Hey, the Python Software Foundation (the people who make the Python programming language and the standard interpreter for it) just took a big hit to support those of us being targeted by hate.
If you're in a position to do so, maybe consider giving them a donation for being apparently one of the few tech organizations that have our back: psfmember.org/civicrm/contribu… (if you want to verify the link it's the donate button on python.org/)
I almost cried given how many brands and organizations turn their back on us when they're not even standing to lose money.#FOSS #LGBTQIA #TransRights #Trans
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/N…
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python.org/sponsors/applicatio…The PSF has withdrawn $1.5 million proposal to US government grant program
In January 2025, the PSF submitted a proposal to the US government National Science Foundation under the Safety, Security, and Privacy of Op...Python Software Foundation Blog
Dear god my life is cursed with technology right now...
Brand new bullshit issue: my android phone refuses to accept that the wifi is connected to the internet, I can open up pingtools and confirm the dns and ping work fine, even check the URLs it uses to check access and those are fine...
But it won't accept that it's connected and as such tells all the apps there's no connection... despite it being confirmed as working.
This morning I had intermittent network issues on my phone, but my laptop has been fine all day... and now my laptop is still fine but I'm getting this nonsense with my phone...
uuuuugggghhh
Suggestion, seeing someone on youtube talk about adding an anti-ai logo on their product:
Someone needs to set up a non-profit org to just to have these logos be a reliable thing.
For those unaware, a lot of certification logos are not governmental, they're organizations licensing the logos (in many cases for free) and defending their usage via trademark law.
Basic gist of the process:
* You design a logo
* You establish the terms under which the logo can be used (ie. has a basic audit trail to prove that no AI was used)
* You trademark the logo
* You advertise the certification
* You start suing people who misuse the logo
It's not a nothing process... but it just takes time (paperwork, court cases, but also just accepting and dealing with reports) and money (money primarily for registration and legal fees)
If someone does do this, I honestly suggest multiple marks for best effect:
* No AI - everything is generated by them from scratch
* Best Faith No AI - you may have used stock images or the like and as such can't guarantee they didn't use AI
* AI assisted - as much as people complain, it helps to have because it increases adoption and recognition, basically they can prove that all important bits of the content are human created (ie. maybe they used AI for a texture or a background in images, or they wrote most of the text but used AI to fill in small portions)
* AI edited - provably human generated content, but then it was fed through AI to modify it (ie. hand drawn art cleaned up and colored, or written text that used AI literally as an editor)
* AI content, while there's all sorts of ethical debate, many who use AI do believe it should be labeled. And a recognizable label of such could help with recognition of the no AI label
And then a sort of secondary mark for those who pay this org to proactively verify the work (good way to generate funds for the lawsuits against those who falsely label)
#AI
Resharing, I've arrived I'm (kinda) set up in the apartment.
But now what's short of the goal here is going to be debt I have to pick up.
like this
Whelp, server is back online with only one tiny hitch... for some reason my router (OpenWRT) isn't sharing IPv6 addresses and I've literally changed nothing in the move...
So going to have to chew on that for a while...
Heads up that this account (and whole server) is going dark for the next week.
Tomorrow morning shutting down the server for the move, will be back the 22nd or 23rd.
Sharing this story from @Cory Doctorow because it's so much of what I've been saying.
Shipping a model that runs badly – that needs more data-centers and energy to run – is a way to convince investors that it's doing something really advanced (after all, look how much compute and energy it's consuming!).
reshared this
@Dan Shuman @Cory Doctorow The whole article points out that AI itself isn't useless, just that it's being used inefficiently.
Basically like having 20-30 people doing the job of 1 person just because it looks impressive to have that many people on the payroll.
It doesn't mean the 1 person job isn't any good, just that a lot of resources are being wasted that don't have to be.
AAAAAAAAAH!
... slightest hint of possible bad news and I fucking spiraled into a panic attack...
Nothing bad actually happened... other than the panic attack which has me completely wrecked...
Twitchy, on the edge of tears and a complete fucking nightmare storm of emotions...
😭😭😭😭😭
Reinstate the LNER Train guard sacked for saying Free Palestine
I just signed this important petition on Organise, please can you add your name?
Reinstate the LNER Train guard sacked for saying Free Palestine!
organise.network/s/fe74b1102d1…
reshared this
Reinstate the LNER Train guard sacked for saying Free Palestine
I just signed this important petition on Organise, please can you add your name?
Reinstate the LNER Train guard sacked for saying Free Palestine!
organise.network/s/fe74b1102d1…
#palestine reshared this.
I swear... dealing with someone making an anti-AI rant that is so clueless and bordering on incoherent that a low power LLM could do a better job...
Really makes me lose some faith in humanity...
I really wish people had a better ability to grasp nuance instead of blunt "AI evil" or "AI good"... we're fucked.
Mutual Aid Request (no cw because apparently some systems hide hashtag posts that have cws?)
gofundme.com/f/assist-a-jewish…
I'm on the last leg of preparing, apartment is nearly finalized and booking travel arrangements.
Unfortunately that's pretty much everything that's been donated so far by itself.
I can't do a flight mostly because my cat can't safely fly, and to a lesser degree to keep at least some of my things.
My current car can't survive the trip and the option we settled on is I'm going to rent a car and my beloved sister Chelsie is going to drive me up, then take a flight back.
We've got a wonderful friend covering hotel stays, but even then a flight and a cross country car rental is over $1000 combined... that's before we even get to gas.
I also still need some more funds for gas and deposits (because of credit issues my current place took a bond instead of a deposit, so I get nothing back, I almost didn't get an apartment at all because of those issues), plus any setup fees for utilities that come up.
reshared this
When I'm past my move and once I have enough headspace to handle the frustrating conversion period... I think it's time for me to switch my phone to a secure ROM.
Things are getting bad enough that my baseline trust is quickly disappearing (baseline in the sense of "it's not in their interests to do this... yet").
I think when I have the space to handle the setup I'm going to switch my Pixel 8 over to Graphene, especially since their Google Play sandbox will allow me to continue accessing things like my banking app without giving Google total control over my phone...
For anyone thinking the setup is not a big deal, I'm constantly on the verge of tears and/or meltdown right now with the stress of moving cross country away from the people I love for safety...
I don't think I can commit to the frustration of spending so much time re-setting up apps, little oopsies here and there where I lose and have to recreate data, adjusting workflows, etc etc...
Like TTRPGS? Like supporting people who are trying to get back on their feet? How about prestigious names who are also leftist?
Friend of mine just released the FREE quickstart for their new RPG.
Want more reason to dive in and give it a try? This is Malix Nystul... a name that might sound vaguely familiar to those who played 2nd and 3rd edition D&D as dozens of spells bore his name (before 4th genericized all of them). The Archwizard Nystul in Greyhawk is named after him.
So do my wonderful friend a solid and download this, every download helps him out even if you're not spending any money!
drivethrurpg.com/en/product/50…
Basic gist: the NSA, FBI, etc are now actively targeting anyone expressing leftist sentiments or even just being pro-trans rights even if they haven't committed a crime.
It directs them to "investigate, prosecute, and disrupt", again regardless of whether we've committed a crime.
truthout.org/articles/national…
National Security Directive Declares War on Those Who Don’t Support Trump Agenda | Truthout
The directive labels common beliefs such as “anti-capitalist” opinions as terrorism “indicators.”…Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales (Truthout)
reshared this
@PedestrianError Jailing us isn't the only thing they can do, this is mostly going to target shutting down civil rights organizations, media organizations that share dissenting views, protest organizers.
For smaller individuals it'll be things like cutting government benefits, pressuring our employers to fire us, pressuring our landlords to evict us.
It's important that people be prepared for the outcomes of their speech so they can be strategic about it. Speak where it matters.
I'm willfully open because I'm a trans-woman, I'm high up on the list of targets to punish regardless so there's little I can do to make it worse.
And be careful with "they can't jail all of us"... the nazis already answered that problem and it's likely the US is going to do the same in the future...
CW: mutual aid, escaping texas
An update on my request for help. It looks like the move is set, just got to get some final numbers for budgeting. At this point every little bit helps drastically in making sure I don't run face first into another roadblock.
like this
reshared this
To be honest, this is something I see constantly around the fediverse of people shooting themselves in the foot over high minded ideals, choosing the sacrifice the now for an ideal future that won't happen because they're sacrificing it.
Favorite example here is the people that complain about corporate networks but then get angry at and shutdown anyone trying to make it easier for people to leave those networks.
Heads up, if you live in the US and say "fascism is bad" then you're now legally a terrorist...
whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/202…
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Designates Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization – The White House
DESIGNATING ANTIFA AS A DOMESTIC TERRORIST ORGANIZATION: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Order to designate Antifa as a domestic terroristThe White House
Someone was making the "rapture pet insurance" joke (which entertainingly enough such businesses do exist and aren't scams)...
But it randomly made me think of a business idea that I think would be incredible:
Death and Incapacitance Pet Insurance
Basic gist is it's a digital dead-man's switch service, you routinely check in to establish you're still there taking care of your pet. If you stop checking in, then someone reaches out, if they can't get ahold of you they come out and take care of your pet.
One thing I've been worried about for ages is what will happen to Lizzie if something happens to me... With how isolated I am most of the time, it could easily be days or weeks before someone came around to check on her... she could easily die of starvation or dehydration before anyone even knew I was dead.
... It honestly terrifies me.
So the idea of a service with someone in the area who has a copy of my key, and if I stop responding they'll come out, make sure she has adequate food and water for a while, notify family, and eventually take her to a foster or shelter if no family can take her (it'd be truly awful, but it'd be better than her just dying slowly as no-one cares for her).
It strikes me that it would be a pretty easy business to make profitable given that it would so rarely be used. Most customers would never use it given that we typically outlive our pets.
It would just need a retainer paid out to contractors in the area to handle check ins if the automatic check in fails, then if they have to go take care of a pet they get a reasonable payout for the work involved. (If someone just uses it as a sitter for a vacation then they get a significant bill)
Being disabled without any answers, tools to management, and watching it slowly degenerate is... truly awful...
I don't talk about it much because it does little good and usually it's best to just not think about it as much as possible...
I have no diagnosis, no real clue even what is going on... but over the course of two decades my muscles have gotten stiffer and stiffer. It takes more and more effort to move every muscle in my body as time passes, and the muscles move less and less... they even stretch less and less, my range of motion is drastically reduced...
And it hurts... literally constantly all the time... every muscle is constantly strained, and my legs are the worst of the bunch, but I don't know if I can say any muscle is really excluded...
It hurts when sitting, laying down, standing... just existing hurts because there is no position that puts my muscles at rest anymore...
And it's so damn exhausting... even typing this right now I feel it in my fingers...
And I have no idea how bad it's going to get, just that it's still getting worse... I have to wonder if it'll eventually end up in paralysis... (even worse, is it affecting muscular organs like my heart and lungs?)
I've got no idea what it is, and absolutely nothing to address the pain or exhaustion...
And worse yet, pain management isn't a lack of access right now... it's a lack of anything functioning because my body doesn't really respond properly to pain medication.
I have to turn up my apartment temperature as high as I can tolerate to just loosen up my muscles a little bit, and I still have to throw an electric blanket over my legs often, regardless of my sensory issues...
... and that's not even the only thing wrong with me...
just going to say I can't believe this book has fucked me up... a trans magical girl story should not have me processing so much self-worth and self-hate trauma... this was supposed to be lighthearted comfort read dammit...
content warnings: big big trauma feels, parental emotional abuse (low detail), internalized transphobia, very mild external transphobia (one character intentionally misgenders), some suicidal ideation, and abuse of power by a mental health professional
Add this to the pile of ideas I'm unlikely to ever make, not because it's super hard but just because I'm so constantly exhausted and out of spoons... steal away if you want to make it:
There's basically the "big server" problem on the fediverse, where a super large open registration server has so many people on it you don't want to block it and lose all those people... but it inherently is less effectively moderated. Or even on smaller instances there's so many cases of "this wouldn't be acceptable on my instance, but isn't bad enough to defederate a whole instance over".
It's manageable, but has limitations that get worse as the network grows. It's even one of the concerns people have with bridges and corporate platforms adding support (ie. bluesky and threads respectively).
But there's an idea in Bluesky I kinda like that feels like it could be tweaked and imported over here. Which is subscribable moderation.
I'm not proposing just subscribing to all sorts of block lists from strangers, but a way of having shared moderation that people can team up on.
Basic idea I had was an open source platform (so others can run it for both redundancy and cutting down on smaller censorship disputes). On that platform, someone can create and become the admin of a moderation group. Then they can invite other people to that group as moderators (or in the case of private groups, members).
Then basically have auditable moderation lists made by the groups (showing which moderator took which action and when... especially good for undoing things if problems arise, but also for checking the list before you import an update), then server admins and users can follow a list and subscribe/import it.
Was even thinking this could be improved with things like public reporting, where reporting it to the server would send the report to all lists that haven't already blocked them (servers could even share this between eachother easily enough). Additionally admins could piggyback their list off of others (basically lists that are less restrictive than yours, so you might pull from "We only block Nazis" because you know anyone they're blocking isn't going to be in question).
#FediMeta #Meta #Ideas #Idea #Suggestion #Suggestions #Moderation
Shannon Prickett reshared this.
Yea, part of the AP protocol is you have to tell the server of the user you are blocking. When you unblock you have to also tell the server as well. If those messages are not processed correctly the block isn't lifted.
Now normally, you'd just manually block and unblock again to send a fresh message. But when you are dealing with lists there are UX challenges there. How do you communicate to the user that a block/unblock didn't go through and they need to retry? Or do you just keep retrying with exponential backoff? None of this is insurmountable, but distributed networks are hard 😅
Oh and there is some disagreement over what a standards-compliant server should do about Block messages
socialhub.activitypub.rocks/t/…
The Block activity, how's that supposed to work?
I’m now at the point where I’m satisfied with my main features and almost ready to make my first release. Though in order to be a feasible fediverse server, I need to implement some sort of user blocking. So here goes.SocialHub
@ראַף 🟣 I definitely agree that there isn't an explicit subscription option, and that's entirely down to toolkits on the instance side imo.
I imagined manual imports, but with convenient links for those who might want to build tools to automate those imports. Maybe an option to also email updates as a way to notify, but that's kinda secondary imo.
I just pictured along the lines of:
example.com/modlists/Punch-All… for raw importable blocklist
example.com/modlists/Punch-All… for a simple history that shows the blocklist stuff, plus add/remove, who, and when.
Then others can build tools to handle much of it, (like on friendica it would take barely any effort to write such a tool for server admins).
And basically just take unix methodology for the tools that import into other instances, focus on providing the list and a separate tool can be used to automate it.
Arcanasphere (Andrew Glyph)
in reply to Shiri Bailem • • •Shiri Bailem
in reply to Arcanasphere (Andrew Glyph) • •