So after saying for weeks, if not months, that the new pricing wasn’t designed to kill third-party apps, he’s now saying the exact opposite? And thus admitting that Reddit lied to its community for the whole?
Please, can someone give to this dude any PR training? Even the bare minimum would be an improvement at this point.
(your point is good, I going to be That Guy and mention that's Hanlon's Razor. And while a lot of people have made some similar quotes, Napoleon wasn't one of them as far as we know)
This isn't about the money. Not all of it. Billionaires seem to share a similar trait of being desperate to be liked. Spez's ego hurts and he feels alone
I worked for Microsoft for many years and the fact is many companies' marketing and PR departments think their customers are morons. Or perhaps it's that they think their customers don't mind being treated like morons.
The shit they would send flowing down the pipeline that we were supposed to say to our customers just blew me away. "You know our customers aren't STUPID right? I can't talk to them like they're stupid or they'll escort me off premises."
For quite a long time now when troubleshooting tech issues, I've started searches with site:reddit.com. Hopefully indexing on kbin and lemmy is decent enough going forward that they can pick up the slack. Otherwise, you get a lot of results that are either official tech support forums which always respond with basic troubleshooting, or outside forum posts with no real resolution.
I had to stop and think about this carefully, but I realized that I only used Reddit to find technical answers for personal stuff - like dealing with shenanigans in Windows or problems with games. I work as a DevOps engineer, and when I need to find a technical answers for work Reddit is not usually helpful. I think we'll be fine.
There doesn't appear to be robots.txt restrictions. I can get back results by doing a site:kbin.social search or a site:lemmy.ml search.
I think that a bigger issue is that the fediverse systems are designed to span multiple hosts. There's no convenient syntax to ask Google to search all content on a given fediverse platform, because it spans different domains. Reddit content is on reddit.com, so the site: operator is sufficient.
I think if maybe someone just creates a kbin or lemmy mirror site that all it does is collect data from all the instance for google as well as preserving it in the case an instance goes offline would be a great idea
Since this whole recent dumpster fire with reddit started, that's been the one thing I've been loudly complaining about is the potential or realized plans for some subreddits to move to Discord servers. For informational purposes rather than just acting as a chat platform, Discord is a BAD idea. It essentially adds a walled garden to everything. There's zero discovery by design.
Reddit just today made my decision super easy. I reported an off topic post in /r/politics, the mods agreed with that and removed the post for being off topic, and then a few hours later my account was permanently banned by the admins for "Report Abuse"
So that's nice. 14 year old account just permanently banned for... trying to help the quality of the content on the site. I see no reason to ever go back now.
That happens CONSTANTLY. I'll report a post that's racist, transphobic, homophobic, etc. and either it's in a rightwing sub and the rightwing moderator reports it as "report abuse" so you get a ban for reporting it and get told to read the Reddit Code of Conduct which specifically states that type of content isn't allowed.
Or get told that the reported post "doesn't violate the rules" when the content has been removed because it does violate the rules.
Anything at the admin level is 100% automated. There is no way any human is actually reading what comes through at the admin level, they rely 100% on the moderators to be accurate, and do not care if the moderators are breaking the rules.
The only site worse than reddit in terms of moderation is YouTube.
I never understood why I was getting replies from various reports despite the fact I made sure I reported it for breaking a subreddit rule, not a sitewide rule (which I did specifically in hopes of avoiding this problem).
Relay for Reddit for me, it had an interface that just made sense to me. A bit sad to see reddit go because I never spent a ridiculous amount of time on it, more just 10m waiting for a bus here and there. Guess that's being replaced by kbin and hacker news.
RIF for me on Android. Reddit killed the mobile site (you can't open any NSFW posts there at all nowadays and it constantly buggers you to switch to the app). The official Reddit app is dogshit and you get all the ads on top.
So at least on mobile there's zero chance I'll keep using Reddit without RIF.
On the desktop I only use old.reddit.com and even that with RES. But I nuked my 11 year old account (overwrote all my comments and posts) and I don't really want to go back. The only subs I'm missing on here are things like /r/nvidia and /r/amd for tech news so far.
“I know there’s a ton of skepticism about Meta entering the fediverse — it’s completely understandable,” Cottle says. “I do want to kind of make a plea that I think everyone on the team has really good intentions. We really want to be a good member of the community and give people the ability to experience what the fediverse is.”
If I wanted Facebook shitposts and forwards from KlanMa, I'd've joined Facebook. And I don't believe Meta has good intentions, I believe they want to overwhelm the fediverse, and I believe they want to make money. Middle-manager Cottle and their team may have good intentions, but corporate certainly doesn't, and I certainly don't trust their users.
I’m not particularly worried about it. I can block them if they annoy me. And on the bright side, their large user base may help make the Fediverse mainstream enough to topple the tech giants.
How does one connect to users on WhatsApp and Messenger from outside of Meta?
You mail them a fucking letter saying, "Leave meta."
You call them on the phone and say, "Leave meta."
You visit them in person and say, "Leave meta."
Hack into a defunct spy satellite and carve "LEAVE META" in the countryside using its lasers.
People exist outside of meta. They breath, they eat, they shit. Find that pile of meat that exists outside of zuck's servers and get a message to it.
Shit, how did people communicate before facebook?
Yes. I will never trust anything that Meta or anyone associated with it say. They can try to spin whatever bullshit they like with their PR speak, but fundamentally they are out to make money.
If I wanted Facebook shitposts and forwards from KlanMa, I’d’ve joined Facebook.
I want to connect and talk to people from the Metaverse (Facebook and Threads, is it called like that?) without using their account and applications. Meta connecting to Fediverse is a good move in my opinion and what the world needs (I’m not sarcastic at the moment). In fact, I wish every company in the world offering social media would connect to the Fediverse. We have builtin ways to block other instances if we don’t like them. Hell even Reddit should do it…
Its a double edged sword. On one hand, what you mentioned. On the other, if any other instance moderated the way Meta does they’d be siloed on the Fedi.
Yeah, I love the idea of the fediverse because it creates a democratized community where anybody can choose to listen to who they want. Unfortunately this attracts very clicky users that feel like they own the fediverse and want to push others out. I’ve seen it a couple times already with people clambering to defederate other instances they don’t like. Thankfully we can just choose to not listen to them, lol.
I don’t like Facebook and I understand the concerns that Facebook will sort of take over the fediverse from the inside like a parasite. But at the end of the day you can just spin up a vanilla instance and connect with anyone willing to do the same. That’s what’s great about the fediverse.
If you’re talking about the problem of someone acting like they get to decide who is allowed and what happens on the platform, I agree in principle, but that’s why the fediverse exists.
I can't see anything good coming from a company that actively spreads hatred and racism. Most of came here to get away from reddit and I keep everyone saying fuck spez, fuck reddit but hey let's invite someone who 100 worse than spez to the fediverse. Someone who has no morals at all, someone who admits he doesn't care about privacy. Why? Just so that fediverse can grow? Is it really worth it? So you can speak with friends on threads? Make a threads account and use an ad blocker to talk to them.
I don't mind bridging with other protocols like bluesky but I don't not see any value in federsting with threads it will only fil the the fediverse with so much crap that we will not able to block it.
Well that is my opinion anyway
I don't think isolationism is going to help the Fediverse thrive, or that there are no worthwhile users on Facebook platforms that could be persuaded to come this way if they get to see what it's like.
Having to deal with toxicity from that would suck, but it's not as if the Fediverse is this pure untainted land either. Worst comes to worst, instances can defederate them.
I am not saying we should completely isolate us. As I said I open with bridging with other protocols. But I am against fedeting with Facebook because yes we are not a pure land but in comparison to the hell that is Facebook it's better here.
Defederating with other instances can only do so much if not everyone does it
I think in this discussion people aren't putting in perspective that Facebook as a platform can suck but that doesn't mean all their userbase is terrible and ill-intentioned. There's a lot of different people there that could become good contributors in the Fediverse.
I don't think we should invite Mark Zuckerberg to get the reins of Lemmy, but if some of the artists at Instagram and Threads decide that Mastodon is worthwhile, that'd be pretty good.
Like I have said in other comment they nowhere near to the hell that facebook has.
Also inviting more toxic people will make situation worse not better
Nowhere near? In absolute numbers you must mean, right? Because there are Fediverse instances that are completely dominated by all kinds of horrible hateful people. Merely looking at some instance blocklists is enough to feel the stench of the radioactive sludge pits of toxicity that are in this ecosystem. Facebook sucks but even its lacking moderation is still better than many instances on the Fediverse.
Of course, I don't want to invite the toxic people, though some might come regardless, but I don't think it's reasonable to just treat it like it's all toxic people. The good people who still use Facebook and Instagram also outnumber the entire Fediverse as well.
While that is true, these instances are completely blocked that their comment very rarely leak in to the other instances. But Facebook is not blocking those people, want them to exist, to spread hatred and controversy and they will definitely fill the fediverse. So do not care of the good people outnumber the whole fediverse I do want see these shitty people here.
(hi ya!) Yes, totally understandable. The thing is, I am not inviting spez or suckerburg, but the users. They don’t take control over Fediverse and we have the ability to block any instance or person we want. It’s not just that Fediverse can grow, but so that it becomes the standard protocol to communicate with others. Fediverse isn’t a specific platform.
( Edit: This paragraph is just an analogy in other areas, where bringing them together benefits the users, just so they can communicate and interact with each other. ) It’s basically asking for every game company open to cross play games or that Windows users can write with Linux users through web technology, with their favorite applications, accounts and servers.
Finally we have an universal protocol that can be adapted by anyone, similar to what HTML became for websites. I understand the concerns, and there is also a reason why I left Facebook over 10 years ago, don’t use Twitter and Reddit.
I get what you say but Facebook is full of toxic users it's not suckerberg the problem. And defederating will not help because you will have to defenderate also with instances that want to federate with Facebook or else the messages will eventually come through. At least that how I
understand federation works. So eventually you would have to fediverses.
I would love to have a unifiying protocol but I really don't think it will work. It will split people eventually someone will fork the protocol so that it can not federate with Facebook, splitting it.
Yeah, that would zuck, if it works like this and we cannot de-federate effectively. This problem needs to be solved off course, but that is something that can be integrated later. The important part is, let the users federate if they want, let them decide. That off course should only happen if the system is working correctly (such as entirely federating, like you suggested). Edit: Too many But(t)s removed.
And if someone truly creates a fork of the protocol, then it would most probably be compatible. And you could switch to it if you truly want to. That’s the point of it, which people and we don’t get with Facebook. I do not want to use their spyware and not be part of it, but I want to talk to people using it (like family).
I am not sure it can be fixed because that is just how federation works else the activity pub would have to rewriten from scratch.
I don't see the fork being compatible because that is the reason to fork it in the first place, people not agreeing with what should be federated or not.
I mean… what is the alternative? He said he’s going to continue hacking once he’s free, so do you think 5 or 10 years in prison will do anything to deter him? It doesn’t sound like it at all.
edit: plenty of downvotes, but nobody is suggesting what should be done instead?
If he’s unfit for trial doesn’t he wait until he can? That is beyond unjust on every which side unless he is that level of fucked up. What is life like in an NCR-type deal hospital for life?
Is it like a decent group home or where is he being sent to exactly?
I don’t think the kid will actually serve it out in prison though. The primary issue here seems to be that the kid is actively saying they will commit more crimes. No matter the crime, you can’t really give a light sentence to someone telling you, in a court of law, that they will do it again.
The ideal would be that they rehabilitate him until he’s able to be safely released with no fear of repeat offense, or at the very least, until the kid is smart enough to lie.
Let’s also remember he hacked Rockstar while out on bail for hacking other companies. He was already given a chance, and he committed another fucking crime.
I couldn’t care less about the stuff he’s breaking (so far at least), it’s moreso the breaking part that concerns me. Like, this doesn’t sound like someone following a deeply held belief and breaking property as a way to fight corporations. It’s someone having a temper tantrum.
It’s not prison, it’s some sort of prison hospital. But still, life is the exact opposite end of the spectrum compared to a light sentence. Like you said, rehabilitation should be the goal, and imposing life sentences on 18 year olds is not how you make that happen.
He only got a life sentence because he made corporations look bad IMO. Not because of him saying he’d do it again.
I feel like just saying this is autism, is insulting to people with autism? The violent acts the article said he did can't just be attributed to autism.
Like the OP wants to compare this to law enforcement crimes where it's about what someone has done, whereas this is about medical hospitalization because of what someone is currently doing
Like he's an active, physical threat. The cybercrimes are very secondary to what is going on.
Are you autistic? Cause I am and nothing I said was or is insulting.
What is insulting is you somehow thinking you know anything about how difficult it is for people like us to live in a world where everyone tells us how we should live without first understanding who we are and how our brains work.
The so-called violence wasn’t described in detail … so it could mean they threw food at someone or banged a chair on the floor.
Yeah, I'm getting bothered by this too. My brother had a pretty bad case of autism, he suffered from hard-to-control anger issues, but he learned how to keep those outbursts from causing damage or harming the people around him.
Maybe this guy can learn to control himself, maybe he can't, autism is an extremely broad and varied condition. But either way, it's not unreasonable to keep him in a hospital until he's safe.
Will probably wait until they’re at least smart enough to lie about not wanting to commit more crimes. Maybe then they’ll be mentally fit enough to stand trial, but I’m not sure.
Autism isn’t a free pass to do whatever you like without consequences. Most people manage to be autistic without cybercrime and violence, or telling the judge they intend to commit more crimes.
I mean, he didn't even get a life sentence. That's in the headline, I know, but it's just not true.
He's in the hospital indefinitely, not sentenced to life. There's a big fat or clause that completely undermines the "life sentence".
He’s required to stay in the hospital prison for life unless doctors determine that he’s no longer a danger.
I'm not really sure what anyone thinks WOULD be just and proper in this kind of situation. I don't know many details of this particular case, but if there has been due process that determines someone is unsafe to release into society because they lack social capacity, releasing them anyway hardly seems like justice.
I'd like to believe -- though I know it basically isn't true -- that the justice system exists for the sake of justice. That it is primarily concerned with making whole the victims and making sure the criminals are rehabilitated such that they can safely rejoin society and even contribute to it in the future. I think that's how the justice system should work in a fair and just world. But if you have someone who is actually incapable of rejoining society, what are you supposed to do?
If we want to focus on the awfulness of this situation, I don't think the sentence is the issue. I think the focus would need to be on whether or not the hospital treatment has any chance of being effective -- because if it doesn't, THAT'S the story that matters.
Who exactly was victimized here? Who was harmed and in what way? God the capitalist bootlicking is insane. Seriously arguing for taking away a neurodivergent person’s agency because some game spoilers got released. Not a good look.
It's also right in the article that he was violent. That doesn't really matter though; what matters is whether he's competent to stand trial and whether it is reasonable to release him back to the regular justice system or general public.
I guess your point is that there's no safety hazard since his particular behavior isn't at least murder? Or maybe that cybercrime in particular is actually good and not a problem? It's not really a coherent framework to discuss these things either way.
Cybercrime destroys lives. It’s anti-commerce and it can absolutely ruin a small business. Who the victim was does not matter. He openly intends to do it again if ever released so section his ass.
This is Rockstar. They make billions. All the hype is just free press for them, which is pro-commerce for them and the press.
Yeah, it destroys lives when it’s taken out of proportion for a stupid leak vs. a life sentence. You ruin lives with your nonsense because a billion dollar company doesn’t have decent cyber-security? GTA is completely full of script kiddies in every session. Maybe rockstar needs to get their act together instead of throwing people in jail for doing exactly what is required in game. Where you’re a criminal that hacks tech companies to advance in the plot. In game, it kills people. In real life, nobody was hurt at all.
Rockstar isn’t the only company he hacked and hacking isn’t his only crime. Read the fucking article. The rest of your logic is just a mess. Doesn’t matter how much security Rockstar has. You can’t walk into a mansion and steal something just because the front door is unlocked. And your last point is just so fucking stupid. It’s ok to hack Rockstar because they have hacking in their games? Jesus. I don’t like or even play Rockstar games but you can’t just commit crimes against them and think it’s ok because they have a lot of money.
Maybe they should chop the hands off cyber criminals as a warning to other would be cybercriminals too. In fact, life is too easy for someone who hurts a company, we should just shoot them all immediately
A danger of commiting cyber crimes. You forgot that part. This could be solved with a probation officer and a restriction on technology use. Instead, he’s in a mental hospital. This is ridiculous and a way to weaponize his disability as a warning to others.
Considering he hacked Rockstar because they put him in a hotel room with a land line phone and an Amazon Firestick while in custody for hacking, I’d say he has a serious mental issue here.
They did strip him of stuff, he just found the Fire Stick and bought the phone - while on bail for other cybercrimes. The point is he’s determined to commit crimes. You can’t let someone out free in society like this. Meeting up with a probation officer every now and then isn’t good enough for this kind of person. It’s a compulsion. He can’t even mentally stand trial right now.
There are absolutely ways to do so. Hackers are kept in the public under those conditions all the time. This is a modern lynching to serve as an example.
Yes… It’s the same sentence criminally insane murderers get.
People pleading insanity and thinking ‘they get away with it’, has always made me laugh. You might get probation in 20 years but in an asylum, you have no sentence it’s just a matter of if the doctors ever agree to release you.
During Thursday’s hearing, the court heard Kurtaj “had been violent while in custody with dozens of reports of injury or property damage,” the BBC reports. A mental health assessment also found that Kurtaj “continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible.” He’s required to stay in the hospital prison for life unless doctors determine that he’s no longer a danger.
Sounds like dude has some stuff to work out mentally
I guess we’ll have to just lock him up while we figure out some way of stopping him committing cybercrime. If only there were some way of preventing him from committing this crime that requires access to a computer to commit. I guess he’ll just have to stay trapped in a phyche ward until society can figure this one out.
Sorry for being snarky and sarcastic, I know what you mean and agree with you. My sarcasm is directed more at the judges ruling and your comment is just what sparked me to write it.
Hacks private companies and threatens to release their users' data.
Smashes physical stuff and beats up physical people after he's taken into custody. Note that he hasn't actually gone to trial yet, so this is what he's currently in the mental hospital for. You really think "anyone" would start beating people up when taken into custody? Why isn't everyone doing that?
Yeah I’m not so much concerned for the property he’s damaging, but moreso the act of damaging. That points to instability, violence, and poor impulse control.
Get off it mate, it’s not like he’s a cop. There’s no danger to you or I.
.
During Thursday’s hearing, the court heard Kurtaj “had been violent while in custody with dozens of reports of injury or property damage,”
Uhh no he was a danger to people. Actually how did you get down to this comment without reading the top of the branch that already quoted this part of the article?
Most people are able to restrain themselves from physically attacking people in those circumstances. Why is it okay to try to beat up people when you're being lawfully detained? Even the countries that recognize prisoners having a "right to attempt escape" still charge them with whatever crimes they did in the course of attempting to escape, such as assaulting guards.
Frankly the rules were created by rich entitled people and they exist to serve them. I see no reason to respect said rules other than fear of state sanctioned violence.
Although he stayed at a hotel under police protection during this time, Kurtaj still managed to carry out an attack on Rockstar Games by using the room’s included Amazon Fire Stick and a “newly purchased smart phone, keyboard and mouse,” according to a separate BBC report. Kurtaj was arrested for the final time following the incident.
He already did it again, didn't realize this was the one who did it again while on bail.
He has autism. It affects the brain in very specific ways for each individual, but in general Executive function is the first thing to go when in stressful situations. You know, emotional regulation and self control? And I also guarantee that the cops and guards were treating him like shit. They LOVE picking on disabled people. I have no doubt most of the charges and incidents were exacerbated by the people in charge.
I also guarantee that the cops and guards were treating him like shit
Oh you guarantee it huh? Must be fact then. Thanks for personally guaranteeing this one for us. We wouldn’t want to trifle with such things as evidence when selecting our pitchforks now would we?
Umm… look the fuck around? All cops are bastards. Mental health facilities aren’t better. I was a kid in a couple, and worked at one myself. There are good staff, yeah, but there’s also a 99% fucking chance that every kid will encounter a bad one. And there’s a lot of bad ones. If youre lucky theyre lazy and just neglect you. Others have little patience and are likely to yell and chastise during an incident. They’ll do vindictive little things to mentally ill children because theyve had to write an incident report. They’ll taunt and goad kids into being aggressive. They’ll ABSOLUTELY make all kinds of disparaging comments about the kids.
I have seen it all, far too often. Its absolutely rampant.
Going to be honest, I think you need to go back to reddit.
None of what you say seems to be in good faith whereas the person you’re replying to is at least giving personal experiences from both being a kid in that system and having worked in it as an adult.
Downvote haraas and insult me all you want, won’t change the fact that you aren’t contributing to a better community or dialogue.
I’m not going to do anything, I’m just making a suggestion based on your overly aggressive and hostile comments.
I would say it’s rather telling that you just assume someone is going to “do something to you” when they give you a suggestion though.
Might be worth taking a step back from the Internet and figuring out what’s causing you to be such an angry person. Might even help lower your blood pressure.
Guess Im a bootlicker who needs to behave. Sorry for having an opinion and keeping to the facts. My bad bro. I won’t ever speak my mind again I’ve learned my lesson
The moderation team isn’t here to pick a side. We’re here to make sure fights (like this one) don’t break out. You are both being combative. I don’t mind discourse happening, but keep it civil is the only request. If you must be combative, move it to DMs
Which is why you removed my comment. You picked a side by removing my side from being able to speak. Hey they said they personally guarantee abuse is happening. There is no evidence to that from the article or anywhere. You have now erased that and the only conversation now is theirs. You picked a side.
You never removed the one that is lying about abuse that never happened. You only removed mine where I pointed out there was no evidence. The reason given : “trolling”. So it’s trolling now to stick to the facts?
I also guarantee that the cops and guards were treating him like shit Oh you guarantee it huh? Must be fact then. Thanks for personally guaranteeing this one for us. We wouldn’t want to trifle with such things as evidence when selecting our pitchforks now would we? Thanks for the downvotes =)
I removed rule breaking comments. If you can point to a rule that was broken with their comment, please report it. You can contest their comment, but all I ask is you do it in with some civility. I’m not saying you can’t argue, but don’t troll, bash, name call, or other things that are explicitly laid out in the rules.
Rule 1: Be civil
Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
I see, so if I state something as fact even though it isn’t, in the “news” community of all places, that’s not considered rule breaking? But my comment that pointed out that lie is infact rule breaking because I didn’t do it in a friendlier manner. Is that correct?
Rather than arguing, I have requested that other moderators intervene, so there no semblance of me being heavy-handed in my actions regarding this. I have explained the rules, and the justifications of actions taken.
This kid wasn’t arrested for having autism. It was for brazenly commiting crimes, and even when he was released on bail, he committed even more crimes in police protection.
The jury was told that while he was on bail for hacking Nvidia and BT/EE and in police protection at a Travelodge hotel, he continued hacking and carried out his most infamous hack.
Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV and a mobile phone.
This is not some poor autistic kid that’s getting picked on by cops, he’s a highly capable hacker expressing a explicit intent to continue to break the law and cause harm to both individuals and corporations.
Never said he was getting picked by cops on or arrested for having autism.
the court heard that the 17-year-old and Kurtaj used stolen SIM details from five victims to steal a total of nearly £100,000 from their cryptocurrency accounts which were secured by their compromised mobile phone SIM identities.
He is a hacker and a thief that has a lot of work to do psychologically
The dude committed crimes while on bail. Autism doesn’t excuse that, and even if it did, it’s still a problem that needs to be dealt with.
A mental health assessment used as part of the sentencing hearing said he “continued to express the intent to return to cyber-crime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated.”
The jury was told that while he was on bail for hacking Nvidia and BT/EE and in police protection at a Travelodge hotel, he continued hacking and carried out his most infamous hack.
Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV and a mobile phone.
Nothing is being trumped up, here. The kid is just brazen about this.
Mint was useful to me for a while until it started forcibly recategorizing stuff with no way to fix it. Tech support was aggressively worthless to the point that I fully shut down every Intuit account I had (they have their tentacles in some surprising businesses). Fuck Intuit and their data hoarding and their anti-taxpayer lobbying and their cold-blooded murder of what was once the only half-decent money tracking app.
This is a good example of what was once a really good company that made really good products but was ruined by the business bros. Everything they touch turns into garbage.
I lasted a little longer but not much. It really was bad. I reinstalled it after their giant patch that was supposed to fix it and gave it a second chance: the shooting was better but the main issues with everything else were still there.
It was like they asked ChatGPT to create a Saints game.
User Create the plot for a game similar to the first four Saints Row games
ChatGPT Title: “City Unleashed”
Plot: In the sprawling metropolis of Havencross, crime syndicates have taken control, leaving the city in chaos. You play as a street-smart vigilante who rises to power in order to reclaim the city from the clutches of these criminal organizations. As you build your own crew and establish dominance, you’ll face off against rival gangs, corrupt officials, and powerful crime lords.
Starting as a small-time crook with a personal vendetta, you’ll complete daring heists, engage in intense street races, and execute audacious stunts to earn respect and resources. Your actions catch the attention of an underground resistance that seeks to topple the syndicates. They offer you support, guidance, and a chance to reshape Havencross.
The game offers an open-world environment, allowing you to explore the sprawling city, engage in a variety of activities, and make choices that influence the narrative. Customization plays a significant role, not only in terms of your character’s appearance but also in building your gang’s identity, from outfits to vehicles to hideouts.
Throughout the game, you’ll encounter memorable characters, each with their own motivations and backstories. As you forge alliances and rivalries, the balance of power in the city shifts dynamically. The story takes unexpected turns as you uncover the dark secrets behind the syndicates’ rise to power and their connections to influential figures in the city.
With a blend of over-the-top action, humor, and engaging storytelling, “City Unleashed” captures the essence of the first four Saints Row games, delivering a high-octane, open-world experience filled with outrageous missions, explosive combat, and a dynamic environment that reacts to your choices.
I’ll be honest, that is kinda how the new Saints Row was probably pitched in the design docs.
The problem is in the details. They failed to:
Create other games worth mention.
Have memorable characters.
Implement motivating vendettas or any personal motivation.
Make the city feel alive, which invalidates the whole open-world environment (a criticism I’d level against CP2077 too, it feels way too sterile).
Have any meaningful way of influencing your relationship with characters or forces.
Have a story worth mentioning.
In a lot of ways, the pitch document probably describe a good game. Just like ChatGPT does, there. But note how your mind is filling in that all of this would end up in the actual game, and be competently done. And that’s where the actual GenZ Saints Row fell apart, too.
I didn't even bother buying it. The trailers looked so bad and then you'd have to wait for a Steam release. No thanks. When the first gameplay videos dropped it looked like absolute trash and really just rehashed all the repetitive content from the previous games, which was plentifully criticized to be a huge weakpoint of them already, with a lame story, idiotic characters and a boring map on top of it. It was just a rehash of all the bad, but I guess that's all they could pull off.
For me, the big “Nope” was how despite being a modern game and running like arse (and not looking all that well), the streets are mostly empty. I mean at the very least I would assume they could re-implement SR3 one-to-one in more … opulent?
But instead it looks and feels worse than the older games, even in a direct comparison, because everything is dead and empty and still stutters like crazy.
SR2 was the peak of the series for me. I played 3 and 4 but they already felt like they were being constrained by budget even back then. They were mostly copy pasted mini games with far fewer missions.
Yeah there’s always a lot of divided audience feedback. SR2 was too serious for me still, it felt like a low-budget GTA clone and I wasn’t even a GTA fan in the first place.
But SR3 and 4? They were so ridiculously over the top, they parodied the whole genre. A genre I love to see made fun of, so they were perfect for me.
3 struck the perfect balance for me, it was like playing an action movie that didn’t take itself too seriously while still maintaining a tenuous grasp on reality. 4 fully jumped the shark for me and was hard to enjoy.
A lot of people are on the Fediverse to escape these corporate data-hoarder apps. It’s so weird to still see people embracing the abusers. It’s like we’ve learned nothing.
It seems like every app is trying to force integration of a version of ChatGPT. It would make way more sense if the OS just had their “assistant” use AI, and just let it recognize the app your using and help out if needed. No need for an AI integration with every app.
While you're not wrong, the implementation there is very complicated. My solution, which works quite excellently, is if I want to use GPT, I go use GPT
I don’t understand why everyone tries to make it so hard. Yes, there are alternative apps out there. Yes, there are different servers out there. But is it really an issue if you pick the “wrong” server? Everyone is federated, so you can find whomever you like. If you really enjoy Mastodon you can always migrate to a new server later.
I don't know about guides, but I do agree it can be a little confusing. Trying to work out what instances are and which one you should join is difficult until you understand the concept and a little about how the tech works - it's the same with the threadiverse. Realising it's like email domains is what made it click for me.
And if you personally ever decide to get into Mastodon: you're on kbin already, which federates with Mastodon and has support for microblogging, so you don't even need to do anything new - you just need to start using that functionality on kbin!
Yeah I just know a lot of people who barely understand passwords, and moving to a new platform that isn't exactly the same is going to be a frustrating exercise which ends in them staying on the old platform. It needs to look, act, and feel like twitter in all the ways they're used to for it to carry the largest group of non-savvy users.
And remember they don't read manuals or FAQs or anything, so . . maybe a viral tiktok or youtube something, I dunno.
Remember, this is the guy who said this about his chances in the event of societal collapse:
Huffman has calculated that, in the event of a disaster, he would seek out some form of community: “Being around other people is a good thing. I also have this somewhat egotistical view that I’m a pretty good leader. I will probably be in charge, or at least not a slave, when push comes to shove.”
Given how much of a douche he's being (and only because he has organizational power, and not because he has people skills) in the event of a disaster, he'd probably be one of the ones to bite it first, or to be sent on an mission for expendables, to be honest.
When you can't just wave around money or org chart power to solve your problems, then people will start showing how they really feel about you. The way he's running Reddit into the ground shows that he's not a good leader, and the way he's pissing everyone off right now by following in the footsteps of a huge failure (Musk) who's also a jerk is just proving that he's an idiot AND a douche that wouldn't do well if society went awry.
Now might be a great time to join the Fediverse alternative FunkWhale. I’ve already built up a collection of nearly 10,000 songs on mine, almost all of which i downloaded from deezer.
Deezer is a streaming service like Spotify. Unlike Spotify, you can download directly from Deezer using piracy tools such as Deezloader. The user then presumably uploaded these to FunkWhale, so as to own their own local collection.
I am still using private bitorrent sites for my music. Use Navidrome which seems to be the best alternative to the abandoned subsonic app and been collecting since 2005. I am somewhere near 300k in songs at this point. I tried Spotify once when I got 6 months free and found I was just to used to my way of discovering new music that I kind of hated how Spotify tried to do it.
I keep having hope that someone continues to improve the few apps we have left dedicated to personal music libraries otherwise one day I may have to switch.
Have you given funkwhale a try? I used to host subsonic years ago but i dropped it at some point, started my collection back up after i found out about funkwhale, It also has support for subsonic clients although i havent personally tried that myself yet.
Not personally, but I have seen it. I just have so much stuff I never found the need to have other people to connect with for stuff I am missing so it didn’t seem worth it. The only stuff I find I want is stuff that’s new release and get it within a few weeks when I have time.
I use navidrome and it uses the subsonic API so I’m guessing funkwhale should still work with it but I never looked into it. I host for myself really, my wife, father, and a few friends will use it from sparingly.
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