4 ms·

That's more of a systemic problem, it's debatable how beneficial getting people addicted to Facebook, YouTube's next video, or any of a number of engagement pla

That's more of a systemic problem, it's debatable how beneficial getting people addicted to Facebook, YouTube's next video, or any of a number of engagement platforms is to humanity. But everyone does it, and the ones that dont, don't make it so big.

whatshisface 8y ago
An excerpt from the moral philosophy of Goatee Spock Evil Dimension: Littering, theft and pollution are also systemic problems that many separate actors contribute independently to - and no individual litterer, thief or chemical plant could solve the problem entirely by cleaning up only their own actions. That's why, for thousands of years, societies have agreed that litterers, thieves, and polluters are not culpable for their actions, and why no serious effort has ever been made to bring them to justice or discourage them. After all, you might complain when you see a mob boss using underhanded methods to get ahead, but cooler heads know that touchy-feely mob bosses don't get as far in their careers; they can't be blamed. In my opinion, anti-litterers tend to be over-idealistc academics with no grasp on the real world. If I were to stop throwing cigarette butts out my car window, I would have more cigarette buts inside my car. They must not realize this, I guess, because idealists don't go on road trips. Besides, if I don't cover a square inch of grass with a chip bag, someone driving behind me will. >everyone does it, and the ones that dont, don't make it so big. Socrates was famous for posing this argument at Greek garden parties. Eventually it took root, and that's why the Athenians (and all societies inheriting their legal tradition) took every law off the books. --An excerpt from the moral philosophy of Goatee Spock Evil Dimension
- kodisha 8y ago
  Can't google this Goatee Spock Evil Dimension, link please?
  - lozenge 8y ago
    https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeardOfEvil https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeardOfEvil https://io9.gizmodo.com/scientists-prove-that-a-goatee-makes-you-look-evil-5914836 https://io9.gizmodo.com/scientists-prove-that-a-goatee-makes...
    - provenScience 8y ago
      “Scientists prove...”
  - whatshisface 8y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The... It's a reference to a Star Trek episode.
- ensiferum 8y ago
  If I were to stop throwing cigarette butts out my car window, I would have more cigarette buts inside my car." Unfortunately it seems most smokers are obnoxious asshole litterers. Disgusting ppl.
  - stevenicr 8y ago
    I think some of them are ignorant about the effects. Many smokers I have spoken with over the years believe that the butt / filter is just cotton and tobacco and paper and will decompose very quickly. I'd like to see more education about this, and the amount that end up in the oceans. Someone developed a backpack that can keep strong odors inside, there should be ashtray inserts and portable small proof boxes that smokers can use, so that their car does not get the old smoke-butt smell which is way worse than the smoked in the car smell - which I gather is one of the main reasons to get the butts out of the car as fast as possible. I'd also like to see a change in how cigarettes are made, requiring the butts to be faster to break down / decompose. Surely these things are possible, and less litter in the future as well.
EGreg 8y ago
Tragedy of the commons where the commons is human attention. Notifications are one of the ways to train people like pavlov’s dogs to check your app. If you don’t use it others will.
- josteink 8y ago
  Indeed. And as a response I’ve stopped granting notification permissions to anything except email and messaging. Notifications used sparingly, with restraint, is really, really useful. This spam-fest we’re seeing now though? Fuck that shit. I can see FB and “friends” adapting though. They’re now sending me email-notifications when I don’t grant them in-app spam permissions. Really. All the big players are working together real hard to ruin everything.
ajmurmann 8y ago
True and not true. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter make their money from advertisements. Netflix gets paid directly by the consumer. It's not obvious to me that it's in Netflix best interest to optimize the same metric as companies that rely on advertising revenue. If Twitter was paid, I'd already unsubscribed several times because I occasionally will try to "get off Twitter". It's a wasteful, unproductive time sink that makes unhappy in top of it. That's why I uninstalled the Twitter app. Now Twitter on occasion pulls me back in because I can just go to their website. Netflix to me is a totally different beast. I feel many interactions I have with the platform are feeling more like a time sink. The interface feels increasingly optimize for wasting my time. It gets harder to distinguish shows I've already looked at from ones I haven't. They suggestions are more unreliable than ever. It's downright impossible now to decide at what point the obviously is nothing left on the platform I want to watch. In addition to the UI more and more of their content feels like generic, insightful material to keep you got to the screen. Not sure when that changed. I think it happened in tandem with Netflix being less about movies and more about tv shows. Not to mention the DVD to streaming move. The more Netflix wastes my time like Twitter or YouTube the more likely I am to clean it from my life. Those services do not spark joy they just waste my limited time. No real reason Netflix cannot do better than them and treat me with dignity and respect, like a real customer and not like the product because in fact I'm not their product.

whatshisface 8y ago

An excerpt from the moral philosophy of Goatee Spock Evil Dimension: Littering, theft and pollution are also systemic problems that many separate actors contribute independently to - and no individual litterer, thief or chemical plant could solve the problem entirely by cleaning up only their own actions. That's why, for thousands of years, societies have agreed that litterers, thieves, and polluters are not culpable for their actions, and why no serious effort has ever been made to bring them to justice or discourage them. After all, you might complain when you see a mob boss using underhanded methods to get ahead, but cooler heads know that touchy-feely mob bosses don't get as far in their careers; they can't be blamed. In my opinion, anti-litterers tend to be over-idealistc academics with no grasp on the real world. If I were to stop throwing cigarette butts out my car window, I would have more cigarette buts inside my car. They must not realize this, I guess, because idealists don't go on road trips. Besides, if I don't cover a square inch of grass with a chip bag, someone driving behind me will. >everyone does it, and the ones that dont, don't make it so big. Socrates was famous for posing this argument at Greek garden parties. Eventually it took root, and that's why the Athenians (and all societies inheriting their legal tradition) took every law off the books. --An excerpt from the moral philosophy of Goatee Spock Evil Dimension

kodisha 8y ago
Can't google this Goatee Spock Evil Dimension, link please?
- lozenge 8y ago
  https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeardOfEvil https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeardOfEvil https://io9.gizmodo.com/scientists-prove-that-a-goatee-makes-you-look-evil-5914836 https://io9.gizmodo.com/scientists-prove-that-a-goatee-makes...
  - provenScience 8y ago
    “Scientists prove...”
- whatshisface 8y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The... It's a reference to a Star Trek episode.
ensiferum 8y ago
If I were to stop throwing cigarette butts out my car window, I would have more cigarette buts inside my car." Unfortunately it seems most smokers are obnoxious asshole litterers. Disgusting ppl.
- stevenicr 8y ago
  I think some of them are ignorant about the effects. Many smokers I have spoken with over the years believe that the butt / filter is just cotton and tobacco and paper and will decompose very quickly. I'd like to see more education about this, and the amount that end up in the oceans. Someone developed a backpack that can keep strong odors inside, there should be ashtray inserts and portable small proof boxes that smokers can use, so that their car does not get the old smoke-butt smell which is way worse than the smoked in the car smell - which I gather is one of the main reasons to get the butts out of the car as fast as possible. I'd also like to see a change in how cigarettes are made, requiring the butts to be faster to break down / decompose. Surely these things are possible, and less litter in the future as well.

EGreg 8y ago

Tragedy of the commons where the commons is human attention. Notifications are one of the ways to train people like pavlov’s dogs to check your app. If you don’t use it others will.

josteink 8y ago
Indeed. And as a response I’ve stopped granting notification permissions to anything except email and messaging. Notifications used sparingly, with restraint, is really, really useful. This spam-fest we’re seeing now though? Fuck that shit. I can see FB and “friends” adapting though. They’re now sending me email-notifications when I don’t grant them in-app spam permissions. Really. All the big players are working together real hard to ruin everything.

ajmurmann 8y ago

True and not true. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter make their money from advertisements. Netflix gets paid directly by the consumer. It's not obvious to me that it's in Netflix best interest to optimize the same metric as companies that rely on advertising revenue. If Twitter was paid, I'd already unsubscribed several times because I occasionally will try to "get off Twitter". It's a wasteful, unproductive time sink that makes unhappy in top of it. That's why I uninstalled the Twitter app. Now Twitter on occasion pulls me back in because I can just go to their website. Netflix to me is a totally different beast. I feel many interactions I have with the platform are feeling more like a time sink. The interface feels increasingly optimize for wasting my time. It gets harder to distinguish shows I've already looked at from ones I haven't. They suggestions are more unreliable than ever. It's downright impossible now to decide at what point the obviously is nothing left on the platform I want to watch. In addition to the UI more and more of their content feels like generic, insightful material to keep you got to the screen. Not sure when that changed. I think it happened in tandem with Netflix being less about movies and more about tv shows. Not to mention the DVD to streaming move. The more Netflix wastes my time like Twitter or YouTube the more likely I am to clean it from my life. Those services do not spark joy they just waste my limited time. No real reason Netflix cannot do better than them and treat me with dignity and respect, like a real customer and not like the product because in fact I'm not their product.