evan

evan, 7 days ago

@cydonian @Riedl 🐝🚙

evan, 8 days ago

@ainali I don't know how it could be a statement of hope.

When I make statements of hope, I usually say things like "I hope..." or "Hopefully...".

evan, 8 days ago

@ainali OK. I think more predictive than hopeful.

evan, 7 days ago

I'm somewhat disagree. I hope there is a ceasefire and the war is a memory by then.

evan, 8 days ago

@jwildeboer extensions have always been a part of the ActivityPub design.

https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-core/#extensibility

Extensions in ActivityPub are optional.

evan, 8 days ago

@jwildeboer why do you think the SocialCG should be a defender of the fediverse?

What does defending the fediverse mean to you?

evan, 8 days ago

@jwildeboer @serapath I don't think this is possible with ActivityPub.

It might work with a much more centralized design, and with some very heavy cryptographic intervention. But even then, I'm not sure.

All protocols are extensible. Good protocols include a structured mechanism for extensibility; bad ones don't.

evan, 8 days ago (edited 8 days ago)

@jwildeboer @serapath and are you specifically saying that you'd want to prevent commercial activity on the fediverse at the protocol level?

That's something that's much more enforceable at the social layer, with server policies.

evan, 8 days ago

@jwildeboer @serapath

From reading over your thread, I feel like there may be some values that you think are implicit in the fediverse, and that you want to enforce at the protocol level.

It may be worthwhile to a) enumerate what those values are (non-commercial, FLOSS?, ...) and consider other structures for advocacy or enforcement.

evan, 8 days ago

@jwildeboer @serapath The main parallel I can think of here is amateur radio. In the US, and I think in many countries, ham radio bands are restricted to non-commercial use. Part of the licensing procedure is learning what kind of transmissions are considered non-commercial. And participants enforce the requirements with each other. It would be hard to enforce these rules at the protocol or equipment level, though.

evan, 9 days ago

@pthenq1 I don't understand what you're talking about but this is not an OK way to talk to me.

evan, 9 days ago

@evacide @eliza among other things, people like me give unsolicited advice.

Apropos of nothing: I've got a private alt at @evan that I only let friends and family follow, and I feel pretty comfortable sharing photos on that account, especially photos with my kids or other people.

evan, 9 days ago

I saw an article about international responses to the antiwar encampments on US college campuses, and one mentioned a French aversion to "wokisme".

I couldn't figure out what that is supposed to mean, so I tried to give my own definition. This is the best I could do.

evan, 8 days ago

@Bodling fair enough

evan, 8 days ago

I realized after posting this that I am actually a time traveler from 1974, although I took the scenic route to get here. No regrets, wouldn't have skipped a minute of the trip.

evan, 8 days ago

Anyway, my response is pooper scooper laws. I remember walking through both American and European cities in the 80s and 90s, and how absolutely impassable some city streets were. Foul-smelling, hazardous, visually revolting. No wonder people thought walking in the city was a punishment for being poor.

evan, 8 days ago

I also remember how controversial these laws were when they first were under discussion. So many editorials about how they were unfair, unnecessary, and unnatural. I wish people back then could see city sidewalks now.

evan, 8 days ago

A lot of other good candidates in the replies. The prevalence of cell phones has come up a lot, but I'm not sure how visibly striking they are on city streets. Most people seem to use them for guidance or for audio entertainment (with very small earbuds!).

evan, 8 days ago

Other items that came up: newspapers, newspaper machines, and news kiosks.

Public phones.

SUVs.

Digital advertising.

evan, 8 days ago

Anyway, this poll idea came up because I am visiting Buenos Aires for the first time since 2008, and the streets are really wonderfully clear of obstacles. I sent a photo to my family because it's something we all remember from our previous visit. I don't know if they passed a law, enforcement has improved, or just social opprobrium, but it's a much nicer city to walk in now.

evan, 8 days ago

@rscottjones agreed. Again, I was thinking about the cityscape from the streets. I think smoking would be most striking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces. Probably also the trillions of squashed butts would be the main difference on the street.

evan, 9 days ago

@mlinksva thanks. There's actually a way to get credit for a "special project" but I did that in Fall 2023 for the first half of the O'Reilly book on ActivityPub. I'd rather use my remaining credits for learning new things.