Below are posts associated with the “link” type.
🔗 linkblog: ChatGPT users drop for the first time as people turn to uncensored chatbots | Ars Technica'
I get that it’s straightforward language that everyone will get, but I think “uncensored” is the wrong word here. Content moderation is not (necessarily) censorship, and content moderation is good and helpful for tools like generative AI.
🔗 linkblog: It Turns Out Elon Is Speedrunning The Enshittification Learning Curve, Not The Content Moderation One | Techdirt'
I appreciate Masnick’s thinking, and I’m a big Doctorow fan, so it’s always neat to see them come together.
🔗 linkblog: The environmentally conscious Fairphone 4 is finally coming to the US - The Verge'
This is very exciting! I’m far too locked into Apple’s ecosystem to seriously consider this right now (even this post is being composed thanks to Siri Shortcuts), but I hope this does well, because I’d love to own a Fairphone one day.
🔗 linkblog: DeSantis slammed over Trump attack ad over LGBTQ rights : NPR'
This is disgusting and reprehensible. I refuse to watch the video myself, but it sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on the Gab groups I’ve looked at for research projects.
🔗 linkblog: The Fanfic Sex Trope That Caught a Plundering AI Red-Handed | WIRED'
This is a wild, compelling story that I missed when it first came out. Glad to be reading it now.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit Won’t Be the Same. Neither Will the Internet | WIRED'
Good focus on the digital labor aspects of this whole thing. I sympathize with Reddit for not wanting to provide free value for generative AI (this is one of the trickiest parts of that conversation), but Reddit’s users are right to balk at providing free value for the platform.
🔗 linkblog: Internal Twitter Video Reveals Twitter Bent Over Backwards To Protect Trump And Pro-Trump Insurrectionists | Techdirt'
Helpful summary by Masnick; bookmarking for later.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit pressures mods to end the blackout as they find new ways to protest - The Verge'
Perhaps most interesting thing here is official comment from Reddit. It’s not quite “auto-reply with a poop emoji territory,” but it might actually be worse?
🔗 linkblog: Student Monitoring Tools Should Not Flag LGBTQ+ Keywords | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
Student monitoring software is gross to begin with, but monitoring for LGBTQ+ content makes it even grosser. Love it when EFF tackles ed tech.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit Tells Mods That Protesting By Changing Sub To NSFW Violates The Rules | Techdirt'
I’ve linkblogged a lot of stuff on Reddit lately, but this is a good summary and reaction, so I’m adding it to the list.
🔗 linkblog: In WWII, a segregated U.S. Army deployed to fight Hitler — and brought Jim Crow : NPR'
I had never heard about this story before. It’s tempting to think of World War II as “a good war,” but stories like this complicate it. How is this blatant racism compatible with fighting against the Nazis?
🔗 linkblog: Reddit starts removing moderators behind the latest protests - The Verge'
I’m glad this article points out how much unpaid work mods do to make Reddit a place people want to go. They arguably add more value to the platform than employees do, and this strikes me as a bad move.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit Communities Still Dark As Protest Continues - The New York Times'
Reddit’s response continues to feel tonedeaf and sketchy to me.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit CEO Triples Down, Insults Protesters, Whines About Not Making Enough Money From Reddit Users | Techdirt'
Here’s Masnick saying some of my thoughts but better—and adding some observations I would not have come to on my own.
🔗 linkblog: Here’s the note Reddit sent to moderators threatening them if they don’t reopen - The Verge'
Feels pretty sleazy to me.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit CEO Steve Huffman: Reddit ‘was never designed to support third-party apps’ - The Verge'
I get that any platform has to pay its bills, but Huffman keeps coming off as a real jerk.
🔗 linkblog: Thousands of Reddit communities remain dark as protest continues - The Verge'
Keep it up, subreddits!
🔗 linkblog: Reddit communities with millions of followers plan to extend the blackout indefinitely - The Verge'
What I appreciate about coverage of this from The Verge and Techdirt is the way that it draws attention to questions of digital labor.
🔗 linkblog: More than six thousand subreddits have gone dark to protest Reddit’s API changes - The Verge'
Good for them. Let’s hope it makes a difference.
🔗 linkblog: Critics of KY Gov. Andy Beshear recirculate drag queens photo | Lexington Herald Leader'
This just makes me like Andy more. Shame on Cameron and everyone else using queerphobia to influence an election.
🔗 linkblog: Apple’s Journal app needs to read the room - The Verge'
Good reflecton here. I’d been wondering if Apple’s Journal app would hold up to Day One, but I was never inclined to betray Day One, and I do NOT like the idea of algorithmic journaling.
🔗 linkblog: Inside 4chan’s Top-Secret Moderation Machine | WIRED'
A good glimpse at content moderation, and why it’s important to do it correctly.