strong aging wheels fan I imagine I'd be an early subscriber to your channel hahaas a strong aging wheels fan I imagine I'd be an early subscriber to your channel haha
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
the-boy-sebastian (edited )LinkI find this to be a pretty problematic view of things... I'm not sure what you mean by comments being "pulled or influenced into..." different topics. If you mean people saying discriminatory or...- Exemplary
I find this to be a pretty problematic view of things...
It seems almost like one can’t speak, post or comment on most places, without it getting pulled or influenced into racism, homophobia, sexism, antisemitism, conspiracy theories, covid issues, vaccines, politics, anti-capitalism, propaganda, etc, etc, etc.
I'm not sure what you mean by comments being "pulled or influenced into..." different topics. If you mean people saying discriminatory or harmful things and then getting called out on it, then I don't agree with your point here. I follow a lot of queer creators on mainstream social media platforms and the majority of the comment section is often pointless queerphobia completely unrelated to the post. The only thing the creator did to receive that abuse is be openly queer -- and that is reprehensible behaviour that should be criticised heavily.
It seems like Tildes is the only place where it isn’t as prevalent.
Again, not too sure what "it" is referring to. I will say that Tildes has a Code of Conduct, philosophy and tools that mean discriminatory and harmful language are stamped out quickly, and I for one am thankful for that.
Tons of people are fleeing the older sites because of either one of the above topics...
People are not fleeing "the older sites" because of perceived polarisation, but because of bad policy decisions on behalf of the owners. Reddit suffered a mass exodus of users because it made its API paid, not because of discourse. Twitter suffered a mass exodus of users because Musk implemented ridiculous policies that are not only user-unfriendly, but advertiser-unfriendly too.
And because of this giant migration, the alternative sites and Fediverse alternatives are booming. So that was tried as well, and it was even more prevalent of the above. It’s either in every profile description or posts or comments or rules of the servers.
And now I see what you mean by "it"... Most Mastodon server's cultures are openly accepting of queer people, the global majority, neurodivergent people, and other groups that have been historically oppressed and without a space to express themselves and their cultures. Some instances are even made by and for specific minority groups, I have an account on tech.lgbt, for instance. If you went to Mastodon expecting to find a place where these groups' voices are suppressed, you were sorely mistaken. If you came to Tildes expecting to find a place where these groups' voices are suppressed, you are still (in my experience) very mistaken.
Over the years, having tried Twitter [...] and some other failed sites, etc, etc, etc. Tildes seems like the one place that’s mature or level-headed enough to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Or is it perhaps due to it’s small community and the fact that it’s purely text-based, leaving less of a space to trigger someone?
I will only say that framing minority groups being open about who they are and critical of discrimination as immature and irrational is incredibly disingenuous and also that words can have a great effect on someone so Tildes being text-based is neither here nor there.
And the worst part, is how it’s been trickling down into our (offline) reality. One can go on and on about echo-chambers, stereotyping, labelling people, races, genders, etc, etc, etc. But for now, maybe it’s time to stop the post.
I think the sheer amount of vitriol coming from politicians and political activists towards trans people and migrants and any other group they feel they can demonise both online and offline shows that any claim of a trickle-down effect of acceptance of minority groups into society is a complete fabrication.
And so, in closing, asking sincerely, where can one go to just have a normal conversation, that isn’t overshadowed by paranoia?
I think if you're so paranoid that your opinions will receive backlash you should be a little introspective and take a critical look at your views and people's response to your views and ask yourself why people are responding negatively to what you say rather than coming here to complain about any backlash.
I can't speak for how "the old ways of the web" were because I wasn't there, but if you want to find a social site where you can say whatever you want without any repercussions or criticism there are many such places, but Tildes is most definitely not one of them.
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Comment on Beeper Mini is back in ~tech
the-boy-sebastian Linknot a fan of how this portrays all these things as groundbreaking new features when as far as I can tell basically everywhere in the world bar the US figured this out years ago. I live in the UK...Android and iPhone customers desperately want to be able to chat together with high quality images/video, encryption, emojis, typing status, read receipts, and all modern chat features.
not a fan of how this portrays all these things as groundbreaking new features when as far as I can tell basically everywhere in the world bar the US figured this out years ago.
I live in the UK and the vast majority of people use WhatsApp for communicating. this sort of thing is basically not an issue here (and if it is I can imagine the response being "just get WhatsApp mate"). it's not even like the majority use Android devices here!
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
the-boy-sebastian LinkBeen a fairly typical week music-wise for me. R.E.M, Belle and Sebastian and Crawlers (who are brilliant and releasing their debut album in February, check them out!) are topping the artist list...Been a fairly typical week music-wise for me. R.E.M, Belle and Sebastian and Crawlers (who are brilliant and releasing their debut album in February, check them out!) are topping the artist list which is pretty standard.
I will recommend Half Man Half Biscuit, who combine sardonic lyrics with driving guitar riffs to create incredibly good (and funny) songs, and have been doing so for almost forty years!
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Comment on Where ya from? in ~talk
the-boy-sebastian LinkSouth LondonSouth London
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Comment on The future of Tildes and the internet. Reddit is valuable and dangerous. I think humanity needs a Reddit alternative that is a common good. in ~talk
the-boy-sebastian Link Parentinfectious disease news subredditinfectious disease news subreddit
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Comment on Deimos, how is it going? in ~tildes
the-boy-sebastian Link Parenti think that shows how much the philosophy of tildes resonates with people. it's such a refreshing and lovely space to be in -- thank you for creating it!Some of the previous large invite waves we had in the past resulted in a lot of strife and issues and made me need to do a lot of moderation work, but there's been almost none this time.
i think that shows how much the philosophy of tildes resonates with people. it's such a refreshing and lovely space to be in -- thank you for creating it!
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Comment on The future of Tildes and the internet. Reddit is valuable and dangerous. I think humanity needs a Reddit alternative that is a common good. in ~talk
the-boy-sebastian Link Parentholy shit I'm beginning to think that tildes isn't the right place for this person.holy shit
I'm beginning to think that tildes isn't the right place for this person. -
Comment on The future of Tildes and the internet. Reddit is valuable and dangerous. I think humanity needs a Reddit alternative that is a common good. in ~talk
the-boy-sebastian LinkI gotta say the discourse on Saidit seems absolutely disgusting. antisemitism and transphobia runs rife -- I was autosubscribed to /s/Rothschilds which has over 40k subscribers, and all of the...I gotta say the discourse on Saidit seems absolutely disgusting. antisemitism and transphobia runs rife -- I was autosubscribed to /s/Rothschilds which has over 40k subscribers, and all of the queer subs are overtly trans-exclusionary. not the sort of place I want to spend my time on by any stretch of the imagination.
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Comment on LGBT introductions thread: What's your story? in ~lgbt
the-boy-sebastian Linkhere's the long and short of it (I'm achillean + gender questioning): I started questioning my sexuality as I went into secondary. repressed it for years as I learnt that my peers were insanely...here's the long and short of it (I'm achillean + gender questioning):
I started questioning my sexuality as I went into secondary. repressed it for years as I learnt that my peers were insanely queerphobic. came out to my parents in Year 10 after bunking off school a few times because of the stress of playing along with awful queerphobic shit every single day. got together with my oldest mate at the start of Year 11, which was amazing for the first few months but became more distant after we told our parents. joined a queer youth group around this time, which has been really good for me. he left me fairly abruptly in April, haven't really spoken to him since then. I miss him sometimes.
I'm getting over him though, slowly but surely. not like I haven't got things to distract me -- I'm going to a very accepting performing arts school in September and have eleven weeks of pride events and trips with my mates coming up (including a week's residential in Wales and seeing Pulp at the Apollo! I'm so fucking excited haha). it'll be nice to build new friendships at college and strengthen ones with mates I already have.
so.. yeah, that's basically it.
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Comment on What are the greatest TV intro songs of all time? in ~tv
the-boy-sebastian LinkSome of these have already been mentioned, but: Red Dwarf Jeeves and Wooster The Young Ones Grange Hill University Challenge (the old one with the bells)Some of these have already been mentioned, but:
- Red Dwarf
- Jeeves and Wooster
- The Young Ones
- Grange Hill
- University Challenge (the old one with the bells)
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Comment on What are the greatest TV intro songs of all time? in ~tv
the-boy-sebastian Link ParentSecond Jeeves and Wooster! Good Omens too.Second Jeeves and Wooster! Good Omens too.
I wanted something similar and I was looking at ThinkPads from the 8th gen era on eBay but I eventually went with a Dell Latitude 7300. i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD and FHD screen all for £150 (X380s averaged around £200)
Of course YMMV depending on the used market where you are but the 7300 has been solid for me since I got it.