Monthly Archives: November 2024

Uses and abuses of Bluesky moderation

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged Bluesky Internet on by

I’m enjoying Bluesky quite a lot. Here’s my profile, in case you’re on Bluesky and want to follow me. With few exceptions, I limit my posts there to music, silent film, and an occasional bit of humor or trivia. I intentionally avoid most political discussion, because I like to relax there. But Bluesky has developed the inevitable echo chambers, and I avoid following accounts that veer into hostility and mockery.

Bluesky offers lots of moderation tools at the personal level. You can use the content filters and the optional Bluesky moderation service, which are found under the Moderation category of your settings. Remember that any system-wide moderation system will make mistakes, blocking harmless material or letting disgusting stuff through. Having user-controlled moderation frees the staff to deal with the worst offenders, as opposed to content that others just find annoying.

Users can create moderation lists. These are lists of users which others can use to mute or block accounts that the list creator thinks are best avoided. That’s helpful but has its risks. You can use a moderation list selectively, for confirmation that someone else thinks certain users are nuisances. You can block or mute the whole list, but then you’re delegating your decision to someone else.
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A frontal assault on free speech

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged censorship education on by

The FIRE website discusses a “hate speech” policy being considered by a Wisconsin school district. It’s outrageous even among current attempts to stifle speech. Here’s the draft policy for the Baraboo school district, so you don’t have to take FIRE’s word for it.

It starts with the favorite lie of censorship advocates: “Hate speech is not protected speech.” It invents an exception to the First Amendment out of whole cloth.
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Words without meaning 8

This entry was posted in Writing and tagged Internet language vocabulary on by

To answer an accusation, you have to know what it means. If the words have no fixed meaning, no argument can show that it’s false. Certain words in the culture of the left serve this purpose. They allow irrefutable accusations — irrefutable because they mean whatever the accuser wants them to. Denying the accusation or defending someone else against it can even become evidence of guilt. Words are supposed to be the tools of thought, but these words are designed to make thought impossible.
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Why is it so intimidating to subscribe? 1

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged Internet law on by

I believe in paying for what I get. Various websites get my financial support when I think they’ve earned it. I’ve complained regularly on this blog about the news media, but Vox is more concerned with facts and objectivity than most, so it seemed worth a paid subscription. However, when I went to sign up, I was pointed at the terms of use, a document of 12,081 words. That’s long enough to be a novelette by the Hugo Awards’ definition.

Agreeing to terms of service without knowing exactly what they say can have serious consequences. By signing up for Disney Plus, you waive your right to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, or at least so their lawyers claim. Disney later backed off in that particular case, but it was a one-time exception in the face of heavy publicity.
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Upcoming album: Beacons in the Darkness 2

This entry was posted in Writing on by

On December 4, I’ll release Beacons in the Darkness, my next album of living-room recordings, on Bandcamp. Since it’s strictly a home production, payment is optional. If you want to give me money, Bandcamp Friday, December 6, is the best time to buy. Bandcamp forgoes its usual cut of the income on that day, and it will help pay for my new Zoom recorder. In the meantime, you can follow me on Bandcamp so you can see my other albums and find the new release easily later on.
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Future SFF conventions under Trump

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged conventions fandom liberty science fiction on by

There has been discussion of whether science fiction/fantasy conventions in the US should be considered human rights risks along with countries like China and Uganda. Some people are already panicking. A post I came across on Bluesky said, “I’ve lost all my desire to attend Seattle Worldcon. Fully aware this is a first world sort of problem but wondering if other non Americans are felling the same?” Steve Davidson, the editor of Amazing Stories, has written: “For at least the next four years the United States will not be a suitable country for hosting Worldcon. It will not be a country that is generally reflective of Fannish values. It may very well become a country that is hostile to those values.” He recognizes that there’s no way to revoke the Seattle and Los Angeles Worldcons.

Giving in to worst-case assumptions this soon is a mistake, but it’s never too soon to consider the risks. What dangers might come to US cons in the next few years raise, and who would be at risk?
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Silent film as history 1

This entry was posted in Movies and tagged history silent movies on by

My main interest in silent films is accompanying them, preferably for a live audience. The combination of film and live music provides a sense of involvement which is missing from modern movies. In the process, I’ve also found them to be a source of history. They show how people thought a century ago. The stories behind the movies are often as instructive as the movies themselves.
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On writing for freedom

This entry was posted in Commentary Writing and tagged liberty writing on by

As the election approaches, I’d like to offer an unpopular idea: There’s too much focus on the candidates. If you care about human freedom, it should be obvious that Trump and Harris are both inimical to it (thought Trump is far worse). However, they’re just symptoms. Whether we’re looking at sending the military into every neighborhood to expel people from the country or instituting price controls and handouts to create winners and losers, the underlying premise is the premise that a central authority should decide how things should be. This idea has gained in popularity in spite of all the evidence that it’s harmful. The Republicans have almost completely abandoned the free-market principles that once formed an inconsistent part of their platform. The Democrats have believed in a managed economy and growth in federal power and spending ever since Franklin Roosevelt, and they haven’t changed on fundamentals.

As the election approaches, writers spend many words on the candidates as people. News sites, no longer pretending to give news, jump on any little thing that makes their preferred candidates look good or their opponents look bad. Their goal is proxy power. People on social media do the same, often with even less regard for the facts and less of a reason. Their main line of argument is “I’m smart, anyone who disagrees with me is dumb, and if you’re smart like me you see that, right?”

If you write on current controversies and value human freedom, you can do something different. You can set a better standard. If enough authors and journalists do it, it can make a difference, pushing the national discourse in a better direction. It wouldn’t take much to make it less awful.
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