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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 26th, 2025

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  • I actually have some accidentally poisoned data out there. Many years ago I had a job that entailed doing red carpets. There were a lot of photos of me at small to mid-sized events with two of my business partners.

    Then for two years in a row my partners went to the MTV VMAs with someone else. The VMAs are MUCH bigger in terms of media footprint. That guy got tagged as me in the photos. So now a Google image search for me will at least be mixed, and often the other guy comes up first.

    So the idea is sound.








  • I would love a good WYIWYG desktop screenwriting software.

    Writing fountain markup just doesn’t work for me. it’s hard to explain, and sounds precious, but if my brain is in markup mode it’s not in creative mode and vice versa.

    Some of the ok ones from the past have been abandoned.

    I bought a pro license of fade in which is supposed to be available for Linux but it won’t install and support didn’t solve it. So I have to work exclusively from my Windows machine… Which I don’t love doing.

    Linux is still a difficult environment for creative work.








  • I’m rabidly pro-consumer about most things but I struggle with how we define a market when we talk about steam. In order for steam to be a monopoly you have to drill down through super categories of software sales and then video game sales, to the platform level.

    If you look at all digital delivery video game sales they still don’t have a monopoly. You don’t have to deal with steam to play a video game. It’s only PC video game sales where they are close to a controlling market share.

    But Steam has far less power over PC gaming than Apple, Sony, or Nintendo do over their respective platforms. Gamers and Devs basically HAVE to deal with those companies to have access to their markets.


  • My experience is that runtipi turned docker into an app store. The technical barriers to entry have never been lower. There are so many helpful voices out there that I’ve never really had to ask anyone a unique question because someone else has typically asked whatever I need to know and been answered.

    I do think there are very reasonable arguments to be made that when you are opening a server containing your personal data, to outside access, you probably should be cautioned about your technical limitations. Even if it’s not pleasant to hear.

    I honestly don’t think it’s a great idea for most people (myself included) to casually dabble in server administration. There’s a pretty big margin for error. Unfortunately it’s the only private solution for the time being. I don’t trust anyone else.




  • All 3rd party data collection of identifiable information on users, IPs, domains, and devices (anything that can tie back to a consumer) requires line item affirmative consent from the user with a disclosure of what is being collected and all known current and future uses. That should put an end to websites with 4,000 trackers.

    Sale of identifiable consumer data (including device information, etc…) to a 3rd party requires the affirmative consent of the consumer.

    Targeted advertisements must include a link to information about why this advertisement targeted the user, and the source of the data that informed that decision.

    Government agencies, political parties, PACs, and religious organizations are barred from collecting consumer data from 3rd parties. They are barred from commissioning others to collect 3rd party consumer data on their behalf for opposition research purposes. The single exception being narrowly targeted data for criminal investigations with a warrant.

    A user’s microphone may not be engaged without affirmative user consent or a warrant. A ban on transmitting data for the purposes of mapping a residence or the movement of parties within a residence without user consent or a warrant.

    Absolute consumer freedom to install whatever software and firmware they so choose on any consumer grade computer hardware they have paid for and are in physical possession of. So you may be prohibited from dumping malware on a server you rented, but you can hack your car, video game console, exercise bike, PC, etc… to your heart’s content.

    A codified “right to be forgotten” upon request for all concluded commercial transactions, disused online profiles, and online media not pertaining to public figures, ongoing litigation, criminal matters, or matters of otherwise significant public concern after X length of time.

    A government registry to be formed for the purpose of identifying which companies are storing personally identifiable information about you (not actually containing any of that info itself). Simply requiring companies to register who’s data they’re storing and what type of data, and providing a means of demanding that information be removed.


  • You don’t need a high level of technical skill. You can learn everything you need to get started in a few minutes of tutorials or walk throughs. The rest you learn as you go.

    Bear in mind no every linux user has memorized every terminal command and the whole file structure. Lots of people are just casual users who learn what they need.

    One of the things I wish someone had told me at the start of using linux is that initially your desktop environment will effect how you feel about linux more than the distribution or specific architecture of the OS.

    The good news is they’re all free. Try a few things and see what you like. IMO Fedora is a great, beginner friendly Gnome or KDE experience. Mint has an excellent Cinnamon and XFCE desktop either of which will feel somewhat familiar to a windows user. Mint will also run on just about anything.

    Also, it’s not binary. You can dual boot. If there’s something you need windows for you can use it. Over time you’ll eventually find that you don’t really need windows anymore.