nromdotcom @ nromdotcom @beehaw.org

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2

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35

Joined

2 yr. ago

It's always interesting when someone is like "I wish I could go back to using smaller sites/forums or try some more open/ethical platforms, but I can't because all of my family are on Facebook."

Remember just 20 years ago when most of your family wasn't anywhere on the internet and that was just fine? I recognize that I'm saying this as a semi-isolated weirdo on some relatively obscure corner of the Internet, but it's okay to not be in constant passive contact with everyone you've ever met. Yeah it's more work to keep in touch with the folks you actually care about if you can't do so passively via Facebook, but that's how it always was. Email exists, texts and phone calls exist, meeting up exists.

If there are people you care about you can still keep in touch with them without using the same social media platform as them. Just like in the 90s you didn't need to read rec.models.railroad to keep in touch with your model train loving uncle.

I get that these connections (whatever one might say of their quality or tangibility if the interaction is just "look at picture, press like button") are important to people and one of the positives of platforms like Facebook, but if you're going to bemoan not being able to seek alternatives solely because the entire world isn't switching with you, it's important to realize that is a choice and not a requirement.

There were lots of games back then. And many of them were as bad or worse than the shittiest shovelware and template swaps we've got today.

Thing is, most people don't remember the 200 Action Games 3 disc pack at the bottom of the bargain bin cause they sucked.

I'm not disputing that there is more "stuff" these days by raw numbers, with the barrier to creation and distribution of games and such dramatically lowered by ubiquitous and easy to use tooling. But I bet the ratios of good games to shitty games won't have changed too terribly much over the years.

DMVs are sometimes where states will dump troublesome or underperforming employees they can't outright fire.

On the other end, the DMV is one of the places where employees have a job interacting with the public for sometimes-complex transactions. And, generally speaking, the public is dumb, unpleasant, and unprepared. Especially when dealing with low-level government beaurocrats who are telling them something they don't want to hear.

It is absolutely blowing my mind how many people are looking at this and thinking that is trying to show, like, primary land use per block on the map or something?

Like it's well-known that maple syrup comes exclusively from northwest PA, plus all the logging that happens in downtown San Francisco and LA.

I gave away my NES, 3DS, Dreamcast, N64, and all related games and peripherals a few years ago cause they were taking up too much room for stuff I barely ever used.

I've already played these games on (3)DS back in 2013 or so, so I agree it's the best way to play em. But I just don't have the time, money, or space to be a retro game collector (outside of Evercade) anymore so I'll make do with playing these games on Switch.

I'm playing through the Switch re-releases now and they're great. The mapping controls leave a lot to be desired versus the DS originals, but it was never gonna be as good as that magic.

But it's not an invitation from an owner/occupant. I say it's no good. Or at least not directly, of course just like with regular police the warrant is useful in coercing an actual invitation.

On the other hand, the implicit invitation offered by the welcome mat by the door does provide entrance.

No, one report goes to each involved instance. So if the reported user and community of the post were in the same instance, a community moderator could "hide" that report from the instance admin by taking quick action. But an additional report would still go to the instance admin of the reporting user and that instance admin could choose to defederate from the problematic instance.

Yeah, I like that. After being able to recognize and validate claims, being able to verify the validity (at least logically if not factually) of any conclusions drawn from those claims seems like a good next step.

I dunno. For someone just starting to want to think critically during discussions of when reading things, asking them to get serious in the academic pursuit of logic and argument theory might not be the way. For one, it's probably just asking for them to get stalled in the sort of dunning kruger zone of identifying fallacies and stopping there.

Especially when such behavior is already endemic to the internet and many platforms have feedback loops designed to reward this behavior. Just dunk on 'em and move on - watch the upvotes and retweets roll in.

I definitely don't want discourage OP from learning anything, but I do want to be careful in what direction we point a beginner.

I think maybe learning to find good sources of information and verify claims might be a better first step. That doesn't give OP any shortcuts I'm discussions, which is good. Then they may begin to notice different patterns or forms of discussion and at that point they can start to classify them and learn about them if they see fit.

Agreed. OP should be working on critical thinking skills in general and not specifically focusing on logical fallacies.

Logical fallacies and argumentation theory in general certainly have their place. But unless you're taking part in a debate club or otherwise getting really really deep into these topics, they may do you more harm than good in thinking critically and having productive discussions.

The reddit (and, previously, slashdot) obsession with logical fallacies has been almost entirely as a way to prevent critical thinking and end discussion rather than promoting either.

Tom Waits - Glitter & Doom

James McMurtry & the Heartless Bastards - Live in Aught-Three

16 Horsepower - Hoarse

Pain of Salvation - Be (live)

I almost never prefer live albums, but these work for me. Some live albums are "you had to be there" things for me. And even some where I was there (Rush Snakes and Arrows Live), they don't work for me. I can't really articulate why.

Amazing! Welcome to the world (or worlds?)! There are so many different types of games that fit under this umbrella that it can be a little overwhelming.

The games I mentioned in my above comment offer a pretty good cross-section of different types of games built for solo. But there are some I didn't touch on. And there are also plenty of different types of multiplayer games with lots of different themes and mechanics - it's not just D&D anymore.

If you want any more specific recommendations or tips as you explore and get started - or if you just want to share about some of the games you've been playing - definitely start a new post about it in this community. I love chatting about these games!

You say you're open to anything, but can you clarify if you prefer board/card games or TTRPGs?

There are a ton of free solo TTRPGs all along the spectrum to simple journaling games to full on RPG experiences. Alone Among The Stars, Thousand Year Old Vampire, Starforged, Colostle, and tons more. If you're into that idea, check a few out - there are lots available pay-what-you-want on itch.

As far as boardgames, I love Nemo's War 2nd Edition as a solo game. Many of the Tiny Epic games have solo modes that are pretty fun. Someone else mentioned Friday which is good fun, too.

A 45 minute "round table" with multiple rando masto instance admins? That doesn't sound like enough time for the table to get very round.

It sounds more like 5 minutes introduction, 30 minute presentation by Meta, 10 minutes Q&A. But oops our presentation ran just a bit long, and I really do have a hard stop at noon so we really only have about 5 minutes for questions thanks for all of the valuable feedback we'll be sure to circle back offline.