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Veronica Explains why she doesn't stream (from Netflix etc) #algorithmic_helplessness_sucks (tinkerbetter.tube)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I'm one of those hipsters who doesn't use streaming services.

I did, a while ago, but I quit using them because the experience is kind of awful, and I'm happier now for it. I collect physical media and watch it using Jellyfin on my Linux-based home theater PC, and I'm completely satisfied with how it works.

I'm making this video because I am really troubled by algorithmic helplessness, and I feel like corporate-centralized streaming media makes that worse. Maybe this video will encourage someone else to cut the cord and rediscover an appreciation for owning your media and being choosy about what to "watch next". Or maybe I'm just wasting time. Who knows? I suppose, you know, you're reading this description, right?

If you read the description, say "algorithmic helplessness sucks" in the comments. That'll make me feel better.

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[–] 44 points 11 months ago* (25 children)

I mean... that IS how restaurants work. If people don't order the fish of the day then they buy fewer and fewer fishes until it is no longer a thing. Even the speed people eat DOES matter since restaraunts tend to be designed around each customer spending a certain amount of time dining. Too short and they will never order a dessert. Too long and they are costing you money while they nurse that coffee.

And similar happens with even buying blu-rays. If nobody bought Master and Commander in 4k then you can be sure that experiment would be over. Instead? That thing sold like toiler paper during COVID and we'll likely see more "prestige" releases with a huge dose of FOMO.

As for up fronts versus long tails? Guess what is motivating all those revivals "nobody asked for"?

Don't get me wrong. I vastly prefer to rip blu rays to my NAS and watch via plex. But the idea that you are somehow no longer part of the marketing cycle is just... wrong.

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  • [–] 15 points 11 months ago (19 children)

    The only way to stop corporate greed is to stop consuming. Easy to say, hard to do, but not impossible. I've lived most of my life striving to be as self sufficient as humanly possible, and that has carried me over into self hosting.

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  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago (10 children)

    Go hiking, exercise, play sports with your mates. Take up a physical hobby like blacksmithing, electronics even woodworking. Spend the weekends on small projects, DIY drones, a wooden sculpture, a small knife made from recycled corrugated steel. Join a volunteer group, do charity work, help out in the soup kitchen. Nowadays it's easier than ever to not consume content.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (9 children)

    Not the person you're answering to, but: You say this as if everybody enjoys manual labor, sports and/or outdoor activities. None of the proposed activities elicits the least amount of interest for me, for example.

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  • [–] 6 points 11 months ago (5 children)

    And many of those activities include consumption. If you're doing more than casual hiking, you probably aren't using second-hand shoes from the thrift store.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    More people should try barefoot hiking. I love it, but most people I know, they don't even try it

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    People should go outside atleast. The sun is bright and beautiful, the skies blue, the beaches are warm and the ocean smells kinda salty.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    Sorry, but revolution is a far simpler way to stop corporate greed than trying to change everyone’s buying habits.

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    You first.

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago (1 child)

    How about we do it together?

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago

    Well, beyond organized legal avenues: national & local elections, writing your representatives, protesting, marching, I see no real recourse against a corrupted and compromised government, and my government is corrupted and compromised top to bottom, side to side. No one gets a pass. Not this administration, and none in the past. So, no matter who sits in the seat of authority, you will always feel the effects of a corrupt and compromised government.

    It is not I you have to convince. It is millions of apathetic citizens, blown around by blustering, deceptive political winds, without compass or direction. Beyond not feeding the machine more than you have to while still scratching out a life on this planet like everyone else is, it is hard to make inroads that stick. This machine turns slowly. You see, there are still a majority of people in my country that are comfortable. Comfortable people do not illicit change....uncomfortable people do, but here is no change without pain. Pain is something that the citizens in my country are unwilling to put up with to a better goal. They do not act with the long term in mind. Their future is tied to once every 4 years, never contemplating that the legislation passed today, will be with us for generations, if not longer.

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  • [–] -4 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    Open source/selfhost projects 100% keep track of how many people star a repo, what MRs are submitted, and even usage/install data. And many of them are specifically designed to fulfill a role that industry standard tools aren't (or are too expensive for) and... guess where the data on that comes from?

    The reality is that you cannot escape consumerism in the modern world. You can pretend you are but... you aren't. What you CAN do is focus on supporting tools and media that you want/approve of and making your own life better as a result.

    And a big chunk of that involves actually thinking through consequences.

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  • [–] 8 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Open source/selfhost projects 100% keep track of how many people star a repo, what MRs are submitted, and even usage/install data.

    I feel it is important to make a distinction here, though:

    GitHub, the for-profit, non-FOSS, Microsoft-owned platform keeps track of the ‘stars of a repo’, not the open-source self-host projects themselves. Somebody hosts their repo forge on Codeberg, sr.ht, their own infrastructure or even GitLab? There’s generally very little to no algorithmic number-crunching involved. Same for MR/PRs.

    Additionally - from my knowledge - very few fully FOSS programs have extensive usage/install telemetry, and even fewer opt-out versions. Tracking which couldn’t be disabled I’ve essentially never heard of in that space, because every time someone does go in that direction the public reaction is usually very strong (see e.g. Audacity).

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

    That is a distinction without difference. It doesn't matter what mechanism is used to collect those metrics. The fact is they are there

    And, at a glance: Forgejo/Codeberg definitely has stars and watches and fork tracking as well

    Which is all fundamentally the supply and demand aspects of consumerism. It is the idea that people can identify what there is a high demand for and work to provide a supply. Which is not at all a bad thing and extends far beyond capitalism.

    But it goes back to the previous poster's comments about how they don't like that netflix analyzes everything they do and greenlights projects based on that. That extends FAR beyond netflix and well into even open source projects.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago

    The reality is that you cannot escape consumerism in the modern world.

    Didn't downvote you but, I guess what I was leaning heavily on was 'striving to be as self sufficient as humanly possible'. Sure, even though I grow my own food, garden crops, beef, chickens, goats, et al, I still have to buy things. I didn't mean it like I had transcended commercial consuming. But, do I really need a iPhone 17 pro max as much as AT&T says I do? Do I really need the cutting edge computer when the 14 year old one I built serves me just fine for what I do? That kind of stuff that people just seem to be compelled to purchase.

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  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    I'm commenting on literally being watched though, so let's say you get up to go to the bathroom after your first bite the chef marks that as 'didn't like his burger' because you took a bite (watched 1 episode) and didn't continue to binge eat the burger (binge the whole season by the end of the month), BAM because you had a life event you couldn't control, you now hate the burger and hate the show.

    This is not a fun way to consume anything.

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  • [–] 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    I mean... depending on how new an item is and what "tier" the restaurant is? They are 100% watching for stuff like that and probably making a note that you got up after eating only a quarter of your burger. Because if the burger were good, you would want to finish it. Is it too sloppy? Did you feel the need to wash your hands mid bite? Did it make you nauseous?

    Same with taking out your phone. Does it look like you are telling a friend what a great burger you had? Or are you feeling bloated and trying to digest a bit before you eat more?

    This level of market analysis is not at all new. Streaming services just have a much easier time automating it but... give it time until startups are selling cameras to monitor the dining area and automate analytics based on who ordered what and did what.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    I guess I should put more mindfulness into how I'm consuming restaurant food then, lol either way I think we can put this hypothetical to bed.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago* (1 child)

    Or you know, don't? And just live your life.

    Because it only matters at an aggregate level. The restaurant won't change anything for one customer.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago*

    That was my polite way of ending the conversation, I disagreed with the person, but I got tired of arguing about the metaphore and burgers, etc with someone who was clearly not gonna let this go.

    "I don't like being watched while consuming anything, really."

    "Yeah, but bro, you're too stupid to realize why they're doing it, let me tell you why!"

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