Nick @internic@social.cleverlibre.org

Social media algorithms excel at convening well-meaning people rapidly in a good cause.

The outcome can become overwhelming and deeply harmful for the people they are ostensibly helping.

In a new article for @datasociety with @williamrfrey, we introduce the term "Savior Swarming" to share examples and describe how these tragedies might happen.

I'm so grateful for William's thoughtful leadership & ethnographic work on this idea

https://medium.com/datasociety-points/when-kindness-kills-21a69e5ec1dd

Note: #Chrome's Experimental AI feature that groups tabs ... sends the URLs and page titles of all tabs in the active window to #Google, at least according to https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/14519765?visit_id=638416324222559160-3612759186&p=auto_tab_group&rd=1.

Because *of course* it does.

“The Open Source Sustainability Crisis ❧ Open Path by Chad Whitacre”

Not convinced by the proposed solution but the problem description is accurate. https://openpath.chadwhitacre.com/2024/the-open-source-sustainability-crisis/

Whoever runs the official IRS Instagram account (@irsnews) deserves a raise.

Get the audiobook for Cory Doctorow's "The Bezzle," read by Wil Wheaton https://boingboing.net/2024/01/23/get-the-audiobook-for-cory-doctorows-the-bezzle-read-by-wil-wheaton.html @boingbot @pluralistic

I think one of the things that fundamentally bothers me when conspiracy theorists get into scientific topics is the basic laziness of it.

There are a lot of things about the universe that are hard to understand or that nobody understands, but to a remarkable extent it's basically an open book. It takes a lot of effort though. It works in complicated and subtle ways that the human brain isn't trivially suited to comprehend. Trying to understand all that is a huge adventure.

These people imagine that all of the big questions of existence have easy peasy answers but that they only seem hard because someone is deliberately hiding the answers from them, like some annoying nerd who won't let them copy their homework. We got the answers all handed to us on a silver platter but they're locked up in a government warehouse somewhere next to the Ark of the Covenant.

It's really sad the way Microsoft's late-Friday network breach disclosure attempts to deflect, distract and mislead the public about the cause of the attack. Rather than saying Microsoft failed to follow basic security hygiene that has been urged for more than a decade, the company talks about the growing sophistication of hackers and the fancy new measures required to counter them.

No, Microsoft lawyers, a "Secure Future Initiative" was NOT needed to prevent a password-spraying attack. Please don't insult your customers like this again.

How #Chicago Became an Unlikely Leader in Body-Camera Transparency
==

The city has a long history of brutal, violent policing, but its latest approach to body-worn cameras and #police oversight could serve as a national model.

#CriminalJustice #Cops #Illinois #News

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-chicago-became-leader-body-camera-transparency-police?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

Born in 1896, biochemist Gerty Theresa Cori became the 1st woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (and the 3rd to win a Nobel Prize).

Cori faced gender discrimination & was marginalized for years. But she never gave up.

With her husband Carl, she discovered how glycogen is broken down & eventually stored as an energy source (aka the “Cori cycle”). They also identified the Cori ester. http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/women/cori.htm #HistoryRemix #science #history

LA Times staffers say ~150 of their colleagues were laid off today in a Zoom webinar by HR with chat disabled and no Q&A.

Framework Laptop 16 reviews are live!

https://frame.work/blog/framework-laptop-16-reviews-are-live

So, assuming I have read Fisher and Margolis's classic Unlocking the Clubhouse, what is a more up to date, practical book on being an effective and attractive mentor for under-represented students (especially women) in STEM (especially computing and quantum)?

Pointers to fundamental theory and research also welcome!

This month, advocates have gotten officials to:

➡️Do PSAs on masks and clean air
➡️Distribute free N95s
➡️Issue masking guidelines
➡️Reintroduce mask requirements in hospitals
➡️Hold a Senate hearing on Long COVID
➡️Halt CDC's plan to weaken infection control

Advocacy works!

Patreon attacks law that keeps platforms from sharing your video views

The 1980s law is considered one of the country's strongest privacy protections.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/01/patreon-attacks-law-that-keeps-platforms-from-sharing-your-video-views/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

According to a new survey by Yale, a majority of people in 17 US states don't believe there's scientific consensus that climate change is happening.

The average trip distance in SF is 3.4 miles which will cost:

- MUNI: $3.00
- Marginal cost to drive (31 mpg @ $4.5/g): $0.49
- Total cost to drive ($0.67 reimbursement rate): $2.28

Transit should not cost more money then driving!

Headline: FTC finds against Intuit.

So filing our taxes will be free now, right?

/anakin_padme.gif

These are wise words.

We also need an independent IT Accident Investigation Board, like we have for planes, trains and ships, so that we can all learn from the mistakes.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/opinion_column