• GAB

    From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to All on Tue Jan 26 22:00:26 2021
    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you might
    want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    i love it.
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Tue Jan 26 23:49:24 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    i love it.

    Great. Have fun.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Wed Jan 27 08:15:17 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    i love it.

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Thanks for the reminder though.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 08:17:30 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Tue Jan 26 2021 11:49 pm

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    This is getting old.

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 08:13:29 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:15 am

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Yeah, the reason I use Facebook is because I know many people who use it. I used to use MySpace years ago, before everyone moved to Facebook. If I don't know anyone who uses it, I don't think there's much of a point.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 09:03:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to MRO <=-

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books,
    films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    ROTFLAO!!

    That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever read. And I've read stuff by AOC
    so that says a lot.


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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 10:10:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dream Master <=-

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    This is getting old.

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but
    don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some
    application of their ToS'.

    Agreed. It's also ridiculous to claim that it's in *ANY* way related
    to "national security".

    It's simply Liberal censorship to keep the masses in their place while
    they go about dismantling the freedoms and rights of this country.


    ... So easy, a child could do it. Child sold separately.
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 09:01:13 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:17 am

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct violation of their ToS. Hell, my wife got banned on Facebook for 30 days because she told her best friend, "If you stop being my friend I'll kill you." The problem with Trump is that his posts were getting progressively fringe and were causing a significant stir.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 12:52:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Arelor <=-

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct
    violation of their ToS.

    Have you actually read/listened to what Trump *ACTUALLY* *SAID*
    regarding the crowd at the Capitol? If you're only watching CNN and
    the like, you haven't, because they HAVE NOT PLAYED IT. Reason? They
    don't want you/us to hear what he actually said, because it clearly
    debunks the claim that he was "inciting violence".

    Come on man, at least try a LITTLE to get the facts. What the leftist
    media is feeding you is...... garbage.

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is
    relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol
    building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Wed Jan 27 20:58:00 2021
    MRO wrote to All <=-

    @MSGID: <6010E55A.2443.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    i love it.

    I hear someone in America got fired, simply for using GAB! https://www.rt.com/usa/513737-literary-agency-fired-conservative-parler-gab/

    It worries me that the rest of the Western world (including Australia) takes its cultural cues from the US. I definately don't want such action normalised.

    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 13:35:37 2021
    Come on man, at least try a LITTLE to get the facts. What the leftist
    media is feeding you is...... garbage.

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    Trump also said you have to fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore.

    here's a short video clip.

    https://youtu.be/4-HRbNbdOTE

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Rudy Giulianai also called for trial by combat before the insurection.

    It's no surprise the insurectionists did just that.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

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    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 15:00:35 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Gamgee to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 12:52 pm

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Here you go...

    No third-world countries would even attempt to do what we caught them doing. And you'll hear about that in just a few minutes.

    Republicans are, Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his back. It's like a boxer. And we want to be so nice. We want to be so respectful of everybody, including bad people. And we're going to have to fight much harder.

    And Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us, and if he doesn't, that will be a, a sad day for our country because you're sworn to uphold our Constitution.

    Now, it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk down.

    Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.

    Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.

    I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.

    Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity of our elections. But whether or not they stand strong for our country, our country. Our country has been under siege for a long time. Far longer than this four-year period. We've set it on a much greater course. So much, and we, I thought, you know, four more years. I thought it would be easy.

    ... read the subtext because that's exactly what the insurrectionists did ...

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 20:00:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Here you go...

    No third-world countries would even attempt to do what we caught
    them doing. And you'll hear about that in just a few minutes.

    Republicans are, Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer
    with his hands tied behind his back. It's like a boxer. And we
    want to be so nice. We want to be so respectful of everybody,
    including bad people. And we're going to have to fight much
    harder.

    And Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us, and if he
    doesn't, that will be a, a sad day for our country because you're
    sworn to uphold our Constitution.

    Now, it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on
    our democracy. And after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll
    be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk
    down.

    Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down
    to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators
    and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be
    cheering so much for some of them.

    Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You
    have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to
    demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the
    electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.

    I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the
    Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices
    heard.

    Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity
    of our elections. But whether or not they stand strong for our
    country, our country. Our country has been under siege for a long
    time. Far longer than this four-year period. We've set it on a
    much greater course. So much, and we, I thought, you know, four
    more years. I thought it would be easy.

    ... read the subtext because that's exactly what the
    insurrectionists did ...

    I'm not sure how to respond to someone with zero comprehension
    (apparently) of the English language.

    There is NOTHING in the above that is "inciting violence". Perhaps
    you're not a native English speaker, I don't know. There are other
    meanings to the word "fight" than what you seem to think.

    I'll not respond further to you because there is no point in it.





    ... Ignorance can be cured. Stupid is forever.
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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Al on Wed Jan 27 20:13:00 2021
    Al wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Come on man, at least try a LITTLE to get the facts. What the leftist
    media is feeding you is...... garbage.

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    Trump also said you have to fight like hell, and if you don't
    fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore.

    There are many different meanings/nuances to the word "fight". But
    you knew that.

    here's a short video clip.

    https://youtu.be/4-HRbNbdOTE

    Yep, watched the whole thing. Not one single example of him "inciting violence" in there.

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Rudy Giulianai also called for trial by combat before the
    insurection.

    We're not talking about Rudy Giuliani.

    It's no surprise the insurectionists did just that.

    There were no "insurrectionists". There may have been quite a few
    (left-wing) Antifa instigators in there getting things started,
    though. They did a reasonable job of impersonating Trump supporters,
    even.

    I'll tell you the same thing I told the other guy - I'll not respond
    further to you, because you've already got your mind made up,
    regardless of any facts presented to you, and will not change. It's a
    waste of my time to bother with you.


    ... Ignorance can be cured. Stupid is forever.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 21:02:30 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Tue Jan 26 2021 11:49 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt
    insane.

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    that's your own made up definition. that's not really what censorship means.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Great. Have fun.


    thank you for your validation
    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 21:07:25 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:15 am

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt
    insane.

    i love it.

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.


    i'm lazy so i was using social media for news sometimes.

    then when something sucks, i post that it sucks and people call me a bot, a nazi or a racist. this is usually about that rittenhouse guy. he was attacked by a mob of people after putting out a dumpster fire and killed a child molester and a woman beater and another dude in self defense. and it was all captured on video by rioters.

    the thing is, this kid is hispanic but he looks white. so they like to make comments that they think he should get raped by black people in prison and shit like that.

    Personally, i just think social media is toxic and these media giants are trying to take over everything.

    i just want a place to post funny pictures and baby videos to my friends.
    too man psychotic deranged people nowadays.
    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 21:08:06 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:17 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Tue Jan 26 2021 11:49 pm

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    This is getting old.

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.


    also twitter and facebook let pedophiles run wild on their services.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Wed Jan 27 21:09:27 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:15 am

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social
    media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Yeah, the reason I use Facebook is because I know many people who use it. I used to use MySpace years ago, before everyone moved to Facebook. If I don't know anyone who uses it, I don't think there's much of a point.


    well that's why people move to these services. there's nothing real special about it but 'everybody' uses it. i just like gab because it's not a cesspool. i used to like friendster. that's where i met my long term girlfriend. it's sad, the internet isnt as innocent as it used to be.
    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dr. What on Wed Jan 27 21:11:08 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:03 am

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    ROTFLAO!!

    That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever read. And I've read stuff by AOC so that says a lot.

    trump said to go there and fight. cheer for the good representatives and maybe dont cheer for the bad ones. that's not inciting a riot.

    these liberal haters are going to get worse and worse as joe biden fucks up and ruins the country more and more. they will run out of excuses. i dont know how much denial they can exert on themselves.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Thu Jan 28 01:18:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <6011B7E1.20068.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60118E49.2481.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Dream Master wrote to Arelor <=-

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct
    violation of their ToS.

    Have you actually read/listened to what Trump *ACTUALLY* *SAID*
    regarding the crowd at the Capitol? If you're only watching CNN and
    the like, you haven't, because they HAVE NOT PLAYED IT. Reason? They don't want you/us to hear what he actually said, because it clearly debunks the claim that he was "inciting violence".

    Come on man, at least try a LITTLE to get the facts. What the leftist media is feeding you is...... garbage.

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Time and time again, when someone who makes a claim that Trump advocated this or that, and are pressed for the actual quote, they come up empty.

    All I need to do, is make the false claim that Dream Master is a bigot, and the fact I made that is enough for the media to say "Dream Master, who has been described as a bigot..."

    People fall for this, so the media does it. Terrible.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 21:18:24 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:01 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:17 am

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but
    don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some
    application of their ToS'.

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct violation of their ToS. Hell, my wife got banned on Facebook for 30 days because she told her best friend, "If you stop being my friend I'll kill you." The problem with Trump is that his posts were getting progressively fringe and


    their terms of service encompass anything and everything. i got banned for saying 'i don't care for it' in regards to a tv show. i even have a screenshot of it.

    fuck facebook and people that think what facebook is doing is every right. facebook is an evil company ran by evil people.
    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Wed Jan 27 21:20:10 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:58 pm

    MRO wrote to All <=-

    @MSGID: <6010E55A.2443.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt
    insane.

    i love it.

    I hear someone in America got fired, simply for using GAB! https://www.rt.com/usa/513737-literary-agency-fired-conservative-parler-ga b/


    yeah it's nuts. parler and gab arent what the media made them out to be. they're quite boring. it's just a big target because conservatives use it.

    i like it because they allow free speech. they allow anything but illegal activity.


    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    biden can't do anything.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Nightfox on Wed Jan 27 16:24:17 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 am

    Yeah, the reason I use Facebook is because I know many people who use it. I used to use MySpace years ago, before everyone moved to Facebook. If I don't know anyone who uses it, I don't think there's much of a point.

    Someone reverse-engineered MySpace. Check out SpaceHey.com, I'm going to find a grainy 320x240 selfie and pretend it's 2001 again. :)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Jan 27 22:44:05 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Wed Jan 27 2021 04:24 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 am

    Yeah, the reason I use Facebook is because I know many people who
    use it. I used to use MySpace years ago, before everyone moved to
    Facebook. If I don't know anyone who uses it, I don't think there's
    much of a point.

    Someone reverse-engineered MySpace. Check out SpaceHey.com, I'm going to find a grainy 320x240 selfie and pretend it's 2001 again. :)


    myspace's code was put on the internet years ago. it was before they made their last changes. i ran a myspace clone and i was going to make it for bbs people and intergrate the torrents.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 21:45:09 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Gamgee to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:00 pm

    I'm not sure how to respond to someone with zero comprehension
    (apparently) of the English language.

    Guess what major I had in college? Let me help you: English.

    There is NOTHING in the above that is "inciting violence". Perhaps
    you're not a native English speaker, I don't know. There are other
    meanings to the word "fight" than what you seem to think.

    The beauty of language is the subtleties of speech. If you've created a narrative, which Trump did, constructing the belief that the election was stolen, the "Deep State" was out to destroy America, and the only way to take back the "stolen election" was to head to the Capitol and intimidate our elected representatives, than Donald J. Trump successed.

    These people would die for Trump. They adhere to his every word. He could say the Democrats are trying to poison the water supply and the only way to survive is to drink Evian water. They'd go out and grab every bottle of Evian ensuring their safety through the Democrat onslaught of America's patriots. (Evian would make a killing, which he would prepare them for.)

    Remember, subtlety is the key and Trump is the king of it. He knows how to construct a narrative that his followers would consume. Not only that, Trump has his cronies that help with it. What have you done? You eat it up.

    I'll not respond further to you because there is no point in it.

    Excellent. When you're ready to jump into the deep end, let me know. Debating people who only make baseless arguments are easy fodder.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Wed Jan 27 21:49:42 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:02 pm

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    that's your own made up definition. that's not really what censorship means.

    Actually, that definition is taken directly from the Oxford English Dictionary. I chose not to cite the reference as I wanted to see a response similar to yours.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Whom, may I ask?

    Great. Have fun.

    thank you for your validation

    My pleasure.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Wed Jan 27 23:30:37 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    i love it.

    I'm looking for a Twatter replacement, Parler got shut down by the big tech Commies, and I got rid of my twatter account and my Amazon account.
    I'm working on getting rid of Google as well.
    Twatter has lost 5 billion so far :)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 23:35:54 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Tue Jan 26 2021 11:49 pm

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    Ok so Antifa used twitter and facebook to carry out the destruction of several cities last year, Why arent they being censored?
    Oh that's right because they are extreme leftist's
    Twitter and Facbook are losing millions of people world wide because of the double standards.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 23:44:13 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:17 am

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    This is getting old.

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.

    The real threat to National security is people Like Biden, Harris, Pelosi and Schummer.
    You're right it's the double standard at play here.
    What they did to Parler is a damn shame, it's called destroying the competition.
    Facebook and twatter were used by antifa to co-ordinate their attacks on cities, Police and Civilians, yet no back lash for Fackbook and Twitter.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Dr. What on Wed Jan 27 23:45:36 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:03 am

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books,
    films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    ROTFLAO!!

    That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever read. And I've read stuff by AOC so that says a lot.

    :)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 23:51:25 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Gamgee to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 12:52 pm

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct
    violation of their ToS.

    Have you actually read/listened to what Trump *ACTUALLY* *SAID*
    regarding the crowd at the Capitol? If you're only watching CNN and
    the like, you haven't, because they HAVE NOT PLAYED IT. Reason? They don't want you/us to hear what he actually said, because it clearly debunks the claim that he was "inciting violence".

    Come on man, at least try a LITTLE to get the facts. What the leftist media is feeding you is...... garbage.

    Reminds me of the 3 & 1/2 years spent on the Russia Hoax.
    Turns out Biden was knee deep in China and Ukrane.
    and Lol on the "come on man" :)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 00:05:10 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:08 pm

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but
    don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some
    application of their ToS'.


    also twitter and facebook let pedophiles run wild on their services.

    Also twitter is a Porn medium.
    and there are no age checks for all the porn they serve, never hear anyone say anything about @jack for having porn that children can access.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 00:22:14 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:45 pm

    The beauty of language is the subtleties of speech. If you've created a narrative, which Trump did, constructing the belief that the election was stolen, the "Deep State" was out to destroy America, and the only way to take back the "stolen election" was to head to the Capitol and intimidate our elected representatives, than Donald J. Trump successed.

    The election was stolen!
    13 million more votes than there were registered voters, Republicans not being allowed to Observe even though law permits them to.
    Dates on ballots being changed to be counted when legally they should not have been.
    Ballot Dumps in the middle of the night in key battleground states that were 95% for Biden.
    "Come on man" you just follow your party bullshit hook line and sinker without looking at facts.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 00:24:39 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:49 pm

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of
    books, films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    that's your own made up definition. that's not really what censorship
    means.

    Actually, that definition is taken directly from the Oxford English Dictionary. I chose not to cite the reference as I wanted to see a response similar to yours.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Whom, may I ask?

    If you read his original message he was talking about GAB as an alternative social media.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Nightfox on Wed Jan 27 23:31:00 2021
    Hello Nightfox!

    ** On Wednesday 27.01.21 - 08:13, Nightfox wrote to Arelor:

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative
    social media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a
    point.

    Yeah, the reason I use Facebook is because I know many
    people who use it. I used to use MySpace years ago, before
    everyone moved to Facebook. If I don't know anyone who uses
    it, I don't think there's much of a point.

    There is a growing group of sysops hopping onto Telegram. :D

    The desktop app is very nice to use.

    All the english-speaking groups are private, so you have to ask
    to join.

    There is even a way to send to netmail addresses and receive
    replies. More info can be found in the fidonet FIDONET.TELEGRAM
    echo. ;)


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Gamgee on Thu Jan 28 00:37:30 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Gamgee to Al on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 pm

    Trump also said you have to fight like hell, and if you don't
    fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore.

    There are many different meanings/nuances to the word "fight". But
    you knew that.

    Trump's words and their meanings are simple.

    Rudy Giulianai also called for trial by combat before the
    insurection.

    We're not talking about Rudy Giuliani.

    Rudy, along with Don Jr. were part of it. Trump wasn't acting alone. He has many enablers.

    I'll tell you the same thing I told the other guy - I'll not respond further to you, because you've already got your mind made up,
    regardless of any facts presented to you, and will not change. It's a waste of my time to bother with you.

    As you please.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Apathy Error: Don't Bother Striking Any Key

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 04:52:41 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:01 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:17 am

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due
    some application of their ToS'.

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct violation of their ToS. Hell, my wife got banned on Facebook fo
    30 days because she told her best friend, "If you stop being my friend I'll kill you." The problem with Trump is that his
    posts were getting progressively fringe and were causing a significant stir.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS


    That argument only flies if you think Trump has being inciting violence.

    Last posts before he got banned from Twitter were asking people to be peaceful and to cooperate with the authorities.

    Meanwhile I know people who posts that the want to smash white heterosexual male's mouths against the sidewalk and they get
    temporary bans.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Al on Thu Jan 28 04:57:32 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Al to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 2021 01:35 pm

    Come on man, at least try a LITTLE to get the facts. What the leftist media is feeding you is...... garbage.

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your
    voices heard."

    Trump also said you have to fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore.

    here's a short video clip.

    https://youtu.be/4-HRbNbdOTE

    Lots of Union members use exactly the same sort of wording.

    "It is time we fight for our rights"

    "It is time we fight against corporative greed"

    "It is time we fight with all we got against rubbish contracts"

    Yet UGT or CCOO members don't get banned... so I am not buying the excuse that Trump got banned because of that.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 04:59:41 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Gamgee on Wed Jan 27 2021 03:00 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Gamgee to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 12:52 pm

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your
    voices heard."

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Here you go...

    Typical Unionist speak.

    If you aplied the same standards against Unions you would get all of them banned for terrorism.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Thu Jan 28 05:01:32 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:07 pm

    then when something sucks, i post that it sucks and people call me a bot, a nazi or a racist. this is usually about that

    Well, if they think you are a bot, what are they talking to you? :-) Comes to show how retarded people can get.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Thu Jan 28 05:12:36 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:18 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:01 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:17 am

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but
    don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some
    application of their ToS'.

    But it is. If you are inciting violence, you are in direct violation of their ToS. Hell, my wife got banned on Facebook
    for 30 days because she told her best friend, "If you stop being my friend I'll kill you." The problem with Trump is th
    his posts were getting progressively fringe and


    their terms of service encompass anything and everything. i got banned for saying 'i don't care for it' in regards to a tv
    show. i even have a screenshot of it.

    fuck facebook and people that think what facebook is doing is every right. facebook is an evil company ran by evil people.

    I think I have already mentioned it. The problem with ToS is that they are up for the interpretation of the service
    administrator, so the whole thing always ends up with the service administrator calling the shots.

    Specially where the lines are blurry.

    Most people would not think using an stereotypical mariachi as an avatar in a forum is racist, but some administrators will get
    you banned for racism if you set one - the ToS saying that "Racist behaviour is not allowed" or a variation of that.

    Most people would not think that complaining that some RPG manual comes with political propaganda counts as hate speech, but
    some administrators may get you banned if you complain that your RPG manual is pro-whatever - the admin declares that if you
    don't like the propaganda, you must be anti-what that propaganda promotes, which counds as hateful behavior, and hateful
    behavior is not allowed by the ToS.

    My take is that the ToS is just an excuse to ban whoever you want.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Denn on Thu Jan 28 05:23:12 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 11:30 pm

    I'm looking for a Twatter replacement, Parler got shut down by the big tech Commies, and I got rid of my twatter account and
    Amazon account.
    I'm working on getting rid of Google as well.
    Twatter has lost 5 billion so far :)


    I never had a Twitter account. I had a Facebook account some time ago, in order to get my books promoted, but I ended up
    deleting it because it didn't work for me. It was more profitable to just leg it to events and promote my books personally.

    I sicncerely think the capabilities of social media for boosting local business are overrated.

    Google is a harder beast to dodge.

    You can use alternate search engines, email services, and refrain yourself from using Youtube. However, if you use an Android
    phone you need to register with them and you are pretty much tied to their ecosystem. The alternative is Apple which is not my
    kind of poison either. You can purchase a cheap 2nd hand phone and flash it, load firmware without Google code in it, and call
    it a day. It makes a hell of a lot of a difference - seriously, compare the tcpdumps from an android phone and a LineageOs
    phone. However, you lose access to a lot of applications that expect a Google stack installed, including banking and popular
    messaging.

    I was completely Google free until banks here started pushing you to use a smartphone with a Google stack in order to use their
    online services. There is this push from unrelated corpos trying you to get on board with Google or Apple. It is scary.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Mantrid@VERT/UKBBS to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 12:20:03 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 05:23 am

    You can use alternate search engines, email services, and refrain yourself f using Youtube. However, if you use an Android phone you need to register wit them and you are pretty much tied to their ecosystem. The alternative is App which is not my kind of poison either. You can purchase a cheap 2nd hand pho and flash it, load firmware without Google code in it, and call it a day. It makes a hell of a lot of a difference - seriously, compare the tcpdumps from android phone and a LineageOs phone. However, you lose access to a lot of applications that expect a Google stack installed, including banking and popular messaging.

    yeah I'bve been running lineageOS for years (The only way to get updates on a 2015 phone that i refuse to replace until it breaks...) and only the barclays app prevented me from logging in. Natwest and Monzo were fine with it, so I just closed my Barclays account and migrated it to monzo. If they don't suit my needs they don't get my business, but I'm not building my life around their crappy app

    ----------------------
    United Kingdom BBS: ukbbs.zapto.org:64 (40cols) ukbbs.zapto.org:128 (80cols)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ United Kingdom BBS - ukbbs.zapto.org
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 04:14:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Al on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:57 am

    Yet UGT or CCOO members don't get banned... so I am not buying the excuse that Trump got banned because of that.

    Banned from various social media sites you mean? That was because of his lies and misinformation.

    He was impeached because he incited a insurrection.

    If find it odd I would be thinking this or typing those words here and now, but as Donald Trump would say "it is what it is".

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From HusTler@VERT/HAVENS to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 08:14:16 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 am

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social media,
    but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Make more friends in BBS land and you won't need alternative social media. That's my view anyway. ;-)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Havens BBS havens.synchro.net
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Denn on Thu Jan 28 07:00:00 2021
    Denn wrote to MRO <=-

    I'm looking for a Twatter replacement, Parler got shut down by the big tech Commies, and I got rid of my twatter account and my Amazon
    account.

    Some of the Fediverse systems have a feed like Twitter, but the problem is
    the user Catch-22. Without users, there's no impetus to join/contribute,
    which means there's less content for others to want to read.

    I was involved in Identi.ca/status.net, I'm on a drinking basis with the founders. It was nice having a group of people on a non-commercial social network to hang out with; especially since they are old BBS friends. We've been playing recently with Keybase and Signal groups to connect.

    poindexter fortran | pfortran at realitycheckbbs dot org
    | http://realitycheckbbs.org
    | 1:218/700@fidonet






    ... The neuroanatomy of fear and faith share common afferent pathways.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Denn on Thu Jan 28 07:04:00 2021
    Denn wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Ok so Antifa used twitter and facebook to carry out the destruction of several cities last year, Why arent they being censored?

    Why don't you ask @jack?


    ... All of this has happened before, and it will happen
    gain...again...again...
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Thu Jan 28 07:05:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Nightfox <=-

    There is a growing group of sysops hopping onto Telegram. :D

    The desktop app is very nice to use.

    There is even a way to send to netmail addresses and receive
    replies. More info can be found in the fidonet FIDONET.TELEGRAM
    echo. ;)

    I should try the desktop app; reading Fidonet on my phone, where I use Telegram the most, is a little off-putting.


    ... Such a format will close the door.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 09:30:27 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 05:23 am

    I never had a Twitter account. I had a Facebook account some time ago, in order to get my books promoted, but I ended up deleting it because it didn't work for me. It was more profitable to just leg it to events and promote my books personally.

    I got rid of facebook years ago,
    I just recently dumped twitter and Amazon.

    Google is a harder beast to dodge.

    That's so true, I do however use Firefox with Duck duck go about half the time.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Al on Thu Jan 28 09:40:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Al to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:14 am

    Yet UGT or CCOO members don't get banned... so I am not buying the
    excuse that Trump got banned because of that.

    Banned from various social media sites you mean? That was because of his lies and misinformation.

    You want lies and mis information look at the 3 & 1/2 year Russia Hoax.
    What mis-Information? Just because you buy into the fake news media agenda who BTW vomit non stop mis-information, the Media cannot be trusted they are an arm of the DNC agenda.

    He was impeached because he incited a insurrection.

    If find it odd I would be thinking this or typing those words here and now, but as Donald Trump would say "it is what it is".

    He did NOT incite an insurrection, he made it very clear that we have the right to peacefully protest and he pushed the peaceful protest aspect.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Jan 28 08:07:29 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Wed Jan 27 2021 04:24 pm

    Someone reverse-engineered MySpace. Check out SpaceHey.com, I'm going to find a grainy 320x240 selfie and pretend it's 2001 again. :)

    I've thought it could be fun to make my own company called BlueHat. It could own sub-brands such as YourSpace, MeTube, and ButtBook.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 08:14:13 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:58 pm

    It worries me that the rest of the Western world (including Australia) takes its cultural cues from the US. I definately don't want such action normalised.

    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    People sometimes boycott a company if the company is doing something they don't agree with. People have done that for a long time, but I suppose this cancel culture is getting a bit out of hand. I've also heard of instances where a hiring manager at a company might check for any political bumper stickers on a candidate's car and if they have anything with the "wrong" political party, they won't be hired.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 08:17:54 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:07 pm

    i just want a place to post funny pictures and baby videos to my friends. too man psychotic deranged people nowadays.

    You can still do that. People still do that on Facebook.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to BORAXMAN on Thu Jan 28 13:29:00 2021
    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose
    standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a >part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    As a US citizen I agree 100%. If our culture continues down this road,
    other countries who value their freedom had better be using us only as an example of what NOT to do.


    * SLMR 2.1a * Her voice rings in his ears like the music of the spheres

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to HusTler on Thu Jan 28 10:53:57 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: HusTler to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 08:14 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 am

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Make more friends in BBS land and you won't need alternative social media. That's my view anyway. ;-)


    haha, well, in my view, social media is more for dealing with people you already know. BBS strikes more like a forum. You go in
    there hoping to find people with similar interests so you can have discusions about them.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Denn on Thu Jan 28 13:58:46 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Al on Thu Jan 28 2021 09:40 am

    You want lies and mis information look at the 3 & 1/2 year Russia Hoax.

    I think we should leave all this kind of chatter out of the general sub.

    I'll reply in the debate sub, OK?

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Always remember you're unique - just like everyone else.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 16:34:17 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:49 pm

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of
    books, films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    that's your own made up definition. that's not really what censorship
    means.

    Actually, that definition is taken directly from the Oxford English Dictionary. I chose not to cite the reference as I wanted to see a response similar to yours.


    well i disagree with it. censorship is the suppression of something by
    someone in charge. doesn't matter what the reason is. it's an act.


    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Whom, may I ask?

    guess you're not paying attention to whats going on with censorship on social media.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Thu Jan 28 16:38:19 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 11:30 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt
    insane.

    i love it.

    I'm looking for a Twatter replacement, Parler got shut down by the big tech Commies, and I got rid of my twatter account and my Amazon account. I'm working on getting rid of Google as well.
    Twatter has lost 5 billion so far :)


    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and he had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius by the way... anyways, he was talking about
    all the shit that is going on with the internet and how they track you and own your information. he uses a flip phone with an OS and apps that don't track you.

    we are all roped in. it started out with 'free' stuff, nice and slow.
    now they fucking got us. these services have access to our banks, to every little thing we do. he was talking about credit karma too. those fuckers make a lot of money tracking everything about people that use it.

    we are so stupid. we need to regulate these companies. just a small portion of people leaving google, facebook, twitter, etc isnt enough.

    i'm guilty of it too. i should get rid of my gmail accounts. i just use it because it's so easy and linked to everything. that's how they got you.

    they probably know more about us than we know about ourselves.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Thu Jan 28 16:39:34 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Dream Master on Wed Jan 27 2021 11:35 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Tue Jan 26 2021 11:49 pm

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books,
    films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    Ok so Antifa used twitter and facebook to carry out the destruction of several cities last year, Why arent they being censored?
    Oh that's right because they are extreme leftist's
    Twitter and Facbook are losing millions of people world wide because of the double standards.


    louis farrakhan. that fucker is using it freely. we have had political figures issue threats of war and death threats and they still use twitter.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Thu Jan 28 16:44:56 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 12:05 am

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:08 pm

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but
    don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some
    application of their ToS'.


    also twitter and facebook let pedophiles run wild on their
    services.

    Also twitter is a Porn medium.
    and there are no age checks for all the porn they serve, never hear anyone say anything about @jack for having porn that children can access.

    yeah, tumblr was real huge with that.
    i heard something on the radio about those laws that were made to protect websites. a lot of these social media sites claimed to be entirely neutral and they felt they shouldnt be prosecuted for their content.

    now that their content is more than just their users, and they censor and manipulate people and government, why don't we just yank those laws?

    they cant have their cakee and eat it too.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Thu Jan 28 16:46:11 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 2021 12:22 am

    13 million more votes than there were registered voters, Republicans not being allowed to Observe even though law permits them to.
    Dates on ballots being changed to be counted when legally they should not have been.
    Ballot Dumps in the middle of the night in key battleground states that were 95% for Biden.
    "Come on man" you just follow your party bullshit hook line and sinker without looking at facts.


    also us postal selling ballots to people and falsely date stamping ballots.
    i'm still pissed off about someone voting for me. i wish i could catch them. ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Thu Jan 28 16:46:42 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 2021 12:24 am

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Whom, may I ask?

    If you read his original message he was talking about GAB as an alternative social media.


    people with TDS only see the orange man
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Thu Jan 28 16:48:32 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Nightfox on Wed Jan 27 2021 11:31 pm

    There is a growing group of sysops hopping onto Telegram. :D

    The desktop app is very nice to use.

    All the english-speaking groups are private, so you have to ask
    to join.

    There is even a way to send to netmail addresses and receive
    replies. More info can be found in the fidonet FIDONET.TELEGRAM
    echo. ;)


    i like telgram and i was going to do some bbs related channels.

    one meme channel i joined had 1 asshole who was posting racist stuff and saying racist things. i couldnt figure out how to block them. it was a post shared from another channel. dont know whats up but i cant block.
    luckily the person was removed from the channel.

    right now i'm on gab and i'm on telegram. i put all my fb accounts up for deletion. they can blow me.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 16:58:42 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:52 am

    That argument only flies if you think Trump has being inciting violence.

    Last posts before he got banned from Twitter were asking people to be peaceful and to cooperate with the authorities.

    Meanwhile I know people who posts that the want to smash white heterosexual male's mouths against the sidewalk and they get temporary bans.

    another thing is, hasn't EVERY politican told people to 'go there and fight' or 'fight for your rights' ? we all know they dont mean attack. to think that's what trump meant is fucking stupid.

    trump could have gone in there with a private army and shot nancy and everyone else and about 40% of the population would have supported him. god damn my dick is getting hard now.

    he could have gone in there and taken over like a dictator. but he's a good american who makes mean tweets sometimes.

    anyways, OBVIOUSLY he meant to go there and stand up for your rights. and what did those people do? bust in and take selfies for the most part. certainly not what liberals were doing all summer long.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 16:59:55 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 05:01 am

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:07 pm

    then when something sucks, i post that it sucks and people call me a
    bot, a nazi or a racist. this is usually about that

    Well, if they think you are a bot, what are they talking to you? :-) Comes to show how retarded people can get.


    i used to have this gif of a monkey jacking off but they removed it ;[

    anyways, i'm sick of dealing with those people. i just want to post baby videos and memes.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to HusTler on Thu Jan 28 17:03:03 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: HusTler to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 08:14 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:13 am

    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social
    media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Make more friends in BBS land and you won't need alternative social media. That's my view anyway. ;-)


    yeah but the bbs friends i really like are on facebook. they pop in my irc sometimes but i cant piss them off every day.

    i'm friends with t1ny and sean on instagram but soon instagram will censor like fb.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Thu Jan 28 17:10:02 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 2021 08:14 am

    People sometimes boycott a company if the company is doing something they don't agree with. People have done that for a long time, but I suppose this cancel culture is getting a bit out of hand. I've also heard of instances where a hiring manager at a company might check for any political bumper stickers on a candidate's car and if they have anything


    years ago we actually did look up someone who applied with us.
    they had an inappropriate email address too. well somewhat.

    anyways, we found her myspace and she had pics of herself passed out from booze and she had a bunch of pills and shit around her in other pics.

    she didnt get the job.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Thu Jan 28 17:10:31 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 08:17 am

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:07 pm

    i just want a place to post funny pictures and baby videos to my
    friends. too man psychotic deranged people nowadays.

    You can still do that. People still do that on Facebook.


    yeah but then you can get banned for posting on your own private wall.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dumas Walker on Thu Jan 28 17:10:53 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dumas Walker to BORAXMAN on Thu Jan 28 2021 01:29 pm

    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will
    further
    lose
    standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression
    are a part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out
    freedom.

    As a US citizen I agree 100%. If our culture continues down this road, other countries who value their freedom had better be using us only as an example of what NOT to do.


    this is all heading towards the chinese social credit score thing.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From HusTler@VERT/HAVENS to MRO on Thu Jan 28 18:35:21 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Dr. What on Wed Jan 27 2021 09:11 pm

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is censorship caused by a threat to national security.


    these liberal haters are going to get worse and worse as joe biden fucks up ruins the country more and more. they will run out of excuses. i dont know much denial they can exert on themselves.

    but ... but ... Biden promised to "fix" America ;-)

    ... A liberal is a conservative who's been mugged by reality.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Havens BBS havens.synchro.net
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Thu Jan 28 21:15:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60122D6A.2461.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <6011D46B.47929.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Wed Jan 27 2021 08:58 pm

    MRO wrote to All <=-

    @MSGID: <6010E55A.2443.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt
    insane.

    i love it.

    I hear someone in America got fired, simply for using GAB! https://www.rt.com/usa/513737-literary-agency-fired-conservative-parler-ga b/


    yeah it's nuts. parler and gab arent what the media made them out to
    be. they're quite boring. it's just a big target because conservatives use it.

    i like it because they allow free speech. they allow anything but
    illegal activity.


    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    biden can't do anything.

    He can't do much, but he could speak up against it. If he were serious about healing, he would advocate for dialogue, tolerance and diversity. That we should accept diversity of political and cultural opinion and have an inclusive society where we learn to work and live alongside those different to us.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 21:43:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    @MSGID: <60124155.2499.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <60121DE4.20073.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Gamgee to Dream Master on
    Wed Jan 27 2021 08:00 pm

    I'm not sure how to respond to someone with zero comprehension
    (apparently) of the English language.

    Guess what major I had in college? Let me help you: English.

    There is NOTHING in the above that is "inciting violence". Perhaps
    you're not a native English speaker, I don't know. There are other
    meanings to the word "fight" than what you seem to think.

    The beauty of language is the subtleties of speech. If you've created
    a narrative, which Trump did, constructing the belief that the election was stolen, the "Deep State" was out to destroy America, and the only
    way to take back the "stolen election" was to head to the Capitol and intimidate our elected representatives, than Donald J. Trump successed.

    These people would die for Trump. They adhere to his every word. He could say the Democrats are trying to poison the water supply and the
    only way to survive is to drink Evian water. They'd go out and grab
    every bottle of Evian ensuring their safety through the Democrat
    onslaught of America's patriots. (Evian would make a killing, which he would prepare them for.)

    Remember, subtlety is the key and Trump is the king of it. He knows
    how to construct a narrative that his followers would consume. Not
    only that, Trump has his cronies that help with it. What have you
    done? You eat it up.

    I'll not respond further to you because there is no point in it.

    Excellent. When you're ready to jump into the deep end, let me know. Debating people who only make baseless arguments are easy fodder.

    The beauty of being a political propagandist is that you can infer any motive you like to speech, and as long as people want to believe it, they'll follow you.

    "He didn't actually say it, but what he REALLY meant was..." is a propaganda and manipulation technique, nothing more. A licence to fabricate motive and intent.

    By the way, there are plenty of clueless people who went to college, and we know how many college professors lean left.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Thu Jan 28 21:59:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <60121DE4.20073.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6011E283.2488.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Here's a partial quote (the only part of his speech that day which is relevant to the events at the Capitol building:

    "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

    That's an exact quote. You can fact-check that, and I hope you do.
    Now tell me: How is that "inciting violence"?

    Here you go...

    No third-world countries would even attempt to do what we caught
    them doing. And you'll hear about that in just a few minutes.

    Republicans are, Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer
    with his hands tied behind his back. It's like a boxer. And we
    want to be so nice. We want to be so respectful of everybody,
    including bad people. And we're going to have to fight much
    harder.

    And Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us, and if he
    doesn't, that will be a, a sad day for our country because you're
    sworn to uphold our Constitution.

    Now, it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on
    our democracy. And after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll
    be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk
    down.

    Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down
    to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators
    and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be
    cheering so much for some of them.

    Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You
    have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to
    demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the
    electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.

    I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the
    Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices
    heard.

    Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity
    of our elections. But whether or not they stand strong for our
    country, our country. Our country has been under siege for a long
    time. Far longer than this four-year period. We've set it on a
    much greater course. So much, and we, I thought, you know, four
    more years. I thought it would be easy.

    ... read the subtext because that's exactly what the
    insurrectionists did ...

    I'm not sure how to respond to someone with zero comprehension (apparently) of the English language.

    There is NOTHING in the above that is "inciting violence". Perhaps
    you're not a native English speaker, I don't know. There are other meanings to the word "fight" than what you seem to think.

    I'll not respond further to you because there is no point in it.

    Being a non native English speaker puts you at an advantage. Native English speakers have been subject to so much brainwashing, that they see things which don't exist and act on hallucination.

    There is a collective Mania, which perhaps could be equated to that experienced by Germany in the 30's. The USA is rapidly becoming a very dangerous country, due to this widespread mass hysteria. Unfortunately, there is no other strong power which could correct this, so dark times are ahead.

    By the way, why the assumption that the ruling elite is on the right side? The justifiable action is that which upholds the constitution, and I'm not sure that it is clear who is on what side here. People who oppose their government are not automatically in the wrong. After all, the USA has supported insurrection and toppling of established powers elsewhere.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Nightfox on Thu Jan 28 22:11:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6012E2D5.57372.dove_dove-gen@digitaldistortionbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6011D46B.47929.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Wed
    Jan 27 2021 08:58 pm

    It worries me that the rest of the Western world (including Australia) takes its cultural cues from the US. I definately don't want such action normalised.

    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    People sometimes boycott a company if the company is doing something
    they don't agree with. People have done that for a long time, but I suppose this cancel culture is getting a bit out of hand. I've also
    heard of instances where a hiring manager at a company might check for
    any political bumper stickers on a candidate's car and if they have anything with the "wrong" political party, they won't be hired.

    That should be illegal, it probably already is. At least in Autralia, it is.

    Conservatives have shot themselves in the foot, because they constantly argued "muh private property", and now the system they love doesn't support them, the way they assumed it would.

    Such a train wreck...


    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dumas Walker on Thu Jan 28 22:16:00 2021
    Dumas Walker wrote to BORAXMAN <=-

    @MSGID: <601306B7.51641.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <6011D46B.47929.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Biden needs to rein in this "Cancel culture", because the USA will further lose

    standing in the world stage. Countries where this type of oppression are a
    part of life, and this culture spread outwards are threats to out freedom.

    As a US citizen I agree 100%. If our culture continues down this road, other countries who value their freedom had better be using us only as
    an example of what NOT to do.

    In my own personal opinion, I already view the US as an oligarchy teetering close to becoming an authoritarian state. It is very clear authoritarians are siezing power, and most are not aware of it. I used to view the US as the bearer of freedom, now sadly, I'm hoping (in vain), for another suitable power to knock you guys off your perch. There isn't one though.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to HusTler on Thu Jan 28 22:19:52 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: HusTler to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 06:35 pm

    these liberal haters are going to get worse and worse as joe biden
    fucks up ruins the country more and more. they will run out of
    excuses. i dont know much denial they can exert on themselves.

    but ... but ... Biden promised to "fix" America ;-)

    well now obama care is restored, so my friend who cant afford insurance for himself because he's so poor wil have to pay the penalty for it unless it gets striked down at the supreme court.

    and insulin and the epi pen are expensive again.
    and 1.6 bil in gross wages are not going to hit the economy due to the pipeline.

    build back better!
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 22:21:06 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 09:15 pm

    biden can't do anything.

    He can't do much, but he could speak up against it. If he were serious about healing, he would advocate for dialogue, tolerance and diversity. That we should accept diversity of political and cultural opinion and have an inclusive society where we learn to work and live alongside those different to us.


    i dont know how biden can function as a human being. dude is in bad shape mentally and i think he has covid.i heard him on the radio talking and he had to stop after every 2 words or so and he was coughing a lot. sounded horrible.

    and then he's having his usual mental probs.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 22:23:12 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Nightfox on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:11 pm

    have anything with the "wrong" political party, they won't be hired.

    That should be illegal, it probably already is. At least in Autralia, it is.

    Conservatives have shot themselves in the foot, because they constantly argued "muh private property", and now the system they love doesn't support them, the way they assumed it would.

    Such a train wreck...


    well that doesnt really apply to facebook and twitter. they've been in the courts before and lost over their actions. they also have laws protecting them in regards to what their users post. cant have it both ways.

    fb is a monopoly and they have gone too far. they need to get reigned in and have a good slap.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 22:24:26 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dumas Walker on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:16 pm

    an example of what NOT to do.

    In my own personal opinion, I already view the US as an oligarchy teetering close to becoming an authoritarian state. It is very clear authoritarians are siezing power, and most are not aware of it. I used to view the US as the bearer of freedom, now sadly, I'm hoping (in vain), for another suitable power to knock you guys off your perch. There isn't one though.


    i think the rich white people have taken over since we
    had our great depression years ago. the smartest thing they did was hide right out in the open.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 21:54:33 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:34 pm

    that's your own made up definition. that's not really what
    censorship means.

    Actually, that definition is taken directly from the Oxford English
    Dictionary. I chose not to cite the reference as I wanted to see a
    response similar to yours.


    well i disagree with it. censorship is the suppression of something by someone in charge. doesn't matter what the reason is. it's an act.


    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Whom, may I ask?

    guess you're not paying attention to whats going on with censorship on

    I think he reads the Newyork times and watches CNN all day.

    https://www.joecheated.com/

    https://www.drewberquist.com/2020/12/new-study-shows-how-democrats-beat-trump-t hey-cheated/

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 21:58:11 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:38 pm

    we are all roped in. it started out with 'free' stuff, nice and slow.
    now they fucking got us. these services have access to our banks, to every little thing we do. he was talking about credit karma too. those fuckers make a lot of money tracking everything about people that use it.

    we are so stupid. we need to regulate these companies. just a small portion of people leaving google, facebook, twitter, etc isnt enough.

    i'm guilty of it too. i should get rid of my gmail accounts. i just use it because it's so easy and linked to everything. that's how they got you.

    I still have my Gmail accounts and my youtube channel, rarley goto the youtube channel tho.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 22:01:34 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:39 pm

    louis farrakhan. that fucker is using it freely. we have had political figures issue threats of war and death threats and they still use twitter.

    Also the president of Iran uses twitter for his BS.
    Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) | Twitter
    @jack didn't ban him.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to all on Thu Jan 28 22:07:22 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:44 pm

    also twitter and facebook let pedophiles run wild on their
    services.

    Also twitter is a Porn medium.
    and there are no age checks for all the porn they serve, never
    hear anyone say anything about @jack for having porn that children
    can access.

    yeah, tumblr was real huge with that.
    i heard something on the radio about those laws that were made to protect websites. a lot of these social media sites claimed to be entirely neutral and they felt they shouldnt be prosecuted for their content.

    They sure aren't neutral when it comes to conservative points of view.
    that bitch Kathy Griffen posted a picture of her holding the bloody severed head of Trump, they never censored her.
    Twitter and facebook should lose their 203 protections.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 22:09:43 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:46 pm

    also us postal selling ballots to people and falsely date stamping ballots. i'm still pissed off about someone voting for me. i wish i could catch them.

    especially if they voted for Biden in your name.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 22:11:20 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:46 pm

    i'm not talking about trump.

    Whom, may I ask?

    If you read his original message he was talking about GAB as an
    alternative social media.


    people with TDS only see the orange man

    I know right.
    and they climb right up the buttcrack of CNN.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Thu Jan 28 22:39:20 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to HusTler on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:19 pm

    build back better!

    That was a lame slogan, just what the hell does that mean Lol.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Jan 28 22:42:00 2021
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Thursday 28.01.21 - 07:05, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    There is even a way to send to netmail addresses and
    receive replies. More info can be found in the fidonet
    FIDONET.TELEGRAM echo. ;)

    I should try the desktop app; reading Fidonet on my phone,
    where I use Telegram the most, is a little off-putting.

    On the phone, (I have a Blackberry with a 2"x2" screen) I use it
    primarily as a way to get notifications when messages arrive. If
    a message is suitable for a quick reply, then I'll use the
    phone. Otherwise, I fire up the desktop app from my remote pc
    and use it that way. It's a great way to remain in touch with
    some echoes when I can't always be in front of my usual pc. I
    wouldn't use it as my sole echomail app, but maybe a younger
    generation wouldn't mind.

    For me, the off-putting part is the lousy 2"x2" screen on my
    phone. But I hear that people with 16:9 smartphone screens can
    flip to horizontal and get much better full width representation
    of posted messages.

    If I am checking an echo on the phone, start a reply, I can
    switch to my laptop with the desktop app, and resume the same
    reply mid-sentence. The seemless synching between devices is
    very unique to the experience.

    Here is the quick entry point to get you to the FIDONET.TELEGRAM
    echo:

    FIDONET.TELEGRAM
    :: https://t.me/joinchat/SPBwvE1gkHzEKAkapsHkdQ

    The echo has a list of other fidonet echos that are accessible
    via the Telegram app too. Look for my message from December 9,
    with the msgid "eb421b41".


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 22:44:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 28.01.21 - 05:23, Arelor wrote to Denn:

    seriously, compare the tcpdumps from an android phone and a
    LineageOs phone. However, you lose access to a lot of
    applications that expect a Google stack installed, including
    banking and popular messaging.

    I was completely Google free until banks here started
    pushing you to use a smartphone with a Google stack in order
    to use their online services. There is this push from
    unrelated corpos trying you to get on board with Google or
    Apple. It is scary.

    I never heard of the term "google stack" before. I see that it
    is generally the collection of Google apps out there.

    But why would a bank require you to have any of the apps that
    are part of a google stack? Anything associated with Google
    doesn't emote privacy or security - two things that I would want
    with banking.

    I was perfectly happy with the last app that my bank was using.
    It cooperated quite nicely on my iPod over wifi. But then they
    changed the version of the app the service nolonger worked for
    the iPod at all. That was about 8 years ago. It's like they are
    saying unless you have the latest and greatest smartphone, you
    can't bank with us.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 22:59:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 28.01.21 - 10:53, Arelor wrote to HusTler:

    Make more friends in BBS land and you won't need
    alternative social media. That's my view anyway. ;-)

    haha, well, in my view, social media is more for dealing
    with people you already know. BBS strikes more like a forum.
    You go in there hoping to find people with similar interests
    so you can have discusions about them.

    The social media FB place is not much different than a BBS.
    People (mostly strangers) post comments about other people's
    posts, and you can post replies in return - that's the same
    thing as in a BBS message area.

    The main difference is that social media is synomymous to
    "devices" (smartphones, tablets) - and short replies or comments
    - whereas BBSes are typically associated with PCs (desktops,
    laptops) - and actual conversations.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Thu Jan 28 23:18:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Thursday 28.01.21 - 16:38, MRO wrote to Denn:

    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and he
    had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius by the
    way... anyways, he was talking about all the shit that is
    going on with the internet and how they track you and own
    your information. he uses a flip phone with an OS and apps
    that don't track you.

    Who's using the flip-phone - Joe? or the guest?

    Sounds like a good episode to hear. I enjoyed the one with
    Moxie Marlinspike (the guy who built Signal).


    we are all roped in. it started out with 'free' stuff, nice
    and slow. now they fucking got us. these services have
    access to our banks, to every little thing we do. he was
    talking about credit karma too. those fuckers make a lot of
    money tracking everything about people that use it.

    The banking activity still seems separated enough to me. Unless
    the app uses the device's temporary cache in a sloppy way and
    allows another app to look at it, there is techically no way a
    3rd party would know what your banking activity is like.

    But.. the public has been roped in - gradually - for the sake of
    "free stuff" and convenience.


    we are so stupid. we need to regulate these companies. just
    a small portion of people leaving google, facebook, twitter,
    etc isnt enough.

    Isn't there a movement founded by Tim Berners-Lee (the guy who
    built and released the first www software):

    "On 30 September 2018, Berners-Lee announced his new open-source
    startup Inrupt to fuel a commercial ecosystem around the Solid
    project, which aims to give users more control over their
    personal data and lets users choose where the data goes, who's
    allowed to see certain elements and which apps are allowed to
    see that data."

    i'm guilty of it too. i should get rid of my gmail accounts.
    i just use it because it's so easy and linked to everything.
    that's how they got you.

    I'm not ready to abandon the variety of google apps, but I
    wouldn't use them for anything that I wouldn't share to total
    strangers. But it's hard to control. I can share a link to a
    set of photos in google pics to a specific person, but then that
    person can turn around and send that link to anyone else.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Jan 29 03:23:11 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 07:00 am

    Denn wrote to MRO <=-

    I'm looking for a Twatter replacement, Parler got shut down by the big tech Commies, and I got rid of my twatter accoun
    and my Amazon
    account.

    Some of the Fediverse systems have a feed like Twitter, but the problem is the user Catch-22. Without users, there's no impetus to join/contribute, which means there's less content for others to want to read.

    I was involved in Identi.ca/status.net, I'm on a drinking basis with the founders. It was nice having a group of people on
    non-commercial social network to hang out with; especially since they are old BBS friends. We've been playing recently wit
    Keybase and Signal groups to connect.

    poindexter fortran | pfortran at realitycheckbbs dot org
    | http://realitycheckbbs.org
    | 1:218/700@fidonet






    ... The neuroanatomy of fear and faith share common afferent pathways.

    I have good success with Signal. Nobody wanted to jump in but I rejected any mainstream solution for my personal messaging
    altogether, so finally the people who needs to be able to message me had to jump into Signal. Not that I like it a lot but it
    is an ok middle ground between privacy intruding programs that are easy to use and safe programs that are a nightmare to use.

    I have been recently facing a similar problem regarding audio conferences. Everybody wants me to jump into Discord, which I
    don't like all that much. I have a Mumble (actually an umurmur) server for a select few.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Denn on Fri Jan 29 03:29:08 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 09:30 am

    Google is a harder beast to dodge.

    That's so true, I do however use Firefox with Duck duck go about half the time.


    Even then, if you look into Firefox' hood, it gets scary.

    It uses a backend provided by google to detect scam/malware sites and has telemetry enabled. Even if you turn the telemetry
    off, the browser delivers info to mozilla telling them you have disabled telemetry.

    The OpenBSD team has a good bunch of this cruft patched out, and you can actually disable most of it even in the official
    version, but the issue is you have to care enough to know they are doing it, and to know how to turn it off.

    Somebody in #openbsd@efnet joked that Firefox was Google's hidden Ace in case it was subject to an anti-trust investigation
    regarding browsers (since their engine is integrated in a lot of browsers nowadays, to the point they are actually the
    dominating browsing engine). They can always say "We are not a monopoly, there is Firefox!!" while having Firefox work for them
    anyway.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Fri Jan 29 03:52:00 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Nightfox on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:11 pm

    People sometimes boycott a company if the company is doing something they don't agree with. People have done that for a long time, but I suppose this cancel culture is getting a bit out o
    hand. I've also
    heard of instances where a hiring manager at a company might check for any political bumper stickers on a candidate's car and if they have anything with the "wrong" political party, they won
    be hired.

    That should be illegal, it probably already is. At least in Autralia, it is.

    Conservatives have shot themselves in the foot, because they constantly argued "muh private property", and now the system th
    love doesn't support them, the way they assumed it would.

    Such a train wreck...

    Actually, I think the issue is they have comitted the mistake of trading with their enemies, while their enemies refused to
    trade with them, because it is the easy thign to do.

    Pretty much like when you are playing Brass, and you need to ship cotton overseas but have no port to do so. You end up hiring
    some other player's port instead because it is easier than building your own port. The problem is that by doing so you provide
    a shitload of points and money to the other player.

    Now, if the other player then used that money to buy stuff from you, it would be ok. You are both opponents, but you are
    benefitting each other. However, what I find in a lot of games is that Jack hires Rich's ports, and Rich hire Danniel's mining
    facilities, and Danniel hires Rich's ports. So Rich keeps getting richer, Danniel keeps getting richer, and Jack is just making
    his enemies stronger because it is cheaper (short term) to give more power to your enemies than to put your empire together.

    Bottom line:

    Don't trade with people that is going to use the resources you give to them to crush you.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 04:00:20 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:44 pm

    seriously, compare the tcpdumps from an android phone and a
    LineageOs phone. However, you lose access to a lot of
    applications that expect a Google stack installed, including
    banking and popular messaging.

    I was completely Google free until banks here started
    pushing you to use a smartphone with a Google stack in order
    to use their online services. There is this push from
    unrelated corpos trying you to get on board with Google or
    Apple. It is scary.

    I never heard of the term "google stack" before. I see that it
    is generally the collection of Google apps out there.

    But why would a bank require you to have any of the apps that
    are part of a google stack? Anything associated with Google
    doesn't emote privacy or security - two things that I would want
    with banking.

    The Google ecosystem has a set of features that make things easy for developers. For example, they give you a whole platform
    for relaying messages and notifications (GMC) so you don't have to write your own. If you are developing a banking application
    and your boss wants it to have integrated chat to connecteting with the Bank's customer service, for example, it is so much
    simpler to use Google's message carrier than to set your own network of servers and rpoduce your own code.

    Buit for that platform to work, the user needs to have a Google account and a Google stack in the smartphone. Or an iOS one
    (for iOS does somethign similar).

    Not a big deal, because everybody uses Google, right? And if they don't use Google, they are "sikos" anyway. And if 1 or 2 of
    the users complain instead of jumping into Google's ship, we tell them to leg it to an office for customer service instead of
    using the application.

    I agree that hosting banking information in a phone is a retarded model. The problem is there is a lot of a push in order to
    force just that.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 08:22:31 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:59 pm

    The main difference is that social media is synomymous to
    "devices" (smartphones, tablets) - and short replies or comments
    - whereas BBSes are typically associated with PCs (desktops,
    laptops) - and actual conversations.

    Agreed. With device, people are more familiar with short replies, truncated text, and improperly thought out messages. BBSes require a little more effort, have more thought out message, and tend to bring about conversations.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Fri Jan 29 08:29:16 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:23 pm

    fb is a monopoly and they have gone too far. they need to get reigned in

    There are alternatives to Facebook. You pointed out one just the other day, and MySpace is still around. So there are other social networks people can use. Nobody is forcing people to use Facebook. They aren't a monopoly.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Denn on Fri Jan 29 08:31:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:39 pm

    build back better!

    That was a lame slogan, just what the hell does that mean Lol.

    To rebuild better than it was before..

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 08:32:33 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:44 pm

    I never heard of the term "google stack" before. I see that it
    is generally the collection of Google apps out there.

    In software, "stack" generally refers to a collection of software. Similarly, the term "LAMP stack" refers to the collection of Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, generally used for web sites.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to MRO on Fri Jan 29 08:41:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Dr. What <=-

    trump said to go there and fight. cheer for the good representatives
    and maybe dont cheer for the bad ones. that's not inciting a riot.

    No. That's "exercising your first amendment rights" as the left has done
    many times.

    these liberal haters are going to get worse and worse as joe biden
    fucks up and ruins the country more and more. they will run out of excuses. i dont know how much denial they can exert on themselves. ---

    They live in a constant state of denial. They deny basic human nature.
    They will always deny that their ideas are bad and that the reason their
    ideas are failing is because of <some lame excuse>.


    ... Insert disk 5 of 4 and press any key to continue
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 11:43:13 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Denn on Fri Jan 29 2021 03:29 am

    Even then, if you look into Firefox' hood, it gets scary.

    I'm not worried about that so much, Using the right search engine is more important, I also have been using Duck Duck go with chrome.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 12:00:06 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Denn on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:31 am

    build back better!

    That was a lame slogan, just what the hell does that mean Lol.

    To rebuild better than it was before..

    Nazi's also used dumb slogans like that to gain trust of the unwitting population.

    "Free Germany from the Jews"
    "Work and Bread"
    "Smash Communism"
    "Blood and Soil"
    "One People, One Empire, One Leader"

    These were a few of the slogans used to get into power and stay in power in Nazi Germany.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Denn on Fri Jan 29 14:51:29 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 2021 11:43 am

    I'm not worried about that so much, Using the right search engine is more important, I also have been using Duck Duck go with chrome.

    Do you like Duck Duck Go? Sometimes I seem to get better search results with Google than with Duck Duck Go.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Fri Jan 29 17:15:44 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 09:54 pm

    I think he reads the Newyork times and watches CNN all day.

    https://www.joecheated.com/

    https://www.drewberquist.com/2020/12/new-study-shows-how-democrats-beat-tr ump-t hey-cheated/


    omg but there's no proof!

    oh one thing i forgot is my coworker got a handful of ballots in his mailbox. totally NOT a mailman mistake. totally different streets and names. he's a democrat but didnt like it. he asked his mailman and he said he knew nothing.

    anyway, it's highly possible every election is fucking rigged. we need to gut it all and create new processes.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Fri Jan 29 17:17:16 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:09 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Thu Jan 28 2021 04:46 pm

    also us postal selling ballots to people and falsely date stamping
    ballots. i'm still pissed off about someone voting for me. i wish i
    could catch them.

    especially if they voted for Biden in your name.

    i hope they didnt. i moved so this might be the first time someone doesnt fuck with my voting. i was able to look at my history on the website and see the times when i didnt vote but it recorded me as voting. i only vote for the big things. someone was voting for all the other shit.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Fri Jan 29 17:18:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:39 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to HusTler on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:19 pm

    build back better!

    That was a lame slogan, just what the hell does that mean Lol.


    we wouldnt have to rebuild if liberals wouldnt fuck up everything.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 17:20:09 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:59 pm


    The social media FB place is not much different than a BBS.
    People (mostly strangers) post comments about other people's
    posts, and you can post replies in return - that's the same
    thing as in a BBS message area.


    well bbses arent monitoring what you are doing on websites and using your info against your knowledge. and when i call nighfox autistic i dont get a 30day ban.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 17:20:49 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 11:18 pm

    Hello Mro!

    ** On Thursday 28.01.21 - 16:38, MRO wrote to Denn:

    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and he
    had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius by the
    way... anyways, he was talking about all the shit that is
    going on with the internet and how they track you and own
    your information. he uses a flip phone with an OS and apps
    that don't track you.

    Who's using the flip-phone - Joe? or the guest?


    adam curry. he says the model number. go check it out on youtube.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Fri Jan 29 17:23:18 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:22 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:59 pm

    The main difference is that social media is synomymous to
    "devices" (smartphones, tablets) - and short replies or comments
    - whereas BBSes are typically associated with PCs (desktops,
    laptops) - and actual conversations.

    Agreed. With device, people are more familiar with short replies, truncated text, and improperly thought out messages. BBSes require a little more effort, have more thought out message, and tend to bring about conversations.


    not in my case
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 17:26:01 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:29 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:23 pm

    fb is a monopoly and they have gone too far. they need to get
    reigned in

    There are alternatives to Facebook. You pointed out one just the other day, and MySpace is still around. So there are other social networks people can use. Nobody is forcing people to use Facebook. They aren't a monopoly.

    yeah it is a fucking monopoly. because if you compete with them they destroy you by saying you're doing illegal things. like parler and gab

    they are having their cake and eating it too. the bullshit has to end.
    they cant censor people and then claim they are exempt from being responsible for content.
    educate yourself on whats going on. it's outragious.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 17:27:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Denn on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:31 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:39 pm

    build back better!

    That was a lame slogan, just what the hell does that mean Lol.

    To rebuild better than it was before..


    that's what we did with trump. now the jobs are going bye bye and the insulin and epi pen are expensive again. people are going to pay the obama care penalty if they cant afford insurance.


    dude signed more than 30 orders his first week.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 17:39:39 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:29 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boraxman on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:23 pm

    fb is a monopoly and they have gone too far. they need to get reigned i

    There are alternatives to Facebook. You pointed out one just the other day, and MySpace is still around. So there are other social networks people can use. Nobody is forcing people to use Facebook. They aren't a monopoly.

    Nightfox


    Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain. You become an outcast.

    People does not believe this until they try. If you are not in they just don't bother sending messages to you unless they really, really, really need you.

    Being whatsappless has costed me at least one employment opportunity.

    So yeah you may not use Whatsapp in Spain but you are pretty much excluding yourself from social comunication by not being in.

    Whatsapp belongs to Facebook, so the corollary is you cannot escape Facebook without massive social costs.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 17:54:07 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Denn on Fri Jan 29 2021 02:51 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 2021 11:43 am

    I'm not worried about that so much, Using the right search engine is mo important, I also have been using Duck Duck go with chrome.

    Do you like Duck Duck Go? Sometimes I seem to get better search results wit Google than with Duck Duck Go.

    Nightfox


    I can't speak for him, but I use Duck Duck Go quite a bit. It works great for general information. It works a bit less great for super-specific information ("Which is the socket where you put part #45 when assembling Omega Flyer Drones?")

    I also use StartPage quite a bit. It uses Google as a backend, so you get to use the Google engine without giving your information directly to Google. I think they get revenue from google advertising programs so if you run without an adblocker it defeats the point, I guess.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Fri Jan 29 18:48:00 2021
    As a US citizen I agree 100%. If our culture continues down this road, >DW> other countries who value their freedom had better be using us only as an >DW> example of what NOT to do.

    this is all heading towards the chinese social credit score thing.

    I am not 100% on what that is, but it does not sound good.


    * SLMR 2.1a * "Now who's laughing?! Now who's laughing?!" - Pagans

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to BORAXMAN on Fri Jan 29 18:50:00 2021
    In my own personal opinion, I already view the US as an oligarchy teetering >close to becoming an authoritarian state. It is very clear authoritarians are >siezing power, and most are not aware of it. I used to view the US as the >bearer of freedom, now sadly, I'm hoping (in vain), for another suitable power >to knock you guys off your perch. There isn't one though.

    I am hoping we will knock ourselves off, but I don't think the generation
    or two after mine has any mind to.


    * SLMR 2.1a * "High as a kite, everybody! Goofballs!!"-Chief Wiggum

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 19:13:52 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 2021 05:39 pm

    Nightfox


    Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain. You become an outcast.

    People does not believe this until they try. If you are not in they just don't bother sending messages to you unless they really, really, really need you.


    yeah i notice a lot of recruiters use whatsapp
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dumas Walker on Fri Jan 29 22:40:38 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dumas Walker to MRO on Fri Jan 29 2021 06:48 pm

    As a US citizen I agree 100%. If our culture continues down this
    road, DW> other countries who value their freedom had better be using
    us only as an DW> example of what NOT to do.

    this is all heading towards the chinese social credit score thing.

    I am not 100% on what that is, but it does not sound good.


    it's some crazy shit. look it up.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 21:26:43 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to MRO on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:41 am

    trump said to go there and fight. cheer for the good representatives and maybe dont cheer for the bad ones. that's not inciting a riot.

    No. That's "exercising your first amendment rights" as the left has done many times.

    Both the right and left exercise their First Amendment rights all the time. The extent of using this freedom must be intelligently utilized. Whether you agree or disagree with the January 6 rally, the point is that most of those who attended the rally inferred the march on the Capitol to make the election right. I, as a lefty, saw what took place that day as a vile attempt at subverting a clean election that hasn't been seen since George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004 (even the election of 2000 was, in my opinion, clean. The problem was that Florida couldn't keep counting and a decision had to be made. I am happy that President Bush was fairly elected and I don't contest it one bit).

    these liberal haters are going to get worse and worse as joe biden fucks up and ruins the country more and more. they will run out of excuses. i dont know how much denial they can exert on themselves. ---

    They live in a constant state of denial. They deny basic human nature.
    They will always deny that their ideas are bad and that the reason their ideas are failing is because of <some lame excuse>.

    This is where your problem is: you make blanket statements such as "they live in a constant state of denial," and "they will always deny their ideas are bad and that the reason their ideas are failing is because of..." This is a he said, she said problem. You assume the majority of lefties wouldn't give Donald Trump a chance. Quite the contrary, we were hopeful that he'd be successful in making positive change in America.

    We heard his argument on improving the social and economic welfare of Americans, to improve immigration, and bring a positive change to how the world sees America. His campaign promise to drain the swamp was music to my ears. Positive change in this country. Maybe we needed a change that only Donald Trump could bring. He definitely brought change.

    Social change, he failed but succeeded if you were white.

    Economic change, he failed but succeeded if you were part of the 1%.

    Immigration change, he succeeded, closing our borders making it exceptionally more difficult to get a visa to enter the country if you are from a Muslim-majority country or from Africa, Mexico, Central and South America. If a Trump property existed in your country, your country's citizens were welcome.

    Draining the Swamp, he failed. He successfully put the most unqualified people into position of power. Every single person he elevated were grossly
    unqualified yes-men and women. Instead of running the government with people of strong intelligence and background in each area, he ran it like a business. Putting managers in power and pushing everything downhill. This is why there is a failed COVID-19 response. This is why our economy tanked with a flawed response to massive unemployment during the early part of last year.

    But hey, I'm wrong. If you can't see it for yourself and make sense of what Trump did, you are just as guilty as he is for failing America.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 22:32:42 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Denn on Fri Jan 29 2021 02:51 pm

    Do you like Duck Duck Go? Sometimes I seem to get better search results with Google than with Duck Duck Go.

    It's pretty good, could be better but it is less intrusive than google or bing.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Fri Jan 29 22:37:52 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Fri Jan 29 2021 05:15 pm

    I think he reads the Newyork times and watches CNN all day.

    https://www.joecheated.com/

    https://www.drewberquist.com/2020/12/new-study-shows-how-democrats-b
    eat-tr ump-t hey-cheated/


    omg but there's no proof!

    oh one thing i forgot is my coworker got a handful of ballots in his mailbox. totally NOT a mailman mistake. totally different streets and names. he's a democrat but didnt like it. he asked his mailman and he said he knew nothing.

    The proof of voter fraud is real and the Media and big tech supresses it for their DNC Masters, they follow the orders of the DNC.
    IMHO they are all traitors.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Fri Jan 29 22:44:38 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Fri Jan 29 2021 05:20 pm

    The social media FB place is not much different than a BBS.
    People (mostly strangers) post comments about other people's
    posts, and you can post replies in return - that's the same
    thing as in a BBS message area.


    well bbses arent monitoring what you are doing on websites and using your info against your knowledge. and when i call nighfox autistic i dont get a

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would happen if I called someone retarded" a few minutes later I was banned.
    here is twitters mission statement.

    The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve - and do not detract from - a free and global conversation.

    I guess they failed, since they suppress one group and let another group plot their tyranny.

    ---
    ­ Synchronet ­ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Fri Jan 29 20:10:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Friday 29.01.21 - 17:20, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and
    he had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius..

    Is that episode #1436 ?

    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is too
    long in one sitting.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 21:29:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Friday 29.01.21 - 17:39, Arelor wrote to Nightfox:

    Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain. You become an outcast.

    [snip]

    Being whatsappless has costed me at least one employment
    opportunity.

    So yeah you may not use Whatsapp in Spain but you are pretty
    much excluding yourself from social comunication by not
    being in.

    So.. why not jump "in" for the sake of business? You don't have
    to participate on a personal open-book level. You could limit
    its use as a business tool.

    The way I look at it is if a vast majority of the population is
    using Whatsapp as their communication tool, they are probably
    expecting to reach their merchant of interest that way too - not
    just their friends.

    I know several people who treat FB Messenger as their "email".
    They don't know how to use anything else, nor are they
    interested. They just want one app to deal with. I can't even
    call them on their phones! My calls would only end up in voice
    mail that they rarely check. They only monitor their FB
    messenger. :(

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Sat Jan 30 06:08:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 2021 09:26 pm

    Social change, he failed but succeeded if you were white.

    Interestingly, what I keep hearing from here is that minority employment was skyrocketing instead of falling down, which is at
    odds with such affirmation.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 06:13:37 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 2021 09:29 pm

    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Friday 29.01.21 - 17:39, Arelor wrote to Nightfox:

    Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain. You become an outcast.

    [snip]

    Being whatsappless has costed me at least one employment
    opportunity.

    So yeah you may not use Whatsapp in Spain but you are pretty
    much excluding yourself from social comunication by not
    being in.

    So.. why not jump "in" for the sake of business? You don't have
    to participate on a personal open-book level. You could limit
    its use as a business tool.

    Actually I have WhatsApp for business coms only. Because if you don't have it, you don't exist.

    However, I refuse to use the polluted smartphone for personal communications, which means that when there is a party, I am
    never invited, because if you are not in the Whatsapp group your friends won't bother reaching out for you somewhere else.

    Unless they need you because they need a place for the party, and your house is the only one available that week, or that sort
    of thing.



    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Sat Jan 30 23:34:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60138DB0.2530.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <601337FE.48000.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Nightfox on Thu Jan 28 2021 10:11 pm

    have anything with the "wrong" political party, they won't be hired.

    That should be illegal, it probably already is. At least in Autralia, it is.

    Conservatives have shot themselves in the foot, because they constantly argued "muh private property", and now the system they love doesn't support them, the way they assumed it would.

    Such a train wreck...


    well that doesnt really apply to facebook and twitter. they've been in the courts before and lost over their actions. they also have laws protecting them in regards to what their users post. cant have it
    both ways.

    fb is a monopoly and they have gone too far. they need to get reigned
    in and have a good slap. ---

    The thing is, its not as if you have to use Facebook, or that there aren't alternatives. Sure, recently they have definately been engaging in monopolistic behaviour, but part of the problem is that people just don't care about their freedom, their privacy and their choices. They don't want to maintain the freedom and independence the internet gives you.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 23:38:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6013DAC0.20179.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <601337FE.48000.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Nightfox on
    Thu Jan 28 2021 10:11 pm

    People sometimes boycott a company if the company is doing something they don't agree with. People have done that for a long time, but I
    sup
    pose this cancel culture is getting a bit out o
    hand. I've also
    heard of instances where a hiring manager at a company might check for any political bumper stickers on a candidate's car and if they have
    anyt
    hing with the "wrong" political party, they won
    be hired.

    That should be illegal, it probably already is. At least in Autralia, it
    is.


    Conservatives have shot themselves in the foot, because they constantly
    argue
    d "muh private property", and now the system th
    love doesn't support them, the way they assumed it would.

    Such a train wreck...

    Actually, I think the issue is they have comitted the mistake of
    trading with their enemies, while their enemies refused to trade with them, because it is the easy thign to do.

    Pretty much like when you are playing Brass, and you need to ship
    cotton overseas but have no port to do so. You end up hiring some other player's port instead because it is easier than building your own port. The problem is that by doing so you provide a shitload of points and
    money to the other player.

    Now, if the other player then used that money to buy stuff from you, it would be ok. You are both opponents, but you are benefitting each
    other. However, what I find in a lot of games is that Jack hires Rich's ports, and Rich hire Danniel's mining facilities, and Danniel hires
    Rich's ports. So Rich keeps getting richer, Danniel keeps getting
    richer, and Jack is just making his enemies stronger because it is
    cheaper (short term) to give more power to your enemies than to put
    your empire together.

    Bottom line:

    Don't trade with people that is going to use the resources you give to them to crush you.

    I suppose you could look at it that way. Conservatives tend to want to submit to principles, whereas the SJW's just act in naked self interest, they invent the principles later. So conservatives tended to support "ideals" which didn't necessarily put them first. For example, the idea that America is a "propositional state" that anyone that moves there should be welcome, as long as they play the right game. That is an ideology which puts you in a weaker position, yet they kept right on supporting it.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 06:11:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I have good success with Signal. Nobody wanted to jump in but I
    rejected any mainstream solution for my personal messaging altogether,
    so finally the people who needs to be able to message me had to jump
    into Signal.

    Yep, I have a couple of groups of like-minded friends that have taken the groups we'd keep in touch with on mailing lists in the 1990s and 2000s and moved them onto Signal.




    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Mantrid on Sat Jan 30 06:16:00 2021
    Mantrid wrote to Arelor <=-

    yeah I'bve been running lineageOS for years (The only way to get
    updates on a 2015 phone that i refuse to replace until it breaks...)

    My favorite phone, ever was a Samsung SIII. I loved the size, and when AT&T stopped updating it, I went to CyanogenMod and later LineageOS. The last developer with an SIII finally gave up a while ago, and updates stopped coming. That was the only reason I switched.

    Rooted and running Kali Linux on a 2011 phone, years later... Pretty amazing to think of it.


    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Denn on Sat Jan 30 06:19:00 2021
    Denn wrote to Al <=-

    He did NOT incite an insurrection, he made it very clear that we have
    the right to peacefully protest and he pushed the peaceful protest
    aspect.

    <wink><wink><nudge><nudge>


    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to HusTler on Sat Jan 30 06:20:00 2021
    HusTler wrote to MRO <=-

    but ... but ... Biden promised to "fix" America ;-)

    MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

    Then,

    MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN AGAIN


    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Denn on Sat Jan 30 06:22:00 2021
    Denn wrote to MRO <=-

    build back better!

    That was a lame slogan, just what the hell does that mean Lol.

    #BeBest
    #FindSomethingNew





    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 06:26:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Arelor <=-

    I never heard of the term "google stack" before. I see that it
    is generally the collection of Google apps out there.

    When you play with third-party Android OSes, you see how much of the OS it tied into Google services.

    But why would a bank require you to have any of the apps that
    are part of a google stack? Anything associated with Google
    doesn't emote privacy or security - two things that I would want
    with banking.

    They usually use Google APIs, like maps and location, and break when they don't see them. That was my (brief) experience with using a third-party OS without Google apps loaded.

    I was perfectly happy with the last app that my bank was using.
    It cooperated quite nicely on my iPod over wifi. But then they
    changed the version of the app the service nolonger worked for
    the iPod at all. That was about 8 years ago. It's like they are
    saying unless you have the latest and greatest smartphone, you
    can't bank with us.

    Ostensibly, it's because they want some assurance regarding patch levels.



    ... The neuroanatomy of fear and faith share common afferent pathways.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 06:27:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Arelor <=-

    The social media FB place is not much different than a BBS.
    People (mostly strangers) post comments about other people's
    posts, and you can post replies in return - that's the same
    thing as in a BBS message area.

    The main difference is that social media is synomymous to
    "devices" (smartphones, tablets) - and short replies or comments
    - whereas BBSes are typically associated with PCs (desktops,
    laptops) - and actual conversations.

    My biggest complaints about social media are curated message feeds (instead
    of me being able to pick a subject sort or chronological sort) and the intermingling of paid ads in the stream with user posts.

    And, the ease with which they allow forward-without-reading and UIs that
    don't cater to long-form posting.


    ... The neuroanatomy of fear and faith share common afferent pathways.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 06:30:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to MRO <=-

    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and he
    had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius by the
    way... anyways, he was talking about all the shit that is
    going on with the internet and how they track you and own
    your information. he uses a flip phone with an OS and apps
    that don't track you.

    Who's using the flip-phone - Joe? or the guest?

    Which podcast? I hadn't heard of Adam Curry in years, he was surprisingly ahead of the curve back in the '90s.

    Sounds like a good episode to hear. I enjoyed the one with
    Moxie Marlinspike (the guy who built Signal).

    That would be interesting to hear.

    we are all roped in. it started out with 'free' stuff, nice
    and slow. now they fucking got us. these services have
    access to our banks, to every little thing we do. he was
    talking about credit karma too. those fuckers make a lot of
    money tracking everything about people that use it.

    The banking activity still seems separated enough to me. Unless
    the app uses the device's temporary cache in a sloppy way and
    allows another app to look at it, there is techically no way a
    3rd party would know what your banking activity is like.

    I would love to see a phone with a sandbox. A phone-within-a-phone, if you will. Run your personal android phone and have Android running in a chroot jail to put your work apps in. Or, social media and banking. Or personal
    apps on a work phone. And so on.




    But.. the public has been roped in - gradually - for the sake of
    "free stuff" and convenience.


    we are so stupid. we need to regulate these companies. just
    a small portion of people leaving google, facebook, twitter,
    etc isnt enough.

    Isn't there a movement founded by Tim Berners-Lee (the guy who
    built and released the first www software):

    "On 30 September 2018, Berners-Lee announced his new open-source
    startup Inrupt to fuel a commercial ecosystem around the Solid
    project, which aims to give users more control over their
    personal data and lets users choose where the data goes, who's
    allowed to see certain elements and which apps are allowed to
    see that data."

    i'm guilty of it too. i should get rid of my gmail accounts.
    i just use it because it's so easy and linked to everything.
    that's how they got you.

    I'm not ready to abandon the variety of google apps, but I
    wouldn't use them for anything that I wouldn't share to total
    strangers. But it's hard to control. I can share a link to a
    set of photos in google pics to a specific person, but then that
    person can turn around and send that link to anyone else.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    Synchronet CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

    ... Free will scuttles in the swamp of fear, do not fear the word.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 06:32:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    Bottom line:

    Don't trade with people that is going to use the resources you give to them to crush you.

    I think the key is to play the long game. Other countries excel at that,
    we're on a 2-4 year cycle.


    ... Free will scuttles in the swamp of fear, do not fear the word.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dream Master on Sat Jan 30 06:33:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Ogg <=-

    Agreed. With device, people are more familiar with short replies, truncated text, and improperly thought out messages. BBSes require a little more effort, have more thought out message, and tend to bring
    about conversations.

    In an earlier message, I called out forward-before-reading. There is too
    much misinformation on social networks cleverly and professionally designed
    as click-bait to get people to forward the email to their friends list.

    At least with BBSes you're getting someone else's personal take on the information out there instead of having someone forward or like information unread and unseen.


    ... Free will scuttles in the swamp of fear, do not fear the word.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 06:38:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Nightfox <=-

    So yeah you may not use Whatsapp in Spain but you are pretty much excluding yourself from social comunication by not being in.

    Whatsapp belongs to Facebook, so the corollary is you cannot escape Facebook without massive social costs.

    That's a shame. I was interested to hear of the rise in Signal users after
    FB forced WhatsApp users to adopt the Facebook Terms of Service.

    The DOJ is looking for someone to split up. Facebook has been rushing to integrate WhatsApp and Instagram into their back-end to make them un- splituppable, but I think they're going to try to find some way.

    Google could probably spin off YouTube relatively easy by comparison.

    I'm looking for Amazon to prophylactically spin off AWS, they'll end up
    bigger than the sum of their parts in a year.


    ... All of this has happened before, and it will happen again...again...
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 06:43:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to MRO <=-

    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is too
    long in one sitting.

    I have two extremely long-form podcasts I listen to - Jocko Podcast and the Tim Ferriss show. Both go extremely in-depth, but Jocko Willink will have a guest come on for 2 or 3 episodes.

    For me, an hour is about as long as I like. With an hour podcast I can break it up over the course of a work day and listen to the whole thing.


    ... All of this has happened before, and it will happen again...again...
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 07:00:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Arelor <=-

    The way I look at it is if a vast majority of the population is
    using Whatsapp as their communication tool, they are probably
    expecting to reach their merchant of interest that way too - not
    just their friends.

    I just fired up WhatsApp on my phone. I've had a total of 1 conversation on it. When I went to open a new conversation, I was shocked at how many people in my contacts lists had it! Unless they have some sort of FB Messenger to WhatsApp integration.


    ... The Six who went among the makers is no longer.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Denn on Sat Jan 30 08:33:00 2021
    Hello Denn!

    ** On Friday 29.01.21 - 22:44, Denn wrote to MRO:

    well bbses arent monitoring what you are doing on websites
    and using your info against your knowledge. and when i
    call nighfox autistic i dont get a

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would
    happen if I called someone retarded" a few minutes later I
    was banned. here is twitters mission statement.

    Was it just one post and the one word? ..Or, was the ban after
    a series of posts prior to that in an ongoing converstation?
    ..Or, maybe someone complained - and that's what caused them to
    act?


    The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone
    the power to create and share ideas and information
    instantly without barriers.

    They are probaly referring to international barriers, not ones
    that are grounded on censorship.

    Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in
    ways that improve - and do not detract from - a free and
    global conversation.

    Yep.. they are definitely referring just to the technical
    aspects of "free and global".


    I guess they failed, since they suppress one group and let another group plot their tyranny.

    Nope. Our perception of what "without barriers" "free and
    global" is not the same one that they mean. :/


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 30 13:42:36 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 2021 06:30 am

    I would love to see a phone with a sandbox. A phone-within-a-phone, if you will. Run your personal android phone and have Android running in a chroot jail to put your work apps in. Or, social media and banking. Or personal apps on a work phone. And so on.


    Afaik, the Blackphone intended to do that. You had spaces (or environments) with different security clearances, so to speak.

    The problem with that phone is that, back in the day, it was expensive as heck. And they wanted you to buy into their messaging platform, which looked solid but also expensive as heck.

    Copperhead was also interesting in thaat regard but I think they didn't do special sandboxing.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 30 13:47:43 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 2021 06:38 am

    Arelor wrote to Nightfox <=-

    So yeah you may not use Whatsapp in Spain but you are pretty much excluding yourself from social comunication by not being in.

    Whatsapp belongs to Facebook, so the corollary is you cannot escape Facebook without massive social costs.

    That's a shame. I was interested to hear of the rise in Signal users after FB forced WhatsApp users to adopt the Facebook Terms of Service.

    I think Telegram is growing quicker. Political parties and activists have switched to them officially for the most part.

    Signal is like the Parler of Instant Messaging nowadays, at least here. WhatsApp implemented some limits to message forwarding just in time when online activists were organizing an anti Pedro S  nchez campaign, and a lot of
    people considered it a clear signal that WhatsApp was taking sides. Twitter also removed a lot of content that was part of the same campaign so Twitter started bleeding users too. The bottom line is that since then a lot of anti S nchez Spaniards moved to Signal to talk to close friends but still depend on Whatsapp for most social activity.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From calcmandan@VERT/DIGDIST to Dream Master on Fri Jan 29 19:55:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to MRO <=-

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to All on Tue Jan 26 2021 10:00 pm

    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books,
    films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    You had it partially right. Censorship can include any topic the publisher refuses to release. The left is attempting to redefine speech in a matter that is irrational. On a side note, I giggled a bit when you said 'politically unacceptable.' You've basically nailed the head right there. It's completely subjective to censor those you don't agree with. This is particularly why we have a freedom of speech. Naturally, the left HATES that right. This is why they're trying to redefine it.

    The left is evil.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    Their move to censor Trump, as well as many other conservatives, is nothing more
    than a manipulation of information. The left has long been proponents of hate and intolerance. This censorship is a culmination of it. Our social media giants
    have proven to be most effective at manipulating the flow of information and misinformation for a political cause. The press tries to be as effective. Their niche now is rage reporting. They're evil.

    i love it.

    Great. Have fun.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    = Synchronet = Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com

    ... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From calcmandan@VERT/DIGDIST to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 20:17:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Dream Master wrote to MRO <=-

    Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books,
    films, news, etc., that are considered obscene, politically
    unacceptable, or a threat to security.

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is
    censorship caused by a threat to national security.

    ROTFLAO!!

    That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever read. And I've read stuff
    by AOC so that says a lot.

    I know right? The left has turned into a hodgepodge of irrationality.

    You know, with the fraud perpetrated by the left, they've effectively made our election process moot. We'll no longer have a choice because they've organized themselves enough to falsify the national election at the mass scale. Count my words, within the next few years, the number of republicans holding office in either house of congress will dwindle. They finally realized that their old delegate recount scam no longer worked for them so they went for flat-out fraud. Trump won that election and millions of us were disenfranchised. I'm sad for the process being dismantled. This is third world shit.

    Democrat voters think they've won, but they have no idea that they're just as screwed as the republicans. They're probably more screwed because, by the time it is realized that they've been deceived by their own party, it'll be years past and far too late to fix things. Just look at that AOC character out of NYC. Hell, look at that VP of ours. So embarassing to know our VP came into power because she can suck a mighty dick. She was, effectively, the worst candidate in their pool, was the first to drop out, had the fewest votes, and ran out of money first. Meanwhile, their nomination process was so riddled with corruption that a few states never even finalized their tallies. Interesting how
    the voters failed to notice. It was their legacy press who 'forgot' to make it a
    story.

    Meanwhile, democrats from my state (CA) are moving to places like Texas to enjoy
    the freedom there. How ironic... A state held strongly by conservatives and that's where they flock. They'll continue to decay the sanctity of that state because they're taking their bullshit politics with them. Just look at Austin.

    Daniel

    ... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 09:50:39 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Fri Jan 29 2021 05:39 pm

    Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain. You become an outcast.

    People does not believe this until they try. If you are not in they just don't bother sending messages to you unless they really, really, really need you.

    Being whatsappless has costed me at least one employment opportunity.

    WhatsApp isn't used very much in the US, but it seems to be used a lot in many other countries.

    Whatsapp belongs to Facebook, so the corollary is you cannot escape Facebook without massive social costs.

    I think Facebook bought WhatsApp, didn't they? I don't think WhatsApp was always owned by Facebook.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Sat Jan 30 10:33:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 2021 07:13 pm

    People does not believe this until they try. If you are not in they
    just don't bother sending messages to you unless they really,
    really, really need you.

    yeah i notice a lot of recruiters use whatsapp

    I've used WhatsApp but have never been contacted by a recruiter on it.

    One thing I find odd (for some reason) is some job recruiters are now sending text messages. Usually I find text messages fairly personal (as I tend to text with people I know, and they're usually in my personal contacts). It seems more professional to me for a recruiter to send an email, or make a voice call when they really want to get in touch with you.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sat Jan 30 16:16:41 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to MRO on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:10 pm

    Hello Mro!

    ** On Friday 29.01.21 - 17:20, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and
    he had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius..

    Is that episode #1436 ?

    i dunno, i searched for it and found it. how many times did he have adam curry on there

    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is too
    long in one sitting.

    i dont even notice or watch or listen to the whole thing. i think podcasts are boring no matter how short they are.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 30 16:18:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Mantrid on Sat Jan 30 2021 06:16 am

    Mantrid wrote to Arelor <=-

    yeah I'bve been running lineageOS for years (The only way to get
    updates on a 2015 phone that i refuse to replace until it breaks...)

    My favorite phone, ever was a Samsung SIII. I loved the size, and when AT&T stopped updating it, I went to CyanogenMod and later LineageOS. The last developer with an SIII finally gave up a while ago, and updates stopped coming. That was the only reason I switched.


    i had an s3 until it died. there was nothing special about it.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Sat Jan 30 17:03:40 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Sat Jan 30 2021 10:33 am

    yeah i notice a lot of recruiters use whatsapp

    I've used WhatsApp but have never been contacted by a recruiter on it.

    One thing I find odd (for some reason) is some job recruiters are now sending text messages. Usually I find text messages fairly personal (as I tend to text with people I know, and they're usually in my personal contacts). It seems more professional to me for a recruiter to send an email, or make a voice call when they really want to get in touch with you.



    well, the being professional is one thing i would not attribute to recruiters. right now a lot of them are working from home and it seems like they like to use indeed's msging or txting. i get side jobs from time to time and i havent had anybody try to talk to me on a phone for a loooong time.

    i just tried to move to a big company from mine and i never once talked to a real person. this is a big name company. i did a video interview where they showed me the questions to answer and i had 3 tries to record a reply.

    like i said, these people are at home and drinking. they dont do things the normal way anymore. they can be sitting in their pjs and cram out their workload in a few hours in some cases.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to calcmandan on Sat Jan 30 16:10:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: calcmandan to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:17 pm

    I know right? The left has turned into a hodgepodge of irrationality.

    Really? That's the pot calling the kettle black.

    You know, with the fraud perpetrated by the left, they've effectively made our election process moot. We'll no longer have a choice because they've organized themselves enough to falsify the national election at the mass scale. Count my words, within the next few years, the number of republicans holding office in either house of congress will dwindle. They finally realized that their old delegate recount scam no longer worked for them so they went for flat-out fraud. Trump won that election and millions of us were disenfranchised. I'm sad for the process being dismantled. This is third world shit.

    What fraud? Oh, you mean trying to protect the citizens of the country from the continued spread of COVID-19? Yeah, it's a horrible excuse. I mean, let's keep spreading the virus when we're all huddled in and around a building trying to cast our ballots. GOD FORBID!

    Voting should be easy. Republican led states have a tendency of supressing voter turnout wherever a large populace of Democrats (read: people of color) live. Look at Texas. They went from having a significant number of ballot boxes statewide to one per county (https://bit.ly/2NI9XVi).

    Back to my point. Voting by mail, ballot box, or in person should be up to the electorate. States like Colorado have mail-in ballots for a number of years. We've successfully voted in Republican and Democratic candidates. Is there any fraud? Insignificantly, but there will always be an attempt to change the vote. Why can't this work elsewhere? It can. Yet, the minute its proposed Republican leadership cries foul because it enables more people to vote, do the research, and not take off work.

    Donald Trump lost the election. States have every right to change rules and regulations regarding mail-in ballots up to and during the election cycle. Now, Republican leadership in many of these states are trying to change the rules because their lord and savior Donald Trump lost the election. Get over it, HE LOST fair and square.

    How are you disenfranchised? Are you being told how to live? Are your rights being trampled on? Are you losing your guns? Are your roads not getting fixed? Are you afraid you might not get electricity tonight? Are you not going to be able to collect Social Security when you retire? Yeah, it all still exists. Did you lose your rights under Obama? No. Did you lose them under Clinton? No. What about Carter? No. Give me a break and be realistic.

    Democrat voters think they've won, but they have no idea that they're just as screwed as the republicans. They're probably more screwed because, by the time it is realized that they've been deceived by their own party, it'll be years past and far too late to fix things. Just look at that AOC character out of NYC. Hell, look at that VP of ours. So embarassing to know our VP came into power because she can suck a mighty dick. She was, effectively, the worst candidate in their pool, was the first to drop out, had the fewest votes, and ran out of money first. Meanwhile, their nomination process was so riddled with corruption that a few states never even finalized their tallies. Interesting how the voters failed to notice. It was their legacy > > press who 'forgot' to make it a story.

    Nobody won. You can make all the arguments you want but the fact remains, no one won. There's nothing wrong with AOC. Oh wait, that's right, she's a woman of color. Yeah, she should shut her little mouth and let the men do all the talking. It's nice to finally hear someone speak up about the crap going on in the Capitol. Oh, and Vice President Harris and her "sucking dick". I keep forgetting. Women have to "suck dick" to get anywhere in life. Are you married? Do you have daughters? Go ahead and tell the women in your life that if they want to get anywhere in life that they should "suck dick". Let me guess, you tell them this all the time? I doubt it.

    Certification of votes:
    -Delaware: Nov 5
    -Vermont, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana: Nov 10
    -Wyoming, South Carolina: Nov 13
    -Mississippi: Nov 13
    -Virginia: Nov 16 (Completed Nov 18)
    -Florida: Nov 17
    -Massachusetts, Idaho, Arkansas: Nov 18
    -North Dakota, Georgia: Nov 20
    -Utah, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine, Kentucky: Nov 23
    -Ohio, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Minnesota, Indiana: Nov 24
    -Alaska, Alabama: Nov 25
    -Nebraska, Montana, Iowa, Colorado, Arizona: Nov 30
    -Wisconsin, Kansas: Dec 1
    -New Hampshire, DC: Dec 2
    -West Virginia, Washington, Texas, Oregon, Connecticut: Dec 3
    -Illinois: Dec 4
    -New York: Dec 7
    -New Jersey, Missouri, Maryland: Dec 8
    -California: Dec 11

    The safe harbor provision for election year 2020 fell on December 8. The Electoral College cast its votes for president and vice president on December 14, 2020. ALL VOTES WERE COUNTED!

    Keep making up stories. Keep telling yourself lies. The truth is that every court case brought up failed. Why? LACK OF EVIDENCE!!! There was and remains no voter fraud. Get over it.

    Meanwhile, democrats from my state (CA) are moving to places like Texas to enjoy the freedom there. How ironic... A state held strongly by conservatives and that's where they flock. They'll continue to decay the sanctity of that state because they're taking their bullshit politics with them. Just look at Austin.

    Let me guess, you're from Central or Northern California, or worse, Orange County? They aren't moving to Texas to enjoy the freedoms, they are moving to Texas to be able to afford to BUY A HOUSE! I am happy to have moved away from California, and I could afford it. California is simply unaffordable, traffic is horrible, and taxes are ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with having differing views about anything. It is necessary to listen to each other and acknowledge their ideas. You may not like it, but you might learn something.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Nightfox on Sat Jan 30 17:51:45 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Sat Jan 30 2021 10:33 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Fri Jan 29 2021 07:13 pm

    People does not believe this until they try. If you are not in they
    just don't bother sending messages to you unless they really,
    really, really need you.

    yeah i notice a lot of recruiters use whatsapp

    I've used WhatsApp but have never been contacted by a recruiter on it.

    One thing I find odd (for some reason) is some job recruiters are now sendin text messages. Usually I find text messages fairly personal (as I tend to t with people I know, and they're usually in my personal contacts). It seems more professional to me for a recruiter to send an email, or make a voice ca when they really want to get in touch with you.

    Nightfox


    Here you are expected to have Whatsapp if you want to have a social life.

    Recruiters in Spain use platforms like Infojobs for the most part. They can post a job advertisement and get 300 candidates for it in an hour or two.

    The problem is many recruiters will attempt to contact you at some point, and try to send you a Whatsapp message, and if you have no Whatsapp they will discard you and move over to the next candidate of the list.

    I am not saying it is the most of them who do. I think email is prefered for the most part. However, Whatsapp is so ubiquous here that maybe less than 3% of the employable people has no Whatsapp.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 20:26:24 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Sat Jan 30 2021 05:51 pm

    The problem is many recruiters will attempt to contact you at some point, and try to send you a Whatsapp message, and if you have no Whatsapp they will discard you and move over to the next candidate of the list.

    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that phones were made for..

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sat Jan 30 22:35:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 16:16, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    just randomly today i was watching joe rogan at work and
    he had mtv's adam curry aka THE HAIR. he's a genius..

    Is that episode #1436 ?

    i dunno, i searched for it and found it. how many times did
    he have adam curry on there

    I just finished watching #1436 from Mar 2020.

    It was pretty good! I liked the Google conspiracy theory, the
    bit about usenet, the beginnings of podcasting, and most
    everything else. I had a few pretty good laughs.

    Now I see that Adam was on at least one more time after that. I
    will have to check it out.


    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is
    too long in one sitting.

    i dont even notice or watch or listen to the whole thing. i
    think podcasts are boring no matter how short they are. -+-

    For the most part, podcasts are just conversations. Unless you
    are listening to a specific show about specific things expecting
    to learn something new, then the whole deal is just a very
    passive experience listening to people talk (boring?) amongst
    themselves.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 30 22:45:00 2021
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 06:30, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    Which podcast? I hadn't heard of Adam Curry in years, he
    was surprisingly ahead of the curve back in the '90s.

    I just finished episode #1436 from March 2020. It is a
    surprisingly fun and educational episode. He talks about some
    of his early beginnings with podcasting, the origin of the term,
    a funny story and a video clip with Steve Jobs, the value-based
    model of his podcasts, his early use of dialup and Gopher,
    USENET, a Twitter ban story, a Google conspiracy story, several
    personal stories.. etc.

    I actually managed to sit that one through for the whole 3 hr
    duration! I could have watched 2 good movies or something.

    ..I enjoyed the one with Moxie Marlinspike (the guy who
    built Signal).

    That would be interesting to hear.

    The Moxie interview is not much about technology at all. It was
    mostly about his wild early life. It was not what I expected.
    But it was having a friendly conversation with someone - and Joe
    Rogan seems to do that well.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Sun Jan 31 01:27:19 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 2021 08:26 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Sat Jan 30 2021 05:51 pm

    The problem is many recruiters will attempt to contact you at some
    point, and try to send you a Whatsapp message, and if you have no
    Whatsapp they will discard you and move over to the next candidate
    of the list.

    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that phones were made for..


    OK BOOMER.

    nobody does that anymore.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 01:35:46 2021
    Re: i was watching joe rogan
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sat Jan 30 2021 10:35 pm


    For the most part, podcasts are just conversations. Unless you
    are listening to a specific show about specific things expecting
    to learn something new, then the whole deal is just a very
    passive experience listening to people talk (boring?) amongst
    themselves.


    what turned me off about podcasts is there's a lot of people that are doing them that shouldnt be doing them. they have bad voices and they're boring.
    joe rogan is decent to listen to. they have interesting topics and he keeps it moving on pretty good. he's probably one of the few podcasters i like.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Mantrid@VERT/UKBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Jan 31 15:44:56 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Mantrid on Sat Jan 30 2021 06:16 am

    My favorite phone, ever was a Samsung SIII. I loved the size, and when AT&T stopped updating it, I went to CyanogenMod and later LineageOS. The last developer with an SIII finally gave up a while ago, and updates stopped coming. That was the only reason I switched.

    Rooted and running Kali Linux on a 2011 phone, years later... Pretty amazing to think of it.

    Yeah mine's a oneplus one. preordered for just over 200 on launch and still a perfectly fine phone!

    Never run kali on a phone though, even my old laptop is fine til i need to run johntheipper or something and suddenly i need those raw cycles! i've a compromise of kali in the VM, but things like john running on the main host natively
    ----------------------
    United Kingdom BBS: ukbbs.zapto.org:64 (40cols) ukbbs.zapto.org:128 (80cols)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ United Kingdom BBS - ukbbs.zapto.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sun Jan 31 12:11:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Sunday 31.01.21 - 01:35, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    what turned me off about podcasts is there's a lot of people
    that are doing them that shouldnt be doing them. they have
    bad voices and they're boring.

    That is so true. Some podcasts based on their promotions look
    interesting. But when actually listening to them, it can go
    downhill very fast based on the sound of their voices and manner
    of speech (such as a lot of ummms ahhhhs likes, etc.)


    joe rogan is decent to listen to. they have interesting
    topics and he keeps it moving on pretty good. he's probably
    one of the few podcasters i like. -+-

    I suppose he gets most of his revenue from YT views? What a
    comfy way to earn a living by just talking.

    Meanwhile, I suppose he does contract commentator work for the
    the fight channels that he talks about and the residuals from
    the movies he's been in.

    I didn't realize he was in bit parts of many films. I enjoyed
    his hosting of the Fear Factor series.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Jan 31 12:14:00 2021
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 07:00, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    I just fired up WhatsApp on my phone. I've had a total of 1
    conversation on it. When I went to open a new conversation,
    I was shocked at how many people in my contacts lists had
    it! Unless they have some sort of FB Messenger to WhatsApp
    integration.

    You mean that WhatsApp sniffed through the Contacts list of your
    phone and checked to see if they were registered with WhatsApp,
    automatically by default?

    I heard that Signal does the same thing. Moxie (the Signal
    developer) was on a Joe Rogan podcast and explained why they
    prefer to do that. The explanation seemed reasonable, but Joe
    had good reasons *not* to do that.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Jan 31 12:32:00 2021
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 06:43, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is
    too long in one sitting.

    I have two extremely long-form podcasts I listen to - Jocko
    Podcast and the Tim Ferriss show. Both go extremely in-
    depth, but Jocko Willink will have a guest come on for 2 or
    3 episodes.

    Splitting up a show into separate 1hr segments would work better
    for me.

    For me, an hour is about as long as I like. With an hour
    podcast I can break it up over the course of a work day and
    listen to the whole thing.

    Here's what I encountered when I first went to fetch a Joe Rogan
    episode from last year:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl https://youtu.be/NaPKrZTUoUs [youtube]
    NaPKrZTUoUs: Downloading webpage [download] Destination: Joe
    Rogan Experience #1436 - Adam Curry-NaPKrZTUoUs.mp4 [download]
    0.8% of 1.82GiB at 606.93KiB/s ETA 51:55 ERROR: Interrupted by
    user

    Almost 2 GIG for a simple 3 hour "talk" podcast, and almost an
    hour to download it? No thanks.

    I interrupted that and opted for a smaller version:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 18 https://youtu.be/NaPKrZTUoUs
    [youtube] NaPKrZTUoUs: Downloading webpage [download]
    Destination: Joe Rogan Experience #1436 - Adam Curry-
    NaPKrZTUoUs.mp4 [download] 7.2% of 479.48MiB at 613.16KiB/s
    ETA 12:22

    That's 1/4 the size. Much better. The video quality was more
    than good enough on my modest 32" 10 year old LCD tv.

    It is a shame that podcasters don't pay attention to the size of
    the files and simply assume that everyone has unlimited data and
    +500Mbps speeds.

    My mobile carrier has throttled me down to this until Feb 3:

    URL: https://susepaste.org/46769311

    :(


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 12:42:45 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Denn on Sat Jan 30 2021 08:33 am

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would
    happen if I called someone retarded" a few minutes later I
    was banned. here is twitters mission statement.

    Was it just one post and the one word? ..Or, was the ban after
    a series of posts prior to that in an ongoing converstation?

    Just the one post.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to calcmandan on Sun Jan 31 12:53:32 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: calcmandan to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:17 pm

    I know right? The left has turned into a hodgepodge of irrationality.

    You know, with the fraud perpetrated by the left, they've effectively made our election process moot. We'll no longer have a choice because they've organized themselves enough to falsify the national election at the mass scale. Count my words, within the next few years, the number of republicans holding office in either house of congress will dwindle. They finally realized that their old delegate recount scam no longer worked for them so they went for flat-out fraud. Trump won that election and millions of us were disenfranchised. I'm sad for the process being dismantled. This is third world shit.

    I also blame weak Republicans that are scared of their own shadow for not standing up to the Democrats.
    Mitch Mconnel talked the big talk but in the end he bowed to the Democrats.
    I saw how quick Mitch started kissing Schumers ass.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Nightfox on Sun Jan 31 14:59:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Arelor on Sat Jan 30 2021 08:26 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Sat Jan 30 2021 05:51 pm

    The problem is many recruiters will attempt to contact you at some point, and try to send you a Whatsapp message, and i
    you have no Whatsapp they will discard you and move over to the next candidate of the list.

    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that phones were made for..

    Nightfox


    Rarely.

    I may have been phoned in by two recruiters since I left college. Everybody else is using video conferencing or Whatsapp.

    One actualyl phoned me, then tried to send me a whatsapp and failed (I got one of the auto-whatsapp-invitation SMSyou get when
    somebody tries to send you a Whatsapp and you don't have it). Then I tried to phone back in but he never picked the phone up.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 15:03:48 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Jan 31 2021 12:14 pm

    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 07:00, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    I just fired up WhatsApp on my phone. I've had a total of 1 conversation on it. When I went to open a new conversation,
    I was shocked at how many people in my contacts lists had
    it! Unless they have some sort of FB Messenger to WhatsApp
    integration.

    You mean that WhatsApp sniffed through the Contacts list of your
    phone and checked to see if they were registered with WhatsApp, automatically by default?

    I heard that Signal does the same thing. Moxie (the Signal
    developer) was on a Joe Rogan podcast and explained why they
    prefer to do that. The explanation seemed reasonable, but Joe
    had good reasons *not* to do that.

    Well Signal itself does not process phone numbers. They process hashes. So in that sense they are not that bad.

    There is the issue that the hashspace for phone numbers is small, so Signal could in theory try to crack their own hashes in
    order to learn which phone numbers you are associating with. But at that point they'd have it easier by straight backdooring
    the service :-P

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 16:06:08 2021
    Re: i was watching joe rogan
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 12:11 pm


    joe rogan is decent to listen to. they have interesting
    topics and he keeps it moving on pretty good. he's probably
    one of the few podcasters i like. -+-

    I suppose he gets most of his revenue from YT views? What a
    comfy way to earn a living by just talking.

    Meanwhile, I suppose he does contract commentator work for the

    now he's partnered with spotify and from the little i've watched, he has some really long long ads for things on his podcast.
    so i guess he's only going to be on spotify.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Sun Jan 31 15:20:41 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Sun Jan 31 2021 01:27 am

    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that
    phones were made for..

    OK BOOMER.

    nobody does that anymore.

    ... says a sysop still running a BBS.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 15:25:49 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Jan 31 2021 12:14 pm

    You mean that WhatsApp sniffed through the Contacts list of your
    phone and checked to see if they were registered with WhatsApp, automatically by default?

    WhatsApp seems to do that, and I think it also notifies you when one of your contacts has started using WhatsApp.

    Google Duo does the same thing (Google Duo is is a voice/video chat app that can work on wifi or a cell network, and might be Google's competition to Apple's FaceTime).

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Sun Jan 31 13:53:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 06:13, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Actually I have WhatsApp for business coms only. Because if
    you don't have it, you don't exist.

    Noted.

    However, I refuse to use the polluted smartphone for
    personal communications, which means that when there is a
    party, I am never invited, because if you are not in the
    Whatsapp group your friends won't bother reaching out for
    you somewhere else.

    I wouldn't call people who are not reaching out, friends. Do
    they buy your bars of soap?

    Besides, is not being at a party a great loss? Is that for
    scouting a potential hook-up? ..or for a potential business
    networking?

    Unless they need you because they need a place for the
    party, and your house is the only one available that week,
    or that sort of thing.

    I don't think parties would be a high priority even now after 1
    year of covid shit. It would probably be easier to arrange a
    private one-to-one party. ;)

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Sun Jan 31 21:12:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 03:20 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Sun Jan 31 2021 01:27 am

    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that
    phones were made for..

    OK BOOMER.

    nobody does that anymore.

    ... says a sysop still running a BBS.

    i'm barely running a bbs. it runs itself.

    but i RARELY have voice phone calls.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 21:15:06 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Jan 31 2021 01:53 pm

    I don't think parties would be a high priority even now after 1
    year of covid shit. It would probably be easier to arrange a
    private one-to-one party. ;)


    well i was at a birthday party for a baby. it was important because it was her first birthday. we split up into different rooms in the house and we were around people that we were around outside of the party.

    it worked out pretty good but who knows.
    i think with covid we are fucked no matter what we do.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 22:45:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    @MSGID: <6016EE9A.51863.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <60158E15.45102.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 07:00, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    I just fired up WhatsApp on my phone. I've had a total of 1
    conversation on it. When I went to open a new conversation,
    I was shocked at how many people in my contacts lists had
    it! Unless they have some sort of FB Messenger to WhatsApp
    integration.

    You mean that WhatsApp sniffed through the Contacts list of your
    phone and checked to see if they were registered with WhatsApp, automatically by default?

    I heard that Signal does the same thing. Moxie (the Signal
    developer) was on a Joe Rogan podcast and explained why they
    prefer to do that. The explanation seemed reasonable, but Joe
    had good reasons *not* to do that.

    I installed Signal on my desktop compute and I got messages from people in Signal along the lines of "Welcome to signal". I did not install it on my phone.

    So it seems signal was able to tell who I had on my phonebook? Or alternative, THEIR version of signal detected that my number had now been registered with Signal. I don't see how that latter option would work efficiently though.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Sun Jan 31 22:50:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    @MSGID: <6016EE9A.51864.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <60158E15.45098.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Saturday 30.01.21 - 06:43, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is
    too long in one sitting.

    I have two extremely long-form podcasts I listen to - Jocko
    Podcast and the Tim Ferriss show. Both go extremely in-
    depth, but Jocko Willink will have a guest come on for 2 or
    3 episodes.

    Splitting up a show into separate 1hr segments would work better
    for me.

    For me, an hour is about as long as I like. With an hour
    podcast I can break it up over the course of a work day and
    listen to the whole thing.

    Here's what I encountered when I first went to fetch a Joe Rogan
    episode from last year:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl https://youtu.be/NaPKrZTUoUs [youtube] NaPKrZTUoUs: Downloading webpage [download] Destination: Joe
    Rogan Experience #1436 - Adam Curry-NaPKrZTUoUs.mp4 [download]
    0.8% of 1.82GiB at 606.93KiB/s ETA 51:55 ERROR: Interrupted by
    user

    Almost 2 GIG for a simple 3 hour "talk" podcast, and almost an
    hour to download it? No thanks.

    I interrupted that and opted for a smaller version:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 18 https://youtu.be/NaPKrZTUoUs
    [youtube] NaPKrZTUoUs: Downloading webpage [download]
    Destination: Joe Rogan Experience #1436 - Adam Curry-
    NaPKrZTUoUs.mp4 [download] 7.2% of 479.48MiB at 613.16KiB/s
    ETA 12:22

    That's 1/4 the size. Much better. The video quality was more
    than good enough on my modest 32" 10 year old LCD tv.

    It is a shame that podcasters don't pay attention to the size of
    the files and simply assume that everyone has unlimited data and
    +500Mbps speeds.

    My mobile carrier has throttled me down to this until Feb 3:

    URL: https://susepaste.org/46769311

    :(

    YouTube-dl can download just the audio

    I use

    youtube-dl -x -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    to download an OPUS file. The large file size is an inevitability of the 2K video quality, but the audio component, is usually less than 200M for a 3 hour podcast.

    In the rare cases when I'm listening where they visually display something that I really need to screen, I pause the audio, jump to YouTube and jump to that section of the video and watch what I need to see.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to MRO on Sun Jan 31 10:21:00 2021
    MRO wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    My favorite phone, ever was a Samsung SIII. I loved the size, and when AT&T stopped updating it, I went to CyanogenMod and later LineageOS. The last developer with an SIII finally gave up a while ago, and updates stopped coming. That was the only reason I switched.

    i had an s3 until it died. there was nothing special about it.

    You do realize that personal preference is just that - personal?


    ... Spins and turns, angles and curves. The shape of dreams, half remembered. --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to MRO on Sun Jan 31 10:21:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Nightfox <=-

    talked to a real person. this is a big name company. i did a video interview where they showed me the questions to answer and i had 3
    tries to record a reply.

    I had a company try to do an initial screen with a chat bot. "It's AI!"


    ... Spins and turns, angles and curves. The shape of dreams, half remembered. --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dream Master on Sun Jan 31 10:22:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to calcmandan <=-

    I know right? The left has turned into a hodgepodge of irrationality.

    Really? That's the pot calling the kettle black.

    Accuse your opposition of your crimes, remove the higher moral ground.


    You know, with the fraud perpetrated by the left, they've effectively made our election process moot. We'll no longer have a choice because they've organized themselves enough to falsify the national election at the mass scale. Count my words, within the next few years, the number of republicans holding office in either house of congress will dwindle. They finally realized that their old delegate recount scam no longer worked for them so they went for flat-out fraud. Trump won that election and millions of us were disenfranchised. I'm sad for the process being dismantled. This is third world shit.

    What fraud? Oh, you mean trying to protect the citizens of the country from the continued spread of COVID-19? Yeah, it's a horrible excuse.
    I mean, let's keep spreading the virus when we're all huddled in and around a building trying to cast our ballots. GOD FORBID!

    Voting should be easy. Republican led states have a tendency of supressing voter turnout wherever a large populace of Democrats (read: people of color) live. Look at Texas. They went from having a significant number of ballot boxes statewide to one per county (https://bit.ly/2NI9XVi).

    Back to my point. Voting by mail, ballot box, or in person should be
    up to the electorate. States like Colorado have mail-in ballots for a number of years. We've successfully voted in Republican and Democratic candidates. Is there any fraud? Insignificantly, but there will
    always be an attempt to change the vote. Why can't this work
    elsewhere? It can. Yet, the minute its proposed Republican leadership cries foul because it enables more people to vote, do the research, and not take off work.

    Donald Trump lost the election. States have every right to change
    rules and regulations regarding mail-in ballots up to and during the election cycle. Now, Republican leadership in many of these states are trying to change the rules because their lord and savior Donald Trump
    lost the election. Get over it, HE LOST fair and square.

    How are you disenfranchised? Are you being told how to live? Are your rights being trampled on? Are you losing your guns? Are your roads
    not getting fixed? Are you afraid you might not get electricity
    tonight? Are you not going to be able to collect Social Security when
    you retire? Yeah, it all still exists. Did you lose your rights under Obama? No. Did you lose them under Clinton? No. What about Carter?
    No. Give me a break and be realistic.

    Democrat voters think they've won, but they have no idea that they're just as screwed as the republicans. They're probably more screwed because, by the time it is realized that they've been deceived by their own party, it'll be years past and far too late to fix things. Just look at that AOC character out of NYC. Hell, look at that VP of ours. So embarassing to know our VP came into power because she can suck a mighty dick. She was, effectively, the worst candidate in their pool, was the first to drop out, had the fewest votes, and ran out of money first. Meanwhile, their nomination process was so riddled with corruption that a few states never even finalized their tallies. Interesting how the voters failed to notice. It was their legacy > press who 'forgot' to make it a story.

    Nobody won. You can make all the arguments you want but the fact
    remains, no one won. There's nothing wrong with AOC. Oh wait, that's right, she's a woman of color. Yeah, she should shut her little mouth
    and let the men do all the talking. It's nice to finally hear someone speak up about the crap going on in the Capitol. Oh, and Vice
    President Harris and her "sucking dick". I keep forgetting. Women
    have to "suck dick" to get anywhere in life. Are you married? Do you have daughters? Go ahead and tell the women in your life that if they want to get anywhere in life that they should "suck dick". Let me
    guess, you tell them this all the time? I doubt it.

    Certification of votes:
    -Delaware: Nov 5
    -Vermont, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana: Nov 10
    -Wyoming, South Carolina: Nov 13
    -Mississippi: Nov 13
    -Virginia: Nov 16 (Completed Nov 18)
    -Florida: Nov 17
    -Massachusetts, Idaho, Arkansas: Nov 18
    -North Dakota, Georgia: Nov 20
    -Utah, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine, Kentucky: Nov 23
    -Ohio, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Minnesota, Indiana: Nov 24 -Alaska, Alabama: Nov 25
    -Nebraska, Montana, Iowa, Colorado, Arizona: Nov 30
    -Wisconsin, Kansas: Dec 1
    -New Hampshire, DC: Dec 2
    -West Virginia, Washington, Texas, Oregon, Connecticut: Dec 3
    -Illinois: Dec 4
    -New York: Dec 7
    -New Jersey, Missouri, Maryland: Dec 8
    -California: Dec 11

    The safe harbor provision for election year 2020 fell on December 8.
    The Electoral College cast its votes for president and vice president
    on December 14, 2020. ALL VOTES WERE COUNTED!

    Keep making up stories. Keep telling yourself lies. The truth is that every court case brought up failed. Why? LACK OF EVIDENCE!!! There
    was and remains no voter fraud. Get over it.

    Meanwhile, democrats from my state (CA) are moving to places like Texas to enjoy the freedom there. How ironic... A state held strongly by conservatives and that's where they flock. They'll continue to decay the sanctity of that state because they're taking their bullshit politics with them. Just look at Austin.

    Let me guess, you're from Central or Northern California, or worse,
    Orange County? They aren't moving to Texas to enjoy the freedoms, they are moving to Texas to be able to afford to BUY A HOUSE! I am happy to have moved away from California, and I could afford it. California is simply unaffordable, traffic is horrible, and taxes are ridiculous.
    There is nothing wrong with having differing views about anything. It
    is necessary to listen to each other and acknowledge their ideas. You
    may not like it, but you might learn something.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream
    Master Caught in a Dream |
    caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS
    ---
    Synchronet Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com

    ... Accuse the opposition of your crimes, remove the moral high ground.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Nightfox on Sun Jan 31 10:24:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Arelor <=-

    The problem is many recruiters will attempt to contact you at some point, and try to send you a Whatsapp message, and if you have no Whatsapp they will discard you and move over to the next candidate of the list.

    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that phones were made for..

    I think it depends on the type of job. My wife works in HR, and one of the things she told me that's held true more than once now, is if they CALL you
    on a Friday afternoon to check in, you're in the running for the position.
    If the weekend starts and no one's reached out to you, keep looking.

    I'm in a management/senior management position, I'm sure it's different for individual contributors.



    ... Spins and turns, angles and curves. The shape of dreams, half remembered. --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to MRO on Sun Jan 31 10:26:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Nightfox <=-


    Do they ever actually call people on the phone? The thing that phones were made for..

    OK BOOMER.

    nobody does that anymore.

    You sound like my 17 year-old son. He said the same thing, and what I countered with was that the generation in management positions and in academics do use the phone, and having phone skills (and a proper voicemail greeting with your name instead of the roboto "reading out your number"
    generic greeting) will make a much better impression.





    ... Spins and turns, angles and curves. The shape of dreams, half remembered. --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Denn on Sun Jan 31 20:19:00 2021
    Hello Denn!

    ** On Sunday 31.01.21 - 12:42, Denn wrote to Ogg:

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would
    happen if I called someone retarded" a few minutes later I
    was banned.

    Was it just one post and the one word? ..Or, was the ban
    after a series of posts prior to that in an ongoing
    converstation?

    Just the one post.

    That's pretty bad (the sudden ban, I mean). On a recent Joe
    Rogan podcast he recounted a story about someone else getting
    banned for just saying "Good for you, man."


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sun Jan 31 21:13:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Sunday 31.01.21 - 16:06, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    joe rogan is decent to listen to..

    now he's partnered with spotify and from the little i've
    watched, he has some really long long ads for things on his
    podcast. so i guess he's only going to be on spotify. -+-■

    Apparently it's a 100M$ deal with Spotify. Crazy.

    I haven't tried his podcast on Spotify.. but are you saying that
    they are already running ads/sponsorships with it? His
    interviews are already up to 3 hours long WITHOUT any ads.

    Just a basic search on Spotify seems to indicate that his entire
    history of podcasts are not available there.

    If JRE is exclusive to Spotify, then that will be a deal breaker
    for me. If I can't listen to podcast material on my TV (even if
    it's just audio), then I will stick to whatever I can find and
    download from YT or from the basic internet sites.

    I really like using youtube-dl and playing the material from a
    USB card or media card with my TV.

    Meanwhile, there seems to be plenty of older JRE to download on
    YT.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 06:37:49 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Jan 31 2021 01:53 pm

    I wouldn't call people who are not reaching out, friends. Do
    they buy your bars of soap?

    Besides, is not being at a party a great loss? Is that for
    scouting a potential hook-up? ..or for a potential business
    networking?

    You didn't need to remind me that my social circle is quite low quality. I am well aware of that already.

    Missing a party is not agreat loss. Missing a social circle with all the connections that come with it is.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Mon Feb 1 08:42:00 2021
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Sunday 31.01.21 - 22:50, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    YouTube-dl can download just the audio

    I use

    youtube-dl -x -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    to download an OPUS file. The large file size is an
    inevitability of the 2K video quality, but the audio
    component, is usually less than 200M for a 3 hour podcast.

    But the docs say that -x is a "post-processing" option, meaning
    that it happens *after* the download, ...but I will try it.


    In the rare cases when I'm listening where they visually
    display something that I really need to screen, I pause the
    audio, jump to YouTube and jump to that section of the video
    and watch what I need to see.

    That is smart. There is not much to watch in the Joe Rogan
    stuff. I need to find a way to listen to it *while* doing
    somthing else that doesn't need too much concentration. For now,
    I was just laying back in my couch/bed and putting my life on
    hold for 3 hours.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Mon Feb 1 09:34:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Monday 01.02.21 - 06:37, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Besides, is not being at a party a great loss? Is that for
    scouting a potential hook-up? ..or for a potential business
    networking?

    You didn't need to remind me that my social circle is quite
    low quality. I am well aware of that already.

    Maybe it *is* time to consider using Whatsapp for the social
    aspects of connecting with humans that are close to you?

    I still hesitate to work on my FB page for the biz. But that
    seems to be where the locals hang out. They in-turn are the
    resource to stir other people to "buy local". FB can be a tool
    to build a community - it doesn't have to be business all the
    time - but that in turn gets people to encourage each other even
    if it seems to be idle chat .

    Missing a party is not agreat loss. Missing a social circle
    with all the connections that come with it is.

    Then it sounds like you need to capitulate to Whatsapp for that.

    I'm the wrong guy to dispense social tips. Except for rock-
    climbing with a group, I've always been fine *not* being in the
    midst of a social circle. I'm the only relative out of 14 1st
    cousins that lives about 250km away from everyone else. Over the
    years I've been to their funerals, parties, special events, and
    even just for casual visits to the city - and most everyone
    would manage to arrange to meet me in the city during my visit.
    But does the process reciprocate? No. There are some
    connections amongst my cousins that I wished were closer. But
    having grown up with 2 working parents most of my life, I
    learned to be quite fine as an independent.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 13:23:26 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Denn on Sun Jan 31 2021 08:19 pm

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would
    happen if I called someone retarded" a few minutes later I
    was banned.

    Was it just one post and the one word? ..Or, was the ban
    after a series of posts prior to that in an ongoing
    converstation?

    Just the one post.

    That's pretty bad (the sudden ban, I mean). On a recent Joe
    Rogan podcast he recounted a story about someone else getting
    banned for just saying "Good for you, man."

    Yes that's pretty bad, I'm off all social media now except Dovenet.
    Oh and the BBSLINK wall lol.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 13:26:01 2021
    Re: i was watching joe rogan
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 09:13 pm

    -+- OpenXP 5.0.48
    Just curious what open XP is?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Feb 1 16:27:19 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 10:21 am


    i had an s3 until it died. there was nothing special about it.

    You do realize that personal preference is just that - personal?


    there is literally nothing special about it. the s3 has no special features. it's just a samsung phone. there is nothing remarkable in any way about that phone. the size, the camera, battery life, the launcher are not remarkable.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Feb 1 16:27:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 10:21 am

    MRO wrote to Nightfox <=-

    talked to a real person. this is a big name company. i did a video
    interview where they showed me the questions to answer and i had 3
    tries to record a reply.

    I had a company try to do an initial screen with a chat bot. "It's AI!"


    oh i would just close it and move on.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Feb 1 16:30:30 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 10:26 am

    nobody does that anymore.

    You sound like my 17 year-old son. He said the same thing, and what I countered with was that the generation in management positions and in academics do use the phone, and having phone skills (and a proper voicemail greeting with your name instead of the roboto "reading out your number" generic greeting) will make a much better impression.



    i prefer email contact. that way i'm not caught off guard. speaking of, i was at work today and had a place i applied to in september call me up. i didn't even want to deal with that shit. i just told her i was no longer available. i'm looking to get into a job with less ups and downs but this wasnt a keeper.

    anyways, caught me off guard.
    i thought it was a bot calling me about my car insurance.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 16:33:43 2021
    Re: i was watching joe rogan
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 09:13 pm

    Apparently it's a 100M$ deal with Spotify. Crazy.

    I haven't tried his podcast on Spotify.. but are you saying that
    they are already running ads/sponsorships with it? His
    interviews are already up to 3 hours long WITHOUT any ads.


    i just remember him doing a live ad for something and it went on and on and on. i dont listen to that stuff much.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From calcmandan@VERT/DIGDIST to Dream Master on Mon Feb 1 08:08:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to calcmandan <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: calcmandan to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:17 pm

    I know right? The left has turned into a hodgepodge of irrationality.

    Really? That's the pot calling the kettle black.

    No, not at all. The democrat party has a long history of committing voter fraud. Kennedy was noted as a recent beneficiary in Illinois. Al Gore nearly got
    his way when your party tried to change the rules. Washington's Gregoire benefitted from the same scam attempted with Al Gore. She lost, but after a number of recounts, they 'found' votes for her that led to an eventual
    victory. Of course, a more notorious example was Senator Al Franken. He, too, lost again they continued to find more votes for him on subsequent recounts until he won. They tried that with Hillary in 2016 but the states in question were electronic votes and those are hard to 'find' days/weeks after the
    fact. They did manage to squeek out a popular vote by ballot harvesting in Los Angeles and New York City even though her loss was rather dramatic.

    You know, with the fraud perpetrated by the left, they've effectively made our election process moot. We'll no longer have a choice because they've organized themselves enough to falsify the national election at the mass scale. Count my words, within the next few years, the number of republicans holding office in either house of congress will dwindle. They finally realized that their old delegate recount scam no longer worked for them so they went for flat-out fraud. Trump won that election and millions of us were disenfranchised. I'm sad for the process being dismantled. This is third world shit.

    What fraud? Oh, you mean trying to protect the citizens of the country from the continued spread of COVID-19? Yeah, it's a horrible excuse.
    I mean, let's keep spreading the virus when we're all huddled in and around a building trying to cast our ballots. GOD FORBID!

    No, the fraud perpetrated by your party in 2020. When the news you listen to is a sounding board for your own party, you'll never get the news. You're less informed than someone who's never turned a TV on. It's not your fault. You believe and trust your news sources.

    You don't know it yet, but you're just as screwed as the rest of us but will likely find out for sure.

    Voting should be easy. Republican led states have a tendency of supressing voter turnout wherever a large populace of Democrats (read: people of color) live. Look at Texas. They went from having a significant number of ballot boxes statewide to one per county (https://bit.ly/2NI9XVi).

    The democrat party also has a tendency to be sore losers. Hell, they're sore winners if you get down to it. Of course, whenever your candidates loses, voter supression blablabla. Never any evidence of it ever comes up. But, it's always the story election after election. You'd think, by now, they'd come up with another excuse like 'the candidate wasn't electable,' or 'the voter turnout wasn't as great as we'd hoped.' That's never the story.

    Back to my point. Voting by mail, ballot box, or in person should be
    up to the electorate. States like Colorado have mail-in ballots for a number of years. We've successfully voted in Republican and Democratic candidates. Is there any fraud? Insignificantly, but there will
    always be an attempt to change the vote. Why can't this work
    elsewhere? It can. Yet, the minute its proposed Republican leadership cries foul because it enables more people to vote, do the research, and not take off work.

    As I said, our system will never again return with fair results. The system effectively dismantled. People will turnout to vote, but the real results will never be known. Many of my friends and I knew it would happen, but were shocked at the scale they managed it. We were all shocked. This election proved it. My family hopes to move to a safe state before things go to hell.

    We're moving toward a successful recall of Gov Newsom in California. It will lead to a success but... We may end up with a worse monster due to the fact that
    the election process has been rendered moot.

    Mark my words, you've been deceived.

    Daniel

    ... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From calcmandan@VERT/DIGDIST to Denn on Mon Feb 1 08:09:00 2021
    Denn wrote to calcmandan <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: calcmandan to Dr. What on Fri Jan 29 2021 08:17 pm

    I know right? The left has turned into a hodgepodge of irrationality.

    You know, with the fraud perpetrated by the left, they've effectively made our election process moot. We'll no longer have a choice because they've organized themselves enough to falsify the national election at the mass scale. Count my words, within the next few years, the number of republicans holding office in either house of congress will dwindle. They finally realized that their old delegate recount scam no longer worked for them so they went for flat-out fraud. Trump won that election and millions of us were disenfranchised. I'm sad for the process being dismantled. This is third world shit.

    I also blame weak Republicans that are scared of their own shadow for
    not standing up to the Democrats.
    Mitch Mconnel talked the big talk but in the end he bowed to the Democrats.
    I saw how quick Mitch started kissing Schumers ass.

    You can say that again. They seemed poised to show some real leadership, but in the end...

    Listen, I can't pretend to know what happens in Washington. There's no telling who was threatened with what, or who was paid off. But whatever it is, the game they're playing is putting our country in dire straits.

    ... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Mon Feb 1 17:22:37 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Feb 01 2021 04:27 pm

    there is literally nothing special about it. the s3 has no special features. it's just a samsung phone. there is nothing remarkable in any way about that phone. the size, the camera, battery life, the launcher are not remarkable.

    The Samsung Galaxy S3 is an older phone. It's not really remarkable anymore.

    I've tended to like the Samsung Galaxy phones. I had a Samsung Galaxy and recently bought another phone, and decided on a Google Pixel 5 because it's a little less expensive than a Samsung Galaxy phone. One thing I miss a little bit about the Samsungs is Samsung had some of their own utilities, such as a phone setting transfer tool which would re-install all the apps you had on your old phone and would even set up your home screen the same way, with all the app shortcuts and any app categories you might had on the old phone. It makes it fairly quick and easy to migrate to a new Samsung phone.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Mon Feb 1 22:27:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Mon Feb 01 2021 05:22 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Feb 01 2021 04:27 pm

    there is literally nothing special about it. the s3 has no special
    features. it's just a samsung phone. there is nothing remarkable in
    any way about that phone. the size, the camera, battery life, the
    launcher are not remarkable.

    The Samsung Galaxy S3 is an older phone. It's not really remarkable anymore.

    i'm pretty sure i said i had one.
    it wasnt remarkable then.

    I've tended to like the Samsung Galaxy phones. I had a Samsung Galaxy and recently bought another phone, and decided on a Google Pixel 5 because it's a little less expensive than a Samsung Galaxy phone. One thing I miss a little bit about the Samsungs is Samsung had some of their own utilities, such as a phone setting transfer tool which would re-install all the apps you had on your old phone and would even set up your home screen the same way, with all the app shortcuts and any app categories you


    android and google should do that for you when you get a new phone. that's what it always does for me.


    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Denn on Mon Feb 1 21:42:00 2021
    Hello Denn!

    ** On Monday 01.02.21 - 13:26, Denn wrote to Ogg:

    -+- OpenXP 5.0.48
    Just curious what open XP is?


    It's point software.

    Screenshots here: http://openxp.kolico.ca/



    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Tue Feb 2 04:04:01 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Mon Feb 01 2021 09:34 am

    You didn't need to remind me that my social circle is quite
    low quality. I am well aware of that already.

    Maybe it *is* time to consider using Whatsapp for the social
    aspects of connecting with humans that are close to you?

    What I need is a wider social circle.

    Every single time I have started doing something because everybody else is doing it, in order
    to fit in, I find that I fail to fit in anyway. So I'd rather keep being myself.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Tue Feb 2 04:07:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Feb 01 2021 04:27 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to MRO on Sun Jan 31 2021 10:21 am


    i had an s3 until it died. there was nothing special about it.

    You do realize that personal preference is just that - personal?


    there is literally nothing special about it. the s3 has no special features. it's just a
    samsung phone. there is nothing remarkable in any way about that phone. the size, the camer
    battery life, the launcher are not remarkable.

    Well afaik it has the Heimdal loader going for it?

    Early Galaxies made it easy to load your own ROMS, which is turning into an special thing
    nowadays.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Tue Feb 2 08:20:47 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Mon Feb 01 2021 10:27 pm

    I've tended to like the Samsung Galaxy phones. I had a Samsung
    Galaxy and recently bought another phone, and decided on a Google
    Pixel 5 because it's a little less expensive than a Samsung Galaxy
    phone. One thing I miss a little bit about the Samsungs is Samsung
    had some of their own utilities, such as a phone setting transfer
    tool which would re-install all the apps you had on your old phone
    and would even set up your home screen the same way, with all the
    app shortcuts and any app categories you

    android and google should do that for you when you get a new phone. that's what it always does for me.

    My new Android phone didn't do that.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Tue Feb 2 16:19:51 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Ogg on Tue Feb 02 2021 04:04 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Mon Feb 01 2021 09:34 am

    You didn't need to remind me that my social circle is quite
    low quality. I am well aware of that already.

    Maybe it *is* time to consider using Whatsapp for the social
    aspects of connecting with humans that are close to you?

    What I need is a wider social circle.

    Every single time I have started doing something because everybody else is doing it, in order to fit in, I find that I fail to fit in anyway. So I'd rather keep being myself.


    maybe what you need is to STOP being yourself!
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Tue Feb 2 16:21:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to MRO on Tue Feb 02 2021 04:07 am

    You do realize that personal preference is just that - personal?


    there is literally nothing special about it. the s3 has no special
    features. it's just a samsung phone. there is nothing remarkable in
    any way about that phone. the size, the camer battery life, the
    launcher are not remarkable.

    Well afaik it has the Heimdal loader going for it?

    Early Galaxies made it easy to load your own ROMS, which is turning into an special thing nowadays.


    dont know what that is, but i had to root it the same way as i rooted other phones pretty much. and i put roms on the same way as i did the other phones.

    it's not an easy process, but not super hard.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Tue Feb 2 16:22:24 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Tue Feb 02 2021 08:20 am

    android and google should do that for you when you get a new phone.
    that's what it always does for me.

    My new Android phone didn't do that.


    when i get a new phone, i sign into my google account and it downloads all my apps and wallpaper and shit like that and puts that phone as close as possible to how the old phone is.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Tortillaretreat@VERT/CIAD to Arelor on Tue Feb 2 20:51:49 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Arelor on Tue Feb 02 2021 04:19 pm

    > maybe what you need is to STOP being yourself!

    Well, I'd like more elaboration before we say that. Are you just too weird for people or do they think you're an asshole? Do YOU think you're an asshole?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Siskiyous@VERT/THEMIDNI to MRO on Wed Feb 3 01:10:52 2021
    I am finding time for my real interests now that the censors have me shut down. I am exploring Gemini, an dmore time on my Ham Radios to, I have an ARDEN project as son as I do some work on my ham shack

    ---
    ­ Synchronet ­ THE MIDNIGHT CAFE -- themidnightcafe.ddns.net The Last Stand For Free Speech O
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 06:49:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    You mean that WhatsApp sniffed through the Contacts list of your
    phone and checked to see if they were registered with WhatsApp, automatically by default?

    I may have told given WhatsApp permission to do so, in order to see who I
    knew was on it.


    ... Back in the stream that feeds the ocean that feeds the stream.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 07:07:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to MRO <=-

    That is so true. Some podcasts based on their promotions look interesting. But when actually listening to them, it can go
    downhill very fast based on the sound of their voices and manner
    of speech (such as a lot of ummms ahhhhs likes, etc.)


    I can't stand listening to that younger generation thing where you drop the
    T sound, mid-word. Proper pronunciation is impor-int. That's turned me off
    of a couple of podcasts.

    One nice thing a lot of podcasts have in common is their cadence and pace. I listened to a lot on my commute, and could get through a lot of content in
    50 minutes. I tried listening to an audiobook version of "Into the Plex"
    with traditional voice talent, and barely got through the foreward and introduction before I got to work!

    Podcasts can be a little insular, when you have a podcaster on someone
    else's podcast talking about their podcast you have to wonder.

    Another trend is people who've become successful by being podcasters
    teaching other people how to be succesful teaching other people to be successful with a podcast.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Mon Feb 1 07:08:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I have two extremely long-form podcasts I listen to - Jocko
    Podcast and the Tim Ferriss show. Both go extremely in-
    depth, but Jocko Willink will have a guest come on for 2 or
    3 episodes.

    Splitting up a show into separate 1hr segments would work better
    for me.

    One marketing move I like is having a 45 minute free segment, and allowing paid subscribers access to a full-length interview. Sam Harris does that,
    I believe.


    ... Back in the stream that feeds the ocean that feeds the stream.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to calcmandan on Tue Feb 2 06:55:00 2021
    calcmandan wrote to Denn <=-

    Listen, I can't pretend to know what happens in Washington. There's no telling who was threatened with what, or who was paid off. But whatever
    it is, the game they're playing is putting our country in dire straits.

    Yeah, it's pretty clear that the people that have been in power for as long
    as I've known have had other people behind the curtain. On both sides of the aisle.


    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Tue Feb 2 06:58:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to MRO <=-

    Well afaik it has the Heimdal loader going for it?

    Early Galaxies made it easy to load your own ROMS, which is turning
    into an special thing nowadays.

    Yeah, the SIII with AT&T firmware was OK. Rooted, with Cyanogen/LineageOS,
    it was a whole different phone. I ran Kali on mine and did some light pentesting with it. VNCed into it and used it like a desktop. Bought one of their micro-HDMI cables and used it like a set-top box when we traveled,
    with movies on the SD card and Netflix. Used an OTR cable and kept a ton of data on USB drives. Replaced the batteries in seconds. Magpul made a rugged case that was virtually drop-proof.


    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Tortillaretreat on Wed Feb 3 00:31:01 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Tortillaretreat to Arelor on Tue Feb 02 2021 08:51 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Arelor on Tue Feb 02 2021 04:19 pm

    maybe what you need is to STOP being yourself!

    Well, I'd like more elaboration before we say that. Are you just too weird for people or do they think you're an asshole? Do YOU think you're an asshole?


    you're quoting what i said and not what he said.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Feb 3 01:27:51 2021
    Re: Re: i was watching joe rogan
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Ogg on Mon Feb 01 2021 07:07 am


    I can't stand listening to that younger generation thing where you drop the T sound, mid-word. Proper pronunciation is impor-int. That's turned me off of a couple of podcasts.

    that might be a regional thing, not a kid thing.

    i dont say that T in important
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Warpslide@VERT/NRBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Feb 3 07:31:00 2021
    On 01 Feb 2021, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

    I can't stand listening to that younger generation thing where you drop th T sound, mid-word. Proper pronunciation is impor-int. That's turned me off of a couple of podcasts.

    I thought this was just me. It seems like the whole world has forgotten that there are two Ts in the middle of the word button. It's button, not buh-in.

    I'll go back to yelling at kids to get off my lawn now... ;)


    Jay

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/01/30 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Tue Feb 2 22:02:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6018117D.51917.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <60174EAA.48190.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Sunday 31.01.21 - 22:50, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    YouTube-dl can download just the audio

    I use

    youtube-dl -x -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    to download an OPUS file. The large file size is an
    inevitability of the 2K video quality, but the audio
    component, is usually less than 200M for a 3 hour podcast.

    But the docs say that -x is a "post-processing" option, meaning
    that it happens *after* the download, ...but I will try it.

    The post processing is I think to extract the audio from the container and create an OPUS file. It doesn't download the video at all, because when I use this, it only might download say 160M for a 3 hour podcast. I think YT keeps multiple copies of the video, and some copies are sans video. The -F parameter allows you to see which files/version you can download. You'll notice some are audio only, including number 251 which is only an opus stream, no video.



    In the rare cases when I'm listening where they visually
    display something that I really need to screen, I pause the
    audio, jump to YouTube and jump to that section of the video
    and watch what I need to see.

    That is smart. There is not much to watch in the Joe Rogan
    stuff. I need to find a way to listen to it *while* doing
    somthing else that doesn't need too much concentration. For now,
    I was just laying back in my couch/bed and putting my life on
    hold for 3 hours.

    Now that he is on Spotify, it a more limiting unfortunately. I don't have a portable player that support spotify.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Tortillaretreat@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Wed Feb 3 21:58:47 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Tortillaretreat on Wed Feb 03 2021 12:31 am

    you're quoting what i said and not what he said.

    I know, it was intentional.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Wed Feb 3 21:19:00 2021
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Tuesday 02.02.21 - 22:02, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    YouTube-dl can download just the audio

    I use

    youtube-dl -x -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    to download an OPUS file...

    But the docs say that -x is a "post-processing" option,
    meaning that it happens *after* the download, ...but I
    will try it.

    The post processing is I think to extract the audio from the
    container and create an OPUS file. It doesn't download the
    video at all, ...

    The -F parameter allows you to see which files/version you
    can download. You'll notice some are audio only, including
    number 251 which is only an opus stream, no video.


    I am familiar with seeing the alternative downloads when using
    the -F parameter. But in that case, it you are choosing 251 for
    Opus, then wouldn't -x be redundant?

    I mean, wouldn't this accomplish the same thing for you?

    youtube-dl -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    I have used the -f parameter to fetch the audio versions of
    music videos. I never really thought of doing that for Joe
    Rogan's podcasts.. but it might be the best solution!

    BTW.. I notice that some of Rogan's podcasts are nolonger listed
    on YT. I was hoping to grab the 2nd interview with Adam Curry
    and the one with Gelnn Greenwald, but they are missing.

    ..There is not much to watch in the Joe Rogan
    stuff. I need to find a way to listen to it *while* doing
    somthing else..

    Now that he is on Spotify, it a more limiting unfortunately.
    I don't have a portable player that support spotify.

    I started to experiment with it with the Spotify app on my
    Blackberry. There is what looks like a download button (just a
    down arrow) next to each podcast, but it doesn't give any visual
    clue that it is downloading anything when pressed. :(

    There is no clue whether it is downloading just the audio
    portion or the larger video file.

    I figured if that download works, then I could simply connect
    the audio-out of the Blackberry to a small amplifier that I have
    nearby and "play" the file in the offline mode.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Wed Feb 3 22:11:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Tuesday 02.02.21 - 04:04, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    What I need is a wider social circle.

    Every single time I have started doing
    something because everybody else is doing it,
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Like what?


    ..in order to fit in, I find that I fail to fit in anyway.
    So I'd rather keep being myself.

    Retreat is the safer option. But it inhibits the social
    connections you think about.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Tortillaretreat on Thu Feb 4 00:26:33 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Tortillaretreat to MRO on Wed Feb 03 2021 09:58 pm

    you're quoting what i said and not what he said.

    I know, it was intentional.

    (snort)

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Thu Feb 4 02:53:13 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Feb 03 2021 10:11 pm

    What I need is a wider social circle.

    Every single time I have started doing
    something because everybody else is doing it,
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Like what?

    Like joining the newest social platform which is being hyped a given year :-)

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Arelor on Thu Feb 4 09:47:47 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Ogg on Thu Feb 04 2021 02:53 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Feb 03 2021 10:11 pm

    What I need is a wider social circle.

    Every single time I have started doing
    something because everybody else is doing it,
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Like what?

    Like joining the newest social platform which is being hyped a given year :-)

    The instant messaging platforms, from MSN to Skype to Discord, were very nessecary transitions for those in amature production circles given their widespread adoption amongst younger users.

    My siblings come to me and say "Have you heard of ' XYZ Internet Handle' dude? He is like, totally super famous right now."

    I'll ask, "Do you mean they're big on TicTok?" and they say "Yeah."

    I reply "TicTok is Chinese spyware and propaganda, which is only viewed by a small minority of your platforms "Massive" audience. Are they big on any other platforms, YouTube, Twitter, their own Website?"

    "Oh naw, they've got an Instagram and Facebook. Posted from my iPhone XIII.2 XL 240gb $ 2,999.99 Premo model."

    Someone just drive an ice pick behind my eye and give me a labotomy now.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to MRO on Thu Feb 4 04:34:23 2021
    On 1/30/2021 3:16 PM, MRO wrote:
    I think Rogan's interviews need to be shorter. 3 hours is too
    long in one sitting.

    i dont even notice or watch or listen to the whole thing. i think
    podcasts are boring no matter how short they are.

    I think these two podcast episodes were particularly entertaining.
    Laughed my ass off a few times through both of them.

    Free Range American: Ep 004 Hodge Twins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thAFsxCqLfQ

    Free Range American: Ep 096 JP Sears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TdxzjPbQN8
    --
    Michael J. Ryan (tracker1)
    +o roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Thu Feb 4 08:28:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 04.02.21 - 02:53, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    something because everybody else is doing it,
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Like what?

    Like joining the newest social platform which is being hyped
    a given year :-)

    Oh.. I thought you may have meant something in the lines of a
    type of hobby or activity. Sometimes traditional things like a
    sports competition, a charity event, etc.. are great ways to
    encounter new people to hang out with.

    I took Karate, Judo and ballroom dancing and participated in a
    choral ensemble while I was in university. Then I revisited
    ballroom dancing later in life. I added rock climbing and
    spelunking in there. All were fun ways to meet new people.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Tortillaretreat on Thu Feb 4 12:47:24 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Tortillaretreat to MRO on Wed Feb 03 2021 09:58 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Tortillaretreat on Wed Feb 03 2021 12:31 am

    you're quoting what i said and not what he said.

    I know, it was intentional.

    then reply to the person you are quoting.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Thu Feb 4 12:52:25 2021
    Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to Boraxman on Wed Feb 03 2021 09:19 pm

    BTW.. I notice that some of Rogan's podcasts are nolonger listed
    on YT. I was hoping to grab the 2nd interview with Adam Curry
    and the one with Gelnn Greenwald, but they are missing.


    1533 is for spotify and it's recorded in the new studio in texas.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Thu Feb 4 12:53:41 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to Tortillaretreat on Thu Feb 04 2021 12:26 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Tortillaretreat to MRO on Wed Feb 03 2021 09:58 pm

    you're quoting what i said and not what he said.

    I know, it was intentional.

    (snort)

    ah you like stupid humor, huh
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to All on Thu Feb 4 11:31:50 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Arelor on Thu Feb 04 2021 09:47 am

    The instant messaging platforms, from MSN to Skype to Discord, were very nessecary transitions for those in amature production circles given their widespread adoption amongst younger users.

    My siblings come to me and say "Have you heard of ' XYZ Internet Handle' dude? He is like, totally super famous right now."

    I'll ask, "Do you mean they're big on TicTok?" and they say "Yeah."

    I reply "TicTok is Chinese spyware and propaganda, which is only viewed by a small minority of your platforms "Massive" audience. Are they big on any other platforms, YouTube, Twitter, their own Website?"

    "Oh naw, they've got an Instagram and Facebook. Posted from my iPhone XIII.2 XL 240gb $ 2,999.99 Premo model."

    Someone just drive an ice pick behind my eye and give me a labotomy now.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■


    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Its a Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. Another distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations pretty low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Thu Feb 4 16:51:33 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Feb 04 2021 08:28 am

    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 04.02.21 - 02:53, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    something because everybody else is doing it,
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Like what?

    Like joining the newest social platform which is being hyped
    a given year :-)

    Oh.. I thought you may have meant something in the lines of a
    type of hobby or activity. Sometimes traditional things like a
    sports competition, a charity event, etc.. are great ways to
    encounter new people to hang out with.

    I took Karate, Judo and ballroom dancing and participated in a
    choral ensemble while I was in university. Then I revisited
    ballroom dancing later in life. I added rock climbing and
    spelunking in there. All were fun ways to meet new people.

    Oh I have my bunch of hobbies. And I mean, actual hobbies I do because I like. It is just that oftentimes
    I am the only one who finds them interesting in my area :-P


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Minex on Thu Feb 4 18:39:55 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Arelor on Thu Feb 04 2021 09:47 am

    The instant messaging platforms, from MSN to Skype to Discord, were very nessecary
    transitions for those in amature production circles given their widespread adoption among
    younger users.

    My siblings come to me and say "Have you heard of ' XYZ Internet Handle' dude? He is like
    totally super famous right now."

    I'll ask, "Do you mean they're big on TicTok?" and they say "Yeah."

    I reply "TicTok is Chinese spyware and propaganda, which is only viewed by a small minori
    of your platforms "Massive" audience. Are they big on any other platforms, YouTube, Twitt
    their own Website?"

    "Oh naw, they've got an Instagram and Facebook. Posted from my iPhone XIII.2 XL 240gb $
    2,999.99 Premo model."

    Someone just drive an ice pick behind my eye and give me a labotomy now.

    þ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville þ


    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Its a Linux
    alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I
    probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text
    message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect
    my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. Another
    distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations prett
    low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)


    Thanks for commenting. It certainly sounds horrible :-)

    It looks like the only alternatives that are working as of today are Android derivatives.

    I whish Purism produced something worth it.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Minex on Thu Feb 4 18:19:14 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet?
    Its a Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. Another distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations pretty low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    This is what I will never understand. Why get something that has the potential of working, spending money on it, and hoping for the best? One of the main reasons why I left Andoid back around iPhone 4 days is that I felt that the carriers had too much control of the interface and what they'd allow it to do. When I finally rooted the phone, it was nice to have more control, but it could easily turn into a brick if I wasn't careful. Since then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Minex on Thu Feb 4 20:25:27 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Its a Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and

    oh thanks for bringing that up. my friend just posted about it on his telegram channel the other day.

    i've been looking for a phone that has linux as an os too.
    whenever they come up with something like that it looks promissing but it ends up being dogshit.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Thu Feb 4 20:25:58 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Ogg on Thu Feb 04 2021 04:51 pm


    Oh I have my bunch of hobbies. And I mean, actual hobbies I do because I like. It is just that oftentimes I am the only one who finds them interesting in my area :-P



    you dont make furnature out of people, right
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Thu Feb 4 20:27:13 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 06:19 pm

    they'd allow it to do. When I finally rooted the phone, it was nice to have more control, but it could easily turn into a brick if I wasn't careful. Since then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will

    you can hold down your physical buttons and then get into an interface to flash the rom back on.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Minex on Thu Feb 4 21:04:39 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 08:25 pm



    its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and


    oh, my buddy wanted to know what your error logs look like.
    and also are you experimenting with a bunch of roms?
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Thu Feb 4 23:00:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <601B5DFF.51987.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <601B1137.48290.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Tuesday 02.02.21 - 22:02, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    YouTube-dl can download just the audio

    I use

    youtube-dl -x -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    to download an OPUS file...

    But the docs say that -x is a "post-processing" option,
    meaning that it happens *after* the download, ...but I
    will try it.

    The post processing is I think to extract the audio from the
    container and create an OPUS file. It doesn't download the
    video at all, ...

    The -F parameter allows you to see which files/version you
    can download. You'll notice some are audio only, including
    number 251 which is only an opus stream, no video.


    I am familiar with seeing the alternative downloads when using
    the -F parameter. But in that case, it you are choosing 251 for
    Opus, then wouldn't -x be redundant?

    I mean, wouldn't this accomplish the same thing for you?


    youtube-dl -f 251 http://youtube.com/YouTubeVideo

    I have used the -f parameter to fetch the audio versions of
    music videos. I never really thought of doing that for Joe
    Rogan's podcasts.. but it might be the best solution!

    BTW.. I notice that some of Rogan's podcasts are nolonger listed
    on YT. I was hoping to grab the 2nd interview with Adam Curry
    and the one with Gelnn Greenwald, but they are missing.

    ..There is not much to watch in the Joe Rogan
    stuff. I need to find a way to listen to it *while* doing
    somthing else..

    -x might be redundant. I thin I found I needed it in order too work, but I might be wrong. It's just a habit now.

    Now that he is on Spotify, it a more limiting unfortunately.
    I don't have a portable player that support spotify.

    I started to experiment with it with the Spotify app on my
    Blackberry. There is what looks like a download button (just a
    down arrow) next to each podcast, but it doesn't give any visual
    clue that it is downloading anything when pressed. :(

    There is no clue whether it is downloading just the audio
    portion or the larger video file.

    I figured if that download works, then I could simply connect
    the audio-out of the Blackberry to a small amplifier that I have
    nearby and "play" the file in the offline mode.


    YouTube seem to have dropped some episodes. The Tech Oligarchy are assuming the rolee of our guardians and parents :rolleyes"


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Thu Feb 4 23:38:58 2021
    Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Boraxman to Ogg on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:00 pm

    YouTube seem to have dropped some episodes. The Tech Oligarchy are assuming the rolee of our guardians and parents :rolleyes"


    when he has the red set that is shaped like a submarine so they dont need to wear headphones, THAT is when he's on texas on spotify.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Thu Feb 4 20:29:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 04.02.21 - 16:51, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Oh.. I thought you may have meant something in the lines of
    a type of hobby or activity, etc.. are great ways to
    encounter new people to hang out with.

    ..All were fun ways to meet new people.

    Oh I have my bunch of hobbies. And I mean, actual hobbies I
    do because I like. It is just that oftentimes I am the only
    one who finds them interesting in my area :-P

    But are your hobbies sociable? Not sure if gun or knife
    collecting could qualify, unless there were some kind of co-ed
    component like a target shooting competition or expo?


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Thu Feb 4 20:35:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Thursday 04.02.21 - 12:52, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    BTW.. I notice that some of Rogan's podcasts are nolonger
    listed on YT. I was hoping to grab the 2nd interview with
    Adam Curry and the one with Gelnn Greenwald, but they are
    missing.


    1533 is for spotify and it's recorded in the new studio in texas.
    -+-

    Makes sense, I guess.

    Meanwhile, youtube-dl grabbed the one on mixcloud just fine!

    H:\DOWNLOADS>youtube-dl https://www.mixcloud.com/ TheJoeRoganExperience/1533-adam-curry/
    [mixcloud] TheJoeRoganExperience_1533-adam-curry: Downloading JSON metadata [mixcloud] TheJoeRoganExperience_1533-adam-curry: Downloading m3u8 information [mixcloud] TheJoeRoganExperience_1533-adam-curry: Downloading MPD manifest [download] Destination: #1533 - Adam Curry-TheJoeRoganExperience_1533-adam-curry.m4a
    [download] 17.6% of 82.07MiB at 207.23KiB/s ETA 05:34


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Fri Feb 5 03:06:17 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Feb 04 2021 08:29 pm

    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 04.02.21 - 16:51, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Oh.. I thought you may have meant something in the lines of
    a type of hobby or activity, etc.. are great ways to
    encounter new people to hang out with.

    ..All were fun ways to meet new people.

    Oh I have my bunch of hobbies. And I mean, actual hobbies I
    do because I like. It is just that oftentimes I am the only
    one who finds them interesting in my area :-P

    But are your hobbies sociable? Not sure if gun or knife
    collecting could qualify, unless there were some kind of co-ed
    component like a target shooting competition or expo?

    Target shooting counts as sociable but I don¤'t like most shooters in my area enough for sharing a beer with them.

    There were some I really liked but they are not arround anymore. Most people who is any worthy leaves this province. In fact I
    am considering moving my main business over. Go picture it.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Tortillaretreat on Thu Feb 4 06:47:00 2021
    Tortillaretreat wrote to MRO <=-

    you're quoting what i said and not what he said.

    I know, it was intentional.

    I like ham.


    ... What context would look right?
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to Dream Master on Fri Feb 5 11:24:30 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 06:19 pm

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Its a Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. Another distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations pretty low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    This is what I will never understand. Why get something that has the potential of working, spending money on it, and hoping for the best? One of the main reasons why I left Andoid back around iPhone 4 days is that I felt that the carriers had too much control of the interface and what they'd allow it to do. When I finally rooted the phone, it was nice to have more control, but it could easily turn into a brick if I wasn't careful. Since then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    This is a valid question. I am a tinkerer though, especially when it comes to niche technology. I don't mind the experience I gain in trying to setup my phone to work with Verizon, etc. In the end, it didn't work, but I gained valuable knowledge in the carrier area. What would have sucked is if I spent $650 on the Librem phone and it completely failed. At least the Pinephone was only $150 and I can circle back around to it here in a few months.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to MRO on Fri Feb 5 11:27:46 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 08:25 pm

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Its a Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and

    oh thanks for bringing that up. my friend just posted about it on his telegram channel the other day.

    i've been looking for a phone that has linux as an os too.
    whenever they come up with something like that it looks promissing but it ends up being dogshit.


    Yeah from my experience, its pretty bad. I mean, I would have been ok even with the bare minimum -- phone calls and text messaging, but even those didn't work reliably on any of the distro's I messed around with. I want the Linux Phone to succeed, but I am at a point where I wonder if that would even happen. I mean the Pinephone has been out for over a year and it STILL can't make phone calls and text messages reliably? I mean come on.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to MRO on Fri Feb 5 11:33:10 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 09:04 pm

    its not even close to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and

    oh, my buddy wanted to know what your error logs look like.
    and also are you experimenting with a bunch of roms?

    I actually created a table with my experiences with different distros. :D

    Wifi Phone Text Data Performance
    Manjaro No Yes No ?? OK
    Ubuntu Touch Yes No No ?? Good
    Mobian Partial Yes Yes No Laggy
    postmarketOS No OK
    LuneOS Yes
    Phosh
    Sailfish OS

    I wanted to try Phosh and Sailfish, but I started to get really disillusioned with the whole concept.

    As for the Wi-Fi issue, it doesn't work because I am running an older security mode at my house, WEP 64. I need WEP 64 to get some of my older devices working. As for the phone and text issue, I couldn't figure out where the logs where.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to ARELOR on Fri Feb 5 16:57:00 2021
    Target shooting counts as sociable but I don¡'t like most shooters in my area ough for sharing a beer with them.

    That is too bad. The person I used to shoot with passed away several years ago. I sometimes shoot with his wife and son, but they don't live nearby.

    There were some I really liked but they are not arround anymore. Most people w
    is any worthy leaves this province. In fact I
    am considering moving my main business over. Go picture it.

    Which province are you in again?


    * SLMR 2.1a * Docs? Why look at the Docs? Nurses are better.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dumas Walker on Sat Feb 6 04:06:12 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dumas Walker to ARELOR on Fri Feb 05 2021 04:57 pm

    Target shooting counts as sociable but I don­'t like most shooters in my area
    ough for sharing a beer with them.

    That is too bad. The person I used to shoot with passed away several years ago. I sometimes shoot with his wife and son, b
    they don't live nearby.

    There were some I really liked but they are not arround anymore. Most people w
    is any worthy leaves this province. In fact I
    am considering moving my main business over. Go picture it.

    Which province are you in again?


    * SLMR 2.1a * Docs? Why look at the Docs? Nurses are better.


    That is classified information for the time being :-)

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Sat Feb 6 21:15:46 2021
    Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to Boraxman on Wed Feb 03 2021 09:19 pm

    I am familiar with seeing the alternative downloads when using
    the -F parameter. But in that case, it you are choosing 251 for
    Opus, then wouldn't -x be redundant?

    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from the downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp4, webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Arelor on Sat Feb 6 11:49:54 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 06:39 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Arelor on Thu Feb 04 2021 09:47 am

    The instant messaging platforms, from MSN to Skype to Discord, were very nessecary transitions for those in amature production circles given their widespread adoption among younger users.

    My siblings come to me and say "Have you heard of ' XYZ Internet Handle' dude? He is like totally super famous right now."

    I'll ask, "Do you mean they're big on TicTok?" and they say "Yeah."

    I reply "TicTok is Chinese spyware and propaganda, which is only viewed by a small minori of your platforms "Massive" audience. Are they big on any other platforms, YouTube, Twitt their own Website?"

    "Oh naw, they've got an Instagram and Facebook. Posted from my iPhone XIII.2 XL 240gb $ 2,999.99 Premo model."

    Someone just drive an ice pick behind my eye and give me a labotomy now.

    ¡ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ¡


    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Its a Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even close to being usable. I probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. Another distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations prett low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)


    Thanks for commenting. It certainly sounds horrible :-)

    It looks like the only alternatives that are working as of today are Android derivatives.

    I whish Purism produced something worth it.

    I would love to try a Librem5 or Pinephone reguardless. There's also a $200 Nokia smartphone I would love to try.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Dream Master on Sat Feb 6 11:51:52 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 06:19 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to ARELOR on Sat Feb 6 10:44:00 2021
    That is classified information for the time being :-)

    That is all right. I am always curious about where someone is talking
    about when the describe the land, culture, or politics in much detail. I
    can understand not wanting to say, too! :)


    * SLMR 2.1a * If all appears to go well, you missed something...

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Vlk-451 on Sat Feb 6 13:35:31 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Dream Master on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:51 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 06:19 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    þ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville þ


    In fact I argue it doesn't "just work" as much as people likes to brag.

    I still remember when my boss' iPhone locked itself because it could not figure out how to connect to a fully compliant SMTP server.

    Then boss wants a program like everybody else in the firm is using, which reads barcodes for meds and orthopedics in the storeroom and lookes them up in some firm database. It "just works" for Android - a barcode scanner with a custom query and you are ready to go. For iOs? Lots of bloatware scanners whose page descriptions don't specify if they support custom queries, and the ones which are free are mostly not up to standard.

    Android sucks hard and badly, but at least is cheap suck. If it is gonna suck it is best if you spend as little as possible on it.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Vlk-451 on Sat Feb 6 13:54:15 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Dream Master on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:51 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to Minex on Thu Feb 04 2021 06:19 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31 am

    then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?



    when i hear 'it just works' or whatever, i just see someone who's lazy and they're about to get screwed over by whoever they hand over things to.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dumas Walker on Sat Feb 6 13:57:36 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dumas Walker to ARELOR on Sat Feb 06 2021 10:44 am

    That is classified information for the time being :-)

    That is all right. I am always curious about where someone is talking
    about when the describe the land, culture, or politics in much detail. I can understand not wanting to say, too! :)


    * SLMR 2.1a * If all appears to go well, you missed something...

    there's a lot of crazies out there.

    people have tried to get all my information even though i have nothing to hide and i'm boring as fuck.
    i guess they think they have some power over someone when they have their information?

    i have in the past driven to confront a shit talker who said i wouldnt do such a thing and they shut up fast. that's when i traveled a lot for my job and i was in the neighborhood.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/TRMB to Boraxman on Sat Feb 6 11:48:29 2021
    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from the downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp4, webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage
    [download] Destination: Joe Rogan Experience #1552 - Matthew McConaughey-BBCl9A9NlRw.webm
    [download] 100% of 95.41MiB in 02:42

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -x -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage
    [download] Resuming download at byte 8559852
    [download] Destination: Joe Rogan Experience #1552 - Matthew McConaughey-BBCl9A9NlRw.webm
    [download] 100% of 95.41MiB in 03:39
    ERROR: ffprobe/avprobe and ffmpeg/avconv not found. Please install one.

    The only diff is that -x is a post-operation after the download.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sat Feb 6 15:23:12 2021
    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to Boraxman on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:48 am

    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from the downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp4, webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage

    do you ever use it do download a playlist? does it barf on you when there's a missing entry?

    i have it do that and then stop everything.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Sat Feb 6 18:11:14 2021
    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: MRO to Ogg on Sat Feb 06 2021 03:23 pm

    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to Boraxman on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:48 am

    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from t downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage

    do you ever use it do download a playlist? does it barf on you when there's missing entry?

    i have it do that and then stop everything.

    I have no extensive experience, but you can issue an option for it to ignore errors or missing entries I think.

    The man page is surprisingly long and has lots of options in it.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Tracker1 on Sat Feb 6 19:18:00 2021
    Hello Tracker1!

    ** On Thursday 04.02.21 - 04:34, Tracker1 wrote to MRO:

    I think these two podcast episodes were particularly
    entertaining. Laughed my ass off a few times through both of
    them.

    Free Range American: Ep 004 Hodge Twins https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=thAFsxCqLfQ

    I started that one for a few minutes. I didn't find it
    interesting that the twins just talked about themselves at the
    start, but I'll have to come back to one and see if it improves
    for me.

    Free Range American: Ep 096 JP Sears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TdxzjPbQN8

    Now THAT one is pretty funny! I like the guest's remark "I'm
    not a doctor, but I identify as one." Also, the banter about
    "trans phobia" is hilarious. I like the dead-pan commentary. It
    fools you to think they are having a serious conversation - but
    the off-the-cuff humour surprises you when you least expect it.
    I think I've seen the guest somewhere before, but I can't place
    him.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Sat Feb 6 19:14:16 2021
    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Arelor to MRO on Sat Feb 06 2021 06:11 pm

    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: MRO to Ogg on Sat Feb 06 2021 03:23 pm

    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to Boraxman on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:48 am

    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from t downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage

    do you ever use it do download a playlist? does it barf on you when there's missing entry?

    i have it do that and then stop everything.

    I have no extensive experience, but you can issue an option for it to ignore errors or missing entries I think.

    The man page is surprisingly long and has lots of options in it.


    yeah i always add that option with programs when i find it. no dice
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Sun Feb 7 10:27:38 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Vlk-451 on Sat Feb 06 2021 01:54 pm

    when i hear 'it just works' or whatever, i just see someone who's lazy and they're about to get screwed over by whoever they hand over things to.

    I come from the philosophy of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Adding complexity for the sake of complexity is ridiculous. Apple, like every good OEM, does their best to take out the complexities and offer a product that works flawlessly for the users.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sun Feb 7 08:39:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 19:14, MRO wrote to Arelor:

    do you ever use it do download a playlist? does it barf on
    you when there's missing entry?

    i have it do that and then stop everything.

    I have no extensive experience, but you can issue an option
    for it to ignore errors or missing entries I think.

    The man page is surprisingly long and has lots of options in
    it.


    yeah i always add that option with programs when i find it. no dice

    The -F option on a playlist will motor through all the available
    vids. Here's just two out of a long playlist:

    [download] Downloading video 6 of 242
    [youtube] V_jHc_n0p9c: Downloading webpage
    [info] Available formats for V_jHc_n0p9c:
    format code extension resolution note
    249 webm audio only tiny 54k , opus @ 50k (48000Hz), 1.12MiB 250 webm audio only tiny 71k , opus @ 70k (48000Hz), 1.47MiB 140 m4a audio only tiny 130k , m4a_dash container, mp4a.40.2@128k (44100Hz), 2.78Mi
    B
    251 webm audio only tiny 137k , opus @160k (48000Hz), 2.86MiB 394 mp4 256x144 144p 79k , av01.0.00M.08, 24fps, video only, 1.41MiB
    278 webm 256x144 144p 98k , webm container, vp9, 24fps, video only, 1.90MiB
    160 mp4 256x144 144p 108k , avc1.4d400c, 24fps, video only, 1.87MiB
    395 mp4 426x240 240p 177k , av01.0.00M.08, 24fps, video only, 3.02MiB
    242 webm 426x240 240p 225k , vp9, 24fps, video only, 4.33MiB 133 mp4 426x240 240p 300k , avc1.4d4015, 24fps, video only, 4.61MiB
    396 mp4 640x360 360p 375k , av01.0.01M.08, 24fps, video only, 6.49MiB
    243 webm 640x360 360p 414k , vp9, 24fps, video only, 7.91MiB 134 mp4 640x360 360p 582k , avc1.4d401e, 24fps, video only, 9.77MiB
    397 mp4 854x480 480p 708k , av01.0.04M.08, 24fps, video only, 11.94MiB
    244 webm 854x480 480p 765k , vp9, 24fps, video only, 13.96MiB
    135 mp4 854x480 480p 1035k , avc1.4d401e, 24fps, video only, 15.15MiB
    398 mp4 1280x720 720p 1410k , av01.0.05M.08, 24fps, video only, 22.35MiB
    247 webm 1280x720 720p 1550k , vp9, 24fps, video only, 26.13MiB
    136 mp4 1280x720 720p 2038k , avc1.4d401f, 24fps, video only, 27.43MiB
    399 mp4 1920x1080 1080p 2415k , av01.0.08M.08, 24fps, video only, 39.01MiB
    248 webm 1920x1080 1080p 2723k , vp9, 24fps, video only, 50.58MiB
    137 mp4 1920x1080 1080p 4499k , avc1.640028, 24fps, video only, 74.88MiB
    18 mp4 640x360 360p 685k , avc1.42001E, 24fps, mp4a.40.2@ 96k (44100Hz), 14.73M
    iB (best)
    [download] Downloading video 7 of 242
    [youtube] E07s5ZYygMg: Downloading webpage

    No doubt, some of the 242 might fail, but just generate a list
    of the successful ones from the -F output and feed those through
    a script/batch prog to execute youtube-dl <file> for each one of
    those.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sun Feb 7 09:53:00 2021
    there's a lot of crazies out there.

    No kidding. There is one guy on FIDO (but apparently not here) that I
    could easily see being a Silence of the Lambs type. Not Hannibal, because
    he is too smart, but Buffalo Bill or whatever his name was... the one with
    the pit in his basement.


    * SLMR 2.1a * I'm NOT unemployed. ....I'm a consultant.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Sun Feb 7 15:05:56 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 10:27 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Vlk-451 on Sat Feb 06 2021 01:54 pm

    when i hear 'it just works' or whatever, i just see someone who's lazy and they're about to get screwed over by whoever they hand over things to.

    I come from the philosophy of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Adding complexity for the sake of complexity is ridiculous. Apple, like every good OEM, does their best to take out the complexities and offer a product that works flawlessly for the users.


    apple has a polished product, but with that there are many things sacrificed.

    i dont own apple products and i never will. i don't have complexity with my devices.

    apple users believe they are buying into something great; they think they have something special. that is something that jobs focused on.

    that's it. it's marketting.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Feb 7 15:09:57 2021
    Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 08:39 am


    No doubt, some of the 242 might fail, but just generate a list
    of the successful ones from the -F output and feed those through
    a script/batch prog to execute youtube-dl <file> for each one of

    well i only did a playlist download on something specific. there might be some issue that causes the program to fail, dunno. i have a better program for downloading content so i havent played with youtube-dl again
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dumas Walker on Sun Feb 7 15:12:09 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dumas Walker to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 09:53 am

    there's a lot of crazies out there.

    No kidding. There is one guy on FIDO (but apparently not here) that I
    could easily see being a Silence of the Lambs type. Not Hannibal, because he is too smart, but Buffalo Bill or whatever his name was... the one with the pit in his basement.

    dovenet has had at least 4 seriously insane people.
    i wont even talk about them because i dont want them to get the itch and come back. it was insane how much energy these people had to do shit.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Dumas Walker on Sun Feb 7 13:21:32 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dumas Walker to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 09:53 am

    No kidding. There is one guy on FIDO (but apparently not here) that I could easily see being a Silence of the Lambs type. Not Hannibal, because he is too smart, but Buffalo Bill or whatever his name was... the one with the pit in his basement.

    Okay, now I am curious as to what his name is. I've seen a few out there that freak me out as you have a lot of really old blood in Fido.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Sun Feb 7 21:29:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <601EF28D.4215.dove-general@trmb.synchro.net>
    @REPLY: <601E6C52.48352.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from the downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp4, webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage
    [download] Destination: Joe Rogan Experience #1552 - Matthew McConaughey-BBCl9A9NlRw.webm
    [download] 100% of 95.41MiB in 02:42

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -x -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage
    [download] Resuming download at byte 8559852
    [download] Destination: Joe Rogan Experience #1552 - Matthew McConaughey-BBCl9A9NlRw.webm
    [download] 100% of 95.41MiB in 03:39
    ERROR: ffprobe/avprobe and ffmpeg/avconv not found. Please install one.

    The only diff is that -x is a post-operation after the download.

    Did you notice the ERROR: line in your output for the second command? The error is that ffmpeg/avprobe cannot be found. Youtube-dl uses ffmpeg to extract the OPUS stream from the .webm into a .opus file. That is the post-processing. Because you don't have ffmpeg or avconf, the post processing fails and you are left with the .webm container, instead of the .opus.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Sun Feb 7 21:39:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Ogg <=-

    @MSGID: <601F08C0.2844.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <601EF28D.4215.dove-general@trmb.synchro.net>
    Re: Re: podcasting, file sizes
    By: Ogg to Boraxman on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:48 am

    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from the downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp4, webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage

    do you ever use it do download a playlist? does it barf on you when there's a missing entry?

    i have it do that and then stop everything.

    I have used it to download playlists, and by default it will just stop. Use the '-i' option to ignore errors, then it should continue on its merry way with the next video, if it happens not to be able to download one.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Sprite@VERT/TINTETBB to Minex on Mon Feb 8 06:19:13 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31:50

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? It Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even clo to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all with different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. Anoth distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations pretty low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    Ugh that really sucks to hear. I've been wanting to try out something like that at some point soon here. I know that I've got at least two friends who find the Lineage phones pretty decent to use, though. They use f-Droid for their software repositories, which, I suppose, could be a lot better, but what're you gonna do, really, at least it's FOSS. :P

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Tinfoil Tetrahedron BBS - skulking seedily against the Brave New World
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Sprite on Mon Feb 8 07:36:56 2021
    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Sprite to Minex on Mon Feb 08 2021 06:19 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:31:50

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and data working, all wit different results. For one distro, it wouldn't connect to my wifi, but incoming calls and texts worked while outgoing calls and text failed. An distro, I could get text messages working, but not phone calls. I set my expectations pretty low and the phone actually fell lower, lol.

    Ugh that really sucks to hear. I've been wanting to try out something l that at some point soon here. I know that I've got at least two friends who find the Lineage phones pretty decent to use, though. They use f-Droid for their software repositories, which, I suppose, could be a lot better, but what're you gonna do, really, at least it's FOSS. :P


    I source everything from the F-Droid repositiory and don't miss anything from out of it. The only exceptions are banking programs which I am forced to use, sadly.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Dream Master on Mon Feb 8 08:23:46 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 10:27 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Vlk-451 on Sat Feb 06 2021 01:54 pm

    when i hear 'it just works' or whatever, i just see someone who's lazy and they're about to get screwed over by whoever they hand over things to.

    I come from the philosophy of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Adding complexity for the sake of complexity is ridiculous. Apple, like every good OEM, does their best to take out the complexities and offer a product that works flawlessly for the users.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master

    I'm sorry, is this a brochure? I thought I was talking to someone about their incorrect choice in phones. Hidding complexity behind layers of obsucrity from the end user doesn't keep the product simple/stupid. Just because it functions well within a walled garden ecosystem for as long as the manufacturer decides to support the product / before it's manufactured obsolecense doesn't mean it's simple/stupid to work with generally.

    Doing IT work on those phones has to be one of the worst shits I've ever dealt with.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to MRO on Mon Feb 8 08:27:28 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Sun Feb 07 2021 03:05 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 10:27 am

    apple users believe they are buying into something great; they think they have something special. that is something that jobs focused on.

    that's it. it's marketting.

    It's just so funny that they championed the 'think different' ad campaign and have this idea of going against big brother when their users are the most likely to be the ones standing in the crowd chanting in kadiance with the man on the television screen lieing to them.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Dream Master on Mon Feb 8 08:29:44 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dream Master to Dumas Walker on Sun Feb 07 2021 01:21 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dumas Walker to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 09:53 am

    No kidding. There is one guy on FIDO (but apparently not here) that I could easily see being a Silence of the Lambs type. Not Hannibal, because he is too smart, but Buffalo Bill or whatever his name was... the one with the pit in his basement.

    Okay, now I am curious as to what his name is. I've seen a few out there that freak me out as you have a lot of really old blood in Fido.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Telnet Cannibals? Fuck, when is the Netflix special getting produced?

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Mon Feb 8 09:16:00 2021
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Sunday 07.02.21 - 21:29, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    The only diff is that -x is a post-operation after the download.

    Did you notice the ERROR: line in your output for the second
    command? The error is that ffmpeg/avprobe cannot be found.
    Youtube-dl uses ffmpeg to extract the OPUS stream from the
    .webm into a .opus file. That is the post-processing.
    Because you don't have ffmpeg or avconf, the post processing
    fails and you are left with the .webm container, instead of
    the .opus.

    Yep. I am aware that -x is a post-operation. I was just
    demonstrating that there is no difference in file sizes whether
    one uses -x or not.

    In that case I can play .webm files directly from a USB plugged
    into my mini media player that is connected to the TV. I don't
    need to post-process to just get an audio file.

    Sometimes I use an older version of FreeMake to convert to .mp3
    if I need that.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 8 13:02:32 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Dream Master on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:51 am

    then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    The phone cost me $150, but get this-- I am now running my BBS on the Pinephone :D I managed to get that working over the weekend.

    In 2021, I never thought I'd be running a BBS with Dovenet/FidoNet on a phone.




    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to DREAM MASTER on Mon Feb 8 15:01:00 2021
    No kidding. There is one guy on FIDO (but apparently not here) that I
    could easily see being a Silence of the Lambs type. Not Hannibal, because >DW> he is too smart, but Buffalo Bill or whatever his name was... the one with >DW> the pit in his basement.

    Okay, now I am curious as to what his name is. I've seen a few out there that
    reak me out as you have a lot of really old blood in Fido.

    I don't want to be in the Pit so I will never tell! :D


    * SLMR 2.1a * Why did CNN cancel that cool "Desert Storm" show?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Mon Feb 8 18:59:11 2021
    Re: Re: podcasting, file size
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 09:39 pm


    You need the -x option in order for youtube-dl to save the OPUS from the downloaded file. It seems that whatever option you choose in terms of format, you always get a container file that holds video and audio (mp4, webm, etc).

    -x gives you the .opus

    I get exactly the same file whether I use -x or not:

    C:\Downloads>youtube-dl -f 251 https://youtu.be/BBCl9A9NlRw
    [youtube] BBCl9A9NlRw: Downloading webpage

    do you ever use it do download a playlist? does it barf on you when there's a missing entry?

    i have it do that and then stop everything.

    I have used it to download playlists, and by default it will just stop. Use the '-i' option to ignore errors, then it should continue on its merry way with the next video, if it happens not to be able to download one.


    i'll try it again once i found that playlist. i usually do the continue switch and the ignore errors for programs like curl and wget
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 8 19:02:02 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to MRO on Mon Feb 08 2021 08:27 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Sun Feb 07 2021 03:05 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 10:27 am

    apple users believe they are buying into something great; they think they have something special. that is something that jobs focused on.

    that's it. it's marketting.

    It's just so funny that they championed the 'think different' ad campaign and have this idea of going against big brother when their users are the most likely to be the ones standing in the crowd chanting in kadiance with

    yeah it's ironic because jobs became the man to beat the man
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Minex on Mon Feb 8 19:03:43 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 08 2021 01:02 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Dream Master on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:51 am

    then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    The phone cost me $150, but get this-- I am now running my BBS on the Pinephone :D I managed to get that working over the weekend.

    In 2021, I never thought I'd be running a BBS with Dovenet/FidoNet on a phone.


    so can outside connections get into it?
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Minex on Mon Feb 8 20:20:34 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 08 2021 01:02 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Vlk-451 to Dream Master on Sat Feb 06 2021 11:51 am

    then, I've been an iPhone user and I doubt this will change. Ultimately, I buy things because "they just work" and not "they will hopefully work".

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    The phone cost me $150, but get this-- I am now running my BBS on the Pinephone :D I managed to get that working over the weekend.

    In 2021, I never thought I'd be running a BBS with Dovenet/FidoNet on a phone.

    This is the Dark and Cyberpunk future I wanted, for sure.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 8 23:39:00 2021
    Vlk-451 wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <60213C40.9572.dove-general@innerrealmbbs.us>
    @REPLY: <60205634.2867.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Dream Master on
    Sun Feb 07 2021 03:05 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 10:27 am

    apple users believe they are buying into something great; they think they have something special. that is something that jobs focused on.

    that's it. it's marketting.

    It's just so funny that they championed the 'think different' ad
    campaign and have this idea of going against big brother when their
    users are the most likely to be the ones standing in the crowd chanting
    in kadiance with the man on the television screen lieing to them.

    That is what modern brands are about. Not the product, but the image, the type of person and ethos behind it. People buy brands in order to join some fictitious in group or adopt the positive properties that are associated with the brand. It's all a game of manipulating perception, not creating the best product for the best price.

    Humans are flawed, and because of that, things always descend into degeneracy.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From HusTler@VERT/HAVENS to Arelor on Tue Feb 9 08:03:18 2021
    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Sprite on Mon Feb 08 2021 07:36 am

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone
    yet? Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its
    not even to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and

    May I ask what you paid for your Pinephone?

    |03 HusTler |04 Havens BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Havens BBS havens.synchro.net
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Boraxman on Tue Feb 9 09:41:36 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Boraxman to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 08 2021 11:39 pm

    Vlk-451 wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <60213C40.9572.dove-general@innerrealmbbs.us>
    @REPLY: <60205634.2867.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Dream Master on
    Sun Feb 07 2021 03:05 pm

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Sun Feb 07 2021 10:27 am

    apple users believe they are buying into something great; they think they have something special. that is something that jobs focused on.

    that's it. it's marketting.

    It's just so funny that they championed the 'think different' ad campaign and have this idea of going against big brother when their users are the most likely to be the ones standing in the crowd chanting in kadiance with the man on the television screen lieing to them.

    That is what modern brands are about. Not the product, but the image, the type of person and ethos behind it. People buy brands in order to join some fictitious in group or adopt the positive properties that are associated with the brand. It's all a game of manipulating perception, not creating the best product for the best price.

    Humans are flawed, and because of that, things always descend into degeneracy.

    Imagine spending x10 times what your tech is worth so that you can LARP as part of the iPhone Mafia.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

    ---
    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Minex on Tue Feb 9 05:22:15 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 08 2021 01:02 pm

    In 2021, I never thought I'd be running a BBS with Dovenet/FidoNet on a phone.

    Still, more power than what got us to the moon. Congratulations.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Boraxman on Tue Feb 9 05:28:55 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Boraxman to Vlk-451 on Mon Feb 08 2021 11:39 pm

    That is what modern brands are about. Not the product, but the image, the type of person and ethos behind it. People buy brands in order to join some fictitious in group or adopt the positive properties that are associated with the brand. It's all a game of manipulating perception, not creating the best product for the best price.

    Agreed. People buy into "crowdthink" instead of buying what works for them. When I first got my iPhone 4 too many years ago, I was quite happy with it but laughed at how small it was compared to my slightly larger Android I replaced it with. All the Apple Fanboys I knew were lauding my purchase. Fast forward a number of years, I care less what people think about my phone. It's a tool and I use it as such. Did I go out and buy the latest iPhone 12 when it came out, no. My phone is working fine and it's paid for.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to MRO on Tue Feb 9 07:58:17 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Minex on Mon Feb 08 2021 07:03 pm

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    The phone cost me $150, but get this-- I am now running my BBS on the Pinephone :D I managed to get that working over the weekend.

    In 2021, I never thought I'd be running a BBS with Dovenet/FidoNet on a phone.


    so can outside connections get into it?

    Ahh... its actually just connected to my home wifi acting as a server right now. I didn't know what else to do with the phone, so I thought I'd do
    something else creative with it.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to HusTler on Tue Feb 9 12:05:45 2021
    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: HusTler to Arelor on Tue Feb 09 2021 08:03 am

    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Sprite on Mon Feb 08 2021 07:36 am

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls,
    text message, and

    May I ask what you paid for your Pinephone?

    |03 HusTler |04 Havens BBS


    I think you were trying to reply to a different person. I have no Pinephone.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Minex on Tue Feb 9 17:00:52 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Minex to MRO on Tue Feb 09 2021 07:58 am

    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: MRO to Minex on Mon Feb 08 2021 07:03 pm

    Sure it "just works," but at what cost?

    The phone cost me $150, but get this-- I am now running my BBS on the Pinephone :D I managed to get that working over the weekend.

    In 2021, I never thought I'd be running a BBS with Dovenet/FidoNet on a phone.


    so can outside connections get into it?

    Ahh... its actually just connected to my home wifi acting as a server right now. I didn't know what else to do with the phone, so I thought I'd do something else creative with it.


    so if i 'called' via telnet or whatever, can i get in?
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Tue Feb 9 22:31:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60228007.1082.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <6021CBBD.48433.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Boraxman to Vlk-451 on
    Mon Feb 08 2021 11:39 pm

    That is what modern brands are about. Not the product, but the image, the type of person and ethos behind it. People buy brands in order to join some fictitious in group or adopt the positive properties that are associated with the brand. It's all a game of manipulating perception, not creating the best product for the best price.

    Agreed. People buy into "crowdthink" instead of buying what works for them. When I first got my iPhone 4 too many years ago, I was quite
    happy with it but laughed at how small it was compared to my slightly larger Android I replaced it with. All the Apple Fanboys I knew were lauding my purchase. Fast forward a number of years, I care less what people think about my phone. It's a tool and I use it as such. Did I
    go out and buy the latest iPhone 12 when it came out, no. My phone is working fine and it's paid for.

    I work for a brand, and the thinking is that Millenials are very politically motivated. They aren't choosing a purchase solely based on quality, price and utility, but ethos, social responsibility, etc. It won't be long before you can make utter garbage, but as long as your "values" are better, you'll get the sales. People are using their purchasing choices to support values, so companies are more and more trying to virtue signal. This is part why companies think it is their responsibility to shape society. Companies are becoming the owners of our very social fabric, a horrendous outcome.

    What this means is that people are seeing companies not just as economic entities which provide goods and services, but as fundamental SOCIAL institutions. Companies are more and more concerned about the whole employee, and employees want this too. The line between the private sector and private life and public life is blurring. A worrying development as it is giving business leaders more and more power over things they have utterly no business in. HR departments will run the world.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Boraxman on Wed Feb 10 07:03:44 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on Tue Feb 09 2021 10:31 pm

    I work for a brand, and the thinking is that Millenials are very politically motivated. They aren't choosing a purchase solely based on quality, price and utility, but ethos, social responsibility, etc. It won't be long before you can make utter garbage, but as long as your "values" are better, you'll get the sales. People are using their purchasing choices to support values, so companies are more and more trying to virtue signal. This is part why companies think it is their responsibility to shape society. Companies are becoming the owners of our very social fabric, a horrendous outcome.

    Thinking about this, you're absolutely correct. Look at Apple and their Social Responsibility claims on every page of their site, their product inserts, honestly, just about everywhere. IBM went from being "Big Blue" to "Sky (Big) Blue" to ensure people everywhere know that the mammoth in the room is also socially responsible. Honestly, I'm glad these companies are doing their best to ensure employees are paid their worth, people are hired based upon merit and not because they are a "white male with a four year degree in underwater basket-weaving", and that the products are built sustainably. These are important factors... but, like you said, a product could be crap and people would buy into the social fabric / social outcome instead of seeing the product for what it is.

    The new Apple M1-based computers... why? Less power consumption, own the supply chain, etc., etc., but at the end of the day, I can almost guarantee it had something to do with Intel's inability to match their "ethos" to that of Apples.

    What this means is that people are seeing companies not just as economic entities which provide goods and services, but as fundamental SOCIAL institutions. Companies are more and more concerned about the whole employee, and employees want this too. The line between the private sector and private life and public life is blurring. A worrying development as it is giving business leaders more and more power over things they have utterly no business in. HR departments will run the world.

    I'm going to focus on your last sentence, "HR departments will run the world." Many years ago, I'm thinking 1996, I was working for a Big 6 accounting firm (no longer 6, but at the time it was 6) in downtown Los Angeles. They made the statement in all their hiring materials, communication, etc., that they are there for you, the employee. Nope. It is then that I discovered that HR is not about the employee but about protecting the employer. From that point forward I never trusted HR departments--and, to this day, I still don't.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Sprite@VERT/TINTETBB to Arelor on Wed Feb 10 11:07:45 2021
    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Sprite on Mon Feb 08 2021 07:36:56

    I source everything from the F-Droid repositiory and don't miss anything fro out of it. The only exceptions are banking programs which I am forced to use sadly.

    Eh, I guess I really don't like its organization very well. Maybe I just need to use it more.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Tinfoil Tetrahedron BBS - skulking seedily against the Brave New World
  • From Minex@VERT/TDOD to HusTler on Wed Feb 10 10:32:04 2021
    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: HusTler to Arelor on Tue Feb 09 2021 08:03 am

    Speaking of phones, I was curious if anyone has tried the Pinephone yet? Linux alternative. I received mine a few days ago and man, its not even to being usable. I've probably spend a good sixteen hours trying various distro's and getting phone calls, text message, and

    May I ask what you paid for your Pinephone?

    Not at all. Its on their website. I paid $150, plus shipping. It took about two weeks for me to receive it.

    The Dawn of Demise BBS (tdod.org)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Dawn of Demise (tdod.org:5000)
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Feb 10 13:09:07 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dream Master to Boraxman on Wed Feb 10 2021 07:03 am

    Thinking about this, you're absolutely correct. Look at Apple and their Soc Responsibility claims on every page of their site, their product inserts, honestly, just about everywhere. IBM went from being "Big Blue" to "Sky (Bi Blue" to ensure people everywhere know that the mammoth in the room is also socially responsible. Honestly, I'm glad these companies are doing their be to ensure employees are paid their worth, people are hired based upon merit not because they are a "white male with a four year degree in underwater basket-weaving", and that the products are built sustainably. These are important factors... but, like you said, a product could be crap and people would buy into the social fabric / social outcome instead of seeing the prod for what it is.

    The new Apple M1-based computers... why? Less power consumption, own the supply chain, etc., etc., but at the end of the day, I can almost guarantee had something to do with Intel's inability to match their "ethos" to that of Apples.

    The issue is they are only "socially responsible" if you believe them.

    There was talk in another BBS about big firms enforcing minority-recruitment only policies because of political gains. A bad one was offices full of same ethnicity same sex employees - I think it was some Intel location in which they had close to 100% Asian-Indian Women.

    That is not social responsibility. That is anti-white apparheid.

    So in my opinion it is not only that promise of Social Justice is what matters to certain consumers, but that it doesn't matter if the promise is remotely true or not.

    Also, I have heard rumors that Intel has been planing for the demise of X86 based architectures in the desktop and has been switching gears to offer high end chips for military contracts.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Sprite on Wed Feb 10 13:11:11 2021
    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Sprite to Arelor on Wed Feb 10 2021 11:07 am

    Re: Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in Spain
    By: Arelor to Sprite on Mon Feb 08 2021 07:36:56

    I source everything from the F-Droid repositiory and don't miss anything out of it. The only exceptions are banking programs which I am forced to sadly.

    Eh, I guess I really don't like its organization very well. Maybe I jus need to use it more.


    F-Droid could be better organized (UI at least) but you get used to it.

    Better than sourcing your stuff from the Play Store, in my opinion.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Arelor on Wed Feb 10 19:46:57 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Feb 10 2021 01:09 pm

    The issue is they are only "socially responsible" if you believe them.

    When I look at Apple products, it doesn't phase me that they are being socially responsible. They will hire who they hire. Where I find social responsibility compelling is when they build the products sustainably.

    There was talk in another BBS about big firms enforcing minority-recruitment only policies because of political gains. A bad one was offices full of same ethnicity same sex employees - I think it was some Intel location in which they had close to 100% Asian-Indian Women.

    That's crap. One of my old employees worked for Intel in Arizona and was laid off after they shipped their IT teams to India. He had to train his replacements (plural). He told me that their logic was to bring all their IT talent into one location, build a center of excellence, and ensure support could be handled in multiple languages. Nah, they just wanted to get rid of him and all of his overpaid coworkers.

    That is not social responsibility. That is anti-white apparheid.

    I've never heard it put that way, but I see your point.

    Also, I have heard rumors that Intel has been planing for the demise of X86 based architectures in the desktop and has been switching gears to offer high end chips for military contracts.

    Intel screwed the pooch when they released the Itanium all those years ago. It was an amazing processor and ahead of its time but they failed to realize that the consumer market was going to take off and they didn't want to spend the money on high-end CPUs. HP is still running them on their HP-UX platforms. The idea of Intel moving into military contracts with high-end CPUs, that'd be interesting. Maybe they'll move to RTOS or something similar.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Wed Feb 10 22:29:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6023E7C0.1103.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <60232C23.48470.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on
    Tue Feb 09 2021 10:31 pm

    I work for a brand, and the thinking is that Millenials are very politically motivated. They aren't choosing a purchase solely based on quality, price and utility, but ethos, social responsibility, etc. It won't be long before you can make utter garbage, but as long as your "values" are better, you'll get the sales. People are using their purchasing choices to support values, so companies are more and more trying to virtue signal. This is part why companies think it is their responsibility to shape society. Companies are becoming the owners of our very social fabric, a horrendous outcome.

    Thinking about this, you're absolutely correct. Look at Apple and
    their Social Responsibility claims on every page of their site, their product inserts, honestly, just about everywhere. IBM went from being "Big Blue" to "Sky (Big) Blue" to ensure people everywhere know that
    the mammoth in the room is also socially responsible. Honestly, I'm
    glad these companies are doing their best to ensure employees are paid their worth, people are hired based upon merit and not because they are
    a "white male with a four year degree in underwater basket-weaving",
    and that the products are built sustainably. These are important factors... but, like you said, a product could be crap and people would buy into the social fabric / social outcome instead of seeing the
    product for what it is.

    The new Apple M1-based computers... why? Less power consumption, own
    the supply chain, etc., etc., but at the end of the day, I can almost guarantee it had something to do with Intel's inability to match their "ethos" to that of Apples.

    What this means is that people are seeing companies not just as economic entities which provide goods and services, but as fundamental SOCIAL institutions. Companies are more and more concerned about the whole employee, and employees want this too. The line between the private sector and private life and public life is blurring. A worrying development as it is giving business leaders more and more power over things they have utterly no business in. HR departments will run the world.

    I'm going to focus on your last sentence, "HR departments will run the world." Many years ago, I'm thinking 1996, I was working for a Big 6 accounting firm (no longer 6, but at the time it was 6) in downtown Los Angeles. They made the statement in all their hiring materials, communication, etc., that they are there for you, the employee. Nope.
    It is then that I discovered that HR is not about the employee but
    about protecting the employer. From that point forward I never trusted
    HR departments--and, to this day, I still don't.

    We've seen banks and payment processors cancelling accounts because they disagree with the customers values. Companies will fire people because of their opinions, and not fitting with company "values". They funnel the surplus productive output of their employees to activists groups. If the big corporations of the world decide that society should move in direction X, they can leverage power to coerce, threaten and cut out people to make that happen.

    Companies should be neutral, not acting like the church. They should work within the framework of the nation, and allow all to participate in economic activity. The irony is that those that talk of being "inclusive" are doing the opposite, by justifying exclusion. They are assuming a role and power that they should not be permitted in a free and open society, to have. HR is increasingly moving to a model where the company is the source of its employees and customers values. They actually see themselves being responsible for you.

    Entire nations will be wiped out, because the vision a few execs in global corporations have, conflicts with the nations continued existence. They want global homogeneity and a world of free moving labour and consumers, a world constructed and organised around their narrow commercial needs, an anti-human world.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Thu Feb 11 06:28:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <60242F53.20619.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6023E7C0.1103.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Dream Master to Boraxman on
    Wed Feb 10 2021 07:03 am

    Thinking about this, you're absolutely correct. Look at Apple and their Soc Responsibility claims on every page of their site, their product inserts, honestly, just about everywhere. IBM went from being "Big Blue" to "Sky (Bi Blue" to ensure people everywhere know that the mammoth in the room is also socially responsible. Honestly, I'm glad these companies are doing their be to ensure employees are paid their worth, people are hired based upon merit not because they are a "white male with a four year degree in underwater basket-weaving", and that the products are built sustainably. These are important factors... but, like you said, a product could be crap and people would buy into the social fabric / social outcome instead of seeing the prod for what it is.

    The new Apple M1-based computers... why? Less power consumption, own the supply chain, etc., etc., but at the end of the day, I can almost guarantee had something to do with Intel's inability to match their "ethos" to that of Apples.

    The issue is they are only "socially responsible" if you believe them.

    There was talk in another BBS about big firms enforcing minority-recruitment only policies because of political gains. A bad
    one was offices full of same ethnicity same sex employees - I think it
    was some Intel location in which they had close to 100% Asian-Indian Women.

    That is not social responsibility. That is anti-white apparheid.

    So in my opinion it is not only that promise of Social Justice is what matters to certain consumers, but that it doesn't matter if the promise
    is remotely true or not.

    Also, I have heard rumors that Intel has been planing for the demise of X86 based architectures in the desktop and has been switching gears to offer high end chips for military contracts.


    Anti-white racism is rife in the corporate world. In fact, the corporate world is adopting very racist ideology and due to the suppressive climate where one cannot speak against them, they are getting away with it and think they are doing good. They claim their actions are justified, but ALL racist ideology has some reasoned justification.

    There is a certification system that many large companies are signing up for, to show they are doing good, and from thier website, I read about companies blatantly engaging in racial prejudice and discrimination, and ranking of people based on race.

    It seems your choice is between two forms of racism, one that works against you, and one that works for you...

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Arelor on Thu Feb 11 08:24:15 2021
    Re: Try avoiding Whatsapp in
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Feb 10 2021 01:09 pm

    Also, I have heard rumors that Intel has been planing for the demise of X86 based architectures in the desktop and has been switching gears to offer high end chips for military contracts.

    I worked at Intel from March 2011 to December 2019. I saw Intel try to get into mobile devices around 2014-2015 (there was a Dell Android tablet with an Intel processor as well as an Android phone with an Intel processor that I had seen), and when Intel couldn't break into mobile, they decided to shift gears and start to focus more on corporate customers and high-end computing. Intel stopped making consumer motherboards. And before I left Intel, I started to see Intel not doing very well in manufacturing, with AMD starting to gain a lead with their processors.

    While I was at Intel, Intel hired Raja Koduri from AMD to help with graphics projects & related projects. Recently, I've heard in the news that Intel has started making dedicated graphics cards. I've also heard Intel has recently decided to replace their CEO with someone who is more familiar with the semiconductor industry (and who I've heard had worked for Intel for a long time). Intel's CEO Rob Swan had been their interim CEO starting in January 2019 after Brian Krzanich was kicked out; Rob Swan was an accountant, and initially he said he didn't want to be Intel's permanent CEO, but after several months, I guess he changed his mind and Intel decided to make him the permanent CEO. I suppose they weren't totally satisfied with his performance, which is why they're replacing him now.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Multiplemiggs@VERT/UNDERG to Denn on Fri Feb 19 16:44:58 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Fri Jan 29 2021 10:44 pm

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would happen if I calle someone retarded" a few minutes later I was banned.
    here is twitters mission statement.

    The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to creat and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve - and do not detract from - a free and global conversation.

    I guess they failed, since they suppress one group and let another group plo their tyranny.

    Yeah something as simple as that will get you banned, but there's countless posts of people getting shot or beaten to death and breathing their last breath on video. Things like that seem to manage to stay posted.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Underground BBS - x.theundergroundbbs.com
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 00:38:49 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Multiplemiggs to Denn on Fri Feb 19 2021 04:44 pm

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would happen if I
    calle someone retarded" a few minutes later I was banned.
    here is twitters mission statement.

    The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to
    creat and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our
    business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that
    improve - and do not detract from - a free and global conversation.

    I guess they failed, since they suppress one group and let another
    group plo their tyranny.

    Yeah something as simple as that will get you banned, but there's countless posts of people getting shot or beaten to death and breathing their last breath on video. Things like that seem to manage to stay posted.

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a severed bloody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Denn on Sat Feb 20 05:53:17 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:38 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Multiplemiggs to Denn on Fri Feb 19 2021 04:44 pm

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would happen if I
    calle someone retarded" a few minutes later I was banned.
    here is twitters mission statement.

    The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to
    creat and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our
    business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that
    improve - and do not detract from - a free and global conversation.

    I guess they failed, since they suppress one group and let another
    group plo their tyranny.

    Yeah something as simple as that will get you banned, but there's countless posts of people getting shot or beaten to
    death and breathing their last breath on video. Things like that seem to manage to stay posted.

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a severed bloody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    Hey, it as an actual porn site, that would be an improvement!

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Sat Feb 20 12:12:04 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:38 am

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a severed bloody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    i'm off twitter and facebook. i only use instagram for posting baby videos
    and i use telegram to talk with friends. never been happier
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Denn on Sat Feb 20 09:13:00 2021
    Hello Denn!

    ** On Saturday 20.02.21 - 00:38, Denn wrote to Multiplemiggs:

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself
    holding a severed bloody Trump head and nothing happened to
    her. I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn
    media.

    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of
    followers and lost sponsers for her name-sake events and stuff
    like that. She apologized profusely after that. But then the
    matter just went away. I doubt that she would have laughed at
    someone else holding a severed head of her own.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to DENN on Sat Feb 20 09:07:00 2021
    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a severed b loody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.

    It is funny how it is "free speech" one minute, but "hate speech" when
    someone else does it.

    Several years ago, there was a big outcry when someone created a picture of Obama made up as the Joker. "Racists" they said. "Hateful" they said.
    Then someone produced a picture from a few years earlier of W getting the
    same treatment.

    Same thing with the monkey ears in political cartoons. When it happened to
    W, it was OK and maybe even funny, when it was Obama, it suddenly was awful.

    It is either hateful or it isn't. I would say "you cannot have it both
    ways" but, obviously, some people sure can.


    * SLMR 2.1a * Keep your stick on the ice

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Dumas Walker on Sat Feb 20 09:34:00 2021
    Hello Dumas Walker!

    ** On Saturday 20.02.21 - 09:07, Dumas Walker wrote to DENN:

    Same thing with the monkey ears in political cartoons.
    When it happened to W, it was OK and maybe even funny, when
    it was Obama, it suddenly was awful.

    Who's W?


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 13:44:11 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Denn on Sat Feb 20 2021 09:13 am

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself
    holding a severed bloody Trump head and nothing happened to
    her. I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn
    media.

    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of
    followers and lost sponsers for her name-sake events and stuff
    like that. She apologized profusely after that. But then the
    matter just went away. I doubt that she would have laughed at
    someone else holding a severed head of her own.

    There was a little backlash but she never got any backlash from twitter, and she again reposted the severed bloody trump head not to long ago.
    She was dropped by a few sponsers and her carrer tanked for a year or so, and she blames Trump for that, Just like a leftist to blame everything on others even though she caused it.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Dumas Walker on Sat Feb 20 14:02:11 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dumas Walker to DENN on Sat Feb 20 2021 09:07 am

    It is funny how it is "free speech" one minute, but "hate speech" when someone else does it.

    yes, and that's something Rush was exposing is the double standard.

    Several years ago, there was a big outcry when someone created a picture of Obama made up as the Joker. "Racists" they said. "Hateful" they said. Then someone produced a picture from a few years earlier of W getting the same treatment.

    The so called tollerant left is not so tollerant.

    Same thing with the monkey ears in political cartoons. When it happened to W, it was OK and maybe even funny, when it was Obama, it suddenly was awful.

    Yep

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 14:02:55 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Dumas Walker on Sat Feb 20 2021 09:34 am

    Same thing with the monkey ears in political cartoons.
    When it happened to W, it was OK and maybe even funny, when
    it was Obama, it suddenly was awful.

    Who's W?

    George W. Bush

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 16:12:07 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Denn on Sat Feb 20 2021 09:13 am

    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of
    followers and lost sponsers for her name-sake events and stuff
    like that. She apologized profusely after that. But then the
    matter just went away. I doubt that she would have laughed at


    there was a little backlash. she was always a D list celeb. her only talent is being annoying. also remember she fucked with anderson cooper.
    she did lose that new years eve thing. but that was cnn. those are her own people.

    she apologized and said she was wrong but still blamed trump for everything.

    "trump broke me"
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dumas Walker on Sat Feb 20 16:30:00 2021
    Dumas Walker wrote to DENN <=-

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a severed
    b
    loody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.

    It is funny how it is "free speech" one minute, but "hate speech"
    when someone else does it.

    Several years ago, there was a big outcry when someone created a
    picture of Obama made up as the Joker. "Racists" they said.
    "Hateful" they said. Then someone produced a picture from a few
    years earlier of W getting the same treatment.

    Same thing with the monkey ears in political cartoons. When it
    happened to W, it was OK and maybe even funny, when it was Obama,
    it suddenly was awful.

    It is either hateful or it isn't. I would say "you cannot have
    it both ways" but, obviously, some people sure can.

    You mis-spelled "Democrats" in your last sentence... you wrote "some
    people". ;-)



    ... The worst thing about censorship is ##########.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From BoonDock@VERT/GATOFUEG to MRO on Sat Feb 20 18:45:20 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 2021 16:12:07


    Just a passing thought, but I find the double standard to be amazing. Here's one the occured to me:

    Hitler was a bad man. Everyone agrees on that. Everyone pretty much agrees that the main reason he was bad is because he gave orders that others carried out a0d people died.

    I've been following the Cuomo story, and it seems to me that he gave orders and as a consequence around 15 thousand people died.

    I don't see a difference quite frankly.

    Boondock

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ El Gato de Fuego - Pedasi, Panama (Local Only)
  • From Vague@VERT/VAGUEBBS to BoonDock on Sat Feb 20 20:57:00 2021
    BoonDock wrote to MRO <=-

    @VIA: VERT/GATOFUEG
    @MSGID: <60319F10.772.dove-general@192.168.0.7>
    @REPLY: <60318937.3019.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 2021 16:12:07


    Just a passing thought, but I find the double standard to be amazing. Here's one the occured to me:

    Hitler was a bad man. Everyone agrees on that. Everyone pretty much
    agrees that the main reason he was bad is because he gave orders that others carried out a0d people died.

    I've been following the Cuomo story, and it seems to me that he gave orders and as a consequence around 15 thousand people died.

    I don't see a difference quite frankly.

    Try looking at it like this:

    Trump ignored the pandemic and said it would just go away, now thousands have died as a result.

    Trump said some things at a rally to the people gathered there to hear him, then those people listening to him stormed the Capitol and people died.

    Whatever you decide for one of those cases, you decide for all of them.


    ... That's just incredible! As in... it's just not credible.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ VAGUE BBS - Vague.ddns.net - Telnet:23/SSH:22/RLogin:513
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Sat Feb 20 20:25:32 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 2021 04:12 pm

    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of
    followers and lost sponsers for her name-sake events and stuff
    like that. She apologized profusely after that. But then the
    matter just went away. I doubt that she would have laughed at


    there was a little backlash. she was always a D list celeb. her only talent is being annoying. also remember she fucked with anderson cooper. she did lose that new years eve thing. but that was cnn. those are her own people.


    And then the dumb idiot reposted the severed Trump head, she will do ANYTHING for attention.
    I tried to watch one of her lame shows but it was like watching paint dry.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 11:58:00 2021
    Multiplemiggs wrote to Denn <=-

    @MSGID: <6030315A.64711.dovegen@theundergroundbbs.net>
    @REPLY: <6014F246.19698.dove-general@outwestbbs.com>
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Fri Jan
    29 2021 10:44 pm

    I got baned on twitter because I said "I wonder what would happen if I calle someone retarded" a few minutes later I was banned.
    here is twitters mission statement.

    The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to creat and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve - and do not detract from - a free and global conversation.

    I guess they failed, since they suppress one group and let another group plo their tyranny.

    Yeah something as simple as that will get you banned, but there's countless posts of people getting shot or beaten to death and breathing their last breath on video. Things like that seem to manage to stay posted.

    There is a certain arrogance that corporations have, that the executives
    that have these "mission statements", think they have the right to goad
    others into them too.

    Twitter may have a mission, but I don't share it. That doesn't give
    them the right to censor or ban me.

    We need to rein in the business world. Business leaders are assuming
    positions of leadership in society that do not, and do not deserve, to
    have. If your company makes Tampons, your mission is to make tampons at
    the best price. If your company makes ice cream, your mission is to
    make ice cream. It is not "values" or "making the world a better
    place". Leave that shit in your own personal life.

    Every God damn company know thinks that its there to save the world...


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/MS-DOS v0.29
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to BoonDock on Sat Feb 20 20:40:06 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: BoonDock to MRO on Sat Feb 20 2021 06:45 pm

    Just a passing thought, but I find the double standard to be amazing. Here's one the occured to me:

    Hitler was a bad man. Everyone agrees on that. Everyone pretty much agrees that the main reason he was bad is because he gave orders that others carried out a0d people died.

    I've been following the Cuomo story, and it seems to me that he gave orders and as a consequence around 15 thousand people died.

    Cuomo is a narcissist, He wrote a self patronizing book about his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, he actually thinks putting infected patients in senoir care facilities slaughtering 15,000 old people (Using the number you gave) was a wise thing.
    Of coures now he has many new titles given to him, The Butcher of New York is just one of many i've heard.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Denn on Sat Feb 20 21:31:00 2021
    Hello Denn!

    ** On Saturday 20.02.21 - 13:44, Denn wrote to Ogg:

    There was a little backlash but she never got any backlash from twitter,

    Ahh.. *very* good point.

    and she again reposted the severed bloody trump head not to long ago.

    I did not know that. I don't really care about that person
    anyway.




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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sat Feb 20 21:34:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Saturday 20.02.21 - 16:12, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    there was a little backlash. she was always a D list celeb.
    her only talent is being annoying. also remember she fucked
    with anderson cooper. she did lose that new years eve thing.
    but that was cnn. those are her own people.

    I do not follow Cooper. I think he hosts a segment on 60
    Minutes (which I always seem to miss most of the time on Sunday
    evenings) ...but that's all I know.

    she apologized and said she was wrong but still blamed trump
    for everything. "trump broke me"

    Ah.. yes. Good point.





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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Vague on Sun Feb 21 02:00:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Vague to BoonDock on Sat Feb 20 2021 08:57 pm

    Try looking at it like this:


    try looking at it the wrong way?

    Trump ignored the pandemic and said it would just go away, now thousands have died as a result.


    that's absolutely wrong. trump took action right away and was criticized by your people for doing so.

    not many know this, but since january 3rd of that year, the cdc was working on measures to investigating the issue and attempting to contact china's cdc.

    on jan 31 the trump administration declared it a public emergency , did china health restrictions and suspeended entry into the usa for foreigners who pose a risk of transmitting the virus.

    your people attacked him for it.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Denn on Sun Feb 21 02:10:28 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Sat Feb 20 2021 08:25 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Sat Feb 20 2021 04:12 pm

    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of
    followers and lost sponsers for her name-sake events and stuff
    like that. She apologized profusely after that. But then the
    matter just went away. I doubt that she would have laughed at


    there was a little backlash. she was always a D list celeb. her only talent is being annoying. also remember she fucked with anderson cooper. she did lose that new years eve thing. but that was cnn. those are her own people.


    And then the dumb idiot reposted the severed Trump head, she will do ANYTHING for attention.
    I tried to watch one of her lame shows but it was like watching paint dry.

    she's very obnoxious. she's rich from it, though. i saw her on tv showing off her house and it had the best of everything. for some reason her net worth is something like 20-35 million. it might be because of real estate.

    also i'm looking her up and she was banned from jay leno's tonight show, the view, and banned from a disney show for an acceptance speech for an award.
    and banned from the apolo for profanity.

    so she was always getting into shit.

    when she did the head thing she went on a world tour called 'laugh your head off' and she was put on the no fly list in usa [for 2 months while being investigated] and uk and she was on the five eyes list.
    ---
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Denn on Sun Feb 21 03:26:45 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to MRO on Sat Feb 20 2021 08:25 pm

    And then the dumb idiot reposted the severed Trump head, she will do ANYTHING for attention.

    What Kathy Griffin did was patently unacceptable. I don't care if you hate someone that much; there are lines that you simply do not cross.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to MRO on Sun Feb 21 09:05:56 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Sun Feb 21 2021 02:10 am

    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of

    there was a little backlash. she was always a D list celeb. her
    only talent is being annoying. also remember she fucked with
    anderson cooper. she did lose that new years eve thing. but that
    was cnn. those are her own people.


    And then the dumb idiot reposted the severed Trump head, she will do
    ANYTHING for attention.
    I tried to watch one of her lame shows but it was like watching paint
    dry.

    she's very obnoxious. she's rich from it, though. i saw her on tv showing off her house and it had the best of everything. for some reason her net worth is something like 20-35 million. it might be because of real estate.

    Controversy is her game, she will do almost anything for fame.

    also i'm looking her up and she was banned from jay leno's tonight show, the view, and banned from a disney show for an acceptance speech for an award. and banned from the apolo for profanity.

    That's amazing, but then she keep's pulling the same crap, then blames Trump for her problems.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Dream Master on Sun Feb 21 10:48:13 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Denn on Sun Feb 21 2021 03:26 am

    And then the dumb idiot reposted the severed Trump head, she will do
    ANYTHING for attention.

    What Kathy Griffin did was patently unacceptable. I don't care if you hate someone that much; there are lines that you simply do not cross.

    I totally agree, and I just used her as an example of @jack Twitter's bias.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to OGG on Sun Feb 21 09:23:00 2021
    ** On Saturday 20.02.21 - 09:07, Dumas Walker wrote to DENN:

    Same thing with the monkey ears in political cartoons.
    When it happened to W, it was OK and maybe even funny, when
    it was Obama, it suddenly was awful.

    Who's W?

    George W Bush. Some of his followers, and several of his detractors,
    referred to him as "W".


    * SLMR 2.1a * DalekDOS error: (I)Obey (V)ision impaired (E)xterminate

    ---
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  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to GAMGEE on Sun Feb 21 09:28:00 2021
    It is either hateful or it isn't. I would say "you cannot have
    it both ways" but, obviously, some people sure can.

    You mis-spelled "Democrats" in your last sentence... you wrote "some
    people". ;-)

    True, although I don't know their true orientation. Some of them may
    identify as "Communists" or "Socialists" or some other left-leaning identification. Some of them are also not US citizens so they supposedly cannot even be registered as a Democrat. Supposedly.

    "Some people" is more inclusive language. <GRIN>


    * SLMR 2.1a * Nothing is so smiple that it can't get screwed up.

    ---
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  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to OGG on Sun Feb 21 10:07:00 2021
    There *was* a backlash. She got dissed by her onw community of
    followers and lost sponsers for her name-sake events and stuff
    like that. She apologized profusely after that. But then the
    matter just went away. I doubt that she would have laughed at
    someone else holding a severed head of her own.

    She got some backlash. She didn't get "cancelled" like others have.

    IIRC, she has sometime since reversed the apology.


    * SLMR 2.1a * Press any key to continue or any other key to quit

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Dumas Walker on Sun Feb 21 11:42:00 2021
    Hello Dumas Walker!

    ** On Sunday 21.02.21 - 10:07, Dumas Walker wrote to OGG:

    ..I doubt that she would have laughed at
    someone else holding a severed head of her own.

    She got some backlash. She didn't get "cancelled" like others have.

    IIRC, she has sometime since reversed the apology.

    So.. she's back at it again?


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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to BoonDock on Sun Feb 21 08:23:00 2021
    BoonDock wrote to MRO <=-

    Hitler was a bad man. Everyone agrees on that. Everyone pretty much
    agrees that the main reason he was bad is because he gave orders that others carried out a0d people died.

    I've been following the Cuomo story, and it seems to me that he gave orders and as a consequence around 15 thousand people died.

    I don't see a difference quite frankly.

    Wow. Just, wow.


    ... No appropriate tagline.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Vague on Sun Feb 21 08:28:00 2021
    Vague wrote to BoonDock <=-

    Trump ignored the pandemic and said it would just go away, now
    thousands have died as a result.

    It's been reported that he was advised by Kushner and possibly others that
    the virus would most likely impact democratic-run states harder and that downplaying the severity would be a political gain for the republican party.

    All the while, republican senators received intelligence briefings and
    Senator Loeffler sold her retail stock holdings and bought shares in Citrix.

    Trump said some things at a rally to the people gathered there to hear him, then those people listening to him stormed the Capitol and people died.

    Whatever you decide for one of those cases, you decide for all of them.


    ... No appropriate tagline.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Vague@VERT/VAGUEBBS to MRO on Sun Feb 21 13:49:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Vague <=-

    @VIA: VERT/BBSESINF
    @MSGID: <60321317.3031.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <6031BF54.1286.dove-netgeneral@VAGUEBBS>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Vague to BoonDock on Sat Feb 20 2021 08:57 pm

    Try looking at it like this:


    try looking at it the wrong way?

    Trump ignored the pandemic and said it would just go away, now thousands have died as a result.


    that's absolutely wrong. trump took action right away and was
    criticized by your people for doing so.

    not many know this, but since january 3rd of that year, the cdc was working on measures to investigating the issue and attempting to
    contact china's cdc.

    on jan 31 the trump administration declared it a public emergency , did china health restrictions and suspeended entry into the usa for
    foreigners who pose a risk of transmitting the virus.

    LOL Yeah... ok. I'll just believe you instead of reality.


    ... That's just incredible! As in... it's just not credible.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ VAGUE BBS - Vague.ddns.net - Telnet:23/SSH:22/RLogin:513
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Ogg on Sun Feb 21 22:12:30 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Dumas Walker on Sun Feb 21 2021 11:42 am

    ..I doubt that she would have laughed at
    someone else holding a severed head of her own.

    She got some backlash. She didn't get "cancelled" like others have.

    IIRC, she has sometime since reversed the apology.

    So.. she's back at it again?

    Yep, She reposted the bloody Severd Trump head pic, Anything to get attention.
    She's all about getting attention.
    Maybe if she knew she was a star on Dove-Net she could sleep better at night :)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Vague on Mon Feb 22 08:34:00 2021
    Vague wrote to MRO <=-

    LOL Yeah... ok. I'll just believe you instead of reality.

    Lefties have no comprehension of reality. That's why they are so angry
    all the time.

    They want reality to match their Narrative. But reality refuses to cooperate.


    ... "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" - Freud
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Multiplemiggs@VERT/UNDERG to MRO on Mon Feb 22 22:48:39 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:12 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:38 am

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a sever bloody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    i'm off twitter and facebook. i only use instagram for posting baby videos and i use telegram to talk with friends. never been happier
    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about the crap and strange looks I've gotten over the years when someone finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter account. I'm on several different tech forums and they have slowed down a lot over the years moving to Facebook groups.
    Even with that said I can't imagine signing up so I can be data mined and censored by Zuckerburg.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Underground BBS - x.theundergroundbbs.com
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to Multiplemiggs on Mon Feb 22 23:55:07 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Multiplemiggs to MRO on Mon Feb 22 2021 10:48 pm

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a
    sever bloody Trump head and nothing happened to her.
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    i'm off twitter and facebook. i only use instagram for posting baby
    videos and i use telegram to talk with friends. never been happier
    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about the crap and strange looks I've gotten over the years when someone finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter account. I'm on several different tech forums and they have slowed down a lot over the years moving to Facebook groups. Even with that said I can't imagine signing up so I can be data mined and censored by Zuckerburg.

    My cousin called me and told me to get on twitter, I posted Hi to his twitter feed then never used igain for over 4 years, Then Covid-19 came and my company shut down for three months, I was bored so I started to use it.
    Then when they started to censor conservatives I left and cancelled it.
    I'm on Parler now sortof, might get off that as well.
    I droped facebook several years ago.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Multiplemiggs on Tue Feb 23 03:45:55 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Multiplemiggs to MRO on Mon Feb 22 2021 10:48 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:12 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:38 am

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a sever bloody Trump head and nothing happened to he
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    i'm off twitter and facebook. i only use instagram for posting baby videos and i use telegram to talk with friends. never
    been happier
    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about the crap and strange looks I've gotten over the years when someone
    finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter account. I'm on several different tech forums and they have slowed down a
    lot over the years moving to Facebook groups.
    Even with that said I can't imagine signing up so I can be data mined and censored by Zuckerburg.


    Pretty much the same thing here.

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook. Facebook is an horrid platform for getting a forum-like experience
    because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Arelor on Tue Feb 23 08:01:54 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Multiplemiggs on Tue Feb 23 2021 03:45 am

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook. Facebook is an horrid platform for getting a forum-like experience because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    Agreed. I belong to a couple "groups" on Facebook. One of them is for Siberian Huskies. Every day someone gets on and asks, "I'm going to be getting a Husky puppy in the coming days. What should I expect?" In a forum (phpBB, vBulletin, etc.), you can easily search, while on Facebook it isn't that easy. Trust me, I've written the following, "Expect an animal that will ignore you, do the opposite of what you ask, dig holes in your backyard, and will talk back at you when they think you're wrong" so many times.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Tue Feb 23 08:21:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Tuesday 23.02.21 - 03:45, Arelor wrote to Multiplemiggs:

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook.
    Facebook is an horrid platform for getting a forum-like
    experience because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    Later, FB introduced groups. Apparently those permit sub-groups
    for topical discussion, don't they?

    Perhaps someone operating a group can step in and describe how
    it works.

    The Fidonet PHOTO echo moved to FB as "Original Fidonet
    PhotoGallery). That one seems to work primarily because it's
    much easier to share photos in the conversation stream.

    And..(and this one is the key for me) unlike a regular FB page,
    the FB groups allow for text S)earch within a thread. BUT, I've
    only heard that. I am not a member of any FB group.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Denn on Tue Feb 23 12:55:45 2021
    On 2/22/2021 10:55 PM, Denn wrote:

    Then when they started to censor conservatives I left and
    cancelled it. I'm on Parler now sortof, might get off that
    as well. I droped facebook several years ago.

    Yeah, I've pretty much just mostly dropped social media when the
    harder, largely one-sided, censorship started.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan (tracker1)
    +o roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Arelor on Tue Feb 23 12:59:31 2021
    On 2/23/2021 2:45 AM, Arelor wrote:

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook.
    Facebook is an horrid platform for getting a forum-like
    experience because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    The flow tends to be more conversational than most Forum
    interactions, and given the grouping, it often works better
    than fully threaded or flat discussion alternatives.

    There's something to be said for a forum/board, etc that you
    see in other web and terminal interfaces, but it's often
    more enjoyable. Though I do wish finding old posts/replies was
    a better experience.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan (tracker1)
    +o roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Tracker1 on Tue Feb 23 17:41:51 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Denn on Tue Feb 23 2021 12:55 pm

    On 2/22/2021 10:55 PM, Denn wrote:

    Then when they started to censor conservatives I left and
    cancelled it. I'm on Parler now sortof, might get off that
    as well. I droped facebook several years ago.

    Yeah, I've pretty much just mostly dropped social media when the
    harder, largely one-sided, censorship started.


    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped out infront of my car when i was driving 50. this was after mr i cant breathe.
    there were riots and cars and buildings being burned.

    also i got a 30 ban for saying 'i didn't care for it' when referring to a tv show.

    shit is ridiculious. i'm done with twitter and fb and everyone should be.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Vague@VERT/VAGUEBBS to Dr. What on Tue Feb 23 18:41:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Vague <=-

    @VIA: VERT/DMINE
    @MSGID: <6033BC9F.50335.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <6032CE71.1333.dove-netgeneral@20xd6>
    Vague wrote to MRO <=-

    LOL Yeah... ok. I'll just believe you instead of reality.

    Lefties have no comprehension of reality. That's why they are so angry all the time.

    They want reality to match their Narrative. But reality refuses to cooperate.

    Ok, Little Buddy. lmao Sure thing. That's why things are going so AWESOME for Conservatives. LMAO

    Make sure you wear your mask, Little Guy. It's a tough world, but you'll be ok.


    ... That's just incredible! As in... it's just not credible.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ VAGUE BBS - Vague.ddns.net - Telnet:23/SSH:22/RLogin:513
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to OGG on Tue Feb 23 16:52:00 2021
    ..I doubt that she would have laughed at
    someone else holding a severed head of her own.

    She got some backlash. She didn't get "cancelled" like others have.

    IIRC, she has sometime since reversed the apology.

    So.. she's back at it again?

    I have heard her name a time or two but don't pay that much attention to comedians. Sometime during the election (and maybe I have the wrong
    offensive comedian-lady!), I am pretty sure someone asked her about it and
    she said given the opportunity she'd probably do it again.


    * SLMR 2.1a * Forget 0 to 60. It's 95 to 55 that counts!

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Multiplemiggs@VERT/UNDERG to Arelor on Tue Feb 23 22:44:38 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Multiplemiggs on Tue Feb 23 2021 03:45 am

    Re: GAB
    By: Multiplemiggs to MRO on Mon Feb 22 2021 10:48 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:12 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:38 am

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    i'm off twitter and facebook. i only use instagram for posting baby vi been happier
    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about the crap and str finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter account. I'm on severa lot over the years moving to Facebook groups.
    Even with that said I can't imagine signing up so I can be data mined and


    Pretty much the same thing here.

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook. Facebook is an because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
















    Re: GAB
    Re: GAB
    By: Multiplemiggs to MRO on Mon Feb 22 2021 10:48 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Denn on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:12 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Denn to Multiplemiggs on Sat Feb 20 2021 12:38 am

    That's so true Kathy Griffen posted a picture of herself holding a
    I got rid of twitter, Twitter has become an open porn media.


    i'm off twitter and facebook. i only use instagram for posting baby vi been happier
    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about the crap and str finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter account. I'm on severa lot over the years moving to Facebook groups.
    Even with that said I can't imagine signing up so I can be data mined and


    Pretty much the same thing here.

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook. Facebook is an because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    Facebook is a dud for a replacement for a forum. I guess they figure they might as well get their fingers in the cookie jar though.
    It's unfortunate that they've had some degree of success.

    It's pretty much the same case with Marketplace.In my area, I've noticed a huge drop in Craigslist activity in the last few years, and it's from everyone moving over to Facebook Marketplace. It's a absolute joke for actually searching for anything specific and the distance results returns results for 200+ miles away even though it' set for 10 miles max.

    Just reading everyone elses replys and it's unreal how sensitive they have gotten where you can't even dilike a TV show. It's like walking on egg shells on what is acceptable to post without getting banned.
    I think if anything, all this heavy handed censorship and data mining has driven me further away from mainstream internet.
    I've been into the BBS scene for about a year now and it's sure been a nice change, and reliving something I missed out on in my youth.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Underground BBS - x.theundergroundbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Tue Feb 23 20:28:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Tuesday 23.02.21 - 17:41, MRO wrote to Tracker1:

    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped
    out infront of my car when i was driving 50. this was after
    mr i cant breathe. there were riots and cars and buildings
    being burned.

    also i got a 30 ban for saying 'i didn't care for it' when
    referring to a tv show.

    Getting banned for a simple phrase like that seems excessive,
    indeed. But maybe by then they painted you as a "person of
    interest" and their algorithms started looking for ANY words
    that might be related to an a previous matter.

    shit is ridiculious. i'm done with twitter and fb and
    everyone should be.

    I was never in the Twitter myself. Trying to read anything seems
    so cluttered with all the #hashtags that divert you into a
    rabbit hole of more and more diversion at each click. Finding
    anything that you may have seen some time ago and want to read
    again, is so tedious.

    I may only drop by FB for a few short seconds to see if there is
    anything on Messenger for me. If not, I close the site even
    before everything finishes loading.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Arelor on Wed Feb 24 10:28:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Tue Jan 26 2021 11:49 pm

    What Facebook and Twitter are doing to "Great Leader" Trump is censorship
    au
    sed by a threat to national security.

    This is getting old.

    If you think it is good Trump got banned feel free to say so, but don't try to justify it by making us believe it is due to some application of their ToS'.

    Fuck Trump and US-centric perspective on FB problems.

    FB and Twitter sucks for many different reasons and decentralizing its traffic will do us all good.

    regardless of what so called 'lefties' and so calling 'rightious nazis' think.

    /h1
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 10:35:00 2021
    I keep thinking about joining some of these alternative social media, but I lack friends so there is not much of a point.

    Yeah, the reason I use Facebook is because I know many people who use
    it. I used to use MySpace years ago, before everyone moved to
    Facebook. If I don't know anyone who uses it, I don't think there's
    much of a point.

    I had the same in some other, more local network. I started using FB because everybody was moving in and I had already enough international connections that was easiest to manage via FB.

    Still back in the days FB was more about specified groups that I could handle and information spread around that platform that was bearable.

    Now everybody is on FB and everybody is shouting their bullshit.. this way I only spot how many people are plain dumb and are useless producers of carbon dioxide through breathing their words out.

    I removed about 500+ so called friends from my list, narrowing it to be kept under 200 and hopefully to keep it under 100 this year only to keep it for family and some laggards who I can't either find or convince to use something else.

    Then I find discord, bbs, mewe.com much more interesting to find specific people and topics. Long standing friends who don't call me occasionally and meet in person can be forgotten online as well.. especially that it is only about showing off yourself, instead of sharing and discussing.

    That's the primary problem of FB and other social media today. We're bombarded with information that is not making the connection deeper, it just provides an illusion of a connection.

    Since I've realized that I uninstalled all these apps (FB, Whatsapp, etc.) from my phone and refocused my time in important people or places that can help me discover something interesting rather than be confused with all the information that is filtered for me, instead of me filtering it.

    Transition is hard as it comes with a feeling of losing something. But very quickly you start feeling the opposite, that you're gaining. If you don't then you're socially screwed anyway and there is a longer journey to be planned.


    best,
    /h1
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Boraxman on Wed Feb 24 10:40:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to MRO <=-

    MRO wrote to All <=-

    @MSGID: <6010E55A.2443.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    i love it.

    I hear someone in America got fired, simply for using GAB! https://www.rt.com/usa/513737-literary-agency-fired-conservative-parler- gab/

    It worries me that the rest of the Western world (including Australia) takes its cultural cues from the US. I definately don't want such
    action normalised.

    People outside US quite often do not even realize that these issues exist and do not recognize these new products at all, not even saying adopting them. GAB, Parler are US centric products.

    And that's fine, I'd expect more global+local distribution of such services.

    What bounces me off GAB/Parler is the formula. It's just yet another Generic Twitter/News Wall kind of presentation of its content which has its problems to tacle, similar to the sources that were inspiration to those services.


    I hate this neverending scroll-down experience. I miss groups and topic separation and be able to completely ignore what is not interesting to me, and disconnect people from topics a bit.

    For that reason I find mewe.com much better, which connects IRC+Usenet kind of formula that looks more like a soft-landing from Facebook, G+ networks.

    Have you tried this one?

    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Dream Master on Wed Feb 24 13:48:00 2021
    Here you go...

    No third-world countries would even attempt to do what we caught them doing. And you'll hear about that in just a few minutes.

    Funny to see, here in Europe we call USA the richest of the 3rd world countries... perhaps that describes some of the qualities and problematics you're discussing here.

    /h1
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to MRO on Wed Feb 24 13:50:00 2021
    fuck facebook and people that think what facebook is doing is every
    right. facebook is an evil company ran by evil people.

    +1 kudos to this guy. I'm with him.
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Denn on Wed Feb 24 13:51:00 2021
    I'm looking for a Twatter replacement, Parler got shut down by the big tech Commies, and I got rid of my twatter account and my Amazon
    account.
    I'm working on getting rid of Google as well.
    Twatter has lost 5 billion so far :)

    Mastodon perhaps?
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Denn on Wed Feb 24 13:52:00 2021
    The real threat to National security is people Like Biden, Harris,
    Pelosi and Schummer.
    You're right it's the double standard at play here.
    What they did to Parler is a damn shame, it's called destroying the competition.
    Facebook and twatter were used by antifa to co-ordinate their attacks
    on cities, Police and Civilians, yet no back lash for Fackbook and Twitter.

    Why this must be a political discussion and US-centric again..
    People drop on Twitter and FB for many differnet reasont without carrying who the dumbass is in the White-House..

    US it the 3rd-world country anyway. :>
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 08:14:00 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 10:35 am

    Now everybody is on FB and everybody is shouting their bullshit.. this way I only spot how many people are plain dumb and are useless producers of carbon dioxide through breathing their words out.

    I removed about 500+ so called friends from my list, narrowing it to be kept under 200 and hopefully to keep it under 100 this year only to keep it for family and some laggards who I can't either find or convince to use something else.

    I've been using Facebook since 2008 and still don't even have 200 friends on my FB friends list. :P I don't just friend everyone though.. Most of the people on my friends list on FB are people I know in real life.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 10:14:00 2021
    hollowone wrote to Dream Master <=-

    No third-world countries would even attempt to do what we caught them doing. And you'll hear about that in just a few minutes.

    Funny to see, here in Europe we call USA the richest of the 3rd
    world countries... perhaps that describes some of the qualities
    and problematics you're discussing here.

    Ahhhhh, yet another Euro-commie-wannabe who knows everything there is to
    know about the USA. More than even those who actually live here,
    somehow.

    You're as laughable as the rest of 'em.



    ... He does the work of 3 Men...Moe, Larry & Curly
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Wed Feb 24 08:21:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Tracker1 on Tue Feb 23 2021 05:41 pm

    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped out infront of my car when i was driving 50.

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any bearing on what they did or make any difference?

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From BoonDock@VERT/GATOFUEG to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 13:10:45 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 2021 08:14:00

    I've been using Facebook since 2008 and still don't even have 200 friends on my FB friends list. :P I don't just friend everyone though.. Most of the people on my friends list on FB are people I know in real life.
    FB has the critical mass of people, which it what makes it so attractive, especially to marketers. It's the "network effect".

    BoonDock

    * El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * Pedasi, Panama

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ El Gato de Fuego - Pedasi, Panama - gatofueg.synchro.net
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Multiplemiggs on Wed Feb 24 08:29:00 2021
    Hello Multiplemiggs!

    ** On Tuesday 23.02.21 - 22:44, Multiplemiggs wrote to Arelor:

    Facebook is a dud for a replacement for a forum. I guess
    they figure they might as well get their fingers in the
    cookie jar though. It's unfortunate that they've had some
    degree of success.

    Maybe it's just temporary as people try things out.

    It's pretty much the same case with Marketplace.In my area,
    I've noticed a huge drop in Craigslist activity in the last
    few years, and it's from everyone moving over to Facebook
    Marketplace. It's a absolute joke for actually searching for
    anything specific and the distance results returns results
    for 200+ miles away even though it' set for 10 miles max.

    I have a cousin that likes to list household items that she
    nolonger needs. I have no idea if she's successful, but I only
    see her llimited market to be her closest friends. Maybe some
    people are OK with that.

    Just reading everyone elses replys and it's unreal how
    sensitive they have gotten where you can't even dilike a TV
    show. It's like walking on egg shells on what is acceptable
    to post without getting banned.

    Hmmmm. Maybe that explains why I don't see so many "negative"
    posts or harsh commentary from my own "friends" about a matter
    anymore. Maybe those people have been banned for a while.

    This whole movement to block negative commentary, and negative
    words presents FB as a "happy" place: stupid jokes, forwared
    memes, closeups of people's dinner plates, etc.

    I had no idea that FB was doing this banning business. I've
    never posted a public comment to someone's post. I've always
    used a PM via Messenger - and even that is less seldom.

    I think if anything, all this heavy handed censorship and
    data mining has driven me further away from mainstream
    internet. I've been into the BBS scene for about a year now
    and it's sure been a nice change, and reliving something I
    missed out on in my youth.

    FTN, BBSing, QWK.. all wonderful alternatives.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Gamgee on Wed Feb 24 20:40:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to hollowone <=-

    hollowone wrote to Dream Master <=-

    No third-world countries would even attempt to do what we caught them doing. And you'll hear about that in just a few minutes.

    Funny to see, here in Europe we call USA the richest of the 3rd
    world countries... perhaps that describes some of the qualities
    and problematics you're discussing here.

    Ahhhhh, yet another Euro-commie-wannabe who knows everything there is
    to know about the USA. More than even those who actually live here, somehow.

    You're as laughable as the rest of 'em.

    No I'm just proviking your lack of intelligence to discover you've been provoked.
    If had any intelligence related to that you'd simply ignore an idiot.. instead you're an idiot yourself
    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 20:44:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to hollowone <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 10:35 am

    Now everybody is on FB and everybody is shouting their bullshit.. this way I only spot how many people are plain dumb and are useless producers of carbon dioxide through breathing their words out.

    I removed about 500+ so called friends from my list, narrowing it to be kept under 200 and hopefully to keep it under 100 this year only to keep it for family and some laggards who I can't either find or convince to use something else.

    I've been using Facebook since 2008 and still don't even have 200
    friends on my FB friends list. :P I don't just friend everyone
    though.. Most of the people on my friends list on FB are people I know
    in real life.

    Before FB I had the same, but then at the era of FB/Twitter these places started being community management platforms as well for a while. Meaning for some people who drove larger communities to have more contacts there mixing friendship with passion related topics and professional network in one place.

    I did that mistake unfortunately and learnt some lessons from it.

    But that's not helping too much as people today so polarized politically, socially and mentally are reposting a lot of bullshit that is either making you nervous or worse.

    THink about your family members being Republicans and you not, or the opposite.. these days.. it's a family killer platform if you find out yourself giving one comment to much. It was easier to manage these without being bombarded with information.

    I know, you can say it's not a platform problem, it's people.. but I believe platform created this type of personality, who wants to shout out everything from heart, not thinking too much if other side cares about it at lot.

    Like connecting this topic to politics.. THis started by one idiot and the rest follows the discourse while reasons why people drop on Twitter and FB are many.. and both righties and lefties have their own..

    /h1


    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 14:04:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Wed Feb 24 2021 08:21 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Tracker1 on Tue Feb 23 2021 05:41 pm

    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped out infron of my car when i was driving 50.

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any bearing what they did or make any difference?

    Nightfox


    Yes, the difference is that if they are black you get banned, and if they belong to a mayority target you don't get banned :-P

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 16:43:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Wed Feb 24 2021 01:52 pm

    Why this must be a political discussion and US-centric again..
    People drop on Twitter and FB for many differnet reasont without carrying who the dumbass is in the White-House..

    because that's what we are talking about.
    and most of us are in the usa.

    US it the 3rd-world country anyway. :>

    nope
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 16:45:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Wed Feb 24 2021 08:21 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Tracker1 on Tue Feb 23 2021 05:41 pm

    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped out infront of my car when i was driving 50.

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any bearing on what they did or make any difference?


    it's a descriptior. if it was a bunch of white people or chinese people or purple people i would use a descriptor. i dont get all touchy about this stuff because i was raised in a diverse family.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Wed Feb 24 16:45:56 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 02:04 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Wed Feb 24 2021 08:21 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Tracker1 on Tue Feb 23 2021 05:41 pm

    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped out infron of my car when i was driving 50.

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any bearing what they did or make any difference?

    Nightfox


    Yes, the difference is that if they are black you get banned, and if they belong to a mayority target you don't get banned :-P


    that's a truth
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 17:07:00 2021
    Hello hollowone!

    ** On Wednesday 24.02.21 - 10:40, hollowone wrote to Boraxman:

    For that reason I find mewe.com much better, which connects IRC+Usenet
    kind of formula that looks more like a soft-landing from Facebook, G+ networks.

    Have you tried this one?

    PMFJI, have you tried the Fidonet/Telegram project? It brings
    (some) Fidonet echos to your smartphone/tablet or desktop via
    the Telegram app.

    The project is still relatively new. The first echos that were
    linked up was around August'20.

    It is a way to stay connected to the topical format of echomail,
    yet extended the outreach to modern devices, and have the
    messages synchronized between all your devices. It's rather cool
    that way.

    The Telegram has a powerful S)earch feature if you need to look
    up messages that bear certain words.

    The interface now provides Areafix-like commands:

    %HELP - this text.
    %LIST - List of echo conferences available in Telegram.
    %QUERY - List of areas which you are currently linked to
    %LINKED - same as %QUERY
    %UNLINKED - List available areas which you are not currently linked to

    And a new one just introduced: %UserProfile ..which allows
    configuring a tagline, a greeting, and a signature.

    To get started, just install the Telegram app of your choice (I
    selected the desktop version when I started) and then either
    send a hello message to me: https://t.me/aabolins ..or look up
    the invite links posted in the Fidonet echos: FIDONET.TELEGRAM,
    or FUTURE4FIDO.

    The system is completely spam-free and "private".

    You can think of it as akin to HotdogEd or Aftershock - but
    better! You are not tied down to using just one device. You can
    start a message on your smartphone and finish it off from your
    laptop.

    And ofcourse.. you are not limited to Fidonet with Telegram. The
    environment has its own slew of interest groups too. And.. it
    makes for a fine one-to-one messaging tool too.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Wed Feb 24 21:14:59 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 2021 05:07 pm


    PMFJI, have you tried the Fidonet/Telegram project? It brings
    (some) Fidonet echos to your smartphone/tablet or desktop via
    the Telegram app.

    The project is still relatively new. The first echos that were
    linked up was around August'20.

    It is a way to stay connected to the topical format of echomail,
    yet extended the outreach to modern devices, and have the
    messages synchronized between all your devices. It's rather cool

    what is the fidonet channel?
    fidonet.online? i see a bunch of russian stuff
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to hollowone on Wed Feb 24 21:19:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Boraxman on Wed Feb 24 2021 10:40 am


    For that reason I find mewe.com much better, which connects IRC+Usenet kind of formula that looks more like a soft-landing from Facebook, G+ networks.



    i dont like mewe because the owner is a jewish zuckerberg wanna be.
    he already said he would censor like facebook. there's no reason to use it, then. parlor is now censoring for political reasons. their host has it in their tos that they have to comply.

    i like gab sort of but not many people use it. also i got logged out and i dont know my email alias and it wont tell me.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From nolageek@VERT/CAPSHRIL to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 00:31:08 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 02:04 pm

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any
    bearing what they did or make any difference?
    Yes, the difference is that if they are black you get banned, and if they belong to a mayority target you don't get banned :-P

    If they weren't would you have specified "a group of white people jumped out in front of me" or would you have just said "a group of people jumped out in front of me?"

    |01-|03nolageek

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Capitol Shrill BBS - Washington, DC - capitolshrill.com
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dumas Walker on Mon Feb 22 08:14:00 2021
    Dumas Walker wrote to OGG <=-

    George W Bush. Some of his followers, and several of his detractors, referred to him as "W".

    Not just perjoratively, but to distinguish him from his father, George H.W. Bush.


    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dr. What on Mon Feb 22 08:16:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Vague <=-

    Vague wrote to MRO <=-

    LOL Yeah... ok. I'll just believe you instead of reality.

    Lefties have no comprehension of reality. That's why they are so angry all the time.

    We prefer to be called "Left-Handed" or "Differently Dextrous". You'd be
    angry all the time if you had to contort your hands to operate a digital
    watch or to find proper scissors.


    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Tue Feb 23 06:06:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Multiplemiggs <=-

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook. Facebook
    is an horrid platform for getting a forum-like experience because (wait for it) Facebook is not a Forum.

    ...Because everyone's already there. You don't have to worry about people finding it.


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dream Master on Wed Feb 24 05:44:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Arelor <=-

    Agreed. I belong to a couple "groups" on Facebook. One of them is for Siberian Huskies. Every day someone gets on and asks, "I'm going to be getting a Husky puppy in the coming days. What should I expect?" In a forum (phpBB, vBulletin, etc.), you can easily search, while on
    Facebook it isn't that easy.

    I hadn't thought of the lack of search (and sticky posts) before.




    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 00:45:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: nolageek to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 2021 12:31 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 02:04 pm

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any
    bearing what they did or make any difference?
    Yes, the difference is that if they are black you get banned, and if they belong to a mayority target you don't get banned :-P

    If they weren't would you have specified "a group of white people jumped

    out
    in front of me" or would you have just said "a group of people jumped out in front of me?"

    |01-|03nolageek


    i wish this buttjockey pedo loser nolageek would go back under his rock, but yeah, i would say white people guys jumped infront of me and probably call them beta males too.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to hollowone on Thu Feb 25 00:04:57 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Wed Feb 24 2021 01:52 pm

    The real threat to National security is people Like Biden, Harris,
    Pelosi and Schummer.

    Why this must be a political discussion and US-centric again..
    People drop on Twitter and FB for many differnet reasont without carrying who the dumbass is in the White-House..

    If you're really in Europe like you said why does it matter to you?
    The last thing I wan't to hear is some forgigner comming in like an armchair Quarterback telling us about US politics.
    What country are you from?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 02:23:10 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: nolageek to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 2021 12:31 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 02:04 pm

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any
    bearing what they did or make any difference?
    Yes, the difference is that if they are black you get banned, and if they belong to a mayority target you don't get ban
    :-P

    If they weren't would you have specified "a group of white people jumped out in front of me" or would you have just said "a
    group of people jumped out in front of me?"

    |01-|03nolageek


    People has a tendency to attach the first useful identifier when swearing. Specially when the group is recognizeable as a
    compact group that stands out among the averages.

    Which is why you don't say "a group of white motherfuckers jumped in front of me" because being white is sort of the default
    and you are conveying no additional information. You are likely to use a different identifier that does. Of course, if you
    lived in Zaire and a group of whites jumped in front of you, you would swear against the "white motherfuckers" because being
    white is not the default.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to hollowone on Thu Feb 25 19:02:00 2021
    hollowone wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60365FFC.29068.dove-general@amigacity.xyz>
    @REPLY: <6011D46B.47929.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to MRO <=-

    MRO wrote to All <=-

    @MSGID: <6010E55A.2443.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    If you guys are sick of the censorship and the hate on facebook, you
    might want to check out gab. it's usuable now that traffic isnt insane.

    i love it.

    I hear someone in America got fired, simply for using GAB! https://www.rt.com/usa/513737-literary-agency-fired-conservative-parler- gab/

    It worries me that the rest of the Western world (including Australia) takes its cultural cues from the US. I definately don't want such
    action normalised.

    People outside US quite often do not even realize that these issues
    exist and do not recognize these new products at all, not even saying adopting them. GAB, Parler are US centric products.

    And that's fine, I'd expect more global+local distribution of such services.

    What bounces me off GAB/Parler is the formula. It's just yet another Generic Twitter/News Wall kind of presentation of its content which has its problems to tacle, similar to the sources that were inspiration to those services.


    I hate this neverending scroll-down experience. I miss groups and topic separation and be able to completely ignore what is not interesting to
    me, and disconnect people from topics a bit.

    For that reason I find mewe.com much better, which connects IRC+Usenet kind of formula that looks more like a soft-landing from Facebook, G+ networks.

    Have you tried this one?

    I did look at MeWe a little while ago. I may have even created an account and asked people to move over to it. I faced the same problem as I did with Minds and GAB, namely that I didn't know anyone else there. As a result, I never really got to understand fully how it works.

    I will give it another try.

    Facebook, and Social Media in general is actually a fairly bad platform. Endless scrolling, then when you scroll up, its different, or it refreshes on you, giving you a different starting point. If there is something of interest, its gone later. The groups are largely unsearchable. If you are on a Vintage Computer group, and you have a question, you have to ask. You can't search the groups history easily to see if there is a previous thread. So its endless repeat questions. I find forums like VCFed much nicer. Forums are just better, period.

    The irony is that the Internet is supposed to remember everything, but on these sites, everything dissappears into a morass. It's like wandering through a huge milling crowd, once you leave somewhere, it won't be there when you get back.

    The more I think about it, the more it strikes me just how BAD they are for what they do. The ONLY advantage that FaceBook offers is having everything thrown together in one place.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 03:09:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: nolageek to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 2021 12:31 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 02:04 pm

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any
    bearing what they did or make any difference?
    Yes, the difference is that if they are black you get banned, and if they belong to a mayority target you don't get ban
    :-P

    If they weren't would you have specified "a group of white people jumped out in front of me" or would you have just said "a
    group of people jumped out in front of me?"

    |01-|03nolageek


    Also relevant to the subject:

    I can think of two farmers in the area that are specially hard working.

    One we call "the black farmer" and the other "the bald one". Because "black" and "bald" are deviations from local standard. Not
    because we cast a negative light on either.


    Incidentaly, I hear "the black farmer" used in positive sentences more than in negative ones since people likes the guy more
    often than not.

    I suppose we are incredibly racist in the village because by attatching "black" to the sentence we are casting a lot of
    possitive prejudice on blacks? :-P


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Thu Feb 25 07:19:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Wednesday 24.02.21 - 21:14, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    what is the fidonet channel?
    fidonet.online? i see a bunch of russian stuff

    Those are public groups. Some of those may or may not include
    some that are being linked to the sysop's bbs.

    But the official english-speaking ones are private. You have to
    be invited. That is done to avoid spammers. It is not unlike
    registering at a BBS except that one click will get it all done.

    The invite links are published in some back messages at
    FIDONET.TELEGRAM or FUTURE4FIDO echos.

    I'll provide a short-list here for convenience at the end of
    this message. When you click on any one, you will get the JOIN
    option. Once you are in, you should notice a "bot" named
    Fido2telebot. Select that fellow and sent it a message that
    only contains %LIST. Within a few seconds to a few minutes, you
    will get a response with a list of "echos", some with full
    descriptions. From there, you will see which Fidonet echos are
    currently approved (just look for the word fidonet in the
    descriptions). The echo names match the fidonet tagnames that
    are in use. The list also includes some more non-backboned or
    specialty echos that the sysop is linking for his own
    entertainment, but you can ignore those if you like.

    Heck, here is the full list.

    FUTURE4FIDO - FIDONET: Discussion of new and future Fidonet technologies. https://t.me/joinchat/SV_BQ0XcbSRoP4bt

    FIDOTEST
    https://t.me/joinchat/RPUcUaNBYCi2yqCM

    DOORGAMES - Fidonet: DOORGAMES is all about BBS door games and related discussions. Anything related to BBS door games is on topic here. This echo is open to both users and sysops alike.
    https://t.me/joinchat/VkXTAAFf6zJBDcv7

    DOS - FIDONET: General discussion on Disk Operating Systems like MS-DOS, FreeDOS, DR-DOS and like systems. Discusion around DOSBox and DOSEMU are also on topic.
    https://t.me/joinchat/Rqjjx2N6ghXLyFI6

    FIDONET.TELEGRAM - A place for discussing accessing Fidonet using Telegram, and for modest experimentation. Language: English
    https://t.me/joinchat/TWCQfIK94npmrhs7

    DOOM - FIDONET: If you like the game DOOM, or any similar games, this echo is for you. Topics include modem/network support (for multi-player games), playing techniques, technical information and reviews of new levels. Other 3D games are also on topic.
    https://t.me/joinchat/SXK31Inl1QiXbOAh

    ASIAN_LINK - ASIAN_LINK is a friendly international Fidonet chat echo. All are welcome to participate.
    https://t.me/joinchat/TlC5K7EkqxOR8E4u

    MUSIC - FIDONET: Discussion of all types of music. https://t.me/joinchat/UtypMiJ0S0vQnu9t

    TUXPOWER - FIDONET: Linux & related batch scripting in any language. https://t.me/joinchat/RLI5gLJrHo6IIuzL

    AUDIO - FIDONET: Audio Unlimited is for the discussion of amateur and professional audio design, techniques, equipment and anything else audio related.
    https://t.me/joinchat/TpEnF8lKjbn1rV-N

    MOVIES - FIDONET: Movies & TV Entertainment https://t.me/joinchat/Vr2aQGPP8x2Ntw7r

    TAGLINES - FIDONET: Tagline discussion and swapping. Feel free to share (or take) any taglines for use in offline readers or in any way you like.
    https://t.me/joinchat/UT_ZPmti4QZoGGAc

    COFFEE_KLATSCH - FIDONET: A general discussion echo. https://t.me/joinchat/R-fzkUrjKxsKKTw7

    CHAT - FIDONET: A general chat/discussion group. https://t.me/joinchat/Suaubh6lB15XdkGt

    Anyone without the app can click in these NOW and it will take
    you to a www landing page to reveal the cool and funky icons I
    chose for an echo! <BWG>

    Note, you are not limited to using a phone for any of this. The
    app is available for the desktop too! That's what I use most of
    the time - 'cuz writing a message or replying is much easier
    from a proper computer. But I have Telegram spread across a
    lowly Blackberry, two laptops and a pc.

    You input about the fidonet-telegram experience would be
    appreciated - even the grumpy version. ;)


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From BoonDock@VERT/GATOFUEG to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 10:32:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: nolageek to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 2021 00:31:08

    If they weren't would you have specified "a group of white people jumped out in front of me" or would you have just said "a group of people jumped out in front of me?"

    Quite frankly, I'm approaching the age where "EVERYONE" must get off my lawn. The fewer the adjectives, the wider the target of my vitriol!

    BoonDock

    * El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * Pedasi, Panama

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ El Gato de Fuego - Pedasi, Panama - gatofueg.synchro.net
  • From BoonDock@VERT/GATOFUEG to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 10:35:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Arelor on Tue Feb 23 2021 06:06:00

    ...Because everyone's already there. You don't have to worry about people finding it.

    The way I see it, that critical mass is a dis not ad vantage.
    It's kinda like the Darwin awards. If you're too stupid to find it, you shouldn't be here....

    BoonDock

    * El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * Pedasi, Panama

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ El Gato de Fuego - Pedasi, Panama - gatofueg.synchro.net
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Thu Feb 25 08:11:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Wed Feb 24 2021 04:45 pm

    i got a 30 day ban for saying a group of black people jumped out
    infront of my car when i was driving 50.

    What's the relevance of them being black? Does being black have any
    bearing on what they did or make any difference?

    it's a descriptior. if it was a bunch of white people or chinese people or purple people i would use a descriptor. i dont get all touchy about this stuff because i was raised in a diverse family.

    I just never really hear anyone say something like "a group of white people jumped out in front of my car".

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 08:19:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dumas Walker on Mon Feb 22 2021 08:14 am

    George W Bush. Some of his followers, and several of his
    detractors, referred to him as "W".

    Not just perjoratively, but to distinguish him from his father, George H.W. Bush.

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Nightfox on Thu Feb 25 18:25:25 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 2021 08:19 am

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Thank you. I needed that belly laugh



    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego
  • From nolageek@VERT/CAPSHRIL to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 11:28:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 2021 03:09 am

    I can think of two farmers in the area that are specially hard working. One we call "the black farmer" and the other "the bald one". Because

    Context matters (why does this even need to be said?)

    In this village it may be acceptable - I don't know where you're from. This single black farmer might not mind being refered to that way, and that's OK. If he suddenly said "you know what, I dont like being called that - could you please call me by my name?" Would the other villagers do so, or would they just say "there's nothing wrong with us calling you 'the black farmer' so we don't care what you think, you fucking snowflake."

    That's the difference. :/

    |01-|03nolageek

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Capitol Shrill BBS - Washington, DC - capitolshrill.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 08:23:00 2021
    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Wednesday 24.02.21 - 05:44, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dream Master:

    ..In a forum (phpBB, vBulletin, etc.), you can easily
    search, while on Facebook it isn't that easy.

    I hadn't thought of the lack of search (and sticky posts)
    before.

    I thought FB "groups" had search capability.

    I've just joined (or requested to join) an FB group to try
    things out.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 08:28:00 2021
    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Tuesday 23.02.21 - 06:06, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Arelor:

    I never understood why forums where being left for Facebook. Facebook
    is an horrid platform for getting a forum-like experience..

    ...Because everyone's already there. You don't have to
    worry about people finding it.

    Why not close your posts on FB with a signature that promotes a
    bbs landing page for more info to inform people that there *are*
    alternatives that might suit them better.

    --
    Participate in Fidonet via Telegram:

    ASIAN_LINK - ASIAN_LINK is a friendly international Fidonet chat
    echo. All are welcome to participate.
    https://t.me/joinchat/TlC5K7EkqxOR8E4u

    CHAT - FIDONET: A general chat/discussion group. https://t.me/joinchat/Suaubh6lB15XdkGt

    COFFEE_KLATSCH - FIDONET: A general discussion echo. https://t.me/joinchat/R-fzkUrjKxsKKTw7

    FIDONET.TELEGRAM - A place for discussing accessing Fidonet using Telegram, and for modest experimentation. Language: English
    https://t.me/joinchat/TWCQfIK94npmrhs7



    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Thu Feb 25 09:04:00 2021
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Thursday 25.02.21 - 19:02, Boraxman wrote to hollowone:

    Facebook, and Social Media in general is actually a fairly
    bad platform. Endless scrolling, then when you scroll up,
    its different, or it refreshes on you, giving you a
    different starting point. If there is something of
    interest, its gone later.

    I don't think it started out that way, but FB seems to have
    introduced a randomness to friend's feeds only recently. It
    ticks me off that when I seem to remember something posted by a
    friend, it's gone when I refresh my own feed. When I go to the
    friend's page, there is no S)earch option to find it.

    The groups are largely unsearchable. If you are on a
    Vintage Computer group, and you have a question, you have to
    ask.

    I've recently requested to join the BBSing 2.0 group. Hopefully
    Sean will have addressed the S)earch matter.

    You can't search the groups history easily to see if there
    is a previous thread. So its endless repeat questions. I
    find forums like VCFed much nicer. Forums are just better,
    period.

    Telegram groups are pretty good though! <BWG> As a new
    experiment, some echos are accessible via Telegram. Telegram's
    S)earch is pretty useful.

    The irony is that the Internet is supposed to remember
    everything, but on these sites, everything dissappears into
    a morass. It's like wandering through a huge milling crowd,
    once you leave somewhere, it won't be there when you get
    back.

    Yes.. I find FB to be a mucky foggy mess. Nobody converses
    there. Most of the time it is just forwards of other people's
    memes. Recently, one person posted a picture they took of the
    moon. OK, it has pretty good detail. But here is what the
    responses look like:

    PART 1: https://susepaste.org/96894281
    PART 2: https://susepaste.org/53568919 (the expanded replies)

    The brief reply thread is funny, but ephemeral. Just one-liners.
    No conversation, really.

    PART 3: https://susepaste.org/5176879 (the rest of the roll).
    Just a few more +1 and some cheesy emoji-like replies. No
    conversation.

    If I wanted to revisit that again, I would probably have to wade
    through a pile of old posts in sequential order, constant screen
    refreshes, etc.

    The more I think about it, the more it strikes me just how
    BAD they are for what they do. The ONLY advantage that
    FaceBook offers is having everythingthrown together in one
    place.

    FB is primarily ok if people just want to "talk" in pictures, it
    seems.

    It's an easy entry-point to self-promote. A non-bbs way to have
    your own personal journal of sorts.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 14:58:51 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: nolageek to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 2021 11:28 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 2021 03:09 am

    I can think of two farmers in the area that are specially hard working. One we call "the black farmer" and the other "the bald one". Because

    Context matters (why does this even need to be said?)

    In this village it may be acceptable - I don't know where you're from. This single black farmer might not mind being refered to that way, and that's OK. he suddenly said "you know what, I dont like being called that - could you please call me by my name?" Would the other villagers do so, or would they j say "there's nothing wrong with us calling you 'the black farmer' so we don' care what you think, you fucking snowflake."

    That's the difference. :/

    |01-|03nolageek


    Well if he was found stealing a chicken, nobody would care much for what he thought, as opposed to him being a regular guy.

    That's the difference.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Ogg on Thu Feb 25 22:22:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to hollowone <=-

    Hello hollowone!
    Hey,

    Have you tried this one?

    PMFJI, have you tried the Fidonet/Telegram project? It brings
    (some) Fidonet echos to your smartphone/tablet or desktop via
    the Telegram app.

    No. I hear about Telegram gaining traction for a while. Still more observing where it goes than willing to adopt, but connecting it with FIDONET actually sounds interesting as a test.

    Perhaps you just convinced me to give it a try.

    /h1


    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Denn on Thu Feb 25 22:29:00 2021
    Denn wrote to hollowone <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Wed Feb 24 2021 01:52 pm

    The real threat to National security is people Like Biden, Harris,
    Pelosi and Schummer.

    Why this must be a political discussion and US-centric again..
    People drop on Twitter and FB for many differnet reasont without carrying who the dumbass is in the White-House..

    If you're really in Europe like you said why does it matter to you?

    I don't care about US politics more than casual interest and some sentiment to my past stay in there. I picked this comment mostly because in the context of "FB sucks because..." reasons why FB sucks are not US driven only and not political only (aside of the fact that political censorship is not US-unique on social media).

    The last thing I wan't to hear is some forgigner comming in like an armchair Quarterback telling us about US politics.
    What country are you from?

    I come from Poland, and for all who dare to call us commies, we fucking killed communism in EU if you don't remember and unfortunately I live in the most Trump-alike political environment back in my country as well :>

    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Boraxman on Thu Feb 25 22:32:00 2021
    I did look at MeWe a little while ago. I may have even created an
    account and asked people to move over to it. I faced the same problem
    as I did with Minds and GAB, namely that I didn't know anyone else
    there. As a result, I never really got to understand fully how it
    works.

    I will give it another try.

    THis is not advertising, everybody looks for alternatives for his own reasons and I see a blossoming number of them with minor success. I found MEWE interesting for topics not people, thus it not hurts me that I'd known anybody at the start.

    But I already have a few new friends originating from that site and I value conversation with them quite well I must say.

    The irony is that the Internet is supposed to remember everything, but
    on these sites, everything dissappears into a morass. It's like
    wandering through a huge milling crowd, once you leave somewhere, it
    won't be there when you get back.

    You just raised a very interesting point my friend. I was not thinking about it. Internet remembers everything rule is obviously known to me. THinking about FB remembers everything and gives you a shit back.. is something new to analyze with full mind awareness.

    /h1

    ... Typing from HackinDOS, iMac converted to work natively with FreeDOS 1.2
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 16:40:15 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 2021 02:23 am


    If they weren't would you have specified "a group of white people jumped out in front of me" or would you have just said "a group of people jumped out in front of me?"

    i say it
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Thu Feb 25 16:43:21 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to MRO on Thu Feb 25 2021 07:19 am


    But the official english-speaking ones are private. You have to
    be invited. That is done to avoid spammers. It is not unlike

    i thought you can restrict who posts
    that's how it is with a lot of channels i join
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Thu Feb 25 16:44:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Thu Feb 25 2021 08:11 am

    or purple people i would use a descriptor. i dont get all touchy about this stuff because i was raised in a diverse family.

    I just never really hear anyone say something like "a group of white people jumped out in front of my car".


    come over here, you will hear me complain about a bunch of white beta males doing something.

    i've never had white people jump infront of my car before though.
    must be a black thang
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 16:46:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: nolageek to Arelor on Thu Feb 25 2021 11:28 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to nolageek on Thu Feb 25 2021 03:09 am

    I can think of two farmers in the area that are specially hard working. One we call "the black farmer" and the other "the bald one". Because

    Context matters (why does this even need to be said?)

    In this village it may be acceptable - I don't know where you're from. This single black farmer might not mind being refered to that way, and that's OK. If he suddenly said "you know what, I dont like being called that - could you please call me by my name?" Would the other villagers do so, or would they just say "there's nothing wrong with us calling you 'the black farmer' so we don't care what you think, you fucking snowflake."

    That's the difference. :/


    you're just imagining fake scenarios to fit your narrative.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Thu Feb 25 16:47:07 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 2021 08:23 am

    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Wednesday 24.02.21 - 05:44, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dream Master:

    ..In a forum (phpBB, vBulletin, etc.), you can easily
    search, while on Facebook it isn't that easy.

    I hadn't thought of the lack of search (and sticky posts)
    before.

    I thought FB "groups" had search capability.

    I've just joined (or requested to join) an FB group to try


    facebook is actually easy to search for posts.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to hollowone on Thu Feb 25 16:48:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Thu Feb 25 2021 10:29 pm

    killed communism in EU if you don't remember and unfortunately I live in the most Trump-alike political environment back in my country as well :>

    i doubt you know what that is
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Thu Feb 25 21:58:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Thursday 25.02.21 - 16:43, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    But the official english-speaking ones are private. You have
    to be invited. That is done to avoid spammers. It is not
    unlike

    i thought you can restrict who posts that's how it is with a
    lot of channels i join

    Yes... restriction is possible. The admin of a group can block a
    user, if necessary. As far as the fidonet-telegram project
    goes, the rules of participation are based on what the fidonet
    moderator has established. But on the onset, anyone can start
    posting after they join via the invite links.





    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Fri Feb 26 00:41:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Thursday 25.02.21 - 16:47, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    ..In a forum (phpBB, vBulletin, etc.), you can easily
    search, while on Facebook it isn't that easy.

    I hadn't thought of the lack of search (and sticky posts)
    before.

    I thought FB "groups" had search capability.

    I've just joined (or requested to join) an FB group to try


    facebook is actually easy to search for posts.

    I don't see a S)earch option in regular FB user accounts. But
    Groups are a different matter. However, even there, the S)earch
    seems to be limited to an initial post, not the comments.

    Telegram does a better job. ALL the posts (including replies)
    are included in a search.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Denn on Fri Feb 26 01:44:00 2021
    Hello Denn!

    ** On Monday 22.02.21 - 23:55, Denn wrote to Multiplemiggs:

    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about
    the crap and strange looks I've gotten over the years when
    someone finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter
    account..

    My cousin called me and told me to get on twitter, I posted
    Hi to his twitter feed then never used igain for over 4
    years, ..

    Ah.. there's part of the problem. You only posted "Hi". You
    were supposed to post somthing like this. "Hi. Ok.. I'm *here*
    now. What's so great about this place? What can you tell me
    that I don't already know? What do all these friggin' #hashtags
    mean? They clutter up everything." ..and get the conversation
    going!

    :D

    Then Covid-19 came and my company shut down for three
    months, I was bored so I started to use it. Then when they
    started to censor conservatives I left and cancelled it.
    I'm on Parler now sortof, might get off that as well. I
    droped facebook several years ago.

    Telegram is a fairly good alternative to the others. In
    addition to the native groups on Telegram, you can get access to
    a handful of actual Fidonet echos using the app on the device of
    your choice, even the desktop.

    To access the Fidonet echos, you need an invitation link. A few
    good entry points are:

    ASIAN_LINK - ASIAN_LINK is a friendly international Fidonet chat
    echo. All are welcome to participate.
    https://t.me/joinchat/TlC5K7EkqxOR8E4u

    CHAT - FIDONET: A general chat/discussion group. https://t.me/joinchat/Suaubh6lB15XdkGt

    COFFEE_KLATSCH - FIDONET: A general discussion echo. https://t.me/joinchat/R-fzkUrjKxsKKTw7

    FIDONET.TELEGRAM - A place for discussing accessing Fidonet using Telegram, and for modest
    experimentation. Language: English
    https://t.me/joinchat/TWCQfIK94npmrhs7

    Once you are in, you should notice a "bot" named Fido2telebot.
    Select that fellow and sent it a message that only contains
    %LIST. Within a few seconds to a few minutes, you will get a
    response with a list of "echos", some with full descriptions.
    From there, you will see which Fidonet echos are currently
    approved (just look for the word fidonet in the descriptions).
    The echo names match the fidonet tagnames that are in use. The
    list also includes some more non-backboned or specialty echos
    that the sysop is linking for his own entertainment, but you can
    ignore those if you like.

    If you send %HELP to the Fido2telebot entity, you will get
    information on how to configure your own tagline, welcome
    preamble, signature and [1] how to produce your own custom
    subject, [2] how to address a message to a specific person, [3]
    how to send netmail!

    The only gotcha is that you will need a device that can receive
    the initial SMS message to confirm your first-time sign-up with
    Telegram. But you don't need a phone to use the desktop app on
    a regular basis.


    --
    https://t.me/aabolins ..and join FIDONET via Telegram!

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Fri Feb 26 02:00:29 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 12:41 am

    facebook is actually easy to search for posts.

    I don't see a S)earch option in regular FB user accounts. But
    Groups are a different matter. However, even there, the S)earch

    no, you can no longer go on someone's profile and search all their posts.
    you used to be able to but stalkers abused it.

    you can search group posts with a text string and you can do a general search that does posts, user accounts and groups.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Feb 26 01:06:06 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dumas Walker on Mon Feb 22 2021 08:14 am

    George W Bush. Some of his followers, and several of his
    detractors, referred to him as "W".

    Not just perjoratively, but to distinguish him from his father, George H.W. Bush.

    I believe Rush start calling George W. Bush "W" and it caught fire from there.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 01:30:43 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Thu Feb 25 2021 10:29 pm

    If you're really in Europe like you said why does it matter to you?

    I don't care about US politics more than casual interest and some sentiment to my past stay in there. I picked this comment mostly because in the context of "FB sucks because..." reasons why FB sucks are not US driven only and not political only (aside of the fact that political censorship is not US-unique on social media).

    The last thing I wan't to hear is some forgigner comming in like an
    armchair Quarterback telling us about US politics.
    What country are you from?

    I come from Poland, and for all who dare to call us commies, we fucking killed communism in EU if you don't remember and unfortunately I live in the most Trump-alike political environment back in my country as well :>

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.
    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our crappy politic's thatn your own.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Multiplemiggs on Fri Feb 26 02:30:00 2021
    Hello Multiplemiggs!

    ** On Monday 22.02.21 - 22:48, Multiplemiggs wrote to MRO:

    The Social Media bug never bit me. I have to laugh about the
    crap and strange looks I've gotten over the years when
    someone finds out that I don't have a Facebook or twitter
    account. I'm on several different tech forums and they have
    slowed down a lot over the years moving to Facebook groups.

    I've used https://forum.thinkpads.com/ a while back, when I
    needed help with an aging T40 whose screen was blanking out. I
    connected with a fellow that does laptop repairs for a living,
    sent him the laptop, and it came back all lit up nice and
    pretty.

    I've hung around https://www.mac-forums.com when I had a project
    to revitalize an iMac G3 with wifi.

    Forums based software has excellent S)earch. The message
    listings are nice and compact and make efficient use of a
    computer screen.

    Even with that said I can't imagine signing up so I can be
    data mined and censored by Zuckerburg.

    Have you tried Telegram? There is no data-mining going on
    there. It's fairly open space. Group admins have the power to
    block anyone if they become a problem, otherwise you can create
    your own groups.

    --
    https://t.me/aabolins
    CHAT - https://t.me/joinchat/Suaubh6lB15XdkGt
    COFFEE_KLATSCH - https://t.me/joinchat/R-fzkUrjKxsKKTw7
    FIDONET.TELEGRAM - https://t.me/joinchat/TWCQfIK94npmrhs7


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 02:58:00 2021
    Hello hollowone!

    ** On Thursday 25.02.21 - 22:22, hollowone wrote to Ogg:

    PMFJI, have you tried the Fidonet/Telegram project? It
    brings (some) Fidonet echos to your smartphone/tablet or
    desktop via the Telegram app.

    No. I hear about Telegram gaining traction for a while.
    Still more observing where it goes than willing to adopt,
    but connecting it with FIDONET actually sounds interesting
    as a test.

    Perhaps you just convinced me to give it a try.

    Yes.. Please test! Your feedback on your experience would be
    appreciated. The FIDONET.TELEGRAM echo would be a good place to
    make your comments.

    The primary Fido2telebot bot also facilitates sending netmail to
    someone, *and* receiving netmail to your Telegram device.

    To register with Telegram for the first time requires access to
    a phone that can receive the initial registation/confirmation
    via SMS. After that's done, you really don't need to divulge
    your cell number anymore. You will only need it if you install
    the Telegram app on another device. I primarily like to use the
    desktop app which I've installed on 2 laptops and a standard pc.

    I also have it installed on a legacy Blackberry. The 2"x2"
    screen is not the greatest for working with long replies. But
    it's a great tool that gives me a headsup notice with its gentle
    tone when a new echomail arrives.

    Wrt the screen, people with modern smartphones can read messages
    in landscape and see the full width of the standard fidonet
    message. I can't do that with the 2"x2" Blackberry screen.

    Give it a try!

    --
    https://t.me/aabolins
    CHAT - https://t.me/joinchat/Suaubh6lB15XdkGt
    COFFEE_KLATSCH - https://t.me/joinchat/R-fzkUrjKxsKKTw7
    FIDONET.TELEGRAM - https://t.me/joinchat/TWCQfIK94npmrhs7

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to MRO on Fri Feb 26 13:32:00 2021
    MRO wrote to hollowone <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Thu Feb 25 2021 10:29 pm

    killed communism in EU if you don't remember and unfortunately I live in the most Trump-alike political environment back in my country as well :>

    i doubt you know what that is

    How I can describe it on top of my own country's experience:
    [1] Ultra conversative party movement rules all fronts of the government, incl. Prime Minister and President and majority of the house
    [2] All decisions are steered out from the back seat by the party leader who is turbo catholic, nationalistic wanna be patriot with Poland first attitude but only in the way how he understands or accepts definition of being a good citizen. All other versions of patriotism, national loyalty and value systems that are not approved by him are heavily distriminated publicly and more often legally
    [3] LGBT is chased and officially discredited, top politicians either claim it's a mental sickness or ideology if you're not straight
    [4] Abortion has been quite completely banned recently and claimed against the constitution which raised strikes and manifestations comparable to Black Lives Matter chaos you had there on your streets, just with a difference that cars were not torched and everybody tried to be peacefully marching while on the other side "white-power" nazi, extreme-right-winged hooligans were provoking or demonstrating violence and police instead of defending or helping to organize the marches was joining them quite often, sometimes incognito.
    [5] Mayor of Gdansk was stabbed 2 years on stage while having a public speech on a charity event to support children's health, by some right-winged maniac, just because that guy from from more liberal political view option.
    [6] Additionally these idiots (politicians) quite recently want to add a subject called 'Religion' as mandatory option to your maturity exam in high school, which definitively
    [7] Country is divided by supporters of this political direction and people who would like to abolish it as soon as possible almost equally, but right-winged, conservatists still win
    [8] Conservative supports call liberals 'the lefties', liberals call convervatives 'the nazis' and compare the current movements to NSDAP
    [9] Country is in continual political conflict with all neighbours
    [10] Right winged party is actually a socialist party, that spends a lot of money on social programs from direct money send to families with infants (to reverse demographic decline) through various other indirect programs including sending money to the Catholic Church to maintain support of the institution that is actively evangelising support both in the Church as well as in their religious-oriented media (TV,Radio, Internet)

    I think I know what trump-alike environment means, I even think we have worse. Some points sound and look like more like Trump supporter's best dream to fullfill,
    Some keep us closer to Iran and Turkey's current situation combined.

    Major economic crisis as a natural outcome after COVID and I expect huge revolution in the country which may implicate a civil war and bloodshed on the streets by people frustrated both by the political instability as well as economic uncertainty in all industries impacted by the pandemic.

    Some points sound familiar?

    /h1
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Denn on Fri Feb 26 13:34:00 2021
    I come from Poland, and for all who dare to call us commies, we fucking killed communism in EU if you don't remember and unfortunately I live in the most Trump-alike political environment back in my country as well :>

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.

    I just refered to some lad who called me EU commie.

    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our crappy politic's thatn your own.

    Read the other post to find similarities worth analysing.
    Also I lived in US for a while and spent there a lot of time to build enough sentiment to your emotion.

    Still, I'd like to disconnect it a bit from the discussion with question 'why to drop on FB/Twitter' a bit..

    .. as political reasons are obvious, I think people are less aware of the
    ther.

    cheers,
    h1
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 08:27:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to hollowone <=-

    I've been using Facebook since 2008 and still don't even have 200
    friends on my FB friends list. :P I don't just friend everyone
    though.. Most of the people on my friends list on FB are people I know
    in real life.

    For FB, I always had a policy that "If I'm not friends with you in real life, I'm not friends with you on Facebook."

    I've also dropped people I haven't interacted with in over a year.

    I think there's, maybe, 30 people in my friends list.

    The only reason I keep Facebook around is for the groups (I'm in lots of vintage/retro computer groups) and Mom (who can't really learn something else at this point).


    ... I'm sorry Mrs. Bobbitt, you can't send that in the mail.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From HusTler@VERT/HAVENS to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 07:44:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 2021 08:19 am

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Al Gore invented the Internet? I didn't get the memo. When was this? ;-)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Havens BBS havens.synchro.net
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Fri Feb 26 23:46:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6037AEB8.52599.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <6037625D.48871.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Thursday 25.02.21 - 19:02, Boraxman wrote to hollowone:

    Facebook, and Social Media in general is actually a fairly
    bad platform. Endless scrolling, then when you scroll up,
    its different, or it refreshes on you, giving you a
    different starting point. If there is something of
    interest, its gone later.

    I don't think it started out that way, but FB seems to have
    introduced a randomness to friend's feeds only recently. It
    ticks me off that when I seem to remember something posted by a
    friend, it's gone when I refresh my own feed. When I go to the
    friend's page, there is no S)earch option to find it.

    The groups are largely unsearchable. If you are on a
    Vintage Computer group, and you have a question, you have to
    ask.

    I've recently requested to join the BBSing 2.0 group. Hopefully
    Sean will have addressed the S)earch matter.

    You can't search the groups history easily to see if there
    is a previous thread. So its endless repeat questions. I
    find forums like VCFed much nicer. Forums are just better,
    period.

    Telegram groups are pretty good though! <BWG> As a new
    experiment, some echos are accessible via Telegram. Telegram's
    S)earch is pretty useful.

    Needing to register with your phone number has put me off Telegram. I did adittedly register with Signal, but I had to use a workaround to get the desktop client set up without using my phone. My phone is too old for QR codes, the Signal app, etc.

    I'm privacy conscious, so I'd prefer a service where you can just create an account as you could with MS Messenger, Yahoo, ICQ, etc.

    The irony is that the Internet is supposed to remember
    everything, but on these sites, everything dissappears into
    a morass. It's like wandering through a huge milling crowd,
    once you leave somewhere, it won't be there when you get
    back.

    Yes.. I find FB to be a mucky foggy mess. Nobody converses
    there. Most of the time it is just forwards of other people's
    memes. Recently, one person posted a picture they took of the
    moon. OK, it has pretty good detail. But here is what the
    responses look like:

    PART 1: https://susepaste.org/96894281
    PART 2: https://susepaste.org/53568919 (the expanded replies)

    The brief reply thread is funny, but ephemeral. Just one-liners.
    No conversation, really.

    PART 3: https://susepaste.org/5176879 (the rest of the roll).
    Just a few more +1 and some cheesy emoji-like replies. No
    conversation.

    If I wanted to revisit that again, I would probably have to wade
    through a pile of old posts in sequential order, constant screen refreshes, etc.

    The realtime nature of FB does allow banter, but that is quite vacuous. To think you need 1.5GHz with 2G of RAM at least just to say "nice moon"...

    The more I think about it, the more it strikes me just how
    BAD they are for what they do. The ONLY advantage that
    FaceBook offers is having everythingthrown together in one
    place.

    FB is primarily ok if people just want to "talk" in pictures, it
    seems.

    It's an easy entry-point to self-promote. A non-bbs way to have
    your own personal journal of sorts.

    And that is the last thing I'm interested in. I find most of the people I know on FB don't post, the few that do, most of it is garbage, or it ends up in debates.

    I really am on FB mostly just for memes, and for some special interest groups, but they usually just revolve around posting an image, another poll.

    I think that many of the "solutions" that FB is offering, were around for ages.
    It's repackaging in a shinier interface old ideas.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 23:52:00 2021
    hollowone wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60381928.29163.dove-general@amigacity.xyz>
    @REPLY: <6037625D.48871.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    I did look at MeWe a little while ago. I may have even created an
    account and asked people to move over to it. I faced the same problem
    as I did with Minds and GAB, namely that I didn't know anyone else
    there. As a result, I never really got to understand fully how it
    works.

    I will give it another try.

    THis is not advertising, everybody looks for alternatives for his own reasons and I see a blossoming number of them with minor success. I
    found MEWE interesting for topics not people, thus it not hurts me that I'd known anybody at the start.

    But I already have a few new friends originating from that site and I value conversation with them quite well I must say.

    I'll check it out again. I think I'd prefer a topic based site. I find "social media" more interesting when you can chat to new people you don't know, than those you do. Even though MSN Messenger wasn't designed for it, somehow I got to friend people I didn't know, and chat on and off for months, or years. I never got that with FB, though that may be me, not FB.

    I'd like to see a platform encourage new connections and conversations.

    The irony is that the Internet is supposed to remember everything, but
    on these sites, everything dissappears into a morass. It's like
    wandering through a huge milling crowd, once you leave somewhere, it
    won't be there when you get back.

    You just raised a very interesting point my friend. I was not thinking about it. Internet remembers everything rule is obviously known to me. THinking about FB remembers everything and gives you a shit back.. is something new to analyze with full mind awareness.

    Everything might be on archive.org, or on an NSA server somewhere, but a lot just gets hard to find. We might actually be at risk of a digital dark age!

    Newspapers stay on record, but how many of the websites from the 90s and early 2000s are still accessible?


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Sat Feb 27 00:06:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Ogg <=-

    @MSGID: <603828EB.3218.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <6037AEB8.52597.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 2021 08:23 am

    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Wednesday 24.02.21 - 05:44, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dream Master:

    ..In a forum (phpBB, vBulletin, etc.), you can easily
    search, while on Facebook it isn't that easy.

    I hadn't thought of the lack of search (and sticky posts)
    before.

    I thought FB "groups" had search capability.

    I've just joined (or requested to join) an FB group to try


    facebook is actually easy to search for posts.

    I must have missed it. Maybe it was staring me in the face and I didn't realise that the search was there.

    I do admit, despite being the type of person who writes FVWM configuration files and GUI scripts, codes in Assembler, C++, Qt, use advanced feature of Excel, when it comes to Facebook I'm like a Baby Boomer.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Denn on Sat Feb 27 00:10:00 2021
    Denn wrote to hollowone <=-

    @MSGID: <6038B1B3.20562.dove-general@outwestbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <60381928.29162.dove-general@amigacity.xyz>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on
    Thu Feb 25 2021 10:29 pm

    If you're really in Europe like you said why does it matter to you?

    I don't care about US politics more than casual interest and some sentiment to my past stay in there. I picked this comment mostly because in the context of "FB sucks because..." reasons why FB sucks are not US driven only and not political only (aside of the fact that political censorship is not US-unique on social media).

    The last thing I wan't to hear is some forgigner comming in like an
    armchair Quarterback telling us about US politics.
    What country are you from?

    I come from Poland, and for all who dare to call us commies, we fucking killed communism in EU if you don't remember and unfortunately I live in the most Trump-alike political environment back in my country as well :>

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.
    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our crappy politic's thatn your own.

    The USA is basically the new Roman Empire. Back then, everyone was interested in Rome.

    And like then, the Empire is in Decline.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Fri Feb 26 08:20:27 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Fri Feb 26 2021 02:00 am

    no, you can no longer go on someone's profile and search all their posts. you used to be able to but stalkers abused it.

    They've changed some things that I find a bit annoying. I can't even find where to go view my own photo albums that I've posted on Facebook anymore.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 11:11:31 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 01:32 pm

    the streets by people frustrated both by the political instability as well as economic uncertainty in all industries impacted by the pandemic.

    Some points sound familiar?

    no
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dr. What on Fri Feb 26 11:13:05 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 2021 08:27 am

    I've also dropped people I haven't interacted with in over a year.

    I think there's, maybe, 30 people in my friends list.

    The only reason I keep Facebook around is for the groups (I'm in lots of vintage/retro computer groups) and Mom (who can't really learn something else at this point).


    ... I'm sorry Mrs. Bobbitt, you can't send that in the mail.

    please encourage your peers to drop facebook. it's evil and they are out to control everybody and everything.

    i know it has some good points, but that's how they keep you.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to HusTler on Fri Feb 26 11:15:52 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: HusTler to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 2021 07:44 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Feb 25 2021 08:19 am

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Al Gore invented the Internet? I didn't get the memo. When was this? ;-)

    they misquoted him. he did help it along a lot. the federal govt pushed changes and gave money for expansion. i think this money was just pocketed and the customers paid for the expansions, though.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Fri Feb 26 11:20:12 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Sat Feb 27 2021 12:06 am

    facebook is actually easy to search for posts.

    I must have missed it. Maybe it was staring me in the face and I didn't realise that the search was there.

    I do admit, despite being the type of person who writes FVWM configuration

    i'll give you an example.

    i can type my friend's name in who killed himself in december.

    he has sons with his name also.

    so what facebook pulls up are all the profiles with this man's name on the top, then a sampling of posts of these people.... THEN posts with the man's name in the text, and below that they have the funeral home post with his funeral video.

    so that's pretty effective.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 11:21:35 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 08:20 am

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Ogg on Fri Feb 26 2021 02:00 am

    no, you can no longer go on someone's profile and search all their posts. you used to be able to but stalkers abused it.

    They've changed some things that I find a bit annoying. I can't even find where to go view my own photo albums that I've posted on Facebook anymore.

    Nightfox


    Yup it's confusing. i think the 'new thing' is hiding features.

    have you seen google pay lately? for me to add a bank account there's nothing in my settings anywhere. i have to actually attempt to send someone money and then choose add a new payment option.

    took me a long time to figure that out because i only use it to accept payments.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to BoonDock on Fri Feb 26 05:55:00 2021
    BoonDock wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    The way I see it, that critical mass is a dis not ad vantage.
    It's kinda like the Darwin awards. If you're too stupid to find it, you shouldn't be here....

    Oh, that was a big part of BBSing back when I started out. No one had heard
    of the internet back then, and most people didn't even understand modems. TO find someone in meatspace that understood what you were talking about when
    you mentioned online spaces was special. It was like having a shared secret that most people didn't know.


    ... Genesis turns to its source, reduction occurs stepwise though the essence --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 05:55:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    MIND.BLOWN.


    ... Two protons expelled at each coupling site creates the mode of force
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Feb 26 20:13:31 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to BoonDock on Fri Feb 26 2021 05:55:00

    Oh, that was a big part of BBSing back when I started out. No one had heard of the internet back then, and most people didn't even understand modems. TO find someone in meatspace that understood what you were talking about when you mentioned online spaces was special. It was like having a shared secret that most people didn't know.
    We're going back to that.

    We (the BBS/Fido/Echo people) invented so many of the concepts that morphed into what became known as the Internet. Tim Berners Lee killed it by making it too easy for the masses/advertisers.

    One of the reasons that I'm keen to go back to the BBS is that it is a distributed, store-and-forward network that is controlled by no central authority. Want to run a private BBS conneced to no-one else (check), want to connect to a network of like-minded people (check), etc...

    The original concepts of being able to speak to people of like mind without anyone centralised or big-buiness having a say are encapsulated in the technology and mindset. I see it as us taking back control.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... I want to be what I was when I started to be what I am now.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Fri Feb 26 12:28:12 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 2021 11:21 am

    Yup it's confusing. i think the 'new thing' is hiding features.

    have you seen google pay lately? for me to add a bank account there's nothing in my settings anywhere. i have to actually attempt to send someone money and then choose add a new payment option.

    took me a long time to figure that out because i only use it to accept payments.

    I don't use Google Pay very often, and I had already added a couple payment methods to it. I haven't looked at its configuration settings recently, but it's annoying when they start hiding things.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Daryl Stout@VERT/TBOLT to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 12:29:00 2021
    No. I hear about Telegram gaining traction for a while. Still more observing where it goes than willing to adopt, but connecting it with FIDONET actually sounds interesting as a test.

    I used it for a time with a ham radio weather group, but since I got
    burned out on the weather end of things, and am no longer part of that
    group, I no longer use Telegram.

    Daryl, WX4QZ

    ... I used to have an open mind; my brains kept falling out.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net
  • From Daryl Stout@VERT/TBOLT to Dr. What on Fri Feb 26 12:31:00 2021
    For FB, I always had a policy that "If I'm not friends with you in real life, I'm not friends with you on Facebook."

    That's basically what I've done.

    I think there's, maybe, 30 people in my friends list.

    I don't have any...they can message me through Messenger, but I zapped
    the Friends List, as I was getting slammed by messages to "like, share,
    view, and click on this". All this occurred right before my Mom died just
    over a year and a half ago, and I felt "enough is enough".

    The only reason I keep Facebook around is for the groups (I'm in lots
    of vintage/retro computer groups) and Mom (who can't really learn something else at this point).

    I was my late Mom's computer guru, and several of my ham radio nets have Facebook groups. I also keep in touch with family and classmates from long
    ago, but I don't spend as much time on it as I used to.

    Daryl, WX4QZ

    ... A Steak Sandwich: A Porterhouse between 2 Ribeyes.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 14:58:22 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Feb 26 2021 08:13 pm

    One of the reasons that I'm keen to go back to the BBS is that it is a distributed, store-and-forward network that is controlled by no central authority. Want to run a private BBS conneced to no-one else (check), want to connect to a network of like-minded people (check), etc...

    yeah but the isp can shut you down if it wants.

    bbses are boring and people dont want to use them. that's just a fact.
    we dont give the people what they want.

    i would rather be at my desk at work watching funny videos

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to MRO on Fri Feb 26 21:57:00 2021
    MRO wrote to hollowone <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 01:32 pm

    the streets by people frustrated both by the political instability as well as economic uncertainty in all industries impacted by the pandemic.

    Some points sound familiar?

    no

    Perhaps US news I had a chance to watch through last few years were from Moldavia. Looked a bit like.

    /h1

    ... High Heel or Hell Water
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to MRO on Fri Feb 26 21:26:53 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 2021 14:58:22

    yeah but the isp can shut you down if it wants.

    The beauty is I can take my laptop and hook onto any wifi I can access and, beause it's store and forward, the messages get transferred.

    This is also why private mesh networks are so important.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Construct a system that even a fool can use and only a fool will want to.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Fri Feb 26 16:35:08 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 2021 02:58 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Feb 26 2021 08:13 pm

    One of the reasons that I'm keen to go back to the BBS is that it is a distributed, store-and-forward network that is controlled by no central authority. Want to run a private BBS conneced to no-one else (check), wan to connect to a network of like-minded people (check), etc...

    yeah but the isp can shut you down if it wants.

    bbses are boring and people dont want to use them. that's just a fact.
    we dont give the people what they want.

    i would rather be at my desk at work watching funny videos

    May I ask what are you doign here? Just curious, since, you know, you think this is boring :-P

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 19:32:17 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 12:28 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 2021 11:21 am

    Yup it's confusing. i think the 'new thing' is hiding features.

    have you seen google pay lately? for me to add a bank account there's nothing in my settings anywhere. i have to actually attempt to send someone money and then choose add a new payment option.

    took me a long time to figure that out because i only use it to accept payments.

    I don't use Google Pay very often, and I had already added a couple payment methods to it. I haven't looked at its configuration settings recently, but it's annoying when they start hiding things.


    my friend pays me with it every month. i really hate what they've done with the app. it was great before.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 19:34:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 09:26 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 2021 14:58:22

    yeah but the isp can shut you down if it wants.

    The beauty is I can take my laptop and hook onto any wifi I can access and, beause it's store and forward, the messages get transferred.

    This is also why private mesh networks are so important.


    what if they record some type of signature that mailers use and filter it from the internet?

    they could do it easily if they cared to.

    so you try to connect to a bbs, or you try to send you packets and you lose your internet connection and nothing happens.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Fri Feb 26 19:35:24 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 04:35 pm

    we dont give the people what they want.

    i would rather be at my desk at work watching funny videos

    May I ask what are you doign here? Just curious, since, you know, you think this is boring :-P


    i like complaining and this only takes up 1 minute of my time a day
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to MRO on Sat Feb 27 01:51:38 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 2021 19:34:55

    what if they record some type of signature that mailers use and filter it from the internet?
    Another initiative to look at is Nebula (It's on GitHub if you're interested) for creating virual private overlay networks.
    I could quite easily see the Nebula software wrapped into the BBS software so that we run on a private network by default.

    We're cleverr than "them"...

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Chuck Norris knows the last digit of pi.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From multiplemiggs@VERT/BTTMLSS to Ogg on Fri Feb 26 21:26:00 2021
    Have you tried Telegram? There is no data-mining going on
    there. It's fairly open space. Group admins have the power to
    block anyone if they become a problem, otherwise you can create
    your own groups.

    --
    https://t.me/aabolins
    CHAT - https://t.me/joinchat/Suaubh6lB15XdkGt
    COFFEE_KLATSCH - https://t.me/joinchat/R-fzkUrjKxsKKTw7
    FIDONET.TELEGRAM - https://t.me/joinchat/TWCQfIK94npmrhs7


    I haven't tried Telegram yet. The forums that I'm on are still active enough to stick around. In the last month or so I've probably spent more time on
    BBS's than I have on the internet.

    I like the sound of your Thinkpad T40. I had a T23 and it was sure a nice laptop.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 22:46:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to MRO on Sat Feb 27 2021 01:51 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 2021 19:34:55

    what if they record some type of signature that mailers use and filter it from the internet?
    Another initiative to look at is Nebula (It's on GitHub if you're interested) for creating virual private overlay networks.
    I could quite easily see the Nebula software wrapped into the BBS software so that we run on a private network by default.

    We're cleverr than "them"...


    yeah it takes months for them to decide what to do and a much shorter time for the opposing side to make a small change.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Fri Feb 26 20:52:53 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Fri Feb 26 2021 02:58 pm

    bbses are boring and people dont want to use them. that's just a fact.
    we dont give the people what they want.

    i would rather be at my desk at work watching funny videos

    BBSing is a hobby these days, and any hobby is only really interesting to the people who are interested in it, and probably boring to anyone else. Even back when BBSes were in their heyday, there were probably people who thought BBSes were boring.

    You seem to use your BBS to read and post messages a lot. I use mine for that quite a bit, so I wouldn't say I'd rather be doing something else. There are other things I like doing, but sometimes I like reading & posting messages. I'm not much into playing door games, but I like hosting them (and honestly, I never was big into BBS door games, even in the BBS heyday).

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Sat Feb 27 10:57:11 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Fri Feb 26 2021 08:52 pm

    i would rather be at my desk at work watching funny videos

    BBSing is a hobby these days, and any hobby is only really interesting to the people who are interested in it, and probably boring to anyone else. Even back when BBSes were in their heyday, there were probably people who thought BBSes were boring.


    this isnt really a hobby. this is the remains of what was once a hobby.

    You seem to use your BBS to read and post messages a lot. I use mine for that quite a bit, so I wouldn't say I'd rather be doing something else. There are other things I like doing, but sometimes I like reading & posting messages.

    i am doing something else right now while writing this.

    and edge of oblivion is my bbs, bbses.info is one of my bbses, but it's not the one i consider home. i cut msg nets from all my bbses. there's an over saturation of cliques and just the same people everywhere. gets real boring.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Sat Feb 27 09:03:00 2021
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Friday 26.02.21 - 23:46, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    Telegram groups are pretty good though! <BWG> As a new
    experiment, some echos are accessible via Telegram.
    Telegram's S)earch is pretty useful.

    Needing to register with your phone number has put me off
    Telegram. I did adittedly register with Signal, but I had
    to use a workaround to get the desktop client set up without
    using my phone. My phone is too old for QR codes, the
    Signal app, etc.

    The registration is only one-time for the purposes of sending
    you a 5-digit code via SMS. You could try some of the virtual
    phone number services and have the SMS sent to one of those.
    OR.. you could use someone else's phone; but ideally it would be
    best to use a phone number that you have control over.

    I was also reluctant to "expose" the number of my Blackberry. I
    don't use the phone for anything else except mobile data. I was
    concerned that I might start getting spam and telemarketer
    calls. But in the end, I haven't received a single problem.

    As you mentioned, Signal does the same thing upon first use. But
    unlike Telegram, Signal forces you to install their app on a
    phone for initial use. With Telegram, you can start to use any
    app (even desktop) if you like.

    One caveat with using the virtual phone number route. If you
    want to add the Telegram app on another device later on and have
    those two devices synchronized (which is the coolest feature of
    Telegram), you have to use the same phone number that you used
    when you registered the 1st device.

    I'm privacy conscious, so I'd prefer a service where you can
    just create an account as you could with MS Messenger,
    Yahoo, ICQ, etc.

    Privacy conscious here too! But there is nothing private about
    using Messenger, Yahoo, icq, etc. You might think it is just
    because aliases are allowed? For the freedom of "just create an
    account" ..they garnish a lot of info about you based on the
    browser you're using, the IP address, etc. ..and monitor your
    subsequent activities on parter sites and services.

    Anyway.. echos in the fidonet linkup follow the rules of the
    moderator. So, if aliases are allowed - then fine. But if a
    "real name" is required, then fidonet is not for you anyway.

    But the cool thing about the fidonet linkup is that your
    messages would appear to come from one specific BBS. Your
    geolocation is not disclosed.

    PART 3: https://susepaste.org/5176879 (the rest of the
    roll). Just a few more +1 and some cheesy emoji-like
    replies. No conversation.

    If I wanted to revisit that again, I would probably have
    to wade through a pile of old posts in sequential order,
    constant screen refreshes, etc.

    The realtime nature of FB does allow banter, but that is
    quite vacuous. To think you need 1.5GHz with 2G of RAM at
    least just to say "nice moon"...

    I concur. Oh, the irony of it all.

    FB is primarily ok if people just want to "talk" in
    pictures, it seems. It's an easy entry-point to self-
    promote. A non-bbs way to have your own personal journal
    of sorts.

    And that is the last thing I'm interested in. I find most
    of the people I know on FB don't post, the few that do, most
    of it is garbage, or it ends up in debates.

    I'm still hanging on to it as a kind of phonebook, just incase I
    need to reach one of those acquaintences or friends. But now I
    am inspired to drop the ones that have never posted to me or
    demonstrated that they are even interested in communications.

    I really am on FB mostly just for memes, and for some
    special interest groups, but they usually just revolve
    around posting an image, another poll.

    Vacuous, isn't it. :/

    I think that many of the "solutions" that FB is offering,
    were around for ages. It's repackaging in a shinier
    interface old ideas.

    Yes.. FB seems "easy" for the masses. But sometimes I feel that
    many people that I encounter using a computer shouldn't be using
    a computer!




    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to HUSTLER on Sat Feb 27 16:16:00 2021
    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Al Gore invented the Internet? I didn't get the memo. When was this? ;-)

    Once upon a time he claimed he invented it.


    * SLMR 2.1a * "Excellent...excellent..." - Mr. Burns

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to BOONDOCK on Sat Feb 27 16:25:00 2021
    One of the reasons that I'm keen to go back to the BBS is that it is a distrib
    ed, store-and-forward network that is controlled by no central authority. Want
    o run a private BBS conneced to no-one else (check), want to connect to a netw
    k of like-minded people (check), etc...

    The original concepts of being able to speak to people of like mind without an
    ne centralised or big-buiness having a say are encapsulated in the technology d mindset. I see it as us taking back control.

    This.


    * SLMR 2.1a * "We use language??" - Beavis

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Daryl Stout@VERT/TBOLT to Ogg on Sat Feb 27 18:28:00 2021
    Yes.. FB seems "easy" for the masses. But sometimes I feel that
    many people that I encounter using a computer shouldn't be using
    a computer!

    Reminds me of the story who had so much difficulty trying to get a
    computer work (never mind plugging it in, powering it up, then to
    install stuff)...who was told by the "tech support" to "Box the
    computer back up, and take it back for a refund. You're too stupid
    to own a computer".

    He got fired for that.

    Some other crazy things:

    1) They insert their credit card or drivers license into the floppy
    drive, thinking it's "the ATM thingy".

    2) They think the CD/DVD deal is "a cup holder".

    3) They plug a power strip into itself, and can't figure out why it
    doesn't work.

    Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it helps mask the noise. <G>

    Daryl

    ... Free Idiot Test Here: Insert $5 to begin.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Dumas Walker on Sun Feb 28 01:47:03 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dumas Walker to BOONDOCK on Sat Feb 27 2021 16:25:00

    This.

    Glad we are of like mind!

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Gossip is when you hear something you like about someone you don't.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Sun Feb 28 22:00:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <603A511D.52721.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <6038F3D5.48966.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Friday 26.02.21 - 23:46, Boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    Telegram groups are pretty good though! <BWG> As a new
    experiment, some echos are accessible via Telegram.
    Telegram's S)earch is pretty useful.

    Needing to register with your phone number has put me off
    Telegram. I did adittedly register with Signal, but I had
    to use a workaround to get the desktop client set up without
    using my phone. My phone is too old for QR codes, the
    Signal app, etc.

    The registration is only one-time for the purposes of sending
    you a 5-digit code via SMS. You could try some of the virtual
    phone number services and have the SMS sent to one of those.
    OR.. you could use someone else's phone; but ideally it would be
    best to use a phone number that you have control over.

    I was also reluctant to "expose" the number of my Blackberry. I
    don't use the phone for anything else except mobile data. I was
    concerned that I might start getting spam and telemarketer
    calls. But in the end, I haven't received a single problem.

    As you mentioned, Signal does the same thing upon first use. But
    unlike Telegram, Signal forces you to install their app on a
    phone for initial use. With Telegram, you can start to use any
    app (even desktop) if you like.

    I was able to get Signal working without installing it on the phone. My phone can't run the Signal app, so it wasn't an option anyway.

    It involved downloading a Signal command line tool, and using a desktop QR reader to get the URI or something. It ended up working.

    ICQ, Messenger did send in plain text but I think there was an encryption option for MSN. It's been a while, so I can't remember the details, but Pidgin had some encryption support.

    One caveat with using the virtual phone number route. If you
    want to add the Telegram app on another device later on and have
    those two devices synchronized (which is the coolest feature of
    Telegram), you have to use the same phone number that you used
    when you registered the 1st device.

    I'm privacy conscious, so I'd prefer a service where you can
    just create an account as you could with MS Messenger,
    Yahoo, ICQ, etc.

    Privacy conscious here too! But there is nothing private about
    using Messenger, Yahoo, icq, etc. You might think it is just
    because aliases are allowed? For the freedom of "just create an
    account" ..they garnish a lot of info about you based on the
    browser you're using, the IP address, etc. ..and monitor your
    subsequent activities on parter sites and services.

    Anyway.. echos in the fidonet linkup follow the rules of the
    moderator. So, if aliases are allowed - then fine. But if a
    "real name" is required, then fidonet is not for you anyway.

    But the cool thing about the fidonet linkup is that your
    messages would appear to come from one specific BBS. Your
    geolocation is not disclosed.

    PART 3: https://susepaste.org/5176879 (the rest of the
    roll). Just a few more +1 and some cheesy emoji-like
    replies. No conversation.

    If I wanted to revisit that again, I would probably have
    to wade through a pile of old posts in sequential order,
    constant screen refreshes, etc.


    The need to use real names on FidoNet is a bit of a concern for political discussion. The other problem is that I signed up for the BBS with an alias, so it uses the alias by default.

    The realtime nature of FB does allow banter, but that is
    quite vacuous. To think you need 1.5GHz with 2G of RAM at
    least just to say "nice moon"...

    I concur. Oh, the irony of it all.

    FB is primarily ok if people just want to "talk" in
    pictures, it seems. It's an easy entry-point to self-
    promote. A non-bbs way to have your own personal journal
    of sorts.

    And that is the last thing I'm interested in. I find most
    of the people I know on FB don't post, the few that do, most
    of it is garbage, or it ends up in debates.

    I'm still hanging on to it as a kind of phonebook, just incase I
    need to reach one of those acquaintences or friends. But now I
    am inspired to drop the ones that have never posted to me or
    demonstrated that they are even interested in communications.

    Same here. There are some relatives and friends interstate and overseas that I can contact by Facebook, if need be. That it really the only good reason that prevents me from deleting it.

    I really am on FB mostly just for memes, and for some
    special interest groups, but they usually just revolve
    around posting an image, another poll.

    Vacuous, isn't it. :/

    I think that many of the "solutions" that FB is offering,
    were around for ages. It's repackaging in a shinier
    interface old ideas.

    Yes.. FB seems "easy" for the masses. But sometimes I feel that
    many people that I encounter using a computer shouldn't be using
    a computer!

    I think the popularising of computing for the masses, making it into a consumer product was a big mistake. But that is another discussion...

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Boraxman on Sun Feb 28 10:22:58 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Ogg on Sun Feb 28 2021 10:00 pm

    The need to use real names on FidoNet is a bit of a concern for political discussion. The other problem is that I signed up for the BBS with an alias, so it uses the alias by default.

    I've seen some people on Fidonet say you can use a "real sounding" name on Fidonet, but it doesn't necessarily have to be your real name.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 06:55:00 2021
    Boondock wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    One of the reasons that I'm keen to go back to the BBS is that it is a distributed, store-and-forward network that is controlled by no central authority. Want to run a private BBS conneced to no-one else (check),
    want to connect to a network of like-minded people (check), etc...

    The original concepts of being able to speak to people of like mind without anyone centralised or big-buiness having a say are encapsulated
    in the technology and mindset. I see it as us taking back control.

    I've thought about taking a month away from commercial social media and checking out the Fediverse. I have a feeling that people may be a little
    more like the early dialup communities I enjoyed back when I was starting
    out.


    ... How would someone else do it?
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 07:49:00 2021
    Boondock wrote to MRO <=-

    The beauty is I can take my laptop and hook onto any wifi I can access and, beause it's store and forward, the messages get transferred.

    When my home network was down because of an extended power outage, I was
    able to take my BBS (which is running on a laptop), connect to a coffeeshop wifi, and send/receive packets once a day.

    Not a problem with that BBS-on-a-phone!


    ... How would someone else do it?
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 07:52:00 2021
    Boondock wrote to MRO <=-

    Another initiative to look at is Nebula (It's on GitHub if you're interested) for creating virual private overlay networks. I could quite easily see the Nebula software wrapped into the BBS software so that we run on a private network by default.

    Isn't that like ZeroNet?

    Enabling TLS/SSL might be a good first step. I could imagine setting up HSTS on the web server, binkp with SSL, encrypted mail/IRC protocols, and
    figuring out how to set up telnet as sign-up only.

    If there was a good way to encrypt telnet and still allow the newuser
    process I'd be happy.


    ... How would someone else do it?
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 23:05:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 2021 07:49:00

    When my home network was down because of an extended power outage, I was able to take my BBS (which is running on a laptop), connect to a coffeeshop wifi, and send/receive packets once a day.
    Awesome, and exactly what I was talking about.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Schizophrenia divides and rules, OK?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 23:07:28 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 2021 07:52:00

    Isn't that like ZeroNet?
    No, not as far as I am aware.

    If there was a good way to encrypt telnet and still allow the newuser process I'd be happy.
    Take a careful look at Nebula. Open source, written in Go.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 17:27:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 2021 07:52 am

    Another initiative to look at is Nebula (It's on GitHub if you're interested) for creating virual private overlay networks. I could quite easily see the Nebula software wrapped into the BBS software so that we run on a private network by default.

    Isn't that like ZeroNet?

    zeronet is a msg network if you're referring to the bbs one.
    If there was a good way to encrypt telnet and still allow the newuser process I'd be happy.

    tiny does it.
    you can do it with netserial
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Boraxman on Sun Feb 28 15:31:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Ogg <=-

    The need to use real names on FidoNet is a bit of a concern for
    political discussion. The other problem is that I signed up for the
    BBS with an alias, so it uses the alias by default.

    I don't know why fido folk get all bent on real names. Not every echo has
    that requirement. If that is a rule and you can't change the way the BBS presents your name it should be enough to use your real name in your
    signature or when you sign off.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Plagiarism prohibited, derive carefully.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boondock on Sun Feb 28 20:29:11 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 2021 11:05 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 2021 07:49:00

    When my home network was down because of an extended power outage, I was able to take my BBS (which is running on a laptop), connect to a coffeeshop wifi, and send/receive packets once a day.
    Awesome, and exactly what I was talking about.

    Boondock


    you can just do a wifi hotspot on your phone
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Denn on Sun Feb 28 22:57:33 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 2021 01:30 am

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.
    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our crappy politic's thatn your own.

    It's quite easy to figure out, actually. I am in the same situation being an outsider as no one wants, or has enough knowledge, to discuss European politics on Dovenet. That's why you have Canadians, Brits, Poles, Aussies and Spaniards here commenting on US politics.

    If you'd like to discuss British, Polish or Spanish politics, I would happily join in. There you can criticise the crappy decision making of other governments rather than just your own.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to MRO on Mon Mar 1 03:47:02 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Sun Feb 28 2021 20:29:11

    you can just do a wifi hotspot on your phone

    Lots of places around the world that's not possible. They specifically disable tethering, especially pay-as-you-go services.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... I got some powdered water, but I don't know what to add.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Sun Feb 28 22:23:14 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Denn on Sun Feb 28 2021 10:57 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 2021 01:30 am

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.
    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our crappy politic's thatn your own.

    It's quite easy to figure out, actually. I am in the same situation being an outsider as no one wants, or has enough knowledge, to discuss European politics on Dovenet. That's why you have Canadians, Brits, Poles, Aussies and Spaniards here commenting on US politics.


    no they do it because they like to shit on the usa and not think about their craphole country.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 21:03:16 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 2021 07:49 am

    Not a problem with that BBS-on-a-phone!

    Or, BBS in the Cloud ... :) AWS here.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 21:06:02 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Sat Feb 27 2021 07:52 am

    Enabling TLS/SSL might be a good first step. I could imagine setting up HSTS on the web server, binkp with SSL, encrypted mail/IRC protocols, and figuring out how to set up telnet as sign-up only.

    If there was a good way to encrypt telnet and still allow the newuser process I'd be happy.

    Why are we so bent out of shape about security when it comes to BBSes? The majority of our communication is either QWK or FTN. If QWK, the weakest link is the one BBS that has no security configured. FTN, pretty much the same thing. We may enable TLS, HSTS, etc., is great, but we still have to think about that one system.

    It's like having an ANY:ANY rule in your DMZ.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Dream Master on Mon Mar 1 05:18:41 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 2021 21:06:02

    Why are we so bent out of shape about security when it comes to BBSes? The majority of our communication is either QWK or FTN. If QWK, the weakest

    I'm not so worried about the "security" so much, but rather the denial of service. If the traffic is encrypted, then it is a LOT harder to filter and/or block.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Xerox your life. If you lose it, you'll still have a copy.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Dream Master on Sun Feb 28 23:04:21 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 28 2021 09:06 pm

    If there was a good way to encrypt telnet and still allow the newuser
    process I'd be happy.

    Why are we so bent out of shape about security when it comes to BBSes? The majority of our communication is either QWK or FTN. If QWK, the weakest link is the one BBS that has no security configured. FTN, pretty much the same thing. We may enable TLS, HSTS, etc., is great, but we still have to think about that one system.

    QWK and FTN does the work of getting messages from BBS to BBS.

    There is such a thing as secure telnet, it uses port 994 by default if I remember right. It's been around a long time but it has never caught on. It would be a good thing to secure the ports used by users but of course old telnet clients will never support it.

    I recently saw a ticket on the syncterm sourceforge site that made me think it might make it's way into syncterm and/or synchronet.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Enter any 12 digit prime number to continue

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Vk3jed@VERT/FREEWAY to Nightfox on Mon Mar 1 18:10:00 2021
    On 02-28-21 10:22, Nightfox wrote to Boraxman <=-

    I've seen some people on Fidonet say you can use a "real sounding" name
    on Fidonet, but it doesn't necessarily have to be your real name.

    Yeah, I had an account with a pseudonym "real name" back in the early 90s for more sensitive discussions. No one on Fidonet ever queried it.


    ... Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Freeway BBS, Bendigo Australia. freeway.apana.org.au
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Andeddu on Mon Mar 1 02:59:43 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Denn on Sun Feb 28 2021 10:57 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to hollowone on Fri Feb 26 2021 01:30 am

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.
    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our crappy politic's thatn your own.

    It's quite easy to figure out, actually. I am in the same situation being an outsider as no one wants, or has enough knowled
    to discuss European politics on Dovenet. That's why you have Canadians, Brits, Poles, Aussies and Spaniards here commenting
    US politics.

    If you'd like to discuss British, Polish or Spanish politics, I would happily join in. There you can criticise the crappy
    decision making of other governments rather than just your own.


    Main reason why I don' discuss Spanish politics mush is because nobody brings them up :-P I tried back in the day in some FIDO
    place but nobody is interested to pick the thread.

    Also I think Spain is a lost cause. Be have been bent in a self-destruction spree since the end of Big Austrias, with
    (officially recognized) fake democracies, fascists, and now a social-communist government. I don't think there is much fixing
    it anymore so I don't bring the subject up more. Besides, I feel culturally missaligned with local society by miles, to the
    point I sometimes feel like a foreigner in this place, so I no longer give a damn. Maybe I consumed too many cultural products
    from the US and UK when I was a kid, dunno.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boondock on Mon Mar 1 03:02:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to MRO on Mon Mar 01 2021 03:47 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Sun Feb 28 2021 20:29:11

    you can just do a wifi hotspot on your phone

    Lots of places around the world that's not possible. They specifically disable tethering, especially pay-as-you-go services.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... I got some powdered water, but I don't know what to add.


    Sometimes you can dodge those limits.

    Neat trick: configure a proxy in your phone, enable a hotspot (with your computer set up with a firewall that allows no
    connection to the Internet, only to the proxy), then connect your computer to the proxy on the phone.

    The carrier will only see a connection originating from the phone, which will in truth be the proxy fecthing websites on behalf
    of the workstation (or whatever have you).

    I havent tried it but it sounds doable. There is also people doing ncat tricks in order to use other protocols other than http
    and https.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Arelor on Mon Mar 1 15:04:00 2021
    Also I think Spain is a lost cause.

    Just curious, why Spain is a lost cause?

    /h1
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From DalinFasdah@VERT to hollowone on Mon Mar 1 07:29:13 2021
    The only drawback of Spain's policy is the policy of attracting immigrants and refugees.By these actions, Spain devalues the work of its own people.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net
  • From DalinFasdah@VERT to hollowone on Mon Mar 1 07:30:31 2021
    Statistics: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/spain-forging-immigration-policy
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Al on Mon Mar 1 08:25:08 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Al to Dream Master on Sun Feb 28 2021 11:04 pm

    There is such a thing as secure telnet, it uses port 994 by default if I remember right. It's been around a long time but it has never caught on. It would be a good thing to secure the ports used by users but of course old telnet clients will never support it.

    I recently saw a ticket on the syncterm sourceforge site that made me think it might make it's way into syncterm and/or synchronet.

    What's the difference between secure telnet and SSH?

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to hollowone on Mon Mar 1 11:20:54 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Arelor on Mon Mar 01 2021 03:04 pm

    Also I think Spain is a lost cause.

    Just curious, why Spain is a lost cause?

    /h1

    A bunch of small details that, once put together, make things look bleak. ALso, the general tendency of the country has been to suck more and more and more since the 16th century or so. We had a bit of an improvement with our transition to Democracy, but nothing to write home about.

    Here is the thing: our current constitution was writen as to impose Democracy in such a way that none of the signers would hate it so much as to start yet another Spanish Civil war (it sorta failed at that because we had a failed cup by General Tejero). So instead of a coherent document with a bill of rights we got a franken-constitution and the Autonomic System. Think of the Autonomic System as a Federal System in which the government controls it all but delegates specific things on each "state" (it is not like that exactly, but for a quick explanation it will do). The direct consequence is that some autonomies are granted powers by the government that other autonomies lack, which creates a severe, structural power imbalance. I mean, autonomies that have their own tax office or standing police forces in which the "federal" authorities are not allowed in, and other autonomies in which there is no standing anything.

    There is also the fact that the way our "Congress" is elected was severely rigged in favor of certain factions from the get go when the constitutionw as signed, because those factions would have waged war if given the chance otherwise. This ensures there is always a set of powerful separatist factions in government.

    Since there are lots of separatists in "COngress", big parties usually need to reach agreements with them in order to pass laws and build governments. Since each separatist group tries to better their own autonomy even if it means screwing everybody else in the process, and big parties are perfectly happy to give some of them whatever they ask for as long as they get to rule, the result is that power imbalances swing harder each time.

    Also we are notorious for our lack of juridical stability. Spanish is known to be a bad place for taking long positions (ie long term investments, creating long term businesses) because the government will change the rules of the game anytime they see fit, tax agencies are notorious for charging people with bullshit charges because they know paying the "protection" is easier and cheaper than taking the cases to court.

    We also must have some of the laziest judges on Earth. Seriously, I have seen people who got accused instead of labeled a witness because the judge was tired and wanted to go have lunch, and signing somedy as defendant was faster for
    the judge than filling him as witness. Or people who is called to court as defendants but are not told what they are accused for.

    Also, our government is bound to be an ideological monopoly. By this I mean, the big parties are mostly different brands of the same ideological background. This means there may be disagreements but there is no real opposition anymore if the one that has the chair wants to do something stupid. As long as they can purchase some small factions so the votes add up, they can keep their chair and all is good.

    Also the population is lazy and untrustworthy and we like partying too much and working too little. Full disclosure: I am a millenial, so you can't argue I am an old grandpa yelling "get off my lawn" at kids here.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to DalinFasdah on Mon Mar 1 11:23:59 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: DalinFasdah to hollowone on Mon Mar 01 2021 07:29 am

    The only drawback of Spain's policy is the policy of attracting immigrants a refugees.By these actions, Spain devalues the work of its own people.


    I wish it was only immigration policies which was the problem.

    Lots of the illegals we get, we export north anyway.

    We are a strategic position which serves as a bridge that links Europe and Africa for the traffic of counterfeits, drugs, slaves etc, so it is not a great arrangement.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to DalinFasdah on Mon Mar 1 18:44:53 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: DalinFasdah to hollowone on Mon Mar 01 2021 07:29:13

    The only drawback of Spain's policy is the policy of attracting immigrants and refugees.By these actions, Spain devalues the work of its own people.

    I have some experience of this from the other side.
    Tried to get a visa to visit about a year and a half back, and the process was completely ridiculous.

    I have some friends who have just moved there, and have got their residency status, and some of the things that they tell me made me glad I didn't do the same.
    One of the things that is driving them batty is the huge amount of governnment tracking and interference. Worse than the bloody Mandarins!

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Nightfox on Mon Mar 1 11:19:26 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Al on Mon Mar 01 2021 08:25 am

    I recently saw a ticket on the syncterm sourceforge site that made
    me think it might make it's way into syncterm and/or synchronet.

    What's the difference between secure telnet and SSH?

    In the case of Synchronet and a few others we have SSH so I don't think we have a big need.

    As far as I have seen the BBS world is still mainly using telnet.

    The ticket I was reading was for another BBS type, I forget now what that was but it supported secure telnet so that is why Deuce was considering it.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Wars are not fought to decide who is right - only who is left

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Dux@VERT/PATHUNKN to Boondock on Mon Mar 1 16:57:45 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Feb 26 2021 08:13 pm

    One of the reasons that I'm keen to go back to the BBS is that it is a distributed, store-and-forward network that is controlled by no central authority. Want to run a private BBS conneced to no-one else (check), want

    This connected-island mentality is a reason I like to run my own website for my hobbies/info vs. using a platform -- sure it's less social, it's more obscure, but you have far more control (particularly over how it is used/marketed)

    The trick w/ BBS' is that they do rely on another layer to work (both for end users and interconnection) -- initially POTS and now Internet -- unless you're using amateur radio, but that really has a tough time w/ volumes of users/data and propagation.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ pathunknown.net
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Dux on Mon Mar 1 20:12:28 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dux to Boondock on Mon Mar 01 2021 16:57:45

    The trick w/ BBS' is that they do rely on another layer to work (both for end users and interconnection) -- initially POTS and now Internet -- unless you're using amateur radio, but that really has a tough time w/ volumes of users/data and propagation.

    Of course there has to be a transport layer. That is what "net neutrality" was *supposed* to mean.. that data is transported without being interfered with. Once that got politisised ... well..

    I was involved in a largish mesh network a few years back. Completely unconnected to the internet. Stretched around 400 kms from one end to the other and about 150 kms wide. Thousands of users on it using all locally provided services, including garage bands literally in their garages broadcasting to whoever wanted to listen/watch. We got shut down and stomped on HARD!
    Mostly it was the government monopoly (Telkom), but it was also the various ISPs and Cell Service providers who couldn't stand the competition. Not as such I don't think, but rather that someone could prove that they could be superceded...

    I've always believed that the telecoms should provide the backhaul and "last mile" should be a free for all. Local users should only go "out" onto the internet when there is a need to. Now, my daughter wants to send me a photo she's taken. She is 3 meters from me but the image is sent thousands of kilometers via whatever service (email, whatsapp etc) to to get that 3m.

    I digress.

    The layer I'm talking about would be entirely invisible to most. They would simply connect to the network and use it as usual. The Nebula portion would simply mean that as far as the network providers were concerned, all they would see would be a whole bunch of encrypted traffic. They would have NO idea what the traffic was, which is as it should be. It's no business of theirs.

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... I call things as I see them; If I didn't see them, I make them up!

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boondock on Mon Mar 1 16:36:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to MRO on Mon Mar 01 2021 03:47 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boondock on Sun Feb 28 2021 20:29:11

    you can just do a wifi hotspot on your phone

    Lots of places around the world that's not possible. They specifically disable tethering, especially pay-as-you-go services.

    Boondock


    i'm on straight talk, one of the largest ones prepay ones and i can do it
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Mon Mar 1 16:37:38 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Boondock on Mon Mar 01 2021 03:02 am

    only to the proxy), then connect your computer to the proxy on the phone.

    The carrier will only see a connection originating from the phone, which will in truth be the proxy fecthing websites on behalf of the workstation (or whatever have you).

    I havent tried it but it sounds doable. There is also people doing ncat tricks in order to use other protocols other than http and https.

    yeah i did it a few years back with an app.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From fusion@VERT/CFBBS to Al on Mon Mar 1 20:37:00 2021
    As far as I have seen the BBS world is still mainly using telnet.

    one concern with ssh is that (non-native to the bbs) doors no longer work
    since you can't hand them the (encrypted) socket handle and expect them to
    go. another concern is that the majority of the time ssh defaults to utf-8 (modern win10 ssh ignores the chcp setting entirely in favor of utf-8). it's easy to auto translate the output from the bbs, but the doors, not so much.

    the target SHOULD be an unadjusted ssh client if we want longevity. in which case the "client" would become a glorified dialing directory and xterm,
    windows terminal, et al. do the emulation.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to MRO on Mon Mar 1 23:49:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boondock <=-

    i'm on straight talk, one of the largest ones prepay ones and i can do
    it ---
    I've been in plenty of crappy places, and most of them have some or other restriction. In the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), being able to tether is a premium feature specifically because some guy will set himself up as a mini ISP by putting his SIM card in a mini WiFi router and and renting out access to all and sundry, sometimes as many as 20 people simultanesouly connected with their phones and using the net.
    In Iraq, it depends on the service provider, some don't care but some ban it completely.
    Here in Panama the situation is somewhat similar.

    So, YMMV..


    ... Direct from the Ministry of Silly Walks
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to hollowone on Tue Mar 2 00:37:56 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Denn on Fri Feb 26 2021 01:34 pm

    Was never even close to calling Poland communist.

    I just refered to some lad who called me EU commie.

    Just seems weird that you would take more of an intrest in our
    crappy olitic's thatn your own.

    Read the other post to find similarities worth analysing.
    Also I lived in US for a while and spent there a lot of time to build enough sentiment to your emotion.

    Still, I'd like to disconnect it a bit from the discussion with question 'why to drop on FB/Twitter' a bit..

    I droped facebook years ago because friends and family infighting, not because of Politic's.
    I quit Twitter because they were suppressing my voice while allowing fithy people like Kathy Griffin hold a bloody severed Trump head, I came no where close to anything like that.
    Twitter has their mission statement that only applies to the leftist.

    (The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve and do not detract from a free and global conversation.)
    I left because of their suppression of speech.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Denn@VERT/OUTWEST to HusTler on Tue Mar 2 00:51:48 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: HusTler to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 2021 07:44 am

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start
    with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Al Gore invented the Internet? I didn't get the memo. When was this? ;-)

    There is a video on youtube with Gore saying he invented the Internet, It might have been taken a litle out of context, I don't know for sure.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ outwestbbs.com - the Outwest BBS
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Denn on Tue Mar 2 03:43:50 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Denn to hollowone on Tue Mar 02 2021 12:37 am

    I droped facebook years ago because friends and family infighting, not because of Politic's.

    Interesting.

    I dropped Facebook long ago because it was doing nothing for me.

    What I mean is that I created a Facebook page for promoting my books around the time I got published by Route 11 Publications
    (when they existed). Turns out that sustaining the Facebook page was more work than it was worth. You had to keep on it all day
    but it didn't generate sales or fans, it only allowed fans I already had to message me. And frankly, my fans are scattered
    among other platforms I am active in and already could find me, it is not like Facebook was worth the trouble.

    Also (I keep posting this every now and again in the hope people gets this idea) Facebook's effectivity as a marketing tool has
    been in sharp decline for years. When you issue a post ("HHey! I am sharing a piece of the last book I have published for you
    to see!") it goes to your fans' walls, gets lost among a mass of cat memes and inspirational rubbish, and forgotten forever.
    Chances are that when you post something meaningful, it is suffocated by the noise everybody else is making.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Denn on Tue Mar 2 10:34:00 2021
    I droped facebook years ago because friends and family infighting, not because of Politic's.
    I quit Twitter because they were suppressing my voice while allowing fithy people like Kathy Griffin hold a bloody severed Trump head, I
    came no where close to anything like that.
    Twitter has their mission statement that only applies to the leftist.

    (The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that
    improve and do not detract from a free and global conversation.)
    I left because of their suppression of speech.

    I still keep FB, but look there only once a day only to check for messages.
    I cancelled Twitter mostly because this was one big informational mess with commercials.

    Same with FB if you don't know how to filter it out with Revert Site and FB Purity.
    That's also why I don't look at FB from mobile anymore, can't have my fav plugins to shut its bullshit turned on.

    /h1


    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Arelor on Tue Mar 2 10:59:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to hollowone <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: hollowone to Arelor on Mon Mar 01 2021 03:04 pm

    Also I think Spain is a lost cause.

    Just curious, why Spain is a lost cause?

    /h1

    A bunch of small details that, once put together, make things look
    bleak. ALso, the general tendency of the country has been to suck more
    and more and more since the 16th century or so. We had a bit of an improvement with our transition to Democracy, but nothing to write home about.

    <cut>

    Very long and insightful reply. Thank you for that. I had never been to Spain yet and have little experience with it but there are a few important reminders that you refered to (kind of):
    - democracy is quite new thing to the country (could be valid argument that may drive small crisises because of immaturity of the movement)
    - you're connected to the smuggling and human traficking business (by boat), similar issue is driving Italy nuts I think. Not helping to tame the crime, especially organized crime.
    - You have this interesting city-states that are either yours but not in your mainland (Ceuta), or possessed by some others and you must deal with it (Gibraltar) that may also help to channel organized crime and fraud business
    - Autonomies... I belive we all have heard about Basque country. They were competing with IRA for the top terrorist group in the world not so far ago. What is suprising to me is how much Catalonians don't want to be Spain anymore.. I was totally not aware that Spain is so divided before the recent moves in Catalonia.

    Once again, thanks for the explanation and your perspective.

    /h1








    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to hollowone on Tue Mar 2 09:28:51 2021
    Re: Spain's lost cause?
    By: hollowone to Arelor on Tue Mar 02 2021 10:59 am

    - Autonomies... I belive we all have heard about Basque country. They were competin
    with IRA for the top terrorist group in the world not so far ago. What is suprising
    me is how much Catalonians don't want to be Spain anymore.. I was totally not aware
    that Spain is so divided before the recent moves in Catalonia.

    Once again, thanks for the explanation and your perspective.


    Some food for thought:

    Most "pure breed" Spaniards have more hate for the Catalonian independentists factions
    than for the Basque regionalist groups, despite the fact Basque terrorism has killed
    more people (Catalonia had its own terrorist group credited with some bad killings,
    but they are apprentices in comparison). I think it is because Catalonian independentists have a discourse which is very much an in-your-face "We are better
    than you, you pesky peasant".

    Spain is not new to democracy. We had one before Franco's fascist regime. As far as
    the story goes, it was also kind of broken.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Boondock on Tue Mar 2 13:35:50 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to Dream Master on Mon Mar 01 2021 05:18 am

    I'm not so worried about the "security" so much, but rather the denial of service. If the traffic is encrypted, then it is a LOT harder to filter and/or block.

    That makes logical sense.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Al on Tue Mar 2 13:39:03 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Al to Dream Master on Sun Feb 28 2021 11:04 pm

    Why are we so bent out of shape about security when it comes to BBSes? The majority of our communication is either QWK or FTN. If QWK, the weakest link is the one BBS that has no security configured. FTN, pretty much the same thing. We may enable TLS, HSTS, etc., is great, but we still have to think about that one system.

    QWK and FTN does the work of getting messages from BBS to BBS.

    There is such a thing as secure telnet, it uses port 994 by default if I remember right. It's been around a long time but it has never caught on. It would be a good thing to secure the ports used by users but of course old telnet clients will never support it.

    Again, I fail to see the value. If we are talking about a completely private board, one that has no ability to support QWK, FTN, NNTP, etc., than SSH or Telnet/S make perfectly reasonable solutions. The minute we open the door to outside communication from the BBS is the minute that we are no longer secure. This is why I argue the point. (to the same point, if we are going to encrypt communication, we better ensure that our BBS is completely encrypted as well)

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Dream Master on Tue Mar 2 15:39:41 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Al on Tue Mar 02 2021 01:39 pm

    Again, I fail to see the value. If we are talking about a completely private board, one that has no ability to support QWK, FTN, NNTP, etc., than SSH or Telnet/S make perfectly reasonable solutions. The minute we open the door to outside communication from the BBS is the minute that we are no longer secure. This is why I argue the point. (to the same point, if we are going to encrypt communication, we better ensure that our BBS is completely encrypted as well)

    With these secure protocols we are only trying to secure the users credentials so they are not transmitted in a way that can be snooped.

    BBSs (mine at least) don't need to be secured in any special way. It is available to anyone who would like to use it. When communicating by QWK, FTN or in various ways I suppose there may be holes too.. but we want our uses info to be secure?

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... Don't hate yourself in the morning; sleep till noon

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Tue Mar 2 17:51:33 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Al on Tue Mar 02 2021 01:39 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Al to Dream Master on Sun Feb 28 2021 11:04 pm

    Why are we so bent out of shape about security when it comes to BBSes? The majority
    our communication is either QWK or FTN. If QWK, the weakest link is the one BBS that
    has no security configured. FTN, pretty much the same thing. We may enable TLS, HSTS
    etc., is great, but we still have to think about that one system.

    QWK and FTN does the work of getting messages from BBS to BBS.

    There is such a thing as secure telnet, it uses port 994 by default if I remember right.
    It's been around a long time but it has never caught on. It would be a good thing to secu
    the ports used by users but of course old telnet clients will never support it.

    Again, I fail to see the value. If we are talking about a completely private board, one tha
    has no ability to support QWK, FTN, NNTP, etc., than SSH or Telnet/S make perfectly reasonab
    solutions. The minute we open the door to outside communication from the BBS is the minute
    that we are no longer secure. This is why I argue the point. (to the same point, if we are
    going to encrypt communication, we better ensure that our BBS is completely encrypted as wel

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS


    I think you'd need certain security if only for access credentials, even if you are not
    managing sensitive content.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boondock on Tue Mar 2 06:56:00 2021
    Boondock wrote to MRO <=-

    Here in Panama the situation is somewhat similar.

    Tethering is possible in the USA; I think cell providers didn't realize it
    was a thing and started prohibiting free tethering/hot spot usage and
    charging for it - which is ludicrous. Charging for a service and then
    charging different amounts for the same data, whether it's from a hotspotted device or your phone.

    Makes no sense unless you're the one making money off of it.


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Denn on Tue Mar 2 07:04:00 2021
    Denn wrote to HusTler <=-


    Al Gore invented the Internet? I didn't get the memo. When was this? ;-)

    There is a video on youtube with Gore saying he invented the Internet,
    It might have been taken a litle out of context, I don't know for sure.

    In 1999, he said that while he was in congress, he took the initiative to create the internet (ed: that we know today)

    In the words of Robert Kahn and Vint Cerf, "No other elected official, to
    our knowledge, has made a greater contribution [to the internet] over a
    longer period of time."


    ... Always the first steps
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Arelor on Wed Mar 3 13:02:49 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Tue Mar 02 2021 17:51:33

    I think you'd need certain security if only for access credentials, even if you are not managing sensitive content.

    I would have thought that old BBSers would have remembered the old discussions about encryption from PGP days when he one his case for Freedom of Speech when he wore the algorithym into court printed on a T-shirt. Judge ruled that if it was printed on a T-shirt it couldn't be restricted as a weapon.. Anyway, the point is that I remembre this community being incredibly on his side. There was no concept of left or right then as far as certain issues were concerned. Ts was one of them.
    Further was the concept that people seem to have forgotten, which is that the meta-data/headers is always unencrypted. This alows for traffic and link analysis that skirts the wire-tapping/FICA/etc laws and in fact provides justification for the warrants as in "Look your honour, we know from the headers he is talking to <insert scary dude here> and he's encrypting his messages so we can't read them. He must be guilty of something, only guilty people hide what they are talking about.. Give us a warrant to break down his fron door "

    If ALL the traffic is encrypted by default, then it's not a red flag.
    If the encryption happens at a transport layer level, even link nalysis fails as there is no meta-data only routing headers which means nothing.

    I don't care what side of the fence your're on, an expectation of privacy is vital. Anyone who says otherwise is a Secret Police supporter...

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... God has Alzheimer's disease; he's forgotten that we exist.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Mar 3 13:06:21 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Tue Mar 02 2021 06:56:00

    Makes no sense unless you're the one making money off of it.

    Exactly like SMS messages. They were supoosed to be for technicians to report back about technical issues. Never meant for end users at all. We started using them and all of a sudden started getting charged for doing so..

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Autobiography is now as common as adultery - and hardly less reprehensible

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Mar 3 07:24:21 2021
    On 2/27/2021 7:52 AM, poindexter FORTRAN wrote:
    Enabling TLS/SSL might be a good first step. I could imagine setting up HSTS on the web server, binkp with SSL, encrypted mail/IRC protocols, and
    figuring out how to set up telnet as sign-up only.

    If there was a good way to encrypt telnet and still allow the newuser
    process I'd be happy.

    I'm thinking of making users signup via https only, partly because I
    want to integrate/allow social logins as a point of user creation.

    Beyond that, no real need for telnet, can rely on just ssh for access.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Andeddu on Wed Mar 3 07:29:08 2021
    On 2/28/2021 2:57 PM, Andeddu wrote:

    It's quite easy to figure out, actually. I am in the same situation being an outsider as no one wants, or has enough knowledge, to discuss European politics
    on Dovenet. That's why you have Canadians, Brits, Poles, Aussies and Spaniards
    here commenting on US politics.

    If you'd like to discuss British, Polish or Spanish politics, I would happily join in. There you can criticise the crappy decision making of other governments rather than just your own.

    I'm a pragmatic Libertarian who wants the minimum reasonable government possible... I've seen too much inside bits over the years. I don't feel
    that US politics can allow for anything resembling effective government
    so that means, imho the less the better for the most part.

    As to the common counter, but evil corporations... Corporate power is allowed/created by government, not restricted by it.

    To me, it doesn't matter as in general, most foreign governments are
    even farther from what I'd like as an ideal than what we have in the US now.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dream Master on Wed Mar 3 07:31:04 2021
    On 2/28/2021 8:03 PM, Dream Master wrote:
    Not a problem with that BBS-on-a-phone!

    Or, BBS in the Cloud ... :) AWS here.
    I'm currently using Digital Ocean on this end, a little cheaper than
    AWS, unless you're on their bottom tier server.

    Though I am considering switching to SES for email relay of the mail
    server I just setup... stupid blocklists and bad actors in the smaller
    cloud providers.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dream Master on Wed Mar 3 07:34:33 2021
    On 2/28/2021 8:06 PM, Dream Master wrote:

    Why are we so bent out of shape about security when it comes
    to BBSes? The majority of our communication is either QWK or
    FTN. If QWK, the weakest link is the one BBS that has no
    security configured. FTN, pretty much the same thing. We
    may enable TLS, HSTS, etc., is great, but we still have to
    think about that one system.

    It's like having an ANY:ANY rule in your DMZ.

    While I mostly agree, I'd prefer to stick to secure channels as
    much as reasonable. Since Let's Encrypt is free, there's very
    little excuse not to do so.

    It's worth bearing in mind, that some topics of discussion and
    lifestyles are illegal and potentially offenses that carry the
    death penalty in some places. While most of us are not in those
    countries, it's nice to be able to provide the options for more
    conversation.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Al on Wed Mar 3 07:36:57 2021
    On 2/28/2021 11:04 PM, Al wrote:

    QWK and FTN does the work of getting messages from BBS to BBS.

    There is such a thing as secure telnet, it uses port 994 by
    default if I remember right. It's been around a long time but
    it has never caught on. It would be a good thing to secure
    the ports used by users but of course old telnet clients will
    never support it.

    I recently saw a ticket on the syncterm sourceforge site that
    made me think it might make it's way into syncterm and/or
    synchronet.

    I think terminals supporting telnet over secure websockets (wss)
    would be a good idea. Could also limit the footprint exposed
    on BBS servers if you only need 80 and 443 (assuming you aren't
    offering the likes of mail/nntp etc).
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Arelor on Wed Mar 3 07:38:53 2021
    On 3/1/2021 12:59 AM, Arelor wrote:
    point I sometimes feel like a foreigner in this place,
    so I no longer give a damn. Maybe I consumed too many
    cultural products from the US and UK when I was a kid,
    dunno.

    You capitalist scamp you... :-)
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Nightfox on Wed Mar 3 07:45:41 2021
    On 3/1/2021 8:25 AM, Nightfox wrote:

    What's the difference between secure telnet and SSH?

    SSH provides much more than just a terminal interface.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 3 12:34:42 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Nightfox on Wed Mar 03 2021 07:45 am

    What's the difference between secure telnet and SSH?

    SSH provides much more than just a terminal interface.

    I know that. I had just never heard of "secure telnet" before and wondered what the "secure" part adds onto Telnet.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Al on Wed Mar 3 12:49:30 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Al to Dream Master on Tue Mar 02 2021 03:39 pm

    BBSs (mine at least) don't need to be secured in any special way. It is available to anyone who would like to use it. When communicating by QWK, FTN or in various ways I suppose there may be holes too.. but we want our uses info to be secure?

    The username and password, there is logical sense there, and if that is the only focus, than I agree. If users expect complete privacy, then we can't network.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 3 12:56:00 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Dream Master on Wed Mar 03 2021 07:31 am

    Though I am considering switching to SES for email relay of the mail
    server I just setup... stupid blocklists and bad actors in the smaller
    cloud providers.

    A couple key concepts to work with to ensure you don't get on any blocklists:

    1) Ensure you have your reverse lookups (PTR) configured to your domain,
    2) Ensure you are covered with DMARC and SPF,
    3) If you can, and I recommend using SendGrid, utilize DKIM.

    Once you have all three, there is a slim chance you'll be on any blacklist.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 3 12:59:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Dream Master on Wed Mar 03 2021 07:34 am

    It's like having an ANY:ANY rule in your DMZ.

    While I mostly agree, I'd prefer to stick to secure channels as
    much as reasonable. Since Let's Encrypt is free, there's very
    little excuse not to do so.

    It's worth bearing in mind, that some topics of discussion and
    lifestyles are illegal and potentially offenses that carry the
    death penalty in some places. While most of us are not in those
    countries, it's nice to be able to provide the options for more conversation.

    You have a very valid point. Open communication is definitely lacking in some parts of this world. Saying something "contoversial" about our leadership here would get you thrown in prision in Thailand.

    Didn't even think about that one... Good.

    Also, my ANY;ANY rule is from personal experience. My previous employer had a buried ANY:ANY rule. I was trying to figure out why I could get from the DMZ to the private VLANs without any issues. I inquired. They looked. Next thing I know I was sent a copy of the firewall rules. They finally fixed it about three years later. :|

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dux@VERT/PATHUNKN to Boondock on Wed Mar 3 15:03:46 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boondock to Arelor on Wed Mar 03 2021 01:02 pm

    he one his case for Freedom of Speech when he wore the algorithym into court printed on a T-shirt. Judge ruled

    I remember when DeCSS code (DVD copy protection) was being printed on shirts... was is that occasion you're talking about, or maybe the DeCSS stuff was just building on something done during the PGP days?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ pathunknown.net
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 3 13:02:09 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Al on Wed Mar 03 2021 07:36 am

    I think terminals supporting telnet over secure websockets (wss)
    would be a good idea. Could also limit the footprint exposed
    on BBS servers if you only need 80 and 443 (assuming you aren't
    offering the likes of mail/nntp etc).

    Yes, and Synchronet has done a good job of securing users, if they choose it.

    I still support telnet and folks are free to use it if that's what they want. A guest login over telnet is harmless but if they choose to sign up SBBS does offer secure connection options.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... AAAAA - American Association Against Acronym Abuse

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Dux on Wed Mar 3 22:40:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dux to Boondock on Wed Mar 03 2021 15:03:46

    I remember when DeCSS code (DVD copy protection) was being printed on shirts... was is that occasion you're talking about, or maybe the DeCSS stuff was just building on something done during the PGP days?
    Ok, Correcting my faulty memory:

    From Wikipedia
    2.2 Criminal investigation
    Shortly after its release, PGP encryption found its way outside the United States, and in February 1993 Zimmermann became the formal target of a criminal investigation by the US Government for "munitions export without a license". At the time, cryptosystems using keys larger than 40 bits were considered munitions within the definition of the US export regulations; PGP has never used keys smaller than 128 bits, so it qualified at that time. Penalties for violation, if found guilty, were substantial. After several years, the investigation of Zimmermann was closed without filing criminal charges against him or anyone else.

    Zimmermann challenged these regulations in an imaginative way. He published the entire source code of PGP in a hardback book,[25] via MIT Press, which was distributed and sold widely. Anybody wishing to build their own copy of PGP could cut off the covers, separate the pages, and scan them using an OCR program (or conceivably enter it as a type-in program if OCR software was not available), creating a set of source code text files. One could then build the application using the freely available GNU Compiler Collection. PGP would thus be available anywhere in the world. The claimed principle was simple: export of munitions

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Al@VERT/TRMB to Nightfox on Wed Mar 3 14:01:52 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 03 2021 12:34 pm

    I know that. I had just never heard of "secure telnet" before and wondered what the "secure" part adds onto Telnet.

    I think it is telnet over ssl or maybe today it is tls. Much like http vs. https.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    ... And if one bad cluster should accidentally fail...

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Thu Mar 4 02:04:33 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Sun Feb 28 2021 10:23 pm

    no they do it because they like to shit on the usa and not think about their craphole country.

    Well, I'll let you know that I am open to any criticism of the Johnson goverment because, while I live in the UK, it's far from a utopia... socialist or otherwise. All countries are crap holes barring some exceptions such as Singapore and South Korea.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Arelor on Thu Mar 4 02:19:10 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Andeddu on Mon Mar 01 2021 02:59 am

    If you'd like to discuss British, Polish or Spanish politics, I would happily join in. There you can criticise the crappy
    decision making of other governments rather than just your own.


    Main reason why I don' discuss Spanish politics mush is because nobody brings them up :-P I tried back in the day in some FIDO
    place but nobody is interested to pick the thread.

    Also I think Spain is a lost cause. Be have been bent in a self-destruction spree since the end of Big Austrias, with
    (officially recognized) fake democracies, fascists, and now a social-communist government. I don't think there is much fixing
    it anymore so I don't bring the subject up more. Besides, I feel culturally missaligned with local society by miles, to the
    point I sometimes feel like a foreigner in this place, so I no longer give a damn. Maybe I consumed too many cultural products
    from the US and UK when I was a kid, dunno.

    It's the same here in the UK. I don't see anyone talking about Canadian politics despite there being a number of active Canadian users. Other than the USA, I saw a moderate amount of discussion on Australia back when Dennisk was chatting away with Vk3jed. I also think that US politics is quite interesting as something new seems to happen every single day. Here in the UK, all the parties are in relative agreement with Labour criticising the Tories for going too far with some policies and not far enough with others. Total fucking snooze-fest.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Andeddu on Wed Mar 3 22:24:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Thu Mar 04 2021 02:04 am

    Well, I'll let you know that I am open to any criticism of the Johnson goverment because, while I live in the UK, it's far from a utopia... socialist or otherwise. All countries are crap holes barring some exceptions such as Singapore and South Korea.

    I've spent a good amount of time in Singapore. Their insane growth and being an economic center in Asia put millions of people in an island 30 miles wide by 20 miles N/S. The last time I was there it took me 2.5 hours to go 8 miles by taxi. The cost of living is ridiculously high. (I still love it but I hate the traffic)

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From fusion@VERT/CFBBS to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 3 21:38:00 2021
    What's the difference between secure telnet and SSH?

    SSH provides much more than just a terminal interface.

    to elaborate, SSH provides a "tunnel" through which both your terminal connection, file transfers, port forwarding, etc can travel. some SSH clients will quite gracefully accept a file drag-and-drop and still allow you to interact with the remote machine while it's going, for example.

    another use case might be to forward X11. perhaps if you connected to
    somewhere like VERT with X11 forwarding enabled, it could automatically pop
    up a linux application to play music while you're on the bbs.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nightfox on Thu Mar 4 08:30:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    I know that. I had just never heard of "secure telnet" before and wondered what the "secure" part adds onto Telnet.

    "Secure Telnet" is an obscure standard before SSH.

    Before it sent the credentials in plaintext over the connection, it just prepended "Don't look at this" on the data stream.

    8)



    ... I came, I saw, I confused.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Mar 4 13:38:15 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boondock on Tue Mar 02 2021 06:56 am

    Boondock wrote to MRO <=-

    Here in Panama the situation is somewhat similar.

    Tethering is possible in the USA; I think cell providers didn't realize it was a thing and started prohibiting free tethering/hot spot usage and charging for it - which is ludicrous. Charging for a service and then charging different amounts for the same data, whether it's from a hotspotted device or your phone.

    Makes no sense unless you're the one making money off of it.


    i'm on st/att and i had to tether for about a day. i did most of my usual stuff. i was surprised how well it worked.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Nightfox on Thu Mar 4 10:47:20 2021
    On 3/3/2021 12:34 PM, Nightfox wrote:
    What's the difference between secure telnet and SSH?

    SSH provides much more than just a terminal interface.

    I know that. I had just never heard of "secure telnet"
    before and wondered what the "secure" part adds onto Telnet.

    I'm guessing it's just Telnet over TLS, where SSH is a more
    complicated protocol.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dream Master on Thu Mar 4 10:52:48 2021
    On 3/3/2021 11:56 AM, Dream Master wrote:
    Though I am considering switching to SES for email relay of the mail
    server I just setup... stupid blocklists and bad actors in the smaller
    cloud providers.

    A couple key concepts to work with to ensure you don't get on any blocklists:

    1) Ensure you have your reverse lookups (PTR) configured to your domain,
    2) Ensure you are covered with DMARC and SPF,
    3) If you can, and I recommend using SendGrid, utilize DKIM.

    Once you have all three, there is a slim chance you'll be on any blacklist.

    Done all three... on both Digital Ocean and Linode, both times I wasn't
    able to send to my outlook.com domain (which shares with hotmail).

    No problem with Office 365 or Gmail though, don't know if I even have or remember my ymail account to test that one. Probably worth the $5-10/mo
    to use SES or SendGrid for relay.

    At least for my BBS, SendGrid is within constraints of the free tier.
    If you're using AWS EC2, the cost of SES is significantly reduced where
    there's no charge for like 50k emails/month other than egress data. Of
    course I'm not using EC2, but by all estimates, I'll be under $5/mo on
    AWS SES.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dux on Thu Mar 4 10:58:52 2021
    On 3/3/2021 7:03 AM, Dux wrote:
    he one his case for Freedom of Speech when he wore the
    algorithym into court printed on a T-shirt. Judge ruled

    I remember when DeCSS code (DVD copy protection) was being
    printed on shirts... was is that occasion you're talking
    about, or maybe the DeCSS stuff was just building on
    something done during the PGP days?

    I think he was maybe mis-remembering the DeCSS Key Shirts,
    I think it was only the key printed on the shirt, but the
    algorithm was open.

    As to encryption as munitions, I think this was simply relaxed
    pragmatically by the State Department.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Andeddu on Thu Mar 4 11:13:17 2021
    On 3/3/2021 6:04 PM, Andeddu wrote:
    All countries are crap holes barring some exceptions such as
    Singapore and South Korea.

    Unless you like to smoke weed ;-)
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Boondock@VERT/ELGATO to Tracker1 on Fri Mar 5 00:16:22 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Dux on Thu Mar 04 2021 10:58:52

    I think he was maybe mis-remembering the DeCSS Key Shirts,
    Correct. Zimmerman did his source code as a book which could be OCRd

    As to encryption as munitions, I think this was simply relaxed pragmatically by the State Department.
    LArgely as a result of those two cases IFAIR

    Boondock

    BoonDock
    Pedasi/Panama


    ... Nostalgia is OK, but it's not what it used to be.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Sent from El Gato de Fuego * The Fire Cat * elgato.synchronetbbs.org
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Tracker1 on Fri Mar 5 10:43:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Andeddu on Wed Mar 03 2021 07:29 am

    I'm a pragmatic Libertarian who wants the minimum reasonable government possible... I've seen too much inside bits over the years. I don't feel that US politics can allow for anything resembling effective government
    so that means, imho the less the better for the most part.

    As to the common counter, but evil corporations... Corporate power is allowed/created by government, not restricted by it.

    To me, it doesn't matter as in general, most foreign governments are
    even farther from what I'd like as an ideal than what we have in the US now.

    I would say that the best model for economic prosperity is free-market capitalism which is something we've strayed away from since the late 90s, or perhaps even earlier.

    There is a revolving door in all governments, described in America as "The Swamp", between politics, multi-national corporations and the banking industry (retail, primary dealers, etc...). This has proven to be the downfall of our system as corporations and banks have used government as a vehicle to implement MORE bureaucracy which is designed to stifle competition by pricing out smaller businesses. It's called consolidation.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Dream Master on Fri Mar 5 10:57:16 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Andeddu on Wed Mar 03 2021 10:24 pm

    Well, I'll let you know that I am open to any criticism of the Johnson goverment because, while I live in the UK, it's far from a utopia... socialist or otherwise. All countries are crap holes barring some exceptions such as Singapore and South Korea.

    I've spent a good amount of time in Singapore. Their insane growth and being an economic center in Asia put millions of people in an island 30 miles wide by 20 miles N/S. The last time I was there it took me 2.5 hours to go 8 miles by taxi. The cost of living is ridiculously high. (I still love it but I hate the traffic)

    I suppose there's that, I was more referring to the socio-economic standing of the country compared to others. All economic centres suffer from ridiculous levels of population density; NYC, London, Tokyo, etc... all hell-holes if you want to travel anywhere quickly.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Fri Mar 5 16:03:25 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Tracker1 on Fri Mar 05 2021 10:43 am

    I would say that the best model for economic prosperity is free-market capitalism which is something we've strayed away from since the late 90s, or perhaps even earlier.

    There is a revolving door in all governments, described in America as "The Swamp", between politics, multi-national corporations and the banking industry (retail, primary dealers, etc...). This has proven to be the downfall of our system as corporations and banks have used government as a vehicle to implement MORE bureaucracy which is designed to stifle competition by pricing out smaller businesses. It's called consolidation.


    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went overseas. companies closed or just invested overseas. it created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the important industries. our us govt allowed all this to happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Tracker1 on Fri Mar 5 23:58:00 2021
    I'm a pragmatic Libertarian who wants the minimum reasonable government possible... I've seen too much inside bits over the years. I don't
    feel that US politics can allow for anything resembling effective government so that means, imho the less the better for the most part.

    As to the common counter, but evil corporations... Corporate power is allowed/created by government, not restricted by it.

    What confuses me is something that is not unique to US but can be exampled in US as well. Extreme polarization and lack of acceptance that some idea just lost for a most likely a temporary timeframe.

    During my lifetime there were Republican and Democratric presidents shifting between these major political movements as the majority voted.

    Indirect way how US president election works is something I still learn to understand in practice and I know it may become tricky, but I never ever saw anything so seriously dividing people between these two political movements as recent race winner and retired president over the way your (American) election system works.

    I remember once that there was some controversy over some won votes in Florida with second Bush that woke up the whole nation and media to dispute rationale.

    But that was very short-lived and quite frankly I don't remember people attacking gov agencing over the social disagreement for the lost candidate.

    I'm wondering how much short-lived is the willigness to support Trump (literally) vs. some alternative route for Republicans to move on and catch up over time.

    I quite frankly don't believe Trump has a real come back change at the top level in politics.. I think he'll just retire and come back to family business and Republican idea needs to find a new leader if there is a will to overcome Biden in time.

    All that lament for Trump must be temporary or is unusually naive over my personal comprehension.

    /h1


    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Amiga City - The BBS for the Amiga - more than 4,000+ files
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to MRO on Sat Mar 6 09:55:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went overseas. companies closed or just invested overseas. it created a
    huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the important industries. our us govt allowed all this to happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    It hit the local news when a long time company closed and moved their manufacturing overseas.

    But the reason that happened was the gov't. The stupid rules and regulations that raised the cost of doing
    business and having employees drove them overseas.


    ... My wife loves ME--it's the computer she hates!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dr. What on Sat Mar 6 11:00:21 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to MRO on Sat Mar 06 2021 09:55 am

    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went overseas. companies closed or just invested overseas. it created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the important industries. our us govt allowed all this to happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    It hit the local news when a long time company closed and moved their manufacturing overseas.

    But the reason that happened was the gov't. The stupid rules and regulations that raised the cost of doing
    business and having employees drove them overseas.


    it was also cheaper and made more sense. any of us would move our company overseas if we made twice the money. especially if we werent making much money to begin with. the govt created that environment.

    same shit is going on in california. their economy is fueled by small businesses. what do they do? tax and regulate the fuck out of them. i saw a video of a business owner who said he hasnt turned a profit in a decade. his part time workers are making 50k a year. part time.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Sat Mar 6 18:00:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Fri Mar 05 2021 04:03 pm

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went overseas. companies closed or just invested overseas. it created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the important industries. our us govt allowed all this to happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    That's the problem of worker's unions and minimum wages. The higher the minimum wage, the less attractive it is for businesses to purchase your labour. People who don't understand economics see a minimum wage barrier as a good thing, but it has actually repelled industry away from the West and into the East resulting in an INCREASE of poverty rather than a REDUCTION.

    Now the USA is a joke of a nation with a hilarious trade deficit of over 500 Bn Dollars vs China. For every one container exported to China with material goods, four are imported. China is slaughtering America... there really isn't any requirement for them to involve themselves in a physical war.

    And to anyone complaining about my "US BASHING"... China are slaughtering my country too.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Sat Mar 6 19:39:45 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Sat Mar 06 2021 06:00 pm


    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    That's the problem of worker's unions and minimum wages. The higher the minimum wage, the less attractive it is for businesses to purchase your labour. People who don't understand economics see a minimum wage barrier as a good thing, but it has actually repelled industry away from the West and into the East resulting in an INCREASE of poverty rather than a REDUCTION.


    well i've been in manufacturing for almost 30 years.
    my home city was a hub of manufacturing and i saw it all fall apart.

    i dont think minimum wage played into any of it.

    i think it is just cheaper OVERALL and less regulation overseas.

    personally i have seen my employer have to use china for items usa businesses couldnt manufacture or WOULDN'T manufacture due to the "small" amount we needed.

    we also were rejected by 2 american polishers for metal parts because our parts were not raw enough and we would need quantities of 250 done every 3 months. china polished our stuff, but we just needed some touchups at 200 usd per part. seems like a deal to me. they said gtfo
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Andeddu on Sat Mar 6 09:19:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    banking industry (retail, primary dealers, etc...). This has proven to
    be the downfall of our system as corporations and banks have used government as a vehicle to implement MORE bureaucracy which is designed
    to stifle competition by pricing out smaller businesses. It's called consolidation.

    There's a fix for that, it's called revolution. Unfortunately, the spoils
    will be long gone by the time my kid's generation sets things right.

    I'm seriously worried about what their generation will experience.


    ... Remove ambiguities and convert to specifics
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sun Mar 7 15:39:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    @MSGID: <60420B45.24630.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <603FAB45.16364.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Andeddu on
    Wed Mar 03 2021 07:29 am

    I'm a pragmatic Libertarian who wants the minimum reasonable government possible... I've seen too much inside bits over the years. I don't feel that US politics can allow for anything resembling effective government
    so that means, imho the less the better for the most part.

    As to the common counter, but evil corporations... Corporate power is allowed/created by government, not restricted by it.

    To me, it doesn't matter as in general, most foreign governments are
    even farther from what I'd like as an ideal than what we have in the US now.

    I would say that the best model for economic prosperity is free-market capitalism which is something we've strayed away from since the late
    90s, or perhaps even earlier.

    There is a revolving door in all governments, described in America as
    "The Swamp", between politics, multi-national corporations and the
    banking industry (retail, primary dealers, etc...). This has proven to
    be the downfall of our system as corporations and banks have used government as a vehicle to implement MORE bureaucracy which is designed
    to stifle competition by pricing out smaller businesses. It's called consolidation.

    Free market capitalism may work at the start, but its doomed to fail
    as people game the system. It is not a "steady state" system.

    Also Free Markets is not the same as Capitalism. You can have a free
    market system in a non-Capitalist system, and vice versa,
    non-free-market Capitalism.

    As you yourself said, coporations and banking used the government to
    change the market. They were free to do so, and did. Large companies
    won't just stick with pure-business, they WILL want to change society,
    the "meta-economics" for their advantage. No Capitalists wants a true
    free market, so Free Market Capitalism will always seek to undermine
    itself.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/MS-DOS v0.29
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sun Mar 7 15:43:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <6043C33D.24662.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6042AAAD.3442.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Fri
    Mar 05 2021 04:03 pm

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went overseas. companies closed or just invested overseas. it created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the important industries. our us govt allowed all this to happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    That's the problem of worker's unions and minimum wages. The higher the minimum wage, the less attractive it is for businesses to purchase your labour. People who don't understand economics see a minimum wage
    barrier as a good thing, but it has actually repelled industry away
    from the West and into the East resulting in an INCREASE of poverty
    rather than a REDUCTION.

    Now the USA is a joke of a nation with a hilarious trade deficit of
    over 500 Bn Dollars vs China. For every one container exported to China with material goods, four are imported. China is slaughtering
    America... there really isn't any requirement for them to involve themselves in a physical war.

    And to anyone complaining about my "US BASHING"... China are
    slaughtering my country too.

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/MS-DOS v0.29
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Sun Mar 7 01:23:38 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 07 2021 03:43 pm

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.


    in the usa usually the only people making min wage are retirees and kids out of school.

    min wage jobs are not a lifelong career. it's easy to get decent paying jobs, especially since covid hit.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sun Mar 7 03:43:12 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 07 2021 03:43 pm

    Andeddu wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <6043C33D.24662.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6042AAAD.3442.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Fri
    Mar 05 2021 04:03 pm

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went overseas. companies closed or just invested oversea
    it created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the important industries. our us govt allowed all this to
    happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    That's the problem of worker's unions and minimum wages. The higher the minimum wage, the less attractive it is for
    businesses to purchase your labour. People who don't understand economics see a minimum wage
    barrier as a good thing, but it has actually repelled industry away from the West and into the East resulting in an INCREASE of poverty rather than a REDUCTION.

    Now the USA is a joke of a nation with a hilarious trade deficit of over 500 Bn Dollars vs China. For every one container exported to China with material goods, four are imported. China i
    slaughtering
    America... there really isn't any requirement for them to involve themselves in a physical war.

    And to anyone complaining about my "US BASHING"... China are slaughtering my country too.

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!

    The main problem is that leftist governments will usually push minimum wages and other rigths beyond points after which they
    are non-sustainable.

    I would not rent a car if the maintenance/upkeep cost for it was forcefully rised beyond a reasonable ammount.

    And the customer could not afford it if I rised the renting price as to be able to cover my expenses anyway.

    The medical service I work for has been consistently shrinking their business volume because each time the government touches
    labor laws, it is just more reasonable to have less employees and do less work then to keep the current business volume and
    make less money for the same ammount of work.

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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Sun Mar 7 08:37:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Sunday 07.03.21 - 03:43, Arelor wrote to Boraxman:

    ..each time the government touches labor laws, it is just
    more reasonable to have less employees and do less work then
    to keep the current business volume and make less money for
    the same ammount of work.

    I like the way you summarized the path to doom.

    So.. what is the way out?


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Sun Mar 7 18:33:54 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Sat Mar 06 2021 07:39 pm

    well i've been in manufacturing for almost 30 years.
    my home city was a hub of manufacturing and i saw it all fall apart.

    i dont think minimum wage played into any of it.

    i think it is just cheaper OVERALL and less regulation overseas.

    personally i have seen my employer have to use china for items usa businesses couldnt manufacture or WOULDN'T manufacture due to the "small" amount we needed.

    we also were rejected by 2 american polishers for metal parts because our parts were not raw enough and we would need quantities of 250 done every 3 months. china polished our stuff, but we just needed some touchups at 200 usd per part. seems like a deal to me. they said gtfo

    Low salaries are a huge reason as to why industry moved overseas... that and far less bureaucracy. It's an a-symmetrical playing field between China and the USA, they don't have the same worker's rights, health & safety, pension & healthcare packages, etc... and the sheer level of bureaucracy makes it expensive and time consuming to expand businesses in the West compared to the East. Even simple things such as planning and building permissions can become a proteracted ordeal, in China you just build shit and make money. They don't carry out enviromental impact assessments or anything like that.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 7 18:51:42 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Andeddu on Sat Mar 06 2021 09:19 am

    There's a fix for that, it's called revolution. Unfortunately, the spoils will be long gone by the time my kid's generation sets things right.

    I'm seriously worried about what their generation will experience.

    There was no revolution as Americans were content with living comfortable lives as they were flooded by accessible and cheap Chinese goods. This will end soon as the Chinese have been quietly offloading their US debt for the past half decade. I can see some kind of currency war occurring shortly as the US dollar is being printed into oblivion. That's another 1.9 Tr dollars of stimulus to add to the 26 Tr dollars of existing debt, with a forecast of more than 30 Tr dollars of debt by the end of 2021.

    Our kids are going to have a tough time regardless of whether the nation 'defaults' or attempts to repay the national debt.

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Sun Mar 7 19:19:40 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 07 2021 03:39 pm

    Free market capitalism may work at the start, but its doomed to fail
    as people game the system. It is not a "steady state" system.

    Also Free Markets is not the same as Capitalism. You can have a free
    market system in a non-Capitalist system, and vice versa,
    non-free-market Capitalism.

    As you yourself said, coporations and banking used the government to
    change the market. They were free to do so, and did. Large companies
    won't just stick with pure-business, they WILL want to change society,
    the "meta-economics" for their advantage. No Capitalists wants a true
    free market, so Free Market Capitalism will always seek to undermine
    itself.

    I was meaning capitalism in its purist free market form. Obviously it's subject to entropy, like everything else. Late stage capitalism is the result of large corporate interests cornering the market by lobbying politicians, infiltrating government offices and creating laws to impose their dominion. This can only occur when a country allows itself to have a LARGE and POWERFUL government. Small businesses, when they aren't hamstrung by government regulations, are nimble enough to chip away and topple larger corporations as they can adapt to consumer trends far more quickly and efficently than business monoliths.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Sun Mar 7 19:27:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 07 2021 03:43 pm

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.

    Wrong. The market should decide the minimum cost of labour, not the government. In a truly free market, there should not be a minimum wage. Your labour is worth only what an employer is WILLING to pay for it. If the salary is too low, then you are free to take your labour elsewhere and attempt to seek a higher wage.

    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Sun Mar 7 16:00:48 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Sun Mar 07 2021 06:33 pm

    Low salaries are a huge reason as to why industry moved overseas... that and far less bureaucracy. It's an a-symmetrical playing field between China and the USA, they don't have the same worker's rights, health & safety, pension & healthcare packages, etc... and the sheer level of bureaucracy makes it expensive and time consuming to expand businesses in the West compared to the East. Even simple things such as planning and building permissions can become a proteracted ordeal, in China you just build shit and make money. They don't carry out enviromental impact assessments or anything like that.

    i've worked in shops since i was 18. i've been at places with no workers rights, no safety and no health care. breaking fingers was an everyday thing when i was a heat treater. some people didnt even go to the doctor for it. probably because they would test dirty.

    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    it's survival of the fittest.
    ---
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sun Mar 7 16:17:45 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Mar 07 2021 08:37 am

    I like the way you summarized the path to doom.

    So.. what is the way out?

    Go into full Sammuel Edward Konkin III mode as soon as the conditions necessary to make a living legally no longer exist I guess.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Sun Mar 7 18:00:20 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Ogg on Sun Mar 07 2021 04:17 pm

    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Mar 07 2021 08:37 am

    I like the way you summarized the path to doom.

    So.. what is the way out?

    Go into full Sammuel Edward Konkin III mode as soon as the conditions necessary to make a living legally no longer exist I guess.

    --

    i wonder how that guy survived. i wonder if working people donated their money to him so he could feed and shelter himself.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Mon Mar 8 13:21:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60447F7A.3472.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <60445AE3.49278.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 07 2021 03:43 pm

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.


    in the usa usually the only people making min wage are retirees and
    kids out of school.

    min wage jobs are not a lifelong career. it's easy to get decent
    paying jobs, especially since covid hit. ---

    A lot of people at my workplace, on the shop floor, earn minimum wage. These are people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and older, some with children.

    Trump must have done well with your economy if its easy to get a decent paying job.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Mon Mar 8 13:28:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6044A030.21425.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60445AE3.49278.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sun Mar 07 2021 03:43 pm

    Andeddu wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <6043C33D.24662.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6042AAAD.3442.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Fri
    Mar 05 2021 04:03 pm

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work went
    over
    seas. companies closed or just invested oversea
    it created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the
    importa
    nt industries. our us govt allowed all this to
    happen.

    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    That's the problem of worker's unions and minimum wages. The higher the
    minimum wage, the less attractive it is for
    businesses to purchase your labour. People who don't understand
    economic
    s see a minimum wage
    barrier as a good thing, but it has actually repelled industry away from the West and into the East resulting in an INCREASE of poverty rather than a REDUCTION.

    Now the USA is a joke of a nation with a hilarious trade deficit of over 500 Bn Dollars vs China. For every one container exported to China
    with material goods, four are imported. China i
    slaughtering
    America... there really isn't any requirement for them to involve
    themse
    lves in a physical war.

    And to anyone complaining about my "US BASHING"... China are slaughtering my country too.

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!

    The main problem is that leftist governments will usually push minimum wages and other rigths beyond points after which they are
    non-sustainable.

    I would not rent a car if the maintenance/upkeep cost for it was forcefully rised beyond a reasonable ammount.

    And the customer could not afford it if I rised the renting price as to
    be able to cover my expenses anyway.

    The medical service I work for has been consistently shrinking their business volume because each time the government touches labor laws, it
    is just more reasonable to have less employees and do less work then to keep the current business volume and make less money for the same
    ammount of work.

    I think you misunderstood the car analogy. If you are renting to car, the floor on the rental price is the upkeep of the car. You can expect to rent a car at a price which doesn't cover its upkeep. If your income per hour from the use of the car is less than that rental floor, that is YOUR problem.

    The analogy is that if you are renting a person. Wages need to cover upkeep (clothing, housing, food, medicals) of the human being you are renting. Again, that sets a floor. That floor is where the minimum wage is. Below that, if you are unable to extract value, that is YOUR problem.

    It is not incumbent upon labour to rent itself out below cost, to satisfy business. The two situations are analogous. Now, we accept that someone owning a car rental company is under no obligation to rent absurdly low, because the hirer wants it that way, it should be the same with labour.

    But under Capitalist, labour is filth, humans are garbage, and don't even get the same considering that non-sentient equipment does. I'm not a Communist, but Capitalism has had its day, and now must be reformed. If minimum wage stops adequate employment, that is again, a fault of the system.

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, and cannot sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that are broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of living so they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Mon Mar 8 13:35:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    @MSGID: <60442EE1.3464.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <6043C33D.24662.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Sat Mar 06 2021 06:00 pm


    didnt hit the news. it all happened quietly over time.

    That's the problem of worker's unions and minimum wages. The higher the minimum wage, the less attractive it is for businesses to purchase your labour. People who don't understand economics see a minimum wage barrier as a good thing, but it has actually repelled industry away from the West and into the East resulting in an INCREASE of poverty rather than a REDUCTION.


    well i've been in manufacturing for almost 30 years.
    my home city was a hub of manufacturing and i saw it all fall apart.

    i dont think minimum wage played into any of it.

    i think it is just cheaper OVERALL and less regulation overseas.

    personally i have seen my employer have to use china for items usa businesses couldnt manufacture or WOULDN'T manufacture due to the
    "small" amount we needed.

    we also were rejected by 2 american polishers for metal parts because
    our parts were not raw enough and we would need quantities of 250 done every 3 months. china polished our stuff, but we just needed some
    touchups at 200 usd per part. seems like a deal to me. they said gtfo

    It is not "economic reality", it is the deliberate decision of business that lead to this. Time and time again, I've seen production stopped, because it wasn't profitable ENOUGH. That product probably now comes from China. There is to this, a degree of lazyyness, of not willing to do something worthwhile, because there might be higher hanging fruit.

    I don't believe the argument that wages make manufacturing not viable. When a major car manufacturer pulled manufacturing out of Victoria, all the pundits blamed labour laws and our labour cost, but the company themselves stated that was not the reason. That didn't stop the falsehood spreading.

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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Mon Mar 8 00:09:20 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 01:21 pm

    A lot of people at my workplace, on the shop floor, earn minimum wage.
    These are people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and older, some with children.

    Trump must have done well with your economy if its easy to get a decent paying job.


    that's too bad. here it's usually low lvl retail jobs and fast food that pays min wage. some fast food places pay more than that now, also.
    ---
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Mon Mar 8 02:54:40 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 01:35 pm

    I don't believe the argument that wages make manufacturing not viable. When a major car manufacturer pulled manufacturing o

    I think that, more than labor price, it is all the surrounding environment that makes hiring difficult for a lot of Westerns.

    As I said earlier, it is hard in Spain to take long positions, not because employees are entitled to a high minimum wage
    (although that is a problem for some sectors), but because things like:

    * If an employee is proven to be a burden, it is hard to sack him. I know of employees involved in incidents where people died
    and they tried to hide them from management, and management won't sack them because it is too expensive and the lawyer money
    required to get a "free firing" is just too much trouble. If you are starting a new firm, you know you are marrying to any
    employee you recruit, so you don't recruit anybody unless you 100% need it - or go Konkin style.
    * The Spanish government is changing the law all the time, so if you hire somebody for X EUR per hour today, tomorrow they may
    change the law so you have to pay X * 1.5, or so you have to spend Y in workplace security audits or god knows what. This is,
    you cannot plan to run your company assuming you are going to hace a certain known ammount of expenses in manpower because they
    may show up and screw you and now you have increased operation costs and you can't get rid of them. So what do you do? You hire
    nobody uunless you absolutely have to.
    * Lots of sectors have unionized in what can only be described as mafias. It is not that the unions are going on strikes
    against you if they don't like your firm, it is that they are going to screw any worker in that industry that does not support
    the strike too. This is why certain importers/exporters refuse to use Catalonian ports for loading or unloading wares, for
    example.
    * Sporadic jobs are impossible in Spain. You cannot pay 15 bucks to the village drunktard in Spain in order for him to help you
    unload a truck - the drunktard is expected to file up as a self-employed individual, for about 300 eur that month, or you are
    expected to give him a contract and pay about 400 EUR to the administration. For 15 bucks.

    Something I have learnt is that big companies like reliability more than they do money. When I speak to bean counters about
    hireability in Spain, the above pop up more often than labor price.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From IB Joe@VERT/JOESBBS to Boraxman on Mon Mar 8 09:04:00 2021
    On 08 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, and c sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that are broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of livin they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.


    Yes they are... They should be trained to elevate themselves.... not be held out as victims... When raise the minimum wage to 15 an hour... the guys who had some skill and were making 15 want 20... the guys who were making 20 want 25... and so on. Now the cost of things rise because of labor costs... the happy meal you use to buy for 5 bucks not cost 15... and it's perpetuated ... 15 bucks an hour will become the new poor mans wage...

    Companies will have to find ways to cut costs ... find computer systems to replace hourly workers. Offshore some of these costs... hire family over strangers.... even better hire some of the people entering the US right now over the southern boarder because there is about to be a glut of unskilled labor about to compete with citizens ability to earn a decent living...

    All hale Joe Biden... get the masses talking about $15 an hour when they are all bout to loose their jobs...

    IB Joe
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's BBS
    -=JoesBBS.com=-

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    * Origin: JoesBBS.Com, Telnet:2323 SSH:2222 HTTP:80
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to MRO on Mon Mar 8 09:01:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Dr. What <=-

    it was also cheaper and made more sense. any of us would move our
    company overseas if we made twice the money. especially if we werent making much money to begin with. the govt created that environment.

    Exactly. The Lefties want to call it "corporate greed". But they can't understand that companies exist to make money and if the local gov't makes
    it impossible to make money, they have to do something.

    same shit is going on in california. their economy is fueled by small businesses. what do they do? tax and regulate the fuck out of them.

    Lefties have no economic sense at all. They think that if a company charges
    $2 for a cup of coffee, the company gets all that money. They don't understand that after paying for everything that it takes to make that cup of money,
    they company is lucky to get $0.02 out of that $2.

    saw a video of a business owner who said he hasnt turned a profit in a decade. his part time workers are making 50k a year. part time. ---

    Many years ago, we were watching the Kroger strike going on. People were sympathetic to the workers until they found out that those part time workers were making more than many full time workers in other companies.


    ... It's not the money I want, it's the stuff.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to MRO on Mon Mar 8 09:39:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    well i've been in manufacturing for almost 30 years.
    my home city was a hub of manufacturing and i saw it all fall apart.

    i dont think minimum wage played into any of it.

    No. You can thank the unions for that.

    i think it is just cheaper OVERALL and less regulation overseas.

    And you are correct. But that expensiveness comes, in great part, from
    gov't regulations.

    One day, the company I worked for at the time made a huge mistake and actually sent us all a detailed sheet showing how much it costs for the company to carry us as employees. It was **very** eye-opening.

    (BTW: The huge mistake was that many employees used that information to successfully sue the company over vacation time that they weren't allowed
    to take.)


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Mon Mar 8 09:48:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Andeddu <=-

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    Correct. But that should be set by the market - not by a bureaucrat who
    knows nothing.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.

    Correct again. But now you are talking about the market, which has nothing
    to do with minimum wage laws.

    You have a product that costs X to make. You need to make a profit to
    grow your company. So you need to sell it at X+P. If the market will not
    buy it at that price, you look for a way to sell it for less, or you don't
    sell it.

    Conversely, if I'm an employer and I have a job that needs to be done, I set
    a price, say $5, for the job. If no one takes the job at that price, then
    I need to decide if it's worth it to me to pay more, or not have the job
    done. But if someone does take the job, then the job is worth $5 - regardless of what any minimum wage law says.

    If someone will do the job for $10, but the gov't says that I **must** pay
    $15, then I will do the same thing: decide if it's worth it to get the job done, or not have the job done.

    Go into a McDonalds to see what they decided: Cachiers replaced by kiosks. They decided they didn't need a person to do that job.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to MRO on Mon Mar 8 09:54:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    in the usa usually the only people making min wage are retirees and
    kids out of school.

    Actually, most of those already get more than minimum wage. The kids
    who have absolutely no work experience are the only ones getting minimum
    wage. After showing that they come to work on time every day and do a good job, they usually get paid more.

    min wage jobs are not a lifelong career.

    Lefties don't understand this. But then most of them have never worked
    anyway, so they don't understand.

    it's easy to get decent paying jobs, especially since covid hit.

    Ya, the people who are still living in Unemployment don't want to work.
    They will make less.


    ... Always remember you're unique - just like everyone else.
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Mon Mar 8 10:19:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Arelor <=-

    But under Capitalist, labour is filth, humans are garbage, and don't
    even get the same considering that non-sentient equipment does.

    Ahhh.. Channeling Marx, I see. He's as wrong today as he was in his day.

    Only Communism/Socialism treats humans as garbage. Case in point: China.

    If minimum wage stops adequate employment, that is again, a
    fault of the system.

    Yes, it's a fault of the quasi-socialist system that we currently have.

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time,
    and cannot sustain themselves, is broken.

    You claim you are not a communist, then you just effectively state that you are.

    You are claiming that a system, where both the worker and company both **voluntarily** agree to do something is BROKEN.

    The idea that it is the
    workers that are broken, they working full time should not guarantee
    some standard of living so they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.

    As an employer, how much someone *needs* to make has no bearing on how much
    I should pay.


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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Mon Mar 8 09:49:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Sunday 07.03.21 - 16:17, you wrote to me:

    I like the way you summarized the path to doom.

    So.. what is the way out?

    Go into full Sammuel Edward Konkin III mode as soon as the
    conditions necessary to make a living legally no longer
    exist I guess.

    I am not familiar with that fellow. Is he anything like Ayn
    Rand?


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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dr. What on Mon Mar 8 12:48:15 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Boraxman on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:48 am

    Go into a McDonalds to see what they decided: Cachiers replaced by kiosks. They decided they didn't need a person to do tha
    job.



    Well, this is a predictable outcome.

    An engineer with a legion of PLCs can do the job of a hundred people, plus PLCs don't vote or unionize or are granted rights by
    the government that you can't afford.

    Remember that nerd who got bullied in school by all the popular people who shunned studious people? Now they are getting kicked
    by the nerd and his massive robotic army.

    Incidental anecdote, I know of an engineer who optimized factories for a living via automation. He once was called to China
    for automating a firm - I think it was an excavations firm. In the end they reached the conclussion that it was not worth the
    effort to automate anything there. It was better to buy three thousand shovels for three thousand employees than purchase fifty
    bulldozers for fifty employees because workers there are dirty cheap and, most important, they don't cause trouble.

    I hold the impopular opinion that the way to deal with lowering standards of living is to stop producing people. The reason
    life is getting so hard as of late is that there is barely any need to satisfy in society that somebody else is not satisfying
    already. This makes it nearly impossible to build a startup or get a job unless you are outstanding at what you do, or are
    willing to make massive sacrifices.


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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dr. What on Mon Mar 8 12:50:49 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Boraxman on Mon Mar 08 2021 10:19 am

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, and cannot sustain themselves, is broken.

    You claim you are not a communist, then you just effectively state that you are.


    I think he is actually on the other end of the spectrum, very close to Spanish style Fascism.

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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Dr. What on Mon Mar 8 13:01:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:54 am

    it's easy to get decent paying jobs, especially since covid hit.

    Ya, the people who are still living in Unemployment don't want to work. They will make less.

    I thought a lot of companies have been negatively affected by covid, especially restaurants & similar businesses that relied on people coming in to eat. It seemed other types of businesses were also negatively affected in some way. I was laid off at the end of 2019, just before covid got serious, and I'm thankful I found another job.

    Nightfox

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Mon Mar 8 17:06:22 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Sun Mar 07 2021 04:00 pm

    i've worked in shops since i was 18. i've been at places with no workers rights, no safety and no health care. breaking fingers was an everyday thing when i was a heat treater. some people didnt even go to the doctor for it. probably because they would test dirty.

    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    it's survival of the fittest.

    The Chinese industry today is where America was in the 1950s. Everything is not regulated to the nth degree, lawyers are not contantly on your ass, workers cannot seemingly do what they want whenever they want, they are not entitled to three tea breaks each day, etc... it might not be a pleasant way to work but it is far more efficient and the returns are far greater. If I were looking to create a new start-up, I would not dream of basing it in the UK or the USA... I'd go to China where I would make a lot of money and be competitive.

    You are right, it is the survival of the fittest, and the old, bloated and over-regulated dinosaur nations are as good as extinct. The USA manufacturing sector made up over 40% of the economy in 1950, today it makes up less than 10%. People are spending money and buying goods, but nothing is being produced!

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Mon Mar 8 15:13:55 2021
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:49 am

    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Sunday 07.03.21 - 16:17, you wrote to me:

    I like the way you summarized the path to doom.

    So.. what is the way out?

    Go into full Sammuel Edward Konkin III mode as soon as the
    conditions necessary to make a living legally no longer
    exist I guess.

    I am not familiar with that fellow. Is he anything like Ayn
    Rand?

    Konkin makes Rand look tame.

    His idea is that laws are not ethically superior because they were enacted by some politician who got there because he managed to fool the most voters. Therefore, breaking such laws is not necessarily immoral and it may even be desirable it such regulations are blatantly stupid.

    He also had this idea that underground economy could overtake surface economy
    . Like during Spanish Francoism, in which employers would negotiate with illegal unions instead of official ones, and people would purchase food in the black market instead of the surface one, because the surface one was controlled by the Phalanx and mostly inoperative.

    Konkin was also the Author of The Legend of Anarcho-Klaus, a tale about Santa's rebel son. In that tale, Santa is in the government's payroll for brainwashing kids by giving away politically acceptable gifts, and promoting pro-government sheep mentallity. Anarcho-Klaus opposed Santa by giving their kids hardcore stuff.

    "Thanks for this Thompson, Santa! But my parents are pacifists. They would kill me if they found out I have it!"

    "And there is no contradiction in that. Ho, ho, ho!"

    (The tale is actually quite bad but the idea is hillarious).

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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Mon Mar 8 19:42:33 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dr. What on Mon Mar 08 2021 12:48 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Boraxman on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:48 am

    Go into a McDonalds to see what they decided: Cachiers replaced by kiosks. They decided they didn't need a person to do tha job.



    Well, this is a predictable outcome.

    An engineer with a legion of PLCs can do the job of a hundred people, plus

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the line.
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Mon Mar 8 19:44:40 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Dr. What on Mon Mar 08 2021 01:01 pm

    it's easy to get decent paying jobs, especially since covid hit.

    Ya, the people who are still living in Unemployment don't want to work. They will make less.

    I thought a lot of companies have been negatively affected by covid, especially restaurants & similar businesses that relied on people coming in to eat. It seemed other types of businesses were also negatively affected in some way. I was laid off at the end of 2019, just before covid got

    manufacturing couldnt get enough people. the company i'm moving to made twice the amount during those covid months.

    restaurants and bars suffered. trucks still had to be on the road, stores still needed to be stocked and we still needed 'things'. and with that you need workers.
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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Mon Mar 8 19:12:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Mon Mar 08 2021 07:42 pm

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the line.

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting longer than usual for my order to be ready.

    Nightfox

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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Mon Mar 8 23:17:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 07:12 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Mon Mar 08 2021 07:42 pm

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the line.

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting longer than usual for my order to be ready.


    where you have used them is there some type of line structure? because everyplace i've seen them, even in other states, it's not setup smart. it's in the back and turned. so you visit the kiosk when it's not occupied. you cant line up.

    and everytime i've used it i got my stuff after a longer wait too.

    right now mcdonalds is a well oiled machine with the people it has. no kiosk is going to replace that.
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Tue Mar 9 07:10:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6045274C.24699.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60445AE3.49277.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sun Mar 07 2021 03:39 pm

    Free market capitalism may work at the start, but its doomed to fail
    as people game the system. It is not a "steady state" system.

    Also Free Markets is not the same as Capitalism. You can have a free
    market system in a non-Capitalist system, and vice versa,
    non-free-market Capitalism.

    As you yourself said, coporations and banking used the government to
    change the market. They were free to do so, and did. Large companies
    won't just stick with pure-business, they WILL want to change society,
    the "meta-economics" for their advantage. No Capitalists wants a true
    free market, so Free Market Capitalism will always seek to undermine
    itself.

    I was meaning capitalism in its purist free market form. Obviously it's subject to entropy, like everything else. Late stage capitalism is the result of large corporate interests cornering the market by lobbying politicians, infiltrating government offices and creating laws to
    impose their dominion. This can only occur when a country allows itself
    to have a LARGE and POWERFUL government. Small businesses, when they aren't hamstrung by government regulations, are nimble enough to chip
    away and topple larger corporations as they can adapt to consumer
    trends far more quickly and efficently than business monoliths.
    ---

    But Capitalism is not "free markets", it is the private ownership of the means of production. It is characterised by employment and capital typically being the residual claimant of the end result of a productive process. "Free Markets" are a feature of Capitalism the same way that Democracy it, it is found together, but it is not necessary for a Capitalist economy to have a free market.

    I await a small business toppling Unilever.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Tue Mar 9 07:22:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60452908.24700.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60445AE3.49278.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sun Mar 07 2021 03:43 pm

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where
    that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.

    Wrong. The market should decide the minimum cost of labour, not the government. In a truly free market, there should not be a minimum wage. Your labour is worth only what an employer is WILLING to pay for it. If the salary is too low, then you are free to take your labour elsewhere
    and attempt to seek a higher wage.

    That is an ideal, but it doesn't reflect reality. In reality, the price of labour is based on the differing bargaining power that the hirer/hiree has. Unlike other investments, labour is not really free to choose not to rent itself out. You can choose to sell your car instead of rent it at a loss. Labour cannot dispose of the asset that it must rent to maintain. Because labour is in a somewhat unique position in that it cannot dispose of itself, or (usually) transfer repsonsibility of its liabilities to someone else, it has an inherit bargaining disadvantage. That can be exploited to drive wages down.

    Also, you seem to believe that "the market" somehow find an inherent value. Actually, what "the market" often finds, is the power balace between buyer and seller. The idea that wages are based on value is odd, and incorrect. The factory I work at rents machines. The idea that the rental fee of the machine is determined based on its marginal utility, its value-input is laughable. No, the rental fee is what the owner sets. Again, wages are RENTAL FEES, they are not exchanges of value. That is a Capitalist myth, designed to make people believe the system works different to how it actually does.



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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Tue Mar 9 07:24:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6045BF90.3500.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <60458DBB.49292.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 01:21 pm

    A lot of people at my workplace, on the shop floor, earn minimum wage.
    These are people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and older, some with children.

    Trump must have done well with your economy if its easy to get a decent paying job.


    that's too bad. here it's usually low lvl retail jobs and fast food
    that pays min wage. some fast food places pay more than that now,
    also. ---

    Minimum wage is lower in the states, and many rely on tips if they work in hospitality. Here the minimum is higher, which is perhaps why more jobs can be set at the minimum wage. A factor floor worker doesn't rely on tips, becaues they could never get them.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Tue Mar 9 07:32:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6045E650.21458.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60458DC2.49295.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Mon
    Mar 08 2021 01:35 pm

    I don't believe the argument that wages make manufacturing not viable. When
    a major car manufacturer pulled manufacturing o

    I think that, more than labor price, it is all the surrounding
    environment that makes hiring difficult for a lot of Westerns.

    As I said earlier, it is hard in Spain to take long positions, not
    because employees are entitled to a high minimum wage (although that is
    a problem for some sectors), but because things like:

    * If an employee is proven to be a burden, it is hard to sack him. I
    know of employees involved in incidents where people died and they
    tried to hide them from management, and management won't sack them
    because it is too expensive and the lawyer money required to get a
    "free firing" is just too much trouble. If you are starting a new firm, you know you are marrying to any employee you recruit, so you don't recruit anybody unless you 100% need it - or go Konkin style. * The Spanish government is changing the law all the time, so if you hire somebody for X EUR per hour today, tomorrow they may change the law so
    you have to pay X * 1.5, or so you have to spend Y in workplace
    security audits or god knows what. This is, you cannot plan to run your company assuming you are going to hace a certain known ammount of
    expenses in manpower because they may show up and screw you and now you have increased operation costs and you can't get rid of them. So what
    do you do? You hire nobody uunless you absolutely have to.
    * Lots of sectors have unionized in what can only be described as
    mafias. It is not that the unions are going on strikes against you if
    they don't like your firm, it is that they are going to screw any
    worker in that industry that does not support the strike too. This is
    why certain importers/exporters refuse to use Catalonian ports for
    loading or unloading wares, for example.
    * Sporadic jobs are impossible in Spain. You cannot pay 15 bucks to the village drunktard in Spain in order for him to help you unload a truck
    - the drunktard is expected to file up as a self-employed individual,
    for about 300 eur that month, or you are expected to give him a
    contract and pay about 400 EUR to the administration. For 15 bucks.

    Something I have learnt is that big companies like reliability more
    than they do money. When I speak to bean counters about hireability in Spain, the above pop up more often than labor price.

    I agree it making it difficult to fire people is a problem. I've had to endure some very poor colleagues for this reason, and they are a cost. I agree with most of what you say, but such a situation is I believe a result of our economic system. You see, the problem is that there is a clear employer/employee relatoinship. I cannot feel much sympathy for a class of people who are given legal structures, backed by force, that enable them to claim ownership of production. That is a somewhat generous arrangement, and to complain that the workers may be taking them for a ride, well I can't really blame workers completely. They are in COMPETITION with owners.

    See, this is the problem with Capitalism. The means of production are privately owned, and labour is alienated from production by means of the employment contract. You have no ownership of the product, no just property rights, the only thing you can do, is to try and extend your material claim as much as possible. This type of problem, unionism, trying to extract what you can from employers, while I agree is destructive, is something that just must happen. Really, most of the complaints from Capitalists about labour, is that labour is just not willing to accept a subordinate economic position.

    The solution really is to reconsider property rights, so that labour, not capital, is the rightful owner of a productive process. Capital is a factor supplier, much like how the car rental company is. Democratically run firms, owner cooperatives.

    Until this, this civilisation weakening, destructive antagonism will continue, it has to.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to IB Joe on Tue Mar 9 07:39:00 2021
    IB Joe wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60464AFA.117552.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    On 08 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, and c sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that are broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of livin they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.


    Yes they are... They should be trained to elevate themselves.... not
    be held out as victims... When raise the minimum wage to 15 an hour...
    the guys who had some skill and were making 15 want 20... the guys who were making 20 want 25... and so on. Now the cost of things rise
    because of labor costs... the happy meal you use to buy for 5 bucks not cost 15... and it's perpetuated ... 15 bucks an hour will become the
    new poor mans wage...

    Companies will have to find ways to cut costs ... find computer systems
    to replace hourly workers. Offshore some of these costs... hire family over strangers.... even better hire some of the people entering the US right now over the southern boarder because there is about to be a glut
    of unskilled labor about to compete with citizens ability to earn a
    decent living...

    All hale Joe Biden... get the masses talking about $15 an hour when
    they are all bout to loose their jobs...

    A house in my city, a typical house like the one my warehouse worker dad purchased, now might cost a million dollars.

    Good luck arguing that wages shouldn't go up. That alone just highlights the absurdity of the "wages are too high" argument. They aren't. They aren't high enough.

    No, workers are not at fault. Our system enables parasitic property specuvestors to hoard property, we increase immigratoin to drive down wages and drive up property prices so they can make PASSIVE income doing nothing but attending auctions, and we have the audicity to then question worker Joe, who just wants to be able to support his wife and kids. No, the spivs that drove up the price of housing from 3x years wages to 11x yearly wages, no, they are golden. All the other profit seekers, ticket clippers, middle men, speculators, the hedge funds, they are just fine, aren't they? Better to have children grow up with lack of opportunity and precarious housing arrangments, than have some speculator maybe "only" make 2 million flipping properties instead of 10 million.

    We had "conservatives" argue that wages were too high, but when the Labor thought about winding back tax benefits which subsidise property investors, they cried out in pain, because house prices might actually not go up. They wanted to both pillor working people who wanted a decent wage AND argue that the very things they need should increase in price.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Tue Mar 9 08:00:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60464957.50940.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <60445AE3.49278.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Andeddu <=-

    So companies want to purchase labour below cost? The minimum wage
    enforces that labour can maintain itself. You can quibble about where that line is, but there IS a line. There is most definately a wage
    which is too low.

    Correct. But that should be set by the market - not by a bureaucrat
    who knows nothing.

    I don't believe "the market" should always set prices. It is not a rule that the market is the optimal means to do so.

    If you had a car, would you rent it out at a price which didn't cover
    the maintenance/upkeep? No, of course not. It is not your
    responsibility to drop the rental of the car below break-even in order
    to allow the person renting it to turn a profit.

    Correct again. But now you are talking about the market, which has nothing to do with minimum wage laws.

    You have a product that costs X to make. You need to make a profit to grow your company. So you need to sell it at X+P. If the market will
    not buy it at that price, you look for a way to sell it for less, or
    you don't sell it.

    Conversely, if I'm an employer and I have a job that needs to be done,
    I set a price, say $5, for the job. If no one takes the job at that price, then I need to decide if it's worth it to me to pay more, or not have the job done. But if someone does take the job, then the job is worth $5 - regardless of what any minimum wage law says.

    If someone will do the job for $10, but the gov't says that I **must**
    pay $15, then I will do the same thing: decide if it's worth it to get the job done, or not have the job done.

    Go into a McDonalds to see what they decided: Cachiers replaced by kiosks. They decided they didn't need a person to do that job.

    It was feasible to have labour do that job for decades, so what changed?

    As for the product, why are you entitled to sell it? This is a wierd feature of Capitalist ideology, that an entrepreneur is ENTITLED to sell product and buyers are ENTITLED to buy it.

    Lets say product X, because of labour involved, cannot be sold under $Y. Then if there is no market for X at $Y, then X is simply not a feasible product. Period. We in the West EXPECT to be able to buy complex electronics at bargain prices, low enough to be able to change them a year, but we have to use almost slave labour in order to do so. Why are we entitled to this?

    See, we don't want to wear the TRUE cost, so in order to get the lifestyle that we believe we are entitled to, because it is marketed to us, we shift these costs elsewhere. I can by a polo top at a department store in Melbourne for $5. Why should it be that cheap? It's made that cheap, because the actual cost has been hidden, obfuscted.

    Really, when you break it down, we are just expecting to live beyond our means, the debate is in actually, WHO WILL WEAR THE COST. If society expects cheap hamburgers everywhere, made instantly, then this comes at a cost. Now they don't want to pay for it by a higher price, so it has to be borne elsewhere. We expect it to be normal to eat McDonalds every day, to burn through resources, to buy new computers and phones all the time, to get everything on a whim, but perhaps all this is unreasonable. Perhaps having so, so many people employed just serving fast food, so many restuarants is itself silly. Everything is out of equilibrium.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Tue Mar 9 08:04:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60464957.50942.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <60458DBD.49293.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Arelor <=-

    But under Capitalist, labour is filth, humans are garbage, and don't
    even get the same considering that non-sentient equipment does.

    Ahhh.. Channeling Marx, I see. He's as wrong today as he was in his
    day.

    Only Communism/Socialism treats humans as garbage. Case in point:
    China.

    Humans beings are, economically speaking, one step above equipment. When you work for a company, you rescind your right to self-governance, you rescind your natural property rights, you are renumerated the way equipment is. It is only because of unions that you are physically not treated like equipment.

    Marx was definately wrong on the alternative system, I'm very anti-commununist, but his criticism of Capitalism is valid.

    If minimum wage stops adequate employment, that is again, a
    fault of the system.

    Yes, it's a fault of the quasi-socialist system that we currently have.

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time,
    and cannot sustain themselves, is broken.

    You claim you are not a communist, then you just effectively state that you are.

    You are claiming that a system, where both the worker and company both **voluntarily** agree to do something is BROKEN.

    The idea that it is the
    workers that are broken, they working full time should not guarantee
    some standard of living so they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.

    As an employer, how much someone *needs* to make has no bearing on how much I should pay.


    That makes no sense. If you were hiring a car, how much the car hire company *needs* to recuperate in order to maintain the care DOES have bearing. Labour isn't different.

    You are renting a human being, the cost of maintenance IS your concern. If you believe it shouldn't be, then you have no business renting people. Go run a business on your own.

    Seriously, you want to enter into productive enterprise with other human beings, but simultaneously claim that their needs have no bearing. That is why I say that Capitalism treats humans like filth. You don't even see it!

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Tue Mar 9 08:06:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <60451C92.24697.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60442EE1.3464.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Sat
    Mar 06 2021 07:39 pm

    well i've been in manufacturing for almost 30 years.
    my home city was a hub of manufacturing and i saw it all fall apart.

    i dont think minimum wage played into any of it.

    i think it is just cheaper OVERALL and less regulation overseas.

    personally i have seen my employer have to use china for items usa businesses couldnt manufacture or WOULDN'T manufacture due to the "small" amount we needed.

    we also were rejected by 2 american polishers for metal parts because our parts were not raw enough and we would need quantities of 250 done every 3 months. china polished our stuff, but we just needed some touchups at 200 usd per part. seems like a deal to me. they said gtfo

    Low salaries are a huge reason as to why industry moved overseas...
    that and far less bureaucracy. It's an a-symmetrical playing field
    between China and the USA, they don't have the same worker's rights, health & safety, pension & healthcare packages, etc... and the sheer
    level of bureaucracy makes it expensive and time consuming to expand businesses in the West compared to the East. Even simple things such as planning and building permissions can become a proteracted ordeal, in China you just build shit and make money. They don't carry out enviromental impact assessments or anything like that.
    ---

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. It is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Tue Mar 9 08:07:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    @MSGID: <60454D10.3489.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <60451C92.24697.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Sun Mar 07 2021 06:33 pm

    Low salaries are a huge reason as to why industry moved overseas... that and far less bureaucracy. It's an a-symmetrical playing field between China and the USA, they don't have the same worker's rights, health & safety, pension & healthcare packages, etc... and the sheer level of bureaucracy makes it expensive and time consuming to expand businesses in the West compared to the East. Even simple things such as planning and building permissions can become a proteracted ordeal, in China you just build shit and make money. They don't carry out enviromental impact assessments or anything like that.

    i've worked in shops since i was 18. i've been at places with no
    workers rights, no safety and no health care. breaking fingers was an everyday thing when i was a heat treater. some people didnt even go to
    the doctor for it. probably because they would test dirty.

    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Nightfox on Tue Mar 9 08:14:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to MRO <=-

    @MSGID: <6046E792.58716.dove_dove-gen@digitaldistortionbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6046D289.3521.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Mon
    Mar 08 2021 07:42 pm

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the line.

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their
    kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting longer
    than usual for my order to be ready.

    Might depend on what you order, but in my experience, the took at long, if not longer. There are some place where the machines are not avaiable, such as in food courts, and in those cases, you have to deal with a queue, and the place is usually busy. So the machines seem to be where they are not needed.

    But really, if the people cooking the food got paid more, it would raise the cost of the means by what, 50c?

    The company I work for, the labour component of the final products price is really small. If minimum wage DOUBLED the consumer would barely notice. The packing site would, because of the way that accounting is.

    Thats what I take these arguments with a grain of salt. I work in manufacturing, and I know how much the labour cost of the $45 product actually is.


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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Tue Mar 9 07:36:01 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:04 am

    As an employer, how much someone *needs* to make has no bearing on how much I should pay.


    That makes no sense. If you were hiring a car, how much the car hire compan *needs* to recuperate in order to maintain the care DOES have bearing. Labo isn't different.

    You are renting a human being, the cost of maintenance IS your concern. If you believe it shouldn't be, then you have no business renting people. Go r a business on your own.


    In the end of the day people pays for results.

    If you pay 15 bucks in order to get a hay truck unloaded, you are usually not worrying too much about how that money you are paying is going to be spent afterwards, because it is not your business. You usually don't worry too much about social conditionants that may involve the employee unless they affetc you.

    Unlading a truck is worth 15 bucks because that is what you are willing to pay. It does not matter much if it is Hercules himself doing the downloading (and who plans to eat three boars whole later) or if it is a skinny midget that is going to eat a bowl of rice afterwards. Obviously, if Hercules wants to afford his lifestyle he is going to have to get another job (else get used to rice).

    In fact if there is a big capitalist myth is that effort matters. Effort does not matter. Nobody ever buys "effort". They buy results. In fact you can track criticism to this idea to capitalist books from the mid 2oth century already.


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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Tue Mar 9 07:40:33 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:06 am

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.


    My experience with cooperative groups is that they are very good at shooting themseelves in their feet as nicely as regular companies.

    If _everything_ was a cooperative group you'd soon have the same issues when economies went down. WHen time came to cut corners, they would choose this or that provider because it is more affordable, and if the cheaper provider is foreigner because of "reasons" then you would stop doing business with the locals. ANd the locals would do the same to you.

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  • From IB Joe@VERT/JOESBBS to Boraxman on Tue Mar 9 08:08:00 2021
    On 09 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.


    Yes it is.... If they want a higher wage they should gain the skill set that pays them the wage they want. Most minimum wage jobs were not created to sustain life... Teens and others need these jobs to build a foundation... Now they'll be gone. Business owners will not hire a teen if they have to pay the kid a lot of money. Fast food places will automate processes... others will employ family and illegals over none...

    Doing a quick search with DuckDuckGo I found with in seconds several articles showing the labor costs for a small business can be up to 70% of its operating costs. It is small business that employs a lot of people in the world... US ... Large businesses who can afford higher wages and they also have the ability to maneuver bureaucratic red-tape... Love watching small businesses suffer and fail.... This is why large businesses lobby in Washington to implement a lot of these policies, high wages and regulations, so that competition cannot get a start.... and as a result they keep their power...


    A house in my city, a typical house like the one my warehouse worker dad purchased, now might cost a million dollars.


    Great news... U can move... The real estate market is a local market, houses being sold in California have no influence house prices in Texas, or the price of homes in Austin have no, little to none, in Brownsville.

    People are moving every day from cities and states because of costs... My home state... Florida ... You could live in a large city center or... live where I have ... Cystal River in Citrus county... you can still buy a place for under a 100,000 easy... If you don't like the cost of living where you live... MOVE... If your a Business owner and your business is under attack with wage costs, taxation and regulations... Move... move to a different state or different country.

    Boraxman... no one owes you a thing...


    Good luck arguing that wages shouldn't go up. That alone just
    highlights the absurdity of the "wages are too high" argument. They aren't. They aren't high enough.


    No is arguing that... I just think it should be free market that sets wages... not an artificial amount set by the government... If you want to bring yourself out of poverty add to your skills... With no effort at all its easy to find honest articles showing, and there is, correlations in unemployment rising with the increase labor costs... Moreover, there also is a is a correlation with taxation and unemployment as well....

    We saw the best economy in US history because Trump lowered taxes for everyone... giving more money to the people... and the single most important things he did was cut regulations... Now small businesses can start and compete in a free market...


    No, workers are not at fault. Our system enables parasitic property specuvestors to hoard property, we increase immigratoin to drive down wages and drive up property prices so they can make PASSIVE income doing nothing but attending auctions, and we have the audicity to then
    question worker Joe, who just wants to be able to support his wife and kids. No, the spivs that drove up the price of housing from 3x years wages to 11x yearly wages, no, they are golden. All the other profit seekers, ticket clippers, middle men, speculators, the hedge funds, they are just fine, aren't they? Better to have children grow up with lack
    of opportunity and precarious housing arrangments, than have some speculator maybe "only" make 2 million flipping properties instead of 10 million.


    Got to love the American way.... Free enterprise baby!!!! Don't like things, change it... you can be the next Opra, not with your attitude, be a victor not a victim ....

    As the current administration floods the labor force with cheep 3rd world labor I do not see a bright future for the average American as these people are probably willing to do that work for less money...

    And even worse ... current administration is willing to print trillion and trillions of US dollars and only give it to the top 1%... People need to look at the bill that was just passed... less than 10% going to the American people and over 90% going elsewhere... The party that use to have J.F.K. in it is a horse of a different color now... Divide and concur...


    We had "conservatives" argue that wages were too high, but when the Labor thought about winding back tax benefits which subsidise property investors, they cried out in pain, because house prices might actually
    not go up. They wanted to both pillor working people who wanted a
    decent wage AND argue that the very things they need should increase in price.


    Nobody argued that... most conservatives... in the US anyway... just want a constitutional government... Limited federal reach... 10'th amendment should be respected and someone needs to bitch slap people in Washington...

    Liberal seem to want to change the outcomes... someone goes to school years and years and years to become a doctor, lawyer and engineer... They do this to elevate themselves and their families.... Liberals want to take the spoils of their efforts and redistribute it to people who have no skin in the game....

    Conservatives work under the exact opposite thinking... lets implement the right policies so that it's a level playing field and that anyone who wants to grab at the gold ring can.... and if you succeed I am proud of you... not envious of you... proud.

    The swamp is deep in Washington... people there seem to want to enrich themselves and their families before they even care about you... Hunter Binden is a prime example...

    I believe we're living in a post constitutional world right now. I also believe we are not that far from a catastrophic market crash if Washington doesn't fix what they are doing.... I mean this... Never mind $15 and hour... U'll have to resort to giving BJs just to get something warm in your stomach ...

    IB Joe
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's BBS
    -=JoesBBS.com=-

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    * Origin: JoesBBS.Com, Telnet:2323 SSH:2222 HTTP:80
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to MRO on Tue Mar 9 08:23:05 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Mon Mar 08 2021 11:17 pm

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much
    faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their
    kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting longer
    than usual for my order to be ready.

    where you have used them is there some type of line structure? because everyplace i've seen them, even in other states, it's not setup smart. it's in the back and turned. so you visit the kiosk when it's not occupied. you cant line up.

    It's basically the same here. Their kiosks are in the front area, but behind where everyone lines up for the counter. When I've been there, there has always been at least one kiosk free to order from.

    right now mcdonalds is a well oiled machine with the people it has. no kiosk is going to replace that.

    Fast food employees come and go all the time. And the kiosks are still relatively new. Fast food places are also now taking online orders through apps and from delivery services like DoorDash & such. Things are changing, and those things are still fairly new.

    Nightfox

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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Boraxman on Tue Mar 9 08:31:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:07 am

    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    At some things, perhaps it's true. Semiconductor manufacturing is one area - Companies have set up large chip fabs in China, and they're good at producing computer chips. TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation) has chip fabs there, and I believe Intel does too (my understanding is that Intel manufacturers wafers in the US and other countries but sends the wafers to China to produce processors from the wafers).

    Also, a while ago, I saw a video on YouTube showing a fully automated ship port in China. Workers can simply deliver cargo boxes to the port, and machines automatically sort it and get the cargo onto the correct ship when the ships dock to pick them up; it's a similar process when ships drop off cargo.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to IB Joe on Tue Mar 9 17:48:20 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: IB Joe to Boraxman on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:04 am

    Yes they are... They should be trained to elevate themselves.... not be held out as victims... When raise the minimum wage to 15 an hour... the guys who had some skill and were making 15 want 20... the guys who were making 20 want 25... and so on. Now the cost of things rise because of labor costs... the happy meal you use to buy for 5 bucks not cost 15... and it's perpetuated ... 15 bucks an hour will become the new poor mans wage...

    Absolutely. When a minimum wage is implemented and enforced by government, inflation rises causing goods and services to increase in costs. The idea that the worker has ANY more purchasing power is an illusion. The reality is that they have less purchasing power and can purchase fewer goods and services. This causes a spiral effect where fewer people are employed to produce fewer goods resulting in even higher prices. Eventually companies either collapse or relocate to places where there is not a minimum wage requirement and end up leaving mass unemployment in their wake.

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Tue Mar 9 18:04:50 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Arelor on Mon Mar 08 2021 07:42 pm

    Go into a McDonalds to see what they decided: Cachiers replaced by kiosks. They decided they didn't need a person to do tha job.

    Well, this is a predictable outcome.

    An engineer with a legion of PLCs can do the job of a hundred people, plus

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the line.

    It's making a difference here, especially with Covid. A few months ago, I went to McDs when you were still allowed to go inside and they refused to serve anyone at the counter, we had to order through the kiosk only. Prior to that, they dropped their staff noticeably so that only one till at the counter was in operation... the queue was ridiculous so most people opted for the kiosk instead.

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  • From IB Joe@VERT/JOESBBS to Andeddu on Tue Mar 9 16:39:00 2021
    On 09 Mar 2021, Andeddu said the following...

    @VIA: AMSTRAD
    @MSGID: <6047B4E4.24756.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60464AFA.117552.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    @TZ: 1000
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: IB Joe to Boraxman on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:04 am

    Yes they are... They should be trained to elevate themselves.... not b held out as victims... When raise the minimum wage to 15 an hour... the who had some skill and were making 15 want 20... the guys who were maki want 25... and so on. Now the cost of things rise because of labor cos the happy meal you use to buy for 5 bucks not cost 15... and it's perpetuated ... 15 bucks an hour will become the new poor mans wage...

    Absolutely. When a minimum wage is implemented and enforced by
    government, inflation rises causing goods and services to increase in costs. The idea that the worker has ANY more purchasing power is an illusion. The reality is that they have less purchasing power and can purchase fewer goods and services. This causes a spiral effect where
    fewer people are employed to produce fewer goods resulting in even
    higher prices. Eventually companies either collapse or relocate to
    places where there is not a minimum wage requirement and end up leaving mass unemployment in their wake. ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC
    and PCW!

    Amen brother...

    IB Joe
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's BBS
    -=JoesBBS.com=-

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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Tue Mar 9 17:28:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Tuesday 09.03.21 - 07:36, Arelor wrote to Boraxman:

    In the end of the day people pays for results.

    If you pay 15 bucks in order to get a hay truck unloaded,
    you are usually not worrying too much about how that money
    you are paying is going to be spent afterwards, ...

    I had a potential employee offer to work for me, but she laid
    down the hourly rate she expected "because she had 6 mouths to
    feed" or some other explanation. She also specified which days
    she was available and the hours.

    Guess what.. I didn't respond to her. :D

    In fact if there is a big capitalist myth is that effort
    matters. Effort does not matter. Nobody ever buys "effort".
    They buy results. In fact you can track criticism to this
    idea to capitalist books from the mid 2oth century already.

    I would pay for initiative though. I had one (fine) worker who
    recognized that there are other tasks that they could do or
    maybe had a better solution to a problem. I rewarded that
    person with bonuses.

    I also had one worker who seemed to take absolutely NO
    initiative, and I was constantly having to tell the person the
    "obvious" things to do. For instance, when I had that worker
    remove some old price labels, clean the covers with solvent to
    remove any residue and place new labels in their place, the end
    result of the process was some pieces of the old labels had
    fallen to the floor. After working with dozens of books, there
    could be quite a bit of debris on the floor. But the person
    never bothered to pick up the pieces from the floor and clean
    up.

    When I confronted the person and asked what is that on the
    floor, the person would reply 'oh! you never said that I would
    have to do that" or 'oh! I can never do anything right. you
    always complain. no one is ever happy with me in my life.. "
    etc. OMG.

    At other times when that person (seemingly) ran out of things to
    do, I would find her sitting down and literally twiddling her
    thumbs - waiting for me to tell her what to do next. But there
    were plenty of things that person could have done (that she used
    to do before) without telling her first. Maybe that is the
    "effort" talked about in those capitalist books? ;)





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  • From fusion@VERT/CFBBS to Nightfox on Tue Mar 9 20:28:00 2021
    It's basically the same here. Their kiosks are in the front area, but behind where everyone lines up for the counter. When I've been there, there has always been at least one kiosk free to order from.

    only places i've seen these (personally.. i'm not assuming anything) is at airports, and i found it quite pleasant to use, if a bit strange. the restaurant still had a huge staff though.

    i enjoy talking to people and used to occasionally go inside fast food places to sit down. but that hasn't been a thing since long before the lockdowns..
    for example BK seems to be the biggest (probably seat 100 in there) and i've never seen more than 5 or so since i was a kid.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Denn on Tue Mar 9 17:48:00 2021
    Denn wrote to HusTler <=-

    @TZ: c1a4
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: HusTler to Nightfox on Fri Feb 26 2021 07:44
    am

    If Al Gore invented the internet, then why do most web sites start
    with "dubya dubya dubya"? :P

    Al Gore invented the Internet? I didn't get the memo. When was this? ;-)

    There is a video on youtube with Gore saying he invented the
    Internet, It might have been taken a litle out of context, I don't
    know for sure.

    OMG, I remember that. I think what he said was the internet was a series of tubes connecting everyone together and people equated Gore to the creation of the Internet. I remember when my mother asked me if I was on the internet in the early 2000s. My response to her, "Since the mid to late 80s." She was shocked that it was around for so long.


    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 9 17:53:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Andeddu <=-

    @TZ: fe20
    On 3/3/2021 6:04 PM, Andeddu wrote:
    All countries are crap holes barring some exceptions such as
    Singapore and South Korea.

    Unless you like to smoke weed ;-)

    The entry paperwork for Singapore reads something akin to, "If you bring illegal
    drugs into Singapore, the penalty is death." I first went in 2004 and that freaked me out. Then, while walking through Customs, they didn't even stop and take a look at the bags. Didn't have any drugs but everything is fairly porous.


    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Tue Mar 9 17:58:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    @TZ: 4168
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Tracker1 on Fri Mar 05 2021 10:43 am

    the problem with the usa since the late 80s is the jobs and work
    went overseas. companies closed or just invested overseas. it
    created a huge ripple effect. meanwhile china took over all the
    important industries. our us govt allowed all this to happen.

    I've never been a fan of outsourcing to save money. Too many companies hire or contract from India, Latin and South America, and Eastern Europe, and although it is indeed cheaper, they don't have the same mindset and the innane ability to
    look at the bigger picture in working through issues. I respect my colleagues in other countries but I also see that they hold their elders to higher respect and listen to them and them only--and it drives me nuts.


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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Tue Mar 9 18:01:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Dr. What <=-

    @TZ: 4168
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to MRO on Sat Mar 06 2021 09:55 am

    MRO wrote to Andeddu <=-

    same shit is going on in california. their economy is fueled by
    small businesses. what do they do? tax and regulate the fuck out of
    them. i saw a video of a business owner who said he hasnt turned a
    profit in a decade. his part time workers are making 50k a year.
    part time.

    I think this is where you and I completely agree. California and New York overtax their residents to the point of bankruptcy. Turning a profit is nearly impossible unless you have excellent funding. Whether it is the expense of rent, insurance, or business taxes, California and New York are truly unfriendly
    to small business.


    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Andeddu on Tue Mar 9 18:10:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    @TZ: 1000
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Andeddu on Sat Mar 06
    2021 09:19 am

    Our kids are going to have a tough time regardless of whether the
    nation 'defaults' or attempts to repay the national debt.

    What really is debt when it comes to national players? The majority of the worlds currencies aren't backed by no more than a wing and a prayer. If the US wants to pay back debt, they'll have to do something whether it raises taxes, drive up the GDP, divert spending from the military, and find ways to spur job growth.

    But, in all reality, what really is the value of a dollar?


    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Tue Mar 9 22:08:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604779C1.21500.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60472E94.49354.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on
    Tue Mar 09 2021 08:04 am

    As an employer, how much someone *needs* to make has no bearing on how much I should pay.


    That makes no sense. If you were hiring a car, how much the car hire compan *needs* to recuperate in order to maintain the care DOES have bearing. Labo isn't different.

    You are renting a human being, the cost of maintenance IS your concern. If you believe it shouldn't be, then you have no business renting people. Go r a business on your own.


    In the end of the day people pays for results.

    If you pay 15 bucks in order to get a hay truck unloaded, you are
    usually not worrying too much about how that money you are paying is going to be spent afterwards, because it is not your business. You
    usually don't worry too much about social conditionants that may
    involve the employee unless they affetc you.

    Unlading a truck is worth 15 bucks because that is what you are willing
    to pay. It does not matter much if it is Hercules himself doing the downloading (and who plans to eat three boars whole later) or if it is
    a skinny midget that is going to eat a bowl of rice afterwards.
    Obviously, if Hercules wants to afford his lifestyle he is going to
    have to get another job (else get used to rice).

    In fact if there is a big capitalist myth is that effort matters.
    Effort does not matter. Nobody ever buys "effort". They buy results. In fact you can track criticism to this idea to capitalist books from the
    mid 2oth century already.

    The labour theory of value is a Marxist idea, yet in Capitalist socities, people contantly talk about the "value of labour". Do you not find that strange? I'm a salaried employee. What I earn is fixed, I'm not paid based on what I've produced, but a fixed rate to be here, and do what the business needs. I'm clearly rented.

    What ultimately someone is paying for, is an end result, a product or a service. Labour is what brings that about. The "value" of the labour is really the value of the end product or service. The Marxist labour theory of value is wrong, and you are right, no one pays for the labour component or effort, they pay for the product. Besides, it impossible to buy labour anyway.

    Yet because we have employment, business is forced to valuate labour, so Marx sneaks in through the back door. Discussions of the "value of labour" worm their way in, and we try to answer the question with things like marginal utility, "market rate", etc. It's all wrong, labour has NO VALUE. Only end results do. But because labour doesn't own the end result, we have to come up with some form of economic justifiation for renting people.

    The confusion comes about because Capitalism has within it a means by which labour can be estranged from its natural property rights through a contract which (falsely) claims that labour is transferrable and a purchasable commodity. This contract of emploment is not really valid, hence the confusion. Capital wants to claim that it, not labour, brought a product into existence, and in order to support this fallacy, we have to contort our reasoning to create a patter of property rights which can give this illusion. From this, comes minimum wage, arguments about "value of labour", anguish over paying people to do nothing, etc, etc.

    One you realise that the problem isn't how we value labour, but that we have a system which requires us to do the impossible, value labour, then it all becomes clear.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Tue Mar 9 22:14:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60477AD1.21501.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60472E95.49355.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Tue Mar 09 2021 08:06 am

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.


    My experience with cooperative groups is that they are very good at shooting themseelves in their feet as nicely as regular companies.

    If _everything_ was a cooperative group you'd soon have the same issues when economies went down. WHen time came to cut corners, they would
    choose this or that provider because it is more affordable, and if the cheaper provider is foreigner because of "reasons" then you would stop doing business with the locals. ANd the locals would do the same to
    you.

    That is true, but I think it would slow the export of jobs. The suppliers are also motivated to not go overseas, and in cases where the cost of factor suppliers aren't critical, it would also slow the bleed. Customers choose to send jobs overseas, and people who purchase labour are also customers. By removing the purchasing of labour, there are fewer customer decisions to do this.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to IB Joe on Tue Mar 9 23:12:00 2021
    IB Joe wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60478F78.117595.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    On 09 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.


    Yes it is.... If they want a higher wage they should gain the skill set that pays them the wage they want. Most minimum wage jobs were not created to sustain life... Teens and others need these jobs to build a foundation... Now they'll be gone. Business owners will not hire a
    teen if they have to pay the kid a lot of money. Fast food places will automate processes... others will employ family and illegals over
    none...

    Doing a quick search with DuckDuckGo I found with in seconds several articles showing the labor costs for a small business can be up to 70%
    of its operating costs. It is small business that employs a lot of
    people in the world... US ... Large businesses who can afford higher
    wages and they also have the ability to maneuver bureaucratic
    red-tape... Love watching small businesses suffer and fail.... This is
    why large businesses lobby in Washington to implement a lot of these policies, high wages and regulations, so that competition cannot get a start.... and as a result they keep their power...

    If people are being made to work, and they cannot sustain themselves, then something is wrong. There is no way of arguing out of that fact. Something somewhere is wrong, and I don't believe it is employees. Sure, some are lazy, and the should be fired if they are a liability, but they doesn't explain everything.


    A house in my city, a typical house like the one my warehouse worker dad purchased, now might cost a million dollars.


    Great news... U can move... The real estate market is a local market, houses being sold in California have no influence house prices in
    Texas, or the price of homes in Austin have no, little to none, in Brownsville.

    Housing is expensive EVERYWHERE, and my skillset requires me near the city. For me to be a productive member of the economy, and to contribute the maximum value I can, I can't just "move".

    People are moving every day from cities and states because of costs...
    My home state... Florida ... You could live in a large city center
    or... live where I have ... Cystal River in Citrus county... you can
    still buy a place for under a 100,000 easy... If you don't like the
    cost of living where you live... MOVE... If your a Business owner and
    your business is under attack with wage costs, taxation and
    regulations... Move... move to a different state or different country.

    Yeah, they are moving because your cities are turning to crap. I sure as hell don't want Australia to follow your lead.

    Besides, the commute from Florida to Melbourne, Australia is a bit much for me.

    Boraxman... no one owes you a thing...

    Utter rubbish. I PAY for town planners. I PAY to subsidise landlords. I WORK to create product that lines pharmacy shelves. I resolve issues and create efficiencies for business. I PAY the politicians which set housing policy. I PAY for the roads, pay government. I, and all others who produce help support the entire system. That structure of laws that gives people property rights, I pay for.

    The idea that people who actually produce the wealth, and support the ruling class, should expect nothing is just, baffling.

    Surely your are being sarcastic?

    Good luck arguing that wages shouldn't go up. That alone just
    highlights the absurdity of the "wages are too high" argument. They aren't. They aren't high enough.


    No is arguing that... I just think it should be free market that sets wages... not an artificial amount set by the government... If you want
    to bring yourself out of poverty add to your skills... With no effort
    at all its easy to find honest articles showing, and there is, correlations in unemployment rising with the increase labor costs... Moreover, there also is a is a correlation with taxation and
    unemployment as well....

    We saw the best economy in US history because Trump lowered taxes for everyone... giving more money to the people... and the single most important things he did was cut regulations... Now small businesses can start and compete in a free market...

    The problem here is the Capitalist system of employment. See my response to Arelor for details, I won't repeat here. Labour HAS NO VALUE, only end results do.

    The entire discussion of the value of labour is moot. The issue is really whether the labour required to bring a product/service is worthwhile or not. When you divorce labour from the product (ie, pay labour), then these problems occur.

    There is no "market value" for labour. It's a myth, an illusion. The value of labour is set by living costs because under that, it is not a worthwhile economic activity.

    No, workers are not at fault. Our system enables parasitic property specuvestors to hoard property, we increase immigratoin to drive down wages and drive up property prices so they can make PASSIVE income doing nothing but attending auctions, and we have the audicity to then
    question worker Joe, who just wants to be able to support his wife and kids. No, the spivs that drove up the price of housing from 3x years wages to 11x yearly wages, no, they are golden. All the other profit seekers, ticket clippers, middle men, speculators, the hedge funds, they are just fine, aren't they? Better to have children grow up with lack
    of opportunity and precarious housing arrangments, than have some speculator maybe "only" make 2 million flipping properties instead of 10 million.


    Got to love the American way.... Free enterprise baby!!!! Don't like things, change it... you can be the next Opra, not with your attitude,
    be a victor not a victim ....

    I'm not American. From what I see, the "American" way is dying anyway and I hope that Australia doesn't follow your decline.

    As the current administration floods the labor force with cheep 3rd
    world labor I do not see a bright future for the average American as
    these people are probably willing to do that work for less money...

    And even worse ... current administration is willing to print trillion
    and trillions of US dollars and only give it to the top 1%... People
    need to look at the bill that was just passed... less than 10% going to the American people and over 90% going elsewhere... The party that use
    to have J.F.K. in it is a horse of a different color now... Divide and concur...

    Business wants the cheap labour. Your "Free Enterprise" is really business titans pushing the gates open. The biggest cheerleaders for open borders, are those that want to depress wages and keep the housing market saturated.


    We had "conservatives" argue that wages were too high, but when the Labor thought about winding back tax benefits which subsidise property investors, they cried out in pain, because house prices might actually
    not go up. They wanted to both pillor working people who wanted a
    decent wage AND argue that the very things they need should increase in price.


    Nobody argued that... most conservatives... in the US anyway... just
    want a constitutional government... Limited federal reach... 10'th amendment should be respected and someone needs to bitch slap people in Washington...

    Liberal seem to want to change the outcomes... someone goes to school years and years and years to become a doctor, lawyer and engineer...
    They do this to elevate themselves and their families.... Liberals want
    to take the spoils of their efforts and redistribute it to people who
    have no skin in the game....

    Conservatives work under the exact opposite thinking... lets implement
    the right policies so that it's a level playing field and that anyone
    who wants to grab at the gold ring can.... and if you succeed I am
    proud of you... not envious of you... proud.

    The swamp is deep in Washington... people there seem to want to enrich themselves and their families before they even care about you... Hunter Binden is a prime example...

    I believe we're living in a post constitutional world right now. I
    also believe we are not that far from a catastrophic market crash if Washington doesn't fix what they are doing.... I mean this... Never
    mind $15 and hour... U'll have to resort to giving BJs just to get something warm in your stomach ...

    I don't really disagree here, but I think Conservatives dropped the ball decades ago. The problem isn't that people can makes themselves better off, the problem is that there are too many ways in which people can do that, from other peoples productive output. It's not just the person gaming welfare to sit at home, its people who game the system to find ways to extract value from other peoples works, and our economic system allows that.

    If you want to be wealthy, you must create wealth. All to often though, gaming the system, speculation, leverage, hoarding, state enforced property rights are used to claim wealth as well and our system IS gamed to support these over those that work. I know, I'm an investor and it is clear that our system is skewed to support those that live off capital, than those that produce.

    In short, no one should be rich if they can't point to something they PRODUCED, or INVENTED or CREATED. But there are many who simply by exploiting money printed out of thin air, interest free loans, tax subsidies are able to claim increases in asset values, those assets increasing in value due to what other people did.

    Mainstream Conservatives, or Cuckservatives as they should be called, are idiots. They moan about the decline of the traditional family, yet do nothing to ensure that Dad can afford to establish a family. They moan about the decline of community, and bonds with extended family, but then instead of pushing for economic conditions which allow community cohesion, that just tell everyone to move away from family so that speculators can be free to bank $$$'s. I know one Conservative, Cory Bernardi in Australia, who would moan and whinge on his blog about "family vales" and Islam, etc, but in his ENTIRE blog, he mentioned nothing about housing costs, which in Australia is one of the biggest issues facing families, and impeding people being able to start one. What a fool. When landlords were facing maybe losing their tax payer funded gifts in Australia, which allowed then to overpay for housing and drive the market up, they moaned though. They want the results that come from affordable housing, stable jobs with productivity improvements going to labour, without actually having affordable housing and productivity improvement going to labour.

    Some, like Tucker Carlson, have a brain now, but its too few, too late.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Nightfox on Tue Mar 9 23:14:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6047A2FB.58738.dove_dove-gen@digitaldistortionbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <60472E95.49356.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Tue
    Mar 09 2021 08:07 am

    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    At some things, perhaps it's true. Semiconductor manufacturing is one area - Companies have set up large chip fabs in China, and they're good
    at producing computer chips. TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation) has chip fabs there, and I believe Intel does too (my understanding is that Intel manufacturers wafers in the US and other countries but sends the wafers to China to produce processors from the wafers).

    Also, a while ago, I saw a video on YouTube showing a fully automated
    ship port in China. Workers can simply deliver cargo boxes to the
    port, and machines automatically sort it and get the cargo onto the correct ship when the ships dock to pick them up; it's a similar
    process when ships drop off cargo.

    That would be the exception. Most Chinese stuff I buy is crap. So much stuff is counterfeit and dodgy. My job is actually partly based on selling stuff to China, because they trust the Australian product over their own.

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 10 02:39:53 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 06:10 pm

    But, in all reality, what really is the value of a dollar?

    A dollar is aproximately worth a 1500-2000 words short story in my website.

    Glad you asked.

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 03:02:47 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on Tue Mar 09 2021 10:08 pm

    The labour theory of value is a Marxist idea, yet in Capitalist socities, people contantly talk about the "value of labour".
    Do you not find that strange? I'm a salaried employee. What I earn is fixed, I'm not paid based on what I've produced, but
    fixed rate to be here, and do what the business needs. I'm clearly rented.


    It is funny you say that.



    I've heard capitalists ideologists declare that, ultimately, labor is the only thing that has value and everything else is
    anchored to it.

    Gold is worth what it is worth because of regular supply/demand curves, but ultimately can only be purchased because somebody
    bothered to grab a pick and dig it out from the underground. Even if you purchase the gold from a middleman, what you are
    actually doing is to pay the middleman for bothering to store the gold in a warehouse and deliver it to you just when you order
    it.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Wed Mar 10 08:09:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dr. What <=-

    An engineer with a legion of PLCs can do the job of a hundred people,
    plus PLCs don't vote or unionize or are granted rights by the
    government that you can't afford.

    When I was working at GM, I remember the UAW having isssues with the number
    of robots in a new assembly plant. The UAW quieted down when GM said that
    they would pay the union dues of the robots. So much for the UAW being
    for the workers.

    Incidental anecdote, I know of an engineer who optimized factories
    for a living via automation. He once was called to China for automating
    a firm - I think it was an excavations firm. In the end they reached
    the conclussion that it was not worth the effort to automate anything there. It was better to buy three thousand shovels for three thousand employees than purchase fifty bulldozers for fifty employees because workers there are dirty cheap and, most important, they don't cause trouble.

    Many people don't understand this. I remember talking with (one of the few nice) contractor from India saying that in India, it was cheaper to pay someone with shears to cut grass than to buy a lawn mower.

    Unions don't seem to quite grasp this and wonder why jobs move off shore.

    I hold the impopular opinion that the way to deal with lowering
    standards of living is to stop producing people. The reason life is getting so hard as of late is that there is barely any need to satisfy
    in society that somebody else is not satisfying already. This makes it nearly impossible to build a startup or get a job unless you are outstanding at what you do, or are willing to make massive sacrifices.

    Or someone comes up with something that renders many of those companies useless. Yet another reason why there are so many laws that basically
    exist to prevent "disruptive" technologies from existing.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Wed Mar 10 08:10:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I think he is actually on the other end of the spectrum, very close to Spanish style Fascism.

    Facism is just another form of Socialism.


    ... Minds, like parachutes, work best when open.
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nightfox on Wed Mar 10 08:14:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I thought a lot of companies have been negatively affected by covid, especially restaurants & similar businesses that relied on people
    coming in to eat. It seemed other types of businesses were also negatively affected in some way.

    It's interesting to see how interconnected our economy is and how lean
    our production pipeline is. The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 was
    a great example.

    I was laid off at the end of 2019,
    just before covid got serious, and I'm thankful I found another job.

    That's good. My wife and I are both working for companies that were "necessary" according to the Tyrant... er.. Governor who rules over...er.. governs our state. So we've been working the whole time.


    ... Hong Kong, Son of King Kong
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 08:27:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I don't believe "the market" should always set prices. It is not a
    rule that the market is the optimal means to do so.

    It always works much better than a bureaucrat setting the prices.

    It was feasible to have labour do that job for decades, so what
    changed?

    The cost of carrying an employee - which is much more than the employee's
    wage.

    As for the product, why are you entitled to sell it? This is a wierd feature of Capitalist ideology, that an entrepreneur is ENTITLED to
    sell product and buyers are ENTITLED to buy it.

    Entitlement only exists in Socialism. I don't know why you even brought
    it in to the discussion.

    As a company, I am not entitled to sell a product. I offer a product. Customers are free to choose to buy or not. That's capitalism.

    Under Socialism, the company is told by the state to produce while the
    buyers are told to buy it (or usually, it's the ONLY product).

    Lets say product X, because of labour involved, cannot be sold under
    $Y. Then if there is no market for X at $Y, then X is simply not a feasible product. Period.

    Correct. Then no company sells it.

    We in the West EXPECT to be able to buy
    complex electronics at bargain prices, low enough to be able to change them a year, but we have to use almost slave labour in order to do so.
    Why are we entitled to this?

    You are completely off the rails here. We aren't entitled. We are just
    used to it.

    See, we don't want to wear the TRUE cost, so in order to get the
    lifestyle that we believe we are entitled to, because it is marketed to us, we shift these costs elsewhere. I can by a polo top at a
    department store in Melbourne for $5. Why should it be that cheap?
    It's made that cheap, because the actual cost has been hidden,
    obfuscted.

    Ahh.... Now I smell the Social Justice stench.


    ... If it's obvious, it's obviously wrong.
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Wed Mar 10 08:58:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Ogg <=-

    Konkin makes Rand look tame.

    His idea is that laws are not ethically superior because they were
    enacted by some politician who got there because he managed to fool the most voters. Therefore, breaking such laws is not necessarily immoral
    and it may even be desirable it such regulations are blatantly stupid.

    I may need to look this guy's writings up.

    Most people obey laws because they believe that the law is correct (i.e.
    stop for the red light).

    They break laws because they believe the law is unjust and:
    1. They odds of getting caught are low (i.e. speeding)
    or
    2. The reward is potentially worth the punishment (This one usually
    doesn't work out very well).

    I've met people who believe that breaking laws - no matter how unethical
    they were - was wrong. But those are also people who were trained to bow
    down before authority without question.

    He also had this idea that underground economy could overtake surface economy . Like during Spanish Francoism, in which employers would negotiate with illegal unions instead of official ones, and people
    would purchase food in the black market instead of the surface one, because the surface one was controlled by the Phalanx and mostly inoperative.

    Interesting. You might be interested in the early movie industry. Edison
    had a complete stranglehold of it. You had to rent (not buy) his cameras.
    You had to buy from his film suppliers. You had to process it through
    his companies. You could only show it through the theaters he licensed.

    Hollywood (and that's the reason it's in California - as far from New York
    and Edison as you can get) did the "underground economy" thing to break Edison's hold on the film industry.

    The whole story is rather interesting. But it did work. It wasn't easy, though.

    "Thanks for this Thompson, Santa! But my parents are pacifists. They
    would kill me if they found out I have it!"

    "And there is no contradiction in that. Ho, ho, ho!"

    (The tale is actually quite bad but the idea is hillarious).

    I'm liking this guy already. But I've done similar things for my neices
    and nephews. Not guns, but gifts that their parents certainly would
    NEVER get them - that, of course, the kids loved.


    ... Every step you take becomes a twist of fate.
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to MRO on Wed Mar 10 09:01:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Arelor <=-

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent
    making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the
    line. ---

    Since everything (around here at least) is drive through for McDonalds,
    the kiosks aren't doing much.

    But we use them at Panera Bread as well. My wife and I find it much easier
    to get exactly what we want.

    But we have noticed that where McDonalds used to have 4 checkouts, most
    now only have 2 (one active, one backup) and when they were open (ages
    ago, it seems) they got much more activity than the regular cashiers.


    ... But honey, I wouldn't be up so late on a faster machine!
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nightfox on Wed Mar 10 09:03:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to MRO <=-

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their
    kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting longer
    than usual for my order to be ready.

    Perception. When there were no kiosks, you could look to see how many
    people were ahead of you. With people ordering from kiosks (and online,
    and at the drive-thru), it's harder to assess where you are in the line.


    ... Who is General Failure, and *WHY* is he reading my disk?
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Wed Mar 10 09:35:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    In fact if there is a big capitalist myth is that effort matters.
    Effort does not matter. Nobody ever buys "effort". They buy results. In fact you can track criticism to this idea to capitalist books from the
    mid 2oth century already.

    This idea goes contrary to what they teach in the schools.


    ... My boss is tempermental. 50% temper and 50% mental.
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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Dr. What on Wed Mar 10 12:38:38 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Wed Mar 10 2021 08:14 am

    It's interesting to see how interconnected our economy is and how lean
    our production pipeline is. The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 was
    a great example.

    I thought it was weird that people were hoarding toilelt paper, of all things. Did everyone start getting diarrhea en masse last year when the pandemic started? Luckily I had bought plenty of toilet paper and had enough to last, but I wasn't going to the bathroom any more often than usual. I thought it was weird not to see any toilet paper in stock for some short times in local stores.

    That's good. My wife and I are both working for companies that were "necessary" according to the Tyrant... er.. Governor who rules over...er.. governs our state. So we've been working the whole time.

    Good to hear.

    Nightfox

    ---
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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Dr. What on Wed Mar 10 12:41:21 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Wed Mar 10 2021 09:03 am

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much
    faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their
    kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting
    longer than usual for my order to be ready.

    Perception. When there were no kiosks, you could look to see how many people were ahead of you. With people ordering from kiosks (and online, and at the drive-thru), it's harder to assess where you are in the line.

    True, though it seems it's not always easy to see how many people are waiting ahead of you even without kiosks. Some people might be sitting at a table waiting (so you might not realize they're actually waiting for an order), and there are still people at the drive-thru waiting for orders.

    Also I'd think they'd prioritize in-store kiosk orders over online orders (since an in-store customer is already there), but perhaps not.

    Nightfox

    ---
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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 12:52:09 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:00 am

    product. Period. We in the West EXPECT to be able to buy complex electronics at bargain prices, low enough to be able to change them a year, but we have to use almost slave labour in order to do so. Why are we entitled to this?

    I don't know how many people actually buy a new phone every year, but usually I tend to keep a phone for about 4 or more years before I might want to replace it. Technology usually gets cheaper over time, but smart phones have actually become more expensive. Many of the top-end smart phone can coast $1000 or more, and there are also plenty of great phones that cost $700 or more. I'm not going to want to spend that much on a phone every year. I don't think I really need to, either. A new phone works fine for me for a while, and I normally don't see a pressing need to replace it until it starts to become slow or perhaps isn't supported by an app anymore, I need more space, etc..

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to hollowone on Wed Mar 10 11:38:42 2021
    On 3/5/2021 4:58 PM, hollowone wrote:

    ... I never ever saw anything so seriously dividing people between
    these two political movements as recent race winner and retired
    president over the way your (American) election system works.

    A lot of the divisiveness comes down to an increased level of tribalism
    as PC Culture, tribalism and counter-culture escalate in light of media
    which gets more eyes, and as a result more money from divisive topics.

    In light of this over generations and growing each generation combined
    with social echo chambers, and some indoctrination in education circles,
    it only gets worse.

    The ability to effectively negotiate is largely lost while those in
    political power mostly serve their corporatist donors and pay lip
    service to their most vocal base.


    I quite frankly don't believe Trump has a real come back change at
    the top level in politics.. I think he'll just retire and come back
    to family business and Republican idea needs to find a new leader
    if there is a will to overcome Biden in time.

    All that lament for Trump must be temporary or is unusually naive
    over my personal comprehension.

    Trump, despite detractors was much more of a populist than a "right
    winger" in any traditional sense of the term. Again, it comes down
    to tribalism. Part of me is really happy he's gone, and another is
    sad, because I feel that the Democrat party is generally even farther
    from my desired level of government. Thought they've both colluded
    to expand the federal government far beyond where it was ever meant
    to be.

    The Republicans are largely inept when in a position of power, the
    Democrats are more corrupt, but held back more by in-fighting, which
    will only grow as the establishment, liberal and progressive branches
    fight against one another.

    I'm generally in favor of political gridlock, I don't want anyone happy, generally speaking.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 16:55:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Tue Mar 09 2021 07:24 am

    Minimum wage is lower in the states, and many rely on tips if they work in hospitality. Here the minimum is higher, which is perhaps why more jobs can be set at the minimum wage. A factor floor worker doesn't rely on tips, becaues they could never get them.


    i havent worked a minimum wage job my entire adult life and neither has every single person i've known in my entire life.
    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 16:56:40 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:07 am


    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    absolutely they do better.
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Wed Mar 10 16:59:01 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Tue Mar 09 2021 06:04 pm

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the line.

    It's making a difference here, especially with Covid. A few months ago, I went to McDs when you were still allowed to go inside and they refused to serve anyone at the counter, we had to order through the kiosk only. Prior to that, they dropped their staff noticeably so that only one till at the counter was in operation... the queue was ridiculous so most people opted for the kiosk instead.

    in my city they lowered the amount of workers and changed the menu a LITTLE. the drive thru's are very fast.
    ---
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Nightfox on Wed Mar 10 18:36:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 2021 12:52 pm

    I don't know how many people actually buy a new phone every year, but usuall tend to keep a phone for about 4 or more years before I might want to replac it. Technology usually gets cheaper over time, but smart phones have actual become more expensive. Many of the top-end smart phone can coast $1000 or more, and there are also plenty of great phones that cost $700 or more. I'm not going to want to spend that much on a phone every year. I don't think I really need to, either. A new phone works fine for me for a while, and I normally don't see a pressing need to replace it until it starts to become s or perhaps isn't supported by an app anymore, I need more space, etc..

    Nightfox


    I also tend to keep electronics around untill they fall apart from old age. Then I duct-tape it together and keep them around until they die again. Rinse and repeat until I cannot fix it anymore.

    And I am not poor or anything, I just hate throwing stuff away.

    The cost of consumer-grade electronics for domestic use is getting stupid. We are reaching a point in which a device for watching cat videos is considered cheap if it costs 300 bucks, no matter estimated working life is less than 3 years. To put things in context, a TV with an estimated survival expectative of a decade is cheaper than that. For that matter, a laptop with a life expectancy of 4 years, which is useful for doing actual work in addition to watching cat videos is around that price. It is nuts.

    Also, smartphone obsolescence is programmed in a very lame way.

    I think if people factored the prices of the dataplans and the cost per year of keeping a smartphone they would pull their hairs out. Social Media and Video hardcores are not spending less than 350-400 bucks per year in cat videos and memes. Like that.

    Last time I brought the subject up around here, somebody pointed out that mobile shops and repairers are going out of business around as of late. Maybe, now that things are getting tight, people is comming back to their senses with expenditure.


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  • From Daryl Stout@VERT/TBOLT to Nightfox on Wed Mar 10 19:13:00 2021
    I thought it was weird that people were hoarding toilelt paper, of all things. Did everyone start getting diarrhea en masse last year when
    the pandemic started? Luckily I had bought plenty of toilet paper and
    had enough to last, but I wasn't going to the bathroom any more often
    than usual. I thought it was weird not to see any toilet paper in
    stock for some short times in local stores.

    You also need such if you're going to prep for a colonoscopy. Colon
    cancer is the second greatest killer, right behind heart disease and
    breast cancer. But, unlike most other cancers, it's one of the most preventable. My next one is in early April...and I've been busy getting
    the paperwork turned in, and the prescription for the "poop purge". :P

    Daryl

    ... I took an IQ test, and the results were negative.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 23:57:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 07:10 am

    I was meaning capitalism in its purist free market form. Obviously it's subject to entropy, like everything else. Late stage capitalism is the result of large corporate interests cornering the market by lobbying politicians, infiltrating government offices and creating laws to impose their dominion. This can only occur when a country allows itself to have a LARGE and POWERFUL government. Small businesses, when they aren't hamstrung by government regulations, are nimble enough to chip away and topple larger corporations as they can adapt to consumer trends far more quickly and efficently than business monoliths.

    But Capitalism is not "free markets", it is the private ownership of the means of production. It is characterised by employment and capital typically being the residual claimant of the end result of a productive process. "Free Markets" are a feature of Capitalism the same way that Democracy it, it is found together, but it is not necessary for a Capitalist economy to have a free market.


    Fine, free market then. Everything else I said still stands.

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Thu Mar 11 00:15:25 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:06 am

    Low salaries are a huge reason as to why industry moved overseas... that and far less bureaucracy. It's an a-symmetrical playing field between China and the USA, they don't have the same worker's rights, health & safety, pension & healthcare packages, etc... and the sheer level of bureaucracy makes it expensive and time consuming to expand businesses in the West compared to the East. Even simple things such as planning and building permissions can become a proteracted ordeal, in China you just build shit and make money. They don't carry out enviromental impact assessments or anything like that.
    ---

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. It is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.

    When the government creates and anti-competitive enviroment, businesses collapse because you cannot sell product Y if the acceptable price is below the costs of labour and production. Globalisation has ultimately ruined the West as it has given us access to cheap consumer goods.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Dream Master on Thu Mar 11 00:53:28 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 06:10 pm

    Our kids are going to have a tough time regardless of whether the nation 'defaults' or attempts to repay the national debt.

    What really is debt when it comes to national players? The majority of the worlds currencies aren't backed by no more than a wing and a prayer. If the US wants to pay back debt, they'll have to do something whether it raises taxes, drive up the GDP, divert spending from the military, and find ways to spur job growth.

    Well the US can't even service its debt interest obligations without printing the difference every single year. It's sad that we'll never see interest rates go up... even the slightest increase would make the payments unmanageable; never mind any notion of paying back the principle. The problem with the dollar is that all of this money printing has weakened it causing the market to lose confidence in it. And now that the USA is hooked on stimulus, it'll NEVER end. It's akin to a junkie on heroin... the junkie cannot remain high if you cut off the drugs. Stop the stimulus payments, and you'll see another liquidity crisis. The problem though is that the solution (stimulus) will eventually destroy your economy anyway via hyperinflation.


    But, in all reality, what really is the value of a dollar?


    The dollar has no intrinsic value, not since Nixon took you off the gold standard in 1971.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From IB Joe@VERT/JOESBBS to Boraxman on Wed Mar 10 20:57:00 2021
    On 09 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    If people are being made to work, and they cannot sustain themselves,
    then something is wrong. There is no way of arguing out of that fact. Something somewhere is wrong, and I don't believe it is employees.
    Sure, some are lazy, and the should be fired if they are a liability,
    but they doesn't explain everything.


    If you don't want to work for minimum wage don't do it. Re-train.. that's the beauty of it. In the US the left seems to try and get poor working class to feel like their victims... They should be showing them the way out of their situation... training in a trade ... whatever ... Instead they try to offer lies about minimum wage... Keep them down and forever reliant of Big Government.


    Housing is expensive EVERYWHERE, and my skillset requires me near the city. For me to be a productive member of the economy, and to contribute the maximum value I can, I can't just "move".


    It's not, and that's a lie. In the area of Florida where I have lived you can still buy a house for under 100K., you could even go cheaper if you bought a mobile home. Here's a rule I've always went by... Simple... you are where you are right now because of the story you told yourself... That's it... If you choose to stay where you are doing the exact same thing... expect no difference ever... Nothings going to change if you don't change it... and nobody owes you a thing...

    Yeah, they are moving because your cities are turning to crap. I sure
    as hell don't want Australia to follow your lead.


    Besides, the commute from Florida to Melbourne, Australia is a bit much for me.

    It's 2020... find a way to be valuable outside of Melbourne... Be happy enjoy the fact that you have the freedoms to try to succeed... Think about the migrants working their way through Mexico right now... They are not pissing and moaning about real estate costs in Melbourne ... they are pumped about the opportunities that lay ahead.

    When I first moved to the US I swore I could smell the opportunities that awaited me.


    Utter rubbish. I PAY for town planners. I PAY to subsidise landlords.
    I WORK to create product that lines pharmacy shelves. I resolve issues and create efficiencies for business. I PAY the politicians which set housing policy. I PAY for the roads, pay government. I, and all others who produce help support the entire system. That structure of laws that gives people property rights, I pay for.


    Great... Strap on a pair of shoes and go for a walk on those streets... Enjoy them... Next time you see a cop/fireman/whatever ... go up and tell them that they owe you a great debt of gratitude because you pay their salary ...

    Because your neighbor has more than you he does not mean he owes you a thing... buy your own shoes and enjoy a nice walk on the streets you paid for.

    The idea that people who actually produce the wealth, and support the ruling class, should expect nothing is just, baffling.

    Surely your are being sarcastic?


    I've always viewed the government as a mob boss... I give them a portion of my paycheck and they don't break my fingers... in fact they let me go about my business and leave me a lone. I don't look at my tax payment to see if I'm going to get any benefit from it, in the future... or was the 30% they took just the cost in doing business... and that's how I see it.

    I can only talk about Canada or the US, both countries I hold citizenship in and both countries I have lived in. Either case I'm screwed... The people running either country either have no clue what they are doing, or... they are trying to run the countries into bankruptcy... You can't print and spend money the way they are.. in either country... Something catastrophic is in the working. Analog modems and community BBSes are about to become real hot again.


    The problem here is the Capitalist system of employment. See my
    response to Arelor for details, I won't repeat here. Labour HAS NO
    VALUE, only end results do.

    The entire discussion of the value of labour is moot. The issue is
    really whether the labour required to bring a product/service is worthwhile or not. When you divorce labour from the product (ie, pay labour), then these problems occur.

    There is no "market value" for labour. It's a myth, an illusion. The value of labour is set by living costs because under that, it is not a worthwhile economic activity.


    That's not true... have a skill and demand a better wage... My Boy is a welder.. makes an extremely good wage... His cousin went to University for 4 years to be an accountant... Moe almost makes twice what his cousin makes. The boy doesn't entangle himself with females and lives like a king...


    I'm not American. From what I see, the "American" way is dying anyway
    and I hope that Australia doesn't follow your decline.


    You have to be vigilant... Commies are everywhere... Cancel Culture is being exported out of the US right now.... Great Britain recently... Divide and concur is their method. Marx use to cancel the people who opposed him by killing them... Now they just try to cancel you... can't work, can't speak... Same thing, they just found a way not to use a gun.


    Business wants the cheap labour. Your "Free Enterprise" is really business titans pushing the gates open. The biggest cheerleaders for
    open borders, are those that want to depress wages and keep the housing market saturated.


    You are now speaking on a topic you have no idea on. Businesses are not demanding the borders to be ope... recall businesses are simply travel to where there is cheap labor.... easier to do that.... never mind labor costs it's the other costs associated with running a business.... Taxes and regulations. The last thing I mentioned is probably the biggest cost in running a business... regulations.

    The economy was the best in US history under Trumps care. He reduced taxes, cut regulations and factories started to return. He made the climate for companies to do business in the US better than doing it elsewhere... That was it. The trump recovery was a bottom up recovery... the people on the bottom rungs felt it more than the people above. In fact working class finally started to see it in their paychecks... in which they had not for the last 2 presidents.

    The Democrats have an open boarder policy. This policy is not to drive wages down, as it will do anyway, but rather it's to destroy the US as a country and reset it to a country where individual rights are not king. They seem to be tired of trying to convince the population that being sheep is better... They want a population that is dependent on the government. The liberals call this "The Great Reset".

    This is a revolution... unlike other revolutions where the populous rose up to overthrow the powerful.... It's the powerful squashing the populous...

    The US just passed, almost anyway, ~$2 Trillion "Covid" relief ... whatever they called it... less than 9% is actually for Covid... where as the rest.. goes out to the politically connected. They have been printing money in the US and only the top 0.0001% has been getting any benefit from it. They'll shut down mom and pop hardware stores but let home depot stay open...

    I don't really disagree here, but I think Conservatives dropped the ball decades ago. The problem isn't that people can makes themselves better off, the problem is that there are too many ways in which people can do that, from other peoples productive output. It's not just the person gaming welfare to sit at home, its people who game the system to find
    ways to extract value from other peoples works, and our economic system allows that.

    If you want to be wealthy, you must create wealth. All to often though, gaming the system, speculation, leverage, hoarding, state enforced property rights are used to claim wealth as well and our system IS gamed to support these over those that work. I know, I'm an investor and it
    is clear that our system is skewed to support those that live off
    capital, than those that produce.


    Who cares... If you know the water you're swimming in... just do it... People leverage all the time... FOR EXAMPLE... People sometimes do not have all the money they need to buy a house... so... the leverage the purchase and use other people's money and they get a mortgage...

    Or... U can be smart and gather with others to perform a short-squeeze on some Hedge Funds and stick it to the man. Enjoy life... The Great Awakening is upon us.

    In short, no one should be rich if they can't point to something they PRODUCED, or INVENTED or CREATED. But there are many who simply by exploiting money printed out of thin air, interest free loans, tax subsidies are able to claim increases in asset values, those assets increasing in value due to what other people did.

    Mainstream Conservatives, or Cuckservatives as they should be called, are idiots. They moan about the decline of the traditional family, yet do nothing to ensure that Dad can afford to establish a family. They moan about the decline of community, and bonds with extended family, but then instead of pushing for economic conditions which allow community
    cohesion, that just tell everyone to move away from family so that speculators can be free to bank $$$'s. I know one Conservative, Cory Bernardi in Australia, who would moan and whinge on his blog about
    "family vales" and Islam, etc, but in his ENTIRE blog, he mentioned nothing about housing costs, which in Australia is one of the biggest issues facing families, and impeding people being able to start one.
    What a fool. When landlords were facing maybe losing their tax payer funded gifts in Australia, which allowed then to overpay for housing and drive the market up, they moaned though. They want the results that
    come from affordable housing, stable jobs with productivity improvements going to labour, without actually having affordable housing and productivity improvement going to labour.

    In the US and Canada Conservatives always showed up to a gun fight with a knife... Liberals here don't play nice. Conservatives, in Canada, Republicans in the US, always played by the rules... Call them a racist and they ran away. For the first time in Republicans finally showed up to the gun fight with a gun.... It was a 45... it's name was Trump.

    Every time the Democrats tried their little bag of tricks Trump fought back... They'd say you're racist... He'd say you are ... and here's the video... Drove them nuts...

    I'm not sure if Trump will run in 2024... But the Democrats and Joe Biden are going to be looking over their backs for the next 4 years.


    Some, like Tucker Carlson, have a brain now, but its too few, too late.


    I love Tucker.

    IB Joe
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's BBS
    -=JoesBBS.com=-

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    * Origin: JoesBBS.Com, Telnet:2323 SSH:2222 HTTP:80
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Thu Mar 11 02:27:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60488B37.21553.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <604809CB.49377.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on
    Tue Mar 09 2021 10:08 pm

    The labour theory of value is a Marxist idea, yet in Capitalist socities,
    peo
    ple contantly talk about the "value of labour".
    Do you not find that strange? I'm a salaried employee. What I earn is
    fixed
    , I'm not paid based on what I've produced, but
    fixed rate to be here, and do what the business needs. I'm clearly rented.


    It is funny you say that.

    I've heard capitalists ideologists declare that, ultimately, labor is
    the only thing that has value and everything else is anchored to it.

    Gold is worth what it is worth because of regular supply/demand curves, but ultimately can only be purchased because somebody bothered to grab
    a pick and dig it out from the underground. Even if you purchase the
    gold from a middleman, what you are actually doing is to pay the
    middleman for bothering to store the gold in a warehouse and deliver it
    to you just when you order it.

    If you can obtain it without labour, it is not scarce. But we have two concepts here. The first is that labour is a necessity for goods and services of value to come about (true), the second is that goods and services have utility, which gives value (true).

    But I don't believe this means labour itself has value. Labour is a prerequisite, but the property of value only exists in the end product. No one pays for labour if there is no end product/service which people have demand for, and this I believe indicates its true price, on its own, zero. Buying inputs makes sense, because those inputs are products, the result of labour, but labour is not a product itself. Maybe the government does buy labour to product nothing of value to fudge employment stats, but I digress.

    Therein lies the problem. Labour is something that is performed, not a product. It is not a thing, it is an action, hence the zero market value of labour which has not produced an end product. You cannot buy actions and transfer them, ony the end result. It is impossible for you to actually but my labour, only I can perform it.

    If we view what REALLY happens, labour creates product, is responsible for what it consumes, and ends up the rightful owner, to dispose of it at a market price. Thats it. Simple. The question of the "value of labour" is moot because we recognise the true, rightful property rights, what ACTUALLY happens.
    We now have a TRUE market, a market of goods and services. You earn what you make - liabilities. If what is left over from the economic activity, then it is not worth your labour, and there more definately are things which are not worth the labour.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Thu Mar 11 03:29:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6048F2B9.51029.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <60472E94.49353.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I don't believe "the market" should always set prices. It is not a
    rule that the market is the optimal means to do so.

    It always works much better than a bureaucrat setting the prices.

    Always? You realise that the Reserve Bank of Australia takes into account the market price of housing to determine what interest rates should be. They may not set prices, but they influence them deliberately.

    It was feasible to have labour do that job for decades, so what
    changed?

    The cost of carrying an employee - which is much more than the
    employee's wage.

    Right so now we are into something, government requirements more so than what the employee is asking for.

    As for the product, why are you entitled to sell it? This is a wierd feature of Capitalist ideology, that an entrepreneur is ENTITLED to
    sell product and buyers are ENTITLED to buy it.

    Entitlement only exists in Socialism. I don't know why you even
    brought it in to the discussion.

    As a company, I am not entitled to sell a product. I offer a product. Customers are free to choose to buy or not. That's capitalism.

    Under Socialism, the company is told by the state to produce while the buyers are told to buy it (or usually, it's the ONLY product).

    Yet business leaders lobby the government to take action, to support their business model. Our education sector does the same, feeling entitled to a never ending supply of foreign students. Mining magnates ask for special economic zones. Real Estate investors say they are entitled to buyers/renters, and the country must supply them.
    Lets say product X, because of labour involved, cannot be sold under
    $Y. Then if there is no market for X at $Y, then X is simply not a feasible product. Period.

    Correct. Then no company sells it.

    Not unless they can externalise costs. Low wages are possible because the tax payer subsidises welfare. Walmart can provide products below $Y because they palm labour costs to the taxpayer. Tucker had a great segement where he wonders why this is. Not to mention the slavery that may be involved elsewhere, labour exploitation in other countries...

    We in the West EXPECT to be able to buy
    complex electronics at bargain prices, low enough to be able to change them a year, but we have to use almost slave labour in order to do so.
    Why are we entitled to this?

    You are completely off the rails here. We aren't entitled. We are
    just used to it.

    We would whine and whinge and moan and complain we are hard done by if prices went up because companies had to hold higher standards for other that we would expect for ourselves. Don't tell me people wouldn't complain its unfair and they are robbed. That is an entitlement mentality.

    When landlords complained that their tax payer subsidies may be cut back, they didn't say "oh well", they claimed they were being denied their rightful wealth.

    See, we don't want to wear the TRUE cost, so in order to get the
    lifestyle that we believe we are entitled to, because it is marketed to us, we shift these costs elsewhere. I can by a polo top at a
    department store in Melbourne for $5. Why should it be that cheap?
    It's made that cheap, because the actual cost has been hidden,
    obfuscted.

    Ahh.... Now I smell the Social Justice stench.

    You are so hypersensitive to anything "socialist", your radar is now malfunctioning.


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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Wed Mar 10 23:20:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Monday 08.03.21 - 15:13, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    I am not familiar with that fellow. Is he anything like Ayn
    Rand?

    Konkin makes Rand look tame.

    His idea is that laws are not ethically superior because
    they were enacted by some politician who got there because
    he managed to fool the most voters. Therefore, breaking such
    laws is not necessarily immoral and it may even be desirable
    it such regulations are blatantly stupid.

    Ah.. but the same politicians convert "regulations" into "laws".
    Then you're screwed if you break those "laws".

    It is not unlike what is happening now with covid. The provinces
    dispense "guidelines" and "regulations". They are careful to
    never call them "laws", but the media reports and press meetings
    give the impression that they are laws - and if you break them
    you stand to be fined. However, within the umbrella of the
    "Emergency Act", there are sections that trump human rights and
    give power and legitimacy to the aforementioned ad hoc
    regulations and guidelines.

    Konkin was also the Author of The Legend of Anarcho-Klaus, a
    tale about Santa's rebel son. In that tale, Santa is in the
    government's payroll for brainwashing kids by giving away
    politically acceptable gifts, and promoting pro-government
    sheep mentallity. Anarcho-Klaus opposed Santa by giving
    their kids hardcore stuff.

    Thanks for the heads-up on that. I'll have to give that one a
    try. I like a good satire. At $15CDN it's pretty expensive for
    a 60p book, but.. I've paid higher for less.

    "With Santa and the US Air Force in pursuit, Anarcho Claus
    spirits Janie away to the North Pole, where she learns that toys
    are a waste product in Elf-Land and Santa has been dumping them
    on humanity for his own secret purposes! Wry, wickedly witty and
    fast-paced, THE LEGEND OF ANARCHO CLAUS is the year-round
    Christmas gift you'll want to read to your children over and
    over."

    The book also seems to credit a co-author who also sounds
    interesting - Victor Koman:

    "Victor Koman, a native Californian, is the author of several
    books, including the underground classic millennial-noir novel
    The Jehovah Contract and his medical thriller Solomon's Knife.
    Both novels won the Prometheus Award in their respective years
    and are available in trade paperback from KoPubCo. Ray Bradbury
    says of Koman's first award-winner, "The Jehovah Contract has a
    fascinating concept, imaginatively delivered," and of Koman,
    "Would that there were a dozen more writers like him in the
    field." The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction calls his
    unprecedented third Prometheus Award-winning novel, Kings of the
    High Frontier "an intriguing, exhilarating, thought-provoking
    and, yes, sprawling novel that brings back the sense of wonder
    that drew so many of us into science-fiction in the first
    place." The novel was the first book published exclusively on
    the Internet to win the Prometheus award."

    Anarcho Claus reminds me of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather -
    another satirical spoof on a Santa-based Christmas, but staged
    in the Discworld universe where the reindeer are hogs, Father
    Christmas goes missing, but Death is force to step in to replace
    him inorder to deliver the presents whilst spreading the
    seasonal "cheer" to children. Awkard! LOL

    Hogfather was made into to two tv episodes which were actually
    quite well imagined.

    My first intro to Discworld was with the story Good Omens. The
    book is hiliarious. I don't like the tv adaptation though.

    My next venture into the Discworld universe was with the tv
    adaptation of the 1st Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic. The
    depiction of the "luggage that follows you" and has the ability
    to keep its contents safe under all circumstances, is well
    executed. The deadpan humour of the actors is well done.


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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 02:44:31 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Dream Master on Thu Mar 11 2021 12:53 am

    Well the US can't even service its debt interest obligations without printing the difference every single year. It's sad tha
    we'll never see interest rates go up... even the slightest increase would make the payments unmanageable; never mind any not
    of paying back the principle. The problem with the dollar is that all of this money printing has weakened it causing the mar
    to lose confidence in it. And now that the USA is hooked on stimulus, it'll NEVER end. It's akin to a junkie on heroin... th
    junkie cannot remain high if you cut off the drugs. Stop the stimulus payments, and you'll see another liquidity crisis. The
    problem though is that the solution (stimulus) will eventually destroy your economy anyway via hyperinflation.

    Interesting thing: I was reading a theory two weeks ago, according to which the desire governments have to finish cash is due
    to their desire to manipulate interest rates to the negative.

    This is: if interest rates were very bad, you would pull your money out of the bank and place in your matress, so they can't
    mess with interest rates as they are now. However, if they force you to have all your money in the bank, they can then charge
    you with negative interest rates and the only way you will have to escape is by spending the money.


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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Thu Mar 11 03:00:03 2021
    Re: Konkin, Rand and Claus
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Wed Mar 10 2021 11:20 pm

    Anarcho Claus reminds me of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather -
    another satirical spoof on a Santa-based Christmas, but staged
    in the Discworld universe where the reindeer are hogs, Father
    Christmas goes missing, but Death is force to step in to replace
    him inorder to deliver the presents whilst spreading the
    seasonal "cheer" to children. Awkard! LOL

    Hogfather was made into to two tv episodes which were actually
    quite well imagined.

    My first intro to Discworld was with the story Good Omens. The
    book is hiliarious. I don't like the tv adaptation though.

    My next venture into the Discworld universe was with the tv
    adaptation of the 1st Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic. The
    depiction of the "luggage that follows you" and has the ability
    to keep its contents safe under all circumstances, is well
    executed. The deadpan humour of the actors is well done.

    Hogfather was nice. "Which present do you want for $Christmas, ephimerous mortal?"

    "A sword. A big sword."

    <<Hogfather gives big sword to the kid>>

    Then Hogfather's assistant tells Death that the sword is dangerous and that the kid may cut himself. Death says: "Yup, and that
    would be a valuable lesson."

    Good Omens is not part of the Discworld.

    Also, check Only you Can Save Humanity and The Exodus of the Gnomes, for Terry's non Discworl stuff that is top tier.

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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nightfox on Thu Mar 11 08:35:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I thought it was weird that people were hoarding toilelt paper, of all things. Did everyone start getting diarrhea en masse last year when
    the pandemic started? Luckily I had bought plenty of toilet paper and
    had enough to last, but I wasn't going to the bathroom any more often
    than usual. I thought it was weird not to see any toilet paper in
    stock for some short times in local stores.

    Not many people understand that we don't have toilet paper warehouses.
    So the manufacturer makes it, puts it in trucks and brings it to various distribution facilities. Some people think that these facilities are warehouses, but they are not. Trucks deliver on one end and on the other
    more trucks take to the stores.

    So the gov't shuts down the economy. Problem: most of the toilet paper
    is packaged for "instutional" use (i.e. by companies) and they aren't buying because they are closed (or the offices are closed and everyone's working at home).

    It takes time for companies to change their manufacturing, so we didn't have enough "consumer" toilet paper in the pipeline. Then the Lefties created
    a shortage by causing a panic and some purposely bought all the TP in some stores. But it gets worse, some TP manufacturers don't sell enough consumer
    TP to work 5 days a week, so now the pipeline is filled only a couple days a week.

    There are still shortages of other products because of this unconstitutional shutdown and the pain it causes manufacturers.


    ... Excuse me if I sound bitter....I taste that way too
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nightfox on Thu Mar 11 08:39:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    Also I'd think they'd prioritize in-store kiosk orders over online
    orders (since an in-store customer is already there), but perhaps not.

    You'd think that too. But I've seen many stores that had to start providing on-line orders to stay afloat. They quickly found that they needed to
    NOT prioritize in-store over on-line because the on-line people were timing things to be there for their food and were mad because it wasn't ready even though they ordered 2 hours ago and it was promised by the time they arrived.

    One store that I frequent made it clear that if you call in an order (they didn't have order entry on their web site) that the person taking the order would look at the in-store line and their order would go at the "end of the line" as it stood at that moment.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Ogg on Thu Mar 11 10:56:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Arelor <=-

    Ah.. but the same politicians convert "regulations" into "laws".
    Then you're screwed if you break those "laws".

    You hit on one of the big problems today: The 4th branch of Gov't - The Bureaucracy.

    Remember when Crazy Nancy did the "we have to pass the bill to see what's
    in it"? Well, what that was is the Legislature side-stepping their responsibility and illegally ceding authority to the Bureaucracy.

    That bill was nothing more than "We give the Bureaucracy the power to
    come up with the regulations and allow them to be enforced with the
    authority of law."

    The Bureaucracy are unelected and, effectively, fireproof - they are more
    apt to "leave" the position by dieing. So if they make an effective
    law that's bad, we, the public, have no recourse. We can't vote them
    out in the next election because we never voted them in.

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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 11 11:06:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to hollowone <=-

    A lot of the divisiveness comes down to an increased level of tribalism
    as PC Culture, tribalism and counter-culture escalate in light of media which gets more eyes, and as a result more money from divisive topics.

    I think that's only part of it.

    Tribalism has been a part of cultures for a long time and but we all still
    knew how to get along. It's usually "Ya, I know you like that, but it's not for me, so feel free to do that, but I'll pass." Everyone does what they believe to be right, but doesn't force their beliefs on others.

    The problem is when you get a group that is so unsure of themselves that
    they must FORCE everyone to do what they believe to be right. So when
    you do the "Ya, I know you like that, but it's not for me, so feel free to
    do that, but I'll pass." they start attacking you.

    The term xenophobia comes to mind.


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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Thu Mar 11 08:58:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 11.03.21 - 03:00, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Good Omens is not part of the Discworld.

    It was early in my exposure to anything Pratchett. I assumed.
    the reference to Agnes Nutter (who is also in the Discworld)
    threw me off the track? I just found out "Alice Nutter (died 20
    August 1612) was an English woman accused and hanged as a result
    of the Pendle witch hunt." So.. it seems Pratchet built on that
    name and created Agnes Nutter.

    I knew that the combined spoof on Revelation and The Omen wasn't
    pure Discworld, so I enjoyed it quite well as a standalone. I
    think that I was looking for substitutes for the Hitchhiker's
    Guide To The Galaxy humour that I enjoyed at the time.

    HGttG not to be confused with the upcoming:

    The Rationalist's Guide to the Galaxy: Superintelligent AI and
    the Geeks Who Are Trying to Save Humanity's Future | Paperback
    Tom Chivers
    Orion Publishing Group | Weidenfeld & Nicolson
    Computers / Artificial Intelligence / Human-Computer
    Interaction (HCI) / Science / Cognitive Science
    Release date Aug 17, 2021
    $17.99 US / $19.99 CA

    ..but I digress.

    I also now see that there are a few others of Pratchett's that
    are considered standalones:

    Dodger
    Nation
    The Carpet People
    The Dark Side of the Sun
    Strata

    I did not know that he was also a rather accomplished artist
    having contributed to the cover art of many of the books.

    Also, check Only you Can Save Humanity and The Exodus of the
    Gnomes, for Terry's non Discworl stuff that is top tier.

    I see the first one listed in a trilogy and as juvee titles, but
    I wouldn't mind checking them out.

    I don't see Exodus..Gnomes listed though. Is that the same as
    the Nome trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, Wings ?

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Thu Mar 11 13:37:45 2021
    Re: Hogfather
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Thu Mar 11 2021 08:58 am

    I don't see Exodus..Gnomes listed though. Is that the same as
    the Nome trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, Wings ?

    Probably.

    I read it in Spanish, and publishers translate the original titles to Spanish seemlingly at random.

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Tue Mar 9 07:12:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dr. What <=-

    Incidental anecdote, I know of an engineer who optimized factories
    for a living via automation. He once was called to China for automating
    a firm - I think it was an excavations firm. In the end they reached
    the conclussion that it was not worth the effort to automate anything there. It was better to buy three thousand shovels for three thousand employees than purchase fifty bulldozers for fifty employees because workers there are dirty cheap and, most important, they don't cause trouble.

    Same story, a friend who worked in construction and was shocked at the lack
    of heavy equipment. When you have a billion people who need work, the shovel alternative makes sense. The lack of trouble aspect you mentioned is
    relevant, too.




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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to MRO on Tue Mar 9 07:15:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Arelor <=-

    in mcdonald's case (with my personal experience) the kiosks arent
    making much of a difference and it's quicker to order right at the
    line.

    The last time I used one, they had a person directing me to it and showing
    me how to use it. Disconcerting, having to show people how to use your replacement.

    The odd thing was that they gave me a table number to put at the corner of
    the table, then yelled the number out for me to get up and pick up my food.
    I think they missed the "bring the food out to the customer" part of the training, otherwise why have table numbers when the receipt has a number on it?


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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Nightfox on Tue Mar 9 07:17:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to MRO <=-

    I've ordered from the McDonalds kiosks. I didn't think it was much faster, but I think it's more convenient. Whenever I've used their
    kiosks (only a few times), it always seemed like I was waiting longer
    than usual for my order to be ready.

    The game changer in my opinion is ordering on a fast food app, parking in
    one of the pick up spaces and skipping the drive-through, with the bad PA system, error-prone ordering, and waiting in a queue. Pull in, order online, and your food is brought out.

    And, all I need to do is give them access to a bank account and my location! :)


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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to fusion on Wed Mar 10 07:09:00 2021
    fusion wrote to Nightfox <=-

    i enjoy talking to people and used to occasionally go inside fast food places to sit down. but that hasn't been a thing since long before the lockdowns.. for example BK seems to be the biggest (probably seat 100
    in there) and i've never seen more than 5 or so since i was a kid.

    When I was a kid, a local Burger King was the place everyone hung out after the Friday night football game and before going out to one of the hangouts. The place was packed. I haven't been back on a game night, wonder if it's still a thing.


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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dream Master on Wed Mar 10 07:17:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Denn <=-

    OMG, I remember that. I think what he said was the internet was a
    series of tubes connecting everyone together and people equated Gore to the creation of the Internet.

    It was Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) opposing net neutrality on the floor
    of the senate, trying for 10 minutes to wrap his head around what he'd been paid to lobby for. Truly painful to watch; it's a good example of exactly
    how extensively lobbyists buy time and votes - and how much we need campaign finance reform.

    Gore was instrumental in the creation of the commercial internet we know today, it's easy to see how he was taken out of context.

    I remember when my mother asked me if I
    was on the internet in the early 2000s. My response to her, "Since the mid to late 80s." She was shocked that it was around for so long.

    I'm playing on a site called tilde.club; it's a communal UNIX shell host reminiscent of the old community systems of the 80s and 90s. I noticed that they still have UUCP feeds available, I might have to go down that rabbit- hole for old time's sake...

    ---
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Nightfox on Thu Mar 11 05:52:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I thought it was weird that people were hoarding toilelt paper, of all things. Did everyone start getting diarrhea en masse last year when
    the pandemic started? Luckily I had bought plenty of toilet paper and
    had enough to last, but I wasn't going to the bathroom any more often
    than usual. I thought it was weird not to see any toilet paper in
    stock for some short times in local stores.

    That's mass perception and herd mentality. It's how banks fail.

    Take a noticeable drop in supply, inflate the need in people's mind, talk about a perceived shortage, cause a run on supply. Supply chain issues perpetuated by a perception of an issue.


    ... Convert a melodic element into a rhythmic element
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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Mar 11 14:04:47 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Tue Mar 09 2021 07:17 am

    The game changer in my opinion is ordering on a fast food app, parking in one of the pick up spaces and skipping the drive-through, with the bad PA system, error-prone ordering, and waiting in a queue. Pull in, order online, and your food is brought out.

    Some fast food places in my area have parking spaces for food pick-up, but in many cases, you still have to wait through the drive-thru line to pick up food ordered online.

    Nightfox

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Mar 11 16:12:49 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dream Master on Wed Mar 10 2021 07:17 am

    I'm playing on a site called tilde.club; it's a communal UNIX shell host reminiscent of the old community systems of the 80s and 90s. I noticed that they still have UUCP feeds available, I might have to go down that rabbit- hole for old time's sake...


    That sounds extremely interesting.

    Which sort of systems and services are they running over there?

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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Nightfox on Thu Mar 11 20:41:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Mar 11 2021 02:04 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Tue Mar 09 2021 07:17 am

    The game changer in my opinion is ordering on a fast food app, parking in one of the pick up spaces and skipping the drive-through, with the bad PA system, error-prone ordering, and waiting in a queue. Pull in, order online, and your food is brought out.

    Some fast food places in my area have parking spaces for food pick-up, but in many cases, you still have to wait through the drive-thru line to pick up food ordered online.


    i did that at sonic and i waited 40 mins. got half my order. then the kid kept hiding inside and wouldnt come out. finally i got a refund.
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Thu Mar 11 22:28:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Wed Mar 10 2021 04:59 pm

    in my city they lowered the amount of workers and changed the menu a LITTLE. the drive thru's are very fast.

    Yes, I think the drive-thru's are down to a tee now that it's the only viable method to order a meal. I prefer using the drive-thru anyway... never really enjoyed sitting in at McDs.

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Arelor on Thu Mar 11 23:04:06 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 2021 02:44 am

    Interesting thing: I was reading a theory two weeks ago, according to which the desire governments have to finish cash is due
    to their desire to manipulate interest rates to the negative.

    This is: if interest rates were very bad, you would pull your money out of the bank and place in your matress, so they can't
    mess with interest rates as they are now. However, if they force you to have all your money in the bank, they can then charge
    you with negative interest rates and the only way you will have to escape is by spending the money.


    The Fed dropped interest rates in 2008 to contain the economic crisis. This mechanism cannot be replicated in 2021 as interest rates are already close to 0%.

    Once the digital dollar has been implemented, depositors will be required to spend their currency within a pre-determined time frame otherwise it will lose value via an imposed negative interest rate.

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  • From Daryl Stout@VERT/TBOLT to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Mar 11 19:16:00 2021
    When I was a kid, a local Burger King was the place everyone hung out after the Friday night football game and before going out to one of the hangouts. The place was packed. I haven't been back on a game night, wonder if it's still a thing.

    Probably not in the wake of COVID-19. In central Arkansas, they do have
    signs prohibiting loitering.

    I had worked for 2 central Arkansas Burger King franchises over 40 years
    ago, for a total of 5 years...and literally did a little bit of everything.

    I love their flame broiled burgers, as they're not swimming in grease...
    but it sets off my acid reflux.

    Daryl

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Thu Mar 11 23:22:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60494E56.3588.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <60472E8C.49349.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Tue Mar 09 2021 07:24 am

    Minimum wage is lower in the states, and many rely on tips if they work in hospitality. Here the minimum is higher, which is perhaps why more jobs can be set at the minimum wage. A factor floor worker doesn't rely on tips, becaues they could never get them.


    i havent worked a minimum wage job my entire adult life and neither has every single person i've known in my entire life. ---

    Neither have I, but I have known people who have taken minimum wage, at least at some point. But then again, I'm intelligent and educated, with industry experience.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to MRO on Thu Mar 11 23:23:00 2021
    MRO wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60494EA8.3589.dove-gen@bbses.info>
    @REPLY: <60472E95.49356.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Tue Mar 09 2021 08:07 am


    the thing is, the chinese do things cheaper and better.
    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    absolutely they do better.

    Maybe in your industry that might be true, mine, not so much.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 23:27:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60495CE7.24846.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60472E88.49347.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Tue Mar 09 2021 07:10 am

    I was meaning capitalism in its purist free market form. Obviously it's subject to entropy, like everything else. Late stage capitalism is the result of large corporate interests cornering the market by lobbying politicians, infiltrating government offices and creating laws to impose their dominion. This can only occur when a country allows itself to have a LARGE and POWERFUL government. Small businesses, when they aren't hamstrung by government regulations, are nimble enough to chip away and topple larger corporations as they can adapt to consumer trends far more quickly and efficently than business monoliths.

    But Capitalism is not "free markets", it is the private ownership of the means of production. It is characterised by employment and capital typically being the residual claimant of the end result of a productive process. "Free Markets" are a feature of Capitalism the same way that Democracy it, it is found together, but it is not necessary for a Capitalist economy to have a free market.


    Fine, free market then. Everything else I said still stands.

    OK, so when I'm critical of Capitalism, I'm not critiquing a market economy, or vice versa. People use the two terms interchangeably, which irks me a bit. It's important to realise that Markets can exist without Capitalism, because otherwise, defence of markets then gets misconstrued as necessitating defence of the class that holds Capital.

    This misunderstanding stifles debate because people erroneously point to the success that market economies have over beaurocratically ones, as some form of evidence against, say, changing property rights or employment law. The Marxist boogey man serves Capitalism really well.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 23:29:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6049611D.24847.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60472E95.49355.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Tue Mar 09 2021 08:06 am

    Low salaries are a huge reason as to why industry moved overseas... that and far less bureaucracy. It's an a-symmetrical playing field between China and the USA, they don't have the same worker's rights, health & safety, pension & healthcare packages, etc... and the sheer level of bureaucracy makes it expensive and time consuming to expand businesses in the West compared to the East. Even simple things such as planning and building permissions can become a proteracted ordeal, in China you just build shit and make money. They don't carry out enviromental impact assessments or anything like that.
    ---

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. It is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.

    When the government creates and anti-competitive enviroment, businesses collapse because you cannot sell product Y if the acceptable price is below the costs of labour and production. Globalisation has ultimately ruined the West as it has given us access to cheap consumer goods.

    Another important aspect is regulation, and costs of compliance to regulations.
    Some are necessary (I work in an industry which does need SOME regulation), but regulators always seek to expand their importance, and therefore, the cost.



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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to IB Joe on Fri Mar 12 01:45:00 2021
    IB Joe wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6049952D.117686.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    On 09 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    If people are being made to work, and they cannot sustain themselves,
    then something is wrong. There is no way of arguing out of that fact. Something somewhere is wrong, and I don't believe it is employees.
    Sure, some are lazy, and the should be fired if they are a liability,
    but they doesn't explain everything.


    If you don't want to work for minimum wage don't do it. Re-train..
    that's the beauty of it. In the US the left seems to try and get poor working class to feel like their victims... They should be showing them the way out of their situation... training in a trade ... whatever ... Instead they try to offer lies about minimum wage... Keep them down and forever reliant of Big Government.


    OK, then if the argument is that minimum wage is only for burger flipping you must ALSO accept that any other unskilled jobs, production like work, preparation of fresh food, other jobs which we need in adequate supply, should be paid at ABOVE minimum wage.

    The fact is, a lot of jobs do need to be done, but don't need education. They can't all be done by 16 year olds working over the summer to buy a Playstation.
    Otherwise, you will have a 'skills shortage', and then, what? Import people?


    Housing is expensive EVERYWHERE, and my skillset requires me near the city. For me to be a productive member of the economy, and to contribute the maximum value I can, I can't just "move".


    It's not, and that's a lie. In the area of Florida where I have lived
    you can still buy a house for under 100K., you could even go cheaper if you bought a mobile home. Here's a rule I've always went by...
    Simple... you are where you are right now because of the story you told yourself... That's it... If you choose to stay where you are doing the exact same thing... expect no difference ever... Nothings going to
    change if you don't change it... and nobody owes you a thing...

    Yeah, they are moving because your cities are turning to crap. I sure
    as hell don't want Australia to follow your lead.


    Besides, the commute from Florida to Melbourne, Australia is a bit much for me.

    It's 2020... find a way to be valuable outside of Melbourne... Be
    happy enjoy the fact that you have the freedoms to try to succeed...
    Think about the migrants working their way through Mexico right now... They are not pissing and moaning about real estate costs in Melbourne
    ... they are pumped about the opportunities that lay ahead.

    When I first moved to the US I swore I could smell the opportunities
    that awaited me.

    I live in Melbourne AUSTRALIA.

    And I've already found a way to be valuable. I'm in a managerial position, and can't afford to live near where I work. Even as a MANAGER housing in commutable proximity is damn near unaffordable. Metrics are that housing should be 3-4x yearly salary.

    But you just refuse to realise that perhaps this is a problem. You simply refuse to accept that something about this isn't right. You say "move further out", you're still looking at half a million easily for a cheap one, and that is beyond the surburban fringe with poor transport. You want low minimum wages, and half million dollar houses???

    Maybe, just maybe, the problem is the screwed economics. The flood of cheap credit, interest only loans, 100% loans, tax incentives which fuel speculation, immigration policy, planning policy.

    Something has to give...


    Utter rubbish. I PAY for town planners. I PAY to subsidise landlords.
    I WORK to create product that lines pharmacy shelves. I resolve issues and create efficiencies for business. I PAY the politicians which set housing policy. I PAY for the roads, pay government. I, and all others who produce help support the entire system. That structure of laws that gives people property rights, I pay for.


    Great... Strap on a pair of shoes and go for a walk on those streets... Enjoy them... Next time you see a cop/fireman/whatever ... go up and
    tell them that they owe you a great debt of gratitude because you pay their salary ...

    Because your neighbor has more than you he does not mean he owes you a thing... buy your own shoes and enjoy a nice walk on the streets you
    paid for.

    What does this have to do with anything? Since when is my issue with firemen?


    The idea that people who actually produce the wealth, and support the ruling class, should expect nothing is just, baffling.

    Surely your are being sarcastic?


    I've always viewed the government as a mob boss... I give them a
    portion of my paycheck and they don't break my fingers... in fact they
    let me go about my business and leave me a lone. I don't look at my
    tax payment to see if I'm going to get any benefit from it, in the future... or was the 30% they took just the cost in doing business...
    and that's how I see it.

    I can only talk about Canada or the US, both countries I hold
    citizenship in and both countries I have lived in. Either case I'm screwed... The people running either country either have no clue what
    they are doing, or... they are trying to run the countries into bankruptcy... You can't print and spend money the way they are.. in
    either country... Something catastrophic is in the working. Analog
    modems and community BBSes are about to become real hot again.

    But yet when I point out the absurdity of the end result, your response is to insinuate that I've done something wrong.

    You need to go back and think about what you are saying because it seems that you are attributing failure to me, when I am trying to suggest it is the system itself which is failing. In one paragraph, you question my decision making, then in the next, admit that government is failing (deliberately or accidentally).

    You suggest that people should extract their skills from where they are needed.
    Fine, but this creates a skills shortage. How to fill that? Raise wages? Sure, my wage should go up, but then we are even LESS competitive as a national economy. What, my company is to just go without managers because they've all moved away as per your solution? They already had trouble finding people.


    The problem here is the Capitalist system of employment. See my
    response to Arelor for details, I won't repeat here. Labour HAS NO
    VALUE, only end results do.

    The entire discussion of the value of labour is moot. The issue is
    really whether the labour required to bring a product/service is worthwhile or not. When you divorce labour from the product (ie, pay labour), then these problems occur.

    There is no "market value" for labour. It's a myth, an illusion. The value of labour is set by living costs because under that, it is not a worthwhile economic activity.


    That's not true... have a skill and demand a better wage... My Boy is a welder.. makes an extremely good wage... His cousin went to University
    for 4 years to be an accountant... Moe almost makes twice what his
    cousin makes. The boy doesn't entangle himself with females and lives like a king...

    No, they are paying for the end result. No matter your 'skills', the value is in the end result. I get paid what I get paid not because of the inherit value of my labour, but the value of the product. If no one wanted to buy the product, my labour would be worthless there.


    I'm not American. From what I see, the "American" way is dying anyway
    and I hope that Australia doesn't follow your decline.


    You have to be vigilant... Commies are everywhere... Cancel Culture is being exported out of the US right now.... Great Britain recently... Divide and concur is their method. Marx use to cancel the people who opposed him by killing them... Now they just try to cancel you... can't work, can't speak... Same thing, they just found a way not to use a
    gun.

    Young people are turning to extremist politics, left and right because they feel they have little left to lose. If the system worked for them they would be less motivated to go along with rabble rousers.


    Business wants the cheap labour. Your "Free Enterprise" is really business titans pushing the gates open. The biggest cheerleaders for
    open borders, are those that want to depress wages and keep the housing market saturated.


    You are now speaking on a topic you have no idea on. Businesses are
    not demanding the borders to be ope... recall businesses are simply
    travel to where there is cheap labor.... easier to do that.... never
    mind labor costs it's the other costs associated with running a business.... Taxes and regulations. The last thing I mentioned is probably the biggest cost in running a business... regulations.

    Business in Australia has been a supporter of high immigration and loose visa requirements. They have ASKED for this on record. One of our mining magnates wrote a cringey poem about it and wanted an economic zone where they could bring in foreign labour to their mines without reduced to no government restriction.

    The economy was the best in US history under Trumps care. He reduced taxes, cut regulations and factories started to return. He made the climate for companies to do business in the US better than doing it elsewhere... That was it. The trump recovery was a bottom up
    recovery... the people on the bottom rungs felt it more than the people above. In fact working class finally started to see it in their paychecks... in which they had not for the last 2 presidents.

    The Democrats have an open boarder policy. This policy is not to drive wages down, as it will do anyway, but rather it's to destroy the US as
    a country and reset it to a country where individual rights are not
    king. They seem to be tired of trying to convince the population that being sheep is better... They want a population that is dependent on
    the government. The liberals call this "The Great Reset".

    This is a revolution... unlike other revolutions where the populous
    rose up to overthrow the powerful.... It's the powerful squashing the populous...


    The US just passed, almost anyway, ~$2 Trillion "Covid" relief ... whatever they called it... less than 9% is actually for Covid... where
    as the rest.. goes out to the politically connected. They have been printing money in the US and only the top 0.0001% has been getting any benefit from it. They'll shut down mom and pop hardware stores but let home depot stay open...

    That much is true, though I can't verify or comment on Trumps impact to the economy. However, where is the countervailing force?

    You see, even *I* am ambivalent about an economic reset. What am I going to lose? Debt? How are my children going to be able to have a decent life? I see no solutions. This is the problem. "Moving" as you say, is not a long term solution. You eventually run out of places to move to. Moving away from urban centres (which Australia has few of), is good way to to have your family slip down the socio-economic ladder.

    You must understand, people in their 20s, who are seeing opportunities close up, what motivation to they have to support the current system? To protect traditional society? Why should someone who is faced with never owning a home, give a crap about landlords and people with capital? Why should we care about a system which just funnels wealth to the proverbial 1%?

    Economic inequality is an absolute society killer. I really think some kind of revolution is inevitable. You may disagree with "The Great Reset", and I do as well, but something drastic needs to be done. If you don't posit something, Klaus Schwab wins by default.

    I don't really disagree here, but I think Conservatives dropped the ball decades ago. The problem isn't that people can makes themselves better off, the problem is that there are too many ways in which people can do that, from other peoples productive output. It's not just the person gaming welfare to sit at home, its people who game the system to find
    ways to extract value from other peoples works, and our economic system allows that.

    If you want to be wealthy, you must create wealth. All to often though, gaming the system, speculation, leverage, hoarding, state enforced property rights are used to claim wealth as well and our system IS gamed to support these over those that work. I know, I'm an investor and it
    is clear that our system is skewed to support those that live off
    capital, than those that produce.


    Who cares... If you know the water you're swimming in... just do it... People leverage all the time... FOR EXAMPLE... People sometimes do not have all the money they need to buy a house... so... the leverage the purchase and use other people's money and they get a mortgage...

    Or... U can be smart and gather with others to perform a short-squeeze
    on some Hedge Funds and stick it to the man. Enjoy life... The Great Awakening is upon us.

    I'm referring to people who gather multiple houses, not someone who has a loan.
    And GameStop is just dumb. Sure, the price goes up, but it will come back down and burn others. For each dollar earned, some poor shareholder wanting to "stick it to the man" is going to lose one. One hedge fund may lose, but you've also created a perfect short selling opportunity for another hedge fund.
    Some billionaires are going to make a lot of money from working plebs losing their money.

    In short, no one should be rich if they can't point to something they PRODUCED, or INVENTED or CREATED. But there are many who simply by exploiting money printed out of thin air, interest free loans, tax subsidies are able to claim increases in asset values, those assets increasing in value due to what other people did.

    Mainstream Conservatives, or Cuckservatives as they should be called, are idiots. They moan about the decline of the traditional family, yet do nothing to ensure that Dad can afford to establish a family. They moan about the decline of community, and bonds with extended family, but then instead of pushing for economic conditions which allow community
    cohesion, that just tell everyone to move away from family so that speculators can be free to bank $$$'s. I know one Conservative, Cory Bernardi in Australia, who would moan and whinge on his blog about
    "family vales" and Islam, etc, but in his ENTIRE blog, he mentioned nothing about housing costs, which in Australia is one of the biggest issues facing families, and impeding people being able to start one.
    What a fool. When landlords were facing maybe losing their tax payer funded gifts in Australia, which allowed then to overpay for housing and drive the market up, they moaned though. They want the results that
    come from affordable housing, stable jobs with productivity improvements going to labour, without actually having affordable housing and productivity improvement going to labour.

    In the US and Canada Conservatives always showed up to a gun fight with
    a knife... Liberals here don't play nice. Conservatives, in Canada, Republicans in the US, always played by the rules... Call them a
    racist and they ran away. For the first time in Republicans finally showed up to the gun fight with a gun.... It was a 45... it's name was Trump.

    Every time the Democrats tried their little bag of tricks Trump fought back... They'd say you're racist... He'd say you are ... and here's the video... Drove them nuts...

    I'm not sure if Trump will run in 2024... But the Democrats and Joe
    Biden are going to be looking over their backs for the next 4 years.


    The problem is that much of the Conservative Right don't understand meta-politics. The Left does. Gerald Celente has a great quote, "Liberals lie, Conservatives believe". Conservatives seemed to believe the Left, or take them at face value, when they spoke about racism, etc. Conservatives don't seem to fully appreciate that people put forward values for self serving reasons. They kind of did, in a fuzzy way, but never acted politically. They are incapable of playing the long game.

    See, if you want end results, you have to set up conditions to bring them about. And here they utterly, utterly failed. I bring up the example of Cory Bernardi, which I mentioned elsewhere. He claims to represent the "family", but promoted nothing which actually helped people start and raise a faily. I went through his entire blog, past all the blovating about "family values" to see if he would even mention the actual issues which are hurting families, and preventing their formation, and no.

    The problem is, right wing ideology believes that "market forces" would just produce some replica of the 1950s, that society does not exist. The Left understood that if you desire a result, it needs some engineering and assumption of responsibility of outcome. The right gave up on society, on governance, on being custodians of Western civilisation and just let neo-Liberalism do its thing. That ideology failed, and they have nothing now. They have Trump, an empty vessel.

    Some, like Tucker Carlson, have a brain now, but its too few, too late.


    I love Tucker.

    Tucker thinks more like a true, traditional conservative, instead of a neo-liberal

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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 23:01:47 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Thu Mar 11 2021 10:28 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Wed Mar 10 2021 04:59 pm

    in my city they lowered the amount of workers and changed the menu a LITTLE. the drive thru's are very fast.

    Yes, I think the drive-thru's are down to a tee now that it's the only viable method to order a meal. I prefer using the drive-thru anyway... never really enjoyed sitting in at McDs.

    also the food is very fresh, so that's a plus.
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Thu Mar 11 23:14:18 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to MRO on Thu Mar 11 2021 11:23 pm

    they're just better at everything and that's why they're on top.

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    absolutely they do better.

    Maybe in your industry that might be true, mine, not so much.

    go look up what the chinese do. look up what they make. they have taken control of most of the industries.
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Fri Mar 12 03:15:08 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to IB Joe on Fri Mar 12 2021 01:45 am


    OK, then if the argument is that minimum wage is only for burger flipping you must ALSO accept that any other unskilled jobs
    production like work, preparation of fresh food, other jobs which we need in adequate supply, should be paid at ABOVE minimu
    wage.

    The fact is, a lot of jobs do need to be done, but don't need education. They can't all be done by 16 year olds working ove
    the summer to buy a Playstation.
    Otherwise, you will have a 'skills shortage', and then, what? Import people?


    I have a big issue with all the talking about needing higher education to get better career results, because it perpetuates
    this dangerous myth that makes the education mob stronger and funnels the common man's money into their pockets.

    I know of plenty people who got nice careers without getting the equivalent to mid-grade because they were pumping their
    efforts into something other than studies. Meanwhile I am sitting on a store that pays itslef but barely turns a profit, do
    part-time sysadmining to cover expenses, and need a third job with a publisher to make ends meet. So much for an Engineering
    degree and certificates for 3000 hours courses in various IT disciplines.

    The fact some job needs no education does not mean it is non-profitable. We had a dude in the clinic tasked with moving
    life-critical equipment from a place to another who made more than some computer sicentists in big IT firms. Also, the store
    where I get my horse food from used to have a shortage of employees, despite the fact clerks were paid well above minimum wage
    for a job that mostly consisted in smiling at customers and taking their money - they didn'¤ t even had to take care of the
    hard parts like dealing with inventory, because they have a grumpy old dude for that.

    I have a nice collection of examples of degreeless jobs that do better than most degreed jobs around. We have produced lots of
    degreed people and now we don't have job positions to place them. And then they don't like us in other countries so we can't
    even export them. The degree then turns into a liability for this people, because when you show up for a van driving job and
    they see that you have a Doctorate in Astrophysics, they are going to assume you don't have experience in their field. It
    likely places you at a different social level than them in their minds, which let me tell you, is a bad thing. So you don't
    even get the van driving job.

    But hey, let's encourage everybody to get a degree :-(

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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Fri Mar 12 09:03:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    I have a big issue with all the talking about needing higher education
    to get better career results, because it perpetuates this dangerous
    myth that makes the education mob stronger and funnels the common man's money into their pockets.

    Which is right on the money.

    It funnels young people into what we know are Leftie indoctrination centers. Many colleges don't even do a good job of educating anymore, so companies
    are starting to treat them as uneducated workers (and paying them accordingly).

    Then they push the myth that all you need is "a degree", which is false.
    You need "a useful, in demand, degree". So they feed a kid some BS and
    he comes out of college with a degree in "Women's Studies" and he's frustrated that he can't get a job that allows him to live on his own and pay off
    his student debt.

    Which feeds into...

    The whole "free college" push is to channel even more of our taxpayer dollars to the Leftie indoctrination centers...er... colleges.

    When I went to college, I did a cost/benefit analysis. Was the degree
    from the college I wanted to go to worth what I would make when I graduated?
    If the answer was "No", I'd change my degree or college.

    But we have a whole generation who didn't do their homework and are stuck
    with the debt. But their younger siblings learned from those mistakes and
    are NOT falling for it. Hence the drop off in college admissions.

    So the Lefties NEED "free college" to keep the indoctrination centers open
    and their useless Elite-wannabes employed.

    I have a nice collection of examples of degreeless jobs that do better than most degreed jobs around. We have produced lots of degreed people
    and now we don't have job positions to place them.

    And those useless degreed people have a very inflated opinion of their worth
    to society. They are the perfect fodder for Antifa - which was the plan.


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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Fri Mar 12 17:43:22 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 2021 11:27 pm

    OK, so when I'm critical of Capitalism, I'm not critiquing a market economy, or vice versa. People use the two terms interchangeably, which irks me a bit. It's important to realise that Markets can exist without Capitalism, because otherwise, defence of markets then gets misconstrued as necessitating defence of the class that holds Capital.

    This misunderstanding stifles debate because people erroneously point to the success that market economies have over beaurocratically ones, as some form of evidence against, say, changing property rights or employment law. The Marxist boogey man serves Capitalism really well.


    Capitalism has served us well for a very long time. Capitalism is what allowed the USA to go from a backwater, mud-slinging shit-house to the World's premier superpower, and it would have continued as the preferred form of economic system had it not been corrpted and transformed by central banks and corporate monoliths. The expansion of government has caused this. As someone mentioned earlier, Facebook are demanding MORE regulation in the social media space, not less. You may think this to be counter-productive, however their plan is to raise the barrier to entry in order to stifle competition.

    Richard Wolff, the Harvard Marxian economist, and Peter Schiff, a purist capitalist hedge fund manager, both agreed that government WAS the vehicle used by the corporate and banking elites to re-shape the system in order to promulgate wider wealth disparities. Schiff argued that America's inability to safeguard against big government was to blame, and Wolff argued that the end-game of capitalism IS consolidation and that monopolies are unavoidable as plutocrats are programmed to conspire against ordinary people by colluding with each other to increase their market-share, raise prices and lower costs. I see merit in both arguments.

    So what is your preferred economic system then if capitalism "doesn't work", Boraxman? Socialism? Marxism? Technocracy?

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Fri Mar 12 17:50:46 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Thu Mar 11 2021 11:29 pm

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. It is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.

    When the government creates and anti-competitive enviroment, businesses collapse because you cannot sell product Y if the acceptable price is below the costs of labour and production. Globalisation has ultimately ruined the West as it has given us access to cheap consumer goods.

    Another important aspect is regulation, and costs of compliance to regulations.
    Some are necessary (I work in an industry which does need SOME regulation), but regulators always seek to expand their importance, and therefore, the cost.

    I agree that some regulation is required, but once regulation becomes financially prohibitive, goverments have to reconsider their implementation as the cost is often the relocation of industry elsewhere followed by an increase in unemployment numbers.

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Fri Mar 12 18:01:37 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boraxman on Thu Mar 11 2021 11:14 pm

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    absolutely they do better.

    Maybe in your industry that might be true, mine, not so much.

    go look up what the chinese do. look up what they make. they have taken control of most of the industries.

    The Chinese have seized the low-end and high-end markets in most industries, along with technology. If you want an expensive premium smart phone, it'll be made in China. If you want a cheapo throwaway burner phone, it'll also be made in China.

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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Fri Mar 12 22:37:23 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Fri Mar 12 2021 06:01 pm

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Boraxman on Thu Mar 11 2021 11:14 pm

    The Chinese do better? You serious?

    absolutely they do better.

    Maybe in your industry that might be true, mine, not so much.

    go look up what the chinese do. look up what they make. they have taken control of most of the industries.

    The Chinese have seized the low-end and high-end markets in most industries, along with technology. If you want an expensive premium smart phone, it'll be made in China. If you want a cheapo throwaway burner phone, it'll also be made in China.

    if you want to eat, buy something , build something, there's a big chance you are going through china.
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to IB Joe on Fri Mar 12 18:33:00 2021
    IB Joe wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @VIA: VERT/JOESBBS
    @MSGID: <60478F78.117595.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    On 09 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.


    Yes it is.... If they want a higher wage they should gain the skill
    set that pays them the wage they want. Most minimum wage jobs were
    not created to sustain life... Teens and others need these jobs to
    build a foundation... Now they'll be gone. Business owners will
    not hire a teen if they have to pay the kid a lot of money. Fast
    food places will automate processes... others will employ family and illegals over none...

    I disagree. When the Federal Minimum Wage was created, it was designed
    that a family could afford to house, pay utilities, and keep food on the
    table while still saving money. The minimum wage has not increased but
    the market is still preying on unskilled labor to fill those positions.

    Doing a quick search with DuckDuckGo I found with in seconds several articles showing the labor costs for a small business can be up to
    70% of its operating costs. It is small business that employs a lot
    of people in the world... US ... Large businesses who can afford
    higher wages and they also have the ability to maneuver bureaucratic red-tape... Love watching small businesses suffer and fail.... This
    is why large businesses lobby in Washington to implement a lot of
    these policies, high wages and regulations, so that competition
    cannot get a start.... and as a result they keep their power...

    Almost all businesses have a large operating budget that is consumed by
    labor. But instead of looking at labor, improving the lives of their employees, they'd rather cut costs and terminate employees instead of increasing the costs of goods by 1 or 2% and pay their employees a true
    minimum wage that is livable.

    A house in my city, a typical house like the one my warehouse worker dad purchased, now might cost a million dollars.

    I'm looking at houses that cost up to a million dollars. I don't want
    to pay it, but I may have to. Look at my parents and grandparents
    houses. My parents bought their last house in Orange County, California
    for $190K and sold it for $475. The buyers turned around two years
    later and sold it for $800K+. My grandparent's house in San Bernardino
    County, California was purchased for $30K and it is now worth upwards of
    $800K.

    Again, minimum wages cannot sustain the lives of the average person
    these days. Rent is no longer affordable and families cannot live
    happily as they use to.

    Great news... U can move... The real estate market is a local
    market, houses being sold in California have no influence house
    prices in Texas, or the price of homes in Austin have no, little to
    none, in Brownsville.

    I agree and disagree with the statement. Yes, the real estate market is
    a local market but the current drive for people to move out of
    California, New York, and other high priced markets trickles down to the destination cities making house prices increase exponentially. My
    house, when I bought it in 2003, was $230K. I can now easily get $450
    to $500K for it. Why? The market indicated this growth as more people
    are moving to Colorado from states like California, New York, and
    others. Supply and domain.

    People are moving every day from cities and states because of
    costs... My home state... Florida ... You could live in a large city center or... live where I have ... Cystal River in Citrus county...
    you can still buy a place for under a 100,000 easy... If you don't
    like the cost of living where you live... MOVE... If your a Business
    owner and your business is under attack with wage costs, taxation
    and regulations... Move... move to a different state or different
    country.

    I've considered moving to states like Florida and pay cash for a house.
    What do I get? A nice house, ridiculous amounts of humidity,
    hurricanes, right-wing nut jobs, and flamingo yard sticks.

    Good luck arguing that wages shouldn't go up. That alone just
    highlights the absurdity of the "wages are too high" argument. They aren't. They aren't high enough.

    Wages should be sufficient to ensure you can live, eat, house, and pay utilities. If you can't do any of that on one income, wages are too
    low.

    No is arguing that... I just think it should be free market that
    sets wages... not an artificial amount set by the government... If
    you want to bring yourself out of poverty add to your skills...
    With no effort at all its easy to find honest articles showing, and
    there is, correlations in unemployment rising with the increase
    labor costs... Moreover, there also is a is a correlation with
    taxation and unemployment as well....

    Free market economy ... no. Please no. If we allow business to set a
    base wage, our economy will tank. A company may think they can pay Blue
    Collar workers $10/hr and if those workers think that it is sufficient,
    they'll stay. In reality, a company a city away may pay $25 or
    $30/hr for the same work and not get any of those underpaid employees
    simply because they aren't looking.

    We saw the best economy in US history because Trump lowered taxes
    for everyone... giving more money to the people... and the single
    most important things he did was cut regulations... Now small
    businesses can start and compete in a free market...

    This statement alone is wrong. Trump did not lower taxes for the Middle
    Class, he lowered it for the lower (read poverty class) and upper class.
    As always, the Middle Class got screwed. My income keeps getting
    screwed by tax laws and even the COVID relief plan just approved gets me screwed out of money. If the Democrats and Republicans keep lowering
    stimulus thresholds, even my son won't get anything.

    No, workers are not at fault. Our system enables parasitic property specuvestors to hoard property, we increase immigratoin to drive down wages and drive up property prices so they can make PASSIVE income doing nothing but attending auctions, and we have the audicity to then
    question worker Joe, who just wants to be able to support his wife and kids. No, the spivs that drove up the price of housing from 3x years wages to 11x yearly wages, no, they are golden. All the other profit seekers, ticket clippers, middle men, speculators, the hedge funds, they are just fine, aren't they? Better to have children grow up with lack
    of opportunity and precarious housing arrangments, than have some speculator maybe "only" make 2 million flipping properties instead of 10 million.

    I've consideredd flipping properties but I have absolutely no desire to
    do any of the work. There is always ways to make passive income but we
    will always fall victim to some big business who has sufficient funds to
    buy up countless houses at rock bottom prices. I'd like to see the
    housing market, where HUD was an original guarantor of a loan, to only
    sell the homes to non-investor families.

    Got to love the American way.... Free enterprise baby!!!! Don't
    like things, change it... you can be the next Opra, not with your attitude, be a victor not a victim ....

    The American Way is inherently defeatist. Free enterprise isn't free
    and you sure as hell can't change it unless you have enough money,
    lobbyists, and lawyers. If you have none of those, you'll remain a
    victim of a system designed to stifle the Middle Class.

    As the current administration floods the labor force with cheep 3rd
    world labor I do not see a bright future for the average American as
    these people are probably willing to do that work for less money...

    The current administration is not doing that. Simply put, there will
    always be a need for temporary talent that is leveraged through the H1-B
    Visa program. These "contingent workers" are there and gone when their projects are over. If they stick around and are not sponsored by
    another company, they go home. If they don't, they should be
    immediately deported.

    And even worse ... current administration is willing to print
    trillion and trillions of US dollars and only give it to the top
    1%... People need to look at the bill that was just passed... less
    than 10% going to the American people and over 90% going
    elsewhere... The party that use to have J.F.K. in it is a horse of a different color now... Divide and concur...

    Smoking something? If you are, can you share?

    The American public is getting funds to keep the Middle and Lower Class
    afloat. When Donald Trump was president, no one batted an eye and the
    exact same people received the money. Don't start passing blame to a
    new administration when the previous did the exact same thing.

    I'd rather help people than say, "Hey, figure it out."

    Nobody argued that... most conservatives... in the US anyway... just
    want a constitutional government... Limited federal reach... 10'th amendment should be respected and someone needs to bitch slap people
    in Washington...

    No, you don't. You want a government that makes it easier for one class
    of people to continue to get ahead and keep the others down. You keep
    thinking that Democrats are out to kill the Middle Class while you kept
    getting screwed during Republican administrations. The Federal
    Government needs to keep things in check: clean water, clean air, safe
    jobs, reliable utilities, safe food, safe roads, safe cars, and on and
    on. The 10th Amendment only works when the States are actually doing
    something positive for their people. Having states like Texas,
    Mississippi, Iowa, Florida, and others who wish to remove safety
    mechanisms for political favor are only hurting their Constituents. The problem is, none of you are willing to see the forrest from the trees.

    Liberal seem to want to change the outcomes... someone goes to
    school years and years and years to become a doctor, lawyer and engineer... They do this to elevate themselves and their
    families.... Liberals want to take the spoils of their efforts and redistribute it to people who have no skin in the game....

    It's not redistribution. In my 30+ years of working, the government has
    made hundreds of thousands of dollars off of me. Taking this same money
    and giving me a check or actually lowering my taxes is actually good
    governing. Whether a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, they pay their taxes
    and should benefit from laws and regulations that help them and their
    careers.

    Conservatives work under the exact opposite thinking... lets
    implement the right policies so that it's a level playing field and
    that anyone who wants to grab at the gold ring can.... and if you
    succeed I am proud of you... not envious of you... proud.

    Let's dump the EPA. Yeah, that makes sense. Let's change the
    Department of Education. Even more sense. These government agencies
    are designed to ensure people remain safe, well educated, and actually
    level the playing field. If Company A wants to dump chemicals into a
    water way since the EPA is no longer providing oversight, Company A has
    an advantage. Company B is following regulation, has to spend more to
    ensure chemicals aren't dumped into the water way without first being
    removed of their chemical properties. Company A is now financially
    ahead. Why? Because Republicans want to get rid of regulation. Clean
    water, safe drinking water, healthy fish. Logic. Apparently, it is
    missing on Republicans.

    The swamp is deep in Washington... people there seem to want to
    enrich themselves and their families before they even care about
    you... Hunter Binden is a prime example...

    Yep... and all of Trump's family didn't do a thing to enrich themselves
    while he was president. Come on. Facts, man.

    I believe we're living in a post constitutional world right now. I
    also believe we are not that far from a catastrophic market crash if Washington doesn't fix what they are doing.... I mean this... Never
    mind $15 and hour... U'll have to resort to giving BJs just to get something warm in your stomach ...

    If the market crashes, it crashes. Market speculation is just one area
    that destroys the economy. The market dumped when COVID hit. It dumped
    during the housing market crash in 2008. It dumped after 9/11. It's
    normal. This has nothing to do with who is in office.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... So easy, a child could do it. Child sold separately.
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Andeddu on Fri Mar 12 18:53:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @VIA: VERT/AMSTRAD
    @MSGID: <60496A08.24849.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6048257A.1858.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @TZ: 1000
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 06:10 pm

    But, in all reality, what really is the value of a dollar?

    The dollar has no intrinsic value, not since Nixon took you off the
    gold standard in 1971.

    Exactly. There is no value to money. In all honesty, between
    countries, what really is money?


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... DalekDOS v(overflow): (I)Obey (V)ision impaired (E)xterminate
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Mar 13 00:30:00 2021
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @VIA: VERT/REALITY
    @MSGID: <604A62F3.46462.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    @REPLY: <6048257A.1854.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @TZ: 41e0
    Dream Master wrote to Denn <=-

    I remember when my mother asked me if I
    was on the internet in the early 2000s. My response to her, "Since the mid to late 80s." She was shocked that it was around for so long.

    I'm playing on a site called tilde.club; it's a communal UNIX shell
    host reminiscent of the old community systems of the 80s and 90s. I noticed that they still have UUCP feeds available, I might have to
    go down that rabbit- hole for old time's sake...

    I just logged onto that site and find it pretty cool. I live in Linux
    and AIX shells constantly so sometimes getting away from it is nice.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... Got my tie caught in the fax... Suddenly I was in L.A.
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sat Mar 13 21:07:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604B311C.21666.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <604AE81D.49509.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to IB Joe on
    Fri Mar 12 2021 01:45 am


    OK, then if the argument is that minimum wage is only for burger flipping
    you
    must ALSO accept that any other unskilled jobs
    production like work, preparation of fresh food, other jobs which we need in
    adequate supply, should be paid at ABOVE minimu
    wage.

    The fact is, a lot of jobs do need to be done, but don't need education.
    The
    y can't all be done by 16 year olds working ove
    the summer to buy a Playstation.
    Otherwise, you will have a 'skills shortage', and then, what? Import
    people
    ?


    I have a big issue with all the talking about needing higher education
    to get better career results, because it perpetuates this dangerous
    myth that makes the education mob stronger and funnels the common man's money into their pockets.

    I know of plenty people who got nice careers without getting the equivalent to mid-grade because they were pumping their efforts into something other than studies. Meanwhile I am sitting on a store that
    pays itslef but barely turns a profit, do part-time sysadmining to
    cover expenses, and need a third job with a publisher to make ends
    meet. So much for an Engineering degree and certificates for 3000 hours courses in various IT disciplines.

    The fact some job needs no education does not mean it is
    non-profitable. We had a dude in the clinic tasked with moving life-critical equipment from a place to another who made more than some computer sicentists in big IT firms. Also, the store where I get my
    horse food from used to have a shortage of employees, despite the fact clerks were paid well above minimum wage for a job that mostly
    consisted in smiling at customers and taking their money - they didn'¡
    t even had to take care of the hard parts like dealing with inventory, because they have a grumpy old dude for that.

    I have a nice collection of examples of degreeless jobs that do better than most degreed jobs around. We have produced lots of degreed people
    and now we don't have job positions to place them. And then they don't like us in other countries so we can't even export them. The degree
    then turns into a liability for this people, because when you show up
    for a van driving job and they see that you have a Doctorate in Astrophysics, they are going to assume you don't have experience in
    their field. It likely places you at a different social level than them
    in their minds, which let me tell you, is a bad thing. So you don't
    even get the van driving job.

    But hey, let's encourage everybody to get a degree :-(

    That's partly the education industry seeking to sell a product. Higher education isn't necessary to do a lot of job, I agree, and sometimes its made a requirement by an employer unecessarily.

    However, when I was young, it was drummed into me, us, that we should get a good eduction, lest we end up as garbage men. Higher education was seen as way to avoid being in a lower socio economic class, not having enough money. Even though my parents, and my grandparents did not have degrees, and were still able to raise us in a suburb that I could only dream of buying into today. Were they right? Maybe. Considering the cost of housing, you really do need to push as hard as you can to try to climb to the top.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sat Mar 13 21:13:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604BA83A.24946.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <604AE819.49507.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Thu Mar 11 2021 11:27 pm

    OK, so when I'm critical of Capitalism, I'm not critiquing a market economy, or vice versa. People use the two terms interchangeably, which irks me a bit. It's important to realise that Markets can exist without Capitalism, because otherwise, defence of markets then gets misconstrued as necessitating defence of the class that holds Capital.

    This misunderstanding stifles debate because people erroneously point to the success that market economies have over beaurocratically ones, as some form of evidence against, say, changing property rights or employment law. The Marxist boogey man serves Capitalism really well.


    Capitalism has served us well for a very long time. Capitalism is what allowed the USA to go from a backwater, mud-slinging shit-house to the World's premier superpower, and it would have continued as the
    preferred form of economic system had it not been corrpted and
    transformed by central banks and corporate monoliths. The expansion of government has caused this. As someone mentioned earlier, Facebook are demanding MORE regulation in the social media space, not less. You may think this to be counter-productive, however their plan is to raise the barrier to entry in order to stifle competition.

    Richard Wolff, the Harvard Marxian economist, and Peter Schiff, a
    purist capitalist hedge fund manager, both agreed that government WAS
    the vehicle used by the corporate and banking elites to re-shape the system in order to promulgate wider wealth disparities. Schiff argued
    that America's inability to safeguard against big government was to
    blame, and Wolff argued that the end-game of capitalism IS
    consolidation and that monopolies are unavoidable as plutocrats are programmed to conspire against ordinary people by colluding with each other to increase their market-share, raise prices and lower costs. I
    see merit in both arguments.

    So what is your preferred economic system then if capitalism "doesn't work", Boraxman? Socialism? Marxism? Technocracy?

    They are both right. Capitalism I believe will end up in a type consolidation.
    The fact that it worked in the past is not relevant now. Society is always in flux, conditions change, and requirements change. Nothing is static and all systems succumb to entropy.

    I don't advocate a "system". That is part of the problem, believing in an "ism". I'm anti-Capitalism, but I don't propose another ideology to replace it. Ideology is the problem. Capitalist ideology is our problem because its the dominant one. We need to stop thinking that we need ideological systems.

    What I think we need is adaptation and reform. We need to reform our system of property rights and of employment. I do not subscribe to the theory that the problem is earning disparity, the problem is a disparity of rights. I believe we should move towards STRONGER individual property rights. Rental of human beings to end, and property rights being attributed towards the labour which brought it about.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sat Mar 13 21:14:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604BA9F6.24947.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <604AE81B.49508.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Thu Mar 11 2021 11:29 pm

    They moves overseas because the laws allowed that to happen. We create a system which gives them the freedom to do so.

    If these firms were democratically run, they would NOT be moving overseas. It is not inevitable that jobs go overseas.

    When the government creates and anti-competitive enviroment, businesses collapse because you cannot sell product Y if the acceptable price is below the costs of labour and production. Globalisation has ultimately ruined the West as it has given us access to cheap consumer goods.

    Another important aspect is regulation, and costs of compliance to regulations.
    Some are necessary (I work in an industry which does need SOME regulation), but regulators always seek to expand their importance, and therefore, the cost.

    I agree that some regulation is required, but once regulation becomes financially prohibitive, goverments have to reconsider their implementation as the cost is often the relocation of industry
    elsewhere followed by an increase in unemployment numbers.

    That often comes about by a change in government.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Sat Mar 13 06:09:11 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to IB Joe on Fri Mar 12 2021 06:33 pm

    Almost all businesses have a large operating budget that is consumed by labor. But instead of looking at labor, improving the lives of their employees, they'd rather cut costs and terminate employees instead of increasing the costs of goods by 1 or 2% and pay their employees a true minimum wage that is livable.

    Honestly, rising the prices of your products 1% or 2% does not give you enough benefit to justify it, specially because many industries are extra-competitive and a cent of difference in a contract means you don't get the contract.

    You rise the price of your manufactured steel 1% and then some other factory steals your contracts because they make steel 0,5% cheaper. This is specially true in commodity materials which are standarized and are always the same regardless of the provider. An H profile beam made of S235 grade steel is the same regardless of who makes it, so if you are purchasing beams you'd be stupid if you purchased one that is more expensive.

    I'm in a rural area so I get lots of comments regarding that they should rise the price of potatoes in order to pay decent wages to field workers. The problem is that 1 KG of potatoes is worth .02 eur or so at distribution level. If you increase it a single cent you are increasing the price 33% and no distributor is going to buy your potatoes ever.

    If you are runing one of these operations which turn a ridiculosly small profit per unit and demand begins to fall, what you are going to do is to cut costs rather than rise prices, not because you are evil, but because it is your duty to save what's left of the firm. A lot of people would prefer firms in these situations to pay higher wages for a few months and then sign up for bankrupcy than survive with less employees and a reduced productive output, which really gets to my nerves.

    As an Engineer, I love minimum wages, though, because they get people fired and replaced by robots WE control. As I always say, this is the revenge of the nerds. You should have thought twice before extorting the nerd's sandwich in school, because now the nerd everybody laughed at has the power to obliterate hundreds.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sat Mar 13 06:15:30 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on Sat Mar 13 2021 09:07 pm

    However, when I was young, it was drummed into me, us, that we should get a good eduction, lest we end up as garbage men. Higher education was seen as

    Indicentally, garbage men make more money in certain Spanish cities than a trained worker with mid-level education, or sometimes high-level education. The job is not pretty but it is yet another example :-(

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Sat Mar 13 16:36:03 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Fri Mar 12 2021 10:37 pm

    if you want to eat, buy something , build something, there's a big chance you are going through china.

    Yup. Every item, even if not explicitly made in China, has component parts produced in China. We rely on them, not the other way around.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Dream Master on Sat Mar 13 17:03:30 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Andeddu on Fri Mar 12 2021 06:53 pm

    But, in all reality, what really is the value of a dollar?

    The dollar has no intrinsic value, not since Nixon took you off the gold standard in 1971.

    Exactly. There is no value to money. In all honesty, between
    countries, what really is money?

    Well, we are going to reach the point of hyperinflation if we keep going down this route. That's why fiat currencies are so dangerous. Over 25% of ALL US dollars in circulation have only existed since COVID, and we are not coming close to the end of all this stimulus. Have you noticed that China have been purchasing huge swathes of gold in the past few years? I suspect they're planning on re-entering the gold standard, backing the Yuan, and thereafter offering it as the World Reserve Currency whenever the US dollar loses all confidence. At this point, the US will be finished as an economic powerhouse because no sane nation will want to hold onto useless dollars, as the petrodollar will not exist and will no longer be a requirement to purchase oil.

    All the chickens, in the form of exported inflation, will come back home to roost.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Sat Mar 13 17:32:17 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sat Mar 13 2021 09:13 pm

    They are both right. Capitalism I believe will end up in a type consolidation.
    The fact that it worked in the past is not relevant now. Society is always in flux, conditions change, and requirements change. Nothing is static and all systems succumb to entropy.

    I don't advocate a "system". That is part of the problem, believing in an "ism". I'm anti-Capitalism, but I don't propose another ideology to replace it. Ideology is the problem. Capitalist ideology is our problem because its the dominant one. We need to stop thinking that we need ideological systems.

    What I think we need is adaptation and reform. We need to reform our system of property rights and of employment. I do not subscribe to the theory that the problem is earning disparity, the problem is a disparity of rights. I believe we should move towards STRONGER individual property rights. Rental of human beings to end, and property rights being attributed towards the labour which brought it about.


    I agree that all systems are doomed to succumb to entropy. That is why the Catholic Church had such a stranglehold of the population during medieval times, they wanted to preeserve their power, way of life and shield their ideology from any form of external corruption.

    I kind of see what you're saying. We do need stronger property rights, we do need to abolish property taxes, etc...

    I think the buggest hurdle in relation to capitalism right now is the realisation that automation will take over more and more jobs. By 2030 something like 30-40% of the jobs today will no longer be carried out by human labour, they will be automated by machine. By 2050, around 80% of jobs are speculated to be no longer available. This is an insurmountable problem as human capitol has been integral to the Industrial Revolution, large populations expanded quickly as workhouses filled up with workers. A future society consisting of idle non-workers will be asking a diffent question -

    "What are we going to do with all these purposeless people who are unable to support themselves?"

    Are we going to have a permanent underclass who will have to consume resources to live but have no ability to produce anything in return?

    ---
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Sat Mar 13 18:24:15 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Boraxman on Sat Mar 13 2021 06:15 am

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on Sat Mar 13 2021 09:07 pm

    However, when I was young, it was drummed into me, us, that we should get a good eduction, lest we end up as garbage men. Higher education was seen as

    Indicentally, garbage men make more money in certain Spanish cities than a trained worker with mid-level education, or sometimes high-level education. The job is not pretty but it is yet another example :-(


    working in sanitation isnt necessarily low skilled work.
    ---
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  • From HusTler@VERT/HAVENS to MRO on Sun Mar 14 07:59:07 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: MRO to Nightfox on Thu Mar 11 2021 08:41 pm

    but in many cases, you still have to wait through the drive-thru line
    to pick up food ordered online.


    i did that at sonic and i waited 40 mins. got half my order. then the kid kept hiding inside and wouldnt come out. finally i got a refund. ---

    You should have "bitched slapped him" ;-)

    ... If you can't see the bright side, polish the dull side.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Havens BBS havens.synchro.net
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Fri Mar 12 05:48:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dream
    Master on Wed Mar 10 2021 07:17 am

    I'm playing on a site called tilde.club; it's a communal UNIX shell host reminiscent of the old community systems of the 80s and 90s. I noticed that they still have UUCP feeds available, I might have to go down that rabbit- hole for old time's sake...


    That sounds extremely interesting.

    Which sort of systems and services are they running over there?

    Web, gopher spaces, personal web sites (https://tilde.club/~poindexter, for example, hence the name), news, email, chat, a radio station, and a friendly community.

    It's a nice little collective, and the idea is spreading. Other tildes are sprouting up online.


    ... Be extravagant
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    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Andeddu on Fri Mar 12 06:12:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to MRO <=-

    Yes, I think the drive-thru's are down to a tee now that it's the only viable method to order a meal. I prefer using the drive-thru anyway... never really enjoyed sitting in at McDs.

    I had to work last night, got off work and went to a McDonalds. Ordered on their app, had my food brought out to one of the pick up spaces, parked in a quiet part of the lot, put my phone on my dash holder and watched a movie in peace while I ate.

    I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone marketing gadgets for car meals yet.



    ... Faced with a choice, do both.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boraxman on Fri Mar 12 06:22:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to MRO <=-

    Neither have I, but I have known people who have taken minimum wage, at least at some point. But then again, I'm intelligent and educated,
    with industry experience.

    I suppose finding a niche is important. I work in IT Management, but I'm
    very hands-on. While I was between jobs I received a call from a firm
    looking for people who had networking and cabling experience. I ended up working a 10-week gig with a team of 9 other people replacing the wireless infrastructure at a nearby military base. Some cable-pulling, but mostly understanding the concepts, being able to punch down cables, work neatly and quickly, and show up on time.

    The money was surprisingly good, about twice what they pay hourly helpdesk people around these parts.

    It was a lifesaver, financially, helped me emotionally to get out of the
    house and away from spending all day sending out resumes, and I spent so
    much time climbing up ladders (and hauling ladders around from building to building) that I lost 15 pounds.

    The other guys had all run into each other over the years, wiring up banks, coffee shops, small retail, and one guy had wired a handful of Target
    stores. They were turning down gigs over the phone daily while we were working.



    ... Faced with a choice, do both.
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  • From IB Joe@VERT/JOESBBS to Boraxman on Sun Mar 14 11:30:00 2021

    You see, even *I* am ambivalent about an economic reset. What am I
    going to lose? Debt? How are my children going to be able to have a decent life? I see no solutions. This is the problem. "Moving" as you say, is not a long term solution. You eventually run out of places to move to. Moving away from urban centres (which Australia has few of),
    is good way to to have your family slip down the socio-economic ladder.


    You have everything to loose... In Venezuela they stop counting money... they actually weigh it.... you need sooooooooooo much because it's worth nothing. This happened in Germany ... People used it for fuel to burn in their fire places... You have everything to loose... I'm sure you mortgage holder will just let you out of your contract... they'll take your place after you default.

    We seem to go down rabbit holes I prefer not to go... I don't blame one thing or an other... Todays politicians are in it for themselves... That's it. They all seem to have an agenda outside of wanting to make things better for the people in their country...

    Where I come from... as a US citizen... I always like the idea that the constitution limited the federal government and protected the individual. People, not me, put their faith in the government... Again not me!!!

    I get nervous when I hear the government is here to help.... I say that and I'm from Florida... and I have been to the FEMA trucks pull up with fresh water and whatever else they have. BTW, we call the water Floodweiser .... BUT there was a time in the day that the state took care of itself... Texas in 1900 had a hurricane with little to no federal support...

    So... I believe in the US constitution... I believe in it whole heartedly... I believe in the 2nd Amendment and I carry a firearm all the time, where it's legal to, and I absolutely refuse to go to states that don't honor my right. I will actually drive around a state than enter it... there are about 10 or more states that don't honor my permit to carry...

    I don't need the governments help, unless I really need it, or do I want the government to take people's wealth and redistribute it to others...

    The current political model is that they are trying to create a dependency... a need for them... Like any addictive drug... best not to even try it... Just say no....

    You talk a lot of shit about your government... BUT... currently they are the only ones to stand up against China and Big Tech... It's one of the only places you can go online and get the NEWS straight without bias.

    I hope and pray we can pull out of this before its too late..

    IB Joe
    AKA Joe Schweier
    SysOp of Joe's BBS
    -=JoesBBS.com=-

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  • From Warpslide@VERT/NRBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 14 13:55:02 2021
    *** Quoting poindexter FORTRAN from a message to Andeddu ***

    I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone marketing gadgets for car meals
    yet.

    I thought the pandemic would have been a great time for A&W to bring back their old fashioned car service, complete with waitstaff on roller skates.

    Jay

    ... Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 14 16:38:30 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Andeddu on Fri Mar 12 2021 06:12 am


    I had to work last night, got off work and went to a McDonalds. Ordered on their app, had my food brought out to one of the pick up spaces, parked in a quiet part of the lot, put my phone on my dash holder and watched a movie in peace while I ate.

    I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone marketing gadgets for car meals yet.


    they've had them for years. didnt you see the steering wheel tray
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sun Mar 14 21:43:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604CF721.24980.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <604C9123.49551.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sat Mar 13 2021 09:13 pm

    They are both right. Capitalism I believe will end up in a type consolidation.
    The fact that it worked in the past is not relevant now. Society is always in flux, conditions change, and requirements change. Nothing is static and all systems succumb to entropy.

    I don't advocate a "system". That is part of the problem, believing in an "ism". I'm anti-Capitalism, but I don't propose another ideology to replace it. Ideology is the problem. Capitalist ideology is our problem because its the dominant one. We need to stop thinking that we need ideological systems.

    What I think we need is adaptation and reform. We need to reform our system of property rights and of employment. I do not subscribe to the theory that the problem is earning disparity, the problem is a disparity of rights. I believe we should move towards STRONGER individual property rights. Rental of human beings to end, and property rights being attributed towards the labour which brought it about.


    I agree that all systems are doomed to succumb to entropy. That is why
    the Catholic Church had such a stranglehold of the population during medieval times, they wanted to preeserve their power, way of life and shield their ideology from any form of external corruption.

    I kind of see what you're saying. We do need stronger property rights,
    we do need to abolish property taxes, etc...

    I think the buggest hurdle in relation to capitalism right now is the realisation that automation will take over more and more jobs. By 2030 something like 30-40% of the jobs today will no longer be carried out
    by human labour, they will be automated by machine. By 2050, around 80%
    of jobs are speculated to be no longer available. This is an insurmountable problem as human capitol has been integral to the Industrial Revolution, large populations expanded quickly as workhouses filled up with workers. A future society consisting of idle non-workers will be asking a diffent question -

    Absolutely, which is why we need to change the system now. As it is now, the system is based on people "selling their labour" to owners of the means of production. Automation doesn't make labour worthless (I argue it already it), it makes humans redundant in production environments.

    A system where humans are universally self-employed, i.e., all firms are workers coops doesn't fix this. But it changes the solution to one of "lets redistribute wealth" to "lets claim a property right over production where automation is concerned". Maybe by considering the nation is a co-worker, the nations input being based on how much automation there is.

    Either way, fundamentally, the idea of having to "work for a living" will have to go, we WILL have to reevaluate our economic morality and transvaluate at least some of Capitalisms values. Capitalism served well in the past, but in its current form, is not suited for our future.

    Are we going to have a permanent underclass who will have to consume resources to live but have no ability to produce anything in return?

    If that happens, it happens because our society is anti-human, and will be, I think, something that could further drive Western Civilisation into irrelevancy. If China can get this to work, and we just end up with an underclass because of our system, its all over. China is sort of Communist, so they could potentially adapt to this much faster. They already have strong government control and ownership, so its not such a leap for them. I can't see a way around this coming change without adopting something that looks like socialism or socialisation of the economy. We need solutions, and if we are constantly going to be dragging the economic concerns of the 1950s (Marxism!! Socialism!!) with us, we are toast.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 14 21:51:00 2021
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604CCE63.46546.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    @REPLY: <604AE814.49505.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to MRO <=-

    Neither have I, but I have known people who have taken minimum wage, at least at some point. But then again, I'm intelligent and educated,
    with industry experience.

    I suppose finding a niche is important. I work in IT Management, but
    I'm very hands-on. While I was between jobs I received a call from a
    firm looking for people who had networking and cabling experience. I
    ended up working a 10-week gig with a team of 9 other people replacing
    the wireless infrastructure at a nearby military base. Some
    cable-pulling, but mostly understanding the concepts, being able to
    punch down cables, work neatly and quickly, and show up on time.

    The money was surprisingly good, about twice what they pay hourly
    helpdesk people around these parts.

    It was a lifesaver, financially, helped me emotionally to get out of
    the house and away from spending all day sending out resumes, and I
    spent so much time climbing up ladders (and hauling ladders around from building to building) that I lost 15 pounds.

    The other guys had all run into each other over the years, wiring up banks, coffee shops, small retail, and one guy had wired a handful of Target stores. They were turning down gigs over the phone daily while
    we were working.

    Yes, I have a niche skill. When I approach these issues, I don't look at what I can do. I look at how workable it is for everyone.

    If the solution to a problem is "Become a manager", then its a non-solution because it is simply not possible for everyone to achieve this. If it is to have a niche skill, it is not a solution, because it is not possible for everyone to have a niche skill.

    Our economic system has to work for everyone, we can't say "This is the solution", and its only possible for x% to engage in it, and for the rest "too bad, so sad".

    Thats the problem I have with a lot of debates. I talk of society wide problems, and I get "become the boss" or "move there", but its either not possible for everyone to do it, logically, or society would fall apart if everyone could and did. Someone said I should abandon my career and move, because of housing prices. If everyone took that advice, the country would economically collapse.

    I really think that this is the kind of thinking which is causing the decline of our civilsation. All too often people seem to approach the matter as "I'll get mine, and if everything else fails, as long as I'm good, its good".


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Sun Mar 14 22:23:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to IB Joe <=-

    @MSGID: <604C6C5C.2022.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <60478F78.117595.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    IB Joe wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @VIA: VERT/JOESBBS
    @MSGID: <60478F78.117595.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    On 09 Mar 2021, Boraxman said the following...

    The worker is NOT at fault. Any system where people work full time, sustain themselves, is broken. The idea that it is the workers that broken, they working full time should not guarantee some standard of they can be a member of society, is reprehensible.


    Yes it is.... If they want a higher wage they should gain the skill
    set that pays them the wage they want. Most minimum wage jobs were
    not created to sustain life... Teens and others need these jobs to
    build a foundation... Now they'll be gone. Business owners will
    not hire a teen if they have to pay the kid a lot of money. Fast
    food places will automate processes... others will employ family and illegals over none...

    I disagree. When the Federal Minimum Wage was created, it was designed that a family could afford to house, pay utilities, and keep food on
    the table while still saving money. The minimum wage has not increased but the market is still preying on unskilled labor to fill those positions.

    Admittedly, that was back when housing was cheaper, standards were lower but yes, the idea was to keep people out of poverty. It makes little logical sense for a human to be working 40 hours a week, and not be productive enough to sustain themselves.

    If someone is not paid enough to support themselves, then it is the employer that is at fault. The employer is not able to utilise labour effectively and productively. They have rented 40 hours of labour, and only produced minimal surplus value.

    Doing a quick search with DuckDuckGo I found with in seconds several articles showing the labor costs for a small business can be up to
    70% of its operating costs. It is small business that employs a lot
    of people in the world... US ... Large businesses who can afford
    higher wages and they also have the ability to maneuver bureaucratic red-tape... Love watching small businesses suffer and fail.... This
    is why large businesses lobby in Washington to implement a lot of
    these policies, high wages and regulations, so that competition
    cannot get a start.... and as a result they keep their power...

    Almost all businesses have a large operating budget that is consumed by labor. But instead of looking at labor, improving the lives of their employees, they'd rather cut costs and terminate employees instead of increasing the costs of goods by 1 or 2% and pay their employees a true minimum wage that is livable.

    A house in my city, a typical house like the one my warehouse worker dad purchased, now might cost a million dollars.

    I'm looking at houses that cost up to a million dollars. I don't want
    to pay it, but I may have to. Look at my parents and grandparents
    houses. My parents bought their last house in Orange County,
    California for $190K and sold it for $475. The buyers turned around
    two years later and sold it for $800K+. My grandparent's house in San Bernardino County, California was purchased for $30K and it is now
    worth upwards of $800K.

    Again, minimum wages cannot sustain the lives of the average person
    these days. Rent is no longer affordable and families cannot live
    happily as they use to.

    Similar story in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. In fact, most of Australia has skyrocketed. Even now, prices are shooting up again. The long term social cost of this is going to be horrendous. This "boom" is a false economy. In the end, it will be zero sum.

    Great news... U can move... The real estate market is a local
    market, houses being sold in California have no influence house
    prices in Texas, or the price of homes in Austin have no, little to
    none, in Brownsville.

    I agree and disagree with the statement. Yes, the real estate market
    is a local market but the current drive for people to move out of California, New York, and other high priced markets trickles down to
    the destination cities making house prices increase exponentially. My house, when I bought it in 2003, was $230K. I can now easily get $450
    to $500K for it. Why? The market indicated this growth as more people are moving to Colorado from states like California, New York, and
    others. Supply and domain.

    Again, observable in Australia. Properties out of the major cities are going up, because people are moving to somewhere more "affordable".

    People are moving every day from cities and states because of
    costs... My home state... Florida ... You could live in a large city center or... live where I have ... Cystal River in Citrus county...
    you can still buy a place for under a 100,000 easy... If you don't
    like the cost of living where you live... MOVE... If your a Business
    owner and your business is under attack with wage costs, taxation
    and regulations... Move... move to a different state or different
    country.

    I've considered moving to states like Florida and pay cash for a house. What do I get? A nice house, ridiculous amounts of humidity,
    hurricanes, right-wing nut jobs, and flamingo yard sticks.

    Good luck arguing that wages shouldn't go up. That alone just
    highlights the absurdity of the "wages are too high" argument. They aren't. They aren't high enough.

    Wages should be sufficient to ensure you can live, eat, house, and pay utilities. If you can't do any of that on one income, wages are too
    low.

    If an employer cannot pay a living wage, that employer is crap at utilising labour.

    No is arguing that... I just think it should be free market that
    sets wages... not an artificial amount set by the government... If
    you want to bring yourself out of poverty add to your skills...
    With no effort at all its easy to find honest articles showing, and
    there is, correlations in unemployment rising with the increase
    labor costs... Moreover, there also is a is a correlation with
    taxation and unemployment as well....

    Free market economy ... no. Please no. If we allow business to set a base wage, our economy will tank. A company may think they can pay
    Blue Collar workers $10/hr and if those workers think that it is sufficient, they'll stay. In reality, a company a city away may pay
    $25 or $30/hr for the same work and not get any of those underpaid employees simply because they aren't looking.

    Neo-liberal market ideology has undone affordable housing, long term job security, resulted in adults who are mired in debt and not trying to bring down the system because they have no hope for the future. And people say this works...

    We saw the best economy in US history because Trump lowered taxes
    for everyone... giving more money to the people... and the single
    most important things he did was cut regulations... Now small
    businesses can start and compete in a free market...

    This statement alone is wrong. Trump did not lower taxes for the
    Middle Class, he lowered it for the lower (read poverty class) and
    upper class. As always, the Middle Class got screwed. My income keeps getting screwed by tax laws and even the COVID relief plan just
    approved gets me screwed out of money. If the Democrats and
    Republicans keep lowering stimulus thresholds, even my son won't get anything.

    No, workers are not at fault. Our system enables parasitic property specuvestors to hoard property, we increase immigratoin to drive down wages and drive up property prices so they can make PASSIVE income doing nothing but attending auctions, and we have the audicity to then
    question worker Joe, who just wants to be able to support his wife and kids. No, the spivs that drove up the price of housing from 3x years wages to 11x yearly wages, no, they are golden. All the other profit seekers, ticket clippers, middle men, speculators, the hedge funds, they are just fine, aren't they? Better to have children grow up with lack
    of opportunity and precarious housing arrangments, than have some speculator maybe "only" make 2 million flipping properties instead of 10 million.

    I've consideredd flipping properties but I have absolutely no desire to
    do any of the work. There is always ways to make passive income but we will always fall victim to some big business who has sufficient funds
    to buy up countless houses at rock bottom prices. I'd like to see the housing market, where HUD was an original guarantor of a loan, to only sell the homes to non-investor families.

    I think any entity which purchases additional property that it doesn't use, should be taxed, heavily. If you want to buy a second residential property, then you are using twice the portion of the available residential property supply than what you need, and in seizing more of this for yourself, you should incur a larger social liability. Hoarding in our society is considered a virtue, odd. People that hoard homes should pay additional tax to counteract the increased burden on sociey from shortened supply.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Sun Mar 14 22:25:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Andeddu <=-

    @MSGID: <604C6C5C.2025.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <60496A08.24849.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    Andeddu wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @VIA: VERT/AMSTRAD
    @MSGID: <60496A08.24849.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6048257A.1858.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @TZ: 1000
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Andeddu on Tue Mar 09 2021 06:10 pm

    But, in all reality, what really is the value of a dollar?

    The dollar has no intrinsic value, not since Nixon took you off the
    gold standard in 1971.

    Exactly. There is no value to money. In all honesty, between
    countries, what really is money?


    No value to money? I bet if you dropped a $100 note and it blew away, you would chase after it.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to ARELOR on Sun Mar 14 14:56:00 2021
    However, when I was young, it was drummed into me, us, that we should get a >> good eduction, lest we end up as garbage men. Higher education was seen as

    Indicentally, garbage men make more money in certain Spanish cities than a >trained worker with mid-level education, or sometimes high-level education. The
    job is not pretty but it is yet another example :-(

    I think that is also true here sometimes.


    * SLMR 2.1a * No way I'm going to use an offline reader! Well, okay.

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sun Mar 14 19:32:50 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 14 2021 09:51 pm


    Our economic system has to work for everyone, we can't say "This is the solution", and its only possible for x% to engage in it, and for the rest "t bad, so sad".


    Well, I have already argued that the problem is there are too many of us in this ball of mud we call Earth.

    There is a reason why Capitalism and Communism are considered scarcity economies. They exist because they deal with the management of resources that are in limited supply.

    Humanity as a whole lacks the capability of equiping every single individual of the planet with the minimum standards of living that first worlders take for granted. If you check Greenpeace's stats you notice that even 2nd tier burn through essential natural resources faster than they can replenish them.

    There are only resources for everybody if everybody agrees to live to a much lower standard than your average European or North American is used to. Just not gonna happen.

    When there are no chair enough for everybody, somebody is gonna end up sittingg on the ground. Which sucks when you are an expendable person nobody cares for or who is very easily reemplazable (and yes I suspect that is me btw) but, as Chucky used to say, "Life is a bitch and then you bleed out like a pig". The system you use for assigning chairs is irrelevant when there are no chairs enough.

    Both vertical and horizontal unions have been tried and are being tried. Spaniards ended up eating dust via such sort of model to the point people had to visit the black market if they wanted to purchase lettuces. What economic systems do is change the way we deal with misery, and who takes his cuts, nothing else.

    Excuse me if I sound bleak but I am going through some bad shit in my personal life right now so I don't feel very positive.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sun Mar 14 19:46:28 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on Sun Mar 14 2021 10:23 pm

    I think any entity which purchases additional property that it doesn't use, should be taxed, heavily. If you want to buy a second residential property, then you are using twice the portion of the available residential property supply than what you need, and in seizing more of this for yourself, you sho incur a larger social liability. Hoarding in our society is considered a virtue, odd. People that hoard homes should pay additional tax to counterac the increased burden on sociey from shortened supply.


    In most countries I am aware off, your properties get taxed, so by buying more of it you are paying more taxes in the long run. It is not like we are not already there.

    The real issue is not that people is hoarding but that properties go unused (if this is true at all). Given the expenses properties represent, even before taxes kick in, keeping them unused is a liability in itself for the propietor. So the question is "why are the properties not being used?"

    Is it risky for the owner to rent the property? Is it hard to offer the property for rent? Here in Spain you don't offer a house for rent for pretty much the same reasons why you don't hire a person, for example. If you are a bank and find yourself loaded up with flats that you got as payments for unfullfilled mortages (which I think it is the case for most unused flats in Spain) you don't offer those flats for rent, because renting them is more costly (in risks) than just hoarding them and trying to sell them.

    Specially in today's world, when if you refuse to accept somebody in your flat because you think he is bad business, he can sue you for discrimination or whatever.


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    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From DaiTengu@VERT/ENSEMBLE to Dr. What on Mon Mar 15 07:15:16 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:01 am

    Lefties have no economic sense at all. They think that if a company charges $2 for a cup of coffee, the company gets all that money. They don't understand that after paying for everything that it takes to make that cup of money, they company is lucky to get $0.02 out of that $2.

    "Leftie" here. I own/run a business. I, and my fellow "Lefties" are quite-fucking-aware of how such things work.

    On the other hand, it seems to appear you still think "Trickle down economics" work, although there's no evidence to support that.

    Many years ago, we were watching the Kroger strike going on. People were sympathetic to the workers until they found out that those part time workers were making more than many full time workers in other companies.

    Sounds like the workers at other companies need to strike as well, then.

    DaiTengu

    ... He is all fault who has no fault at all.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Mon Mar 15 08:40:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    There is a reason why Capitalism and Communism are considered scarcity economies. They exist because they deal with the management of
    resources that are in limited supply.

    I've never heard Capitalism described as a "scarcity economy" other than
    when a scarcity occurs, Capitalism tends to eliminate it.

    Under Communism/Socialism scarcity is needed to keep the gov't in power.
    No scarcity, no reason for the gov't to "control" it. And when the gov't controls something, it tends to get even more scarce.

    Humanity as a whole lacks the capability of equiping every single individual of the planet with the minimum standards of living that
    first worlders take for granted.

    You need to read something other than Marx and actually study history (and
    not listen to what Leftie "professors" tell you). What you said is simply untrue.

    There are only resources for everybody if everybody agrees to live to a much lower standard than your average European or North American is
    used to. Just not gonna happen.

    *Laugh* This has been said time and time again. And time and time again
    they were proven completely wrong.


    ... I'm not dead, I'm metabolically challenged.
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    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Daryl Stout@VERT/TBOLT to IB Joe on Mon Mar 15 11:59:00 2021
    Joe,

    We seem to go down rabbit holes I prefer not to go... I don't blame one thing or an other... Todays politicians are in it for themselves...
    That's it. They all seem to have an agenda outside of wanting to make things better for the people in their country...

    Just like the cartoon...before the election, they give voters the
    thumbs up. After they're elected, they give voters the bird.

    I hope and pray we can pull out of this before its too late..

    I'm afraid we're past the point of no return...like a balloon being
    filled with air, one day, it will burst.

    Daryl

    ... I have a rock garden. Last week, 3 of them died.
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boraxman on Mon Mar 15 06:25:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Yes, I have a niche skill. When I approach these issues, I don't look
    at what I can do. I look at how workable it is for everyone.

    One of the things that helped me when I was unemployed was making what a job coach called a "SCAR List".

    Scar stood for Situation, Consequence, Action, Result. Starting with my
    first job, I framed all of my experience as a story using those 4 aspects.

    That served two purposes - firstly, I'd done a lot more than I'd thought - it's too easy to base what value you bring to an employer/customer on what
    you did *last*.

    Secondly, it really boosted my self-confidence having everything I'd done fresh in my mind.

    Thirdly, by reframing those experiences in a way that highlights the value that you brought to the situation, it sells you.


    I really think that this is the kind of thinking which is causing the decline of our civilsation. All too often people seem to approach the matter as "I'll get mine, and if everything else fails, as long as I'm good, its good".

    True, whether it's your fellow man or your children, grandchildren and their friends/family that pay for your wealth.


    ... Change ambiguities to specifics
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    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Mon Mar 15 17:02:00 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 14 2021 09:43 pm

    Absolutely, which is why we need to change the system now. As it is now, the system is based on people "selling their labour" to owners of the means of production. Automation doesn't make labour worthless (I argue it already it), it makes humans redundant in production environments.

    A system where humans are universally self-employed, i.e., all firms are workers coops doesn't fix this. But it changes the solution to one of "lets redistribute wealth" to "lets claim a property right over production where automation is concerned". Maybe by considering the nation is a co-worker, the nations input being based on how much automation there is.

    Either way, fundamentally, the idea of having to "work for a living" will have to go, we WILL have to reevaluate our economic morality and transvaluate at least some of Capitalisms values. Capitalism served well in the past, but in its current form, is not suited for our future.

    If that happens, it happens because our society is anti-human, and will be, I think, something that could further drive Western Civilisation into irrelevancy. If China can get this to work, and we just end up with an underclass because of our system, its all over. China is sort of Communist, so they could potentially adapt to this much faster. They already have strong government control and ownership, so its not such a leap for them. I can't see a way around this coming change without adopting something that looks like socialism or socialisation of the economy. We need solutions, and if we are constantly going to be dragging the economic concerns of the 1950s (Marxism!! Socialism!!) with us, we are toast.

    I hear a lot about moving away from shareholder capitalism and towards stakeholder capitalism. This is why Universal Basic Income has been promulgated through government legislation despite facing steep opposition several years ago. The idea would be that multinational corporations, international banks, etc... along with the government, and we, the individual, would ALL have a stake in the way things are run. Due to mass employment caused by automation, corporate entities would face much higher tax bands than currently in existence and, as such, they would provide individuals with a fixed basic income. Everyone would be entitled to this income stream, whether working or non-working. This would allow people not be become discouraged at the notion of getting a job due to the rate of pay or hours on offer.

    I agree, capitalism is not a suitable system for the future because it doesn't take into account the huge number of people whose labour will be deemed redundant, even in a highly industrialised economy. Many people in the technology industry are saying that chips are going to be fabricated for pennies in the near future causing all nations, including China, to consider this problem.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Mon Mar 15 17:13:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on Sun Mar 14 2021 10:25 pm

    The dollar has no intrinsic value, not since Nixon took you off the gold standard in 1971.

    Exactly. There is no value to money. In all honesty, between countries, what really is money?


    No value to money? I bet if you dropped a $100 note and it blew away, you would chase after it.

    It is not money, it is currency. The intrinsic value is zero because it is not a scare resource. The percieved value at the moment is greater than nothing, and it may fluctuate and become higher or lower, but given enough time, the dollar will become worthless which is what its true value is.

    The same is true for crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin. One Bitcoin may be percieved to be worth 60k dollars, and it may go higher before it falls back to its intrinsic value of zero.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to IB Joe on Mon Mar 15 21:41:00 2021
    IB Joe wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604E482C.117830.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>

    You see, even *I* am ambivalent about an economic reset. What am I
    going to lose? Debt? How are my children going to be able to have a decent life? I see no solutions. This is the problem. "Moving" as you say, is not a long term solution. You eventually run out of places to move to. Moving away from urban centres (which Australia has few of),
    is good way to to have your family slip down the socio-economic ladder.


    You have everything to loose... In Venezuela they stop counting
    money... they actually weigh it.... you need sooooooooooo much because it's worth nothing. This happened in Germany ... People used it for
    fuel to burn in their fire places... You have everything to loose...
    I'm sure you mortgage holder will just let you out of your contract... they'll take your place after you default.

    We seem to go down rabbit holes I prefer not to go... I don't blame one thing or an other... Todays politicians are in it for themselves...
    That's it. They all seem to have an agenda outside of wanting to make things better for the people in their country...

    Where I come from... as a US citizen... I always like the idea that the constitution limited the federal government and protected the
    individual. People, not me, put their faith in the government... Again not me!!!

    I get nervous when I hear the government is here to help.... I say that and I'm from Florida... and I have been to the FEMA trucks pull up with fresh water and whatever else they have. BTW, we call the water Floodweiser .... BUT there was a time in the day that the state took
    care of itself... Texas in 1900 had a hurricane with little to no
    federal support...

    So... I believe in the US constitution... I believe in it whole heartedly... I believe in the 2nd Amendment and I carry a firearm all
    the time, where it's legal to, and I absolutely refuse to go to states that don't honor my right. I will actually drive around a state than enter it... there are about 10 or more states that don't honor my
    permit to carry...

    I don't need the governments help, unless I really need it, or do I
    want the government to take people's wealth and redistribute it to others...

    The current political model is that they are trying to create a dependency... a need for them... Like any addictive drug... best not
    to even try it... Just say no....

    You talk a lot of shit about your government... BUT... currently they
    are the only ones to stand up against China and Big Tech... It's one of the only places you can go online and get the NEWS straight without
    bias.

    I hope and pray we can pull out of this before its too late..

    Economic collapse is a different beast. Im referring to a change in the economic order, economic reform. I don't think The Great Reset will benefit us anyway, its self serving horsecrap. Maybe it will just be "business as usual" for working schlubs, who knows. I know that I don't have motivation to defend the current status quo. I don't care about the establishment and their norms, I barely care about the state, which again doesn't represent our interests that well. It's just self-serving crap in all our institutions.

    And yes, the Liberal Party in Australia has stood up to China and Big Tech. I dislike this party, but I have given them credit for this. Finally they have redeeming qualities, and some impressive and bold ones too. A lot of Austrlaians didn't appreciate what they were doing with regards to Big Tech, and most couldn't see past the surface.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Mon Mar 15 21:52:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604EAB32.21756.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <604E8E06.49599.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to poindexter FORTRAN
    on Sun Mar 14 2021 09:51 pm


    Our economic system has to work for everyone, we can't say "This is the solution", and its only possible for x% to engage in it, and for the rest "t bad, so sad".


    Well, I have already argued that the problem is there are too many of
    us in this ball of mud we call Earth.

    There is a reason why Capitalism and Communism are considered scarcity economies. They exist because they deal with the management of
    resources that are in limited supply.


    Scarcity in the economic sense means that the good requires some labour to bring it about. That is, it has economic value because trade with others is required to obtain it. It doesn't mean there isn't enough for everyone.

    But consider someone who's solution to housing affordability is to become a manager. That is not workable, because the working population cant ever be all managers. For each manager, there are subordinates. We should be thinking of how it works for everyone.

    Humanity as a whole lacks the capability of equiping every single individual of the planet with the minimum standards of living that
    first worlders take for granted. If you check Greenpeace's stats you notice that even 2nd tier burn through essential natural resources
    faster than they can replenish them.

    There are only resources for everybody if everybody agrees to live to a much lower standard than your average European or North American is
    used to. Just not gonna happen.

    When there are no chair enough for everybody, somebody is gonna end up sittingg on the ground. Which sucks when you are an expendable person nobody cares for or who is very easily reemplazable (and yes I suspect that is me btw) but, as Chucky used to say, "Life is a bitch and then
    you bleed out like a pig". The system you use for assigning chairs is irrelevant when there are no chairs enough.

    Both vertical and horizontal unions have been tried and are being
    tried. Spaniards ended up eating dust via such sort of model to the
    point people had to visit the black market if they wanted to purchase lettuces. What economic systems do is change the way we deal with
    misery, and who takes his cuts, nothing else.

    Excuse me if I sound bleak but I am going through some bad shit in my personal life right now so I don't feel very positive.

    That is all sadly, mostly true. No one is going to agree to lower consumption, not those who "care about the planet", which most people who claim they do, really don't.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Mon Mar 15 22:10:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604EAE64.21757.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <604E8E08.49600.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on
    Sun Mar 14 2021 10:23 pm

    I think any entity which purchases additional property that it doesn't use, should be taxed, heavily. If you want to buy a second residential property, then you are using twice the portion of the available residential property supply than what you need, and in seizing more of this for yourself, you sho incur a larger social liability. Hoarding in our society is considered a virtue, odd. People that hoard homes should pay additional tax to counterac the increased burden on sociey from shortened supply.


    In most countries I am aware off, your properties get taxed, so by
    buying more of it you are paying more taxes in the long run. It is not like we are not already there.

    The real issue is not that people is hoarding but that properties go unused (if this is true at all). Given the expenses properties
    represent, even before taxes kick in, keeping them unused is a
    liability in itself for the propietor. So the question is "why are the properties not being used?"

    Capital gains is why. In Melbourne you could see empty properties in the suburbs (not as many now). While other houses were pulled down to make way for townhouses, due to lack of space, on the same block, you would see a property left empty, or without a house. Land banking. Because the price of the land is going up, its worth keeping. The house itself has little value, its the land.

    Why is the price going up? High immigration, cheap loans and tax incentives. If you buy an investment property in Australia, and you are unable to get a return from rent which covers your mortgage, you can offset the loss against your income from your regular job and lower your tax burden.

    This shoody system allows you to justify overspending. The capital gains you get are taxed, but a 50% discount of this tax was given in the early 2000s, driving up prices. So you get that gift too. These tax breaks make property investment desirable. The government does this to appease investors.

    Also, when the property goes up, you can use that equity to get a loan for a third property, and so one. People with no money manage to ratchet up large portfolios by playing the financial system. They produce nothing, they just jockey their way into acquiring capital gains from other peoples work.

    Parasites.

    Is it risky for the owner to rent the property? Is it hard to offer the property for rent? Here in Spain you don't offer a house for rent for pretty much the same reasons why you don't hire a person, for example.
    If you are a bank and find yourself loaded up with flats that you got
    as payments for unfullfilled mortages (which I think it is the case for most unused flats in Spain) you don't offer those flats for rent,
    because renting them is more costly (in risks) than just hoarding them
    and trying to sell them.

    Specially in today's world, when if you refuse to accept somebody in
    your flat because you think he is bad business, he can sue you for discrimination or whatever.

    Landlords love to complain that they are hard done by. Oh, the poor dears have to accomodate for people who need a place to live. There are some good landlords (my last one, before I purchased a house, was very reasonable). But there are many petty ones, digusting excuses for a human. They complain, yet the still buy houses.

    No one holds a gun to your head and forces you to buy a second house, or a third, or fourth. If you want to hoard homes, you have to accept the responsibilities that come with housing human beings. If you don't, get out of the business.

    So many feel entitled to hold homes for themselves, and whinge that the other human being who needs it is given rights at their expense, or that they aren't given free reign to "do what they like".

    If it were for these parasite investors outbidding everyone at auction, many people renting would have been simply able to afford their own home. Government doesn't help much with their taxation either.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to DaiTengu on Mon Mar 15 13:04:00 2021
    DaiTengu wrote to Dr. What <=-

    @VIA: VERT/ENSEMBLE
    @MSGID: <604F4FD4.27836.dove-general@warensemble.com>
    @REPLY: <60464957.50933.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @TZ: c168
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to MRO on Mon Mar 08 2021 09:01 am

    Lefties have no economic sense at all. They think that if a company charges $2 for a cup of coffee, the company gets all that money. They don't understand that after paying for everything that it takes to make that cup of money, they company is lucky to get $0.02 out of that $2.

    "Leftie" here. I own/run a business. I, and my fellow "Lefties"
    are quite-fucking-aware of how such things work.

    On the other hand, it seems to appear you still think "Trickle down economics" work, although there's no evidence to support that.

    The idea that Reagan communicated in the 80s was that the rich business
    owners will ensure the livelihoods of their workers, aka "Trickle Down Economics". This never worked but became the Conservative Mantra moving forward. The reality is, the rich business owners are only concerned
    about getting richer and the workers are expendible for lower-wage,
    potentially off-shore, workers.

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive
    compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest paid worker is
    now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is unacceptable.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... Heisenberg may have slept here.
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Mon Mar 15 20:33:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to DaiTengu <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it really
    make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of the company,
    or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect you?

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top,
    should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of
    being an American citizen?



    ... All hope abandon, ye who enter messages here.
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  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Arelor on Mon Mar 15 20:01:24 2021
    On 3/14/2021 5:32 PM, Arelor wrote:
    Humanity as a whole lacks the capability of equiping every single
    individual of the planet with the minimum standards of living that
    first worlders take for granted. If you check Greenpeace's stats you
    notice that even 2nd tier burn through essential natural resources
    faster than they can replenish them.

    Capitalism has globally raised more people from poverty than any
    socialist system in the history of humanity.
    Socialism/Marxism/Communism have been tried and repeatedly failed.
    While capitalism is far from perfect, it definitely has a much better
    track record.

    The most successful socialist system is Germany which is, economically speaking, Fascist. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

    The only successful Communist country (China) has a horrible track
    record, and has only been successful by leveraging its' own human
    capital in trade with capitalist countries. China is only successful
    because of capitalism, not despite it. That doesn't even cover the
    horrible human rights abuses in China.

    Every other attempt at Marxist-style Socialism has failed and many,
    many, many people have been killed by the system, died of starvation or outright collapsed.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Andeddu on Mon Mar 15 20:23:58 2021
    On 3/15/2021 10:02 AM, Andeddu wrote:

    I hear a lot about moving away from shareholder capitalism and towards stakeholder capitalism. This is why Universal Basic Income has been promulgated
    through government legislation despite facing steep opposition several years ago. The idea would be that multinational corporations, international banks, etc... along with the government, and we, the individual, would ALL have a stake in the way things are run. Due to mass employment caused by automation, corporate entities would face much higher tax bands than currently in existence
    and, as such, they would provide individuals with a fixed basic income. Everyone would be entitled to this income stream, whether working or non-working. This would allow people not be become discouraged at the notion of
    getting a job due to the rate of pay or hours on offer.

    Corporation don't pay taxes, their customers do... It would be better to
    put limits on (under|un)utilized assets a corporation can hold,
    eliminating corporate taxes and forcing dividend payments, divestment or expansion. Then shareholders/owners will be paying more taxes
    individually, or there will be more investment/employment.

    I agree, capitalism is not a suitable system for the future because it doesn't
    take into account the huge number of people whose labour will be deemed redundant, even in a highly industrialised economy. Many people in the technology industry are saying that chips are going to be fabricated for pennies in the near future causing all nations, including China, to consider this problem.

    I'm less than convinced... that said, I'm okay with UBI if it could
    eliminate welfare programs that are currently abused, and would apply universally and be funded via a flat tax across the system. Removing
    entire classes of tax deductions and simplifying the system would also help.

    I'd also not mind if there were a tax on currency exchanges as well as
    stock trades. This alone would do more than most progressive tax
    programs and really only effect those trying to manipulate the system
    anyway.

    While I'm pretty much libertarian, I'm pretty pragmatic about it and do
    think a system geared towards free market capitalism can work and that
    there are more effective strategies for accomplishing most goals.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Mon Mar 15 20:27:36 2021
    On 3/15/2021 3:41 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    And yes, the Liberal Party in Australia has stood up to China and Big
    Tech. I dislike this party, but I have given them credit for this.
    Finally they have redeeming qualities, and some impressive and bold
    ones too. A lot of Austrlaians didn't appreciate what they were doing
    with regards to Big Tech, and most couldn't see past the surface.

    I wish the Democrat party here would do much the same... definitely not
    the party of the working class, or the populist view of the public at
    this point... kind of seems like a fractured arm of the CCP to some extent.

    Of course the Republican party is just plain ineffectual and unable to
    commit to anything that might disturb the status quo or stand behind
    their own values.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 16 04:13:07 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Andeddu on Mon Mar 15 2021 08:23 pm

    Corporation don't pay taxes, their customers do... It would be better to
    put limits on (under|un)utilized assets a corporation can hold,
    eliminating corporate taxes and forcing dividend payments, divestment or expansion. Then shareholders/owners will be payin
    more taxes
    individually, or there will be more investment/employment.


    Heh, they are planning another tax rise in Spain and the word I was hearing in the corridors was "I have to talk to the
    accountants to see if we can pass the overcost to customers."

    I don't like limits on the ammount of assets you can posses as a firm because I haven‡'t seen such system well implemented.
    Here in Spain, if you have certain sorts of economic asociations you are supposed to pay a BIG (think 75% or more) of your
    surplus as dividends. If you are Telef¢nica or another big corporation, it does not matter much because with the remaining %
    you can still develop your firm to great lengths. If you are a small shoe shop, the % you are left is very low so if you want
    to make some investments you are going to need to apply for loans or whatever.

    I also think that vultures serve a purpose. There are firms here whose business model is to hoard rare spare parts and rare
    hardware components nobody wants, for example. Essentially, they will wait until some screw factory starts producing screws
    that sell very badly (screw factories produce screws by batches for the most part, a given type of screw per batch) and buy the
    whole batch.

    Now, that batch that got bough may sit in their warehouse unused for three years. However, this people guarantees that certain
    sort of screw is available somewhere - if it wasn't for them the factory would not be even producing that screw to begin with,
    in a way. If you need a screw of this kind, you can find it there and buy it there. It is gonna be expensive as heck but you
    are going to find it. So these people hoarding unused assets serve a purpose in this regard.

    There is also the issue that a lot of unussed assets are unused against the owners's will. For example, your factory goes out
    of business and now you have building and lands that are not producing anything, but you can't get to sell it either for
    whatever reason.

    This reminds me of a conversation in a board game forum, in which people was complaining because other people was purchasing
    cheap games elsewhere and posting them for sale in the forum with a profit margin. Well, they may be filthy speculators, but as
    it turns out, they are taking games from people who has them and does not know what to do with them, to the forum people who
    knows what the board games are really worth, so...

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Gamgee on Tue Mar 16 07:56:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @VIA: VERT/PALANT
    @MSGID: <6050112C.21791.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <604FE3C0.2105.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @TZ: c168
    Dream Master wrote to DaiTengu <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter. You
    are still in this belief that "Trickle Down Economics" actually works
    when it doesn't. Executive compensation is ridiculous when employees
    are getting screwed by menial raises, horrible benefits (or none), and
    PTO policies that benefit no one. Executives get their "Golden
    Parachutes" even if they wrong the company. No rank and file employee
    gets treated like that. You start at a company, even in a managerial
    position, and ask for "one year compensation following my departure
    whether on my own or at the company's discretion", you'll be laughed at. Executives should feel and experience the same pains the rank and file
    do. If the company has a rough year, their 100% bonus plan doesn't take affect.

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    No. I think each classification should make a wage compensurate with
    their skills and capabilities. For example, entry level IT should be
    paid at the lowest tier, senior at the next higher, specialist, etc.,
    etc.

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors
    of being an American citizen?

    Again with this whole Venezuela thing. So, you're telling me that
    you're perfectly fine with people like Elon Musk who founded Tesla and
    SpaceX should be worth billions while his assistant should only make
    $60K/year even though she has approval priviledge, goes everywhere he
    does, and can literaly run the company in his absense? The disparity in
    income is the problem.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... "42? 7 and a half million years and all you can come up with is 42?!"
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 16 08:06:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @VIA: VERT/TRN
    @MSGID: <605025AA.16851.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <604FDBC9.49631.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    @TZ: fe5c
    On 3/15/2021 3:41 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    And yes, the Liberal Party in Australia has stood up to China and Big
    Tech. I dislike this party, but I have given them credit for this.
    Finally they have redeeming qualities, and some impressive and bold
    ones too. A lot of Austrlaians didn't appreciate what they were doing
    with regards to Big Tech, and most couldn't see past the surface.

    I wish the Democrat party here would do much the same... definitely
    not the party of the working class, or the populist view of the
    public at this point... kind of seems like a fractured arm of the
    CCP to some extent.

    How so? There is no difference between the Democrats and Republicans
    when it comes to being part of the "Working Class", we just hold our
    political, social, and economic views differently.

    Of course the Republican party is just plain ineffectual and unable
    to commit to anything that might disturb the status quo or stand
    behind their own values.

    The Republican Party is self-destructive following tenets that existed
    when Reagan was president. What happened between then and now is the introduction of Christian Conservativism and Conspiracy Theory concepts
    that have perverted what the Party once stood for and instead made it
    into a 80s keep-alive group. Republicans refuse to move forward, refuse
    to acknowledge that their policies are too influenced by Christian
    Conservative narratives, and a perverted view of the Constitution.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... Computer Hacker wanted. Must have own axe.
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 16 13:55:01 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Andeddu on Mon Mar 15 2021 08:23 pm

    Corporation don't pay taxes, their customers do... It would be better to
    put limits on (under|un)utilized assets a corporation can hold,
    eliminating corporate taxes and forcing dividend payments, divestment or expansion. Then shareholders/owners will be paying more taxes
    individually, or there will be more investment/employment.

    I'm less than convinced... that said, I'm okay with UBI if it could eliminate welfare programs that are currently abused, and would apply universally and be funded via a flat tax across the system. Removing
    entire classes of tax deductions and simplifying the system would also help.

    I'd also not mind if there were a tax on currency exchanges as well as
    stock trades. This alone would do more than most progressive tax
    programs and really only effect those trying to manipulate the system anyway.

    While I'm pretty much libertarian, I'm pretty pragmatic about it and do think a system geared towards free market capitalism can work and that
    there are more effective strategies for accomplishing most goals.

    I agree with UBI also to a cetain extent, but only because our current welfare system is such a complex mess abused by far too many. I am not trying to defend any newly designed economic system because I am not an economist and I have no idea what the reality would be like if stakeholder capitalism were to replace shareholder capitalism. I think undergoing some kind of reformation is a bipartisan issue as it has been identified for many years that the current system is simply not fit for purpose. While I support free market capitalism, I don't think it takes into account the technological revolution we are about to undergo.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Tue Mar 16 10:55:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    You need to remember that people who thinks socialism is good think it
    raises everyone up. To anyone with brains, we know that socialism only
    brings everyone down - except for the Elites at the top.

    "Yes, I know that the people are starving, but I'm the leader and I **need** that 7 course dinner for my friends to have the energy to keep the country running."

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.


    ... Lead me not into temptation, I can find my own way
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    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 16 11:15:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    I wish the Democrat party here would do much the same... definitely not the party of the working class, or the populist view of the public at
    this point... kind of seems like a fractured arm of the CCP to some extent.

    Well, ya. They want the same outcome: An Elite class ruling over an underclass who exist to serve the Elite class.

    Of course the Republican party is just plain ineffectual and unable to commit to anything that might disturb the status quo or stand behind
    their own values.

    Many of them are really Democrats.

    But we need to get out of this "Left vs. Right" or "Democrat vs. Republican" thinking. That is not the fight.

    The fight is a group of Elites who think that they have the right to rule
    and that they can run everything better vs. literally everyone else (and
    that includes the morons who support the Elites).


    ... Insanity is just a state of mind.
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Dr. What on Tue Mar 16 19:00:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Gamgee <=-

    @VIA: VERT/DMINE
    @MSGID: <6050D4FC.51276.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <6050112C.21791.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @TZ: c12c
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his
    ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.

    I have no desire to be one of the "Elite" as you call them. I am simply
    of the position that everyone should be treated fairly and have an
    equitable ability to grow in a company and not fear an artificial
    ceiling put in by the elitists.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... DalekDOS v(overflow): (I)Obey (V)ision impaired (E)xterminate
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Tue Mar 16 21:37:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    You are still in this belief that "Trickle Down Economics"
    actually works when it doesn't. Executive compensation is
    ridiculous when employees are getting screwed by menial raises,
    horrible benefits (or none), and PTO policies that benefit no
    one.

    So, you are under the (mistaken) belief that if the CEO was payed less,
    that money would instead be used for employee raises, benefits, and PTO policies? Really, you think that? Do you actually know *ANYTHING*
    about running a business? Here's a free clue: the money would not be
    used for those things.

    Executives get their "Golden Parachutes" even if they wrong
    the company.

    Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Depends on their contract.
    Again it raises the question of why that would matter to you. It
    doesn't affect you in *ANY* *WAY*, especially if you are not even an
    employee of that same company. You clearly don't understand how things
    come out of certain/different "pots of money". Perhaps a class or two
    in business administration at your local community college would benefit
    you.

    Executives should feel and experience the same pains the rank and
    file do.

    Why? Does the Captain of a cruise boat sleep in the same quarters as
    the rank and file passengers? Does he eat the same food? What you fail
    to understand is that the Captain (or the CEO of a company) wasn't
    *ALWAYS* the CEO. He worked his way up to get there, and the pay and
    benefits go up as he climbed the ladder. What a concept!

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    No. I think each classification should make a wage compensurate
    with their skills and capabilities.

    So, at a given company, what makes you think that isn't the case? Do
    you think an assembly line worker has the skills to manage a huge
    corporation? Why wouldn't the person who does have those skills be paid
    a LOT more than that worker?

    For example, entry level IT
    should be paid at the lowest tier, senior at the next higher,
    specialist, etc., etc.

    That's already the case, everywhere that I know of. Eventually you
    reach the top/management/executive level.

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors
    of being an American citizen?

    Again with this whole Venezuela thing. So, you're telling me
    that you're perfectly fine with people like Elon Musk who founded
    Tesla and SpaceX should be worth billions while his assistant
    should only make $60K/year even though she has approval
    priviledge, goes everywhere he does, and can literaly run the
    company in his absense?

    Yes, I'm perfectly OK with that, even though that isn't entirely true
    the way you've written it. She made more than 60K, she certainly did
    NOT have approval priviledge over anything/everything, and it's
    conjecture to say she could run the company in his absence. Very
    standard Lefty tactics you employed there, but very obvious to those who
    know how you guys try to quietly steer the facts in your favor.

    The disparity in income is the problem.

    None of what you've said above even *ATTEMPTS* to explain why that is a problem, which is why you call me a broken record. I keep asking you to explain, but..... you dodge the question, and recite from the crib notes
    given out at a Crazy Bernie rally.

    Here's the deal: Income should ***NOT*** be equal for everyone, and
    what somebody else makes is none of your business (assuming they're not
    doing the same job as you are, of course). There should be large gaps
    in pay scales, to incentivize people to strive to move up. It's part of
    what we call "The American Dream".

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If everyone
    was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to advance, or even
    to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother? They'll still get paid
    the same. People turn into zombies/robots. Is that what you socialists
    want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns? ;-)




    ... Pros are those who do their jobs well, even when they don't feel like it. --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dr. What on Tue Mar 16 21:42:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    You need to remember that people who thinks socialism is good
    think it raises everyone up. To anyone with brains, we know that socialism only brings everyone down - except for the Elites at
    the top.

    Exactly. Instead of bringing the lower class up into the middle class,
    they'd rather bring the middle class down into the lower class. The politicians remain the only "Elites" left, and have utter control.

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his
    ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.

    Honestly I'm not sure he's aware of that. He comes across as one who's slurped FAR too much of the Bernie koolaid to ever recover. I'm hoping
    he will one day actually move to Venezuela so he can be happy.



    ... All hope abandon, ye who enter messages here.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Wed Mar 17 21:23:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604F9308.25039.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <604E8E04.49598.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sun Mar 14 2021 09:43 pm

    Absolutely, which is why we need to change the system now. As it is now, the system is based on people "selling their labour" to owners of the means of production. Automation doesn't make labour worthless (I argue it already it), it makes humans redundant in production environments.

    A system where humans are universally self-employed, i.e., all firms are workers coops doesn't fix this. But it changes the solution to one of "lets redistribute wealth" to "lets claim a property right over production where automation is concerned". Maybe by considering the nation is a co-worker, the nations input being based on how much automation there is.

    Either way, fundamentally, the idea of having to "work for a living" will have to go, we WILL have to reevaluate our economic morality and transvaluate at least some of Capitalisms values. Capitalism served well in the past, but in its current form, is not suited for our future.

    If that happens, it happens because our society is anti-human, and will be, I think, something that could further drive Western Civilisation into irrelevancy. If China can get this to work, and we just end up with an underclass because of our system, its all over. China is sort of Communist, so they could potentially adapt to this much faster. They already have strong government control and ownership, so its not such a leap for them. I can't see a way around this coming change without adopting something that looks like socialism or socialisation of the economy. We need solutions, and if we are constantly going to be dragging the economic concerns of the 1950s (Marxism!! Socialism!!) with us, we are toast.

    I hear a lot about moving away from shareholder capitalism and towards stakeholder capitalism. This is why Universal Basic Income has been promulgated through government legislation despite facing steep
    opposition several years ago. The idea would be that multinational corporations, international banks, etc... along with the government,
    and we, the individual, would ALL have a stake in the way things are
    run. Due to mass employment caused by automation, corporate entities
    would face much higher tax bands than currently in existence and, as
    such, they would provide individuals with a fixed basic income.
    Everyone would be entitled to this income stream, whether working or non-working. This would allow people not be become discouraged at the notion of getting a job due to the rate of pay or hours on offer.

    I agree, capitalism is not a suitable system for the future because it doesn't take into account the huge number of people whose labour will
    be deemed redundant, even in a highly industrialised economy. Many
    people in the technology industry are saying that chips are going to be fabricated for pennies in the near future causing all nations,
    including China, to consider this problem.

    Do you trust corporations, international banks? I sure don't. Thats the problem, the "stakeholders" are bad faith actors. And when we say "international bank" or "corporation", we are talking about the people at the top of these institutions, concentrated power.

    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Wed Mar 17 21:26:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <604F95D3.25040.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <604E8E08.49601.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on
    Sun Mar 14 2021 10:25 pm

    The dollar has no intrinsic value, not since Nixon took you off the gold standard in 1971.

    Exactly. There is no value to money. In all honesty, between countries, what really is money?


    No value to money? I bet if you dropped a $100 note and it blew away, you would chase after it.

    It is not money, it is currency. The intrinsic value is zero because it
    is not a scare resource. The percieved value at the moment is greater
    than nothing, and it may fluctuate and become higher or lower, but
    given enough time, the dollar will become worthless which is what its
    true value is.

    The same is true for crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin. One Bitcoin
    may be percieved to be worth 60k dollars, and it may go higher before
    it falls back to its intrinsic value of zero.

    Bitcoin isn't backed by any economic, which is why it is hard to value. With the Australian dollar, you can look at the Australian economy to help valuate it.

    Secondly, currency is scarce. You can't just make a $100 note easily. It is difficult to, and illegal to, create a $100 note.

    You can issue your own currency, but its still scarce, and it has little value not because of supply and demand of the currency itself, but because the currency won't be backed by economic activity.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 21:32:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <6050112C.21791.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <604FE3C0.2105.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Dream Master wrote to DaiTengu <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it really
    make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of the company,
    or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect you?

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    Ahh, the old "Venezuela" gambit... Nice try, but I'm not buying that the only choice is between Venezuela and massive wealth inequality.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 17 21:33:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Arelor <=-

    @MSGID: <60501F86.16846.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <604EAB32.21756.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    On 3/14/2021 5:32 PM, Arelor wrote:
    Humanity as a whole lacks the capability of equiping every single
    individual of the planet with the minimum standards of living that
    first worlders take for granted. If you check Greenpeace's stats you
    notice that even 2nd tier burn through essential natural resources
    faster than they can replenish them.

    Capitalism has globally raised more people from poverty than any
    socialist system in the history of humanity.
    Socialism/Marxism/Communism have been tried and repeatedly failed.
    While capitalism is far from perfect, it definitely has a much better track record.

    The most successful socialist system is Germany which is, economically speaking, Fascist. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

    The only successful Communist country (China) has a horrible track
    record, and has only been successful by leveraging its' own human
    capital in trade with capitalist countries. China is only successful because of capitalism, not despite it. That doesn't even cover the horrible human rights abuses in China.

    Every other attempt at Marxist-style Socialism has failed and many,
    many, many people have been killed by the system, died of starvation or outright collapsed.

    Technology, medicine, science, better agricultural techniques lifted people out of poverty.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 21:37:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6050C371.2140.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    You are still in this belief that "Trickle Down Economics"
    actually works when it doesn't. Executive compensation is
    ridiculous when employees are getting screwed by menial raises,
    horrible benefits (or none), and PTO policies that benefit no
    one.

    So, you are under the (mistaken) belief that if the CEO was payed less, that money would instead be used for employee raises, benefits, and PTO policies? Really, you think that? Do you actually know *ANYTHING*
    about running a business? Here's a free clue: the money would not be used for those things.

    Executives get their "Golden Parachutes" even if they wrong
    the company.

    Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Depends on their contract.
    Again it raises the question of why that would matter to you. It
    doesn't affect you in *ANY* *WAY*, especially if you are not even an employee of that same company. You clearly don't understand how things come out of certain/different "pots of money". Perhaps a class or two
    in business administration at your local community college would
    benefit you.

    Executives should feel and experience the same pains the rank and
    file do.

    Why? Does the Captain of a cruise boat sleep in the same quarters as
    the rank and file passengers? Does he eat the same food? What you
    fail to understand is that the Captain (or the CEO of a company) wasn't *ALWAYS* the CEO. He worked his way up to get there, and the pay and benefits go up as he climbed the ladder. What a concept!

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    No. I think each classification should make a wage compensurate
    with their skills and capabilities.

    So, at a given company, what makes you think that isn't the case? Do
    you think an assembly line worker has the skills to manage a huge corporation? Why wouldn't the person who does have those skills be
    paid a LOT more than that worker?

    For example, entry level IT
    should be paid at the lowest tier, senior at the next higher,
    specialist, etc., etc.

    That's already the case, everywhere that I know of. Eventually you
    reach the top/management/executive level.

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors
    of being an American citizen?

    Again with this whole Venezuela thing. So, you're telling me
    that you're perfectly fine with people like Elon Musk who founded
    Tesla and SpaceX should be worth billions while his assistant
    should only make $60K/year even though she has approval
    priviledge, goes everywhere he does, and can literaly run the
    company in his absense?

    Yes, I'm perfectly OK with that, even though that isn't entirely true
    the way you've written it. She made more than 60K, she certainly did
    NOT have approval priviledge over anything/everything, and it's
    conjecture to say she could run the company in his absence. Very
    standard Lefty tactics you employed there, but very obvious to those
    who know how you guys try to quietly steer the facts in your favor.

    The disparity in income is the problem.

    None of what you've said above even *ATTEMPTS* to explain why that is a problem, which is why you call me a broken record. I keep asking you
    to explain, but..... you dodge the question, and recite from the crib notes given out at a Crazy Bernie rally.

    Here's the deal: Income should ***NOT*** be equal for everyone, and
    what somebody else makes is none of your business (assuming they're not doing the same job as you are, of course). There should be large gaps
    in pay scales, to incentivize people to strive to move up. It's part
    of what we call "The American Dream".

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If everyone
    was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to advance, or even
    to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother? They'll still get
    paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots. Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their side.


    Are YOU a CEO?

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 07:38:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it really
    make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of the company,
    or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect you?

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    Ahh, the old "Venezuela" gambit... Nice try, but I'm not buying
    that the only choice is between Venezuela and massive wealth
    inequality.

    Ahh, so you admit that the massive wealth equality (socialism) in
    Venezuela is a failed model/method of running a government. Strange
    then, why you and Dream Master would wish such a thing for the USA.

    I ask you the same thing that he won't give a straight answer about -
    why does it matter to you what a CEO makes? Why do you think that
    affects you, or is "wrong"?



    ... All the easy problems have been solved.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 07:42:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If everyone
    was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to advance, or even
    to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother? They'll still get
    paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots. Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now
    that you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to
    people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1%
    is on their side.

    Your first sentence there is idiotic. LOL at the second one; I'm not
    confused at all about capitalism. What does confuse me is why people
    still think socialism is a valid solution, after seeing that it has
    failed every single place it's been tried. <BOGGLE>

    Are YOU a CEO?

    No.


    ... Ignorance can be cured. Stupid is forever.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 08:16:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his
    ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.

    Honestly I'm not sure he's aware of that. He comes across as one who's slurped FAR too much of the Bernie koolaid to ever recover. I'm hoping
    he will one day actually move to Venezuela so he can be happy.

    Hopefully that's before the U.S. is turned into Venezuela by the Leftie Elites.


    ... We'll burn that bridge when we come to it.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 08:33:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    He can't explain. He can only parrot what his handlers tell him.

    So, according to Google, the president of GM makes $21.6 million.
    Google says that the number of GM Employees is 164,000.

    So a simple calculation of $21,600,000 / 164,000 = $131.70
    So if the GM President gave her salary to the workers, they's only get
    $132 each, per year. I spend more on coffee per year.

    Looking at it from a different point of view:
    GM makes 6.8 million cars per year.
    The GM President's salary represents $3 per car.

    Google reports that the salary range for a GM worker is $38,344 to
    $79,867. So let's figure $59,000 on average.

    $59,000 * 164,000 = $9,676,000,000 paid to employees
    $9,676,000,000 / 6,800,000 = $1422.94

    So out of every car sold, the GM President gets only $3, while the workers
    get $1423.


    ... What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 08:09:56 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Wed Mar 17 2021 09:26 pm

    You can issue your own currency, but its still scarce, and it has little value not because of supply and demand of the currency itself, but because the currency won't
    backed by economic activity.


    You know, when people say "My country's currency is backed by our powerful economy" what they really mean is they have a currency that isn't anchored to any stable
    equivalence.

    They pretty much tell you "This 100 $credit note is worth a certain ammount of goods and services, which is subject to variation, and you have to trust us to deliver and
    upkeep that value."

    ie. "This money is worth something because we tell you it is, but the worth can change at any minute because me says so."

    I have the constant feeling that fiat currencies are like pyramid schemes. They only work for as long as people believes in them.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 08:21:47 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Wed Mar 17 2021 09:26 pm

    Secondly, currency is scarce. You can't just make a $100 note easily. It is difficult to, and illegal to, create a $100 note.

    Though with payments often happening electronically, you don't always need physical cash to make a payment or transfer money. Seems to me a lot of money could be created out of nowhere electronically.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Arelor on Wed Mar 17 03:54:00 2021
    On 3/16/2021 2:13 AM, Arelor wrote:
    Corporation don't pay taxes, their customers do... It would be
    better to put limits on (under|un)utilized assets a corporation
    can hold, eliminating corporate taxes and forcing dividend
    payments, divestment or expansion. Then shareholders/owners
    will be payin more taxes individually, or there will be more
    investment/employment.

    Heh, they are planning another tax rise in Spain and the word I
    was hearing in the corridors was "I have to talk to the
    accountants to see if we can pass the overcost to customers."

    I don't like limits on the ammount of assets you can posses as a
    firm because I haven‡'t seen such system well implemented. Here
    in Spain, if you have certain sorts of economic asociations you
    are supposed to pay a BIG (think 75% or more) of your surplus as
    dividends. If you are Telef¢nica or another big corporation, it
    does not matter much because with the remaining % you can still
    develop your firm to great lengths. If you are a small shoe shop,
    the % you are left is very low so if you want to make some
    investments you are going to need to apply for loans or whatever.

    I was thinking you could hold on to $10m or 2x your annual expenses
    which ever is greater. As for fixed assets, buildings at less than
    30% planned capacity for over 5 years must be sold. The goal is to
    either disburse to those who do pay taxes, or growth, which leads to
    more employment of those that do contribute. Again, part of this
    would be just eliminating corporate taxes in leiu of stronger provisions
    for corporate classes to efficiency and contribution to society.

    It would also be necessary to create a non-living-entity (NLE) class
    that isn't taxed in order to establish practice to remove/reduce
    corporate influence in politics to only those organizations with
    completely open books, and named individual contributors.

    I also think that vultures serve a purpose. There are firms here
    whose business model is to hoard rare spare parts and rare hardware components nobody wants, for example. Essentially, they will wait
    until some screw factory starts producing screws that sell very
    badly (screw factories produce screws by batches for the most part,
    a given type of screw per batch) and buy the whole batch.

    I'm not talking about inventory so much as buildings that are literally
    empty, or holding on to reserves 10x the annual expenses of the company itself. Empty + unused land/buildings in the hands of corporations take
    from nature, I'd prefer to see that slightly optimized.

    Corporations are not people... they should not have inherent rights and likewise should be classed to optimize the societal benefit... I'm not
    in fovor of the government running or over regulation only so much as to establish that the collective ownership and limited liability are for a purpose that is not how they have been treated or acted in.

    Simmilarly I feel the government itself should be limited. Corporate
    power is derived from government power.

    There is also the issue that a lot of unussed assets are unused
    against the owners's will. For example, your factory goes out
    of business and now you have building and lands that are not
    producing anything, but you can't get to sell it either for
    whatever reason.

    If it's unused, then imho it should be either condemned, reclaimed or
    sold. That's just my $.02 on this.

    This reminds me of a conversation in a board game forum, in which
    people was complaining because other people was purchasing cheap
    games elsewhere and posting them for sale in the forum with a
    profit margin. Well, they may be filthy speculators, but as it
    turns out, they are taking games from people who has them and does
    not know what to do with them, to the forum people who knows what
    the board games are really worth, so...

    I really don't have a problem with speculation or investment. I would
    like to see it encouraged and expanded. My PoV isn't so much to limit capitalism as it is to encourage it as effectively as possible while
    serving as a benefit, not a drain on society. It's also why I'm more of
    a fan of VAT/Exchange taxes over income/property taxes.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 04:05:23 2021
    On 3/15/2021 6:33 PM, Gamgee wrote:

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it really
    make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of the company,
    or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect you?

    I once worked for a company where the CEO kicked out a Sr. VP for a
    telecom company (vendor) because he was bragging about firing 10k people
    so he could get a 6 figure bonus, even though he'd have to hire that
    many back the following quarter. When divisions are laid off, so the
    quarter numbers look better and some Sr. Executive gets a fat bonus, it
    does effect people.

    I'm all for capitalism, I'd rather see positions that raise all ships.
    Instead of putting salary caps, and if I ever form another company, this
    will be part of charter bylaws and sale of the company in that no member
    of the company can make more than 100x the lowest paid person in the
    company projected in the course of a year, and nobody can make more than
    2x their nearest subordinate. This way, if you want to make more, you
    need to bring those under you up with you. I'd also have this apply to
    vendor staff working in service for the company as well.

    Having a strong middle class is important, and the class divide of the
    upper class is growing a lot since the 1970's. I don't think socialist controls work. I do think guidelines that encourage competition, better utilization of assets and fluidity and even eliminating corporate taxes
    can better serve society. Corporations serve a societal purpose, but
    that gets clouded at scale.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dr. What on Wed Mar 17 04:39:30 2021
    On 3/16/2021 7:55 AM, Dr. What wrote:
    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of
    being an American citizen?

    You need to remember that people who thinks socialism is good think it
    raises everyone up. To anyone with brains, we know that socialism only brings everyone down - except for the Elites at the top.

    "Yes, I know that the people are starving, but I'm the leader and I **need** that 7 course dinner for my friends to have the energy to keep the country running."

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.

    In a Marxist society, for the most part, the 1% will still be the 1%.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dr. What on Wed Mar 17 04:41:57 2021
    On 3/16/2021 8:15 AM, Dr. What wrote:

    But we need to get out of this "Left vs. Right" or "Democrat vs.
    Republican" thinking. That is not the fight.

    The fight is a group of Elites who think that they have the right
    to rule and that they can run everything better vs. literally
    everyone else (and that includes the morons who support the Elites).

    That's what it comes down to is mostly class warfare, and any time a
    common cause is taken, it's manipulated towards one of the culture
    tents. You only need to look at the Tea Party or Occupy movements to
    see that.

    That said, I can at least understand the more conservative positions,
    the tribal leftists embedded in the Democrat party are just too much.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 04:55:21 2021
    On 3/16/2021 7:42 PM, Gamgee wrote:

    Exactly. Instead of bringing the lower class up into the middle class, they'd rather bring the middle class down into the lower class. The politicians remain the only "Elites" left, and have utter control.

    I'd say the 1% will still be the 1%.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 04:58:46 2021
    On 3/17/2021 3:33 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    Technology, medicine, science, better agricultural techniques lifted
    people out of poverty.

    And those kinds of things don't typically advance nearly as well or
    quickly in Socialist societies vs Capitalist. In terms of agriculture
    in particular, socialism is often regressive even. Hence massive
    starvation that tends to sweep socialist nations.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 05:00:31 2021
    On 3/17/2021 3:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that
    you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people,
    confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their
    side.

    Are YOU a CEO?

    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there isn't a
    1% in communist societies with an even greater class disparity.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 08:45:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @VIA: VERT/PALANT
    @MSGID: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6050C371.2140.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @TZ: c168
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    Because it does. Why should employees of McDonald's be making minimum
    wage while the CEO makes 1000x that? Why should the CEO of Space X make
    1000x that of an Engineer who actually does the hard work? Knowing that
    your contributions are equal to that of senior leadership is important
    and knowing that your pay is just as important as theirs is also equally important.

    You are still in this belief that "Trickle Down Economics"
    actually works when it doesn't. Executive compensation is
    ridiculous when employees are getting screwed by menial raises,
    horrible benefits (or none), and PTO policies that benefit no
    one.

    So, you are under the (mistaken) belief that if the CEO was payed
    less, that money would instead be used for employee raises,
    benefits, and PTO policies? Really, you think that? Do you
    actually know *ANYTHING* about running a business? Here's a free
    clue: the money would not be used for those things.

    I do know something about running a business and no, reducing the CEO
    pay does not trickle down. Instead, it shows concern for the employee.

    Executives get their "Golden Parachutes" even if they wrong
    the company.

    Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Depends on their contract.
    Again it raises the question of why that would matter to you. It
    doesn't affect you in *ANY* *WAY*, especially if you are not even an employee of that same company. You clearly don't understand how
    things come out of certain/different "pots of money". Perhaps a
    class or two in business administration at your local community
    college would benefit you.

    There you go again, assuming... Too many years of Business
    Administration and Management classes in college have contributed to my understanding. Economics as well. My positions are my own. I disagree
    with certain business practices and agree with others.

    Executives should feel and experience the same pains the rank and
    file do.

    Why? Does the Captain of a cruise boat sleep in the same quarters
    as the rank and file passengers? Does he eat the same food? What
    you fail to understand is that the Captain (or the CEO of a company) wasn't *ALWAYS* the CEO. He worked his way up to get there, and the
    pay and benefits go up as he climbed the ladder. What a concept!

    Again, context. Should a CEO make $100mm/yr while the entry level
    employee makes $24K/yr? You think this is fine, your opinion, I
    disagree.

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    No. I think each classification should make a wage compensurate
    with their skills and capabilities.

    So, at a given company, what makes you think that isn't the case?
    Do you think an assembly line worker has the skills to manage a huge corporation? Why wouldn't the person who does have those skills be
    paid a LOT more than that worker?

    Does the CEO have the skills that the assembly line worker has? No.
    Does the assembly worker have the skills of the CEO? No. Executive compensation is about retention. I've seen too many CEOs destroy a
    compnay to the point of bankruptcy yet are still paid to the day the
    company is sold off. Is this fair and equitable to the rank and file?

    For example, entry level IT
    should be paid at the lowest tier, senior at the next higher,
    specialist, etc., etc.

    That's already the case, everywhere that I know of. Eventually you
    reach the top/management/executive level.

    Companies call them tiers but the bands are wide open. Not equitable.

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors
    of being an American citizen?

    Again with this whole Venezuela thing. So, you're telling me
    that you're perfectly fine with people like Elon Musk who founded
    Tesla and SpaceX should be worth billions while his assistant
    should only make $60K/year even though she has approval
    priviledge, goes everywhere he does, and can literaly run the
    company in his absense?

    Yes, I'm perfectly OK with that, even though that isn't entirely
    true the way you've written it. She made more than 60K, she
    certainly did NOT have approval priviledge over anything/everything,
    and it's conjecture to say she could run the company in his absence.
    Very standard Lefty tactics you employed there, but very obvious to
    those who know how you guys try to quietly steer the facts in your
    favor.

    Valid point about her position. She did have specific approval
    authority. Her complain / concern is real.

    The disparity in income is the problem.

    None of what you've said above even *ATTEMPTS* to explain why that
    is a problem, which is why you call me a broken record. I keep
    asking you to explain, but..... you dodge the question, and recite
    from the crib notes given out at a Crazy Bernie rally.

    Here's the deal: Income should ***NOT*** be equal for everyone, and
    what somebody else makes is none of your business (assuming they're
    not doing the same job as you are, of course). There should be
    large gaps in pay scales, to incentivize people to strive to move
    up. It's part of what we call "The American Dream".

    The American Dream is something written too many years ago. Now, the
    American Dream is just to survive.

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If
    everyone was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to
    advance, or even to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother?
    They'll still get paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots.
    Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll
    come to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the
    guns? ;-)

    Us Liberals have guns, too. :)

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 08:51:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dr. What <=-

    @VIA: VERT/PALANT
    @MSGID: <60517059.21823.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6050D4FC.51276.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @TZ: c168
    Dr. What wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    You need to remember that people who thinks socialism is good
    think it raises everyone up. To anyone with brains, we know that socialism only brings everyone down - except for the Elites at
    the top.

    I believe in the appropriate use of socialism. If you object to
    socialism, reject the checks you'll be getting from the government over
    the next week or two. Reject Medicare. Reject Social Security. Reject Unemployment Benefits. You can't keep screaming "Socialism--BAD" yet
    are willing to accept the funds.

    Again, I am not talking about turning into a socialist nation but a
    nation that actually takes care of its people. If people can stop worry
    about medical bills, education debt, etc., they can bring themselves
    further and further up.

    Exactly. Instead of bringing the lower class up into the middle
    class, they'd rather bring the middle class down into the lower
    class. The politicians remain the only "Elites" left, and have
    utter control.

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his
    ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.

    Honestly I'm not sure he's aware of that. He comes across as one
    who's slurped FAR too much of the Bernie koolaid to ever recover.
    I'm hoping he will one day actually move to Venezuela so he can be
    happy.

    The middle class has progressively been destroyed by Republican
    administrations both at the state and federal level. The disparity
    between the lower class and upper class keeps getting bigger. Those in
    the middle class, like me, keep seeing it harder to get ahead.


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... Heisenberg may have slept here.
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 09:00:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    @VIA: VERT/MSRDBBS
    @MSGID: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    @REPLY: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @TZ: 9258
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6050C371.2140.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that
    you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their
    side.

    Are YOU a CEO?

    Precisely my problem with these statements against what I keep saying.
    CEOs don't give a rats ass about the rank and file, they will take what
    they want and move on when they feel enough positive, or negative, has
    been done. Look at Sears. Instead of bringing in a CEO that was
    focused on rebuilding the company, the CEO, Eddie Lampert, tore the
    company apart into multiple corporate silos having each company fight
    for overall resources. This adversely affected employees, product, and eventually, the company. Lampert and his 1% destroyed Sears.

    Yet, Conservatives keep touting the importance of the 1% helping the
    rest. They don't. Trickle Down Economics DOES NOT WORK!


    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ... Direct from the Ministry of Silly Walks
    --- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 17 11:22:03 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 2021 04:05 am

    Having a strong middle class is important, and the class divide of the
    upper class is growing a lot since the 1970's. I don't think socialist controls work. I do think guidelines that encourage competition, better utilization of assets and fluidity and even eliminating corporate taxes
    can better serve society. Corporations serve a societal purpose, but
    that gets clouded at scale.

    Everything you just wrote I agree with, but I also want to add that corporate taxes are critical for America. If we eliminate corporate taxation, we start to impact our economy. Should the taxes be as high as they are, no.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Arelor on Wed Mar 17 16:58:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 16 2021 04:13 am

    This reminds me of a conversation in a board game forum, in which people was complaining because other people was purchasing
    cheap games elsewhere and posting them for sale in the forum with a profit margin. Well, they may be filthy speculators, but as
    it turns out, they are taking games from people who has them and does not know what to do with them, to the forum people who
    knows what the board games are really worth, so...

    It's much like the vintage computer market. I see people on Reddit all the time picking up massive lots of old Apple Macintosh, IBMs and/or various esoteric hard to come across machines and then flipping them for a ridiculous profit. They usually say that they were able to pick it up from a local seller who had initially planned to recycle their collection, completely unaware that there's a huge market for vintage hardware. 10 years ago, you could buy something like a Macintosh SE for under 50 bucks. Now the same computer would cost you over 250.

    I was bidding for a Macintosh Plus in good condition with a keyboard and mouse on eBay and I dropped out at around 300 dollars. The auction ended at 485 dollars which is so overpriced for a computer that is not particularly scarce. In fact, it's the most common Macintosh as it was produced from 1986-90.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 18:06:39 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Wed Mar 17 2021 09:23 pm

    Do you trust corporations, international banks? I sure don't. Thats the problem, the "stakeholders" are bad faith actors. And when we say "international bank" or "corporation", we are talking about the people at the top of these institutions, concentrated power.

    No. I do not trust them, or anybody for that matter. They weild the power, so I guess they'll be the ones who will make the decisions.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 18:21:13 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Wed Mar 17 2021 09:26 pm

    Bitcoin isn't backed by any economic, which is why it is hard to value.
    With the Australian dollar, you can look at the Australian economy to help valuate it.

    Secondly, currency is scarce. You can't just make a $100 note easily. It is difficult to, and illegal to, create a $100 note.

    You can issue your own currency, but its still scarce, and it has little value not because of supply and demand of the currency itself, but because the currency won't be backed by economic activity.

    Fiat currencies are not scarce. An infinite number of dollars can be created by the Federal Reserve, as most are digitised rather than printed into existence. US dollars are as scarce as Zimbabwean dollars, which turned out not to be particularly scare when President Mugabe had the misconception he was in the possession of a money tree planeted in his back yard.

    Bitcoin, along with other crypto-currencies & fiat, are not backed by an underlying asset therefore they are not considered scarce by any economic definition of the word. You cannot hold a Bitcoin, nor can you use it in the manufacturing process; and other than percieved value, it has no intrinsic value at all. It's the dot com bubble all over again, fools gold.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 19:39:22 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 2021 08:45 am


    Because it does. Why should employees of McDonald's be making minimum
    wage while the CEO makes 1000x that? Why should the CEO of Space X make 1000x that of an Engineer who actually does the hard work? Knowing that your contributions are equal to that of senior leadership is important
    and knowing that your pay is just as important as theirs is also equally important.


    If the CEO is securing a bunch of multi-million contracts per year for the firm it is easy to consider why he is making big buck and why the janitor (who performs a job who can be performed by a lot of people) makes small buck.

    Specially if the CEO happens to be a big shareholder (as it is often the case) and the janitor does not even have stocks in the firm.

    I think it is only a real issue when the directives make obscene ammounts of money from firms that are crashing badly. I'd fill those situations as outright fraud: they are taking the money of the shareholders in exchange for managing the firm correctly and are instead smoking the money, _knowlingly_. However, this is not the usual case for firms that are sustainable in time.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 17 19:03:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it really
    make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of the company,
    or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect you?

    I once worked for a company where the CEO kicked out a Sr. VP for
    a telecom company (vendor) because he was bragging about firing
    10k people so he could get a 6 figure bonus, even though he'd
    have to hire that many back the following quarter. When
    divisions are laid off, so the quarter numbers look better and
    some Sr. Executive gets a fat bonus, it does effect people.

    Perhaps, but that sounds like a one-off. Rare, at best.

    I'm all for capitalism, I'd rather see positions that raise all
    ships. Instead of putting salary caps, and if I ever form another
    company, this will be part of charter bylaws and sale of the
    company in that no member of the company can make more than 100x
    the lowest paid person in the company projected in the course of
    a year, and nobody can make more than 2x their nearest
    subordinate. This way, if you want to make more, you need to
    bring those under you up with you. I'd also have this apply to
    vendor staff working in service for the company as well.

    That all sounds good, but probably not very realistic. People would get "slotted" into whatever payscale is appropriate, and never be able to
    move up. How can you "bring those under you up with you"? It's not up
    to you, usually, what those folks are making. So if they can't ALL be promoted, you can't either. That sure doesn't seem very fair to me.


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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Tracker1 on Wed Mar 17 19:05:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Exactly. Instead of bringing the lower class up into the middle class, they'd rather bring the middle class down into the lower class. The politicians remain the only "Elites" left, and have utter control.

    I'd say the 1% will still be the 1%.

    Exactly. It's a sure bet. So the change will be that instead of an
    upper 1%, then a majority in the middle class, and some in the lower class...... we'd have the same upper 1%, then everyone else in the
    LOWER class. Goodbye middle class. Welcome to socialism.



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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 19:19:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    Because it does.

    Oh! What a GREAT answer!

    Why should employees of McDonald's be making
    minimum wage while the CEO makes 1000x that? Why should the CEO
    of Space X make 1000x that of an Engineer who actually does the
    hard work?

    Those questions cannot really be answered. My counter would be that
    skills matter and are rewarded. Another possible answer would be (to
    play your silly generic question game): why shouldn't they? You STILL
    have yet to answer that with anything specific.

    Knowing that your contributions are equal to that of
    senior leadership is important and knowing that your pay is just
    as important as theirs is also equally important.

    Perhaps a low-level employee's contributions are *NOT* equal to those of senior leadership. Ever think that might be true? Business models that
    are based on "touchy-feely" and "warm and fuzzy" emotions are doomed to
    fail.

    You are still in this belief that "Trickle Down Economics"
    actually works when it doesn't. Executive compensation is
    ridiculous when employees are getting screwed by menial raises,
    horrible benefits (or none), and PTO policies that benefit no
    one.

    So, you are under the (mistaken) belief that if the CEO was payed
    less, that money would instead be used for employee raises,
    benefits, and PTO policies? Really, you think that? Do you
    actually know *ANYTHING* about running a business? Here's a free
    clue: the money would not be used for those things.

    I do know something about running a business and no, reducing the
    CEO pay does not trickle down. Instead, it shows concern for the employee.

    See above regarding "touchy-feely". Bad business ideas.

    Executives get their "Golden Parachutes" even if they wrong
    the company.

    Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Depends on their contract.
    Again it raises the question of why that would matter to you. It
    doesn't affect you in *ANY* *WAY*, especially if you are not even an employee of that same company. You clearly don't understand how
    things come out of certain/different "pots of money". Perhaps a
    class or two in business administration at your local community
    college would benefit you.

    There you go again, assuming... Too many years of Business
    Administration and Management classes in college have contributed
    to my understanding. Economics as well. My positions are my
    own. I disagree with certain business practices and agree with
    others.

    Yeah, I've noticed that. You may want to take some refresher classes.

    Executives should feel and experience the same pains the rank and
    file do.

    Why? Does the Captain of a cruise boat sleep in the same quarters
    as the rank and file passengers? Does he eat the same food? What
    you fail to understand is that the Captain (or the CEO of a company) wasn't *ALWAYS* the CEO. He worked his way up to get there, and the
    pay and benefits go up as he climbed the ladder. What a concept!

    Again, context. Should a CEO make $100mm/yr while the entry
    level employee makes $24K/yr? You think this is fine, your
    opinion, I disagree.

    Yep, you disagree, but can't really say *WHY*.

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    No. I think each classification should make a wage compensurate
    with their skills and capabilities.

    There! That's why the CEO makes more than the burger-flipper!

    So, at a given company, what makes you think that isn't the case?
    Do you think an assembly line worker has the skills to manage a huge corporation? Why wouldn't the person who does have those skills be
    paid a LOT more than that worker?

    Does the CEO have the skills that the assembly line worker has?
    No. Does the assembly worker have the skills of the CEO? No.
    Executive compensation is about retention. I've seen too many
    CEOs destroy a compnay to the point of bankruptcy yet are still
    paid to the day the company is sold off. Is this fair and
    equitable to the rank and file?

    Free life clue: Not everything is "fair and equitable". Sorry, but
    that's reality and you'll have to deal with it.

    For example, entry level IT
    should be paid at the lowest tier, senior at the next higher,
    specialist, etc., etc.

    That's already the case, everywhere that I know of. Eventually you
    reach the top/management/executive level.

    Companies call them tiers but the bands are wide open. Not
    equitable.

    Once again the concept of skills vs compensation seems to elude you.

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors
    of being an American citizen?

    Again with this whole Venezuela thing. So, you're telling me
    that you're perfectly fine with people like Elon Musk who founded
    Tesla and SpaceX should be worth billions while his assistant
    should only make $60K/year even though she has approval
    priviledge, goes everywhere he does, and can literaly run the
    company in his absense?

    Yes, I'm perfectly OK with that, even though that isn't entirely
    true the way you've written it. She made more than 60K, she
    certainly did NOT have approval priviledge over anything/everything,
    and it's conjecture to say she could run the company in his absence.
    Very standard Lefty tactics you employed there, but very obvious to
    those who know how you guys try to quietly steer the facts in your
    favor.

    Valid point about her position. She did have specific approval
    authority. Her complain / concern is real.

    She's free to leave the company if she doesn't like her salary. I'm
    sure she signed an employment agreement, right? Nobody held her hostage
    and forced her to continue working, right? If she's so shit-hot she
    could have changed jobs and made more money.

    The disparity in income is the problem.

    None of what you've said above even *ATTEMPTS* to explain why that
    is a problem, which is why you call me a broken record. I keep
    asking you to explain, but..... you dodge the question, and recite
    from the crib notes given out at a Crazy Bernie rally.

    Here's the deal: Income should ***NOT*** be equal for everyone, and
    what somebody else makes is none of your business (assuming they're
    not doing the same job as you are, of course). There should be
    large gaps in pay scales, to incentivize people to strive to move
    up. It's part of what we call "The American Dream".

    The American Dream is something written too many years ago. Now,
    the American Dream is just to survive.

    No, the American Dream is alive and well, and remains unchanged. It's available to anyone who is willing to strive for it. Some make it, some
    do not.

    Do you also feel the U.S. Constitution is invalid because it also was
    written "too many years ago"?

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If
    everyone was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to
    advance, or even to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother?
    They'll still get paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots.
    Is that what you socialists want?

    You didn't address this question. Why?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll
    come to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the
    guns? ;-)

    Us Liberals have guns, too. :)

    Trust me, you're out-gunned.


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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 19:26:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    You need to remember that people who thinks socialism is good
    think it raises everyone up. To anyone with brains, we know that socialism only brings everyone down - except for the Elites at
    the top.

    I believe in the appropriate use of socialism. If you object to socialism, reject the checks you'll be getting from the
    government over the next week or two. Reject Medicare. Reject
    Social Security. Reject Unemployment Benefits. You can't keep
    screaming "Socialism--BAD" yet are willing to accept the funds.

    I won't be getting any stimulus checks, so bad assumption by you. As
    for Medicare and Social Security, I've been paying my "premiums" into
    those programs for DECADES. Those are services that I've *purchased*,
    so why would I not use what I paid for when the time comes?

    Can you understand that? I FUCKING PAID FOR THOSE BENEFITS. That's
    *MY* money that I loaned to the government for 50 years so they could
    make interest on it. It wasn't optional for me to contribute.

    Again, I am not talking about turning into a socialist nation but
    a nation that actually takes care of its people. If people can
    stop worry about medical bills, education debt, etc., they can
    bring themselves further and further up.

    Exactly. Instead of bringing the lower class up into the middle
    class, they'd rather bring the middle class down into the lower
    class. The politicians remain the only "Elites" left, and have
    utter control.

    I'm sure that Dream Master is well aware of this, but in his
    ignorance thinks that he is one of the Elites.

    Honestly I'm not sure he's aware of that. He comes across as one
    who's slurped FAR too much of the Bernie koolaid to ever recover.
    I'm hoping he will one day actually move to Venezuela so he can be
    happy.

    The middle class has progressively been destroyed by Republican administrations both at the state and federal level. The
    disparity between the lower class and upper class keeps getting
    bigger. Those in the middle class, like me, keep seeing it
    harder to get ahead.

    So your solution is do bring *EVERYBODY* down to the lower class. Let everyone but the ruling elite class be equally miserable, right? Do you actually not understand that this is *EXACTLY* what socialism produces?
    Just look around the world and see the proof! For fucks sake, open your
    eyes and see!



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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 19:42:25 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 2021 08:51 am


    I believe in the appropriate use of socialism. If you object to
    socialism, reject the checks you'll be getting from the government over
    the next week or two. Reject Medicare. Reject Social Security. Reject Unemployment Benefits. You can't keep screaming "Socialism--BAD" yet
    are willing to accept the funds.


    I would gladly reject all the equivalent things in Spain if I got my money back.

    However, it turns out people gets forced to pay for that stuff. Once you pay for a product you expect the product in return.

    The rean tragedy is when they force you to pay, then you don't get what the government promised you in exchange of your protection money, and still have to withstand quotes as above.

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 20:02:01 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to Boraxman on Wed Mar 17 2021 09:00 am

    Yet, Conservatives keep touting the importance of the 1% helping the
    rest. They don't. Trickle Down Economics DOES NOT WORK!


    Not so much the 1% helping the rest as the fact that having powerful industries (even if they are far more wealthy than what a lot of people want) usually translates in better availability of goods and services overall.

    In a wealthy country people can afford to hire non essential services (such as decorative gardening) that are just not available en masse in poor areas.

    The point of the so called Trickle Down phenomena isn't that Mark Zuckerberg is going to rise everybody's salary because he is making loads of money. The point is that rich industrialists are more likely to open new industries if they have resources to do it with. More industries mean more jobs and more goods and services.

    Obviously if your expectation is that a janitor at a Facebook office is going to make more money because Facebook is generating millions, you are going to be sorely disappointed.

    I thik the proof is in the pudding. A poor dude in certain hellhole coutries I --
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 20:12:20 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 2021 08:02 pm

    I thik the proof is in the pudding. A poor dude in certain hellhole coutries

    Sorry, cut sentence.

    [...] A por dude in certain hellhole countries I can think off, which have heavy anti-enterprise policies in place, is going to do worse than a poor dude in your average 1st world nation, if just because there are more goods and services available at affordable prices, and job positions to grab because employers are not being kicked out.

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  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Arelor on Wed Mar 17 23:21:41 2021
    On 3/17/2021 6:09 AM, Arelor wrote:
    You know, when people say "My country's currency is backed
    by our powerful economy" what they really mean is they have
    a currency that isn't anchored to any stable equivalence.

    They pretty much tell you "This 100 $credit note is worth a
    certain ammount of goods and services, which is subject to
    variation, and you have to trust us to deliver and upkeep
    that value."

    ie. "This money is worth something because we tell you it
    is, but the worth can change at any minute because me says
    so."

    I have the constant feeling that fiat currencies are like
    pyramid schemes. They only work for as long as people
    believes in them.


    Could always go back to gold and silver coin. Or currency
    at least partially backed by it.
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  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dream Master on Wed Mar 17 23:26:52 2021
    On 3/17/2021 10:22 AM, Dream Master wrote:
    Having a strong middle class is important, and the class divide of the
    upper class is growing a lot since the 1970's. I don't think socialist
    controls work. I do think guidelines that encourage competition, better
    utilization of assets and fluidity and even eliminating corporate taxes
    can better serve society. Corporations serve a societal purpose, but
    that gets clouded at scale.

    Everything you just wrote I agree with, but I also want to add that corporate taxes are critical for America. If we eliminate corporate taxation, we start to impact our economy. Should the taxes be as high
    as they are, no.

    Again, for the most part, corporations don't pay taxes, their customers
    do. Another reason to eliminate corporate taxes and put firmer
    restrictions in place is that they should either pay out dividends on
    profits that are taxed from shareholders or expand, which creates more
    jobs and more tax and money flow. It's also a necessary step to (re)establishing a non-living-entity status in that corporations do not
    have free speech rights, and should not be allowed to contribute to
    election campaigns or messaging unless they have completely open books
    and all donations are from individual people and those contributions
    disclosed as well.
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  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Gamgee on Wed Mar 17 23:31:56 2021
    On 3/17/2021 5:03 PM, Gamgee wrote:
    I'm all for capitalism, I'd rather see positions that raise all
    ships. Instead of putting salary caps, and if I ever form another
    company, this will be part of charter bylaws and sale of the
    company in that no member of the company can make more than 100x
    the lowest paid person in the company projected in the course of
    a year, and nobody can make more than 2x their nearest
    subordinate. This way, if you want to make more, you need to
    bring those under you up with you. I'd also have this apply to
    vendor staff working in service for the company as well.

    That all sounds good, but probably not very realistic. People would get "slotted" into whatever payscale is appropriate, and never be able to
    move up. How can you "bring those under you up with you"? It's not up
    to you, usually, what those folks are making. So if they can't ALL be promoted, you can't either. That sure doesn't seem very fair to me.

    Anyone higher up can absolutely decide to pay everyone under them more.

    Of course, the argument for Communism will absolutely keep most workers
    down.
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Thu Mar 18 08:29:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Boraxman <=-

    I ask you the same thing that he won't give a straight answer about -
    why does it matter to you what a CEO makes? Why do you think that
    affects you, or is "wrong"?

    He can't. That's the problem.

    To attempt to do so will force him to realize that his Narrative, and
    by extension, is wrong. People like that simply cannot face the reality
    that they are not the experts that they want to believe they are.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Thu Mar 18 08:55:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    I once worked for a company where the CEO kicked out a Sr. VP for
    a telecom company (vendor) because he was bragging about firing
    10k people so he could get a 6 figure bonus, even though he'd
    have to hire that many back the following quarter. When
    divisions are laid off, so the quarter numbers look better and
    some Sr. Executive gets a fat bonus, it does effect people.

    Perhaps, but that sounds like a one-off. Rare, at best.

    When a company does that they lose all that knowledge and
    experience. When they need to rebuild, the best people don't want to
    come work for a company that recently laid off 10k people - so they have
    to pay more for the less qualified people (which is bad business).

    But sometimes companies just don't learn. The company that I used to work
    for had a reputation for doing just that. When I hired in, the HR person
    told me about all the problems that they had just finding people (let
    alone good people) to work there because of their history of mass firings.

    But a few years ago, they did it again and outsourced a good chunk of
    their IT to India (and not the tier 1 Indian people). Now, 4 years later,
    they are trying to put a good IT dept back together after having lost
    decades of knowledge and experience (in both the computer systems and
    the business). Plus they are working upstream because you can bet that
    those of us let go 4 years ago are NOT saying good things about working
    for that company.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Thu Mar 18 08:57:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Exactly. It's a sure bet. So the change will be that instead of an
    upper 1%, then a majority in the middle class, and some in the lower class...... we'd have the same upper 1%, then everyone else in the
    LOWER class. Goodbye middle class. Welcome to socialism.

    And isn't that how the Roman Empire collapsed? They eliminated the middle class?

    Those who do not study (or study under Leftie "professors") history
    are doomed to repeat it.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 18 09:01:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Again, for the most part, corporations don't pay taxes, their customers do.

    I was watching a documentary about coffee recently. One quote stood out:
    This cup of coffee cost me $2. The grower receives $0.02.

    This implied that the coffee shop owner got the other $1.98 - which is,
    of course, false.

    But that's what people like Dream Master believe. They are completely
    ignorant of economics and if they were in charge, would run a company
    like a 5 year old runs a Cool Aid stand.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Thu Mar 18 21:53:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051F8D1.21830.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF4.49689.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it really
    make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of the company,
    or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect you?

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors of being an American citizen?

    Ahh, the old "Venezuela" gambit... Nice try, but I'm not buying
    that the only choice is between Venezuela and massive wealth
    inequality.

    Ahh, so you admit that the massive wealth equality (socialism) in Venezuela is a failed model/method of running a government. Strange
    then, why you and Dream Master would wish such a thing for the USA.

    I ask you the same thing that he won't give a straight answer about -
    why does it matter to you what a CEO makes? Why do you think that
    affects you, or is "wrong"?



    I won't speak for Dream Master but the idea that I'm wishing or advocating a Venezuelan type economy is a product of your fanciful imagination and desire to trot out talking points than from any rational analysis of what I've actually said.

    As for CEO's, wealth inequality is a major, major social problem, and directly affects me. It affects my nation.

    It's quite disgusting and pathetic to see the spectacle of working class drones defend and bat for the ultra-wealthy against thier own, as if somehow these billionaires are going to piss wealth and you'll get more splashed on you from your simping.

    The word "cuck" comes to mind when I see it. Right Wingers always cuck.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Thu Mar 18 22:10:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051F8D1.21831.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If everyone
    was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to advance, or even
    to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother? They'll still get
    paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots. Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now
    that you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to
    people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1%
    is on their side.

    Your first sentence there is idiotic. LOL at the second one; I'm not confused at all about capitalism. What does confuse me is why people still think socialism is a valid solution, after seeing that it has
    failed every single place it's been tried. <BOGGLE>

    Are YOU a CEO?

    No.


    OK, so what do you have to gain from the growing disparity? I tend not to shill for things that don't benefit me. But I'm wierd like that.

    Also, you are failing to see that the Socailist/Capitalist dichotomy is a spook. Reality is not a choice between Marxism and our specific form of Capitalism. There are many ways we could vary, modify, evolve things. If you can't see that, then you can't possibly contribute anything meaningful.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Thu Mar 18 22:16:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051FFA4.21833.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF2.49688.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Wed Mar 17 2021 09:26 pm

    You can issue your own currency, but its still scarce, and it has little
    valu
    e not because of supply and demand of the currency itself, but because
    the currency won't
    backed by economic activity.


    You know, when people say "My country's currency is backed by our
    powerful economy" what they really mean is they have a currency that
    isn't anchored to any stable equivalence.

    They pretty much tell you "This 100 $credit note is worth a certain ammount of goods and services, which is subject to variation, and you
    have to trust us to deliver and upkeep that value."

    ie. "This money is worth something because we tell you it is, but the worth can change at any minute because me says so."

    I have the constant feeling that fiat currencies are like pyramid
    schemes. They only work for as long as people believes in them.

    I have heard, for decades, this argument. That the US dollar will just collapse one day, that money will become useless, that money is really worth nothing.

    Yet the system works. Why? Because there is an economy. Yes, that economy is in decline, and the value will decline, but its value is real, because people believe its real. People believe its real because there is real economic activity behind it.

    It's subject to variations, yes, but its far more stable than say, Bitcoin. Bitcoin varies wildly because it is not tied to any economy yet.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Nightfox on Thu Mar 18 22:22:00 2021
    Nightfox wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60521E8B.59070.dove_dove-gen@digitaldistortionbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF2.49688.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Wed Mar 17 2021 09:26 pm

    Secondly, currency is scarce. You can't just make a $100 note easily. It is difficult to, and illegal to, create a $100 note.

    Though with payments often happening electronically, you don't always
    need physical cash to make a payment or transfer money. Seems to me a
    lot of money could be created out of nowhere electronically.

    True. We are simulating scarcity by limiting and regulating who can change those values.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 18 22:34:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051EEF7.16896.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF4.49690.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/17/2021 3:33 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    Technology, medicine, science, better agricultural techniques lifted
    people out of poverty.

    And those kinds of things don't typically advance nearly as well or quickly in Socialist societies vs Capitalist. In terms of agriculture
    in particular, socialism is often regressive even. Hence massive starvation that tends to sweep socialist nations.

    I really wish people could get out of this "Communism vs Capitalism" mindset. It really retards progress, meaningful analysis and is misleading. There is no point engaging in discussion of economics if someone thinks that it is an either-or proposition. It is like discussing drinks with someone who thinks its a choice between beer and coke.

    Communism is relatively new, historically speaking. Capitalism is older, but still modern. What do you think people were doing beforehand?

    And Capitalism is different to Free Markets again. People produced advancements and great art and great things and science pre-Capitalism.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 18 22:37:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051EF5F.16897.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/17/2021 3:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that
    you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people,
    confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their
    side.

    Are YOU a CEO?

    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there isn't
    a 1% in communist societies with an even greater class disparity.

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER argued for Communism. I don't believe that criticising the current ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would lead to it.

    Your either confused as hell, or just arguing against something that lives in your imagination. I can't make head not tails of your fanciful thought proceses.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Thu Mar 18 22:57:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60521AC6.2172.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    @VIA: VERT/MSRDBBS
    @MSGID: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    @REPLY: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @TZ: 9258
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @MSGID: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6050C371.2140.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that
    you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their
    side.

    Are YOU a CEO?

    Precisely my problem with these statements against what I keep saying. CEOs don't give a rats ass about the rank and file, they will take what they want and move on when they feel enough positive, or negative, has been done. Look at Sears. Instead of bringing in a CEO that was
    focused on rebuilding the company, the CEO, Eddie Lampert, tore the company apart into multiple corporate silos having each company fight
    for overall resources. This adversely affected employees, product, and eventually, the company. Lampert and his 1% destroyed Sears.

    Yet, Conservatives keep touting the importance of the 1% helping the
    rest. They don't. Trickle Down Economics DOES NOT WORK!

    Some people here are confused beyond all recognition. They see *ANY* criticism of this as the same as being a Marxist Communist. It's insane. It is just the same as those who see *ANY* criticism of immigration as Nazism.

    CEO's could starve Americans by the hundreds, and there would be people who would tell you that if we didn't allow them to do this, then it would be Venezueala, and we would be starving by the thousands instead.

    This is how Capitalism works. It indoctrinates people into being the lap-dogs for Capital and those who control it. It's not just an economic system, it is a set of values, it relies on people accepting Capitalist MORALITY. These arguments are not about economics. It's defending a morality, a morality that serves the 1%.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Thu Mar 18 23:03:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60524899.25115.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF2.49688.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Wed Mar 17 2021 09:26 pm

    Bitcoin isn't backed by any economic, which is why it is hard to value.
    With the Australian dollar, you can look at the Australian economy to help valuate it.

    Secondly, currency is scarce. You can't just make a $100 note easily. It is difficult to, and illegal to, create a $100 note.

    You can issue your own currency, but its still scarce, and it has little value not because of supply and demand of the currency itself, but because the currency won't be backed by economic activity.

    Fiat currencies are not scarce. An infinite number of dollars can be created by the Federal Reserve, as most are digitised rather than
    printed into existence. US dollars are as scarce as Zimbabwean dollars, which turned out not to be particularly scare when President Mugabe had the misconception he was in the possession of a money tree planeted in
    his back yard.

    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that, but they don't, and arne't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.


    Bitcoin, along with other crypto-currencies & fiat, are not backed by
    an underlying asset therefore they are not considered scarce by any economic definition of the word. You cannot hold a Bitcoin, nor can you use it in the manufacturing process; and other than percieved value, it has no intrinsic value at all. It's the dot com bubble all over again, fools gold.

    I agree, mostly. Most of BitCoins value is due to the speculation that is occuring. It is Dutch Tulips, values only because others are willing to pay. But under that, nothing, I agree. It will gain value when you can RELIABLY purchase things in the future with it, universally. Its current value is purely just because of the trading game people are playing.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Thu Mar 18 23:08:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Gamgee <=-

    @MSGID: <6051FDD1.51296.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    He can't explain. He can only parrot what his handlers tell him.

    So, according to Google, the president of GM makes $21.6 million.
    Google says that the number of GM Employees is 164,000.

    So a simple calculation of $21,600,000 / 164,000 = $131.70
    So if the GM President gave her salary to the workers, they's only get $132 each, per year. I spend more on coffee per year.

    Looking at it from a different point of view:
    GM makes 6.8 million cars per year.
    The GM President's salary represents $3 per car.

    Google reports that the salary range for a GM worker is $38,344 to $79,867. So let's figure $59,000 on average.

    $59,000 * 164,000 = $9,676,000,000 paid to employees
    $9,676,000,000 / 6,800,000 = $1422.94

    So out of every car sold, the GM President gets only $3, while the
    workers get $1423.

    Your math is off. The calculations are correct, but your assumptions and formulat are off which means your math is off.

    You are assuming that there is a very fixed amount of wealth that would go to wages, and that the CEO's salary is coming from what would have otherwise gone to workers.

    Your calculations, which mathematically correct, don't prove what you think it proves.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dream Master on Thu Mar 18 23:12:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    @MSGID: <60521AC6.2170.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @REPLY: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    Gamgee wrote to Dream Master <=-

    @VIA: VERT/PALANT
    @MSGID: <60517059.21822.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6050C371.2140.dove-general@caughtinadream.com>
    @TZ: c168
    Dream Master wrote to Gamgee <=-

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where
    executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest
    paid worker is now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is
    unacceptable.

    Why does it matter so much to you what the CEO makes? Does it
    really make any difference to you, as either a fellow employee of
    the company, or as a distant observer? How does his salary affect
    you?

    I swear, you are the epitomy of a broken record. It does matter.

    You keep saying that, but never explain *WHY* it matters.

    Because it does. Why should employees of McDonald's be making minimum wage while the CEO makes 1000x that? Why should the CEO of Space X
    make 1000x that of an Engineer who actually does the hard work?
    Knowing that your contributions are equal to that of senior leadership
    is important and knowing that your pay is just as important as theirs
    is also equally important.

    You are still in this belief that "Trickle Down Economics"
    actually works when it doesn't. Executive compensation is
    ridiculous when employees are getting screwed by menial raises,
    horrible benefits (or none), and PTO policies that benefit no
    one.

    So, you are under the (mistaken) belief that if the CEO was payed
    less, that money would instead be used for employee raises,
    benefits, and PTO policies? Really, you think that? Do you
    actually know *ANYTHING* about running a business? Here's a free
    clue: the money would not be used for those things.

    I do know something about running a business and no, reducing the CEO
    pay does not trickle down. Instead, it shows concern for the employee.

    Executives get their "Golden Parachutes" even if they wrong
    the company.

    Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Depends on their contract.
    Again it raises the question of why that would matter to you. It
    doesn't affect you in *ANY* *WAY*, especially if you are not even an employee of that same company. You clearly don't understand how
    things come out of certain/different "pots of money". Perhaps a
    class or two in business administration at your local community
    college would benefit you.

    There you go again, assuming... Too many years of Business
    Administration and Management classes in college have contributed to my understanding. Economics as well. My positions are my own. I
    disagree with certain business practices and agree with others.

    Executives should feel and experience the same pains the rank and
    file do.

    Why? Does the Captain of a cruise boat sleep in the same quarters
    as the rank and file passengers? Does he eat the same food? What
    you fail to understand is that the Captain (or the CEO of a company) wasn't *ALWAYS* the CEO. He worked his way up to get there, and the
    pay and benefits go up as he climbed the ladder. What a concept!

    Again, context. Should a CEO make $100mm/yr while the entry level employee makes $24K/yr? You think this is fine, your opinion, I
    disagree.

    Do you think all workers at a company, from very bottom to very top, should all make the exact same wage? What's an acceptable "gap" in
    your opinion, and again, why does it matter to you?

    No. I think each classification should make a wage compensurate
    with their skills and capabilities.

    So, at a given company, what makes you think that isn't the case?
    Do you think an assembly line worker has the skills to manage a huge corporation? Why wouldn't the person who does have those skills be
    paid a LOT more than that worker?

    Does the CEO have the skills that the assembly line worker has? No.
    Does the assembly worker have the skills of the CEO? No. Executive compensation is about retention. I've seen too many CEOs destroy a compnay to the point of bankruptcy yet are still paid to the day the company is sold off. Is this fair and equitable to the rank and file?

    For example, entry level IT
    should be paid at the lowest tier, senior at the next higher,
    specialist, etc., etc.

    That's already the case, everywhere that I know of. Eventually you
    reach the top/management/executive level.

    Companies call them tiers but the bands are wide open. Not equitable.

    Are you moving to utopian Venezuela soon, to be rid of the horrors
    of being an American citizen?

    Again with this whole Venezuela thing. So, you're telling me
    that you're perfectly fine with people like Elon Musk who founded
    Tesla and SpaceX should be worth billions while his assistant
    should only make $60K/year even though she has approval
    priviledge, goes everywhere he does, and can literaly run the
    company in his absense?

    Yes, I'm perfectly OK with that, even though that isn't entirely
    true the way you've written it. She made more than 60K, she
    certainly did NOT have approval priviledge over anything/everything,
    and it's conjecture to say she could run the company in his absence.
    Very standard Lefty tactics you employed there, but very obvious to
    those who know how you guys try to quietly steer the facts in your
    favor.

    Valid point about her position. She did have specific approval
    authority. Her complain / concern is real.

    The disparity in income is the problem.

    None of what you've said above even *ATTEMPTS* to explain why that
    is a problem, which is why you call me a broken record. I keep
    asking you to explain, but..... you dodge the question, and recite
    from the crib notes given out at a Crazy Bernie rally.

    Here's the deal: Income should ***NOT*** be equal for everyone, and
    what somebody else makes is none of your business (assuming they're
    not doing the same job as you are, of course). There should be
    large gaps in pay scales, to incentivize people to strive to move
    up. It's part of what we call "The American Dream".

    The American Dream is something written too many years ago. Now, the American Dream is just to survive.

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If
    everyone was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to
    advance, or even to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother?
    They'll still get paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots.
    Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll
    come to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the
    guns? ;-)

    I worked for a company where the CEO's pay went up about 75% in a year or two, the company making LOSSES both years and offering no shareholder return. They barely made a profit the following year, far less than his salary.

    The USA is a failing empire. All I hear are people from a nation on the decline, to be eclipsed and outclassed by China still touting their crappy, failed, ideology.

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 04:14:27 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 18 2021 10:37 pm

    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051EF5F.16897.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/17/2021 3:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that
    you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their
    side.

    Are YOU a CEO?

    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there isn't a 1% in communist societies with an even greater class disparity.

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER argued for Communism. I don't believe that criticising
    the current ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would lead to it.

    You are not arguing for Communism, but you are arguing for an economic model that is surprisingly close (ie. a non-Marxism
    inspired flavor of Socialism, similar to the one advocated by classic Fascist groups).

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 04:19:44 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on Thu Mar 18 2021 10:57 pm

    This is how Capitalism works. It indoctrinates people into being the lap-dogs for Capital and those who control it. It's n
    just an economic system, it is a set of values, it relies on people accepting Capitalist MORALITY. These arguments are not
    about economics. It's defending a morality, a morality that serves the 1%.


    For that matter, the groups that have usually defended the sort of economic model you propose have done so by packaging those
    models as a set of values to be sold to the masses.

    Ideologies are just a combination of goals to achieve and ideas for achieving them. Obviously they sustain themselves over
    moral foundations. Otherwise ideologies would consist of "I am supporting whatever works for me, even if I screw everybody
    else, because fuck it."

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 07:20:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Ahh, the old "Venezuela" gambit... Nice try, but I'm not buying
    that the only choice is between Venezuela and massive wealth
    inequality.

    Ahh, so you admit that the massive wealth equality (socialism) in Venezuela is a failed model/method of running a government. Strange
    then, why you and Dream Master would wish such a thing for the USA.

    I ask you the same thing that he won't give a straight answer about -
    why does it matter to you what a CEO makes? Why do you think that
    affects you, or is "wrong"?

    I won't speak for Dream Master but the idea that I'm wishing or
    advocating a Venezuelan type economy is a product of your
    fanciful imagination and desire to trot out talking points than
    from any rational analysis of what I've actually said.

    Uh-huh. Well, what you said is right up there on display.

    As for CEO's, wealth inequality is a major, major social problem,
    and directly affects me. It affects my nation.

    So..... just like Dream Master, you are quite sure it's a huge problem,
    and yet.... you can't just say in straight language what the problem
    actually *IS*. LOL. Talk about "talking points".

    You're both hypocrites and CNN talking-head regurgitators.


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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 07:25:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If everyone
    was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to advance, or even
    to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother? They'll still get
    paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots. Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now
    that you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to
    people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1%
    is on their side.

    Your first sentence there is idiotic. LOL at the second one; I'm not confused at all about capitalism. What does confuse me is why people still think socialism is a valid solution, after seeing that it has
    failed every single place it's been tried. <BOGGLE>

    Are YOU a CEO?

    No.


    OK, so what do you have to gain from the growing disparity? I
    tend not to shill for things that don't benefit me. But I'm
    wierd like that.

    I don't have anything to gain from your perceived disparity. Why do you assume that I do? I'm not "shilling" for anything. I just don't worry
    about stuff that doesn't affect me. You should try that.

    Also, you are failing to see that the Socailist/Capitalist
    dichotomy is a spook. Reality is not a choice between Marxism
    and our specific form of Capitalism. There are many ways we
    could vary, modify, evolve things. If you can't see that, then
    you can't possibly contribute anything meaningful.

    The current model is under continuous evolution, especially so in the
    last year and a half. If you haven't seen that, you aren't paying much attention.


    ... Ignorance can be cured. Stupid is forever.
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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Arelor on Fri Mar 19 07:36:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER argued for Communism. I don't believe that criticising the current ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would lead to it.

    You are not arguing for Communism, but you are arguing for an
    economic model that is surprisingly close (ie. a non-Marxism
    inspired flavor of Socialism, similar to the one advocated by
    classic Fascist groups).

    I think it's much simpler than that. He's just a member of the
    Crazy-Bernie camp, who think there's such a thing as "democratic
    socialism", and that everything should be "equal".


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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dr. What on Wed Mar 17 06:23:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Arelor <=-


    I've never heard Capitalism described as a "scarcity economy" other
    than when a scarcity occurs, Capitalism tends to eliminate it.

    On the contrary, a false scarcity narrative helps keep prices high for the producers. Where a false sense of scarcity fails, controlling the supply to keep prices high works equally well.




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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 09:13:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    You are assuming that there is a very fixed amount of wealth that would
    go to wages, and that the CEO's salary is coming from what would have otherwise gone to workers.

    No. **You** assume that. By saying that the CEO makes too much, you are implying that he is taking from someone who "deserves" it more.

    What I proved was that eliminating the CEO salary would not impact the
    price of a car. So there is no claim that the CEO salary is making
    the public pay more for a car.

    What I proved was the eliminating the CEO salary would not impact the
    the wages of a worker.

    Therefore, what a CEO makes is irrelevant.


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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Dr. What on Fri Mar 19 10:58:32 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Gamgee on Thu Mar 18 2021 08:57 am

    And isn't that how the Roman Empire collapsed? They eliminated the middle class?

    Those who do not study (or study under Leftie "professors") history
    are doomed to repeat it.

    The Romans began clipping their coins to fund public expenses eventually debasing their currency, the denarius. They were unable to maintain their Empire, so retreated from much of the world. They then lost their middle class and were unable to pay for their military and thereafter outsourced much of their protection to mercenary groups. These groups held Rome hostage by demanding gold and silver as the denarius was inflated into oblivion and near worthless. Eventually, after centuries of economic and political turmoil, the fall of Rome occurred after it was sacked by the Visigoths who were German barbarians.

    I see many parallels with the present day mismanagement of the US economy.

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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 11:51:19 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Thu Mar 18 2021 11:03 pm

    Fiat currencies are not scarce. An infinite number of dollars can be created by the Federal Reserve, as most are digitised rather than printed into existence. US dollars are as scarce as Zimbabwean dollars, which turned out not to be particularly scare when President Mugabe had the misconception he was in the possession of a money tree planeted in his back yard.

    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that, but they don't, and arne't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.

    I don't think you grasp what scarcity means in relation to economics. The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the US Treasury, have the authority to create an infinite quantity of US dollars. There is NO limit to the number of US dollars that can be created. There is a limit to ALL physical assets, rendering them scarce to some degree or another whereas there is an unlimited supply of an intangible, unbacked fiat currency.

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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Fri Mar 19 20:44:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Monday 15.03.21 - 17:13, Andeddu wrote to Boraxman:

    The same is true for crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin. One
    Bitcoin may be percieved to be worth 60k dollars, and it may
    go higher before it falls back to its intrinsic value of
    zero.

    Which reminds me, my TV airwaves are getting commercials about https://bitcoin.ca

    "Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon."

    The actual site is still in the "Coming soon.." stage. But the
    TV commericial is touting that conversion from bitcoin to cash
    is (will be) free.

    Exchanging goods and services in bitcoin seems fine and dandy,
    but I always felt that the exchange point is pretty much the
    weakest link in the chain (figuratively speaking). Imagine, you
    have a few hundred $ worth of bitcoin that you want to cash in.
    You have to "give" it to the exchange who then promises to
    deposit the cash value in your bank or pay method of your
    choice. The waiting game would be nerve-racking. And we've
    seen exchanges get hacked and lose all their coins.

    From their FAQ:

    "How do I sell Bitcoin?

    "1. Visit our Sell Cart and provide us with your bank details
    and sell amount.

    "2. We will provide you with a Bitcoin wallet address to send
    the nominated amount of Bitcoins (valid for 10 minutes).

    "3. We will electronically transfer you the $ amount
    corresponding to your order overnight. We only accept Candian
    bank accounts.

    But WHO is behind this big promotion? The prime-time TV
    commercials can't be cheap. Will this be a failed project, a
    planned disaster that will walk away with other people's coins?



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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 11:28:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60546B73.21904.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6053DEBB.49756.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on
    Thu Mar 18 2021 10:37 pm

    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6051EF5F.16897.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6051DBF6.49691.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/17/2021 3:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now that
    you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1% is on their
    side.

    Are YOU a CEO?

    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there isn't a 1% in communist societies with an even greater class disparity.

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER argued
    f
    or Communism. I don't believe that criticising
    the current ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would
    le
    ad to it.

    You are not arguing for Communism, but you are arguing for an economic model that is surprisingly close (ie. a non-Marxism inspired flavor of Socialism, similar to the one advocated by classic Fascist groups).

    I really don't see how it is "surprisingly close".
    I don't support the "labour theory of value", I was specifically critical of it, and actually argued that we still use it to some degree now and should dump it.
    I don't support intellectuals planning the economy. I never did.
    I don't support the dictatorship of the proletariat, or ending private property. In fact, I'm arguing for a STRONGER application of property rights.

    These basic features of Communism, I oppose, yet you say its "surprisingly close".


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 11:36:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60546CB0.21905.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6053DEBD.49757.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dream Master on
    Thu Mar 18 2021 10:57 pm

    This is how Capitalism works. It indoctrinates people into being the
    lap-dog
    s for Capital and those who control it. It's n
    just an economic system, it is a set of values, it relies on people
    accepting
    Capitalist MORALITY. These arguments are not
    about economics. It's defending a morality, a morality that serves the 1%.


    For that matter, the groups that have usually defended the sort of economic model you propose have done so by packaging those models as a
    set of values to be sold to the masses.

    Ideologies are just a combination of goals to achieve and ideas for achieving them. Obviously they sustain themselves over moral
    foundations. Otherwise ideologies would consist of "I am supporting whatever works for me, even if I screw everybody else, because fuck
    it."

    Well, I don't propose Marxism, and what "groups" are you talking about?

    Ideologies are frameworks which are then used to construct a narrative of truth. They are similar to religions, mental systems that can be used to get people to AGREE to a heirarchy. Marxism is an ideology. Capitalism is an ideology. Political Correctness is an ideology. To get humans to accept certain structures, we have to believe they are true, and ideology creates that belief. But it is not Truth. It doesn't have to be based on fact, we just have to agree that we make it true.

    The problem is, because they are based on a desire to set about a system, they often neglect reality. People don't construct ideologies through trial and error, observation, through studying human behaviour and predicting.

    I have certain principles, and my "system" is the application of those principles. I believe that human beings are the rightful owners of the fruits of their own labour. I believe that for an economic system to be useful, it has to, in a practical sense, sustain and elevate the wellbeing of the nations that choose to follow it. From that, comes my "system". My mind WILL change based on what works, what doesn't. I don't see Capitalist USA working. Capitalism IS a self-serving ideology. It takes the form it does because of the interests of those who are on top. If you can't see this, then God help you. If you really believe that our economic system, our ideology, is not shaped to benefit people in economic and political power, then you have an incredibly naive and rosy view of humanity.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Sat Mar 20 11:46:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60549FD6.21907.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6053DEB5.49751.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Ahh, the old "Venezuela" gambit... Nice try, but I'm not buying
    that the only choice is between Venezuela and massive wealth
    inequality.

    Ahh, so you admit that the massive wealth equality (socialism) in Venezuela is a failed model/method of running a government. Strange
    then, why you and Dream Master would wish such a thing for the USA.

    I ask you the same thing that he won't give a straight answer about -
    why does it matter to you what a CEO makes? Why do you think that
    affects you, or is "wrong"?

    I won't speak for Dream Master but the idea that I'm wishing or
    advocating a Venezuelan type economy is a product of your
    fanciful imagination and desire to trot out talking points than
    from any rational analysis of what I've actually said.

    Uh-huh. Well, what you said is right up there on display.

    OK, quote where I've advocated for it.

    As for CEO's, wealth inequality is a major, major social problem,
    and directly affects me. It affects my nation.

    So..... just like Dream Master, you are quite sure it's a huge problem, and yet.... you can't just say in straight language what the problem actually *IS*. LOL. Talk about "talking points".

    You're both hypocrites and CNN talking-head regurgitators.

    I've said what the problem is. The problem is partly the pattern of property rights that we have in our system, and the resultant decision making that comes from that pattern of property rights.

    For you to call me a "CNN talking-head regurgitator", well, I don't know what to say. The level of confusion here is unbelievable. I'm the LAST person to support CNN and the mainstream establishment.

    Take some time to come up with an actual argument.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Gamgee on Sat Mar 20 11:59:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60549FD6.21908.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6053DEB5.49752.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Gamgee <=-

    The only thing stopping anyone from being the next Elon Musk is.... themselves. Granted, it's not quite that simple, but you get what I
    mean. The *CHANCE* is there for anyone to break through. If everyone
    was "equal", nobody would give a shit about trying to advance, or even
    to do a decent job at what they do. Why bother? They'll still get
    paid the same. People turn into zombies/robots. Is that what you socialists want?

    Fuck that. That's not the American way, and never will be. It'll come
    to civil war before that happens, and guess who's got all the guns?
    ;-)

    I'm sure the CEO's are going to throw you dollars your way, now
    that you are batting for them. This is what Capitalism does to
    people, confused the hell out of them so that they think the 1%
    is on their side.

    Your first sentence there is idiotic. LOL at the second one; I'm not confused at all about capitalism. What does confuse me is why people still think socialism is a valid solution, after seeing that it has
    failed every single place it's been tried. <BOGGLE>

    Are YOU a CEO?

    No.


    OK, so what do you have to gain from the growing disparity? I
    tend not to shill for things that don't benefit me. But I'm
    wierd like that.

    I don't have anything to gain from your perceived disparity. Why do
    you assume that I do? I'm not "shilling" for anything. I just don't worry about stuff that doesn't affect me. You should try that.

    But it DOES affect me. It is a clear, tangible negative consequence on my nations wellbeing and on social stability.

    If you don't care, then fine. I think the well being of the nation at large trumps the need of a tiny minority to satisfy their avarice, but hey, I'm weird like that.

    Also, you are failing to see that the Socailist/Capitalist
    dichotomy is a spook. Reality is not a choice between Marxism
    and our specific form of Capitalism. There are many ways we
    could vary, modify, evolve things. If you can't see that, then
    you can't possibly contribute anything meaningful.

    The current model is under continuous evolution, especially so in the
    last year and a half. If you haven't seen that, you aren't paying much attention.


    Perhaps, but I'm a little sceptical of Biden and the Democrats fixing anything, and I to recall this COVID-19 pandemic that killed half a million people, cost many their livelihood. It will be business as usual, vested interests gutting the nation, no true recovery, as there was no true recovery from 2008. This is how I know things are in decline. Each crisis seems to just create weakness. You are losing your freedom, your right to speak, your privacy, you will lose economic prosperity (Trump, whatever he managed to acheive, is a short term delay in the decline), your status as a world superpower, your creativity.

    I think Americans are so used to their decline, they don't know what its like elsewhere now. We don't have tent cities in Australia, or massive COVID deaths, or excrement in the streets, or never ending riots.

    Economics is everything. It makes or breaks nations. You'll rarely, if ever, see a nation on the rise which doesn't have a good economy, or one on the decline which doesn't have a broken one. Failed economic systems, that is, one which failed to support the people have led to catastrophes before.

    So think for a moment, is your system working for the PEOPLE. If it only works for CEOs, then its a dud.



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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Sat Mar 20 12:07:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6054B580.51384.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <6053DEC0.49759.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    You are assuming that there is a very fixed amount of wealth that would
    go to wages, and that the CEO's salary is coming from what would have otherwise gone to workers.

    No. **You** assume that. By saying that the CEO makes too much, you
    are implying that he is taking from someone who "deserves" it more.

    What I proved was that eliminating the CEO salary would not impact the price of a car. So there is no claim that the CEO salary is making
    the public pay more for a car.

    What I proved was the eliminating the CEO salary would not impact the
    the wages of a worker.

    Therefore, what a CEO makes is irrelevant.

    But I never argued that a workers wages should be taken from the CEOs!!!

    As I said, I worked for a company where the CEO's salary, within a year or two, almost doubled, DESPITE the company losing money. If I cannot justify doubling my salary, how is that justified?

    The argument is the wealth disparity, that the CEO's wages are rising far faster than the employees. That is a valid criticism, as wealth should go to producers. The disparity is not because CEO's are 10x more productive, and everyone else isn't, its due to them having advantages of how their salary is set, that other employeed labourers don't have.

    To say its irrelevant isn't true. It is relevant. It's a factor in wealth disparity, its symptomatic. You could argue that what hedge fund companies make, is irrelevant. That what property speculators make, is irrelevant. You could argue for each and every person in the proverbial 1% that it is irrelevant, and therefore argue that wealth disparity is irrelevant.

    Yet wealth disparity is a major social problem, and a major economic one too. Therefore it MUST be relevant.

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 12:11:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60549037.25176.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <6053DEBD.49758.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Thu Mar 18 2021 11:03 pm

    Fiat currencies are not scarce. An infinite number of dollars can be created by the Federal Reserve, as most are digitised rather than printed into existence. US dollars are as scarce as Zimbabwean dollars, which turned out not to be particularly scare when President Mugabe had the misconception he was in the possession of a money tree planeted in his back yard.

    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that, but they don't, and arne't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.

    I don't think you grasp what scarcity means in relation to economics.
    The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the US Treasury, have the authority to create an infinite quantity of US dollars. There is NO
    limit to the number of US dollars that can be created. There is a limit
    to ALL physical assets, rendering them scarce to some degree or another whereas there is an unlimited supply of an intangible, unbacked fiat currency.

    But they DON'T create an infinite amount. That theoretically they could is irrelvant. They DON'T. They WON'T. The quantity of US dollars is ALWAYS limited. The US dollar is, for all intents and purposes, limited in supply, and that is what matters. The entire system is predicated on them not doing that, and we all know they won't.

    Are you seriously suggesting there is a possibility they will issue an infinite quantity?

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Mar 20 12:13:00 2021
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dr. What <=-

    @MSGID: <605491B6.46750.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    @REPLY: <604F57EE.51230.dove-general@dmine.net>
    Dr. What wrote to Arelor <=-


    I've never heard Capitalism described as a "scarcity economy" other
    than when a scarcity occurs, Capitalism tends to eliminate it.

    On the contrary, a false scarcity narrative helps keep prices high for
    the producers. Where a false sense of scarcity fails, controlling the supply to keep prices high works equally well.

    No one would ever make supply scarce to keep prices up, would they? /sarcasm off



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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sat Mar 20 06:35:15 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Fri Mar 19 2021 08:44 pm

    Exchanging goods and services in bitcoin seems fine and dandy,
    but I always felt that the exchange point is pretty much the
    weakest link in the chain (figuratively speaking). Imagine, you
    have a few hundred $ worth of bitcoin that you want to cash in.
    You have to "give" it to the exchange who then promises to
    deposit the cash value in your bank or pay method of your
    choice. The waiting game would be nerve-racking. And we've
    seen exchanges get hacked and lose all their coins.


    The point of the whole thing is that if it becoems popular, you won't need to sell your Bitcoin for dollar so often.

    You would come to my store and buy vitamines with Bitcoin. Then I would spend those bitcoins by paying my providers directly
    with them.

    Right now we are following a model according to which Bitcoin is a fancy way of transfering and storing dollar or euro, which
    frankly, does not work for me.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sat Mar 20 06:42:49 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 2021 11:28 am

    I really don't see how it is "surprisingly close".
    I don't support the "labour theory of value", I was specifically critical of it, and actually argued that we still use it to
    some degree now and should dump it.
    I don't support intellectuals planning the economy. I never did.
    I don't support the dictatorship of the proletariat, or ending private property. In fact, I'm arguing for a STRONGER
    application of property rights.

    These basic features of Communism, I oppose, yet you say its "surprisingly close".


    I say they are surprisingly close because those models get spawned from different points of view and goals, but end up
    devolving into societies that are different by the rethoric they carry more than anything else.

    The difference between Rivera's Phalanx and Catalonian anarcho-communists was defined by who they hated mainly XD. Rivera
    wanted to organize the economy in horizontal cooperatives/unions For God and Country, while revolutionary Catalonians and their
    socialist allies wanted to do the same For Screwing Burgoises.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sat Mar 20 06:48:48 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 2021 11:36 am

    Well, I don't propose Marxism, and what "groups" are you talking about?

    Good you are not proposing Marxism.

    The main group I am thinking about is the originary Phalanx in Spain. That would be early 20th Century. The History of Phalanx
    is a bit complex and some people argue that it departed its ideological roots to become a classical military dictatorship, but
    I disgress.

    Then there was Spanish National Alliance, the Spanish Patriotic Knot, and a couple of small political parties that claim to
    follow Rivera's ways. These are more modern and a lot of them still exist in a way or another. I think National Alliance was
    declared a terrorist organitation because they were found hoarding explosives though.

    --
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sat Mar 20 06:55:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on Sat Mar 20 2021 12:07 pm

    Yet wealth disparity is a major social problem, and a major economic one too. Therefore it MUST be relevant.

    Wealth disparity is not a problem unl¤ess a sizeable percentage of the people at the bottom is really screwed, in my opinion.

    Durign the 2008/9 crisis we had a lot of people crying against wealth disparity. Usually it was people who was making less
    money than they used to, but they still had more than one car in the family and had subscriptions to a lot of entertaining
    services, gymn, and many of the wonders of the modern world. Many of this people had legit complaints, but a good bunch of them
    stinked envy. "This guy has a bigger car than I do, so let's screw him" etc.

    --
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sat Mar 20 07:05:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 2021 12:11 pm

    I don't think you grasp what scarcity means in relation to economics. The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the US Treasury, have the authority to create an infinite quantity of US dolla
    There is NO
    limit to the number of US dollars that can be created. There is a limit to ALL physical assets, rendering them scarce to some degree or another whereas there is an unlimited supply of an
    intangible, unbacked fiat currency.

    But they DON'T create an infinite amount. That theoretically they could is irrelvant. They DON'T. They WON'T. The quanti
    of US dollars is ALWAYS limited. The US dollar is, for all intents and purposes, limited in supply, and that is what matter
    The entire system is predicated on them not doing that, and we all know they won't.

    Are you seriously suggesting there is a possibility they will issue an infinite quantity?


    In mathematics, infinity is not a number. It is a descriptor for an arbitrary big value that is not meaningful as a number.

    Draghi and friends have been pumping arbitrarily big ammounts of EUR for quite a long time already. The ammount is still
    meaningful as a number but they keep pumping it up.

    If I am going to purchase euro, the fact I know the relevant institutions are producing arbitrarily big values of it (even if
    they are not exactly infinite) and that they may keep doing the same in the future affects my view on the value of those euro.

    In fact euro can be produced in infinite supply,the people controlling euro can plunge it into total irrelevance at
    their will, and we only have their promise they won't. It is like Damocles' Sword. They "don't do it now" but may decide to go
    Franco style in a decade and devalue it by 10 times its value when they see fit.

    Which sucks because inflation always hit low income people first. That is who the speed of money works. Essentials always get
    inflated first, then everything else.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Sat Mar 20 09:04:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    But I never argued that a workers wages should be taken from the
    CEOs!!!

    The argument is the wealth disparity, that the CEO's wages are rising
    far faster than the employees.

    You just contradicted yourself.

    The basis for any "wealth disparity" argument is that those who make more "take" from those who make less.

    And that is nothing more than a strawman for jealousy. Those who **think** that they are better are jealous
    of those who actually are.


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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 09:16:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    I don't think you grasp what scarcity means in relation to economics.
    The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the US Treasury, have the authority to create an infinite quantity of US dollars. There is NO
    limit to the number of US dollars that can be created.

    Lefties have no concept of economics.

    In theory you are correct. In reality you are utterly wrong.

    Money has value only in that it can purchase something. Creating more money does not mean people
    get more. It means that the money is worth less. It's called "inflation".

    There is a limit to how many dollars can be created because at a certain point, the dollar becomes
    worthless.


    ... Your ex just called....she's with the IRS now.
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Sat Mar 20 12:12:49 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Fri Mar 19 2021 08:44 pm

    But WHO is behind this big promotion? The prime-time TV
    commercials can't be cheap. Will this be a failed project, a
    planned disaster that will walk away with other people's coins?


    I am skeptical about Bitcoin. I mean, cryptos are a great speculative asset class and there sure is a lot of money that can be made in that market. For instance, if I had invested in Bitcoin in March 2020, I would have made a 400% return on my investment which would have been pretty sweet. My problem is that this can be compared to Tulip Mania, and I don't want to be the one left 'hodling' worthless digital crap if the market crashes. It's not a store of value and it's not digital gold. There are going to be winners and losers and those that fail to realise their gains prior to a major economic event are going to lose everything.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Sat Mar 20 12:51:05 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 2021 12:11 pm

    I don't think you grasp what scarcity means in relation to economics. The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the US Treasury, have the authority to create an infinite quantity of US dollars. There is NO limit to the number of US dollars that can be created. There is a limit to ALL physical assets, rendering them scarce to some degree or another whereas there is an unlimited supply of an intangible, unbacked fiat currency.

    But they DON'T create an infinite amount. That theoretically they could is irrelvant. They DON'T. They WON'T. The quantity of US dollars is ALWAYS limited. The US dollar is, for all intents and purposes, limited in supply, and that is what matters. The entire system is predicated on them not doing that, and we all know they won't.

    Are you seriously suggesting there is a possibility they will issue an infinite quantity?

    Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari was interviewed in 2020 on 60 Mnutes by CBS News during the midst of the pandemic.

    Interviewer: Can you characterise everything that the Fed has done this past week as essentially flooding the system with money?

    Kashkari: Yes, exactly.

    Interviewer: And there's no end to your ability do to that?

    Kashkari: There's no end to our ability to do that.

    The Federal Reserve has admitted serval times that they were ready and willing to provide unlimited liquidity in the form of money printing.

    There is no fixed limit on fiat currencies, they are not scarce. If you can't grasp that simple concept, you have not studied economics. There is NO FIXED limit on an unbacked currency. There is a limited amount of resources on this planet which is why we talk about scarcity, but there is NO LIMIT on a currency that is not backed by a physical asset. There is no HARD upper limit, which is why it is NOT scarce. The Zimbabewan central bank churned-out trillions of dollars and placed them into circulation, which became quadrillions, which became septillions before the entire economy collapsed and the currency became unusable.

    There is no theoretical limit to the number of fiat currency units that can be created and governments can print, and print, and print until hyperinflation takes hold. This is a fundamental aspect of economics and I am surprised that you are even attempting to dispute it.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Nopants@VERT/CITBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Mar 19 09:10:00 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 12 2021 06:22 am

    I used to pull cable at Comdisco disaster recovery centers. Between the ladders and physical work and the calm of punching down 25 pair cable, it was one of the overall rewarding job experiences I had as well. Glad to hear it was able to keep your head in the right space. I feel it did the same for me.

    -nopants

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ My Brand-New BBS
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 17:45:55 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Andeddu to Ogg on Sat Mar 20 2021 12:12 pm

    I am skeptical about Bitcoin. I mean, cryptos are a great speculative asset class and there sure is a lot of money that can be made in that market. For instance, if I had invested in Bitcoin in March 2020, I would have made a 400% return on my investment which would have been pretty sweet. My problem is that this can be compared to Tulip Mania, and I don't want to be the one

    if i still had my bitcoin wallet from when it all started out, i could buy and sell you fuckers!
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 18:44:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Saturday 20.03.21 - 06:35, your wrote to me:

    ...if it becoems popular, you won't need to sell your
    Bitcoin for dollar so often.

    You would come to my store and buy vitamines with Bitcoin.
    Then I would spend those bitcoins by paying my providers
    directly with them.

    Yes, I get that. The bitcoin is fine circulating within its own
    realm. My modest stash in Paypal operates like that. People pay
    into my PP account, and I use the funds in there to pay for
    things I would need.

    A bitcoin stash is no good if I need cash for food or other
    necessities.

    But bitcoin ATMs seem to be taking off rapidly everywhere. There
    are over 700 in Ontario alone. Almost 14,500 in USA.

    See https://coinatmradar.com/

    I was imagining having an ATM at my shop, but the upfront cost
    for the machine for either ownership/rental is pretty high.

    Meanhile, the conversion charges with these machines is anywhere
    from 8% to 15%. It certainly seems designed to discourage
    conversions, that's for sure.

    Right now we are following a model according to which
    Bitcoin is a fancy way of transfering and storing dollar or
    euro, which frankly, does not work for me.

    Until there are suppliers in my industry that will accept
    bitcoin, there is no point in accepting bitcoin payments from my
    customers. Bottom line, I need cash to pay for inventory.

    It is costing people 8% - 15% for using the ATMs. I suppose the
    exchanges charge less.

    Do you process bitcoin at your shop, or is it only with your
    online presence?

    For the last 2 months, my bank was operating as "by appointment
    only". I said, screw that. I haven't stepped into the bank to
    deposit the paper money for that time. I simply paid a couple of
    my suppliers with cash. Now, my bank is back open to the walk-
    in public. I had amassed a handful of cheques that had no other
    way to get deposited if I stayed home. :( And.. I've no doubt
    stretched the patience of several of my creditors during that
    time.

    If it wasn't for the cheques, I was thinking of avoiding the
    bank for a while longer - to make a point. The only other
    problem was how to "convert" the cash so that it is accessible
    for paying bills. I was prepared to GIVE people my accumulated
    cash for an eTransfer exchange. I think eTransfer is pretty
    cool. By sending an eTransfer to one of my email addresses, the
    money gets deposited into my bank account automatically (no
    passphrases required.) Once confirmed, I would simply hand over
    the equivalent in cash.

    Lots of fun.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sat Mar 20 22:06:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Saturday 20.03.21 - 17:45, MRO wrote to Andeddu:

    if i still had my bitcoin wallet from when it all started out, i could buy and sell you fuckers! -+-

    Aww.. what's the story on that wallet?

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 02:44:14 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 2021 06:44 pm

    my suppliers with cash. Now, my bank is back open to the walk-
    in public. I had amassed a handful of cheques that had no other
    way to get deposited if I stayed home. :( And.. I've no doubt
    stretched the patience of several of my creditors during that
    time.

    cant you take a photo of a check and have it deposit? that's been around a long time.

    regarding bitcoin, for me getting it and spending it has been a pain in the ass. someone got my cc number from coinbase and bought a bunch of bullshit.
    first time my cc number got stolen.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 02:49:45 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sat Mar 20 2021 10:06 pm

    Hello MRO!

    ** On Saturday 20.03.21 - 17:45, MRO wrote to Andeddu:

    if i still had my bitcoin wallet from when it all started out, i could buy and sell you fuckers! -+-

    Aww.. what's the story on that wallet?

    i didnt save it and i didnt think bitcoin would blow up like it did.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 20:49:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6055E120.21946.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60554D04.49792.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on
    Sat Mar 20 2021 11:36 am

    Well, I don't propose Marxism, and what "groups" are you talking about?

    Good you are not proposing Marxism.

    The main group I am thinking about is the originary Phalanx in Spain.
    That would be early 20th Century. The History of Phalanx is a bit
    complex and some people argue that it departed its ideological roots to become a classical military dictatorship, but I disgress.

    Then there was Spanish National Alliance, the Spanish Patriotic Knot,
    and a couple of small political parties that claim to follow Rivera's ways. These are more modern and a lot of them still exist in a way or another. I think National Alliance was declared a terrorist
    organitation because they were found hoarding explosives though.

    Not Marxism. But any threat to the primacy of Capital is framed as Marxism. Marxism is the boogeyman that our ruling elite use in order to stifle any discussion, thought or questioning.

    It is evident here, in the way that people are resorting to using that boogeyman the moment you question the current systm.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 21:01:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6055E298.21947.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <60554D0B.49795.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on
    Sat Mar 20 2021 12:07 pm

    Yet wealth disparity is a major social problem, and a major economic one
    too.
    Therefore it MUST be relevant.

    Wealth disparity is not a problem unl¡ess a sizeable percentage of the people at the bottom is really screwed, in my opinion.

    Durign the 2008/9 crisis we had a lot of people crying against wealth disparity. Usually it was people who was making less money than they
    used to, but they still had more than one car in the family and had subscriptions to a lot of entertaining services, gymn, and many of the wonders of the modern world. Many of this people had legit complaints,
    but a good bunch of them stinked envy. "This guy has a bigger car than
    I do, so let's screw him" etc.


    Wealth disparity leads to the bottom portion being screwed. You can't one one without the other. It leads to power imbalance, and power imbalance leads to oppression and screwing people over.

    Humans never learn. Every multicultural society failed. Every society with a severe difference in wealth and power went bad. I'm tired of hearing complex arguments which really amount to "its different this time".

    It's not. It's evidently not.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Sun Mar 21 21:04:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6055F871.51411.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <60554D0B.49795.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    But I never argued that a workers wages should be taken from the
    CEOs!!!

    The argument is the wealth disparity, that the CEO's wages are rising
    far faster than the employees.

    You just contradicted yourself.

    The basis for any "wealth disparity" argument is that those who make
    more "take" from those who make less.

    No, its not the whole picture. It affects society in other ways. It affects politics. It leads to hoarding. It leads to power imbalance. It leads to fewer and fewer people controlling resources, exploitation.

    It's not just that he got a dollar that I could have.

    And that is nothing more than a strawman for jealousy. Those who **think** that they are better are jealous
    of those who actually are.

    That is the standard 'talking point', that it is jealousy.

    I don't buy it. There are many valid concerns, and well researched writings on the topic.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 21:11:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6055EFB9.25219.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60554D0D.49796.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sat Mar 20 2021 12:11 pm

    I don't think you grasp what scarcity means in relation to economics. The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the US Treasury, have the authority to create an infinite quantity of US dollars. There is NO limit to the number of US dollars that can be created. There is a limit to ALL physical assets, rendering them scarce to some degree or another whereas there is an unlimited supply of an intangible, unbacked fiat currency.

    But they DON'T create an infinite amount. That theoretically they could is irrelvant. They DON'T. They WON'T. The quantity of US dollars is ALWAYS limited. The US dollar is, for all intents and purposes, limited in supply, and that is what matters. The entire system is predicated on them not doing that, and we all know they won't.

    Are you seriously suggesting there is a possibility they will issue an infinite quantity?

    Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari was interviewed in 2020 on 60 Mnutes by CBS News during the midst of the pandemic.

    Interviewer: Can you characterise everything that the Fed has done this past week as essentially flooding the system with money?

    Kashkari: Yes, exactly.

    Interviewer: And there's no end to your ability do to that?

    Kashkari: There's no end to our ability to do that.

    The Federal Reserve has admitted serval times that they were ready and willing to provide unlimited liquidity in the form of money printing.

    There is no fixed limit on fiat currencies, they are not scarce. If you can't grasp that simple concept, you have not studied economics. There
    is NO FIXED limit on an unbacked currency. There is a limited amount of resources on this planet which is why we talk about scarcity, but there
    is NO LIMIT on a currency that is not backed by a physical asset. There
    is no HARD upper limit, which is why it is NOT scarce. The Zimbabewan central bank churned-out trillions of dollars and placed them into circulation, which became quadrillions, which became septillions before the entire economy collapsed and the currency became unusable.

    There is no theoretical limit to the number of fiat currency units that can be created and governments can print, and print, and print until hyperinflation takes hold. This is a fundamental aspect of economics
    and I am surprised that you are even attempting to dispute it.

    I think we are talking past each other.

    I accept fully that there is no fixed upper limit on the amount that can be issued.

    I am saying that TODAY there is. Tomorrow, there will be.

    Remember, the argument was about the value of currency. Currency maintains value because we can use it to buy things, and because you can't just pluck it out of thin air.

    For pretty much everyone that is true. If currency is NOT scarce, then why the hell am I bothering to go to work to try to earn it? Why are not all loans just granted automatically?

    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 06:35:00 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sat Mar 20 2021 06:44 pm

    Do you process bitcoin at your shop, or is it only with your
    online presence?

    Yes, I do.

    Even the clinit I work for accepts bitcoin. There is a QR code with a payment address so you can deliver payments to it from
    your mobile if need be. Not that it ever gets used, because or customers are insurance companies rather than patients, and
    insurance companies don't pay from their mobile phone.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Dr. What on Sun Mar 21 12:17:50 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 2021 09:16 am

    Lefties have no concept of economics.

    In theory you are correct. In reality you are utterly wrong.

    Money has value only in that it can purchase something. Creating more money does not mean people
    get more. It means that the money is worth less. It's called "inflation".

    There is a limit to how many dollars can be created because at a certain point, the dollar becomes
    worthless.

    Yes, the limit is dictated by hyperinflation and the resultant monetary collapse. Once there is no confidence in the currency and it can no longer be exchanged for goods and services, it has to be scrapped.

    And yes, there does exist a number of people who appear to believe in alchemy insofar that it is possible to create something out of nothing.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Sun Mar 21 12:36:08 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Sat Mar 20 2021 05:45 pm

    if i still had my bitcoin wallet from when it all started out, i could buy and sell you fuckers!

    If you had 100 dollars worth of Bitcoin back in 2009 and sold it today, you'd have around 50 million dollars. Mind boggling.

    I see a lot of horror stories of people losing their Bitcoin wallets and hard disc drives with old Bitcoin that's now worth stupid money.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 07:28:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to Arelor <=-

    realm. My modest stash in Paypal operates like that. People pay
    into my PP account, and I use the funds in there to pay for
    things I would need.

    I loved PayPal, for a time. I'd put some money into it, buy a film camera. Clean it up, shoot a couple of rolls, sell it for a profit, put the profit back into PayPal. Buy another one, repeat. I parlayed $25 into $400 that way and got to play with some cool cameras in the process.

    Right now we are following a model according to which
    Bitcoin is a fancy way of transfering and storing dollar or
    euro, which frankly, does not work for me.

    The use of Bitcoin as a transfer medium is interesting - overseas money transfers are expensive and take a long time.

    my suppliers with cash. Now, my bank is back open to the walk-
    in public. I had amassed a handful of cheques that had no other
    way to get deposited if I stayed home. :( And.. I've no doubt
    stretched the patience of several of my creditors during that
    time.

    I bank with USAA, they don't have any physical branches. I can deposit
    checks using a phone app, they'll mail cashier's checks, and I sold a car using a bank wire that took 15 minutes to process from another USAA
    customer.





    If it wasn't for the cheques, I was thinking of avoiding the
    bank for a while longer - to make a point. The only other
    problem was how to "convert" the cash so that it is accessible
    for paying bills. I was prepared to GIVE people my accumulated
    cash for an eTransfer exchange. I think eTransfer is pretty
    cool. By sending an eTransfer to one of my email addresses, the
    money gets deposited into my bank account automatically (no
    passphrases required.) Once confirmed, I would simply hand over
    the equivalent in cash.

    Lots of fun.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    Synchronet CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

    ... Display your talent
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 09:40:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Sunday 21.03.21 - 06:35, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Do you process bitcoin at your shop, or is it only with your
    online presence?

    Yes, I do.

    So.. how does that work? Do you just have a printed QR code in
    the store that people can "scan"?

    Even the clinit I work for accepts bitcoin. There is a QR
    code with a payment address so you can deliver payments to
    it from your mobile if need be. Not that it ever gets used,
    because or customers are insurance companies rather than
    patients, and insurance companies don't pay from their
    mobile phone.

    Does that clinit just use the online bitcoin button at your site
    to when paying you? Doesn't the online button go through an
    exchange server?


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 14:09:37 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Andeddu to MRO on Sun Mar 21 2021 12:36 pm

    If you had 100 dollars worth of Bitcoin back in 2009 and sold it today, you'd have around 50 million dollars. Mind boggling.

    I see a lot of horror stories of people losing their Bitcoin wallets and hard disc drives with old Bitcoin that's now worth stupid money.


    https://www.barstoolbets.com/blogs/3238063/do-you-think-this-guy-regrets-turning-down-50000-btc-for-a-dollar13-million-home-purchase-now-worth-dollar1.65-billion

    or google man who refused house payment with bitcoin

    he turned it down and could have been a billionaire now
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 14:44:07 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 2021 09:40 am

    Does that clinit just use the online bitcoin button at your site
    to when paying you? Doesn't the online button go through an
    exchange server?

    you send your bitcoin to that person's bitcoin address. there's no charges until you try to switch it back to your countries currency.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 14:16:50 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 2021 09:40 am

    So.. how does that work? Do you just have a printed QR code in
    the store that people can "scan"?


    In the case of the store, I can generate a QR code from a spare smartphone and then customers can scan it with theirs.

    The clinic just has a poster with the QR address printed on it. The receptionist has a read-only wallet from which to confirm the payment is valid, in the workstation.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 16:41:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Sunday 21.03.21 - 12:36, Andeddu wrote to MRO:

    If you had 100 dollars worth of Bitcoin back in 2009 and
    sold it today, you'd have around 50 million dollars. Mind
    boggling.

    But do you think you could trust an exchange to convert and
    deliver that 50 million in cash? :/ You would have to give
    your coins to the exchange, and then WAIT for the cash delivery.
    They could claim something went wrong and never deliver.

    I see a lot of horror stories of people losing their Bitcoin
    wallets and hard disc drives with old Bitcoin that's now
    worth stupid money.

    I have misremembered my passwords to simple accounts and have
    had to reset them to new ones. If I had a bitcoin wallet, I
    could imagine that I could easily fit into the category of the
    people losing access to their wallets.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sun Mar 21 17:14:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ..I had amassed a handful of cheques that had no other
    way to get deposited if I stayed home. :(

    cant you take a photo of a check and have it deposit? that's
    been around a long time.

    Yes.. the bank has an app for that purpose. I don't think my
    phone would support it. The phone simply stopped working with
    Googleplay following some kind of GoogelPlay or Playstore update
    - which I now regret allowing. I've installed Telegram with the
    direct .APK file. But I can't find the .APK file for my bank's
    app to try. If someone could send me that .APK then I could see
    if it is doable. OH... nevermind, I found the app at
    apktovi.com. Trying it now.. Nope, it comes back "Unable to
    install this app"

    Alternatively, I can just drop off the cheques in the overnight
    box at the bank. I'm ok doing that with cheques, but not with
    cash.

    regarding bitcoin, for me getting it and spending it has
    been a pain in the ass. someone got my cc number from
    coinbase and bought a bunch of bullshit. first time my cc
    number got stolen.

    That's not too good at all. Nowadays most credit cards can be
    suspended or disabled while you don't expect anyone to use them.



    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 19:21:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Saturday 20.03.21 - 12:12, Andeddu wrote to Ogg:

    I am skeptical about Bitcoin. I mean, cryptos are a great
    speculative asset class and there sure is a lot of money
    that can be made in that market. For instance, if I had
    invested in Bitcoin in March 2020, I would have made a 400%
    return on my investment which would have been pretty sweet.

    About a month ago, I subscribed to a stock investment
    newsletter. It delivers BUY NOW suggestions, and other
    interesting info every day. The idea is to follow the
    recommendations (virtually) and see where I would be based on
    the imaginary $s allocated for that.

    Perhaps I should share the info here and see what y'all think.

    My problem is that this can be compared to Tulip Mania, and
    I don't want to be the one left 'hodling' worthless digital
    crap if the market crashes. It's not a store of value and
    it's not digital gold. There are going to be winners and
    losers and those that fail to realise their gains prior to a
    major economic event are going to lose everything.

    Thought it was rather fickle how stock can plummet based on a
    rumour or bad press.

    One of the tips in the newsletter is to watch for iPhone
    launches. Stock always climbs without fail after one of those.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sun Mar 21 23:56:52 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sun Mar 21 2021 05:14 pm

    Yes.. the bank has an app for that purpose. I don't think my
    phone would support it. The phone simply stopped working with
    Googleplay following some kind of GoogelPlay or Playstore update
    - which I now regret allowing. I've installed Telegram with the
    direct .APK file. But I can't find the .APK file for my bank's

    roll back your google play store app by choosing uninstall


    That's not too good at all. Nowadays most credit cards can be
    suspended or disabled while you don't expect anyone to use them.


    only a few of my CC's have that feature. i wish they all did.
    i would love to toggle them on with my device.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 22:44:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Sunday 21.03.21 - 14:16, you wrote to me:

    In the case of the store, I can generate a QR code from a
    spare smartphone and then customers can scan it with theirs.

    My mobile service blocks me from accessing a variety of torrent
    trackers. Likewise, I can imagine that they have the power to
    disable bitcoin transactions if there was a government decree to
    do so.

    The clinic just has a poster with the QR address printed on
    it. The receptionist has a read-only wallet from which to
    confirm the payment is valid, in the workstation.

    OH.. so you operate with TWO wallets? I can see the importance
    of a clerk who takes payments on you behalf should be restricted
    to read-only. I didn't know that the same wallet can configured
    with multiple users.

    I have to wrap my head around how payments work.

    Meanwhile THIS sounds interesting: https://bitpay.com/card

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 21 23:20:00 2021
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Sunday 21.03.21 - 07:28, you wrote:

    I loved PayPal, for a time. I'd put some money into it, buy
    a film camera. Clean it up, shoot a couple of rolls, sell
    it for a profit, put the profit back into PayPal. Buy
    another one, repeat. I parlayed $25 into $400 that way and
    got to play with some cool cameras in the process.

    That is a good result. It reminds of stories of people trading
    up from a paper-clip to purchasing a house.

    Right now we are following a model according to which
    Bitcoin is a fancy way of transfering and storing dollar or
    euro, which frankly, does not work for me.

    The use of Bitcoin as a transfer medium is interesting - overseas money transfers are expensive and take a long time.

    Just watching the live bitcoin transactions is mind-boggling.
    Transactions in the 6 to 7 figures every minute. I feel left
    out. :/

    I bank with USAA, they don't have any physical branches. I
    can deposit checks using a phone app, they'll mail
    cashier's checks, and I sold a car using a bank wire that
    took 15 minutes to process from another USAA customer.

    We have a couple of non-physical banks here in Canada too. One
    of them was called ING, then it changed its name to Tangerine,
    and now it operates as a subsidiary of a traditional brick-n-
    mortar bank. Another one is PC Financial, which is a service
    affiliated with the NoFrills grocery chain in Canada.

    But the problem with them is placing accumulated cash INTO their
    system.

    Meanwhile, I'd need a separate NEW phone to support my bank's
    app. Then I could just take a picture of any cheque to make a
    deposit. Not sure if I can justify the expense. My gifted
    Blackberry is wonderful, but its Android/Google apps download/
    purchasing system decided to break following an update.

    Some of my customers ask if my POS does cash-back. Typically it
    does not. It's simple enough for a customer to "overpay" for a
    purchase and I simply give them the difference in cash. But the
    problem with that system would be if they use a credit card and
    later claim an error on their card and I would face a charge-
    back.

    However, I learned that I can offer cash-back if the person uses
    the eTransfer method. They send me a payment via eTransfer
    which I can confirm within minutes, and then I hand over the
    cash equivalent. That's a pretty cool way to "deposit" my cash
    into the bank without setting foot in a bank.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sun Mar 21 23:56:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Sunday 21.03.21 - 02:49, you wrote to me:

    Aww.. what's the story on that wallet?

    i didnt save it and i didnt think bitcoin would blow up like
    it did.

    Steve Gibson (of grc.com, Spinrite and Twit podcast) and Max
    Keiser (of RT's Keiser Report) said the same thing when bitcoin
    first started out. I think they have new wallets by now.

    It probably doesn't hurt to start fresh and buy about $200 to
    start. Based on the rate of fluctuations, that $200 could
    convert into larger funds pretty quick.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Mon Mar 22 00:17:00 2021
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Sunday 21.03.21 - 14:44, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 2021 09:40 am

    Does that clinit just use the online bitcoin button at your site
    to when paying you? Doesn't the online button go through an
    exchange server?

    you send your bitcoin to that person's bitcoin address. there's no charges until you try to switch it back to your countries currency.

    Which reminds me:

    "A new currency for global trade (E1668)

    In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy look at the
    Citibank report suggesting that bitcoin will be the new currency
    for global trade within the next seven years. In the second
    half, Max interviews Chris Fenton, author of 'Feeding the
    Dragon,' about why the United States is falling so far behind
    China in high tech, and whether or not a financialized economy,
    characterized by stock buybacks and loading companies with debt
    instead of R&D, is one that can ever compete against an economy
    like China's, in which investment in innovation is growing.

    Mar 9, 2021 06:39

    https://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/517521-new-currency-
    global-trade/

    Worth while checking out.

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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Mon Mar 22 04:12:04 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Mar 21 2021 10:44 pm

    OH.. so you operate with TWO wallets? I can see the importance
    of a clerk who takes payments on you behalf should be restricted
    to read-only. I didn't know that the same wallet can configured
    with multiple users.


    Actually, only the store's wallet is mine. The clinic has its own wallet. I just happen to have access to it because I am the
    dude who set the thing up :-)

    A read only wallet is basically a wallet that only contains the public-key part of the crypto, so it can't be used to make
    transactions.

    There are also wallets that require multiple users to aprove of any transaction commanded. Say,  relor, the Necromancer and I
    can have a shared wallet with funds in it, and set it up so the money can only be spent if the three of us agree.

    There is an article in Linux Magazine, writen by a very handsome guy whith a very sweet horse smell, with Bitcoin centric
    distro review. It covers a lot of interesting topics if you want to have a look.

    www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2017/205/BitKey-and-Bitcoin

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From DaiTengu@VERT/ENSEMBLE to Dream Master on Mon Mar 22 10:05:02 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dream Master to DaiTengu on Mon Mar 15 2021 01:04 pm

    Lefties have no economic sense at all. They think that if a company
    charges $2 for a cup of coffee, the company gets all that money.
    They don't understand that after paying for everything that it takes
    to make that cup of money, they company is lucky to get $0.02 out of
    that $2.

    "Leftie" here. I own/run a business. I, and my fellow "Lefties"
    are quite-fucking-aware of how such things work.

    On the other hand, it seems to appear you still think "Trickle down
    economics" work, although there's no evidence to support that.

    The idea that Reagan communicated in the 80s was that the rich business owners will ensure the livelihoods of their workers, aka "Trickle Down Economics". This never worked but became the Conservative Mantra moving forward. The reality is, the rich business owners are only concerned
    about getting richer and the workers are expendible for lower-wage, potentially off-shore, workers.

    As a "Leftie", I am capable of seeing the delta between executive compensation and worker compensation to grow each year. Where executive compensation was once 10 to 30 times that of the lowest paid worker is
    now 200, 300, even 1000 times that. This is unacceptable.

    a 90% corporate tax rate was good enough for Ike, but if you dare suggest it now, you get called a "commie".

    Go ahead, dig up Ike and call him a commie to his face, I bet he'd still smack the teeth out of your mouth.


    a high tax rate for corporations incentivizes them to spend money on expansion, and paying their employees.

    DaiTengu

    ... An argument is where two people are trying to get the LAST word in FIRST!

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Mon Mar 22 12:00:34 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 2021 09:11 pm

    I think we are talking past each other.

    I accept fully that there is no fixed upper limit on the amount that can be issued.

    I am saying that TODAY there is. Tomorrow, there will be.

    Remember, the argument was about the value of currency. Currency maintains value because we can use it to buy things, and because you can't just pluck it out of thin air.

    For pretty much everyone that is true. If currency is NOT scarce, then why the hell am I bothering to go to work to try to earn it? Why are not all loans just granted automatically?

    We are definitely talking past each other because I am discussing the literal economic definition of scarcity in relation to commodities. I was NOT talking about artificial scarcity, which is what you are describing.

    All fiat currencies are destined to collapse sooner or later as they have no interinsic value. Hyperinfaltion and the subsequent monetary collapse, i.e. when the currency can no longer be exchanged for goods and services, is the deciding factor in relation to the final tally of currency units in the financial system.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to MRO on Mon Mar 22 12:20:06 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: MRO to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 2021 02:09 pm

    https://www.barstoolbets.com/blogs/3238063/do-you-think-this-guy-regrets-tur ning-down-50000-btc-for-a-dollar13-million-home-purchase-now-worth-dollar1.6 5-billion

    or google man who refused house payment with bitcoin

    he turned it down and could have been a billionaire now

    There's so much Bitcoin regret out there, I am kinda glad I didn't invest because I know I would have probably cashed out at around 20 dollars per coin.

    -----------------------------
    Emanny/ ZZZ Finance

    My biggest regret is I saw btc when it was 0.003 dollars each right after its inception and I was too young to have a debit card and I wanted to buy 50 dollars worth and my mom didn't give me her debit card. She called it a Chinese scam, and despite my pleas she shut me down. And, well, the rest is history.

    -----------------------------

    Lol.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Mon Mar 22 12:32:04 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 2021 04:41 pm

    But do you think you could trust an exchange to convert and
    deliver that 50 million in cash? :/ You would have to give
    your coins to the exchange, and then WAIT for the cash delivery.
    They could claim something went wrong and never deliver.

    Cryptocurrency exchanges are certified and regulated financial institutions. Many of them convert billions of dollars worth of Bitcoins and other forms of difital currency each day. They usually charge 1.5-2% as a transaction fee so there is a nice profit in it for them. All financial transactions are traceable so I wouldn't worry about disappearing Bitcoins or dollars.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Mon Mar 22 12:59:01 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Sun Mar 21 2021 07:21 pm

    About a month ago, I subscribed to a stock investment
    newsletter. It delivers BUY NOW suggestions, and other
    interesting info every day. The idea is to follow the
    recommendations (virtually) and see where I would be based on
    the imaginary $s allocated for that.

    Perhaps I should share the info here and see what y'all think.

    Thought it was rather fickle how stock can plummet based on a
    rumour or bad press.

    There are free trading platforms you can use to purchase and sell shares such as Robin Hood. Trading imaginary currency is fine if you're looking to practice and gain a little bit of experience. The stock market can go up or down based on any kid of information. It's up to the trader to interpret market volatility and subsequently make trades that are going to yield a profit. You can trade indexes, stocks, currency, commodities, bonds, etc... in many different ways, and hedge your bets using derivative instruments.

    The market is very volatile right now, which is great if you're an experienced trader trading on your own account, or a institutional prop trader who is part of a sales team, but it would not be something I would suggest doing with little to no knowledge. A lot of newbies got stung going long on GME stock, crapping their pants when the institutions shorted the highs after Robin Hood halted buys, and exiting their positions on the lows resulting in around 80-90% losses on a lot of their accounts.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Mon Mar 22 13:06:15 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sun Mar 21 2021 11:56 pm

    Steve Gibson (of grc.com, Spinrite and Twit podcast) and Max
    Keiser (of RT's Keiser Report) said the same thing when bitcoin
    first started out. I think they have new wallets by now.

    Max Keiser invested in Bitcoin early doors, probably '11 or '12 and is now rolling in cash. He had prior experience in digital currency so had a more intimate understanding of the mechanics compared to most investors.



    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Mon Mar 22 13:12:34 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to MRO on Mon Mar 22 2021 12:17 am

    Which reminds me:

    "A new currency for global trade (E1668)

    In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy look at the
    Citibank report suggesting that bitcoin will be the new currency
    for global trade within the next seven years. In the second
    half, Max interviews Chris Fenton, author of 'Feeding the
    Dragon,' about why the United States is falling so far behind
    China in high tech, and whether or not a financialized economy, characterized by stock buybacks and loading companies with debt
    instead of R&D, is one that can ever compete against an economy
    like China's, in which investment in innovation is growing.

    Mar 9, 2021 06:39

    https://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/517521-new-currency-
    global-trade/

    I am sure Bitcoin will be accepted as a form of payment by most retail establishments in the future. China is a massive Bitcoin market also, and they'll soon have the world's largest economy. If they begin trading in Bitcoin, it should become mainstream. I just wonder how Bitcoin and other cryptos are going to fare once the Federal Reserve rolls out it's own digital dollar.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dr. What on Mon Mar 22 05:26:14 2021
    On 3/18/2021 6:01 AM, Dr. What wrote:
    Again, for the most part, corporations don't pay taxes, their customers
    do.

    I was watching a documentary about coffee recently. One quote stood out: This cup of coffee cost me $2. The grower receives $0.02.

    This implied that the coffee shop owner got the other $1.98 - which is,
    of course, false.

    But that's what people like Dream Master believe. They are completely ignorant of economics and if they were in charge, would run a company
    like a 5 year old runs a Cool Aid stand.

    That's why I actually prefer VAT/Transaction tax models over income tax models. While I'm not a fan of larger government, at least the models
    make sense based on activity. Ideologically speaking, imho, I feel that
    if a person can own a piece of property, never leave said property and
    able to subsist on what one grows/uses on that property, they should
    never be at risk of losing that property just because they lived another
    year.

    The other issue is that income tax models by necessity have so many
    loopholes over the years. Either progressive tax models, discounts to encourage specific practices, subsidies, etc. Transaction-bsed taxes
    are by nature based on activity and can be much smaller, but in
    aggregate raise just as much as the more flawed/flexible models.

    As to the often cited counter argument, "rich people don't spend as
    much." Well that's incredibly flawed... Imagine a 0.1% tax on currency
    or stock exchanges. All those micro transactions from investment
    companies and funds trying to bend the stock market. It's huge, and
    every time it's been proposed, so much lobbying comes out of the
    woodwork to push it down.

    Trying to tax the "income" of companies is an exercise in futility.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Mon Mar 22 05:51:21 2021
    On 3/18/2021 4:34 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    Technology, medicine, science, better agricultural techniques
    lifted people out of poverty.

    And those kinds of things don't typically advance nearly as well
    or quickly in Socialist societies vs Capitalist. In terms of
    agriculture in particular, socialism is often regressive even.
    Hence massive starvation that tends to sweep socialist nations.

    I really wish people could get out of this "Communism vs
    Capitalism" mindset. It really retards progress, meaningful
    analysis and is misleading. There is no point engaging in
    discussion of economics if someone thinks that it is an either-or proposition. It is like discussing drinks with someone who thinks
    its a choice between beer and coke.

    When there are people literally rioting and pushing for Marxist-style policies, it kind of becomes the argument and a lot of nuance is lost.

    I'm also a pragmatic libertarian and will generally lean towards
    whatever brings less bureaucracy and has a chance of actually becoming law/policy.


    Communism is relatively new, historically speaking. Capitalism is
    older, but still modern. What do you think people were doing
    beforehand?

    And Capitalism is different to Free Markets again. People
    produced advancements and great art and great things and science pre-Capitalism.

    Capitalism is in its' es sense trade... From a political perspective,
    it's more about allowing trade to happen with as few restrictions as reasonable. It's existed for as long as man has wanted something
    someone else had and was willing to use something other than force to
    acquire it.

    Communism is about collectivist control. It sounds good in concept, but
    the reality of how greed and motivation work will usually overcome any idealistic agenda.

    It's more complex in practice but often comes down the to differences in
    how the exclusive right (of governments) to use of force is handled.
    Some favor stronger controls as collectivists. Others will favor
    individual liberty and freedom. Most are somewhere in the middle.
    Politics is the negotiation of terms towards one's agenda and goals.

    I think that liberty and common law can go a very long way with a fairly limited central government. As to corporations, I feel they are granted conditional immunity and limited liability by government and should be
    limited as such. That isn't the same as collectivist control or
    ownership so much as boundaries for interactions.

    For the record, I used to be a Communist. Having met several expats
    from China and Russia in my life, I no longer could hold many of those
    views. Having worked in/around enough government in my career has
    tended to shape my mindset much more in favor of as limited a government
    as pragmatically possible.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Mon Mar 22 05:54:58 2021
    On 3/18/2021 4:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there
    isn't> a 1% in communist societies with an even greater class
    disparity.

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER
    argued for Communism. I don't believe that criticising the current
    ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would lead
    to it.

    Your either confused as hell, or just arguing against something that
    lives in your imagination. I can't make head not tails of your fanciful thought proceses.

    There are right now, Democrats holding public office and workers within
    the party that are pushing for Marxist policies. There are riots and "antonymous zones" controlled by those who which to have a
    Marxist/Communist society in this country. Your own statements have
    echoed similar sentiment and I'm sorry if this isn't you, but if it
    quacks like a duck, my first assumption is going to be it's a duck.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Mon Mar 22 05:56:46 2021
    On 3/18/2021 4:57 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    This is how Capitalism works. It indoctrinates people into being the lap-dogs for Capital and those who control it. It's not just an economic system, it is a set of values, it relies on people accepting Capitalist MORALITY. These arguments are not about economics. It's defending a morality, a morality that serves the 1%.

    You decry tribalist dogma, then proceed to spew tribalist dogma.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Mon Mar 22 05:59:19 2021
    On 3/18/2021 5:03 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an
    infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that,
    but they don't, and aren't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was
    "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's actually
    a problem.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Arelor on Mon Mar 22 06:04:49 2021
    On 3/19/2021 2:14 AM, Arelor wrote:
    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there
    isn't a 1% in communist societies with an even greater class
    disparity.

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER
    argued for Communism. I don't believe that criticising the current
    ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would lead
    to it.

    You are not arguing for Communism, but you are arguing for an economic
    model that is surprisingly close (ie. a non-Marxism inspired flavor of Socialism, similar to the one advocated by classic Fascist groups).

    Thank you... in my mind, Communism, Fascism and most forms of dramatic collectivism are all different sides of coins minted in the same
    Socialist dogma to me. You can call it "Democratic Socialist" but still pushing for collectivist government controls that will only suppress all rather than let most rise in the name of some twisted view of "fair".
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Gamgee on Mon Mar 22 06:21:05 2021
    On 3/19/2021 5:20 AM, Gamgee wrote:
    As for CEO's, wealth inequality is a major, major social problem,
    and directly affects me. It affects my nation.

    So..... just like Dream Master, you are quite sure it's a huge
    problem, and yet.... you can't just say in straight language what
    the problem actually *IS*. LOL. Talk about "talking points".

    You're both hypocrites and CNN talking-head regurgitators.

    I do think the widening class gap from the 1% to the rest is an issue,
    only because it is done in such a way that is self-perpetuating by
    abusing position and influence over what should otherwise be a free
    market. The wealthy/elite will place each-other in positions of power
    and influence on the boards of a circle jerk of large corporations and over-pay themselves and the executives to keep the circle going. In this
    way, they're a drain on the market, not a benefit to it.

    That's not from a PoV of advocating for a Socialist system, only in that corporate power is largely a grant of the government, and like the
    government, should be relatively limited in scope and execution in
    practice. It's in favor of competition and free markets that I say
    this. Personally, I don't think anyone in a company should make 100x
    anyone else in the same company or more than 2-3x their subordinates,
    that's just me though. It still would leave room for a rising tide to
    raise all boats so to speak. It also aligns with how most corporations
    that aren't massive actually operate in practice.

    In the end, I'm not a fan of trying to tax corporate income and think transaction taxes are far more fair and appropriate... with fewer means
    of abuse and loopholes.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Mon Mar 22 23:35:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Monday 22.03.21 - 12:20, Andeddu wrote to MRO:

    There's so much Bitcoin regret out there, I am kinda glad I
    didn't invest because I know I would have probably cashed
    out at around 20 dollars per coin.

    Along with clear investment picks, here is a sample of the kind
    of extra news I get in my investment newsletter:

    The Man Voted "Most Trusted Expert in Crypto" Reveals His Next
    Top Pick for FREE
    Wednesday, March 31st, at 8 p.m. ET

    Former Wall Street VP and hedge fund manager Teeka Tiwari
    picked bitcoin in 2016, when it traded for just $428.

    Early readers who listened to Teeka's advice had the
    opportunity to multiply their money over 120X as bitcoin
    soared to $50,000 and above (becoming the first cryptocurrency
    to pass the trillion-dollar mark in market cap).

    As a result.

    A panel of 130,000 analysts nominated Teeka Tiwari as the
    "Most Trusted Expert in Crypto."

    And on Wednesday, March 31st, at 8 p.m. ET, Teeka will give
    you the name of his next top pick. for FREE!

    It's a coin he believes will be the next cryptocurrency to
    break the trillion-dollar market cap barrier.

    So.. the "pick" could be a fine one to enter into on the low-end
    and come out on top just a few months later.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 23 08:30:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Dr. What <=-

    That's why I actually prefer VAT/Transaction tax models over income tax models.

    That would seem to be more fair. Those who have more money, spend more.
    Tax the spending, and you push the tax on those who can more easily pay it.
    But that also creates a disincentive to purchase things, which can hurt
    the economy.

    But that's just generalizations. It's the details that matter.

    Ideologically speaking, imho, I feel
    that if a person can own a piece of property, never leave said property and able to subsist on what one grows/uses on that property, they
    should never be at risk of losing that property just because they lived another year.

    That's why I say that because of the tax system, you don't actually own anything. My property tax is effectively rent to the city because if I
    don't pay it, I lose my "property".

    The other issue is that income tax models by necessity have so many loopholes over the years.

    Some are loopholes, but most are social engineering attempts. If they want
    to promote X, they create some sort of deduction for doing X.

    But the end result is a mess of rules that, if you have a good tax lawyer,
    and some money to use, you can play the rules that get the gov't to give you more of your money back.

    Trying to tax the "income" of companies is an exercise in futility.

    Exactly. But it goes with the false Leftie Narrative that corporations are "bad" (Yet, the Democrats seem to be deeply in bed with the corporations).

    It also appeals to the Leftie ignorance that if a company sells a product
    for $500, that the company profited by $500 on that sale. They don't understand
    how narrow the margins are for retailers (Heck, I doubt that they understand what a "margin" is).


    ... I am not arguing with you, I'm telling you.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 23 08:36:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    You decry tribalist dogma, then proceed to spew tribalist dogma.

    Lefties lack self-awareness. That's what makes them hypocrites.


    ... Call me if you need my phone number!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 23 08:42:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Arelor <=-

    Thank you... in my mind, Communism, Fascism and most forms of dramatic collectivism are all different sides of coins minted in the same
    Socialist dogma to me. You can call it "Democratic Socialist" but
    still pushing for collectivist government controls that will only
    suppress all rather than let most rise in the name of some twisted view
    of "fair". --

    You bring up an interesting difference between Leftie Elites and Reality.

    The concept of "fairness".

    Take this situation:
    Allen and Bob work for the same company doing the same job.
    Allen comes in and leaves on time, takes the normal breaks and puts
    in a good 8 hour work day.
    Bob comes in late, sneaks out early, hides in the restroom and puts
    in a fair 4 hour day.

    At the end of a year, Allen gets bump in pay, while Bob does not.

    To the vast majority of people, that's fair. Allen gave more, so Allen
    gets more.

    But to the Leftie Elite, that's not fair because, in their twisted version
    of reality, Allen and Bob are "equal".


    ... A dry sense of humor is better than slobbering everywhere
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Tracker1 on Tue Mar 23 10:28:59 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Boraxman on Mon Mar 22 2021 05:59 am

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was
    "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's actually
    a problem.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com

    And those who are unaware of what will happen in the future ought to look at Germany, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Hungary, etc...

    Once government printing reaches critical mass and 1-2 Tr dollar stimulus packages become the norm, it won't be long before things become exponentially worse.

    Let's look at Yugoslavia April 1992 to Jan 1994 as a case study. Their highest monthly inflation rate was 313,000,000 giving a daily inflation rate of 64.6% causing prices for consumer goods to double every 1.4 days. People couldn't afford food, gas stations were closed, etc... resulting in a black market for commodities.

    I am not saying it'll be as bad as that in the USA or other Western countries, but it will be bad, and any money you have in your bank account may be worthless in the next couple of years.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Tue Mar 23 10:45:18 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Mon Mar 22 2021 11:35 pm

    The Man Voted "Most Trusted Expert in Crypto" Reveals His Next
    Top Pick for FREE
    Wednesday, March 31st, at 8 p.m. ET

    Former Wall Street VP and hedge fund manager Teeka Tiwari
    picked bitcoin in 2016, when it traded for just $428.

    Early readers who listened to Teeka's advice had the
    opportunity to multiply their money over 120X as bitcoin
    soared to $50,000 and above (becoming the first cryptocurrency
    to pass the trillion-dollar mark in market cap).

    As a result.

    A panel of 130,000 analysts nominated Teeka Tiwari as the
    "Most Trusted Expert in Crypto."

    And on Wednesday, March 31st, at 8 p.m. ET, Teeka will give
    you the name of his next top pick. for FREE!

    It's a coin he believes will be the next cryptocurrency to
    break the trillion-dollar market cap barrier.

    So.. the "pick" could be a fine one to enter into on the low-end
    and come out on top just a few months later.

    My guess is that he'll be talking about the Dogecoin. Elon Musk has been banging on about it for a while now and there is a lot of speculation that it'll spike in value. It is currently trading at 0.06 dollars so gambling 20-30 bucks on it wouldn't be a bad thing.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Dr. What on Tue Mar 23 18:22:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Thank you... in my mind, Communism, Fascism and most forms of dramatic collectivism are all different sides of coins minted in the same
    Socialist dogma to me. You can call it "Democratic Socialist" but
    still pushing for collectivist government controls that will only
    suppress all rather than let most rise in the name of some twisted view
    of "fair".

    You bring up an interesting difference between Leftie Elites and
    Reality.

    The concept of "fairness".

    Take this situation:
    Allen and Bob work for the same company doing the same job.
    Allen comes in and leaves on time, takes the normal breaks and
    puts in a good 8 hour work day.
    Bob comes in late, sneaks out early, hides in the restroom and
    puts in a fair 4 hour day.

    At the end of a year, Allen gets bump in pay, while Bob does not.

    To the vast majority of people, that's fair. Allen gave more, so
    Allen gets more.

    But to the Leftie Elite, that's not fair because, in their
    twisted version of reality, Allen and Bob are "equal".

    A great (and realistic) example of the distorted universe that Lefties
    live in. There are Lefties in this very message area that firmly
    believe that the CEO of a huge firm should have the same income as a
    homeless heroin addict living in a tent under a bridge, and shitting on
    the curb while he tosses a used syringe into the street.

    Just...... impossible for a normal person to comprehend that kind of stupidity. Oh well, they make me laugh, so they have some small value.



    ... The best way to make a long story short is to stop listening.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Tue Mar 23 21:09:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Tuesday 23.03.21 - 10:45, Andeddu wrote to Ogg:

    The Man Voted "Most Trusted Expert in Crypto" Reveals His Next
    Top Pick for FREE
    Wednesday, March 31st, at 8 p.m. ET

    So.. the "pick" could be a fine one to enter into on the low-end
    and come out on top just a few months later.

    My guess is that he'll be talking about the Dogecoin. Elon
    Musk has been banging on about it for a while now and there
    is a lot of speculation that it'll spike in value. It is
    currently trading at 0.06 dollars so gambling 20-30bucks on
    it wouldn't be a bad thing.

    Yes.. my guess would be the same one that Musk was talking
    about. But then there is Ethereum too - it's not just a coin,
    it's also for assets. Lately, something called non-fungible
    tokens has made the news.

    If I don't remember after Mar 31, remind me and I'll report back
    what "The Man.." revealed. I have access to the myriad of
    investment advice and news from that newsletter, but I don't
    read everything. I don't have the resources to buy most
    established stocks anyway. But a small expense even up to $50 I
    might risk if there is an opportunity to compound that initial
    amount many times over in a few months.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Gamgee on Wed Mar 24 08:41:00 2021
    Gamgee wrote to Dr. What <=-

    A great (and realistic) example of the distorted universe that Lefties live in. There are Lefties in this very message area that firmly
    believe that the CEO of a huge firm should have the same income as a homeless heroin addict living in a tent under a bridge, and shitting on the curb while he tosses a used syringe into the street.

    Just...... impossible for a normal person to comprehend that kind of stupidity. Oh well, they make me laugh, so they have some small value.

    I used to think that Lefties were just stupid. But I realized it was more
    than that. They are also completely incompetant.

    They know, deep down, that they will **never** be as good as the star
    worker in their company. They know that starting and building a company
    is far beyond their abilities. But they **want** to be that star worker
    or the President of the company.

    But instead of trying to improve themselves, they want to being down every
    one better than them (which is the majority of the people).

    Jealousy is the basis for their desires, even though they try to hide it
    behind fluff terms (like "woke", and "inclusiveness", and such).

    And they push socialism which wants to make everyone equally poor (except
    for the Elites at the top).


    ... "Are your cookies made with real Girl Scouts?"
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Wed Mar 24 16:17:25 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Tue Mar 23 2021 09:09 pm

    My guess is that he'll be talking about the Dogecoin. Elon
    Musk has been banging on about it for a while now and there
    is a lot of speculation that it'll spike in value. It is
    currently trading at 0.06 dollars so gambling 20-30bucks on
    it wouldn't be a bad thing.

    Yes.. my guess would be the same one that Musk was talking
    about. But then there is Ethereum too - it's not just a coin,
    it's also for assets. Lately, something called non-fungible
    tokens has made the news.

    If I don't remember after Mar 31, remind me and I'll report back
    what "The Man.." revealed. I have access to the myriad of
    investment advice and news from that newsletter, but I don't
    read everything. I don't have the resources to buy most
    established stocks anyway. But a small expense even up to $50 I
    might risk if there is an opportunity to compound that initial
    amount many times over in a few months.

    XRP also appears to be getting some traction too. Ethereum is fairly established so I can't see it going up in large multiples in the same way as Bitcoin... I could be very wrong on that though. I'd personally go with the <1 dollar cryptos and take a complete punt in the event they one day become a major currency. I'm a little bit curious as to what the guy's pick is at the end of the month.

    Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a complete scam in my opinion. They're the digital equivalent of sticker books and they'll never be used as any form of currency as they aren't fungible. A good example of an NFT is Jack Dorsey's first tweet which was sold for almost 3 million dollars.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Thu Mar 25 09:55:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Wednesday 24.03.21 - 16:17, Andeddu wrote to Ogg:

    ..I don't have the resources to buy most
    established stocks anyway. But a small expense even up to $50 I
    might risk if there is an opportunity to compound that initial
    amount many times over in a few months.

    XRP also appears to be getting some traction too. Ethereum is fairly established so I can't see it going up in large multiples in the same way as Bitcoin... I could be very wrong on that though...

    Interested in taking this topic to an emptier echo? I could
    could post snippets from the newsletter I get. Discuss. Hope.
    Dream. I would suggest CHAT or COFFEE_KLATSCH. Then, if the
    investment topic becomes bullish (pun intended) a dedicated echo
    to talk about it could work well.

    Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a complete scam in my
    opinion. They're the digital equivalent of sticker books and
    they'll never be used as any form of currency as they aren't
    fungible. A good example of an NFT is Jack Dorsey's first
    tweet which was sold for almost 3 million dollars.

    I heard about the "investment/purchase" of the tweet. Sounds
    ludicrous. Maybe that is another symptom of covid. :/

    I've never heard of the term fungible before. The end result
    sounds almost like a sophisticated barter. But the digital
    aspect of it seems volatile or ephemeral - one EMP and *poof*,
    gone.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Thu Mar 25 23:25:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605886E2.25303.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60571C58.49843.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Sun Mar 21 2021 09:11 pm

    I think we are talking past each other.

    I accept fully that there is no fixed upper limit on the amount that can be issued.

    I am saying that TODAY there is. Tomorrow, there will be.

    Remember, the argument was about the value of currency. Currency maintains value because we can use it to buy things, and because you can't just pluck it out of thin air.

    For pretty much everyone that is true. If currency is NOT scarce, then why the hell am I bothering to go to work to try to earn it? Why are not all loans just granted automatically?

    We are definitely talking past each other because I am discussing the literal economic definition of scarcity in relation to commodities. I
    was NOT talking about artificial scarcity, which is what you are describing.

    All fiat currencies are destined to collapse sooner or later as they
    have no interinsic value. Hyperinfaltion and the subsequent monetary collapse, i.e. when the currency can no longer be exchanged for goods
    and services, is the deciding factor in relation to the final tally of currency units in the financial system.

    I've heard this argument for 25 years, and I knows its been around longer. Lots of people still waiting for the collapse.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 25 23:37:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605892C9.17091.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6053DEB9.49755.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/18/2021 4:34 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    Technology, medicine, science, better agricultural techniques
    lifted people out of poverty.

    And those kinds of things don't typically advance nearly as well
    or quickly in Socialist societies vs Capitalist. In terms of
    agriculture in particular, socialism is often regressive even.
    Hence massive starvation that tends to sweep socialist nations.

    I really wish people could get out of this "Communism vs
    Capitalism" mindset. It really retards progress, meaningful
    analysis and is misleading. There is no point engaging in
    discussion of economics if someone thinks that it is an either-or proposition. It is like discussing drinks with someone who thinks
    its a choice between beer and coke.

    When there are people literally rioting and pushing for Marxist-style policies, it kind of becomes the argument and a lot of nuance is lost.

    I'm also a pragmatic libertarian and will generally lean towards
    whatever brings less bureaucracy and has a chance of actually becoming law/policy.

    They are fools, they also bought into the false dichotomy. Though most people who are called Marxist today, are really degenerate Trotskyites.

    Communism is relatively new, historically speaking. Capitalism is
    older, but still modern. What do you think people were doing
    beforehand?

    And Capitalism is different to Free Markets again. People
    produced advancements and great art and great things and science pre-Capitalism.

    Capitalism is in its' es sense trade... From a political perspective,
    it's more about allowing trade to happen with as few restrictions as reasonable. It's existed for as long as man has wanted something
    someone else had and was willing to use something other than force to acquire it.

    Capitalism is specifically the private ownership of the means of production, and a system of employment. It is not about allowing trade to happen, as trade existed before corporations, before companies were invented.

    You could have trade in a society where companies were collectives of self-employed people, but not Capitalist would accept that as Capitalism.

    Details are important here. Capitalism is not defined by trade. It is defined by a patter of property rights.


    Communism is about collectivist control. It sounds good in concept, but the reality of how greed and motivation work will usually overcome any idealistic agenda.

    It's more complex in practice but often comes down the to differences
    in how the exclusive right (of governments) to use of force is handled. Some favor stronger controls as collectivists. Others will favor individual liberty and freedom. Most are somewhere in the middle. Politics is the negotiation of terms towards one's agenda and goals.

    I lean towards individual liberty. I disagree that Capitalism is the epitome of this, I think the Capitalism = Freedom narrative is a culturally created narrative. I advocate for MORE self-ownership and MORE autonomy.

    I am anti-Capitalist because I think Capitalism fails in respecting the individuals autonomy, liberty, natural property rights and right to self-governance. Capitalism does not respect these values sufficiently. It CLAIMS to, but those claims don't stand to scrutiny, and when you do start to poke holes, people jump to their indoctrination and bring out standard talking points as to why we can't have liberty, self-governance, etc.


    I think that liberty and common law can go a very long way with a
    fairly limited central government. As to corporations, I feel they are granted conditional immunity and limited liability by government and should be limited as such. That isn't the same as collectivist control
    or ownership so much as boundaries for interactions.

    For the record, I used to be a Communist. Having met several expats
    from China and Russia in my life, I no longer could hold many of those views. Having worked in/around enough government in my career has
    tended to shape my mindset much more in favor of as limited a
    government as pragmatically possible.

    I am for smaller government, but I think the companies/big business can easily step in for government and the church, and ARE doing so. The blindspot in Libertarian ideology is that it considers the government a problem, but doesn't consider other institutions which could limit freedom the same way a problem, because they are not, by definition, government.

    I am not interested in theoretical freedom, but actual, lived, experienced, practical freedom. One could live in what is, on paper, a dicatorship, and experience more freedom than a society which is, on paper, free. I would argue the former is more free, even if by definition it is not.


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 25 23:40:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605893A2.17092.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6053DEBB.49756.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/18/2021 4:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    And you're either willfully ignorant or lying if you think there
    isn't> a 1% in communist societies with an even greater class
    disparity.

    You're creating a strawman here. I never argued otherwise. I NEVER
    argued for Communism. I don't believe that criticising the current
    ruling elite means advocating Communism, or that reforms would lead
    to it.

    Your either confused as hell, or just arguing against something that
    lives in your imagination. I can't make head not tails of your fanciful thought proceses.

    There are right now, Democrats holding public office and workers within the party that are pushing for Marxist policies. There are riots and "antonymous zones" controlled by those who which to have a Marxist/Communist society in this country. Your own statements have echoed similar sentiment and I'm sorry if this isn't you, but if it
    quacks like a duck, my first assumption is going to be it's a duck.

    Can you point to some specifics?

    I think this is a case of "it has feathers, it must be a duck".


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Thu Mar 25 23:47:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605894A7.17094.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <6053DEBD.49758.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/18/2021 5:03 AM, Boraxman wrote:

    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an
    infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that,
    but they don't, and aren't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's actually
    a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Thu Mar 25 21:56:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Wednesday 24.03.21 - 16:17, Andeddu wrote to Ogg:

    XRP also appears to be getting some traction too. Ethereum
    is fairly established so I can't see it going up in large
    multiples in the same way as Bitcoin... I could be very
    wrong on that though. I'd personally go with the <1 dollar
    cryptos and take a complete punt in the event they one day
    become a major currency. I'm a little bit curious as to what
    the guy's pick is at the end of the month.

    UPDATE. The link that I am provided with takes me first through
    the newsletter's resource hub, and then I get forwarded to
    Teeka's site, but the page load stalls. I tried it on two
    different PCs and with all scripting off and even with
    nextdns.io off. Still no go. :(

    Maybe someone else here can have better luck. The same
    announcement is mentioned at many places:

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-next-trillion-dollar-coin- 191300418.html

    https://ca.news.yahoo.com/crypto-next-trillion-dollar-coin-
    191300418.html

    Or google for "Teeka Tiwari bitcoin"

    Every link to the ultimate destination sort of locks up and the
    swirwly dots thing just stops. Maybe the event had/has a
    limited booking. :(


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 06:39:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's actually
    a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    Give money to the people to spend, who'll prop up the economy from the
    bottom up, be able to eat, pay their landlords, and generally survive?


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 10:22:47 2021
    On 3/25/2021 5:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    I am for smaller government, but I think the companies/big business
    can easily step in for government and the church, and ARE doing so.
    The blindspot in Libertarian ideology is that it considers the
    government a problem, but doesn't consider other institutions which
    could limit freedom the same way a problem, because they are not, by definition, government.

    Corporate power is granted by government, not limited by it...
    Government grants liability protections to companies. If they didn't do
    that, then common-law could handle most issues with corporate abuse of
    power.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 10:25:17 2021
    On 3/25/2021 5:40 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    There are right now, Democrats holding public office and workers
    within the party that are pushing for Marxist policies. There are
    riots and "antonymous zones" controlled by those who which to have
    a Marxist/Communist society in this country. Your own statements
    have echoed similar sentiment and I'm sorry if this isn't you, but
    if it quacks like a duck, my first assumption is going to be it's
    a duck.

    Can you point to some specifics?

    I think this is a case of "it has feathers, it must be a duck".

    I am pretty sure if you actually had a good faith position to become
    informed, you'd be able to use a search engine yourself. As far as I'm concerned, I am not in favor of collectivist/socialist policies. I
    could be convinced of an argument for specific social programs, but that
    is far from the same argument.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 10:27:12 2021
    On 3/25/2021 5:47 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an
    infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that,
    but they don't, and aren't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was
    "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's
    actually a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    Your assertion that they don't keep printing near infinite supply is wrong/flawed, so instead of accepting you were mistaken, you change the subject. I didn't say that there shouldn't have been measures taken,
    you're arguing a point I didn't make. Typical leftist progressive.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Mar 27 13:54:00 2021
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605DE870.46977.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    @REPLY: <605D2261.49994.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's actually
    a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    Give money to the people to spend, who'll prop up the economy from the bottom up, be able to eat, pay their landlords, and generally survive?

    Yes.

    Here is an even better idea, don't have the ruling elite bleed these people dry. Have an economy that works for human beings, for the betterment of society and the nation.

    Our system is games to rewards wealth hoarders and parasites, because it is parasites and grifters that make it to the top of society. They make it to the top because our values system is stuffed.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Mar 27 08:20:04 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 2021 06:39 am

    Boraxman wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's actually a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    Give money to the people to spend, who'll prop up the economy from the bottom up, be able to eat, pay their landlords, and generally survive?


    where's the money come from?

    can you keep yourself from starving by canabalizing yourself?
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Sat Mar 27 21:48:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605E1868.17195.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <605D225D.49992.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/25/2021 5:37 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    I am for smaller government, but I think the companies/big business
    can easily step in for government and the church, and ARE doing so.
    The blindspot in Libertarian ideology is that it considers the
    government a problem, but doesn't consider other institutions which
    could limit freedom the same way a problem, because they are not, by definition, government.

    Corporate power is granted by government, not limited by it...
    Government grants liability protections to companies. If they didn't
    do that, then common-law could handle most issues with corporate abuse
    of power.

    Not disputing that. I was referring more to culture and values. Companies can effectively "ban" speech, even if the government itself doesn't.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Sat Mar 27 21:49:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605E18FE.17196.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <605D225F.49993.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/25/2021 5:40 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    There are right now, Democrats holding public office and workers
    within the party that are pushing for Marxist policies. There are
    riots and "antonymous zones" controlled by those who which to have
    a Marxist/Communist society in this country. Your own statements
    have echoed similar sentiment and I'm sorry if this isn't you, but
    if it quacks like a duck, my first assumption is going to be it's
    a duck.

    Can you point to some specifics?

    I think this is a case of "it has feathers, it must be a duck".

    I am pretty sure if you actually had a good faith position to become informed, you'd be able to use a search engine yourself. As far as I'm concerned, I am not in favor of collectivist/socialist policies. I
    could be convinced of an argument for specific social programs, but
    that is far from the same argument.

    You didn't answer the question. What specifically did I say, which endorsed Communism, or some form of collectivism?

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Sat Mar 27 21:53:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605E1971.17197.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <605D2261.49994.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/25/2021 5:47 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    Fiat currency are scarce, because in PRACTICE they don't print an
    infinite supply. Usually. In THEORY the US reserve could do that,
    but they don't, and aren't going to do it tomorrow.

    Trust.

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was
    "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's
    actually a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    Your assertion that they don't keep printing near infinite supply is wrong/flawed, so instead of accepting you were mistaken, you change the subject. I didn't say that there shouldn't have been measures taken, you're arguing a point I didn't make. Typical leftist progressive.

    The value of the US dollar, if supply is infinite, should be zero.

    It isn't.

    Why is the value of the dollar not zero then?



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Sat Mar 27 23:32:41 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Thu Mar 25 2021 09:55 am

    XRP also appears to be getting some traction too. Ethereum is fairly established so I can't see it going up in large multiples in the same way as Bitcoin... I could be very wrong on that though...

    Interested in taking this topic to an emptier echo? I could
    could post snippets from the newsletter I get. Discuss. Hope.
    Dream. I would suggest CHAT or COFFEE_KLATSCH. Then, if the
    investment topic becomes bullish (pun intended) a dedicated echo
    to talk about it could work well.

    I heard about the "investment/purchase" of the tweet. Sounds
    ludicrous. Maybe that is another symptom of covid. :/

    I've never heard of the term fungible before. The end result
    sounds almost like a sophisticated barter. But the digital
    aspect of it seems volatile or ephemeral - one EMP and *poof*,
    gone.

    Yeah, I am happy to talk about investments and different types of financial instruments, etc... We can work something out. Does Net Mail work? Would that be suitable?

    NFTs are ludicrous. I don't see how you could auction off something that is a component part of a much larger online account/presence. What would happen if you purchased one of Donald Trump's tweets before his banning and removal from Twitter? You would have lost your entire investment!

    'Fungibility' is genrally an asset's ability to be broken down into identical parts. For instance, 50 cents is half of a dollar and is worth 50 cents regardless of which 50 cent coin it is and who is carrying it.

    Barter doesn't work in a sophisticated trade economy because you can't break down commodities into smaller identical component parts. A horse may be worth 200 loafs of bread, however if you only need one loaf of bread and a horse is all you have then you're onto plums. That is why a currency has to be fungible.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Sat Mar 27 23:57:14 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Thu Mar 25 2021 11:25 pm

    We are definitely talking past each other because I am discussing the literal economic definition of scarcity in relation to commodities. I was NOT talking about artificial scarcity, which is what you are describing.

    All fiat currencies are destined to collapse sooner or later as they have no interinsic value. Hyperinfaltion and the subsequent monetary collapse, i.e. when the currency can no longer be exchanged for goods and services, is the deciding factor in relation to the final tally of currency units in the financial system.

    I've heard this argument for 25 years, and I knows its been around longer. Lots of people still waiting for the collapse.

    Then engage your brain. Inflation occurs the moment a goverment introduces new currency units into the financial system and the economy. You may not see it as it takes time for the newly created dollars to filter through the economy, but given enough time, it'll increase consumer prices.

    I don't know if you're aware, but inflation HAS occurred within the stock market. Assets have increased way beyond what would normally be percieved as "fair value" within a startlingly short period of time. For instance, in 2018, Apple achieved a market value of 1 Tr dollars. In late 2020, without seeminly doing anything, the company hit a market value of 2.1 Tr dollars. This was caused by all the newly created stimulus dollars in the system chasing the same number of assets thus increasing the price. That's why we are seeing all time highs in the stock market despite the REAL economy performing at an all time low.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Ogg on Sun Mar 28 00:04:45 2021
    Re: Canada's simplest Bitcoin exchange soon.
    By: Ogg to Andeddu on Thu Mar 25 2021 09:56 pm

    Maybe someone else here can have better luck. The same
    announcement is mentioned at many places:

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-next-trillion-dollar-coin- 191300418.html

    https://ca.news.yahoo.com/crypto-next-trillion-dollar-coin-
    191300418.html

    Or google for "Teeka Tiwari bitcoin"

    Every link to the ultimate destination sort of locks up and the
    swirwly dots thing just stops. Maybe the event had/has a
    limited booking. :(

    That's too bad. I see that Teeka Tiwari has been interviewed on London Real and it took place only 6 days ago. It's up on YouTube so I'll probably give it a watch in the next couple of days to see what the guy is all about. Brian Rose is an ex-trader himself and a great interviewer so I am sure it'll be worth a watch.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 28 00:08:57 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 2021 06:39 am

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the pandemic?

    Give money to the people to spend, who'll prop up the economy from the bottom up, be able to eat, pay their landlords, and generally survive?


    That does not work. You will only create massive inflation by dropping people helicopter money. It is a short-term and short-sighted "solution" that will cause MUCH deeper problems down the road.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ BBS for Amstrad computer users including CPC, PPC and PCW!
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sun Mar 28 06:00:29 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on Sat Mar 27 2021 09:49 pm

    I am pretty sure if you actually had a good faith position to become informed, you'd be able to use a search engine yourself. As far as I'm concerned, I am not in favor of collectivist/socialist policies. I could be convinced of an argument for specific social programs, but that is far from the same argument.

    You didn't answer the question. What specifically did I say, which endorsed Communism, or some form of collectivism?


    Economic systems in which the think of production is carried out by enterprises that are collectively owned by workers are collectivist. They are prominently featured by Fascist and anarcho-syndicalist programs.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sun Mar 28 06:04:13 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on Sat Mar 27 2021 09:53 pm

    The value of the US dollar, if supply is infinite, should be zero.

    It isn't.

    Why is the value of the dollar not zero then?


    Tendency is for it to be zero. See inflation.

    It is not zero right now because supply in circulation is not zero right now. Then there are also issues like the so called "speed of money", according to which inflation does not apply evenly to the whole economy. Essential industries get hits first and harder by inflation, markets that are less dynamic (such as luxury)just tail the trend.

    I mean, it is not like fiat currencies haven't crashed in the past and we are theorizing over thigns that could be possible, but have not been demonstrated.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Sun Mar 28 08:54:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Not disputing that. I was referring more to culture and values.
    Companies can effectively "ban" speech, even if the government itself doesn't.

    The idea that companies can effectively ban speech is not 100% correct.

    There are laws dealing with political ads, for example. A TV station can't air only one side. They have to provide the same access to all sides.

    Then there's Section 230 - which protects platforms (i.e. the company is not responsible for the content of its users). The reason for that is that the company claims that it cannot police the content.

    But if the company censors content, then 1) it's not a platform, but a publisher
    and 2) it proved that it **can** police its content. Therefore it should have no Section 230 protection and can be sued for the content of its users.


    ... The tuna doesn't taste the same without the dolphin.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Sun Mar 28 22:27:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <605FC65A.25436.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <605D225B.49991.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on
    Thu Mar 25 2021 11:25 pm

    We are definitely talking past each other because I am discussing the literal economic definition of scarcity in relation to commodities. I was NOT talking about artificial scarcity, which is what you are describing.

    All fiat currencies are destined to collapse sooner or later as they have no interinsic value. Hyperinfaltion and the subsequent monetary collapse, i.e. when the currency can no longer be exchanged for goods and services, is the deciding factor in relation to the final tally of currency units in the financial system.

    I've heard this argument for 25 years, and I knows its been around longer. Lots of people still waiting for the collapse.

    Then engage your brain. Inflation occurs the moment a goverment
    introduces new currency units into the financial system and the
    economy. You may not see it as it takes time for the newly created
    dollars to filter through the economy, but given enough time, it'll increase consumer prices.

    I don't know if you're aware, but inflation HAS occurred within the
    stock market. Assets have increased way beyond what would normally be percieved as "fair value" within a startlingly short period of time.
    For instance, in 2018, Apple achieved a market value of 1 Tr dollars.
    In late 2020, without seeminly doing anything, the company hit a market value of 2.1 Tr dollars. This was caused by all the newly created
    stimulus dollars in the system chasing the same number of assets thus increasing the price. That's why we are seeing all time highs in the
    stock market despite the REAL economy performing at an all time low.

    Call me a pedant if you will, but that is not the result of an INFINITE supply.
    Having the potential for an infinite supply and inflating the money supply are two different things.

    The reason that there is no finite limit to the amount of currency that can be issued, is because there may not be a finite limit to which the economy can grow. Perhaps physically there is, but we don't where where that is. Where would you set the limit?

    Now, if you want to argue that the money supply is growing faster than it should, that is a different discussion (and one where you won't find me disagreeing). But making the amount of money that could potentially be issued FINITE doesn't fix that, unless you want to create a shortage, by setting the limit below that which is warranted.

    My point is, the mere fact it is theoretically infinite is not the problem. It is the practical issuance of money which is the problem.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Arelor on Sun Mar 28 17:09:14 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Boraxman on Sun Mar 28 2021 06:04 am

    Tendency is for it to be zero. See inflation.

    It is not zero right now because supply in circulation is not zero right now. Then there are also issues like the so called "speed of money", according to which inflation does not apply evenly to the whole economy. Essential industries get hits first and harder by inflation, markets that are less dynamic (such as luxury)just tail the trend.

    I mean, it is not like fiat currencies haven't crashed in the past and we are theorizing over thigns that could be possible, but have not been demonstrated.


    Mankind has observed over 775 fiat currencies come and go. Every form of fiat currency in existence is doomed to fail. The only reason the US dollar has been going on for so long is because of its position as the world reserve currency, one which is heavily backed by the might of the US military, affording it substantial breathing space as the only currency utilised in the trade of oil. This has allowed the USA to export its inflation around the world thereby suppressing consumer prices. Many major economists (both idealogically to the Left and Right) and Wall Street bankers maintain that an inflationary spike is just around the corner. Even Fed chair Powell made admissions that inflation is unavoidable. I, along with many others, have already explained this to Boraxman however he appears to wake up with amnesia each morning only to revert back to using the same debunked arguments as the previous day. Because of this, I do not believe him to be intellectually honest.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Sun Mar 28 17:38:12 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on Sat Mar 27 2021 09:53 pm

    Your assertion that they don't keep printing near infinite supply is wrong/flawed, so instead of accepting you were mistaken, you change the subject. I didn't say that there shouldn't have been measures taken, you're arguing a point I didn't make. Typical leftist progressive.

    The value of the US dollar, if supply is infinite, should be zero.

    It isn't.

    Why is the value of the dollar not zero then?


    We have already discussed this, Boraxman, and you went quiet after the distinction between the theoretical limit and the real world limit in relation to quantitative easing was made by both myself and Dr What. We have already discussed and clarified the reasons as to why fiat currencies have percieved values and can be exchanged for goods and services.

    I don't want to pick on you because a number of people on this board are guilty of the same crime, but it appears that VERY FEW of us are intellectually honest enough to change position whenever we are confronted by a greater argument. This renders much of the discussion pointless due to the covering and re-treading of the same ground again and again, well after the facts have been established and explained thoroughly.

    ---
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  • From Lupine Furmen@VERT/FURFOL to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Mar 28 11:06:13 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 2021 06:39:00

    Are you fucking serious? Most of the US currency in the world was
    "created" in the past two years... it's not infinite, but it's
    actually a problem.

    What should have been done to prop up the economy during the
    pandemic?

    Give money to the people to spend, who'll prop up the economy from the bottom up, be able to eat, pay their landlords, and generally survive?

    Exactly. Business should not have gotten a single dime of the stimulus money. Every last penny should have gone to the citizens. Then it let the citizens decide what businesses live or die with their spending.
    -+-

    Lupine Furmen
    -Dallas Vinson
    Furmens Folly (FIDO 1:123/257) - telnet: furmenservices.net:23
    SSH: furmenservices.net:23222
    Before the Web - telnet: furmenservices.net:23232
    Legends of Yesteryear (FIDO 1:123/256) - telnet: furmenservices.net:23322
    Sound Source ]|[ - telnet: furmenservices.net:2323



    Dallas

    ... I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

    ---
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  • From Lupine Furmen@VERT/FURFOL to Tracker1 on Sun Mar 28 11:13:45 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Boraxman on Fri Mar 26 2021 10:27:12

    I think this thread needs to be moved to the politics echo.
    -+-

    Lupine Furmen
    -Dallas Vinson
    Furmens Folly (FIDO 1:123/257) - telnet: furmenservices.net:23
    SSH: furmenservices.net:23222
    Before the Web - telnet: furmenservices.net:23232
    Legends of Yesteryear (FIDO 1:123/256) - telnet: furmenservices.net:23322
    Sound Source ]|[ - telnet: furmenservices.net:2323



    Dallas

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Furmen's Folly - furmenservices.net:23
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Lupine Furmen on Mon Mar 29 08:51:00 2021
    Lupine Furmen wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Exactly. Business should not have gotten a single dime of the stimulus money. Every last penny should have gone to the citizens. Then it let
    the citizens decide what businesses live or die with their spending.

    Unfortunately, Leftie Tyrants (like "Governor" Whit-less here in Michigan) decided what business should live or die. You can't spend money at a business that the gov't does not "allow" to open.


    ... "640K ought to be enough for anybody." (Bill Gates, 1981)
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Mon Mar 29 08:47:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Sunday 28.03.21 - 00:04, Andeddu wrote to Ogg:

    Every link to the ultimate destination sort of locks up and the
    swirwly dots thing just stops. Maybe the event had/has a
    limited booking. :(

    That's too bad. I see that Teeka Tiwari has been interviewed on London
    Real and it took place only 6 days ago. It's up on YouTube so I'll
    probably give it a watch in the next couple of days to see what the guy is all about. Brian Rose is an ex-trader himself and a great interviewer so I am sure it'll be worth a watch.

    I found another "interview" with TT, but again, it only mentions
    a place to "sign-up" inorder to find out what TT's coin-pick is.
    I was one with Brian Rose too. The interview mentioned Mar 24
    as the announcement date. So, maybe that's the one that you
    heard about? Anyway.. I haven't come across any material that
    links up Tiwari and the specific coin(s).


    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Andeddu on Mon Mar 29 08:57:00 2021
    Hello Andeddu!

    ** On Saturday 27.03.21 - 23:32, Andeddu wrote to Ogg:

    Interested in taking this topic to an emptier echo? I could
    could post snippets from the newsletter I get. Discuss. Hope.
    Dream. I would suggest CHAT or COFFEE_KLATSCH. Then, if the
    investment topic becomes bullish (pun intended) a dedicated echo
    to talk about it could work well.

    Yeah, I am happy to talk about investments and different types of
    financial instruments, etc... We can work something out. Does Net Mail work? Would that be suitable?

    Maybe a public space would be more fun. It could give a chance
    for people to chime in. And we can prefix the subject with [$]
    so that investment-talk is easier to filter and look up in an
    otherwise "general" echo.

    NFTs are ludicrous. I don't see how you could auction off
    something that is a component part of a much larger online account/presence...

    'Fungibility' is genrally an asset's ability to be broken
    down into identical parts. For instance, 50 cents is half of
    a dollar and is worth 50 cents regardless of which 50 cent
    coin it is and who is carrying it.

    I didn't quite see the "component part" aspect of it. I need to
    read more about it.

    Barter doesn't work in a sophisticated trade economy because
    you can't break down commodities into smaller identical
    component parts. A horse may be worth 200 loafs of bread,
    however if you only need one loaf of bread and a horse is
    all you have then you're onto plums. That is why a currency
    has to be fungible.

    In the recent year or two, this service has popped up:

    https://barterpay.ca

    Another one I just noticed:

    https://www.swapsity.ca/

    Sounds interesting. I like the way the system attempts to
    coordinate people with other people who could exchange different
    goods for different things. But I see a tiny flaw in it. More
    later.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Mon Mar 29 18:12:35 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Andeddu on Sun Mar 28 2021 10:27 pm

    The reason that there is no finite limit to the amount of currency that can be issued, is because there may not be a finite limit to which the economy can grow. Perhaps physically there is, but we don't where where that is. Where would you set the limit?

    Now, if you want to argue that the money supply is growing faster than it should, that is a different discussion (and one where you won't find me disagreeing). But making the amount of money that could potentially be issued FINITE doesn't fix that, unless you want to create a shortage, by setting the limit below that which is warranted.

    My point is, the mere fact it is theoretically infinite is not the problem. It is the practical issuance of money which is the problem.

    We have been through this dance before. Although there is no theoretical limit to a fiat currency, the real world limit is reached when it can no longer be exchanged for goods and services. I do not see what part of this concept is diffcult to understand in relation to a backed currency being fundamentally different from an unbacked one.

    The upper-limit of currency units in the system is dictated by economic output along with a country's holdings of precious metals. The US has a lower REAL economic output along with less precious metals in its bullion banks in comparison to historical figures, and yet FAR MORE currency is being created than ever before resulting in higher consumer prices.

    ---
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  • From Andeddu@VERT/AMSTRAD to Boraxman on Mon Mar 29 18:33:55 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Boraxman on Mon Mar 29 2021 06:12 pm

    My point is, the mere fact it is theoretically infinite is not the problem. It is the practical issuance of money which is the problem.

    Fiat currencys ARE a problem due to the human condition. The idea that any of us would not collect cash from an infinite money tree in our backyard is ridiculous, just as it is ridiculous to expect politicians to have the integrity and restraint not to print currency to pay for funding gaps or pet projects. You would only be right if we were governed by an AI administrator who was progammed NOT to create more currency units unless certain conditions, such as a higher GDP, were met.

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  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to DR. WHAT on Tue Mar 30 14:35:00 2021
    Lupine Furmen wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Exactly. Business should not have gotten a single dime of the stimulus money. Every last penny should have gone to the citizens. Then it let the citizens decide what businesses live or die with their spending.

    Unfortunately, Leftie Tyrants (like "Governor" Whit-less here in Michigan) decided what business should live or die. You can't spend money at a business
    that the gov't does not "allow" to open.

    Same here in Kentucky.


    * SLMR 2.1a * Make like a tree and leave.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Tracker1 on Thu Apr 1 13:06:37 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Tracker1 to Dr. What on Mon Mar 22 2021 05:26 am

    Trying to tax the "income" of companies is an exercise in futility.

    This.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Fri Apr 2 23:23:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <606061CD.22172.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <605F0EAA.50013.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on
    Sat Mar 27 2021 09:49 pm

    I am pretty sure if you actually had a good faith position to become informed, you'd be able to use a search engine yourself. As far as I'm concerned, I am not in favor of collectivist/socialist policies. I could be convinced of an argument for specific social programs, but that is far from the same argument.

    You didn't answer the question. What specifically did I say, which endorsed Communism, or some form of collectivism?


    Economic systems in which the think of production is carried out by enterprises that are collectively owned by workers are collectivist.
    They are prominently featured by Fascist and anarcho-syndicalist
    programs.

    Don't shareholders collectively own a company? Is Capitalism then collectivist too?

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Fri Apr 2 23:29:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60608B42.51639.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <605F0EA8.50012.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Tracker1 <=-

    Not disputing that. I was referring more to culture and values.
    Companies can effectively "ban" speech, even if the government itself doesn't.

    The idea that companies can effectively ban speech is not 100% correct.

    There are laws dealing with political ads, for example. A TV station can't air only one side. They have to provide the same access to all sides.

    Then there's Section 230 - which protects platforms (i.e. the company
    is not responsible for the content of its users). The reason for that
    is that the company claims that it cannot police the content.

    But if the company censors content, then 1) it's not a platform, but a publisher
    and 2) it proved that it **can** police its content. Therefore it
    should have no Section 230 protection and can be sued for the content
    of its users.

    But they can choose who they do business with. They can choose not to provide services. They can collude to do this. We've already witnessed this.

    If Mastercard, SalesForce, Facebook, Twitter, Uber, AWS decide that it is not in their business interest to support you (for underlying political motives), they can cut you off. This is a major disincentive to engage in speech which could get you cut off.

    Of course, they aren't being 100% honest about this. It's not like when they colluded to destroy Parler they were being transparent, which makes it hard to prove that there is an underlying motive apart from the publically stated one.

    Remember, human beings run these companies, and humans are f%$k-ups. Just because they are in enterprise doens't make them any less corruptible.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Fri Apr 2 23:50:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6060B0F4.25451.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <605F0EAC.50014.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Tracker1 on
    Sat Mar 27 2021 09:53 pm

    Your assertion that they don't keep printing near infinite supply is wrong/flawed, so instead of accepting you were mistaken, you change the subject. I didn't say that there shouldn't have been measures taken, you're arguing a point I didn't make. Typical leftist progressive.

    The value of the US dollar, if supply is infinite, should be zero.

    It isn't.

    Why is the value of the dollar not zero then?


    We have already discussed this, Boraxman, and you went quiet after the distinction between the theoretical limit and the real world limit in relation to quantitative easing was made by both myself and Dr What. We have already discussed and clarified the reasons as to why fiat
    currencies have percieved values and can be exchanged for goods and services.

    I don't want to pick on you because a number of people on this board
    are guilty of the same crime, but it appears that VERY FEW of us are intellectually honest enough to change position whenever we are
    confronted by a greater argument. This renders much of the discussion pointless due to the covering and re-treading of the same ground again
    and again, well after the facts have been established and explained thoroughly.

    I went quiet because I've been away, not because I have something to avoid.

    Mathematically, infinite has a specific meaning. Infinite supply is NOT approachable mathematically. It simply not possible. You can sure as hell print a lot more money than you should.

    I don't place that much stock in economic theory, it is called the dismal science for a reason. Lets look at what we observe, and the relationship between action and results...


    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Andeddu on Fri Apr 2 23:54:00 2021
    Andeddu wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <60620F83.25466.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    @REPLY: <60620A83.25465.dove-general@amstrad.simulant.uk>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Andeddu to Boraxman on
    Mon Mar 29 2021 06:12 pm

    My point is, the mere fact it is theoretically infinite is not the problem. It is the practical issuance of money which is the problem.

    Fiat currencys ARE a problem due to the human condition. The idea that
    any of us would not collect cash from an infinite money tree in our backyard is ridiculous, just as it is ridiculous to expect politicians
    to have the integrity and restraint not to print currency to pay for funding gaps or pet projects. You would only be right if we were
    governed by an AI administrator who was progammed NOT to create more currency units unless certain conditions, such as a higher GDP, were
    met.

    You would do what then? Return to the gold standard?

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Boraxman on Sat Apr 3 04:26:32 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on Fri Apr 02 2021 11:23 pm

    Economic systems in which the think of production is carried out by enterprises that are collectively owned by workers are collectivist. They are prominently featured by Fascist and anarcho-syndicalist programs.

    Don't shareholders collectively own a company? Is Capitalism then collectiv too?


    Shareholders don't own the company by virtue of working on it.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Arelor on Sat Apr 3 23:24:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <606834C8.22234.dove-general@palantirbbs.ddns.net>
    @REPLY: <6067149E.50085.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Arelor on
    Fri Apr 02 2021 11:23 pm

    Economic systems in which the think of production is carried out by enterprises that are collectively owned by workers are collectivist. They are prominently featured by Fascist and anarcho-syndicalist programs.

    Don't shareholders collectively own a company? Is Capitalism then collectiv too?


    Shareholders don't own the company by virtue of working on it.

    A shareholder owns at least part of the company. Any publically listed company will have multiple people who have a stake in it.

    And yes, I am arguing that the rightful owner of the product of labour, is labour itself. You can throw whatever label you like on it, and think if it all you like. Throwing words like "Fascist" doesn't sway me, I've seen that word thrown about so, so much by the left I tend to just ignore it. Just as I tend to ignore claims of "Socialism", as most of the time, it used by the right the way that facist is used by the left, a vacuous smear term.



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Boraxman on Sat Apr 3 15:08:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    But they can choose who they do business with. They can choose not to provide services. They can collude to do this. We've already
    witnessed this.

    You really need to read up on that because your ignorance is showing.

    If a business refuses to do business because you are a "protected" class, then the answer is that they can't do that and they are in violation of federal anti-descrimination laws.

    In California, they have more protected classes and that includes political affiliations.

    If Mastercard, SalesForce, Facebook, Twitter, Uber, AWS decide that it
    is not in their business interest to support you (for underlying
    political motives), they can cut you off.

    Actually, if you live in California, they can't.

    Of course, they aren't being 100% honest about this. It's not like
    when they colluded to destroy Parler they were being transparent, which makes it hard to prove that there is an underlying motive apart from
    the publically stated one.

    First time is a coincidence. Second time is just bad luck. Third time
    there's something up.


    ... To our sweethearts and wives. May they never meet!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Sat Apr 3 16:30:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Boraxman <=-

    Don't shareholders collectively own a company? Is Capitalism then collectiv too?

    Shareholders don't own the company by virtue of working on it.

    Lefties don't understand economics. That's really the issue here.

    As an employee, I don't make nearly as much as the owners do. But my risk
    is also very low. If the company makes a bad decision and goes bankrupt,
    I just go find another job.

    As the owner, I make much more than employees. But I also
    shoulder much greater risk. If I borrow $1 million for a new idea and that idea turned out to be a flop and the company goes bankrupt, I still have to repay that.

    As a shareholder gets a share of the company, but also a share of the risks.
    If I pay $1000 for a share in a company and that company goes bankrupt
    that $1000 is gone.

    Kickstarter is great example of how this works. Many people kick in (relatively)
    small amounts of money into a project. If the project succeeds, they get
    what the project promised. If the project fails, they get nothing. (It's amazing how many Kickstart people fail to understand this.)


    ... I'm not worthless. I can always serve as a bad example.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Dr. What on Sat Apr 3 17:56:36 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Arelor on Sat Apr 03 2021 04:30 pm


    Kickstarter is great example of how this works. Many people kick in (relatively)
    small amounts of money into a project. If the project succeeds, they get what the project promised. If the project fails, they get nothing. (It's amazing how many Kickstart people fail to understand this.)


    Crowdfunding is a weird beast.

    It was born as a low risk way of funding projects. The stakes for backers are low because most crowdfunding platformsm will return the money to them if the funding goals are not achieved.

    What pisses me off is that the marketing engine has turned it into a pre-order system. Entities that are capable of pushing the project forward without funding launch a crowdfunding campaign nevertheless. Fans give them loads of money because that way they get to own a copy of the end product before anybody else, plus early adopter bonuses. It is so often assumed that the whole procedure is a pre-order, that when there are issues everybody is surprised and starts screaming bloody murder.

    Man we humans are stupid as bricks.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Boraxman on Sat Apr 3 12:34:00 2021
    Boraxman wrote to Andeddu <=-

    You would do what then? Return to the gold standard?

    Enter conspiracy theory that most of the world's gold has been looted
    already. Has anyone ever seen a bar of gold?


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Arelor on Sun Apr 4 09:34:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Dr. What <=-

    Crowdfunding is a weird beast.

    Not really. It's really no different then how start ups get funded.

    But the people involved take a much lower risk.

    What pisses me off is that the marketing engine has turned it into a pre-order system.

    And that is the real problem with crowdfunding. They aren't setting the expectations correctly. In the Venture Capital area, the people with the
    money to invest have a good eye for BS (think Sharktank) and know when
    it's a bad investment.

    But the crowdfunding people are given the expectation that they are pre-ordering
    a product when they are, in fact, funding a start up that may fail to start.

    I've had a few Kickstarter projects that simply fail to lift off for many reasons.
    I've only had a couple where the project person took the money and ran.
    Then I had some projects that produced, only to find that the product was
    not nearly as good as promised.

    But I've had more than my share of successes too. The CrowPi, for example.
    My nephew got a great Christmas present that year.

    Man we humans are stupid as bricks.

    Have you ever read anything by Bruce Schneier? He's probably the closest
    that I've ever seen to be called Security Expert.

    But he's written many times that human's are really bad at determining risk.

    https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/11/perceived_risk_2.html

    + People exaggerate spectacular but rare risks and downplay common risks.
    + People have trouble estimating risks for anything not exactly like their normal situation.
    + Personified risks are perceived to be greater than anonymous risks.
    + People underestimate risks they willingly take and overestimate risks in situations they canâÇÖt control.
    + Last, people overestimate risks that are being talked about and remain an object of public scrutiny.



    ... You have PMS and a Handgun? I'll go quietly.....
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ Diamond Mine Online BBS - bbs.dmine.net:24 - Fredericksburg, VA USA
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dr. What on Sun Apr 4 23:33:19 2021
    Re: Crwodfunding (Was Gab)
    By: Dr. What to Arelor on Sun Apr 04 2021 09:34 am

    But he's written many times that human's are really bad at determining risk.

    https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/11/perceived_risk_2.html

    + People exaggerate spectacular but rare risks and downplay common risks.
    + People have trouble estimating risks for anything not exactly like their

    also he said that people ignore longterm risks and over react to new risks.

    heart disease and covid!
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dr. What on Mon Apr 5 07:00:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Arelor <=-

    What pisses me off is that the marketing engine has turned it into a pre-order system.

    And that is the real problem with crowdfunding. They aren't setting
    the expectations correctly.

    What bothers me is seeing established, profitable companies using
    crowdfunding to pay for products under the guise of "let the people vote for what they want with their dollars".

    In my opinion, crowdfunding was meant to let individuals and small companies leverage sources of money when they don't have funds available through the usual means.


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Lupine Furmen@VERT/FURFOL to Dr. What on Mon Apr 5 09:17:12 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Dr. What to Lupine Furmen on Mon Mar 29 2021 08:51:00

    Exactly. Business should not have gotten a single dime of the
    stimulus money. Every last penny should have gone to the citizens.
    Then it let the citizens decide what businesses live or die with
    their spending.

    Unfortunately, Leftie Tyrants (like "Governor" Whit-less here in Michigan) decided what business should live or die. You can't spend money at a business that the gov't does not "allow" to open.

    And THERE is blatant proof of the corruption in Government. THESE are the people that need to be removed from power at all costs! They need to be reminded that they WORK FOR US! NOT the corporations or lobbiests!!!!

    It is time for a revolution!! Every day we see more and more examples of how this government is a FAILED experiment and MUST BE REPLACED!!!
    -+-

    Lupine Furmen
    -Dallas Vinson
    Furmens Folly (FIDO 1:123/257) - telnet: furmenservices.net:23
    SSH: furmenservices.net:23222
    Before the Web - telnet: furmenservices.net:23232
    Legends of Yesteryear (FIDO 1:123/256) - telnet: furmenservices.net:23322
    Sound Source ]|[ - telnet: furmenservices.net:2323



    Dallas

    ... A liberal is a conservative who's been mugged by reality.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Furmen's Folly - furmenservices.net:23
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Apr 5 17:32:33 2021
    Re: Re: Crwodfunding (Was Gab)
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dr. What on Mon Apr 05 2021 07:00 am

    Dr. What wrote to Arelor <=-

    What pisses me off is that the marketing engine has turned it into a pre-order system.

    And that is the real problem with crowdfunding. They aren't setting the expectations correctly.

    What bothers me is seeing established, profitable companies using crowdfunding to pay for products under the guise of "let the people vote for what they want with their dollars".

    In my opinion, crowdfunding was meant to let individuals and small companies leverage sources of money when they don't have funds available through the usual means.


    ... Abandon desire

    Exactly this. A hundred times THIS.

    Also, crowdfunding is being used in hobby niches for bypassing traditional points of sale and I still don' know how I feel about it.

    For example, it used to be the case that roleplayers in small communities would use a local game store or club as a place for meeting, gamming and purchasing supplies for the hobby.One of the things crowdfunding does is to launch pre-order campaigns for items that the local game store would have sold otherwise. Since most small stores are struggling already, this is bad news for them.

    Some players are actually worried about this (and other issues with crwdfunding campaigns in the hobby) because oftentimes they only get to play in the local game store. When you add the high rate of botched crowdfundings in the gaming world, some people gets really pissed off.

    But as long as there are whales (videogame slang for people who spends vasts ammounts of money on purchaseable extras) then the crowdfunding model will be profitable even if most people does not want part in it.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

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  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Boraxman on Mon Apr 5 17:10:01 2021
    On 3/27/2021 3:48 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    Corporate power is granted by government, not limited by it...
    Government grants liability protections to companies. If they
    didn't do that, then common-law could handle most issues with
    corporate abuse of power.

    Not disputing that. I was referring more to culture and values.
    Companies can effectively "ban" speech, even if the government
    itself doesn't.

    The following concept only needs to be expanded to include virtual
    public squares of size.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privately_owned_public_space

    When social media sites include congressional representatives, senators
    and presidents, they should have strict limitations on who/how it can
    block people from access.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Dr. What on Mon Apr 5 17:21:32 2021
    On 3/28/2021 5:54 AM, Dr. What wrote:

    Then there's Section 230 - which protects platforms (i.e. the company
    is not responsible for the content of its users). The reason for
    that is that the company claims that it cannot police the content.

    But if the company censors content, then 1) it's not a platform, but
    a publisher and 2) it proved that it **can** police its content.
    Therefore it should have no Section 230 protection and can be sued
    for the content of its users.

    I'm not sure I'd go that far for most sites... I would suggest that at a certain size/scale in terms of percentage of the general population,
    that a site must respect legal content. There's also differences in
    proactive vs. responsive monitoring as well as due diligence.

    For contrast, a Catholic message board shouldn't be required to keep
    posts in support of abortion if they don't want that content. As long
    as it's specifically spelled out what is and isn't acceptable, the
    policies, decision process and evenly applied, I am less concerned about placing those restrictions.

    What happened to Parlor should be considered far more scary than the censorship.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Andeddu on Mon Apr 5 17:26:58 2021
    On 3/28/2021 9:38 AM, Andeddu wrote:>
    I don't want to pick on you because a number of people on this board
    are guilty of the same crime, but it appears that VERY FEW of us are intellectually honest enough to change position whenever we are
    confronted by a greater argument. This renders much of the discussion pointless due to the covering and re-treading of the same ground again
    and again, well after the facts have been established and explained thoroughly.

    Not to me... that said, I tend to shift my position quite a bit when
    based on more information. Moral/ethical discussions, less so. Most of
    the time when I stop talking is more because I'm tired of arguing with
    someone that won't shift or is demanding of me something that will take
    more time than I have or are willing to take.

    In terms of moral and ethical PoV, I tend to lean libertarian as an
    ideal... usually pragmatic about the reality of a direction or solutions
    that can work. There are a lot of things I'm morally against, but don't
    think should be illegal out of principle.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Lupine Furmen on Mon Apr 5 17:35:55 2021
    On 3/28/2021 9:06 AM, Lupine Furmen wrote:

    Exactly. Business should not have gotten a single dime of the stimulus money. Every last penny should have gone to the citizens. Then it let
    the citizens decide what businesses live or die with their spending.

    I differ greatly, or at least a lot. I think the original plan to
    "flatten the curve" should have consisted of 3 days to prepare, followed
    by a 2-week lockdown, with a suspension of interest/payments on interest bearing accounts during the lockdown.

    I think after the hard lockdown, closing bars (bar seating) and event
    centers would have been sufficient in most places, and that there would
    have been enough to fund those businesses spending less than we actually
    did for 3+ months... from there, the suggestion of mask wearing with a
    30-50% buffer on spacing for restaurants etc. would have probably been
    more than enough.

    Martial Law and orders as such could have held for 2-3 months while
    working on improving infrastructure suggestions. These were my
    positions close to from the beginning, and those here that know me on FB
    can confirm as such. I think the whole think was largely overblown.

    I do think that NYC was probably more appropriate for stronger
    lockdowns, but given the amount of politicized information, and the
    broader scope of NY State, it's hard to say for sure.

    There was definitely abuse of the programs put into place for
    businesses, there always is... giving everyone a check rather than
    basing it on income over a year and a half removed was probably a bad
    idea, and just supplying a check to everyone who filed taxes the year
    before would probably have been better/easier to sort out.
    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From HusTler@VERT/PHARCYDE to Lupine Furmen on Tue Apr 6 06:35:17 2021
    Re: CAPITALIST PIGS (was: re: GAB)
    By: Lupine Furmen to Dr. What on Mon Apr 05 2021 09:17 am

    And THERE is blatant proof of the corruption in Government. THESE are the people that need to be removed from power at all costs! They need to be reminded that they WORK FOR US! NOT the corporations or lobbiests!!!!

    It is time for a revolution!! Every day we see more and more examples of how this government is a FAILED experiment and MUST BE REPLACED!!!
    -+-
    I'm with ya! Arghhh! What next. We will follow you all the way!

    ... A day for firm decisions!!!!! Or is it?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ thePharcyde_ telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin)
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue Apr 6 09:13:00 2021
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dr. What <=-

    What bothers me is seeing established, profitable companies using crowdfunding to pay for products under the guise of "let the people
    vote for what they want with their dollars".

    But the people **always** vote for what they want with their dollars. There's nothing wrong or strange about that.

    Personally, I see established companies using crowdfunding as a good thing.

    Let's say that Company comes up with a product. But they are unsure about
    how the public will respond to it. So they crowdfund it. The Company
    keeps its investment to a minimum and can see how the public responds.

    If people don't like it, the crowdfunding project aborts and the Company
    loses far less money then they would have if they produced a product,
    with advertising and sent it to all the stores.

    If people do like it, they Company now has seed money (which means less financial risk) to actually start producing the product. They can also
    get good feedback from the early purchasers to improve the product.

    In my opinion, crowdfunding was meant to let individuals and small companies leverage sources of money when they don't have funds
    available through the usual means.

    It makes no difference what it was intended for if everyone can use it
    for their benefit.


    ... Always smile. It makes people wonder what you're up to.
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Tracker1 on Tue Apr 6 23:50:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <606BA6DB.17351.dove-general@roughneckbbs.com>
    @REPLY: <605F0EA8.50012.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    On 3/27/2021 3:48 AM, Boraxman wrote:
    Corporate power is granted by government, not limited by it...
    Government grants liability protections to companies. If they
    didn't do that, then common-law could handle most issues with
    corporate abuse of power.

    Not disputing that. I was referring more to culture and values.
    Companies can effectively "ban" speech, even if the government
    itself doesn't.

    The following concept only needs to be expanded to include virtual
    public squares of size.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privately_owned_public_space

    When social media sites include congressional representatives, senators and presidents, they should have strict limitations on who/how it can block people from access.

    Agree. If you choose to make your infrastructure the 'public square', you have to accept that social obligations that come with that, specifically our culture of free, open and democratic debate. I do not consider it an imposition on business to put this obligation on them.



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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Dr. What on Wed Apr 7 00:00:00 2021
    Dr. What wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6068D5F9.51707.dove-general@dmine.net>
    @REPLY: <606714A0.50086.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Boraxman wrote to Dr. What <=-

    But they can choose who they do business with. They can choose not to provide services. They can collude to do this. We've already
    witnessed this.

    You really need to read up on that because your ignorance is showing.

    If a business refuses to do business because you are a "protected"
    class, then the answer is that they can't do that and they are in violation of federal anti-descrimination laws.

    In California, they have more protected classes and that includes political affiliations.

    If Mastercard, SalesForce, Facebook, Twitter, Uber, AWS decide that it
    is not in their business interest to support you (for underlying
    political motives), they can cut you off.

    Actually, if you live in California, they can't.

    Of course, they aren't being 100% honest about this. It's not like
    when they colluded to destroy Parler they were being transparent, which makes it hard to prove that there is an underlying motive apart from
    the publically stated one.

    First time is a coincidence. Second time is just bad luck. Third time there's something up.

    I didn't mention anything about a 'protected class'. https://www.inputmag.com/tech/salesforce-has-cut-off-emails-from-the-trump-campaign
    https://www.projectveritas.com/news/leaked-insider-tape-reveals-salesforces-plan-to-deplatform-broader-range-of/

    https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2021/01/08/we-need-more-than-deplatforming/

    I think we will see more of this type of action. It will be framed as businesses acting morally, sustainably, ethically. Discrimination is already legal. How do you think diversity quotas are reached? Unless you have the candidates, you must discriminate against people. And I've worked at companies where manager have been told specifically to prefer a 'protected class' over another, despite the other being more qualified.

    It would be interesting to see a legal challenge to diversity quotas, but I think you would lose.

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  • From Dumas Walker@VERT/CAPCITY2 to POINDEXTER FORTRAN on Tue Apr 6 14:38:00 2021
    What bothers me is seeing established, profitable companies using crowdfunding to pay for products under the guise of "let the people vote for what they want with their dollars".

    In my opinion, crowdfunding was meant to let individuals and small companies leverage sources of money when they don't have funds available through the usual means.

    +1


    * SLMR 2.1a * bulldozer (n.) - political speech writer taking a nap.

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Tracker1 on Tue Apr 6 06:50:00 2021
    Tracker1 wrote to Boraxman <=-

    The following concept only needs to be expanded to include virtual
    public squares of size.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privately_owned_public_space

    I miss working in San Francisco - finding all of the POPs became a bit of a scavenger hunt. I had one 3 doors down from my office space with a Peets coffee at the ground floor; it became a meeting place for my friends in the area.

    When social media sites include congressional representatives, senators and presidents, they should have strict limitations on who/how it can block people from access.

    Exactly.


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  • From Knightbbs@VERT/ENSEMBLE to Boraxman on Thu Apr 8 00:50:39 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on Fri Apr 02 2021 11:29 pm

    Article 230 is a dangerous law. If the platforms are NOT responsible for the content on their platform you can get 2 things: 1: Whoever wants to can buy political adds to influence an election with disinformation without the platform being responsible and 2: The platform can ban/censor anyone they please. This puts a LOT of power in the hands of the platforms WITHOUT liability. In classic media the same rules do not apply: If you publish something as a paper you are held responsible for what you print AND if you decide to censor somebody another news outlet can continue to let them speak. This is not the case with the big platforms (Twitter, Facebook). The fact they are not responsible for the content combined with their size, commercial goals and totally untransparent algorhythems make them a serious threat to democracy and free speech.

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Knightbbs on Thu Apr 8 07:12:00 2021
    Knightbbs wrote to Boraxman <=-

    Article 230 is a dangerous law. If the platforms are NOT responsible
    for the content on their platform you can get 2 things: 1: Whoever
    wants to can buy political adds to influence an election with disinformation without the platform being responsible and 2: The
    platform can ban/censor anyone they please.

    My thought is that most of the social networks are playing both sides of the card. Either you're a service and exert *no* editorial content and you don't manipulate the order or what content people see in order to make money. In that case, 230 applies.

    The telephone pole that you staple a flyer with your conspiracy theory is equally non-culpable.

    When you start manipulating the order and the presence of content, that's
    when I think 230 protections should stop. At that point you're a publisher exerting editorial control over your content.

    Those have been the arguments and the test of service versus publisher since Cubby vs. Compuserve way back when.


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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Knightbbs on Sat Apr 10 23:52:00 2021
    Knightbbs wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <606E99AF.28430.dove-general@warensemble.com>
    @REPLY: <606714A0.50086.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Boraxman to Dr. What on
    Fri Apr 02 2021 11:29 pm

    Article 230 is a dangerous law. If the platforms are NOT responsible
    for the content on their platform you can get 2 things: 1: Whoever
    wants to can buy political adds to influence an election with disinformation without the platform being responsible and 2: The
    platform can ban/censor anyone they please. This puts a LOT of power in the hands of the platforms WITHOUT liability. In classic media the same rules do not apply: If you publish something as a paper you are held responsible for what you print AND if you decide to censor somebody another news outlet can continue to let them speak. This is not the
    case with the big platforms (Twitter, Facebook). The fact they are not responsible for the content combined with their size, commercial goals
    and totally untransparent algorhythems make them a serious threat to democracy and free speech.

    I would think that if you were selling ads on your site or service, then you are a publisher. Your phone carrier, for instance, does not sell ad space. You don't get ads in your phone calls because they don't assume they have a role in putting content. They ONLY provide the means of communication.

    Now it gets tricker with the internet, because you could have a platform, that has a website where you register, and that website where you register may have ads. Where I think the precense of ads means you are a publisher, is if you are selling ads on the actual medium, ie, allowing advertisers to buy tweets, Facebook puts ads in your feed, etc.

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  • From Knightbbs@VERT/ENSEMBLE to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue Apr 13 06:10:33 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Knightbbs on Thu Apr 08 2021 07:12 am

    When you start manipulating the order and the presence of content, that's when I think 230 protections should stop. At that point you're a publisher exerting editorial control over your content.

    That is an excellent point.

    On how I found this place ? The 'back to the bbs' documentary on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0OwGSX2IiQ and the telnet BBS guide https://www.telnetbbsguide.com/ I rather enjoy checking in once or twice a day and follow up on some thread or another :)

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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Wed Apr 14 21:58:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Monday 05.04.21 - 17:32, Arelor wrote to poindexter FORTRAN:

    Also, crowdfunding is being used in hobby niches for
    bypassing traditional points of sale and I still don' know
    how I feel about it.

    For example, it used to be the case that roleplayers in
    small communities would use a local game store or club as a
    place for meeting, gamming and purchasing supplies for the
    hobby.One of the things crowdfunding does is to launch pre-
    order campaigns for items that the local game store would
    have sold otherwise. Since most small stores are struggling
    already, this is bad news for them.

    The key there is to charge a "rent" for using the store to stage
    their campaign.

    I've been approached by local authors who are anxious for a
    place to sell their own stock of books, hold a signing, or a
    meet-n-greet. What would I get out of it normally? Nothing.

    But, I would arrange that sales of the author's books would only
    occur at the event - through my cash register. If the author
    would run out of copies during the event, then I would ensure
    that those extra needed copies would be sold at my shop when
    more arrive thus ensuring a guaranteed sale.


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  • From Nikadimus@VERT/RAVENSKR to Arelor on Mon Apr 19 20:55:48 2021
    Re: Re: GAB
    By: Arelor to Boraxman on Fri Mar 19 2021 04:14:27

    Kids today dont realize the outcome of socialism. It seems that young adults here in America believe that a world without profit can yeald the latest medical technology and abundent food. They dont realize that all things become micro managed, in socialist world growing to little crops is better than too many.

    It is rather ironic that a generation (millenials and gen z'ers) so attuned to being different and serving the individual even to a point of attempting to change gender. I wish I could get them to understand that a socialist or near socialist regime is not going to offer transgener surgery, they dont have time for gay marriage, they wont need to care about your feelings, and will not let your personal feelings and needs get in their way. No matter who become the dictator.

    Check out China, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, and all the other Communisms and socialist regimes. Art becomes a waste of time in a socialism. All that is important is the empire itself and that each of it's citizens suffer equally for their share of life. I wish more Cubans and other ex-communist citizens did more public service annoucements gave these kids a clear eyed view of how aweful life can become. They are in denial that absolute power will corrupt their new world order.

    Sorry to just jump in, but the evil of socialism seems to pop up everywhere even in ancient archaic BBS news groups... LOL

    -Nikadimus ravenskraft.sytes.net:3000

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  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Nikadimus on Tue Apr 20 08:23:00 2021
    Nikadimus wrote to Arelor <=-

    Kids today dont realize the outcome of socialism.

    That's because they've been miseducated for their entire lives.

    It is rather ironic that a generation (millenials and gen z'ers) so attuned to being different and serving the individual even to a point
    of attempting to change gender. I wish I could get them to understand
    that a socialist or near socialist regime is not going to offer
    transgener surgery, they dont have time for gay marriage, they wont
    need to care about your feelings, and will not let your personal
    feelings and needs get in their way. No matter who become the dictator.

    Hitler called these people "useful idiots". And just like Hitler, Democrats will use these people to get them in power then wipe them out.


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  • From hollowone@VERT/AMIGAC to Arelor on Sun Apr 25 22:17:00 2021
    Crowdfunding is a weird beast.

    It was born as a low risk way of funding projects. The stakes for
    backers are low because most crowdfunding platformsm will return the
    money to them if the funding goals are not achieved.

    What pisses me off is that the marketing engine has turned it into a pre-order system.

    I agree. I stopped following any crowdfunding (KickStarter) initiatives since I've realized that. I hate pre-ordering unproven product. I hate early-stage projects being sold at full retail price as well.

    This in particular touches games or books and other media projects.
    When you release, point me to your e-store. When you release let me double check reviews of somebody who already purchased.

    if you're trying to make marketing noise through crowd founding. Fuck yourself. If you're selling beta to me for full price (like BGIII).. go and finish your product and don't do message me again or you risk me ignoring your product completely.

    Tough.. but I'm not a promo-hunter trying to scalp every occasion.
    If something is worthy, take my money, full price.

    But I'm allergic to bullshit.

    /h1
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Mon Feb 14 06:07:36 2022
    Re: GAB
    By: Ogg to MRO on Thu Feb 25 2021 07:19 am

    Hello MRO!

    ** On Wednesday 24.02.21 - 21:14, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    what is the fidonet channel?
    fidonet.online? i see a bunch of russian stuff

    Those are public groups. Some of those may or may not include
    some that are being linked to the sysop's bbs.

    But the official english-speaking ones are private. You have to
    be invited. That is done to avoid spammers. It is not unlike
    registering at a BBS except that one click will get it all done.

    The invite links are published in some back messages at
    FIDONET.TELEGRAM or FUTURE4FIDO echos.

    I'll provide a short-list here for convenience at the end of


    so i joined it and they asked me to change my TELEGRAM name so for their fidonet echo. so i left. :D
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