Bonum Certa Men Certa

Free (as in Freedom) Software + Social Control Media ≠ Free Speech

At door



Summary: Speaking through middlemen and private platforms is bad enough (that gives others unjust power over speech); to claim that because the underlying platform is free/libre software it therefore becomes a non-issue is also dishonest

TECHRIGHTS does not do Social Control Media (also known as "social media" or "social networks"). It's a total waste of time compared to self-hosting (blogs or equivalents). I myself am still posting some updates and notes there, notably news links while preparing these for Techrights (with its routine batches of Daily Links). Those quick quips are full of typos, inconsistent style, and are generally regarded as unimportant -- at times barely coherent (no context) -- and totally unpolished (not worth the effort). The 'shelf life' of those quips is the same as that of a pierced apple outside the fridge. The impact is limited, editing is not possible (even mere correction of typos), it's difficult to find old ones (good luck searching now that chronological search is phased out for better "engagement"), and hosts go out of existence quite fast. In Fediverse, for instance, I'm already on my third account due to censorship and shutdown (operator giving up). There's no substitute to hosting one's own with RSS feeds; federation can be impeded at software level or at pertinent nodes. Banishment is outside one's own control. Some people learn it the hard way (e.g. Google+ or Mixer). "Planets" are another issue; we've already seen how Debian, for instance, silences particular developers in an act of retribution (or an attempt to hide something). But it cannot ban the original developers' blogs. It's de-centralised.



"There's no substitute to hosting one's own with RSS feeds; federation can be impeded at software level or at pertinent nodes. Banishment is outside one's own control."It's a little surprising that not more people talk about or address the subject; blind assumptions include the assumption that Social Control Media is here to stay... forever. We're often being told (a false promise) that if the underlying platform is free/libre or "open source", then this magically implies "freedom" and "free speech"; people who express controversial views in such platforms (not even anything illegal) would attest otherwise. Just as Free software is being used to build many "clown computing" platforms that are proprietary ("LAMP" as in (GNU/)Linux, Apache, MySQL, Proprietary Software) and user-abusing, e.g. surveillance, Free software is used by Identi.ca, Diaspora pods and Mastodon instances. But none of them respects free speech absolutely. None. MINDS is arguably even worse and it is centralised, so once you're out forget about coming back. They tried de-platforming me at least thrice before (but I won the appeal and came back).

Social Control Media as a concept is flawed. It does nothing for freedom and does plenty for confrontation because people are confronted by views they would otherwise never subscribe to (unlike, say, RSS feeds). When you toss a whole bunch of people from different cultures into the same pit you get something wholly and entirely different from specialised forums people choose to participate in. The chaotic and divisive nature of the communication leads to feuds if not threats, resulting in bans, silencing (usually some sort of of shadowy sanctions), and permanent termination with no recourse/appeal opportunity.

"It would be nice to see more people blogging again, leaving comments, reading RSS feeds. It would help democratic structures and alleviate somewhat the spread of misinformation."Who needs this trouble? In due course it leads to self-censorship (due to fear of being de-platformed), political AstroTurfing (hard to police/guard against that) and sheer hate. So much more could be said about Social Control Media, but we'll keep that aside for another day. Just remember that Social Control Media is inherently designed for social control, i.e. censorship, not freedom of expression.

While writing this post my brain went into somewhat of a 'thought storm'; I even forgot some of the points I was planning to mention. The same thing happens when one enters the above sites; the "trending" topics sway one's attention away and if that's not bad enough (the topics are cryptic; more like clues and hearsay, not information) the notifications will do the rest (to remove focus/concentration).

It would be nice to see more people blogging again, leaving comments, reading RSS feeds. It would help democratic structures and alleviate somewhat the spread of misinformation.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
 
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day