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Notices by Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com), page 7

  1. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Tuesday, 08-Jan-2019 22:49:41 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    A blend of #student #privacy violations with a lack of human decency:

    "My Child Has to Show Her Entire School That She’s Failing With a ‘Scarlet Badge’"

    https://social.mikegerwitz.com/url/70591
    In conversation Tuesday, 08-Jan-2019 22:49:41 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. My Child Has to Show Her Entire School That She’s Failing With a ‘Scarlet Badge’
      from American Civil Liberties Union
  2. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Wednesday, 02-Jan-2019 02:26:05 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    • Karl Voit ✅
    @publicvoit I forgot to reply within the context of my original post:

    While I prefer Org mode's markup, I still think that Markdown's is more clear as plain text for casual readers when it comes to references, for a couple of reasons:

    - Links are of the form [[link][desc]] in Org mode---the link comes _before_ the text. When reading text, one expects a citation to come after the text. So [foo][5] in Markdown is more natural.
    - Using numeric references for links isn't supported by default. Named links are (which is preferable when I use it for organization, but not necessarily as plain text), but you need a '#+LINK' line. Org mode looks great if you're viewing it in Emacs or viewing HTML output, but viewing it as plain text is a bit more ugly.

    Admittedly, any time I see plain text Org mode, it's within Emacs and so is beautified. For example, even if I get an email with an Org mode fragment, Gnus formats it using org-mode.

    Of course, Org mode shines at so many other things when compared to Markdown.
    In conversation Wednesday, 02-Jan-2019 02:26:05 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  3. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Tuesday, 01-Jan-2019 22:31:43 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    • Karl Voit ✅
    @publicvoit Yes, I much prefer Org mode to Markdown. I use Org mode daily for time management, notes, and other things; and have used it for some projects as well (like the slides for my last two LibrePlanet talks).

    I'm in the process of rewriting my personal site, and was going to convert my Markdown posts to Org mode using Pandoc, and use Org mode from that point forward. But I haven't yet compared Pandoc's Org mode -> HTML ouput to Emacs', so I can't say if I'll be sticking with Pandoc or invoking Emacs.
    In conversation Tuesday, 01-Jan-2019 22:31:43 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  4. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Thursday, 27-Dec-2018 22:42:45 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    "No more paperwork: Estonia edges toward digital government"

    https://apnews.com/da5e0dd3bf364bbda436fc16690f842c

    Not having researched this in any detail, this makes me rather uncomfortable. Not only are there concerns from a security perspective, but also a software freedom perspective---can all of this be done using only free software? Are users free to implement their own software to interface with these government services? I hope so, otherwise it's not the democratic tool that Estonia believes it to be. The article mentions X-Road, and the Wikipedia article on X-Road states that it releases source code for its software under an MIT Expat license. This would be acceptable it that's the case for all government software mentioned in the linked article.

    If anyone else _has_ researched this, I'd be interested to hear thoughts on it.
    In conversation Thursday, 27-Dec-2018 22:42:45 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. No more paperwork: Estonia edges toward digital government
      from AP NEWS
      TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — In the Estonian capital of Tallinn, three-day-old Oskar Lunde sleeps soundly in his hospital cot, snuggled into a lime green blanket decorated with red butterflies. Across the room, his father turns on a laptop. "Now we will register our child," Andrejs Lunde says with gravity as he inserts his ID card into the card reader. His wife, Olga, looks on proudly. And just like that, Oskar is Estonia's newest citizen. No paper. No fuss.
  5. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Friday, 21-Dec-2018 23:00:33 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    • Doc Edward Morbius ⭕
    @dredmorbius That may be, but having to run a script to clean up Markdown partly defeats the purpose of using Markdown to begin with. It also introduces a different type of problem: having people who may be non-technical writers run such a script. They may be writing the Markdown on the web, on their desktop, on a mobile device, or in any number of environments.

    My suggestion was just editorial advice that anyone can apply regardless of technical know-how.
    In conversation Friday, 21-Dec-2018 23:00:33 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  6. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Thursday, 20-Dec-2018 22:09:13 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    There are many problems with #Slack, but here's one example of just how much control users relinquish when they relinquish control of their computing to others:

    "Slack closes account of an Iranian user living in Canada"

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18724107
    In conversation Thursday, 20-Dec-2018 22:09:13 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  7. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Thursday, 20-Dec-2018 21:59:57 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    If I could offer some advice to people who use #Markdown to write posts:

    Many people use Markdown not just because the formatting is convenient to write, but also because it is itself human-readable. Consequently, it's also used as a plain text alternative to e.g. HTML-rendered text. I read a lot of things in plain text, so I see plain Markdown frequently.

    One of the worst things you can do for legibility is to place URLs inline---it obscures the text, especially if there's a lot of them. Instead, use a reference (ideally numeric), of the form "[foo][n]".

    Then, rather than placing all URLs at the bottom of the document, please them below the paragraph that references them. Not only does this reduce scrolling, but it also allows easily copying/pasting portions of the text while keeping the references intact, which is especially convenient for quoting.
    In conversation Thursday, 20-Dec-2018 21:59:57 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  8. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Thursday, 20-Dec-2018 21:51:56 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    "Amazon error allowed Alexa user to eavesdrop on another home":

    https://social.mikegerwitz.com/url/70156

    Posting archive.org link because Reuters appears to have taken the article down. I don't know if that implies that they retracted their story, but the in principle, it's the concept that's important: your #Alexa data lay with #Amazon and they can---either willfully or accidentally---mishandle it. And if the article is to be believed and this sounds like a configuration error, that also implies that employees could just grant themselves access to your data too.
    In conversation Thursday, 20-Dec-2018 21:51:56 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. File without filename could not get a thumbnail source.
      Amazon error allowed Alexa user to eavesdrop on another home
      from U.S.
      A user of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant in Germany got access to more than...
  9. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Dec-2018 23:08:49 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    • Christine Lemmer-Webber
    • Alexandre Oliva
    @lxoliva
    > I'm very disturbed to see that interaction misleadingly presented as a deviation from the safe space policy

    Yes, I agree. But I also think that could be cleared up fairly easily with a proper reply from the FSF.

    For the record: I wasn't involved in the letter nor do I know anything about it aside from the link @cwebber posted. So I could be missing some important context. I just made the unfortunate decision of jumping into a heated topic. :) I'd just like to see something as simple as this be resolved without things being left to simmer. Frankly, it's somewhat upsetting that this letter didn't receive an immediate, affirmative reply. We don't need distractions like these when we should be able to focus on what unites us.

    I'm sure other things have compounded the frustration as well (e.g. recent discussions within GNU).
    In conversation Tuesday, 18-Dec-2018 23:08:49 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  10. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Dec-2018 13:18:17 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    • Alexandre Oliva
    @lxoliva I'm honestly not sure what the formal written rules are. But that same year I was a volunteer that notified the speakers how much time was remaining and it was our job to make sure the talk ended on time. These rules (I assume) are what the volunteer for Marianne's talk was referring to. It's also made very clear to the speakers in writing, before you even submit the talk and in messages after the talk is accepted, that the 45m time slot includes questions.

    Personally, if I were in that volunteer's shoes, knowing that it was rms, I would have let rms proceed without argument after letting him know that the time has elapsed. It was the last talk of the day, so there was nobody else speaking in the room after that talk (and rms explicitly stated that, showing that he was considering how his actions may affect others). But the volunteer was trying to do his job. rms could have chosen to talk to Marianne after the talk concluded, rather than going against the instructions the FSF staff gave to us and getting into an argument, which looks bad regardless of whether this was benign or not. And now we have people questioning rms' motives over what I think is actually a benign event, because of how he handled it, and because it fits a pattern of behavior from rms.

    In the end, the volunteer went and got FSF staff and Georgia Young (IIRC) had to come in to tell everyone that the closing keynote and raffle were starting.
    In conversation Tuesday, 18-Dec-2018 13:18:17 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  11. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Monday, 17-Dec-2018 22:46:16 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    • Christine Lemmer-Webber
    • Bob Mottram 🔧 ☕ ✅
    @bob, @cwebber: The link references Marianne Corvellec's talk, which I attended. It was an extremely awkward confrontation between rms and the volunteer that was trying to see that the talk adhere to its timebox. This is what prompted the frustrated rms to state that he didn't have to follow the rules---he wanted to continue his conversation.

    I don't like when rms asserts himself in that manner---I think it looks bad and I wish that he would instead set an example by adhering to the rules---but I never looked at this and thought that he'd intentionally think to act in bad faith when it comes to something like a safe space policy, even though it is technically correct that he can do whatever he chooses. But there are consequences for that perspective (mainly, pushing people away).

    With that said, I do understand the concern (it's easy to feel uncomfortable around rms, after all), and I support getting a response from the FSF. It's important for the community to stay on top of it---the community has power where the FSF may not.
    In conversation Monday, 17-Dec-2018 22:46:16 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  12. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Thursday, 13-Dec-2018 21:47:16 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    A chilling perspective on a new Amazon patent application:

    https://social.mikegerwitz.com/url/69212
    In conversation Thursday, 13-Dec-2018 21:47:16 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. Amazon’s Disturbing Plan to Add Face Surveillance to Your Front Door
      from American Civil Liberties Union
  13. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Monday, 03-Dec-2018 22:32:56 EST Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    An enjoyable interview with rms: https://newleftreview.org/II/113/richard-stallman-talking-to-the-mailman
    In conversation Monday, 03-Dec-2018 22:32:56 EST from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. Richard Stallman: Talking to the Mailman. New Left Review 113, September-October 2018.
      Growing domination of companies over users, malicious function­alities, tracking and widespread surveillance. The leading campaigner for software freedom discusses the present technological landscape and the political relevance of the campaign for free software.
  14. Free Software Foundation (fsf@status.fsf.org)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Nov-2018 15:36:28 EST Free Software Foundation Free Software Foundation
    We want YOU to submit a talk for #LibrePlanet 2019! You only have a few days left -- developers, #freesoftware newcomers, activists, policymakers, hackers, artists, tinkerers, submit your talks by November 9: https://u.fsf.org/2pc
    In conversation Tuesday, 06-Nov-2018 15:36:28 EST from status.fsf.org at 42°21'30"N 71°3'35"W permalink Repeated by mikegerwitz
  15. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Oct-2018 21:57:57 EDT Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    A packaging tutorial for #Guix:

    https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/blog/2018/a-packaging-tutorial-for-guix/
    In conversation Wednesday, 10-Oct-2018 21:57:57 EDT from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  16. INACTIVE (deadsuperhero@social.nasqueron.org)'s status on Saturday, 06-Oct-2018 05:49:48 EDT INACTIVE INACTIVE
    in reply to
    • Mike Gerwitz

    @mikegerwitz as an aside, I found a really great short documentary about Internet Archive recently: https://vidcommons.org/videos/watch/6f3de05c-bdbb-4ea2-ac38-3dd86f2d70f3

    In conversation Saturday, 06-Oct-2018 05:49:48 EDT from social.nasqueron.org permalink Repeated by mikegerwitz

    Attachments

    1. The Internet Archive Documentary
      _Archive_ is a documentary focused on the future of long-term digital storage, the history of the Internet and attempts to preserve its contents on a massive scale. Part one features Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive and his colleagues Robert Miller, director of books, and Alexis Rossi, director of web collections. On a mission to create universal access to all knowledge, the Internet Archive’s staff have built the world's largest online library, offering 10 petabytes of archived websites, books, movies, music, and television broadcasts. The video includes a tour of the Internet Archive’s headquarters in San Francisco, the book scanning center, and the book storage facilities in Richmond, California. Directed by Jonathan Minard Cinematography by John Behrens, Alexander Porter, and Fearghal O'dea Produced at the Internet Archive on October 22-26, during the Books in Browsers Conference and 10 Petabyte Celebration Credits Directed by Jonathan Minard Cinematography by John Behrens, Alexander Porter, and Fearghal O'dea
  17. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Friday, 05-Oct-2018 23:45:17 EDT Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    I wasn't aware of this PDF version of #SICP until somewhat recently:

    https://sicpebook.wordpress.com/

    It's very well formatted, and is also available in Info format for use under e.g. Emacs.

    At first glance, it appears to be a faithful transformation of the original work.
    In conversation Friday, 05-Oct-2018 23:45:17 EDT from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. File without filename could not get a thumbnail source.
      SICP
      from SICP
      The Abelson & Sussman book
  18. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Friday, 05-Oct-2018 23:38:15 EDT Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    A reminder to submit your session proposals for #LibrePlanet2019:

    https://libreplanet.org/2019/

    I still haven't submitted mine yet. Remember that the FSF welcomes anyone to speak, even if you haven't done so before!
    In conversation Friday, 05-Oct-2018 23:38:15 EDT from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink
  19. Mike Gerwitz (mikegerwitz@social.mikegerwitz.com)'s status on Friday, 05-Oct-2018 23:01:40 EDT Mike Gerwitz Mike Gerwitz
    It drives me crazy when sites block access via #Tor to read-only resources (like articles)---it doesn't make much sense to me. It's probably a quick decision by a team of people that don't really care or think about it, but it has strong effects that in the best case discourage use of an important privacy/anonymity tool, and in the worst case outright prevent certain users from accessing those resources (if Tor is their only option).

    A common workaround I use is to prepend "https://web.archive.org/" to the URL to load it in the #WaybackMachine from the Internet Archive. Sometimes websites block even that.

    The Internet Archive does great, important work, btw. Here's a recent article that emphasizes some of the major problems they're solving:

    https://blog.archive.org/2018/10/01/more-than-9-million-broken-links-on-wikipedia-are-now-rescued/
    In conversation Friday, 05-Oct-2018 23:01:40 EDT from social.mikegerwitz.com permalink

    Attachments

    1. File without filename could not get a thumbnail source.
      More than 9 million broken links on Wikipedia are now rescued
      By Mark Graham from Internet Archive Blogs
      More than 9 million broken links on Wikipedia are now rescued
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