Deleted FB a few days ago and an odd rabbit hole just appeared
Posted by SilentScream 4 years, 3 months ago to Technology
After sharing an old discussion from an earlier internet that I found interesting on FB, it immediately got "disappeared" (& stayed gone) so I decided I've about had it with being watched and having to tiptoe around the tulips and finally hit delete. Still using Youtube for music & some things, but started looking more at Br!ghteon & B!tchute more for more free speech & to see some of what's being censored from the main streams.
The video I was watching this morning glitched & was just audio (which happens sometimes when I have too many tabs open, especially if 2 of them contain video) so I rebooted and when I opened Firef0x again, that URL I linked was on the welcome page. ...just a wee bit off-putting, but judging by the dates it looks like it could be an algorythm thing to notice when FB is deleted and present their alternative option. Could also have been algorythmically triggered by the searches I've been doing to see if there is some kind of community building platform that already exists where we could make & host sort of a website/local "cloud" of our own to build more free-communication, connections, resource, & media sharing in our local community. There used to be a small forum site for our town and it was extremely popular locally, though it was largely used for gossip and crazy talk, but for whatever reason it got shut down. Being naturally curious, I clicked on the "Listen To This" link on that page. https://irlpodcast.org/season4/episod...
It quite honestly seemed really interesting and very much like just the kind of thing I was looking for, so I listened to the next podcast and started looking into some of those alternative platforms. At only an initial look so far they seem interesting, compelling, and to be about good things like free speech & personal privacy, but I couldn't help but notice some little things in the intro videos, wording, & fine print that have been even more trending now (and not in very constructive ways), like "Yes, being an open source, not being tracked platform, with the responsibility on the individuals, we could have some "n@z!s" or bad actors slip through the cracks", and making it sound like a good thing that putting pressure on Utube & FB to remove "harmful content" (like Trump posts) got results from them (doesn't sound very free-speech-ish of them).
Mozilla(dot)org/decentralization (mentioned in the podcast) re-directs to a page on "!nternet Hea1th". A closer exam of the pr!vacy p0licy on one of those alternative community tools/platforms mentions a couple of the 3rd parties that data gets shared with so I picked a name, looked up "who owns", and found this page: https://www.shareprogress.org/blog/no... It seems more like training how to get people to do useful things for imaginary (digital) "awards" & prizes.
scratching my head wondering what to make of this rabbit hole I was presented with Again, all of these things seem to have been started quite awhile ago (that last one circa 2015 maybe?) and they DO sound like good free domain grassroots platforms (on the surface at least), yet they seem to be on the side that in current events has been causing the most chaos.
All it takes is one slight misdirection and/or faulty premise to shift blame and let a bad bean fall into the pot, wasting the effort (that's why the most effective lies lie very close to the truth), but these younger folks do also happen to be better than "boomers" at tech, so I may have to do a little more looking into some of these platforms' fine print & privacy policies to see if any like Ma$tadon are truly good, useful, secure tools for building some kind of connectivity within our local community.
Like, for instance, to put good workers in touch with good employers & "work needed" by others, local shoppers better able to vote with their dollars for local businesses by having an organized community-centered place to see what's offered, even little gossip circles if that's really what some folks feel they need & want, local meetups for niche groups like hikers or homeschooling parents to get together, local artist/musicians to share their work, or other such things. FB is just way too broad and encourages reactionary divisiveness with it's algorythms, so we really need a better alternative to focus a little closer to home on things that we might actually be able to work together on in order to affect more positive outcomes (at least for ourselves and those around us, whether SHTF or not). If you know of any good (privacy & free-speech protected) tools, or platforms for starting up something that's just focused on local community interconnectivity, I'd appreciate the recommendation(s).
The video I was watching this morning glitched & was just audio (which happens sometimes when I have too many tabs open, especially if 2 of them contain video) so I rebooted and when I opened Firef0x again, that URL I linked was on the welcome page. ...just a wee bit off-putting, but judging by the dates it looks like it could be an algorythm thing to notice when FB is deleted and present their alternative option. Could also have been algorythmically triggered by the searches I've been doing to see if there is some kind of community building platform that already exists where we could make & host sort of a website/local "cloud" of our own to build more free-communication, connections, resource, & media sharing in our local community. There used to be a small forum site for our town and it was extremely popular locally, though it was largely used for gossip and crazy talk, but for whatever reason it got shut down. Being naturally curious, I clicked on the "Listen To This" link on that page. https://irlpodcast.org/season4/episod...
It quite honestly seemed really interesting and very much like just the kind of thing I was looking for, so I listened to the next podcast and started looking into some of those alternative platforms. At only an initial look so far they seem interesting, compelling, and to be about good things like free speech & personal privacy, but I couldn't help but notice some little things in the intro videos, wording, & fine print that have been even more trending now (and not in very constructive ways), like "Yes, being an open source, not being tracked platform, with the responsibility on the individuals, we could have some "n@z!s" or bad actors slip through the cracks", and making it sound like a good thing that putting pressure on Utube & FB to remove "harmful content" (like Trump posts) got results from them (doesn't sound very free-speech-ish of them).
Mozilla(dot)org/decentralization (mentioned in the podcast) re-directs to a page on "!nternet Hea1th". A closer exam of the pr!vacy p0licy on one of those alternative community tools/platforms mentions a couple of the 3rd parties that data gets shared with so I picked a name, looked up "who owns", and found this page: https://www.shareprogress.org/blog/no... It seems more like training how to get people to do useful things for imaginary (digital) "awards" & prizes.
scratching my head wondering what to make of this rabbit hole I was presented with Again, all of these things seem to have been started quite awhile ago (that last one circa 2015 maybe?) and they DO sound like good free domain grassroots platforms (on the surface at least), yet they seem to be on the side that in current events has been causing the most chaos.
All it takes is one slight misdirection and/or faulty premise to shift blame and let a bad bean fall into the pot, wasting the effort (that's why the most effective lies lie very close to the truth), but these younger folks do also happen to be better than "boomers" at tech, so I may have to do a little more looking into some of these platforms' fine print & privacy policies to see if any like Ma$tadon are truly good, useful, secure tools for building some kind of connectivity within our local community.
Like, for instance, to put good workers in touch with good employers & "work needed" by others, local shoppers better able to vote with their dollars for local businesses by having an organized community-centered place to see what's offered, even little gossip circles if that's really what some folks feel they need & want, local meetups for niche groups like hikers or homeschooling parents to get together, local artist/musicians to share their work, or other such things. FB is just way too broad and encourages reactionary divisiveness with it's algorythms, so we really need a better alternative to focus a little closer to home on things that we might actually be able to work together on in order to affect more positive outcomes (at least for ourselves and those around us, whether SHTF or not). If you know of any good (privacy & free-speech protected) tools, or platforms for starting up something that's just focused on local community interconnectivity, I'd appreciate the recommendation(s).
SOURCE URL: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/welcome/7/
But through subsequent years of my inevitable proselytizing on all things political and philosophical, during which FB gained its frenzied popularity growth, the arrival of hordes of collectivist trolls became obvious and has increased seemingly exponentially. With some of them being scary and/or criminal to boot ('had my account hacked a couple of times, so somebody's got a lot of my photos and Friends and "likes" to get to know me real well.)
Even that was ok with the simple "block" function, but when FB joined the likes of Twit - and a bunch of other socialist media entities that I do not use - in muzzling non-collectivists, first tentatively and now openly, that made it a different thing entirely.
So I had to reevaluate my perception of FB as "a safely-robotic website that mechanically and efficiently relays what people want to post regardless of content or ideology," and realize that it's become the equivalent of joining a discussion group at Mother Jones or Rotting Stone or the Democrat Underground or Burn Loot Murder or the Ku Klux Klan or MorOn .org. IOW, not "a safely-robotic website that mechanically and efficiently relays what people want to post regardless of content or ideology."
Which immediately prompted the question: "Is this a place I really want to hang out?" Ordinarily the answer is a no-brainer and an instant-bail, but FB has some obvious complicating factors. First, it's only recently crossed some unpardonable lines, and having plunged into it a full 11 years ago I kinda got "grandfathered in" at a newly-strident collectivist-exclusive site. Second, it still has some utility, for some of the nuts-and-bolts informational things that gharkness mentions, also some good topical objectivist pages like Objectobot, author Vinay Kolhatkar's Romanticism Watch, and a multitude of pages dedicated to my favorite entertainers, books, movies, random interests, etc. Third is that most of the people I know and have ever known are on there.
However, comma... In weighing all of those remaining positives against a.) what Facebrag's neo-Stalinist staff have been doing, b.) the sheer amount of time I've wasted there - on a lot of stuff which examination reveals to be little more than range-of-the-moment trivia, and c.) the availability of a lot of the same positives elsewhere, I've significantly dialed back my presence there, in favor of...
http://MeWe.com
It's a bonehead-miscue on naming - I understand the concept but the site name doesn't have anywhere near the appeal of "Facebook" - but it was founded by a self-described libertarian named Mark Weinstein who's pledged that the site will never muzzle any opinion. He's also eschewed all advertising - therefore all data mining of user info - in favor of charging small fees for things like starting a "Group" page or buying into a premium membership. Joining and using the site is as free as FB, but if you want to start a dedicated page it will cost you something like two bucks a month. So basically the annual cost for running a page is roughly equivalent to having two beers at the airport. The premium membership has some extras I'm not real interested in and I forget what that costs, but there's no obligation to buy into that either. Here's an article with the full dope - MeWe had me at "Privacy Bill of Rights":
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnscot...
No, I don't work for them and no, nobody's paying me to say this. But since it's relatively new it's comparatively content-sparse, every new user is a move away from the "sparse." ∴, I want to encourage everybody here - and on my FB Friend list - to join up. I want to see MeWe grow to the point where it eclipses FB and inspires other entrepreneurial startups to come up with yet more competitive sites.
So we have at least one viable alternative to Facebook in MeWe, at least one viable alternative to Twit (if you actually like messing with one-liner trivia,) in Parler, and several alternatives to YouTube in DTube, BitChute, Dailymotion, VidLii, Vimeo, WatchMojo, Veoh, http://Vube.io (though I haven't researched the positions of each of these on muzzling dissent.)
Anyhow, textwall already - sorry - but wanted to throw this out there. It would be nice to have a bunch of O-people at MeWe. The biggest Objectivist page I found there was started by someone a couple years ago and who rarely visits it, much less moderates, so MeWe could use some new Type O blood, so to speak.
Cheers!
The problem I just recently started having with FB is that - because of the election, I think - the rhetoric is being escalated to the point I am starting to have trouble sleeping, and when I do sleep, I have far too many nightmares. Of course, they could be from something else, but I just have a feeling, FB is to blame - or, rather, MY reaction to FB. This is something I am going to have to fix. Thanks for helping me think it through.
In the twelve years since, I have learned some things.
1) Nobody cares what I think. They only care what THEY think (when they think....which isn't all that often). In many ways, that's wonderful because I have NO compunction to convince anyone of anything. And most people go to FB with the intent to convince others of the "error of their ways." I don't do that any more.
2) Facebook is a fantastic learning tool. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of groups dedicated to teaching all the ins and outs of every technical program or service you could ever want to use: Photoshop, Affinity Photo/Design/Publisher, Powerpoint (not particularly technical unless you decide you want to use it for things it was never designed for), publishing on KDP, how to make great yogurt, how to use your Instant Pot, and fantastic uses for sous vides. There are also many thousands of conservative political groups. Some are over-the-top nuts, so I don't join them...or if they get crazy, I leave them.
3) Facebook is great for arranging meetings, like our not-long-ago 50th anniversary of our graduation. We would have never been able to find all those 400+ people had it not been for FB. I've participated in dozens of cruise groups where we all plan to meet on the ship. Of course those are few and far between now, but they will come back. In the meantime, we discuss among us the finer points of how to speed up refunds for our cruises (there are tricks).
4) Diet groups, cooking groups, health groups, local political groups for/against all sorts of things. School groups. Home-school groups. Fan groups for musical acts I had never heard of before.
5) Last week I saw the first sonograms of my soon-to-be very first great-grandchild! This week I "attended" the wedding of my great niece. Neither of these events would have happened has it not been for Facebook.
My point is not to sound like a shill for Facebook. They don't need MY help, and there IS plenty of bad going on there. But I have learned not to throw the baby out with the bath water, and as a result my life has been greatly enriched. I won't be leaving any time soon!
https://imgur.com/a/7e1FFuH
This here is the problem I keep running into, and it's looking like the only way to start fixing it is to roll up my sleeves & put in some elbow grease.
Good luck. You’ll find what you need, eventually.
Also ... the virtue signaling on FB became just plain obnoxious. I recall one particular post -- it was just after Steve Jobs had died. One of my FB friends posted an image showing an array of naked black African children with the words "One man dies and the world morns. One million die and nobody cares." To this day, that particular image / verbiage has to be the most 'effective' Virtue Signaling Post that I have ever seen (and that was nearly nine years ago). There was so much that I could counter-post -- just for starters "If the parents of these children don't care about their own offspring, then why should I or anyone else care?" I had an entire litany of items to mention. Instead, I replied with a single image of a completely black background with dimensions 1000 by 1000 ... you got it .... One Million black pixels. And my message indicated ''There are one million black dots in this image representing each of the children lost, whereas your picture showed only 10 children. Therefore, I care 100 Thousand TIMES MORE than You Care!" The original poster had no reply. I suspect that she either did not understand what I was exposing ... OR, she was so blown away by my compassion that her tears blinded her ability to respond.
WRT what's a better platform? If one were easily accessible, FB wouldn't be a problem! The issue is that yes, there are other platforms, but nobody knows about them. Hence, participation is low.
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
"No results found" is the problem. Even among my co-workers on our small crew. They're mostly left-leaning, love their gadgets and pop-culture idols, un-questioningly believe everything they see/hear from "official" sources - nevermind the anti-trust issues, & desperate for the acceptance, agreement, & validation of the most people in their peer groups, they care very little for any one. Quick to lash back at anyone who dares to disagree or question their views on anything, loving gossip & talking smack behind each others' backs (bound in fact to strictly passive aggression because if/when they're unable to logically defend their position it might look bad to the group and lower their social status which is their greatest fear. You can see it very clearly in their eyes, words, & actions). Of course they can't help but notice that if/when someone misses a day of work, it's open season for talking smack about them and laughing at the "stupid" things that they've said/done recently, but of course each one believes with blind faith that "I think I'm doing pretty good at maintaining the group's esteem, so surely I haven't given them too much to make fun of about me when I'm not present" (but of course, none are spared and nothing is off-limits). Even just mentioning having watched a Joe Rogan podcast discussing "the wage gap" and showing how those official stats might be a bit of a misdirection got me labelled as a "sexist" (behind my back of course, never in the open to my face). ...just for mentioning watching a podcast on the issue they were discussing. Even if/when I provide thorough evidence for an un-popular not PC opinion & encourage them to "look it up for yourself. See if I'm wrong or not." they just go back home to their programming and whatever went in one ear goes right out the other (only their programming sticks). Our distance grows (but they know they need me. I work harder than the rest, have brought innovation and pay raises, and as their pay has gone up the quality of their work/effort has gone down making me all the more essential to the numbers), but I'm not the cause of it. I've always been an open book and trying to find paths towards peace/cooperation, they're just becoming more amped up and hyper-normalized by current events, social media, and other constant bombardments hacking their brains for profits.
I think this goes back a very long way to the first "personal computer on every desk and in every home, all running M!crosoft. We have never wavered from that vision." It was a brave new world of digital connection and escape from the mundane moments when we were alone, but what we failed to realize is that these Windows can see and be used both ways. Consequently we have a whole generation now who the education system has failed (by design. Who's idea was common core and who is currently "re-imagining" it to be re-introduced?), who never learned how to be alone, and who's parent(s) had less time for them having to work more hours just to keep the bills paid & food on the table (resulting in more love/attention being found in peer groups & more adult "kids" being followed and led by their Adverse Childhood Experiences towards becoming the things that they hated).
If the internet was a bottle: https://youtu.be/C9VCHSv0poU
The fact remains that it's an awesome tool for finding/sharing the answers to just about any question you can think of to ask right at your fingertips & it can get you a better education than a mountain of college debt will give in return. So I will still use it, but the social media aspect of it HAS been an addiction & I've noticed that little spark that got triggered at the ding of a notification bell just like I've noticed the grip of this addiction slipping as I've gone Galt and walked away from it. Talk is so cheap online these days as everyone is given a platform to speak and feel important, but I think now more than ever we need to get back to the real world, come to terms with being alone again, and start to discover how much we need & rely on each other to steer clear of our own destruction.
"I'm happy just because I found out I am really no one" I'm fixing to start working on something in the real world that is sacred and pure enough for only the better less fearful folks to find, love, and help protect.
https://youtu.be/2GHyLhbdzN0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me85P...
Only a truly free and open internet if of any use.
"Parler is an unbiased social platform focused on open dialogue and user engagement. We allow free speech and do not censor ideas, political parties or ideologies. We protect your privacy and will never sell your personal data."
I'm about to find out. got this from a friend yesterday.
I was pretty proud of that one. A couple others I came up with: this one 4 years ago The “Uncivil War” and this spring “a mouth Burka” for mask. Lmfao
That last day, after a friend shared a documentary that seemed a little too guaranteed to trigger troll comments & circular debates if shared openly with people who weren't staying informed, I decided instead to just share it in a group message with those I knew who clearly WERE trying to see through the "spun" narratives for the common to feed upon. Going through a friend list of maybe 120 (wild guess) and only winding up with ~10 people to share it with was kind of a sad reality check ("Why am I even here?"). And all but maybe 2 of those 10 have their own respective cognitive biases set aside as safe spaces that you can't touch (or you'll piss off their pet dragons). All it takes is one tiny little mis-direction (1 little twist between the present and the future goals or past history) to shift the track and send the train of thought around another circular loop. Only 2 real critical thinkers (from what I can see through these filters, so maybe not even that), and even both of them scared to "use their words" especially as reactionary and divisive as people are becoming these days.
Victims shaped by narcissists become useful tools for narcissists (often giving up hope after so many times of being skrewed and becoming what they hate with their own dark children to feed upon), and this 2nd life "selfie" generation only encourages (demonstrably and statistically) people to grow more narcissistic. Narcissists in turn make very handy tools for sociopaths to use. Nothing like a good social feed pyram!d or p0nzi skeem!