ArbitraryValue

@ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When We Are No Longer Needed: Emerging Elites, Tech Trillionaires and the Decline of Democracy⁩ ⁨⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  There is a very good reason for the super rich to support the rule of law: it protects their own wealth and power. Even if they may want to be aristocrats in a highly stratified society like, for example, 19th century Britain rather than a modern democratic welfare state, they don’t stand to benefit from the transition to a modern autocracy. 19th century Britain was very much a nation of laws where the government would protect the rights and property of the super rich whereas modern autocrats quickly co-opt them into personal lenders whose well-being is entirely at the mercy of the autocrat.

  Thus, while some super rich individuals may support populist autocracy either due to idiosyncratic personal beliefs or short-term political expediency, transitioning to it is not in the best interest of the super rich as a class. Rule of law isn’t the same thing as democracy but I don’t see a global movement towards rule of law without democracy - the two are in the present day apparently inextricable.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Steam Machine⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I sometimes buy games just because I watch videos of other people playing them, in order to support the developers.

  ~Yes,~ ~they’ll~ ~believe~ ~that…~

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What If Free Speech Means Banning TikTok?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Foreign governments don’t have a first-amendment right to manipulate American public opinion, but Americans have a first-amendment right to consume foreign propaganda. The fact that TikTok is operated by a Chinese company isn’t a secret, and neither is the fact that the Chinese government has a great deal of influence over Chinese companies and can use that influence to further goals that it perceives as contrary to US interests. Americans who choose to use TikTok anyway have the right to make that choice, because “I don’t care that my social media is being manipulated by a hostile foreign power” is an ideology which, while perhaps foolish, is still in the same category as any other political ideology.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨X will let people you’ve blocked see your posts⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Isn’t that what blocking someone usually does on other platforms? I don’t use Twitter but if I block someone, I expect that I won’t have to see anything that person writes. I don’t expect that that person won’t see anything I write, because that’s a silly thing to expect about something I deliberately make available to the entire internet.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨National Public Data Published Its Own Passwords⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I hate this use of the word “inadvertently”. It’s meant to describe a situation where someone who has caused harm could not have reasonably known that that would be the consequence of his actions. For example, parents who fed their children tainted apple sauce inadvertently poisoned their children. In theory they could have done their own chemical analysis, but it’s not reasonable to personally test all food for lead.

  This password was not published “inadvertently”. The company could have and should have avoided doing so. The right word is “carelessly”.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Meta accused of breaking EU digital law by charging for ad-free social networks⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Is the EU asking for a version of Facebook that is free, has non-personalized ads, and doesn’t collect user data? That seems like it would be a major blow not only to Facebook’s business model but to the whole concept of high-budget ad-supported internet services.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Baldur's Gate 3 Has Been Completed by 1.3 Million Players, Shadowheart is Most Popular Love Interest⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  two monster-girls

  reject them, choose the half-elf

  People hate living out their wildest dreams, I guess.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Court rules Gabe Newell must appear in person to testify in Steam anti-trust lawsuit⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  You’re right and I’m wrong. I guess I’m out of touch - what did the Wolfire guys do since then that makes you dislike them?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Court rules Gabe Newell must appear in person to testify in Steam anti-trust lawsuit⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  humble

  That’s who’s suing Valve here.