Biggles @Biggles@social.cleverlibre.org

@marcoarment

They can and should offer a bundle with the charger and cord discounted to cost, and be up front about the fact that it comes with no charger by default. Put a nice disclaimer up saying they're required by law to sell the phone without a charger, and who people should bitch at.

@bascht

Rolled a d6, divide by 2 round up. We're doing our part!

@darkuncle

I get it.

But - if you are at work and get a cake for Ted's birthday, and leave it in the break room - don't be surprised if someone who doesn't know Ted grabs a slice.

If you have conversations in an explicitly public forum, people will comment. Again - that's *kinda the point*. We share. We listen. And sometimes, we block. There's a reason blocking exists. It's a sign, like "wet paint". If you have a conversation here, anyone might comment, and here's your moderation tool. You may or may not like it - but it should surprise nobody.

Should people use discretion? Absolutely! Should you *expect* it? Lol no.

Don't *make* me go find the penny arcade comic, young man. You know *exactly* which one I speak of. You've sent it to me at least twice.

@darkuncle

Ok, let me flip it on it's head: you want to have a conversation with your peers, but you don't want that flat-earth reply guy. Your peers are on mastodon, a slack channel, email, and zoom. Which service is *least likely* to have strangers you don't know interject comments?

If mastodon is not inviting the community to share in conversations - then no place is.

What you want is a moderated forum; be aware this is like ACID and databases, the set of traits you describe (inclusive, everyone is there, but i can have globally visible conversations with a limited subset of people) kinda contradicts itself. I read an *excellent* paper a while ago about how all attempts at moderation displease *someone* - it's either too extreme or too forgiving, and someone ends up unhappy.

And - sealioning is just assholes. They happen in any big enough group of people, along with scam artists and advertisers and crypto-fools. By definition they ignore social norms. Block them ("That is the way") but understand where they come from; they're a side-effect of inclusivity.

Incidentally - figure out a way to achieve this goal of 'all of the good and none of the bad' and your road will be paved with gold. I'll be subscriber #1, assuming of course that way isn't "don't allow his sort to sign on" 🥺

@darkuncle

Context is everything.

A newspaper opinion piece invites replies. Having a forum discussion in a class invites participation. You might overhear a conversation in the next booth over in a restaurant, but it would be rude to intrude. Quiet phone conversations where someone has stepped away are private. Acceptable behavior is defined by the context.

I gotta be honest - if you have a conversation on a public social forum - randoms joining the conversation are part of the deal. Indeed - maybe the entire point. If you want private conversation, or moderated, you have more appropriate options. Slack (so many slacks), email, discord, keybase, or DMs in so many places. I *often* post things to slack (multiple slacks!) that i think will interest the much smaller group there and not the public-at-large.

Point being - maybe the reply guy is an artifact of choosing the wrong communication context. If you post to a public forum, you are explicitly inviting public commentary.

@darkuncle

You can still do that. Honestly. Maybe not for all day, but telling the fam "I have trolls to kill, bring me snacks and let me do this!" Is a thing, so long as you don't overdo it.

In my early married life, we actually did a couple of lan parties where we brought the significant others, and the non-players hung out and did chat/snacks/movies. That wasn't horrible, but the group was very integrated - we were all college friends.

@darkuncle

To be fair, the niche has been filled by the internet, easy voice comms, and MMORPGS or shooters, or even tabletop games. Assuming i can work out schedules, it's straightforward to get online with a group of friends and play, and i don't have to seatbelt a 17" CRT into my car's front seat. Is something lost? Maybe so. But something has also been gained, as i can and do play with friends out-of-state.

@darkuncle

Fair warning - I invested years ago, it was a kickstarter or some such, and the very early prototype was a bit clunky and had issues. It *appears* they've addressed all of those, and then some. But a few years is forever, and I have *not* found a good alternative that is: standalone, BLE, secure, supports fido2 and webauthn, and open source. I'd have already pulled the trigger if it was a bit cheaper or had a domestic supplier. I probably still will, come payday.

@jwz @timbray @codinghorror

You always learn something re-implementing solutions to problems long-solved.

Usually, if you're honest with yourself, it's humility. And that's healthy. And sometimes it's just fun. And sometimes what you learned actually helps you later on down the line. Your time is yours to spend.

But don't roll your own crypto.