wervenyt's recent activity

  1. Comment on The big five publishers have abandoned literary fiction, putting it on life support in ~books

    wervenyt
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    Exactly! Its flipside is the emergence of "dramedy" as a "genre". All dramas have comic elements, or they're just tragedies. But "drama" came to mean, thanks to things like the Oscars,...

    Exactly! Its flipside is the emergence of "dramedy" as a "genre". All dramas have comic elements, or they're just tragedies. But "drama" came to mean, thanks to things like the Oscars, "weepy/pseudoprofound social commentary drama", and pitching Succession as a generational family satire sounds pretentious.

    7 votes

  2. Comment on The big five publishers have abandoned literary fiction, putting it on life support in ~books

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    To your edit: I mean, what does "sci-fi" mean? What is "romance"? Genres are a mix of: symbolic signifiers (fantasy = vaguely medieval technology and magic) tone (romance = wuvvy) setting (western...

    To your edit: I mean, what does "sci-fi" mean? What is "romance"? Genres are a mix of:

    • symbolic signifiers (fantasy = vaguely medieval technology and magic)
    • tone (romance = wuvvy)
    • setting (western = in the Old West)
    • formal structure (thriller = tension and relief are the overriding devices)
    • authorial intent (satire = social commentary via comedy)

    It's all vibes.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on The big five publishers have abandoned literary fiction, putting it on life support in ~books

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    It's a marketing term. "Literature" has always been the pretentious byword, and when modern advertising was brought into publishing, they needed a box to put things into so to sell to people who...

    It's a marketing term. "Literature" has always been the pretentious byword, and when modern advertising was brought into publishing, they needed a box to put things into so to sell to people who were interested in quality over plot signifiers. Dickens wrote comedy of all sorts, but primarily what we'd now call Young Adult/coming of age, Jane Austen wrote romantic satire, Anna Karenina was realist, 1984 is dystopian sci-fi, Woolf's To The Lighthouse is a family drama, but because they're all considered Classics, they're considered "literary".

    This is a big part of why people can say they hate "literature" and then love Pride & Prejudice, and why authors like Ursula LeGuin can seem pigeonholed as "just" science fiction. "Literary" is colloquially used to imply a focus on thematic and character development rather than plot (if not pure snobbery), but effectively, anything that doesn't fit neatly into the definitions of scifi/fantasy, romance, horror, thriller, western, etc. either gets passed on by publishers or is pitched as literary fiction.

    14 votes

  4. Comment on I think I've failed the United States in ~society

    wervenyt
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    There are endless nits to be picked in this broader political conversation, and there's a time and place for that. Others have already said enough along those lines, so I'm going to address...

    There are endless nits to be picked in this broader political conversation, and there's a time and place for that. Others have already said enough along those lines, so I'm going to address specifically your sense of regret and negligence:

    Ifs, buts, should'ves, would'ves, are eternal and infinite. We could always have done something better and will always have things we know with certainty we should do, in and only of retrospect. The value of choice, however, lies in the now, and in the future. Anyone saying "told you so" about these issues is not being a serious person, and one thing you can choose to do with this regret, now, is to be serious going forward. You've seen your previous errors, whatever they were in particular, and to see them is to learn. You are allowed to be proud of that, and to some degree, you should be. Today is a new day, and tomorrow will be as well.

    5 votes

  5. Comment on School choice programs have been wildly successful under Ron DeSantis. Now Florida public schools might close. in ~society

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    And I think that my individual experience has fuck-all to do with how valid any of those criticisms are. Did my comment distract from the problems, or did it just complicate the issue beyond...

    And I think that my individual experience has fuck-all to do with how valid any of those criticisms are. Did my comment distract from the problems, or did it just complicate the issue beyond black-and-white?

    My individual experience of nearly-failing the majority of my classes, of having about-representative numbers of disabled classmates? Yeah, I do know fairly well that they weren't engaging in those behaviors. Every year the standardized testing scores were released, and that school was above most public schools, alongside one or two of them, and close to a standard deviation below the handful of charter schools who did engage in those discriminatory practices.

    5 votes

  6. Comment on School choice programs have been wildly successful under Ron DeSantis. Now Florida public schools might close. in ~society

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    And that is why I replied to a single comment that I felt was slightly inaccurate, rather than defending Schools of Choice as a program. Yes, charter schools often break the law in subtle ways...

    And that is why I replied to a single comment that I felt was slightly inaccurate, rather than defending Schools of Choice as a program.

    Yes, charter schools often break the law in subtle ways that are hard to police. That does not mean that they universally operate that way, nor does it mean that they are uniformly poorer in quality than the public school systems that they compete with for funding, as the comment I replied to implies.

    6 votes

  7. Comment on School choice programs have been wildly successful under Ron DeSantis. Now Florida public schools might close. in ~society

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    Aaaand sometimes, none of this is true. In many jurisdictions, charter schools have the same requirements for special education as public schools, receive less funding, and are genuinely...

    Aaaand sometimes, none of this is true. In many jurisdictions, charter schools have the same requirements for special education as public schools, receive less funding, and are genuinely attempting different methodologies that benefit neurodivergent students.

    Not most of them, but the conception of them you've outlined isn't universally true. As someone who never would have graduated from a typical high school, at least the charter I attended gave me a solid education even if I did drop out in the end. It's a politically fraught issue, but some public school systems are terrible anyway, and charters do public good in those situations. Fix the public systems, but there's no need to paint all charter schools one shade.

    9 votes

  8. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    I meant to say that your approach to conveying your initial position had that effect, not that you were whining and trying to shut down conversation. I'm sorry for implying otherwise. Your first...

    I meant to say that your approach to conveying your initial position had that effect, not that you were whining and trying to shut down conversation. I'm sorry for implying otherwise. Your first comment and immediate responses were of a significantly different tone than the following conversation, which were much more centered on your personal investment than the more productive exchange after the fact.

    I'm not casting aspersions, I'm saying this, right here, is how division gets fostered. Real people have real pain, and sometimes that limits their perspective, just like people who haven't experienced it are usually unaware of the problems. And other people are afraid of communicating those limitations. And so only the least-competent communicators, since they're used to being told to fuck off, are willing to voice criticisms. And so their criticisms are automatically discredited, and so on.

    I've been nearly hit by a car in this exact situation.

    And so have I. I haven't brought it up before because, obviously, it comes across as saying "well I'm not mad, why are you mad?" But just because I'm not upset doesn't mean I'm not qualified to have an opinion, and your first comments felt like they were closing off meaningful discussion. Your response was as reasonable as anyone's, and normal, and justified. I hope you can at least believe me when I say I didn't mean to accuse you of any moral failing or disingenuous tactics.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    Like I said, I'm not terribly worried about Sweden going full-tilt police state as a result of this. Other places, with more developed apparatuses of oppression? More so. Note that my first...

    Like I said, I'm not terribly worried about Sweden going full-tilt police state as a result of this. Other places, with more developed apparatuses of oppression? More so.

    Note that my first comment here was a response to yours, and the attitude of shutting down conversation with emphasis on the personal danger and frustration you experience due to these infractions, while also saying you'd settle for easy reporting without the bounty. "We have to do something, why don't you take my pain seriously?" inhibits honest discourse about solving problems because it privileges any action, fueled by spite, that purports to improve things, even if it'd cause negative externalities that might (not, in this case) outweigh the benefits, regardless of the reality of the problems that victimize those being pandered to.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    Incrementalism, sure. Put bollards along bike lanes, tow people for offending repeatedly, employ more law enforcement tasked with identifying and peacefully resolving infractions. But not...

    Incrementalism, sure. Put bollards along bike lanes, tow people for offending repeatedly, employ more law enforcement tasked with identifying and peacefully resolving infractions. But not exchanging evils for convenience's sake, that's where I draw the line personally. It's not a dichotomy between "do nothing" and "fix problems". Just to clarify.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    It is if the means of enforcement rely on untrained random citizens arbitrarily assuming the duty to report "the bad thing" for a bounty. That's the paranoia, not in thinking "hey, this is a bad...

    It is if the means of enforcement rely on untrained random citizens arbitrarily assuming the duty to report "the bad thing" for a bounty. That's the paranoia, not in thinking "hey, this is a bad place to park, I might even get fined".

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    I would not go that far, simply because it's not productive. In a real sense, sure, but so is refusing to rock the boat when coworkers start suggesting a union, or continuing to vote for the...

    reporting people blocking bike lanes if there's a financial reward for the reporting is a moral failure?

    I would not go that far, simply because it's not productive. In a real sense, sure, but so is refusing to rock the boat when coworkers start suggesting a union, or continuing to vote for the Democrats or Republicans. Theoretically you could find a moral high ground to mock people from, but it's so costly as to be individually excusable. And that is a dangerous thing, to build systems that harm people for trying their best.

    Otherwise, yes. Cleaning up the externalities of failures is a good way to keep the failing structures unexamined, especially in democracies where so much progress can only come from frustration with the status quo.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    It fuels a culture of paranoia and implicit consent to secrecy in policing. On a very small scale in this case, but it's hazardous to spread around the responsibility of law enforcement in a...

    It fuels a culture of paranoia and implicit consent to secrecy in policing. On a very small scale in this case, but it's hazardous to spread around the responsibility of law enforcement in a system that still privileges the trained officials.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    The compensation gives people a reason to go along with whatever the bounty is for, therefore disincentivizing a) real reform of the sources of problems, and b) people from pushing against new...

    The compensation gives people a reason to go along with whatever the bounty is for, therefore disincentivizing a) real reform of the sources of problems, and b) people from pushing against new bounties, as the profit motive gives people plenty of justification to compromise their morals. These things are culturally addictive, just look at another case of bribing the citizenry to vote against their own long term interests: the USA's use of prisons and the staffing needed to run them to "stimulate" locally stagnant economies.

    The compensation is how totalitarianism justifies itself.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    Because I'm tired of repeating myself: the issue is the bounty, not the laws around parking. Those were examples of where the reporting would be both unlikely to disincentivize the infraction as...

    Because I'm tired of repeating myself: the issue is the bounty, not the laws around parking. Those were examples of where the reporting would be both unlikely to disincentivize the infraction as well as lead to a reduced sense of responsibility for the fine compared to the generic decontextualized "wrongdoer".

    There clearly isn't a categorical reason such a thing should be more harmful to the social fabric than breaking the law, so I assume you consider it a matter of degree. In that case I feel like comparing the effects of reporting traffic infractions to the effects of secret police forces in totalitarian states is more than a little disingenuous.

    Are they being employed, invisibly from all outward appearance, to inform on legal infractions against their neighbors? Because that is very much like secret policing.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    Because I'm tired of repeating myself: the issue is the bounty, not the laws around parking. Those were examples of where the reporting would be both unlikely to disincentivize the infraction as...

    Because I'm tired of repeating myself: the issue is the bounty, not the laws around parking. Those were examples of where the reporting would be both unlikely to disincentivize the infraction as well as lead to a reduced sense of responsibility for the fine compared to the generic decontextualized "wrongdoer".

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    Thanks, I appreciate the relevant context for the article!

    Thanks, I appreciate the relevant context for the article!

    2 votes

  18. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    That net includes almost every crime, though, and the distinction I made is pretty significant. Illegal dumping by random civilians cleaning out their attics is probably not meaningfully being...

    That net includes almost every crime, though, and the distinction I made is pretty significant. Illegal dumping by random civilians cleaning out their attics is probably not meaningfully being reported by whistleblowers, even with the bounties. The area they're hopefully effective in is curtailing business owners and their management from believing they can get away with it.

    Red light cameras are in the same camp, absolutely. At least there it isn't relying on inherently inconsistent random civilians, but it is still a situation where unsafe city planning decisions and diffuse coordination problems are being used to enrich a select few private individuals acting as middlemen, hence further disincentivizing their interest in supporting reform that removes a line of income. Social workers, acting as law enforcement officers, are effectively police. The gun doesn't make the civic purpose, the authority and (theoretical) responsibility do.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    I think that drivers who get fined will justify themselves as right to themselves, much like DWI repeat offenders who have access to public transit and cabs. Very few people are perpetrating the...

    I think that drivers who get fined will justify themselves as right to themselves, much like DWI repeat offenders who have access to public transit and cabs. Very few people are perpetrating the severe infractions you're focused on, and they're already disregarding laws and customs, so are very likely to have already come up with self-justifications that'd resist rational decision-making. I just think pollards would be a better use of money than bounties to try to effect change in this population's habits. Maybe my assumptions are wrong, though, and it's a huge number of offenders making what feel like small infractions, in which case more consistent enforcement would probably do quite a bit. I'd rather have police do the policing though (in theory).

    Thanks for the link. It seems like those enumerated are all focused on 1. fraud perpetrated against the government and corruption, 2. large scale organizational crimes, and 3. environmental pollution. Those rewards exist to make up for reporting essentially torpedoing the whistleblower's career in at least the short term. Those are such a different kind of crime, and such different reasons for a lack of enforcement, that I'm unsure how they'd be indicative of probable outcomes from paying people to report other individual citizens for endangerment-scale infractions.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Swedish company Scout Park has launched a mobile app where you can tip off wrongly parked cars to traffic wardens to earn money in ~transport

    wervenyt
    Link Parent
    I think you have a stronger faith in the average driver's ability to make such judgments than I do, after consideration. Well, fair. Also, that's a bad thing? And it can always get worse. But it...

    I think you have a stronger faith in the average driver's ability to make such judgments than I do, after consideration.

    What interpersonal trust does a stranger have for you, or you for them at the moment? None that I see.

    Well, fair. Also, that's a bad thing? And it can always get worse. But it isn't about cultural solidarity, just not creating or intensifying the norm of objectifying one another as "violators" for reward.

    What whistleblower rewards exist for misdemeanors committed by individuals? I'm unfamiliar.

    2 votes