Gary McGath


About Gary McGath

I am a freelance technical writer in Plaistow, NH.

The coming TikTok security disaster

As I’m writing this, the US is set to ban applications that access TikTok’s Internet service on January 19. What no one is talking about is the security nightmare that will result.

The ban won’t forbid access to TikTok; it will just forbid the preferred way to access it. App stores in the US won’t be allowed to offer the client application. Lots of other sources will still offer it. Some will be legitimate. Others will put up Trojan Horse applications. Scammers will target users trying to keep access to their accounts. A lot of devices will be infiltrated with malware.
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Addressing an insane world 1   Recently updated !

Insanity is the default state of humanity. Ever since I can remember, people have been declaring that their present is Heinlein’s “crazy years.” It’s getting worse, though. People are openly applauding the thug who gunned down Brian Thompson in the street. A lot of them are undoubtedly the same ones who applauded the massacre of innocent Israelis in 2023. The current president of the US abused his power to pardon his son, and the next one has declared his intent to pardon rioters who invaded the Capitol in support of his lies. The latter wants to tax imports and kick out immigrant workers who contribute to domestic production, and people cheer the policies that will inevitably make everything more expensive.

It’s easy to give in to despair. You can give up on the world and just try to enjoy the show as it collapses. But it’s too easy and accomplishes nothing. Besides, there are two reasons not to call it quits.
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Uganda Worldcon bid shifts to Rwanda

The bid for a 2028 Worldcon in Uganda, which I had criticized here and here, has changed its proposed venue to Kigali, Rwanda. The name is now ConKigali. It may be an improvement in some ways, but is it enough of one to get serious consideration?

Freedom House gives Rwanda a rating of 23, categorized as “not free.” This is lower than Uganda’s rating of 34. From the standpoint of fans’ personal safety, though, Rwanda may be the less dangerous of the two. Homosexuality isn’t outlawed, but people traveling there still need to be careful what opinions they express. The US State Department has issued a long list of “significant human rights issues” in Rwanda.
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Folk tales and movies

Folk tales are inherently changeable. Look through their history and you’ll find many versions. Some of them are horrible by today’s standards. Modern writers have made startling reversals on traditional stories. In Cecilia Eng’s song “Red as Blood,” Snow White is a vampire. (Pale white skin, lips red as blood…) I’ve written previously about Warner Brothers’ “Coal Black.” The problems arise when an adaptation isn’t what it claims to be and when it’s clearly designed by committee. That’s what Disney’s new version of Snow White is shaping up to be.

The story can be traced back to Pentamerone, published in 1634, and probably has roots in older stories. It took a more familiar form in the Grimms’ story “Schneewittchen” (Snow Drop). In these stories, the heroine is seven years old when she flees the queen and is poisoned into a coma. The queen in “Schneewittchen” succeeds only on the third attempt, which says something about the seven-year-old’s continued gullibility. She is put into a glass coffin, which grows along with her until she is awakened as an adult. The Grimms’ version is more gruesome than today’s usual versions. The queen orders the huntsman to bring back Snow Drop’s lungs and liver. As in the Disney version, he doesn’t kill her and brings back an animal’s organs — which the queen proceeds to eat. At the end, the queen is forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes till she dies.

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Now on Bandcamp: Beacons in the Darkness

My latest album, Beacons in the Darkness, is now available on Bandcamp. It’s a living-room album, and I make no great claims for my vocal abilities, so payment is optional. It’s the songs themselves which I think have some interest. The title track, a secular solstice song, is one of my best songs, and it’s on the album in both English and German. Album cover for Beacons in the Darkness. Picture of a lighthouse. Text: Beacons in the Darkness / Songs by Gary McGath. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eiger%C3%B8y_fyrstasjon_28.09.2015_Super_m%C3%A5neform%C3%B8rkelse.jpg

You can find my other albums, likewise on a payment-optional basis, at garymcgath.bandcamp.com.


Trump reverses the meaning of censorship

In Newspeak, freedom is slavery. In Trumpspeak, freedom of speech is censorship.

Brendan Carr, whom Trump wants to head the FCC, has declared his intent to “smash the censorship cartel” using the agency’s power. According to the Washington Times, “He is threatening the platforms with revocation of their federally granted immunity against content-based lawsuits.” He’s presumably referring to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, one of the few parts to survive legal challenges. It says that in general operators of websites that allow public posting of commentary can’t be held liable for what third parties post. Without it, website operators would have to keep a quick finger on the “Delete” button to keep potentially defamatory comments from showing up. They’d need to err on the side of caution. Many sites would probably find it easiest to eliminate the comments section.
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Uses and abuses of Bluesky moderation

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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