24 votes

The strange $55 million saga of a Netflix series you’ll never see

24 comments

  1. [9]
    cfabbro
    Link
    Mirror, for those hit by the paywall: https://archive.is/BNBWQ

    Mirror, for those hit by the paywall:
    https://archive.is/BNBWQ

    14 votes
    1. [8]
      gco
      Link Parent
      Do archive links require you to use Chrome? This is the second time in a week I've tried to access one and I just get stuck in an infinite loop of captchas, counted 10 successful ones this time.

      Do archive links require you to use Chrome? This is the second time in a week I've tried to access one and I just get stuck in an infinite loop of captchas, counted 10 successful ones this time.

      8 votes
      1. [4]
        cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        No, it shouldn't. I'm on Firefox and it works fine for me. But do you use Cloudflare DNS? Because archive.is blocks Cloudflare traffic due to a bit of a pissing match between them over Cloudflare...

        No, it shouldn't. I'm on Firefox and it works fine for me. But do you use Cloudflare DNS? Because archive.is blocks Cloudflare traffic due to a bit of a pissing match between them over Cloudflare stripping EDNS IP subnet info from HTTP requests.

        Cloudflare's stance: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19828702
        Archive.is's stance: https://twitter.com/archiveis/status/1018691421182791680

        16 votes
        1. [2]
          Grumble4681
          Link Parent
          That is what is causing the issue for me, as I am using Cloudflare DNS. Thanks for the info.

          That is what is causing the issue for me, as I am using Cloudflare DNS. Thanks for the info.

          7 votes
          1. datavoid
            Link Parent
            Quad9 has been my favourite DNS provider if you're looking for another one to try

            Quad9 has been my favourite DNS provider if you're looking for another one to try

            4 votes
        2. gco
          Link Parent
          Yup, this was it. Thanks!

          Yup, this was it. Thanks!

          1 vote
      2. Nazarie
        Link Parent
        I use network level DNS blocking and that seems to make their verification go into a loop. If I switch to LTE it works fine.

        I use network level DNS blocking and that seems to make their verification go into a loop. If I switch to LTE it works fine.

        5 votes
      3. [2]
        Grumble4681
        Link Parent
        This happens to me too and I use Firefox. I had assumed it might be some extension I was using, but I didn't feel like trying to figure out which one.

        This happens to me too and I use Firefox. I had assumed it might be some extension I was using, but I didn't feel like trying to figure out which one.

        2 votes
        1. vord
          Link Parent
          Firefox turns on DoH by default now I think, using cloudflare. Switching the provider or turning off DoH (and using your network's non-cloudflare DNS) works. I also really like Quad9.

          Firefox turns on DoH by default now I think, using cloudflare. Switching the provider or turning off DoH (and using your network's non-cloudflare DNS) works.

          I also really like Quad9.

          3 votes
  2. [15]
    Sodliddesu
    Link
    Mind you, this is after the man texted someone that he could predict lightning strikes and track COVID signals emminating from the earth. I know mental health in the US is a joke but I thought...

    A Police Department psychologist reviewed Mr. Rinsch’s texts and emails and concluded that he didn’t seem like a threat to himself or others.

    Mind you, this is after the man texted someone that he could predict lightning strikes and track COVID signals emminating from the earth. I know mental health in the US is a joke but I thought rich people actually got help with things... I guess he wasn't rich enough for the LAPD to care.

    Also, I feel for Stuber in this story. Netflix hired him and then said "Hey, you remember that guy you hate from a few years back? Yeah, we just gave him gobs of money and final cut."

    9 votes
    1. updawg
      Link Parent
      Saying crazy things doesn't make you a threat.

      Saying crazy things doesn't make you a threat.

      24 votes
    2. [13]
      sparksbet
      Link Parent
      Being delusional doesn't mean you're a threat to yourself or others, and you REALLY don't want the police to have the power to involuntarily section people who aren't a threat to themselves or others.

      Being delusional doesn't mean you're a threat to yourself or others, and you REALLY don't want the police to have the power to involuntarily section people who aren't a threat to themselves or others.

      20 votes
      1. [12]
        Wolf_359
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I think we need a good system where family and friends can make the call and immediately get a mental health professional to review the situation. Both sides should be able to appeal once or twice...

        I think we need a good system where family and friends can make the call and immediately get a mental health professional to review the situation. Both sides should be able to appeal once or twice as well.

        I think this would make it harder to abuse the system and lock people up for no reason, but it would also make it harder for mentally ill people - particularly those experiencing acute and intense episodes - to deny that anything is wrong until they hurt themselves or someone else.

        My brother is bipolar and I've seen him have some pretty scary meltdowns. One woman in my state had a schizophrenic break, started referring to other women as Barbies, and then shot a random Lowe's worker dead on her lunch break.

        Pretty much anytime someone commits a crime due to mental health, you'll find a trail of red flags and phone calls from family/friends that weren't taken seriously. It's rarely a surprise to anyone who knows the person.

        It can be very hard to have someone mental health arrested even when you know they're a danger to themselves or others.

        8 votes
        1. [5]
          sparksbet
          Link Parent
          It should be very hard to have someone involuntarily committed for mental health reasons. That is a good thing. A brief glimpse at the history of psychiatric care and institutions makes it...

          It can be very hard to have someone mental health arrested even when you know they're a danger to themselves or others.

          It should be very hard to have someone involuntarily committed for mental health reasons. That is a good thing. A brief glimpse at the history of psychiatric care and institutions makes it incredibly clear how dangerous it can be for the mentally ill and anyone society deems abnormal.

          Most people are absolutely abysmal judges of when someone actually is a danger to themself or others. This is very well-evidenced by the comment I replied to -- the person I replied to thinks that it is self-evident that having delusions equates to being a threat to oneself or others. This is absolutely not evidence-based from a psychological standpoint (delusions do not prospectively predict violence and even clinicians need to take various factors into account when assessing a delusional person for risk of violence), but it is rooted in our society's deeply held beliefs and stigma when it comes to the mentally ill. People without clinical training, including friends and family, are not good at assessing actual risks when it comes to mental illness. They're prone to overreact to behavior that they themselves find disturbing but that doesn't actually indicate a risk of danger or violence.

          Pretty much anytime someone commits a crime due to mental health, you'll find a trail of red flags and phone calls from family/friends that weren't taken seriously. It's rarely a surprise to anyone who knows the person.

          Is this really the case, or is it just that people speak out when this is the case? I'm dubious that this is actually the case. I've certainly had friends and family members who were in serious mental health crises that I never knew about. There are plenty of mentally ill people without family/friends as a support network. Think about how many mentally ill people are unhoused, after all.

          I think we need a good system where family and friends can make the call and immediately get a mental health professional to review the situation. Both sides should be able to appeal once or twice as well.

          I think this would make it harder to abuse the system and lock people up for no reason, but it would also make it harder for mentally ill people - particularly those experiencing acute and intense episodes - to deny that anything is wrong until they hurt themselves or someone else.

          Even ignoring the practical hurdles to a plan like this (we don't have enough qualified mental health professionals NOW, much less for a system at the scale you describe), I am not so optimistic that what you describe would be so difficult to abuse. There are hoards of mentally ill people who are not a danger to themselves or others (and thus should not be involuntarily committed) who are nevertheless going to be targeted by those around them -- perhaps family, perhaps coworkers, perhaps neighbors, anyone sufficiently bothered by their existence.

          Those mentally ill people are very frequently going to be less able to adequately advocate for themselves in some sort of appeals process -- and of course, poverty and homelessness would further exacerbate this. And of course there's the question of whether they have to appeal something like this after already being involuntarily committed, which may well not actually improve their mental health and well-being. Not to mention who bears the cost of their (inevitably expensive) stay.

          The mentally ill, even those in acute or intense episodes, deserve dignity and human rights. As much as we'd like to force someone to confront the fact that they're sick and need help, we can't do that. If someone's acute or intense episode isn't actually dangerous, then they should not be involuntarily committed.

          I, like you, believe that the current way mental illness is handled in the US is woefully inadequate. But I don't believe more involuntary commitment is the answer. The mentally ill would benefit more from increased access to outpatient care, especially when it comes to cost, and addressing their material needs like food and housing.

          6 votes
          1. [4]
            vord
            Link Parent
            As someone who's been involuntarily committed (by my parents whom lied about me being suicidal to get me there), if you're the sanest person in the mental ward it will be an unpleasant experience....

            As someone who's been involuntarily committed (by my parents whom lied about me being suicidal to get me there), if you're the sanest person in the mental ward it will be an unpleasant experience.

            It's much like prison. The funtivities are better, with substantially less violence (mostly), but the lack of freedom and food is about the same.

            It's fantastic when you need it (I have at other times), but if you don't....it can be utter hell.

            5 votes
            1. Grumble4681
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              I was put on a 72 hour hold/watch similarly because my parents falsely stated I had left a suicide note (the police apparently don't even bother to check the existence of such a note, otherwise...

              I was put on a 72 hour hold/watch similarly because my parents falsely stated I had left a suicide note (the police apparently don't even bother to check the existence of such a note, otherwise they would have known it didn't exist).

              I was taken to some psychiatric ward of some big hospital around 3am. They had no rooms ready/available so for the next few hours of time for sleeping they temporarily put me in the room where they would take uncooperative patients that need to be restrained, though I wasn't being restrained it was just due to lack of a standard room to put me in at the time.

              I'm not entirely sure the exact wording (this was ~13 years ago at this point) but my understanding of what they told me was that I was legally required to be seen by a physician within 24 hours of admittance to evaluate me. I think them telling me that might have been prompted because I had mentioned that I wasn't suicidal and shouldn't have been committed or something along those lines. In any case I don't think a physician met with me until about 36 hours later.

              So the next morning I wake up and go through whatever other processes there were and other routines they have set up. As far as getting me an actual room, they said they were cleaning one up and it would be prepared by the evening so I should just sit in the common room (whereas other people could go back to their rooms). So I sat in the common room all day watching the paint dry. Yes they had some activities and what not, but given the circumstances I wasn't in the mood and I'm not a social person anyways so I had no interest in that.

              I was vegetarian at the time and also had a very restrictive diet overall that they were not at all prepared to accommodate. So every time I was offered food, I basically had to deny it aside from like one or two simple snack food type items. They didn't really seem all too concerned about me basically starving.

              I ask about the room later in the evening and they tell me the room to go to, so I go to that room and there's actual piss puddles everywhere around the room. (Remember they said they were cleaning the room before). So yeah, the room wasn't cleaned and I go back to the nursing station and they kinda roll their eyes at me and give me a hard time about telling them the room wasn't clean. I think they said they were going to have someone clean it again and eventually they gave me a different room after I insisted I wasn't going in that room because I didn't trust that they were going to clean it beyond the quickest possible way to get me in there since it was already bed time. There were a couple interactions I had with the nurses throughout the day and every time it was basically like getting brushed off and made to seem insignificant or like I was crazy. It was not a good feeling being trapped in a place where I literally did not matter at all with no control over my surroundings.

              Then when I finally see the physician 36 hours after being admitted, they release me after that evaluation. Then later on I get several bills, one for an ambulance (because the police who did the wellness check said they had to take me to intake at a hospital to do the wellness check, then from that place they transferred me by ambulance to the hospital with the psych ward), and one for the psych ward that was multiple thousands of dollars despite the fact that they gave me no medication or treatment, hardly any food, and barely a clean room to sleep in.

              That system is so entirely fucked that anyone who advocates that it be expanded clearly has no experience with it. It's dehumanizing, there's no accountability, it's seemingly profit driven. It's just completely fucked.

              6 votes
            2. [2]
              sparksbet
              Link Parent
              I had a friend who was comitted for a few days in college (tho afaik it was voluntary for him, but I didn't press for details) and it did definitely seem to help him, so I'm definitely not against...

              I had a friend who was comitted for a few days in college (tho afaik it was voluntary for him, but I didn't press for details) and it did definitely seem to help him, so I'm definitely not against it overall, but yeah it seems highly variable at best, especially if you didn't consent to be there.

              I am unironically curious what the funtivities are like though

              3 votes
              1. vord
                Link Parent
                Mostly group therapy sessions. Coloring. Some garbage news program on the TV while the resident schizo draws out his mind control conspiracy map. Walking circles in the ward for hours on end....

                Mostly group therapy sessions. Coloring. Some garbage news program on the TV while the resident schizo draws out his mind control conspiracy map. Walking circles in the ward for hours on end. Can't go outside. But was allowed to have an old-school MP3 player, and some books.

                I once let another patient cornrow my hair...my family was not amused.

                On one of my visits (voluntary this time) I was roomed with a man whom would just scream between 10 PM and 4 AM, and also shit the bed periodically. After the first night, I asked to transfer. They didn't, so at bedtime I asked to sleep in solitary.

                They refused. So when his screaming started around 10 PM I said "you can put me in solitary to sleep, considering its in my chart that my mania gets worse if I don't sleep, OR I can do something that will force you to put me in solitary and fill out a lot more paperwork."

                I got to sleep the night in peace in solitary without resorting to violence. 10/10 better than roomates. And this was my better inpatient experience.

                4 votes
        2. [6]
          arch
          Link Parent
          I my experience mental health in the US is of such a state where the individual needs to want help. What really mires this, is that there is a social and societal stigma around therapy and mental...

          I my experience mental health in the US is of such a state where the individual needs to want help. What really mires this, is that there is a social and societal stigma around therapy and mental health. That prevents people who would benefit from therapy from getting health, which can lead to decline. Literally everyone could benefit from speaking with a therapist. If you learn to manage difficult situations when things aren't all going wrong, you will have the tools to rely on when something bad happens, like losing a family member.
          I was watching a show a day or two ago where a character was talking about one of them being abused as a child, and the previously abused character retorted "weren't you in therapy at 10"? As if being in therapy is a bad thing, equivalent to being abused.

          Short of having mental health services and psychology classes be a part of our school ciriculum for every child, I don't really have a good solution.

          3 votes
          1. [3]
            Wolf_359
            Link Parent
            I think the stigma prevents mostly sane people from seeking help they should get, sure. But people suffering more severe episodes, the kind where they hurt others, aren't being held back by the...

            I think the stigma prevents mostly sane people from seeking help they should get, sure. But people suffering more severe episodes, the kind where they hurt others, aren't being held back by the stigma. The three people I know who had delusions wouldn't get help because the counselors and doctors were, in their view, the bad guys who were trying to hurt them. Usually people having those episodes are very paranoid, think the government is out to get them, think there is a conspiracy against them, etc. Unfortunately, they have to be forced to get help.

            8 votes
            1. arch
              Link Parent
              I mean, ultimately you're correct, I have to concede that. But I want more of a root cause analysis of a thought process here. Could we have intervened early before these people were facing...

              I mean, ultimately you're correct, I have to concede that. But I want more of a root cause analysis of a thought process here. Could we have intervened early before these people were facing psychosis, and why didn't we? Is there a way to build a foundation of mental health that will reduce the incidence of paranoid individuals thinking mental health practicioners are out to get them? They're not thinking rationally, I understand that, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't investigate it.

              We have a mental health crisis, but we also don't admit we have mental health concerns until we are in crisis. If we can't do that then we can never correct it.

              2 votes
            2. sparksbet
              Link Parent
              I swear I'm not trying to be "that guy who nitpicks things you say about delusions" but this is only one type of delusion among many. Persecutory delusions like this and accompanyong paranoia are...

              Usually people having those episodes are very paranoid, think the government is out to get them, think there is a conspiracy against them, etc.

              I swear I'm not trying to be "that guy who nitpicks things you say about delusions" but this is only one type of delusion among many. Persecutory delusions like this and accompanyong paranoia are the most common for schizophrenics specifically, but they're not necessarily the most common overall. There is a pretty wide variety of possible delusions, and which types are most common depend a lot on other symptoms or causes of the delusions.

              Not every delusional person believes doctors and therapists are "out to get them", and I'd wager that those who would gladly seek treatment if they had better access to suitable care (both in terms of cost and of having doctors and therapists in their area that have capacity to take them on) far outnumber those who "have to be forced to get help".

              2 votes
          2. [2]
            vord
            Link Parent
            The biggest mental health problem in the US is that people who want assistance often can't get it. There was an active shooter not that long ago, where it was confirmed that they previously tried...

            The biggest mental health problem in the US is that people who want assistance often can't get it.

            There was an active shooter not that long ago, where it was confirmed that they previously tried to seek help for their problems, and were kicked out for being unable to pay. I think insurance-related by don't remember that level of specifics.

            5 votes
            1. sparksbet
              Link Parent
              I believe it -- shoutout to the time I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder by the free school psychiatrist in college. My parents' shitty insurance didn't cover prescriptions, so affording mood...

              I believe it -- shoutout to the time I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder by the free school psychiatrist in college. My parents' shitty insurance didn't cover prescriptions, so affording mood suppressants was off the table, and then after I told her that I just... never saw her again?

              Like, in the end it was a good thing because I did not in fact have bipolar disorder and those meds would thus have sucked for me. But from her perspective... she just let me walk around with what she thought was untreated bipolar? Didn't even follow up? Like, wtf???

              2 votes