vakieh's recent activity

  1. Comment on Introducing the pervert’s dilemma: A contribution to the critique of deepfake pornography in ~humanities

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    Why does the ability to make it unethical? Surely that would be unethical if you made the choice to exercise that ability? (note this obviously doesn't apply to the release of tool with which to...

    Why does the ability to make it unethical? Surely that would be unethical if you made the choice to exercise that ability?

    (note this obviously doesn't apply to the release of tool with which to do it, just an individual privately using already existing tools)

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Reddit hires its first chief financial officer as it prepares for an IPO in ~tech

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    My Reddit exit trigger is when they start closing old doors. Right now my personal Reddit experience (community notwithstanding) is precisely the same as it was nearly a decade ago. I use...

    My Reddit exit trigger is when they start closing old doors. Right now my personal Reddit experience (community notwithstanding) is precisely the same as it was nearly a decade ago. I use old.reddit. I have custom CSS disabled. I use an adblocker to remove every new feature they have pushed on people - chat, the new 'presence indicator', inline preview loading, infinite scroll. I have link hijacking disabled. I use legacy modmail. I use baconreader rather than the official app.

    So long as that continues I will likely continue to use Reddit. The day it stops working is the day Reddit is dead to me.

    10 votes

  3. Comment on If you could rewrite 1 element of modern computing, what would it be and why? in ~comp

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    It's even been tried in the devspace with microservices. Bottom line: it's usually a pain in the arse and not worth it in the slightest, except when scale makes it worth it. For the bottom line...

    It's even been tried in the devspace with microservices. Bottom line: it's usually a pain in the arse and not worth it in the slightest, except when scale makes it worth it.

    For the bottom line for consumers, the people paying the development bills don't want you to have that UI control, even if it was effortless to provide it.

    8 votes

  4. Comment on If the Louvre was on fire, should we rescue the art first or the people? in ~arts

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    It's not about a set point in time, so much as it is value over time. An average human life has a very brief span of time where it is greatly valued by a small group. An artwork has a much longer...

    It's not about a set point in time, so much as it is value over time. An average human life has a very brief span of time where it is greatly valued by a small group. An artwork has a much longer span where it is moderately valued by a large group.

    I'm not saying it is wrong to land on the side of the human (I don't land there, but that's me) - I'm saying it is wrong to claim that anyone who doesn't has fallen for some flaw in logic or is a 'moral monster'.

    5 votes

  5. Comment on If the Louvre was on fire, should we rescue the art first or the people? in ~arts

    vakieh
    Link
    Taking 'life has [inherent] value' as an axiom blocks off entire schools of philosophy without evidence. There's also makes a bunch of claims presented as some sort of ground truth that are also...

    Taking 'life has [inherent] value' as an axiom blocks off entire schools of philosophy without evidence. There's also makes a bunch of claims presented as some sort of ground truth that are also without evidence. Yes, given the choice to save a Rembrandt painting from a fire and a child I did not know, yeah, I'm saving the painting (personal value over collective for me, so a child I did know would be a different story). No, that does not make me a moral monster (in my eyes).

    Consider the world 300 years from now. Does anybody at all give a flying fuck about the person who died in the Louvre fire of 2021? What about the fact that the only version of the Mona Lisa that exists is digital? To answer that, tell me how many people would care about the 30 people who died in the Whitehall Palace fire of 1698, vs how many might care more to know Michelangelo's Cupid burned. Given the choice to recover the Library of Alexandria or grant 60 years more life to each of the people who died protecting it, who on earth is picking the 60 years?

    People are cheap. This is not a case of global value, this is simply a function of their utter replaceability. It's not necessarily a nice thing to think about for the average person - that's that whole personal value vs collective value. But it's true that more people give a shit about the Mona Lisa than they care about you, and that doesn't make them amoral.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on As a teacher, what can I do to protect myself and my students should schools reopen in the fall? in ~health

    vakieh
    (edited )
    Link
    Maximise? There's only 1 possible call when you're somewhere as rampantly infected as the US - don't be in the room. Do whatever you need to do to not be in the room. See a doctor about whatever...

    Maximise? There's only 1 possible call when you're somewhere as rampantly infected as the US - don't be in the room. Do whatever you need to do to not be in the room.

    See a doctor about whatever reason (whether legitimate or bullshit) that puts you in a higher risk category, and don't go in to the office. Refuse to teach in person under any circumstances.

    It doesn't matter how many precautions you want to employ (and kids are simply not capable of following hygiene rules or social distancing rules, and parents will send them to school I'll ill as I am sure you already know) - if you go in to work you are gambling by definition. Teachers have died, more will die.

    10 votes

  7. Comment on Favorite political/protest/in-light-of-recent-events songs? in ~music

    vakieh
    Link
    This has been my favourite political statement 'song' since the year it was released and counting. Why is marijuana not legal? Why is marijuana not legal? It's a natural plant that grows in the...

    This has been my favourite political statement 'song' since the year it was released and counting.

    Why is marijuana not legal? Why is marijuana not legal?
    It's a natural plant that grows in the dirt.
    Do you know what's not natural?
    80 year old dudes with hard-ons. That's not natural.
    But we got pills for that.
    We're dedicating all our medical resources to keeping the old guys erect,
    But we're putting people in jail for something that grows in the dirt?

    You know we have more prescription drugs now.
    Every commercial that comes on TV is a prescription drug ad.
    I can't watch TV for four minutes without thinking I have five serious diseases.
    Like: "Do you ever wake up tired in the morning?"
    Oh my god I have this, write this down. Whatever it is, I have it.
    Half the time I don't even know what the commercial is…
    People running in fields or flying kites or swimming in the ocean.
    I'm like that is the greatest disease ever. How do you get that?
    That disease comes with a hot chick and a puppy.

    The schools now… It is all about self-esteem in the schools now.
    Build the kids' self-esteem, make them feel good about themselves.
    If everybody grows up with high self-esteem, who is going to dance in our strip clubs?
    What's going to happen to our porno industry?
    These women don't just grown on trees.
    It takes lots of drunk dads missing dance recitals before you decide to blow a goat on the internet for fifty bucks.
    And if that disappears, where does that leave me on a Friday night with my new high speed connection?

    Masterminds are another word that comes up all the time.
    You keep hearing about these terrorists masterminds that get killed in the middle east.
    Terrorists masterminds.
    Mastermind is sort of a lofty way to describe what these guys do, don't you think?
    They're not masterminds.
    "OK, you take bomb, right? And you put in your backpack. And you get on bus and you blow yourself up. Alright?"
    "Why do I have to blow myself up? Why can't I just…"
    "Who's the fucking mastermind here? Me or you?"

    Americans, let's face it: We've been a spoiled country for a long time.
    Do you know what the number one health risk in America is?
    Obesity. They say we're in the middle of an obesity epidemic.
    An epidemic like it is polio. Like we'll be telling our grand kids about it one day.
    The Great Obesity Epidemic of 2004.
    "How'd you get through it grandpa?"
    "Oh, it was horrible Johnny, there was cheesecake and pork chops everywhere."

    Nobody knows why were getting fatter? Look at our lifestyle.
    I'll sit at a drive thru.
    I'll sit there behind fifteen other cars instead of getting up to make the eight foot walk to the totally empty counter.
    Everything is mega meal, super sized. Want biggie fries, super sized, want to go large.
    You want to have thirty burgers for a nickel you fat mother fucker. There's room in the bag. Take it!
    Want a 55 gallon drum of Coke with that? It's only three more cents.

    Sometimes you have to suffer a little bit in your youth to motivate yourself to succeed in later life.
    Do you think if Bill Gates got laid in high school, do you think there'd be a Microsoft?
    Of course not.
    You got to spend a long time in your own locker with your underwear shoved up your ass before you start to think,
    "You'll see. I'm going to take on the world of computers! I'll show them."

    We're in one of the richest countries in the world,
    But the minimum wage is lower than it was thirty five years ago.
    There are homeless people everywhere.
    This homeless guy asked me for money the other day.
    I was about to give it to him and then I thought he was going to use it on drugs or alcohol.
    And then I thought, that's what I'm going to use it on.
    Why am I judging this poor bastard.
    People love to judge homeless guys. Like if you give them money they're just going to waste it.
    Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do? Save it up and buy a wall unit?
    Take a little run to the store for a throw rug and a CD rack? He's homeless.
    I walked behind this guy the other day.
    A homeless guy asked him for money.
    He looks right at the homeless guy and says why don't you go get a job you bum.
    People always say that to homeless guys like it is so easy.
    This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants.
    Outside his pants. I'm guessing his resume isn't all up to date.
    I'm predicting some problems during the interview process.
    I'm pretty sure even McDonalds has a "underwear goes inside the pants" policy.
    Not that they enforce it really strictly, but technically I'm sure it is on the books.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Why aren't more leaders encouraging protesters to stay home? in ~talk

    vakieh
    Link
    There is not likely to be a better time for massive, reforming protests globally. It is literally going to kill people to do it, but the usual choke point of 'I have to go to work to eat' has no...

    There is not likely to be a better time for massive, reforming protests globally. It is literally going to kill people to do it, but the usual choke point of 'I have to go to work to eat' has no power when your workplace is closed due to coronavirus. These protests in the US are going to have steam. It's honestly a crapshoot whether the higher death toll will be from coronavirus or from automatic weapons being sent in to end things (if you think it won't happen, consider your leadership).

    12 votes

  9. Comment on US President Donald Trump has accused Twitter of "completely stifling free speech" after the social media company flagged some of his tweets with a fact-check warning in ~tech

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    Hasn't stopped them from using the platform, which means Twitter isn't seeing any reduced revenue - and isn't likely to in the future.

    Hasn't stopped them from using the platform, which means Twitter isn't seeing any reduced revenue - and isn't likely to in the future.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on US President Donald Trump has accused Twitter of "completely stifling free speech" after the social media company flagged some of his tweets with a fact-check warning in ~tech

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    What negative impact has Twitter had from this? There's literally zero chance of effective legislative controls here, and they've had enormous positive publicity out of it.

    What negative impact has Twitter had from this? There's literally zero chance of effective legislative controls here, and they've had enormous positive publicity out of it.

  11. Comment on US CDC: Coronavirus fatality rate could be as low as 0.26% in ~health

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    Mortality rate isn't really something for the CDC to plan for, but rather is something for economic organisations to plan for (which is why that 'not a prediction' disclaimer that was pointed out...

    Mortality rate isn't really something for the CDC to plan for, but rather is something for economic organisations to plan for (which is why that 'not a prediction' disclaimer that was pointed out is so important).

    The relevant stats the CDC will be concerned with are transmission rates (R0), hospitalisation rates, and 'survivable only with intervention' rates.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~anime

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    But those things you mention breach the Steam rule of piracy (make it more convenient to not pirate) which shows they haven't learned anything. I can stream literally any anime in HD on like 15...

    But those things you mention breach the Steam rule of piracy (make it more convenient to not pirate) which shows they haven't learned anything. I can stream literally any anime in HD on like 15 different websites - the paid websites invariably offer a worse service.

  13. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~anime

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    There's plenty of less reputable sites to watch it on (anime has yet to learn the Steam law of piracy), like 9anime. I'd highly recommend it as well - the current season 2 could very easily make...

    There's plenty of less reputable sites to watch it on (anime has yet to learn the Steam law of piracy), like 9anime. I'd highly recommend it as well - the current season 2 could very easily make best-of-season.

    Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shiteshimatta (which a wise man once told me translates to 'this was adapted from a light novel') is also a good one airing currently. Girl wakes up in another world, that happens to match an Otome game (Japanese visual novel game genre mostly aimed at women involving 'conquering' male love interests). However she wakes up in the body of the main villain of the game and has to work out how to avoid the main character killing her off.

  14. Comment on The coronavirus is making us all camgirls: For millions of newly remote workers, doing your job now involves looking the part, figuring out your angles, and performing for the camera in ~life

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    Hyperbole maybe, but this (and the author's other material) indicates to me that this is all too serious.

    Hyperbole maybe, but this (and the author's other material) indicates to me that this is all too serious.

  15. Comment on The coronavirus is making us all camgirls: For millions of newly remote workers, doing your job now involves looking the part, figuring out your angles, and performing for the camera in ~life

    vakieh
    Link
    This is such a weird post, it reaches so far it's a wonder they didn't dislocate their arms. I had to find out just why they shoehorned things as hard as they did, and the author profile says they...

    This is such a weird post, it reaches so far it's a wonder they didn't dislocate their arms.

    I had to find out just why they shoehorned things as hard as they did, and the author profile says they wrote 'Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work" - so probably a case of everything looking like a nail.

    Camwhores were never the mainstream of the webcam internet. Webcams were there for stupid internet videos, that eventually saw the rise of Youtube (which took advantage of a extant rising trend, it invented nothing). But between the Youtube-esque use of webcams and today, there was game streaming (where Twitch did much the same as Youtube and take something people were already doing and made it huge). Twitch and Twitch-clones (funnily enough including Youtube these days) has FAR more to do with the way people are behaving with remote work than it has links to people naked on a camera. Youtube and Twitch etc were and are about people doing normal things you would do around other people, only on camera. Remote work is the same. Camwhoring is about doing things you wouldn't do around other people, on camera. Very different.

    I don't even want to touch the 'Paypal is evil for refusing service to sex workers and you should be afraid because having to work 2 jobs is totally the same' except to point at it and call it stupid.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~talk

  17. Comment on I’m a developer. I won’t teach my kids to code, and neither should you in ~comp

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    The author is making a clear case of what you do after you've learned to program, rather than ways to learn. As for breakpoints and other debugging methods, there is a distinction to be made...

    to learn from it

    The author is making a clear case of what you do after you've learned to program, rather than ways to learn.

    As for breakpoints and other debugging methods, there is a distinction to be made between using those as exploration and diagnosis tools vs running the code with your 'bugfix' to see if that was what was required. If you are using a debugger to step through to find the bug, there is nothing functionally different to looking through the code yourself. But once you find that bug, your expertise takes over as to what to do about it, and you should be certain that a) the change you made was necessary, and b) the change you made is going to correct the error you discovered. Now, you may find there are other errors as well, or in fixing an error you may expose a previously hidden one, but what you shouldn't find out (unless you screwed up) is that what you thought was an error and what you thought needed changing was not correct.

    3 votes

  18. Comment on I’m a developer. I won’t teach my kids to code, and neither should you in ~comp

    vakieh
    Link Parent
    If you're talking sysadmin work, yes. If you're talking programming, definitely not.

    If you're talking sysadmin work, yes. If you're talking programming, definitely not.

  19. Comment on I’m a developer. I won’t teach my kids to code, and neither should you in ~comp

    vakieh
    Link
    There is a big push right now for people to learn 'transferable skills' of which problem solving is one. The big issue with the 'lets break out from the paradigm' crowd is that they fail to grasp...

    There is a big push right now for people to learn 'transferable skills' of which problem solving is one. The big issue with the 'lets break out from the paradigm' crowd is that they fail to grasp the simple need for having a tool kit, even if that tool kit isn't full of transferable skills..

    There is nothing wrong with teaching kids to code, because there is nothing mutually exclusive to it vs teaching them to problem solve. On the contrary, if they can code, they can often do problem solving in and with their code as they code.

    I also have an issue with

    Coding is like that. Try something. See if it works. Try again.

    This is what I see in godawful students that fail. If there's a time crunch like a server going down it's somewhat understandable to play coding shotgun, but trial-and-error programming is normally what you do when you have failed at being a good programmer. The correct way to do it is to analyse the problem, diagnose the issue, and fix it. You should know that it is fixed before you run it unless you screwed up. Now, screwing up is not such a bad thing, but it should be known for what it is (something you want to avoid), rather than some desirable process.

    5 votes

  20. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech

    vakieh
    Link
    This may be the first time I have seen a company handle this properly - well done to gfycat.

    Links to your adult content will be transferred to redgifs.com as of May 12, 2020; this ensures that anything you shared and posted in the past will not turn into a broken link.

    This may be the first time I have seen a company handle this properly - well done to gfycat.

    25 votes