Notices by D. Joe (deejoe@mstdn.io)

Mastodon folks might be particularly interested in my response in this MetaFilter thread -- someone basically asked whether they should give up on Linux entirely, and I replied.

https://www.metafilter.com/183159/Odious-ideas-are-not-entitled-to-hide-from-criticism#7786619

Just putting it out there: if anyone ever wants help - debugging, problem-solving, tutoring, whatever - with the Linux CLI (bash/ksh93, GNU coreutils..., vi, emacs, sed, awk) and/or git, I'll help.

I won't make you feel bad for anything you don't already know. I promise. (Nobody ever should.)

I'll reiterate every once in a while. Boosts appreciated!

Just re-upping this offer: because being comfortable with git is a barrier to entry to many FS/OSS projects, and because I care deeply about lowering those barriers, I will tutor anyone who asks for help with git, and/or connect them with any mentor(s) they might prefer.

I'll do this while I put energy and work into making the tool more approachable, and into making better tools and learning paths.

Boosts gratefully appreciated.

#gittutors

For those of you under 30: are you aware of the free software (as in GNU) vs. open source (as in OSI) debate?

Please RT for visibility, I think my immediate circle is mostly older people 😆

An interesting article looking at social media sites like Yik Yak and ConnectU and how they died. https://gizmodo.com/why-these-social-networks-failed-so-badly-1836996164

I think there's a lot to be learned here for the Fediverse. I don't have the spoons to distill all the lessons myself, but a few:

1) Big money often precedes death.

2) Neglect leads to toxic user bases.

3) Losing sight of your initial goals alienates your early users, who do more work than you think to make the place run.

RT @nlhkabu@twitter.com
🐍📦✨

We're busy making @pypi@twitter.com better for users using assistive technologies.

Do you use a screen reader? View the web in high-contrast mode? Use high zoom? Exclusively use your keyboard to navigate?

Let's chat! https://calendly.com/nlhkabu/pypi-testing

#python #a11y

RTs appreciated!

🐍📦✨

Why libraries are the greatest places on earth:

- books
- free!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- quiet, so quiet, so peaceful is heaven
- people leave you alone
- also movies and computers and things
- staff literally know everything and want you to know everything thanks
- you can stay the whole time they're open and not have to pay anything at all
- you can get lost in the big ones and that's cool
- mmm smells of wisdom

@Are0h

the free software movement explicitly claims an ethical basis for the work. Individuals in the movement, being human as they are, can often get things very wrong, but at least the door is open to call us on it.

open source, and it's au courant post-open source successors, deliberately walks away from *explicit* ethical claims in favor of a squishier utilitarian or pragmatic, but implicit, ethic, an ethic of earnings and efficiency and expediency.

RT @dangoodin001@birdsite.link
Google confirms that advanced backdoor came preinstalled on Android devices https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/06/google-confirms-2017-supply-chain-attack-that-sneaked-backdoor-on-android-devices/

https://twitter.com/dangoodin001/status/1136741305625718784

Just think about how many conversations you've had with developers where they've compared editors or operating systems solely on the basis of features, with ethics and freedom not entering into their consideration AT ALL.

This is ESR's legacy in many ways, by the way, because "Open Source" is what you get when you take the ethics out of Free Software.

Anyone need a part time Vala/Python/Java/etc. desktop, web developer? Or AI/vision/robotics research assistant? I'm currently looking for some work to pay the rent while I finish off my PhD.

My CV is here: http://mjog.vee.net/curriculum-vitae/

Boosts appreciated!

#Python #Vala #Robotics #AI

https://twitter.com/RochelleTerman/status/1126642900006252544?s=19

"Thread: Recent events have caused me to reflect on the way I teach computational social science, and how this relates to my experiences with the data methods / data science community in political science. 1/n"

@Miredly

so. much. this.

1st Amendment talks about the right of people "peaceably to assemble" right alongside freedoms of speech and of the press. IOW freedom of association.

We all get to choose.

Librem is choosing poorly.

@Are0h @brainblasted

One very bad thing about scientific papers being behind paywalls is that (competing) pseudoscience isn’t behind paywalls, so it’s easier to find misinformation online than to find facts.