aebletrae [she/her]

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  • 15 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 23rd, 2023

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  • “Instance” seems too jargon-y to me as well, and “proxy” is even worse. “Server” and “host” are probably a little more familiar, but are still technical language.

    Confusion doesn’t stem from individual words; people need explanations and examples, but, as an alternative to “instance”, if you want to extend the “communities” metaphor, then “society” as a cluster of communities is a natural option, particularly since it relates to the widely understood concept of social media. Since most people using the Internet also know what a web “site” is, you could use the sibilant linguistic association to help cement the notion:—

    Each society has its own web site, such as:

    • aussie.zone, where the communities relate to Australia;
    • programming.dev, where the communities discuss software development;
    • and lemmy.film, where the communites are about movies.

    You can choose which society you want to join, although some will ask you to fill out an application. Most societies have connections to others, meaning that you can discuss things with people who are part of different societies. Often, you’ll recognise them by their username saying that they’re at (@) another site. Not all societies get along with one another, so which one you join will also affect who you can talk with.

    Each society has its own rules it expects you to follow, whether you are a member of that society or just visiting.

    This kind of language seems more intuitive to me anyway, although when I’ve tried describing instances and federation before now, I’ve likened instances to countries:—

    You choose somewhere to live (and you can move later if you want). If there’s a cross-border agreement, then you can send messages back and forth between people in each place.

    but this has also meant stressing that your instance “country” doesn’t have to match where you physically live, so a more general term probably would have been more useful.







  • Uh, the XiBucks, obviously.

    Look, I get it. Hexbear is a demanding place to be. It expects you to not be a complete asshole almost all the time. You’re regularly tested on knowledge of an emoji system so complex, it’s been known to make London cab drivers cry. If you unthinkingly parrot talking points, you’ll be pounced on with annoying facts and aggressive reasonable concern for the value of other people. And if you emit the slightest Hitler particle, you’ll be outright banned. How authoritarian! Honesty, sometimes I wonder why I signed up, never mind stay around.

    But then I remember that the folks there are a deeply caring lot, who see the problems in the world and actually want to do something about it—even though the goal often seems barely possible—and, in spite of everything, retain a sense of humour and try to make improvements for each other, even if, for now at least, it can only be a :meow-hug:.

    Oh, and the XiBucks, of course. Some of us even get roubles, too!




  • I know you deleted your earlier nonsense, but I saw some of it first, so I know how out of touch you are. You were wrong about how much wealth people have, but even after having that corrected, here you are with “It’s just how the world works”, another incorrect assertion that might describe your experience of the world, but is unrepresentative for humanity as a whole.

    Most people don’t have the luxuries you so clearly take for granted. Turning down exploitative employment is only an option for those with money in reserve. Most people do not have that. Going somewhere else means separation from family and friends—easy enough for the thoroughly unlikable, but community is important to most members of a social species. And, anyway, that’s assuming there aren’t legal restrictions like immigration controls. As I said before, most lives are more constrained than yours, and that isn’t because those people are any less deserving. That is how the world works.

    I’m going to suggest you read the article “Why Fascism is the Wave of the Future” by Edward Luttwak. Don’t worry, it’s just a warning, and it starts:—

    That capitalism unobstructed by public regulations, cartels, monopolies, oligopolies, effective trade unions, cultural inhibitions or kinship obligations is the ultimate engine of economic growth is an old-hat truth

    so it’s not commie propaganda. But it might relieve you of some of your misconceptions, since you clearly aren’t listening to us here. Of course, you could just carry on regardless, but then it’ll be just far too clear that you’re not acting in good faith.