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pluralistic

@pluralistic@mamot.fr

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)
@doctorow.

Archived at pluralistic.net

I post long threads. If you don't like these in your timeline but want to read them, I suggest unfollowing me here and subscribing to my RSS, or my newsletter, or any of my various long-form feeds. Links at https://pluralistic.net.

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pluralistic , to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Spotify's relationship to artists can be kind of confusing. On the one hand, they pay a laughably low per-stream rate, as in homeopathic residues of a penny. On the other hand, the Big Three labels get a fortune from Spotify. And on the other other hand, it makes sense that rate for a stream heard by one person should be less than the rate for a song broadcast to thousands or millions of listeners.

1/

A pair of bethroned demons, identical save for different colored robes, face each other. The left demon's throne arm is emblazoned with the OpenAI logo. The right demon's throne bears the Universal Music Group logo. The two thrones are joined by a hellmouth - an anthropomorphic nightmare maw. The eyes of the demons and the hellmouth have been replaced with the glaring red machine-eye of HAL9000 from Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' Between the demons toil two medieval serfs, bearing threshing implements. Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
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    • pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/21/off-the-menu/#universally-loathed

    2/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @silverwizard It's entirely up, maybe your node is having synch problems.

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @cavyherd I forgot to hit publish!

    nilesh , to random
    @nilesh@fosstodon.org avatar

    New license idea:

    CC-BY-NC-SA-NOML

    😃

    Looks like Lawrence Lessig isn't even here on the ??

    cc: @pluralistic @jwz @eff @mozilla

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @nilesh @jwz @eff @mozilla This presumes that training a work is a copyright infringement, but it isn't.

    There are serious labor and privacy issues with AI, but they can't be solved with copyright - they need labor and privacy solutions.

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/13/spooky-action-at-a-close-up/#invisible-hand

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @nilesh @jwz @eff @mozilla

    Yes, it does.

    I can't tell if you read the article, but I explain it there. That's how fair use works. Virtually no one understands fair use (hint, if you've been told that whether the defendant has a billion dollars matters, you've been misinformed), and the AI debate is filled with technical misinformation about fair use.

    "I don't like this" does not cash out to "this isn't fair use," even if "this" is objectively bad.

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Just realized that I was missing a bunch of RSS feeds from newsletters like Garbage Day, which had left Substack. These newsletters took their subscriber lists with them when they switched, but didn't do an RSS redirect.

    Friendly reminder! If you switch mailing list providers and don't redirect your RSS, you're going to lose a lot of readers!

    https://www.rssboard.org/redirect-rss-feed

    pluralistic , (edited ) to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    774 words (15726 total) on Enshittification (a nonfiction book about platform decay)

    Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

    https://clarionwriteathon.com/members/profile.php?writerid=293388

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @kirbygoulet the latter

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Today's threads (a thread)

    Inside: How to design a tech regulation; and more!

    Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/20/scalesplaining/

    1/

    A giant set of balance scales. One scale's platform bears a US flag motif, and atop it stands a mustachioed guerrilla fighter with an impressive hat, bandoleers, and a rifle. On the other scale is an EU flag, atop which stands a muscle-bound male figure standing at rigid attention. Behind them is a 'code waterfall' as seen in the credit sequences of the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies. Looming over the scene is an impatient-looking man in a grey suit; in one hand he holds a sheaf of papers; he is staring intently at his watch. Image: Noah Wulf (modified) https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thunderbirds_at_Attention_Next_to_Thunderbird_1_-_Aviation_Nation_2019.jpg CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
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    • pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    TONIGHT (June 20), I'll be live onstage in LA to record the Go Fact Yourself podcast:
    https://laist.com/events/go-fact-yourself-live-with-aida-rodriguez

    On Friday (June 21), I'm doing an online reading for the @Locusmag Awards at 16hPT.

    On Saturday (June 22), I'll be in Oakland, CA for a panel and a keynote at the Locus Awards:

    https://locusmag.com/2024-locus-awards-weekend/

    --

    Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

    https://clarionwriteathon.com/members/profile.php?writerid=293388

    2/

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    It's not your imagination: tech really is underregulated. There are plenty of avoidable harms that tech visits upon the world, and while some of these harms are mere negligence, others are self-serving, creating shareholder value and widespread public destruction.

    --

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/20/scalesplaining/#administratability

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    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @lxo see:

    https://www.eff.org/interoperablefacebook

    aral , to random
    @aral@mastodon.ar.al avatar

    “‘If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream. If there's something that’s close to the expiration date, we can lower the price — that’s the good news,’ said Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst.”

    https://www.opb.org/article/2024/06/19/a-supermarket-trip-may-soon-look-different-thanks-to-electronic-shelf-labels/

    Imagine saying the first bit and ending it with “that’s the good news.”

    The Phil Lemperts of the world are the reason we can’t have nice things.

    Via @BlackAzizAnansi

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @Sevoris @CyclopsFox @aral @BlackAzizAnansi

    It's called "Meatspace Twiddling"

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/26/glitchbread/#electronic-shelf-tags

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    753 words (14523 total) on Enshittification (a nonfiction book about platform decay) #DailyWords

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    774 words (13747 total) on Enshittification (a nonfiction book about platform decay) #DailyWords

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    "If it don't bounce back, you go hungry."

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Today's threads (a thread)

    Inside: It's been twenty years since my Microsoft DRM talk; and more!

    Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/18/greetings-fellow-pirates/

    1/

    A photo of me from the summer of 2020, taken by Paula Mariel Salischiker for Rolling Stone Argentina. I'm sitting in a red leather armchair, talking with one hand held out. I'm wearing a Pirate Bay tee. The background has been replaced with the destop wallpaper that shipped with Windows XP. Over my left shoulder is a Microsoft Clippy with a yellow speech-bubble. In the bubble is EFF's DRM logo, a monstrous padlock and the letters 'DRM.'
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    • pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    On Thursday (June 20), I'll be live onstage in Los Angeles for a recording of the Go Fact Yourself podcast:
    https://laist.com/events/go-fact-yourself-live-with-aida-rodriguez

    On Friday (June 21), I'm doing an online reading for the @Locusmag Awards at 16hPT.

    On Saturday (June 22), I'll be in Oakland, CA for a panel and a keynote at the Locus Awards:

    https://locusmag.com/2024-locus-awards-weekend/

    2/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    It's been twenty years since my Microsoft DRM talk: It looks like you're trying to avert the DRM apocalypse...

    https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/112638622882677902

    3/

    A photo of me from the summer of 2020, taken by Paula Mariel Salischiker for Rolling Stone Argentina. I'm sitting in a red leather armchair, talking with one hand held out. I'm wearing a Pirate Bay tee. The background has been replaced with the destop wallpaper that shipped with Windows XP. Over my left shoulder is a Microsoft Clippy with a yellow speech-bubble. In the bubble is EFF's DRM logo, a monstrous padlock and the letters 'DRM.'
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    • pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @CassandraVert awww thanks

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    This week on my podcast, I read my June 17, 2004 Microsoft Research speech about DRM, a talk that went viral two decades ago, and reassess its legacy:

    https://craphound.com/msftdrm.txt

    --

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/18/greetings-fellow-pirates/#arrrrrrrrrr

    1/

    A photo of me from the summer of 2020, taken by Paula Mariel Salischiker for Rolling Stone Argentina. I'm sitting in a red leather armchair, talking with one hand held out. I'm wearing a Pirate Bay tee. The background has been replaced with the destop wallpaper that shipped with Windows XP. Over my left shoulder is a Microsoft Clippy with a yellow speech-bubble. In the bubble is EFF's DRM logo, a monstrous padlock and the letters 'DRM.'
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    • lochlomondwhiskey , to random
    @lochlomondwhiskey@kolektiva.social avatar

    @pluralistic burnt out, disillusioned and muzzled tech worker here. How do I keep my conscience alive and well-fed, given where tech is headed? Working in open source has left me even more jaded. Jobs that sponsor visas are hard to come by. And speaking out is far too risky, given the potential consequences. Trying to find ways to turn my experiences into something that's actually of value to the world...

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @lochlomondwhiskey I'd start with Bruce Schneier's collection of "public interest technologist" resources:

    https://public-interest-tech.com/

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @lochlomondwhiskey HTH!

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    782 words (12922 total) on Enshittification (a nonfiction book about platform decay)

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Today's threads (a thread)

    Inside: Bankruptcy is very, very good; and more!

    Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/17/lovilee-jubilee/

    1/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    On Thursday (June 20), I'll be live onstage in Los Angeles for a recording of the Go Fact Yourself podcast:
    https://laist.com/events/go-fact-yourself-live-with-aida-rodriguez

    On Friday (June 21), I'm doing an online reading for the @Locusmag Awards at 16hPT.

    On Saturday (June 22), I'll be in Oakland, CA for a panel and a keynote at the Locus Awards:

    https://locusmag.com/2024-locus-awards-weekend/

    2/

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    There's a truly comforting sociopathy snuggled inside capitalism ideology: if markets are systems for identifying and rewarding virtue, ability and value, then anyone who's failing in the system is actually unworthy, not unlucky; and that means the winners are not just lucky (and certainly not merely selfish), but actually the best and they owe nothing to their social inferiors apart from what their own charitable impulses dictate.

    1/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/17/lovilee-jubilee/#debts-that-cant-be-paid-wont-be-paid

    2/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @fanf42 Aww, thank you.

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Coding is not a crime

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @aardvark yup

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @jef @tomjennings maybe!

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Wore something like this until I was four

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    "We do not guarantee steaks cooked medium well or above"

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    "We Politely Decline Ingredient Substitutions"

    virtuous_sloth , to random
    @virtuous_sloth@cosocial.ca avatar

    I'm impressed that Cory Doctorow's (@pluralistic) critiques of late-stage capitalism have made their way in the minds of so many disparate people.

    Here is a YouTuber noticing the shift in value delivery from customers to shareholders & calling it enshittification. Might not be an exact match for the platform/intermediary model of Cory's that specifically calls out middlemen who deliver almost no inherent value, but still it is a significant spread of the concepts.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCh31fDxtQw

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @itsmeholland @virtuous_sloth

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel

    Enshittification names the problem and proposes a solution. It's not just a way to say 'things are getting worse' (though of course, it's fine with me if you want to use it that way. It's an English word. We don't have der Rat für englische Rechtschreibung. English is a free for all. Go nuts, meine Kerle).
    ALT
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    • pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Father's Day 2024: wife outdid herself on the envelope for her card; kid likewise on the illustration on her card. Breakfast in bed, and someone else is taking out the trash and doing the laundry today. Heaven!

    A greeting card envelope on our wrinkled bedsheets. The address reads: Herr Professor Professor Doctor Doctor Doctorow Left-hand side pillow Our bed #stole the covers, Big bedroom, Bouncy bouncy, USA

    katanova , to random
    @katanova@social.coop avatar

    @pluralistic I recently read The Lost Cause, and found it profoundly relevant and valuable.

    Out of all the ideas of the future (and present) that you presented, there were two that I particularly liked as relevant to social media

    1: community social media is most healthy and stable if communities are largely separate with little crosstalk

    2: engaging with disinfo storms should be intentional and coordinated, and it is deeply draining to the body and mind.

    Thank you for writing this book.

    pluralistic ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @katanova thank you

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Today's threads (a thread)

    Inside: Sphinxmumps Linkdump; and more!

    Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/15/disarrangement/

    1/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    On Thursday (June 20), I'll be live onstage in Los Angeles for a recording of the Go Fact Yourself podcast:
    https://laist.com/events/go-fact-yourself-live-with-aida-rodriguez

    On Friday (June 21), I'm doing an online reading for the @Locusmag Awards at 16hPT.

    On Saturday (June 22), I'll be in Oakland, CA for a panel and a keynote at the Locus Awards:

    https://locusmag.com/2024-locus-awards-weekend/

    2/

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Welcome to my 20th Linkdump, in which I declare link bankruptcy and discharge my link-debts by telling you about all the open tabs I didn't get a chance to cover in this week's newsletters. Here's the previous 19 installments:

    https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

    --

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/15/disarrangement/#credo-in-un-dio-crudel

    1/

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    807 words (12142 total) on Enshittification (a nonfiction book about platform decay)

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Today's threads (a thread)

    Inside: Microsoft pinky swears that THIS TIME they'll make security a priority; and more!

    Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/14/patch-tuesday/

    1/

    A frame from a Peanuts animation, depicting Lucy yanking the football away from Charlie Brown, who is somersaulting through the sky. It has been altered. Lucy's head has been replaced with Microsoft's Clippy. Charlie Brown's head has been replaced with a 19th century caricature of a grinning Uncle Sam. The sky has been replaced with a 'code waterfall' effect as seen in the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies.
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    • pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    On June 20, I'll be live onstage in Los Angeles for a recording of the Go Fact Yourself podcast:
    https://laist.com/events/go-fact-yourself-live-with-aida-rodriguez

    On June 21, I'm doing an online reading for the @Locusmag Awards at 16hPT.

    On June 22, I'll be in Oakland, CA for a panel and a keynote at the Locus Awards:

    https://locusmag.com/2024-locus-awards-weekend/

    2/

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @ErickaSimone @Locusmag It will be!

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    As the old saying goes, "When someone tells you who they are and you get fooled again, shame on you." That goes double for Microsoft, especially when it comes to security promises.

    --

    If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

    https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/14/patch-tuesday/#fool-me-twice-we-dont-get-fooled-again

    1/

    A frame from a Peanuts animation, depicting Lucy yanking the football away from Charlie Brown, who is somersaulting through the sky. It has been altered. Lucy's head has been replaced with Microsoft's Clippy. Charlie Brown's head has been replaced with a 19th century caricature of a grinning Uncle Sam. The sky has been replaced with a 'code waterfall' effect as seen in the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies.
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    • pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @CptSuperlative Thanks!

    pluralistic , to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Hey Britons living abroad!

    Our independent financial advisor wants to shove us off his books because we no longer live in the UK and Brexit makes it onerous for him to invest our pensions.

    We're looking for a pension platform where we can stick the money into a low-load index tracker. MyExpatSIPP looked promising, but they've been a nightmare.

    Anyone have PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (e.g. not something you've heard) with a platform or IFA that'll deal with expats?

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @mikebroberts Ooh, thanks! Are you still abroad? Have they been cool about the fact that you're not in the UK if so?

    pluralistic OP ,
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    @mikebroberts Fantastic - just emailed 'em

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