Rex
1yr ago
I think this is true, but becoming less true over time. /r/switchpirates is a decent niche sub for hacking the Nintendo switch. It was perhaps decent at one time, and while there is a wealth of information there, it’s become incredibly autistic. Some users created a guide that has a very specific workflow and is pinned. Anyone asking any questions is immediately pointed to the guide and offered no help. Anyone who has a problem is met with “start over and redo the guide” or “you didn’t follow the guide properly, try again”. The user base is profoundly unhelpful. It’s some autistic nerd (for lack of a better term) mentality that they have discovered the right way to do something, all other approaches are inferior and need to eliminated.
It’s quite shocking this place even exists given that it vaguely promotes piracy.
The last time I saw a Reddit thread on the ethics of piracy, about 80% were strongly opposed to it. Contrast this to the median online opinion on piracy 10 years ago. And 20 years ago. I suspect it’s a combination of different people and changing opinions. But it’s clear that TPTB have corrected the population.
Rex
1yr ago
I’d like to solicit themotte’s thoughts on the ethics of piracy. Specificlly movies, software, and music.
Sharing copyrighted data has been a part of the internet landscape for as long as there has been networked computers. I know it traces back to the bbs days and likely even earlier than that.
Back in the early aughts I was involved in a forum where we would scan for unsecured FTP servers and then fill them with the latest movie music and software releases straight from the groups who actually created and distributed the files. The beauty of this is that you were transferring between commercial networks so the speeds were ludicrous.
This was not long after Napster popularized file sharing and typical online user was very much of the opinion that copying data and sharing it was not equivalent to stealing. Maybe it was the circles I traveled in and my age at the time, but nearly everyone was ethically fine with downloading media. The only reason one wouldn’t do it was that there you needed some minimal level of technical know how to find more than just music on p2p networks. The only folks opposed to it were media corporations, some artists, and a small amount of corporate shills.
Once iTunes, steam, Netflix’s, Spotify, and other commercial options became available, most people stopped file sharing and simply bought media. It was a common to hear the refrain that piracy was a result of lack of access to media online. If there was ease of access and a fair price, most people would be happy to purchase software. This sentiment is still common but I sense it’s become less prominent over the last few years. The streaming environment has become quite fracutured and has impaired both the ease of access and price point for legally consuming media online.
The point of this post is to suggest that people’s opinion on the ethics of media piracy is diametrically opposed to where it was for most of the internets history. The median online opinion that I see is that piracy = theft. Many of these people are young and have been thought from an early age that piracy is not ethical. I suspect that many have also changed their opinion as they age and perhaps are not working at software/medi companies where piracy not affects them directly.
From a personal perspective, I stopped pirating media when iTunes and steam hit the market because it was in fact easier to obtain things legally and I was happy to pay.
That changed about 4 years ago when I realized that I could not in good conscience pay money to Hollywood and leftist game developers. I am happy to pirate their software and steal their movies because the alternative is so distasteful to me. I will occasionally really enjoy something and find the creators to be acceptable enough to support. In those cases I will purchase something after the fact to support people that I agree with. I encourage everyone to do the same. Enforcement of file sharing these days is non-existent. You can pretty much use the the pirate bay without worry and ignore the occasional email from you isp asking you to stop. Though there are many other alternatives out there that don’t take long to find.
Rex
1yr ago
For games, major publishers like Ubisoft and Epic have created competing storefronts and pulled software from Steam. At one point, Netflix was a one stop shop. Now there are dozens of competing services. Prices are increasing. Catalogs are thin. Give it some more time for music.
To your other point. I don’t think it’s strictly a matter of rationalization or low iq. Though that is the case for many. There is a sincere group of people that believe data should be free and shared are widely as possible Almost as a terminal goal in and of itself. It may seem ridiculous to us who are steeped in capitalism, but this mindset exists.
And finally, I’ve read plausible explanations that privacy has minimal effect on sales. In most cases, if piracy were off the table, the person would simply just not consume the media. With zero marginal cost to produce an additional product, there is no economic loss.
Rex
1yr ago
I should have noted that I’m mainly curious about the meta commentary on normies changing opinion on piracy.
Commercial interests seemed to have convinced the median online person that piracy is not ethical. Given that pirating media is quite easy to do and quite easy to rationalize, how were they so successful? We’re they successful, or is it just that social media moderation is so tight that any pro piracy voices are silenced.
Rex
1yr ago
So your're saying its not about protecting the Sudan LGBTQ+ populations?
I'm half kidding of course, but thank you for the run down.
Rex
1yr ago
I’m in the same position. I have a plan to flee my blue state early if I get a hint of anything like this. Florida is one option. International is another. I don’t know if Florida can and will protect me, I haven’t done the research yet. Immediately removing the kid from local environment and basically putting them in short term social confinement seems like it would work. Damaging, sure, but better than the alternative.
I’m lucky to have a job that would likely accommodate me.
Rex
11mo ago
Have you seen the @whatever show on YouTube?
You may have seen clips of the guy asking modern girls dating questions and get absolutely ridiculous answers. The show is very clippable and the women are ridiculous, however he usually has 1-3 men and women that have a much more traditional view on dating and relationships. And I think they offer good advice.
It’s a fascinating show regardless. Give it a try.
Rex
11mo ago
If anyone is interested. I liked this episode. https://youtube.com/watch?v=GEERYEkhpeE
Rex
11mo ago
Rex
11mo ago
This is one of the more ridiculous articles I’ve ever read. Thank you. This journalist and her friend are the future. Post-wall women with no families, aged out of Twitter and Hinge, racking up body count with “open minded” men, nonbinaries, couples, and other people that are similarly alone.
They sound like big kids. The journalist loses her apartment suddenly and has to throw her stuff in a storage unit and her dad’s car (that she’s presumably using). She’s 39!!! And random hookup sex was her answer to this!
She talks about a friend who was “house sitting” for her parents. I’m guessing this friend is about her age, has a shitty apartment in Brooklyn, and is crashing at her parents house while her parents are at their vacation home. This is the kind of shit I did when I was 24.
I tend to enjoy the schadenfreude of hearing these types of stories and wondering what the future holds for this cohort. I think this is the answer. As much as people look down on tinder and hookup culture - this is worse. The young people on tinder at least have have hope. I met my wife on hinge. These women will be racking up enormous body counts. It won’t be normal sex. It will be strange kink. People using sex to fill the hole in their lives. Like an old alcoholic alone at a bar getting shitfaced each night.
Everyone should read this article. What a world.
Rex
11mo ago
As an aside, this kind of aloofness in matters of sex necessary to use an app like this strikes me as the opposite of emotional maturity...it's just emotionally avoidant, no?
Yea. They’re dressing up post-wall hookup culture with a lot of modern psychology. They’re lying to themselves. No normal men their age want a 39 year old poor journalist. They just acquiesced to the fact that their only options at this point for easy sex are people with abnormal sexual preferences
Rex
11mo ago
I may be wrong, but I think people here are missing the subtext. This is a hookup app for old people. She likely is overweight and old. She can not compete with the average 20 something or even the the women a year or two older than 30. These is ease of connection on this app is because the people with dicks are likely not looking for fit young women or relationships with potential wives that can reproduce.
Rex
11mo ago
I’d like it too. I spent two week in Bulgaria about ten years ago. I pal’d around with a local who was my age. Mid 20s. He gave me some insight into how people feel about politics. Typical ex soviet stuff. I spent my time in Stara Zagora. Great beer!
Rex
11mo ago
I’ve been rereading the Alaistair Reynolds Revelation Space series. One of my fav sci fi series. Started back in 2002 or so and been going strong for 20 years.
The author has somehow not been wrapped up in culture war nonsense. He typically has a decent balance of men and women protagonists and has flown under their radar. Even his latest book theirs a sequence that I can’t tell if he’s endorsing some obscure culture war talking points or taking the piss on them.
It’s on the harder side of sci fi, but not really. More of a expansive future history series. It’s right up my ally.
All audiobooks are free on Tokybook.com
As an aside, I really love Yandex.com. If you have an adblocker and a moderate amount of internet street smarts, you can find pretty much anything.
Rex
11mo ago
Try the developing world. India, Philippines, Laos. And get out of the capitals. I hear Africa is still pretty wild.
I think your thesis is largely correct. I used to to travel for work extensively before Covid and was noticing the same thing. There are still parts of the world that are not completely homogenized, but their days are numbered. This might be your last chance if it’s not already gone.
I knew it was final call when I met a Bulgarian hipster that was indistinguishable from my local variety 5 miles away.
Rex
11mo ago
I missed a trip to Bhutan that I really regret. Doubt I’ll have another chance at that one.
Rex
11mo ago
I can’t believe you shared that c90 video! It’s one of my all time favorite videos on YT. I spent 3 months in india and that video pretty much sums it all up. In a very positive way I might add. India really is something else. You should go if you haven’t been there. It’s in my top 3.
Rex
11mo ago
I tend to agree with you. The entire internment camp story appeared out of no where 5ish years ago and was convieniently timed with chilling western-Chinese relations.
The Muslim groups in western China that are oppressed used to be on the US list of terrorist organizations. They were quietly removed from that list a few years ago.
I imagine the Chinese apologist line is that these are Islamist extremists that have executed terroist attacks in the past. They’re surpressing them not unlike how Israel deals with Palestinians.
It’s not at all surprising that western liberals would be up in arms about this. Islamophobia is one of their pet issues.
I have no idea what really goes on in western china. But I certainly don’t think that the state department, cia, ngos, and media are telling me the whole truth. In fact we’ve seen them make up lies out of whole cloth many many times when it serves their strategic interest.
Rex
11mo ago
I’d love to hear more about Han supremacy and Chinese minority oppression.
I know a girl from work that is Chinese. The minority groups come up every now and then since one of them are from her hometown. I get no sense of supremacy in these conversations. If anything, it’s more of an attitude like “my hometown has this neat minority with cool food and traditional clothes. They have dance troupes and dress differently at official functions.” Kind of like a unqiue little touristy thing.
The whole Han supremacy thing seems more like a Reddit meme or a porting over of “white supremacy” to China. I’m sure there is disparate impact. And 99% of the communist party are Han. But it doesn’t come across as some systematic oppression. Not at all.
Rex
11mo ago
I do believe there is mass repression of the Uighur Muslims. I do think its comparable to the Israel/Palestine situation. Not the same. But comparable. And I think the Isralies are assholes when it comes to Palestine. But they have their reasons.
With israel though, there is a massive amount of media out there explaining exactly why their policies are necessary and/or minimizing what the Israelis are doing. That’s where the comparison ends.
To be clear. I don’t support Israel or China using state power to indiscriminately punish vast populations. I just strongly suspect that everyone eats up the Uighur story because they’ve been fed a one sided story and it fits the broader interests of the TPTB.
And back to my original comment, I’d love to hear more about this Han supremacy. That sounds a lot broader than this specific draconian crackdown on wahabbi Islam and their wider community.
Rex
10mo ago
It was created by a very interesting person: Mike White. He first came on my radar as a contestant on Survivor and I found him extremely annoying, if not a good character for the show. Very gay. Very catty. Very California. He was a minor celebrity, with a few big Hollywood writing credits under his belt. Best known for School of Rock.
I stumbled across first season of WL by accident and was completely hooked. I’ve watched some of Mike Whites back catalogue and I now think he’s a complete genius. He created an old HBO show, Englightened, starring Laura Dern. I loathe Laura Dern but found the show terrific. MW has this ability to take the piss out of the mainstream American leftists, while having just enough plausible deniability to not get himself in trouble. His whole look and style probabaly help with it since on the surface he fits right in.
He was recently a guest on the Perfume Nationalist podcast and basically confirmed my whole theory here. He seems to really dislike the culture he writes about and has some very controversial takes on orthodox California liberal thinking. It’s also like the only Perfume Nationalist show that’s paywalled and I imagine that was a MW request to limit listeners and keep a low profile.
If youre a mike white fan and want to watch a really weird indie movie go rent Chuck and Buck on Amazon. It’s his first movie credit. I can’t believe he got another job after that.
Rex
10mo ago
The almost inescapable conclusion is that if you're an American guy who is entering his thirties and is single, if you limit your dating options to women who are in your peer group in terms of age, nationality, and education you'll find exceedingly slim pickings. The best partners will have been snagged early and those that remain will have high standards and shitty attitudes to go with it. So finding a woman who isn't a ticking divorce bomb almost certainly does require broadening the search.
Well said. This was the conclusion that I came to. You should re-post this next time we have a thread on relationships.
Rex
10mo ago
Do you have a single fact to back that up?
Ordering up a $5k mail order bride from an agency Ukraine is not what is being proposed.
A man opening up their dating prospects to women outside your peer group in terms of age, nationality, and education would likely lead to far more healthy relationships.
Yes. Out of habit sometimes I log in to read movie reviews. The last few weeks I would check out the Succession sub to see what people are saying. The comments are the absolute lowest tier garbage of any platform. Messages are typically under 200 characters, repeating lines of dialogue, cheering on a character, or the most basic observations you could imagine. Zero insightful or thoughtful replies. Twitter and YouTube comments are significantly more interesting.
It’s sad how far the internet has fallen.
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