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[–] 97 points 1 year ago (20 children)

What in the UX war crime is this for me to read an article. It’s like the polar opposite of for-profit media trying so hard that it’s just looped around on itself

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  • [–] [S] 33 points 1 year ago (18 children)

    Oh you even got the iWarning lol

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  • [+] -8 points 1 year ago (14 children)

    I did too, so, thanks, now I'm cackling at this racist bullshit:

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It's a Librem5 phone with cringe name and 100% markup, but it's their own product nonetheless. I.e. it is not a generic Android with a custom skin and preinstalled apps like Trump Phone, Freedom Phone, or Quantum Internet box.

    You can buy pretty much the same Librem5 assembled in China for ~$700. Take a look at Liberux Nexx Linux phone too (they are just staring out)

    (Not sure what you're calling racist here, appeal to "patriots"?)

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    ...racist? ive read that description in the screenshot twice. what part is specifically racist?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (10 children)

    It's just jingoistic drivel, same as all of Trump's China crap. Implying the phone has better privacy because it's made in the US.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    but what specifically makes this racist? I'm failing to see any example of it in the text you initially showed.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    The URL being puri.sm was what I noticed first

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    isnt that just a FOSS operating system for phones and tablets?

    if its something more sinister, I'd be interested to learn it.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It could very well be, I’m not familiar with this product at all. It does come to my attention that the statue of liberty’s torch is the most prominent visual element on the page; combined with the block of text and the name of the phone itself I could definitely see where the poster is coming from, it gives off a nationalist air despite it being fairly reserved/neutral in its visual language. It kinda makes me think the purism name was no coincidence but I’d like to think otherwise

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    ive done some digging to see if there's some glaring issue I'm just not aware of. i found no evidence whatsoever so far of anyone using this device or saying these phones or devices are used for anything criminal or nationalist activity.

    i just found a lot of linux nerds or FOSS nerds who seem to have varying opinions on whether they like it or the company or not.

    in a world so absolutely brimming with click bait headlines and buzzwords being used to incite conflict, let's not rally behind every cry of vilification without first checking that it's actually villainous. you know?

    we need to make sure we don't fall into the same habits those headlines aim to force us into.

    or well, thats just my feelings on it.

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  • [–] -4 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    thank you for confirming that even you have no idea what the hell you're actually angry about. that's pretty funny.

    good luck with whatever you think you're fighting against 😅

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  • [–] 62 points 1 year ago*

    So glad that one of the largest youtubers is promoting Linux, FOSS and privacy :D

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  • [–] 23 points 1 year ago

    Wait until he discovers the Fediverse....

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  • [–] [S] 58 points 1 year ago (20 children)

    The fact that PewDiePie might have a right-leaning following, that he acquired by himself leaning right, which he now exposes to Freedom, using Libre Software, might actually be a good thing. Since exposing yourself to the philosophy of Free Software eventually leads to human rights and thus to the left, in a way. If PewDiePie course-correcting to the left like this, taking his enormous subscriber-base with him, IMO it is very good.

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  • [–] 27 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    i feel like you missed the time between 1990 and 2005 when american libertarians caused a schism in the free software movement by popularising open source.

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  • [–] -5 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    You got a problem with open source? In /c/opensource?

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    i've got a problem with what ESR calls open source.

    like, the fact that free software is inherently political has been explored elsewhere in the thread, but the term "open source" was started by people who wanted to distance themselves from the free software movement due to them disliking that it was anti-commercial. the open source movement wanted more companies to adopt their code, in contrast to the GNU people trying to stop their work being absorbed into the old big iron.

    and they won.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    the "take our work and pay us nothing, please" crowd.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    The Free Software movement wasn't really anti-commercial, they explicitly allow commercial purposes as part of the freedoms to protect, it's part of the first freedoom they defend, "freedom zero".

    And it's not like the open source movement wasn't inherently political either.. wanting more companies to join the movement is actually a political position.

    But also, it's not like the Free Software movement didn't want to have more companies adopt their philosophy.. they did want that, I mean that would have been awesome if it had happened. And when possible the FSF has actively tried to convince companies to get on board, they even have run programs to help companies promote themselves as certified by the FSF, such as the "Respects Your Freedom (RYF)" certification.

    What makes the Free Software movement different is that they actively see proprietary software as evil. They see freedom as a right, something mandatory, not something to merely be "open" to. Going out of your way to not use closed source software, to the point of crippling yourself digitally if necessary, is then the ethically correct behavior. Whereas the "open source" movement sees it more as an option, something that can be useful but not strictly necessary, they wont consider it inherently bad/evil to use proprietary.

    This is akin to someone considering buying ethically sourced shoes as something optional vs considering it a moral obligation so as to not be complicit to evil practices. Or say.. saving energy being an option that might be convenient for you personally vs a moral obligation with the planet.

    The business model at the time for most commercial projects was based on offering software as a product, not as a service, so they didn't want to release their code. When eventually the shift towards services started to happen, companies gravitated towards the "open" side because it allowed them to take advantage of free software while retaining proprietary software for those situations in which it benefited them, without being flagged as "evil" by the same community they were working with.

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  • [–] [S] 21 points 1 year ago

    There is evidence already in that video that suggests that he is starting to lean more left. Like he pointed out the ecological issues with AI. Even though he did say "I don't like to be that guy" before saying that.

    It seems like he is already doing some doubts and thinking that are signs of moving the left direction.

    I'm trying to be the optimist here. If we want not just PewDiePie, but his subscribe-base to change sides, we need him to be extra careful and extra soft with this sort of change. He seem to know how to form good streams of thoughts and convincing narratives. This would take some serious carefulness on his part. And it seems like he is already taking small steps to do that.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    The problem with this is that it leaves left-leaning people using tech companies and slick, highly-produced products as status items. iphones and macbooks are still solid left-leaning status objects.

    Also, the right doesn't mind being scrappy and using janky, poorly configured crap if it appears to meet their agenda. Nearly every right-leaning social media platform is either a platform with a Mastadon backend, or some early 2000's style forum.

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  • [+] -11 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I'm not saying that right means freedom but what makes you think that left means freedom?

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  • [–] 23 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Maybe the fact that the left supports improved working rights, unionisation, free education, equality of opportunities and between nations, freer borders for people...

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  • [–] -5 points 1 year ago

    Didn't do that for me, still believe in human rights and don't embrace the left wing. I believe in the freedom to make contracts with people without the government telling you that your profits are too high or whatever the left wing is pushing for

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  • [–] 25 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

    No.

    Anyone with a platform can do that.

    (And from the little bits I've seen, mostly over memes & various news bits, the quality is questionable. Just don't follow the whims of influencers, it's not the correct way forward imho, it just spreads enshitification.)

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I disagree, but I don't know why. Intuitively it doesn't feel like this is a bad thing. The people that "get it" will be introduced to something that they like and will go down the good path. The people that don't get it, won't. Just like they weren't before. Net profit: we turned some people towards the light. 🤷‍♂️ I see it as a win.

    We don't have to use the same method on all people either. This might work for some, but not all, surely.

    I don't really understand the enshittification spreading part of your argument. Curious to know more about what you meant by that.

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  • [+] -6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Monetisation & financial motivations.
    That dude is no foss champion, at best just some user. If MS gives him money Windows & Edge will be the best

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    That dude is no foss champion, at best just some user.

    He doesn't have to be. And so is everybody else I'm watching on YouTube to get tips on FOSS and stuff. But nobody complains about them because they're not big enough.

    If MS gives him money Windows & Edge will be the best

    But "Linux" isn't giving him any money either, surely. This argument breaks down because of that.

    He's doing these things now, and they are good now. Why complain? So cynical.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    That's is not what the problem is, lol, not by far. Nothing is a problem if you look at it in a short enough timeframe.

    I'm not complaining about the few more people that discover Linux, I'm complaining that we are systemically introducing the same problems we want to get away from ("that the price is high/threatening", especially now that desktop Linux is on a steady rise & we need such """endorsements""" the least).

    But "Linux" isn't giving him any money either, surely. This argument breaks down because of that.

    What? With influencers it's what is monetisable in any current situation, what gets more views (and more money with that via various channels - atm "Linux" gives him revenue via selling ads etc to more people, if you offer him more money than that, he will sell whatever you say, that's his profession). If a megacorp wants to get in on it they freely can. At any point. But it would be a lot harder to do that if we don't/didn't have professional ad-people (no background, just as the money winds go) intertwined from the "start".
    Financial power of a/any megacorps dictating foss just leads to monopoly again (eg how Google took over & is now closing more and more the "Android Linux"). And it makes it harder for projects to get support from "the people" vs "what is the most monetisable for some private entity".

    Overlooking that is akin to saying scalpers help redistribute the product. Technically, sure, so "what are you complaining abut, so cyclical."

    Talking about foss has literally become marketable. That's the only reason professional influencers are talking about it now. And people listening to them will listen to whatever they say next too. And that ("money talks, bullshit walks") is a bad future for foss which should be by it's nature free of such incentives bcs it just becomes another megacorps monopoly.

    Going into foss & financially rewarding corps that aren't dedicated to open principles is just the current market situation (MS & Google) but with sparkles. It inevitably leads to more inequalities.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    Great blog post! The mastodon outrage was a highlight as I see it again and again. Dunking on bridgy-fed, opt-out telemetry and donation pop-ups.

    As I have tried to put myself in the shoes of a typical person I can see how they can view FOSS as crazy people in tinfoil hats creating templeOS.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago* (9 children)

    A lot of the times when people hear of Richard Stallman, or other people, who correctly state that all proprietary software is absolutely inexcusable, they feel pressured. Which makes them recoil and distance themselves from those types of ideas. If you need to suddenly re-learn the entire way you are using the computer, and you may have certain habits, or certain things you rely on, or enjoy very much, either games, or software, or in case of PewDiePie, the platform he is on. You will automatically feel like whatever these Stallmans are asking from you is so absurdly hard for you to do, that you don't even consider it. More than that, to protect yourself from that hard work, you come up with a bunch of reasons, to not even engage in that idea. Which creates an opposition. And it is not something that we want.

    It's not just that, the overbearing FOSS mentality, from Stallmans corner of that world, is that you need to take a damn political position on software to be able to interact with other people that use it.

    Which in itself is not actually true, but if you approach it like this with non-technical types then they will rightly and instinctively balk at both the software and you.

    Bringing people to FOSS should be the same as bringing them to any other software, and if the ideology behind it is so self-evidently true then - by its own standard - it won't need significant petitioning to convince them they should use more of it for ethical reasons as well as to meet their needs. This is software, not Amway. They're trying to write a word document, not to join a cult.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    It’s not just that, the overbearing FOSS mentality, from Stallmans corner of that world, is that you need to take a damn political position on software to be able to interact with other people that use it.

    FOSS is literally a political and ideological set of positions. The entire thing that makes Free Software and Open Source differentiated from just "normal" software development and distribution are a set of political and organisational positions, which are in limited fashion codified and expressed in software licenses, and also through e.g. structure of organisations around projects and why they're structured that way.

    Without that, you just get companies making money from pawning off a portion of their development and infrastructure costs to volunteers and other organisations (non-profits, other companies, governments).

    Bringing people to FOSS should be the same as bringing them to any other software,

    FOSS isn't about fandom of a particular piece of software.

    and if the ideology behind it is so self-evidently true then - by its own standard - it won’t need significant petitioning to convince them they should use more of it for ethical reasons as well as to meet their needs. This is software, not Amway. They’re trying to write a word document, not to join a cult.

    This is absurdly politcally and socially naive. Also can we please ban stemlords from ascribing every aspect of politics and political advocacy to always being a cult.

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  • [+] -14 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    You seem to have some reasonable points here but as you're resorting to lame ad hominems, you can bicker with yourself.

    As a developer and maintainer of FOSS, you are a part of the problem I'm describing

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)

    but as you’re resorting to lame ad hominems

    lmao

    all people who don't share my political naivety are "cultists"

    invokes ad hominem so your argument is invalid

    Perfect representation of STEMlord redditor.

    As a developer and maintainer of FOSS, you are a part of the problem I’m describing

    The problem being we aren't all as absurdly shallow in our understanding of the world and politics as you are? Get your head out of your arse.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    The challenge is that we're not just selling software, we're selling an idea - the idea that users deserve control over their computing. We're not competing on the proprietary software marketplace, we're offering an alternative to it.

    We are already seeing the proprietary software world enshittify. More and more "non-tech" people are looking for a way out. The challenge is to demonstrate that these problems are inherent to the world of proprietary software and not just because "Google is evil."

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Sure it's a challenge, but it's not necessary for getting people to use the software. One does not require the other, but it is a gateway to being able to do that.

    It is self-evident that free software with open licensing and no strings attached is a superior and more beneficial ownership model than closed source paid licensing. That part I don't think anyone needs to be convinced of.

    It's just not necessary to make that one of your core beliefs, or add several others, before using the software.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    It is self-evident that free software with open licensing and no strings attached is a superior and more beneficial ownership model than closed source paid licensing. That part I don't think anyone needs to be convinced of.

    As someone who has both technical and nontechnical people in their family, I call bs. Even if it is partially self-evident (in the fact that you dont need to sign into an account or pay for it), the details, and more importantly the weight, of FOSS is often lost on people.

    I've had to watch some of them walk into a rake and bruise their foreheads several times over before really absorbing it.

    It's something people need to really read up on before true comprehension. That, or get burnt really really badly.

    Ideology? Politics? Tomato tomatoh in my eyes. At the very least, they're nearly inseperable (think: DMCA, copyright law, etc.)

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (30 children)
  • [–] 31 points 1 year ago (29 children)

    I have asked a few times why PDP deserves all the hate. The best answer I got is "look it up yourself". I did, and the only things I found were many years old, and in each instance (of which there aren't that many) he apologized publicly and acknowledged that things got out of hand. To me, his apologies seem sincere and genuine - none of that "I'm sorry I got caught" bullshit that actual scumbags are known for.

    I don't watch PewDiePie but he's alright best I can tell. If I've missed something, please let me know what that is, and be specific because I genuinely can't find it.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    he said the N-word, hard R and all

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    Yeah that wasn't a great moment, but if you look at the context for that you'll see that it wasn't even talking about a black person. It was just an expletive, like saying "motherfucker" or "son of a bitch" etc.

    Keep in mind that outside of USA the N word is not nearly as charged politically and racially as it is within the USA. And PDP is Swedish IIRC, not American.

    Edit: my point is that his usage of that word - which AFAIK only happened once - is not indicative of his character. It's just indicative that he was really angry at that moment and human brains for some reason use expletives in those cases.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago

    I've skimmed the introduction, and it only seems to cite the same Fiverr incident from 2017. I think it only uses PDP to illustrate some point and attract readers, but I'd have to read the whole thing to be sure.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (19 children)

    I heard he's Hated cause he's a Nazi apparently.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (13 children)

    That's not a claim to make without some evidence. There is a thing he did a long time ago on fiverr, and from my POV that does not reflect on his views at all. I can explain my reasoning if you want. Other than that incident, is there any other reason to suspect he's a Nazi?

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago (12 children)

    https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/17/14613234/pewdiepie-nazi-satire-alt-right

    He has repeatedly and overtly used Nazi imagery, made a multitude of "jokes" like this:

    Mr. Kjellberg says the material is portrayed in jest. He showed a clip from a Hitler speech in a Sept. 24 video criticizing a YouTube policy, posted swastikas drawn by his fans on Oct. 15 and watched a Hitler video in a brown military uniform to conclude a Dec. 8 video. He also played the Nazi Party anthem before bowing to a swastika in a mock resurrection ritual on Jan. 14, and included a very brief Nazi salute with a Hitler voice-over saying “Sieg Heil” and the text “Nazi Confirmed” near the beginning of a Feb. 5 video.

    [...]

    In addition to more overt Nazi symbolism, Kjellberg makes references to the alt-right that are veiled but obvious if you know where to look. In one video from late August, he makes an extended racist joke comparing Harambe the gorilla to Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters actress and comedian Leslie Jones, echoing the widespread politically tinged, racist harassment that Jones endured last summer, largely from the alt-right.

    And in another video from November, Kjellberg overlays a swastika, along with audio of a speech from Hitler, over unrelated commentary about clickbait YouTube channels. He then goes on to refer to BuzzFeed as “a bunch of cucks” — “cuck” being an alt-right buzzword.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago (10 children)

    Absolutely true for the time the article was written (2017). He changed his ways after the Christchurch attacks which happened in 2019.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (9 children)

    He has stated his favourite author is a Japanese fascist who wanted to restore the emperor, Yukio Mishima, who tried to do a coup and killed himself when he failed.

    But I'm sure he just likes the guy for his prose, and has no particular fixation or interest in Nazi and fascist imagery and politics.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    I agree with the other things people mentioned, and I don't care that he did it for the money, attention of if he has nazi views (the point that he did it is important). But Mishima is really stretching it. He is really popular outside Japan and has a good prose. Much much nore non nazis like his writing so I wouldn't call it a dog whistle.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    When did he state this? Recently?

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Mate, are you really just gonna keep moving the goalposts and doing this subpar jordan peterson fan shit?

    Imagine being this pathetically tied to a youtuber, holy shit.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    "Keep moving the goalposts"? Mate this is my first comment in this comment chain. And it does make a difference to me personally if someone said something before a very public turnaround 5 years ago, or recently after this change

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  • [–] -4 points 1 year ago

    lmfao

    Mate this is my first comment in this comment chain

    "in this comment chain" being the operative part, as if people don't have eyes to see you've been doing the same bullshit in this thread.

    said something before a very public turnaround 5 years ago,

    lmfao when this was started it was how could you possibly think he thought or believed anything bad, now it's before several years ago when he definitely for real changed all his views just don't ask me to name what those views are after I keep demanding everyone else provide evidence, next it'll be "but did he say it literally last week???"

    Just shut the fuck up and learn to not be so pathetic. Fucking hell.

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  • [+] -13 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Ppl hate for the sake of hating. Pewds fell into a nichè and made millions and naturally people are jealous. Others just hate how loud he is.

    I don't really care, I saw his transformation over the years and while I didn't like most his content he is a nice guy. And being along for the ride was sort of like every time something happened you basically were part of (yt) history books xD

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  • [+] -6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I don’t really care, I saw his transformation over the years and while I didn’t like most his content he is a nice guy. And being along for the ride was sort of like every time something happened you basically were part of (yt) history books xD

    You sound like an insanely parasocial 15 year old, grow up and stop getting mad at people not liking your favourite youtuber.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    You're platforming a genuine nazi. Shut.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    yeah I had been wondering about that. has he done more nazi shit since making people say "Hitler was right" and Holocaust denial shit on fiver?

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    "Well, the nazi hasn't done [extremely nazi shit] after public backlash without apology. So he's not a nazi lol"

    Please touch grass

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  • yes, I don't pay attention to or care about PewDiePie specifically because of that Nazi shit he did, that I mentioned above.

    the reason I dont know is because I been touching grass instead of gluing my eyes to popular let's players and talking heads.

    did he do more Nazi shit after that time? and uh, where did I say he wasn't a Nazi? I didn't.

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