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"We're living in the perpetual present, and that is dangerous." I love the idea of version control for the internet. We are forced to use updates, even if we d
by hi 6y ago
"We're living in the perpetual present, and that is dangerous."
I love the idea of version control for the internet. We are forced to use updates, even if we don't want them. The idea of being able to use a site's specific version is very attractive. It becomes even more interesting when you think of the internet over a much longer time horizon, say 200 years in the future where historians can go through all of our historical records. Much of this might be lost if we keep it in walled gardens as it might be lost forever unless the owners of that data release it.
- silicon2401 6y ago> We are forced to use updates, even if we don't want them This is one of the things I hate most about modern tech. People just assume newer = better. And it goes from the functional to the aesthetic, too. Not only are we often forced or heavily pressured to update, the updates don't just affect functionality behind the scenes but also the UI of things we use. I can't stand modern UI (and it's not some rosy glasses for the good old days of cuneiform). I never understood the value of Stallman's philosophy around free software and having the freedom to change it until machines I paid for and own started getting so many forced updates and downloads. Literally as I speak my windows PC just woke up from hibernate because of some updates; one major reason why I use the unvalidated version instead of giving windows any money if I can avoid it.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 6y agoDevelopers are routinely breaking stuff and users have to sit and wait for the fix. It is like tracking HEAD. Not every user wants to do that. Not only do we see an assumption that newer equals better but we see developers who believe the more activity on a project the better. To them, no activity means the project is "dead". These developers have no concept of a finished, working version that fulfills the user's needs. Perhaps they are incapable of producing such a finished product, or derive some benefit from keeping a user dependant on them for "updates". This is a purely developer perspective, not a user perspective. Not all software exists merely to give developers something to do. Not every user wants every update.
- silicon2401 6y ago> This is a purely developer perspective, not a user perspective. Not all software exists merely to give developers something to do. Not every user wants every update. this basically sums up what made me realize the value of why Richard Stallman pushes for free software. I detest the idea of some other entity controlling my software on my machine and making decisions for me like when to update, etc
- TedDoesntTalk 6y ago> We're living in the perpetual present, and that is dangerous. But my Zen master tells me that is precisely where i want to live :)
- smitty1e 6y agoI think a 10/80/10 distribution between past, present, and future is near optimal.