dgoldsmith

dgoldsmith, 5 months ago to random

This is your periodic reminder that Mastodon is grievously underfunded and understaffed and before we all see more of the goodies on https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap being delivered in a timely way the project will need way more staffing and money. These include quote posts, reply controls, blocklist subscriptions, markdown, encrypted DMs, etc.

If you have money, and you like Mastodon, please consider supporting it via https://joinmastodon.org/sponsors

dgoldsmith, 4 months ago to random

We need to get over the idea that voting is a way for us to express our personal ideals. Voting is one move in a chess game that never ends—one each voter plays with a hundred million other voters. You can't win on the first move, and if you're in a bad board position it may take a long time to get out of it. (Narrator voice: we're in a bad board position, in many ways.)

If you don't play, though, or don't make alliances with other players, you're likely to lose. Losing now will be very bad.

dgoldsmith, 10 months ago to random

Once again I see people talking about how Mastodon needs quote posts and full text search “right now" but is "opposed." Both features are on the road map (https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap) at the highest priority.

The actual problem is resources (money and/or qualified volunteers), which no one seems to talk about. People talk about Mastodon like it's equivalent to companies with billions in VC money, like the only barrier to implementing features is the desire to do so. The barrier is staffing.

dgoldsmith, 1 month ago to random

“How can you listen to a kid who wants to change sex? My kid wants to be a dinosaur!”

Because unlike wanting to be a dinosaur, there's decades of science showing kids with persistent gender dysphoria:

1. Rarely grow out of it
2. Continue to suffer if not treated
3. Suffer lifelong pain if they go through the wrong puberty
4. Are at significant risk of suicide/self-harm if untreated
5. Thrive as well as cis kids if they are supported by family/friends and given gender-affirming care

dgoldsmith, 7 months ago to climate

This should happen everywhere. There is no place for shareholders or profit in public utilities: it serves no public purpose, and it leads to perverse incentives.

Mainers will vote on replacing for-profit utilities… | Canary Media https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/utilities/mainers-face-historic-vote-to-replace-utilities-with-public-power

#ClimateCrisis #capitalism

dgoldsmith, 2 months ago to random

I keep seeing the news about lunar time presented as “the Moon is getting its own time zone." What's actually happening is the Moon is getting its own time standard. The problem being solved is that time passes slightly more quickly on the Moon compared to Earth (due to General Relativity) and so the Moon needs its own time standard for precise measurements and navigation. UTC is the time standard for measuring time on Earth, and LTC is being created for the Moon.

#GeneralRelativity #time

dgoldsmith, 5 months ago to random

From @ErinInTheMorn:

When I say the fascists want to eliminate trans people from public life, this is what I mean.

Transgender Candidate Removed From Ballot In Ohio Over Decades Old Name Change Law
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/transgender-candidate-removed-from

Florida Bill Would Require Mass Biological Sex Affidavits, Ending All Trans Legal Recognition
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/florida-bill-would-require-mass-biological

#transphobia #persecution #hate #fascism

dgoldsmith, 11 months ago to threads

I won't be creating an account on #Threads because I deactivated my Facebook and Instagram accounts years ago because:

• Cambridge Analytica
• Myanmar genocide
• Long history of incitement of hate and disinformation for profit
• Helping Fox News drive senior citizens into conspiracy-theory madness

I have no objection (yet) to federating with Threads or following people there. I just refuse to look at their ads or follow their algorithm.

dgoldsmith, 7 months ago to climate

Not news, but a reasonably comprehensive overview of the problem. As always, it comes down to the greed of fossil fuel companies.

Think that your plastic is being recycled? Think again. | MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/12/1081129/plastic-recycling-climate-change-microplastics/

#ClimateCrisis #FossilFuels #oligarchy

dgoldsmith, 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago) to science

Given the trash from Pamela Paul in the NY Times the other day, it's worth upping this again. From @juliaserano last May, debunking Paul's word salad months before it was written.

Note how none of these meticulous examinations of the science ever make it into the NY Times.

Also, you should all follow Julia.

Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth Is Neither New nor Experimental: A Timeline and Compilation of Studies
https://juliaserano.medium.com/gender-affirming-care-for-trans-youth-is-neither-new-nor-experimental-a-timeline-and-compilation-b4bb8375d797

#transphobia #pseudoscience #GishGallop #science

dgoldsmith, 11 months ago (edited 11 months ago) to mastodon

OK, poll time. All of these features are in the #Mastodon road map at https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap. Which would you like to see implemented first (with proper privacy guards, of course)? Please boost for more numbers.

dgoldsmith, 9 months ago to random

From @theintercept:
#fascism #corruption

The corruption and naked contempt for democracy is astounding.

Georgia GOP gears up to remove Atlanta prosecutor who indicted Donald Trump
https://theintercept.com/2023/08/24/georgia-prosecutor-trump-gop/

dgoldsmith, 6 months ago to random

25 years ago today, Nov 20, 1998, was the day I came out as a trans woman at work. It was the last place I was presenting male, so as soon as I got home I stopped, and was myself full time. Transition has made me much, much happier than I was before.

The first Transgender Day of Remembrance was held one year later, on Nov 20, 1999.

I'm profoundly grateful that I've been so fortunate, and my heart breaks for those who were not. It's still a brutal world for trans people.

dgoldsmith, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago) to random

I haven't seen a single article in the mainstream media about yesterday’s resolution from the American Psychological Association supporting gender-affirming care for trans youth. Not one. Maybe they're just being slow.

Latest update: A week has passed, and still nothing from any mainstream news source (Fox News platforming attacks on it doesn't count).

The mainstream media's silence speaks volumes. They're eager to feature transphobes, but not scientists.

#transphobia #BadJournalism

dgoldsmith, 6 months ago to random

From @ErinInTheMorn:

Fascists don't care about what their constituents want. They only care about hurting the people they hate.

After Election Day Defeats, Ohio Begins Hearings On Drag Ban, Bathroom Ban, And Trans Care https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/after-election-day-defeats-ohio-begins

#transphobia #fascism #persecution #ProtectTransKids

dgoldsmith, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to random

Meta had a team of 50 on Threads.
BlueSky likely has a dozen or two.
Mastodon has 1 paid full-time developer, and Eugen (who wears many hats):
https://oisaur.com/@renchap/110719187490311598
and that's recent.
If you can afford to donate, or have expertise you can volunteer, that might help things go faster.
Ramping up an open source project from one person to many is hard. It's a lot easier with a company, where the boss gets to tell the workers what to do because they're paid. Volunteer projects aren't that easy.

dgoldsmith, 4 months ago to random

From @ErinInTheMorn:

Another disgusting piece spewing pseudoscience and misinformation in the NY Times.

Debunked: Misleading NYT Anti-Trans Article By Pamela Paul Relies On Pseudoscience
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/debunked-misleading-nyt-anti-trans

#transphobia #pseudoscience #persecution #fascism

dgoldsmith, 3 months ago to random

The fascists have declared the trans community public enemy number one and made erasing us their top political issue.

Republicans Issue New Government Shutdown Threat Over Trans People
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/republicans-issue-new-government

#fascism #transphobia #persecution

dgoldsmith, 7 months ago to random

From @ErinInTheMorn:

I'm deeply worried about anti-trans legislation being enacted at a federal level. Living in a blue state won't protect us if that happens.

Looking To 2024: What’s Next In The Fight Over Trans Rights In America https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/looking-to-2024-whats-next-the-fight
#fascism #transphobia #persecution #MoralPanic

dgoldsmith, 7 months ago to random

From @ErinInTheMorn:

It's been clear this has been the goal since the beginning. They want to ban transition entirely, not just medical care. They want to force every trans person back in the closet. And all LGBT people for that matter.

19 Republican AGs Sign Letter Citing Anti-Abortion Ruling To Target Trans Adult Care https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/19-republican-ags-sign-letter-citing

#fascism #transphobia #persecution

dgoldsmith, 5 months ago to random

I'm sure everyone is tired of discussing Threads and Meta (I know I am), but I just want to say I find any predictions of what Meta is going to do in the future that don't include discussion of the effects of the EU's Digital Markets Act unpersuasive. All of these companies are under intense scrutiny now, and not just by the EU, so I think that a prediction of what they're going to do based on the crap they got away with 10-15 years ago is not the slam dunk folks think it is.

dgoldsmith, 6 months ago to climate

I'm shocked, shocked that we won't be able to keep warming to 1.5℃. Who could have seen that coming.

Business as usual will result in warming of around 3.4℃. My bet is we'll wind up closer to that than to 1.5℃, due to the fact that shortsighted, ignorant, selfish, greedy people run the world. I don't know if civilization can survive that kind of climate. I guess we'll find out the hard way.

h/t @ClimateNewsNow

https://federated.press/@ClimateNewsNow/111518395947081823

#ClimateCrisis #FossilFuels #greed #oligarchy

dgoldsmith, 4 months ago to baking

From @ErinInTheMorn:

Things are pretty scary for trans kids these days. If you buy Girl Scout cookies, consider buying them from these trans Girl Scouts.

2024 Trans Girl Scouts To Order Cookies From!
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/2024-trans-girl-scouts-to-order-cookies

#GirlScouts #cookies #ProtectTransKids

dgoldsmith, 5 months ago to random

From @ErinInTheMorn:

Thanks to the mainstream media, the public has no idea how much science is on the side of gender-affirming care.

Ohio Hospitals Testify On Trans Care Ban: “You Trust Us On Every Other Condition, Please Trust Us On This One” https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/ohio-hospitals-testify-on-trans-care
#transphobia #fascism #hate #ProtectTransKids

dgoldsmith, 2 months ago to random

Apropos of my post on TDOV.

Now make it ten times that. Or better yet, common enough not to need articles like this.

10 times trans characters were actually played by trans actors
https://www.out.com/gay-entertainment/trans-actors-playing-trans-characters

#TransRepresentation