"After quizzing these companies about data practices, I learned that most are sharing what’s happening in my home with Amazon, too. Our data is the price of entry for devices that want to integrate with Alexa. Amazon’s not only eavesdropping — it’s tracking everything happening in your home."
#GeoffreyAFowler, 'Alexa has been eavesdropping on you this whole time'
@strypey@phlogiston
Then people wonder why we skip to the chase and commit to only using the derogatory term, scam'azon to refer to the abusive #monopoly.
Add to that the irony of having #scamazon gauge interest in communities outrage by gloating about their abuse in the #corporateNews outlet they own, ie. #TheWashingtonPost and we come full circle — its jerks all the way up (and around).
Don't forget to buy that scam'azon #ringDoorbell, fools.
We know @strypey to deface their brand too, occasionally.
Although we doubt they have even 10% penetration with their malware, scamazon may have a fairly complete #meshNetwork in some parts. In 2021 they announced their #sidewalkProject to create resilience by using other nodes connected to the internet to relay information from devices that weren't.
@dsfgs
> We know @strypey to deface their brand too, occasionally
I usually refer to them as AmaSin, but scAmazon is better, I might switch to that. Or maybe switch between them as appropriate to the particular corporate crime I'm talking about.
@dsfgs
> having scamazon gauge interest in communities outrage by gloating about their abuse in the corporate news outlet they own
I think that's a bit unfair to the journalists at the Washington Post, who don't control which set of capitalists and rentiers their employer gets sold to. Kudos to them for writing criticism of #Amazon even though it owns their employer.
#CoryDoctorow has written some great exposes on scAmazon too, such as;
It could be but we can't know for sure. It appears that the #WashingtonPost, rather dubiously, blocks the #InternetArchive, so we are not able to read the article to assess it. The W'Post may be only publishing the bare minimum so as to not appear to be suppressing it. They could be whiteWashing, or doing a #limitedHangout.
See how the WashingtonPost treats the InternetArchive, a typical #Akamai-style ban!
The block against Archive.org appears to be a more recent thing. I'm guessing it's part of the anti-scraping battle that copyright holders have launched against #MOLE trainers.
We are talking about one of the single worst corporations on earth.
> possible AI panic rejection of IA by 'scam'azon
That'd be rich, given they're a primary AI #oceanBoiler. To repent they ought build another fash #datacenter to serve more training data through their Eth blockchain to CloudGlare for serving hcaptchas to hapless humans to train auto-mil drones.
@dsfgs
> We are talking about one of the single worst corporations on earth
I meant good faith on the part of the journalists at the Post. I agree that assuming good faith for corporations is silly, ignoring everything we know about their constitution and their history.
@dsfgs
> That'd be rich, given they're a primary AI ocean boiler
I see the irony, for sure. I initially thought of it as evidence that the Post's management is still somewhat independent of their owner.
But then I remembered that most copyright rentier businesses are now owned by tech corporations developing training #MOLE on copyright material. So it's probably more about blocking their competitors. I'm guessing scAmazon's MOLEs have a backchannel.
@strypey@pluralistic@PC_Fluesterer@phlogiston.
If WP block IA, then IA could block WPost's IP address. Just to make their life a bit more difficult when doing research. Forcing employees to use mix-nets like Tor or I2P, or a VPN/backchannel/proxy etc. :P
If WPost block IA then conceivably they'd need to block Tor, too. Good. Limit access to corporate media even more.
AI is lazy we asked it to spend two cups of water making a meme and it has clearly ignored us.
@strypey@pluralistic@PC_Fluesterer@phlogiston
Speaking of #copyright, and how it might be used for good, over the past 3 years (to the month) we've been working on a fediverse icon in collaboartion with random fedizens. We always added on the #copyleft license how the design is AGPLv3 for AGPLv3 softwares that comprise the fediverse. Meaning it cannot be used to link to FalseBook Threa(t)s and their proprietary garbage.
If fedizens use it, it'll nip FBook's #extinguish op in the bud..
@dsfgs
> We always added on the copyleft license how the design is AGPLv3 for AGPLv3 softwares that comprise the fediverse
Two things. A CC BY-SA license is often a better way to apply strong copyleft to works that aren't programming code. Also, not all AP-compatible software is AGPLv3. There have been proprietary implementations and if the verse goes mainstream there will likely be more.
@dsfgs
> We always added on the copyleft license how the design is AGPLv3 for AGPLv3 softwares that comprise the fediverse. Meaning it cannot be used to link to FalseBook Threa(t)s
We made the language accommodate "free-license open-source" licenses. So we think it would be enforceable against actors like Threats/helladoge (latter for years hiding "code" behind a 404, on MSGriftHub).
Its code. SVG. But yes, if we could pay to trademark for softwares that could be stronger, we ourselves, can't do that atm.
Again IANAL. But a software license covers the ways the source code can be reused, it has no legal power over the use of media files generated using the source code. Eg the GPLv3 license on the GIMP source code doesn't mean any file exported from GIMP is covered by GPLv3.
Have you sought bro bono legal advice on what you're trying to do here?
Yes the SVG is AGPLv3. And the copyright embedded in the files states the AGPLv3 for AGPLv3 and explains what that means.
We will need to embed the license in the metadata of the files actually.
We think CC-BY-SA is not really the right choice, because it implies we want to to be credited, we don't, we just want to stop malware like Flipboard, Threa(t)s etc.
We want to make it clear that ppl can adapt it, they just need to keep the same copyleft license.
(Aside: Forgot to drop @pluralistic from mentions as we said we would to limit uncalled messages. Will drop @pluralistic and @fsf in next message unless they call)
@dsfgs
> AGPLv3 make clear its copyleft status, shareAlike is non-obvious
Please explain the logic underlying this statement.
AFAIK CC ShareAlike is unambiguously copyleft. This question was settled more than a decade ago, when Lessig convinced Stallman to approve a new version of GNU FDL, to allow Wikipedia to be dual-licensed CC BY-SA;
@dsfgs
> We want to make it clear that ppl can adapt it, they just need to keep the same copyleft license
I get the intention. But again, the work you're trying to apply this license to is an image, not the source code of a program. SVG is a file format, an .svg file is not code. A license intended for source code isn't the best choice for written works, which is why GNU FDL was written. Neither software licenses nor FDL are suited for images, which is why Wikipedia switched to CC BY-SA.
@dsfgs
> We think CC-BY-SA is not really the right choice, because it implies we want to to be credited, we don't,
All Free Culture licensing depends on crediting the original author. This is a prerequisite to asserting the author's conditions of use, such as a copyleft clause.
> we just want to stop malware like Flipboard, Threa(t)s etc
A copyleft license can't stop anyone from using a work. It only controls what licenses can apply to derivative versions.
@dsfgs
> The W'Post may be only publishing the bare minimum so as to not appear to be suppressing it
I can't speak to the motivations of the Post's owners or editors. But the author of the article, Geoffrey A. Fowler, has written many articles critical of tech corporations and their DataFarming, which have been published by a number of newspapers. Here's an example;
There is a regrettable #jumpFromTheFrypan (and into the fire)-#tinkeringAtTheEdges, vibe to most of the solutions proposed in #GeoffreyFowler's writings. Article lampoons FBook, scarcely broadening scope. Common. It also elevates (cr)apple and scAm-azon services.
@dsfgs
> There is a regrettable tinkering at the edges, vibe to most of the solutions proposed in Geoffrey Fowler's writings
Can you point to recent examples? This is a fast-moving field and the 2 articles I've linked so far are at least a couple of years old.
> No Tor Browser? For the tech savvy, TailsOS?
He is writing for a general audience, for whom correct use of Tor and TAILS are far beyond what they're ready for. Uninformed use of tools like these make people less safe, not more.
@strypey@phlogiston
The tone is also also defeatist in many ways, with "if you have the time" contact these entities to tell you don't want to be tracked- we mean- seriously.
@strypey@phlogiston@rms
To be fair the "don't use FBook's app" advice is fine, too. But again… tinkering.
FBook is a bad actor. Suppress inconvenient speech to engineer elections (known), and abuse ppl (known), and the author should know that fediverse exists.
Again seems like tinkering-at-the-edges with no real solutions.
Dangerous.
Its dangerous because ppl think they are being informed.
Reminds us of ppl we quizzed in 2021, who boasted "I use #DuckDuckGo now."
@strypey@fsf@phlogiston Interesting history re CC-BY-SA, thanks, we'll be licensing it "CC-BY-SA for AGPLv3 softwares that comprise fediverse". We'll do the clarification soon.
> Very few people know the fediverse exists
If he's worth his salt he'd know about it in 2021, we think the omission is poor. He does suggest deleting an Fbook account but without pointing a person to an alternative, its nullifys that suggestion. A search for 'decentralised social network' is all it takes.
@dsfgs
> He does suggest deleting an Fbook account but without pointing a person to an alternative, its nullifys that suggestion. A search for 'decentralised social network' is all it takes
I'm not aware of any one thing Fowler could point to now as a viable alternative, let alone in 2021. Current fediverse software is nowhere near being a complete replacement for FB.
I've written a lot about the socio-technical challenges of replacing FB. I must find some and republish it on the new blog.
@strypey
> Current fediverse software is nowhere near being a complete replacement for FB.
Disagree strongly
> socio-technical challenges of replacing FB
To be fair Fowler created that idea of deleting one's Fb account. We joined Fedi in 2019 because Fb was total suppressive garbage. We never left Fb we were "suspicious activity'ed" in 2020 for supporting Assange, calling out scams (cough MMT) and being against contact tracing in hands of corporate state. Since 2020 ban, we don't miss FB.
@strypey
We knew that would fire you up. Let's agree to disagree. The effect of the money printer these past years means we're taking our opinion to the grave.
> The effect of the money printer these past years
This is not a thing in neoliberalised economies. Trading banks issue new money into the economy as loans, and their loan to repayment ratios determine the size of the money supply, not a "money printer". This is not part of MMT, just basic economic facts.
@strypey
Money printer has multiple faces. We are not getting into this. Just drop it, please. We said MMT half-joking and we meant a host of things that were happening 2019/2020.
We're sorry to bring it up, because we know you support inflationary policy.
Once you see that what the #centralBanks do is deliberate, and they help themselves at the expense of the 97%, and they do it repeatedly, we believe you'll stop defending them.
@dsfgs
> Keynesians teach 3% inflation forever is good
AFAIK there is no school of economic thought that advocates a fixed rate of inflation. The orthodoxy that inflation is best kept between 1% and 3% is monetarism, not Keynesianism. Please quote a Keynesian advocating a fixed rate of inflation or withdraw the claim.
@dsfgs
> Once you see that what the central banks do is deliberate
In neoliberalised economies, central banks only have the power to tweak interest rates, aiming to keep inflation between 1-3%, even if putting up interest rates increases unemployment or creates a recession.
So yes, it is deliberate. But it happens because of the mandate given to central banks by neoliberal governments;
I guess it depends what aspects of FB someone wants to replace. For those who use it like Xitter, as a tool for propagating commentary and debating it with people, then yes, the verse can be a complete replacement for this.
But it's an objective fact that right now, no fediverse account offers the same range of functions as a FB account. Achieving this is a huge job.
So does McVomits. But it also burgers, fries, milkshakes, nuggets etc. Similarly, for all its faults, FB has a wide range of features and any platform trying to replace it needs to cover at least most of them. Pretending otherwise means you're not really taking the task seriously.
@strypey
FBook is an anti-service. Its a false book, people go on there to be abused in a myriad documented ways, frankly. We do take FB seriously, very seriously, in case you haven't noticed. Everything we need is able to be done on fedi. And better. Groups? There's a service for that too. We've used it and it is fine.
FBook is a awful. And not comparable to fedi. We see a person use it and the bubble they're in is sad. Also they can barely nav the site.
@dsfgs
> Everything we need is able to be done on fedi. And better.
For the verse to be a drop-in replacement, you'd need to be able to use one fediverse account for groups, events, organisational pages, realtime chat (text, voice, video), video-hosting, marketplace, etc. Most of them with granular options for making them public or non-public (obviously "private" is the wrong word ;)
@dsfgs
One day I'd like to be able to offer a complete FB replacement as a hosted service as part of BridgeSeat.nz. Claiming we can offer it right now would be false advertising, even if we had servers ready to take on customers.
@strypey
Organisational pages… what now? There are plenty of orgs on fedi.
All those things are possible with fedi, there not a button for some, but there are ways to do the same or very similar thing. It just takes an #askFedi.
FB started out and became popular as a very simple (glorified) subscription service, most grift that came later few need and we think most ppl, if you asked them what they want, really don't care for them. They are largely hostage to #habit and #networkEffect.
Right now? Some of them definitely aren't, unless you include Matrix as part of the fediverse, which I don't. The fediverse is the network of ActivityPub implementations. Matrix implementations form an entirely separate network.
Even if every feature FB offers had an AP replacement ready to use, as I said;
> For the verse to be a drop-in replacement, you'd need to be able to use one fediverse account
@dsfgs
Making grand claims about how the fediverse can be used might seem like a good way to bring more people over from the DataFarms. It isn't.
If people come here with expectations the tech can't currently meet, they will feel disappointed and misled. They'll go back to the DataFarms and tell everyone how limited the verse is, and they'll be disinclined to try it again.
> Using DDG instead of Goggle is a step in either the right direction.
DDG is one option.
> What web search engines do you recommend?
We stopped doing recommendations. We literally roll a dice to pick a #searchEngine these days. They can be played off each other, too. It was super-interesting that #DDG found NOTHING about one FOSS publishers details recently whereas another #searchEngine found plenty.
@dsfgs
> We literally roll a dice to pick a search engine these days
I'm taking a similar approach to #search, using a mix of DDG, Monocles (Searx instance), Mojeek, SearchMySite, Qwant and Brave search. I'm also trying to make much more user of FireFox's ability to search particular platforms from the address bar. I have a bunch set up, including Wikipedia, Sepia Search (PeerTube), YewTube (fairly stable Invidious instance), NZ on Screen and Appropedia.
> He is writing for a general audience, for whom correct use of Tor and TAILS are far beyond the level of adaptation.
No. No. If ppl care they'll adapt to anything. Anyway, Tor is designed to be easy to use. In fact, its too dumbed-down. We have to help ppl by instructing how to use NoScript addon in Safest Mode, like basically everyone who has used Tor for years. Also #uBlock.
As we said "for the more tech savvy", TailsOS is a good option". Ie. just say "for the more tech savvy".
@dsfgs
> We have to help ppl by instructing how to use NoScript addon in Safest Mode, like basically everyone who has used Tor for years. Also uBlock
... Origin I presume? I use both those add-ons. Don't usually use Tor and TBH I can't see the point for most use cases. I did use a VPN in China, but only to find holes in the Great Firewall.
@dsfgs
>.As we said "for the more tech savvy", TailsOS is a good option"
For very specific use cases. For most situations it's not even the right tool. Explaining why takes an entire article worth of text on the Tai's website;
That link has a few dot points and its a good page to reference, but for the average person who just wants to open a browser and do some searches #Tails is pretty wonderful, in every way, really.
Even though we're not fans of GNOME desktop and dislike that they dropped I2P, its still good. Flash-a-USB and forget, almost.
I've walked a lot of people through creating their first GNU/Linux boot USB. It's hard enough with a standard distro. Tails adds a whole bunch of extra steps that make it somewhat challenging for me
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