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Most of these are just misapplications of tech by other people, you don't really need to participate if you don't want to. I'd hesitate to even call this stuff

Most of these are just misapplications of tech by other people, you don't really need to participate if you don't want to. I'd hesitate to even call this stuff "tech" - search engines, streaming video, online retail and social networks were new 20 years ago, but now they're just part of the mainstream. Objectively computers are faster than ever and there are more ways to apply that power.

noicebrewery 5y ago
And yet modern advances point to tech bros trying to limit the USERS power of that internet. It's already impossible for a lot of people to host their own web server from their home, to own the media they purchase without it potentially being erased by the vendor at a whim, to opt out of social media without a massive social (and professional) hit and computer power is being wasted on shitty electron apps and built-in OS adware. Oh, on the subject of computer power being wasted, on a global scale it's being wasted on crypto, another attempt by a bunch of elitist executives to invent something that allows them to invent a new financial system in which they're still on top, but allows them to more easily commit tax evasion and money laundering. All of our tech advances have largely been from massive companies trying to add scarcity to a system we invented that absolutely doesn't need it. Can't copy a MP3, can't copy an EXE, and now, you can't copy a JPG. Yes, we do in fact have to participate in these dumbarse discussions. The choice to simply walk away from these things, particularly AS a tech worker, is bullshit artistry. Remember to right click and save.
- mindslight 5y ago
  > It's already impossible for a lot of people to host their own web server from their home, to own the media they purchase without it potentially being erased by the vendor at a whim You're using this defeatist word "impossible", but it is not impossible - it is inconvenient. Work on making it more convenient, so that it won't seem impossible. What makes the most noise in tech is things that can make money. And making money occurs by becoming a middleman, which is the polar opposite of the tech liberation dream. "Web3" has some interesting technology, but it's drowned out by money-seeking hucksterism - the exact same way we got "web2". Aside from the start of bubbles where capital is still in exploratory mode, you're never going to get significant funding to write code that empowers users. Write it anyway!

noicebrewery 5y ago

And yet modern advances point to tech bros trying to limit the USERS power of that internet. It's already impossible for a lot of people to host their own web server from their home, to own the media they purchase without it potentially being erased by the vendor at a whim, to opt out of social media without a massive social (and professional) hit and computer power is being wasted on shitty electron apps and built-in OS adware. Oh, on the subject of computer power being wasted, on a global scale it's being wasted on crypto, another attempt by a bunch of elitist executives to invent something that allows them to invent a new financial system in which they're still on top, but allows them to more easily commit tax evasion and money laundering. All of our tech advances have largely been from massive companies trying to add scarcity to a system we invented that absolutely doesn't need it. Can't copy a MP3, can't copy an EXE, and now, you can't copy a JPG. Yes, we do in fact have to participate in these dumbarse discussions. The choice to simply walk away from these things, particularly AS a tech worker, is bullshit artistry. Remember to right click and save.

mindslight 5y ago
> It's already impossible for a lot of people to host their own web server from their home, to own the media they purchase without it potentially being erased by the vendor at a whim You're using this defeatist word "impossible", but it is not impossible - it is inconvenient. Work on making it more convenient, so that it won't seem impossible. What makes the most noise in tech is things that can make money. And making money occurs by becoming a middleman, which is the polar opposite of the tech liberation dream. "Web3" has some interesting technology, but it's drowned out by money-seeking hucksterism - the exact same way we got "web2". Aside from the start of bubbles where capital is still in exploratory mode, you're never going to get significant funding to write code that empowers users. Write it anyway!