3 ms·

The old open web still exists. Just because a larger percentage of people prefer the order of walled gardens doesn't mean the web is now closed. I'm sure the la

by jart 6y ago

The old open web still exists. Just because a larger percentage of people prefer the order of walled gardens doesn't mean the web is now closed. I'm sure the lawyers would love for us to believe that and have us normal tech people turn and rage against our most successful members. It's divide and conquer. Most tech company resources go to litigation and legal fees rather than research and development. They get all the money and they're given the power to read our private emails too, so they can take more money if anything we say using a computer could be portrayed in a negative light. That's the closed internet.

marcus_holmes 6y ago
This is the truth. Anyone can go and start a web blog right now, and still say whatever they want on it. Anyone can create a silly web game in any of a dozen competing free game engines (or a Minecraft mod, or whatever), and publish it in a dozen different places. There are small-but-thriving online communities for a gajillion different hobbies, kinks, ideologies, or areas. Facebook Groups hasn't killed them all yet. But the average person doesn't do any of this, I think because we're all addicted to the fake internet points, and you don't get fake internet points for writing a blog post, or making something fun, unless you post it to social media. And it's so much easier to get those fake internet points by just commenting. (Hence me writing this right now instead of getting on with unclogging the 3D printer which is what I should be doing. I kicked my Facebook addition, only to find myself here). We can't put the genie back in the bottle. Now we know that humans are susceptible to fake internet points, that's always going to be a business opportunity for someone. We could regulate it, but I'd hate to see what that regulation would look like. But we can, individually, go and find the old open web. Because, as you say, it's still there.
- jart 6y ago
  You make the Internet sound like it's some kind of casino. Karma on sites like Reddit is pretty fake since they optimize towards people like violentacrez but points on twitter and facebook tend to do a better job accurately quantifying social stratification, hence their success. Looking at your account you've got a reasonably healthy karma score so I wouldn't beat yourself up over hanging out here. It's high enough that you're liked but not high enough to be an addict who just snipes threads preaching to the crowd.
  - marcus_holmes 6y ago
    I don't believe there is any correlation at all between actual social stratification and any of the fake internet points. Even the successful influencers I met while nomadding around SE Asia were pretty charisma-less (though usually good looking) irl. The problem with hanging out here is that I'm doing this instead of anything useful or productive, because my brain likes the feel of fake internet points.

by jart 6y ago

marcus_holmes 6y ago

This is the truth. Anyone can go and start a web blog right now, and still say whatever they want on it. Anyone can create a silly web game in any of a dozen competing free game engines (or a Minecraft mod, or whatever), and publish it in a dozen different places. There are small-but-thriving online communities for a gajillion different hobbies, kinks, ideologies, or areas. Facebook Groups hasn't killed them all yet. But the average person doesn't do any of this, I think because we're all addicted to the fake internet points, and you don't get fake internet points for writing a blog post, or making something fun, unless you post it to social media. And it's so much easier to get those fake internet points by just commenting. (Hence me writing this right now instead of getting on with unclogging the 3D printer which is what I should be doing. I kicked my Facebook addition, only to find myself here). We can't put the genie back in the bottle. Now we know that humans are susceptible to fake internet points, that's always going to be a business opportunity for someone. We could regulate it, but I'd hate to see what that regulation would look like. But we can, individually, go and find the old open web. Because, as you say, it's still there.

jart 6y ago
You make the Internet sound like it's some kind of casino. Karma on sites like Reddit is pretty fake since they optimize towards people like violentacrez but points on twitter and facebook tend to do a better job accurately quantifying social stratification, hence their success. Looking at your account you've got a reasonably healthy karma score so I wouldn't beat yourself up over hanging out here. It's high enough that you're liked but not high enough to be an addict who just snipes threads preaching to the crowd.
- marcus_holmes 6y ago
  I don't believe there is any correlation at all between actual social stratification and any of the fake internet points. Even the successful influencers I met while nomadding around SE Asia were pretty charisma-less (though usually good looking) irl. The problem with hanging out here is that I'm doing this instead of anything useful or productive, because my brain likes the feel of fake internet points.