a hub built around “free software” is now telling its users which kinds of software are deemed good and which are not

Nonsense. The Codeberg project is saying what kinds of software they choose to host. They give their reasons, presumably in the expectation those reasons will be convincing; but they aren't telling you what software is “good”.

Firstly, the favicon highjack on that website is chefs kiss and is having the opposite effect of what’s intended. I love it and my only regret is that ‘bigfoot nudes’ isn’t a real site (or is it?)

🤣

The disable javascript advocacy is quaint, reminds me of a time when there was a real inflection point maybe back in 2005 or something like this when sites were mostly basic html and tables

Maybe it could have had a push then but disabling javascript now would just result me in turning it on on 99.9% of sites I visit, not practical, more annoying tbh and would not even make a dent in any meaningful stat, 99.9999% of people are not turning it off so :\

Ultimately though, we should consider any (non self hosted) remote as someone else’s computer.

That's true but might this push people back to github? Is that what they want?

I've been looking for a code host for my garbage, I think Forgejo might be the way, ironically made by Codeberg?

Thanks for making an interesting comment beyond "ai 😡"

Codeberg has always had rules about what kind of projects can be hosted right from the start. In particular, it is for projects that have permissive open-source licences. In this sense, Codeberg has always been community focused, rather than a generic 'public infrastructure' general purpose hosting platform. With this in mind Codeberg's recent decision about AI created code is very much in line with who they are. So I'd suggest that the article's author simply misunderstood what Codeberg is, and then got unset about it.

Why is this not top of the feed. Funnily enough, you bumped it back up and it's still on the front page, so thank you for the (excellent and insightful) reply :)

What an excellent and thought provoking essay. Thanks Eureka for sharing, I shall share it widely as well.

Thanks, I found it through a related interactive "exploitable explanation" I knew about years ago, made by Nicky Case (whose other ones are listed at the bottom as an inspiration) - "the wisdom and/or madness of crowds". It's more surface-level and less academic than this article, but also discusses historical events and more directly explores the structure of the network and their density (like friend groups). And this one shows the kind of thing you're talking about with ON microtargeting on social media - the first interactive task is basically to manipulate a group into thinking an unhealthy habit is common and normal, when it's a minority position. An unpopular opinion can be "what everyone's thinking".

To add an anecdote,

I had a conversation with u/bandhmo when they were still hanging about AZ. In that conversation we talked about the higher rate of communists here, and I said I's was comfortable with them, in fact I found it refreshing, a sort of contrast to constantly seeing the same old Neo-lib, conservative, or libertarian talking points on places like Reddit that I used to frequent.

This, I think, is an under-evaluated element of the Lemmy network and its developers. It'll be down to network effects and structure to see how the communists influence continues if Lemmy or other related and readable activitypub projects grow. But for now its been refreshing to be exposed to another type of network that is more or less absent in other social media networks.

Why is this not top of the feed. What an interesting and fun interactive essay.

Firstly, I know why Eureka decided they must share this, 😆

A flash of inspiration strikes and — eureka!

Just as the first cities were a hotbed for diseases that couldn't spread at lower population densities, so too is the internet a breeding ground for malignant cultural forms like clickbait, fake news, and performative outrage.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this these last few years, ever since I found out about Activitypub and its potential to deliver a more natural network/marketplace of ideas than the ultra-centralised platform model thats existed since Web2.0. As he says in the essay theres a lot of effect that can be put down to simply the structure of the network and its density.

Take the ability of One Nation to gain traction so quickly, or any Social Media driven campaign. Centralised platforms like Facebook have created a network where mis/disinformation isn't reliably refuted or even tracked by third parties (or even by FB themselves), coupled with micro-targetting it means anybody with a cause and the financial strength can increase their reach to many more of those susceptible to the ideas, and worse actively close out any other ideas their targets (users) might be susceptible to by stacking their feeds.

If 90 percent of your country is engaged in subsistence agriculture, and most of the remaining 10 percent are performing some form of commerce (or war), it doesn't leave a lot of people with the free time to ponder the laws of nature. Perhaps this is why most science in premodern times was done by the children of wealthy families.

I really thought he was going to say religious careerists here. Thats who I think of when I hear this point. And its a good additional point to show that it doesn't matter the ideology or wealth its the structures those have created in time that have led to sustained advancements.

This is fantastic news because it means we can get a this reproducible effect due to network structure in more equal societies without the ideological divisions and/or class stratification and gain an even more impactful and sustained set of advancements. Which I think Australia excels at already if you consider our comparatively high rate of technology innovation and it's subsequent use.

Our 'classless' (less divisions in a society would increase the rate of 'susceptibility' to ideas, and decreases 'immunity') society directly increases the Australian networks ability to communicate, modify and progress ideas.

Perhaps a better model is one in which careerist nodes aren't just impervious to knowledge, but are actively spreading fake knowledge. Fake knowledge might include minor results that get hyped up and oversold, for example, or genuinely false results that arise from p-hacking or fabricated data.

Imagine if politicians did something similar about subjects like climate change or immigration...

But regardless of how we model them, careerists certainly have the potential to stifle our scientific communities.

Much like politicians spreading their hate and selfishness have stifled the advancement of Australia.

What an excellent and thought provoking essay. Thanks Eureka for sharing, I shall share it widely as well.

Sitcoms work because everyone knows someone who’s a bit cartoonishly cringe, whether scuzzy school friends, a faux-posh aunt or a linkedin lunatic boss.

Yeah, i found houso's hard to watch. I just assumed i wasn't the demographic for this though. I's a little oldwr by the time Houso's came out, whereas the absurdity of Fat Pizza i think I's the right age group for at that time.

That's the thing, I just don't see the comedy at all much of the time.

Sea Change was great. I rewatched the first seasons not that long ago. It sits a bit different being in Melb now than NSW when it first came out.

Never seen them

How do you feel about Trailer Park Boys, IASIP, and Shameless? Not trying for a "gotcha" here, I'm curious how those two shows compare.

Personally I have no problem with those 3 because it's a type of low income person being caricaturized but I haven't seen either show you mentioned

Yeah, fair, but the characters are also partly for the comedy of it, although, i think, some of those characters weren't miles away from the real people 😆

I suppose Sea Change has pretty positive positioning of many low income characters... why yes, I am re-watching that currently.

Housos and Fat PIzza are on youtube these days. I think they're fun. I grew up low income and knew a heap of people like those depicted in the shows.

For sure. One could contrast it with The Castle - it still plays on stereotypes, trouble with the law, crude ignorance and making the most of modest situation, but with wholesome characters and much sharper political statements.

I can't stand this show, nor Kath & Kim and others along the same lines. It's possible to be low income without being cartoonishly cringe.

I haven't watched as much of it but it seemed like more of the same after Fat Pizza and Swift and Shift.

Thanks for the link, I've never heard of that movie and I just watched it. It's like a kind of time capsule in a way.

In my opinion, it's a bundle of fun and has its moments. Upbeat, ridiculous, impolite. Can't be taken seriously. Unpasturised - for better and worse.

It's blunt and crass, and doesn't shy away from a few occasional cheap gross-out shots, so if those aren't dealbreakers then give the first episode a watch and see if you think it's your flavour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr3WsMagX5g

I'd never heard of Somewhere In The Darkness, I've only seen Fenech's non-serious comedy work. I might give it a watch when I have an hour.

Is it any good? I just found a movie Paul Fenech directed in 98, Somewhere In The Darkness. I was looking for a series about the origins of Pizza that I thought he was in or made but I can't find it.

Interesting article.

Poverty of the population? Russia is not the richest country but is not poorest one.

I've seen no indication poverty stricken rural areas aren't where they get a majority of their recruits

This poverty pattern reflects the Kremlin’s recruitment strategy. After the unpopular September 2022 mobilization of 300,000 men, the authorities pivoted to “voluntary” recruitment with high salaries and large one-off bonuses.

Polls suggest that a majority of Russians believe new soldiers are driven mainly by money. Casualty data support this: among voluntary recruits, the worst-hit group is men aged 45–50 — people more likely to be under financial strain. Many regions with high sign-up bonuses, like oil-rich Yugra, are ready to enlist volunteers from neighboring districts, and even reimburse travel expenses.

https://cepa.org/article/death-without-glory-russias-message-to-the-frontline-soldier/

If you see the videos of them using "soldiers" with mental and physical disabilities it shows they're recruiting just about anyone

Oh, such propaganda-filled BS. Poverty of the population? Russia is not the richest country but is not poorest one. It is hate toward the Nazi regime and the internal need to protect the motherland from western aggression that drives recruitment. Money is secondary. And not fearing death—this is the Vikings’ heritage for you. It never went away

@Eyekaytee I think we are in the teeth of a couple of the Great Filters.

Is this AI?