Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

I just tried so, so hard to use GenAI for the venerated "rapidly do easy project in language you're trash at". I was writing a quick mobile app for a researcher at Uni of Melb as a personal favour, got like 30% of the way further than I had any business to...

... and then had to stop and just learn how to do it properly, the old-fashioned way, and I think I've mostly wasted time not doing it that way.

I'm impressed I got that far but also it fell so far short of saving me real time.

"It's not easy being an anti-DRM activist, especially heading into 2024. Not content with locking down software and streaming media, the massive corporations peddling this unjust technology have even extended their reach into the world's libraries. OverDrive is the worst of these offenders..." Read the full article about IDAD 2023: https://u.fsf.org/421 #LearnLibre #EndDRM #Libraries #ebooks #DayAgainstDRM

“I can’t leave Substack, the alternatives charge monthly fees!”

For a mid-sized paid newsletter, you will pay:
Ghost Pro: $149–$269/month
Beehiiv: $131–$218/month
Buttondown: $239/month
Mailchimp: $285/month
Substack: $700/month

#substack

@mpotter @spritely Yes, what I'm thinking is very much at the drawing stage. But, if we had a self-conscious model of platform co-ops with a culture of flexibility, adaptability, even portability (people could swtich from one to another at will), it could be a great fit for both workers and consumers. And the fediverse is perfectly positioned to support that kind of culture, in sharp contrast to VC-funded models.

@davidgerard

I filled in the feedback form. I suggested that they employ a civil servant to be given a rolled-up newspaper and tasked with hitting any MP who says ‘AI’ on the nose and shouting ‘NO!’ at them.

It seemed much more sensible an idea than anything that they were proposing.

This is intended to be a lighthearted post, but if you're interested in helping us, as well as other self-hosters and public instances, you may be interested in Forgejo's issue tracker.

(We are also happy to help you find something else. :D)

https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/issues

Nonprofit work is hard. It takes a lot of time, dedication and, more often than not, you see volunteers taking in multiple different tasks and responsibilities to keep everything running. Thankfully, we occasionally get external contributors that help us out!

For instance, I would post something serious so as to promote our nonprofit, but it seems like #GitHub decided to help us with the marketing for the day by sending a bunch of its users (multiple) emails about GitHub Copilot. 😅

@iris_meredith has gone unreasonably hard:

https://deadsimpletech.com/blog/altman_dunce

I want everyone to rewatch the haka in the House, after Hana-Rawhiti tore up the Treaty Violation Bill, with this interpretation of a wero (challenge) in mind;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4F49zMhZn0

All Brownlee and Rimmer can see is a savage "war dance". Because like so many of our European ancestors, they lack the cultural sophistication to even begin to understand the cultural technologies at play here. It's not tangata whenua who are the uncivilised savages in the colonisation story of Aotearoa.

(3/3)

Job Alert! The National Network to End Domestic Violence is firing a Tech Safety Specialist. This is a fully remote job: https://www.indeed.com/job/tech-safety-specialist-0e693a9556fab01c

@mpotter @spritely The number of members in a co-op is entirely up to the members themselves. If I'm right about the barriers to entry being lowered (for tech co-ops especially), the natural thing for an oversized co-op to do would be to split into two or three more specialized co-ops, like mitosis. This process could repeat indefinitely. Platform co-ops are more ephemeral than brick-and-mortar, but we can treat that as a feature, not a bug.

Good day netizens. Blue has returned after 10 years in tech, once again on the job hunt. I have worked a variety of roles from hands-on computer repair to NOC tech to Sys admin and more. In that time, I have accrued several certifications including the #Swimlane Certified #SOAR Administrator, #CompTIA #Network+, #Security+, #Pentest+, #CertifiedNetworkVulnerabilityProfessional, and #CASP+. I'm currently looking for #remotework for anywhere in the #US . I'm targeting #cybersecurity roles, since that is what I am passionate about and my certifications are focused in, but I am also open to other IT roles such as software engineer, dev ops, etc. I'm a #transgender woman trying to provide for her #LGBTQIA family and any pay would greatly help us make ends meet as we try to survive in this refuge state where the cost of living is so much higher than back home. Boosts and sharing is welcome, thanks for your time and help. #getfedihired #breakingintoinfosec #infosec #informationtechnology #sysadmin #netadmin #redteam #pentest

@mpotter The kinds of things that @spritely is doing to build out distributed tech seems like a natural fit for platform co-ops. Each co-op could have its own server, with its own extensions that are specific to its inner workings, and the network to reach clients, supporters, and colleagues is already there and waiting. In other words, the barriers to entry will soon be lower than ever.

@Steve This is part of the reason I've started posting in the open like this. I doubt I'm the only person who has considered a co-op in the past, only to find no takers in a secure job market. But now, this obstacle may be less of a problem.

I get why people resist expansion, a flood of new people can destabilize a small direct democracy.

Twenty years ago now, I was discontented with the well-paid but unstable and toxic nature of corporate IT work, so I went to to the library, where I discovered the existence of intentional communities and worker cooperatives, and this book.

https://archive.org/details/weownitstartingm00honi

It's from the 80s, but is a solid description of the Rochdale-style worker co-op which stays small to preserve direct democracy. There are many such guides online now, but this is almost canon.

@mpotter I am a founder of a worker co-op, and in apparent contradiction to the trend, I'm fairly eager to bring in new members. However, the other current member do not share this eagerness, and our growth has been slow.

In the case of tech, I've seen a lot of people posting right here about being laid off and in need of a job. If all these folks got in touch with each other, I strongly suspect they could agree to form a platform co-op.

We're nearly ready to begin accepting applications for the official program of FluConf 2025!

All that's left is to stress-test our application form and ensure that it meets common accessibility guidelines. We'll share a link once it's been tested a little more thoroughly.

We're looking forward to reviewing people's submissions!

#fluConf2025

Kenyan single mothers ‘trapped’ in #SaudiArabia as exit visas denied to children born outside marriage - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/18/kenyan-single-mothers-trapped-in-saudi-arabia-as-exit-visas-denied-to-children-born-outside-marriage absurd and cruel