We received 22 submissions for this year's #Google#Summer of #Code under the @opensuse#mentoring#Org. Thank you to all those who submitted a proposal. The mentors & admins look forward to #evaluating these proposals & will rank them by the #deadline on April 24.
Instead of removing comments like that, perhaps correct them by providing more accurate information. I read the original comments, and they really weren't toxic in any way (in my opinion), they were just strongly worded opinions.
The stated reason in the mod log was (just pulling one, the rest were very similar):
reason: GrapheneOS propaganda posting (fearmongering that it is the only mobile privacy/security solution)
Nothing in the post violated instance or community rules, at least according to my read. Here are the community rules as of this writing:
Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn’t great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
Don’t promote proprietary software
Try to keep things on topic
If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
Be nice :)
And instance rules:
No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
No porn.
No Ads / Spamming.
If there's a rule that's being enforced, ideally it would be posted in the sidebar.
As for the original claim, the Pixel is the only phone listed on privateguides.org (GrapheneOS and DivestOS are the only listed ROMs), which I think is a pretty well-respected and well-run privacy recommendation website. If those recommendations are not available in your area or doesn't meet your needs, yeah, by all means use whatever is available and meets your needs.
Perhaps there should be a no-dogma rule or something, my point is just that removing stuff without apparent rule violations is not great from a user's perspective.
All I can see now is a one sided discussion and assume someone's feelings got hurt. Silencing opposition by stomping ideas out doesn't convince anyone of anything. If you believe in Lemmy, let the comments and voting do the work. We don't need the thought police enforcing their views.
Instead of removing comments like that, perhaps correct them by providing more accurate information. I read the original comments, and they really weren't toxic in any way (in my opinion), they were just strongly worded opinions.
Lemmy is not a trash platform like Reddit or 4chan, where loud and repeated nonsense is allowed to make the platform garbage. This is not "censorship", but arguably the only effective way against these parrots and trolls to shut down baseless propaganda like Graphene being the singular method to get mobile privacy and security, because apparently nothing else works at all, and Micay has some secret sauce code in there that magically defeats NSA and CIA. This is the same person who hates Firefox because Tor Project devs trashed his drivel in a mailing list in August 2019, so he seeks revenge by telling people to use Google's Chromium based browsers, and the same person who thinks it is a great idea to teach people to put faith in all things Google and Google's proprietary Titan security chip, even though security chips keep becoming permanent backdoors.
Can anyone exactly tell me what works there, that does not work with a combination of AOSP killswitch lockdown firewalls, setting app permissions, HOSTS ruleset modifications, DNS changing, debloating/uninstalling via ADB and making lots of changes via Shizuku, all being open source and transparent methods for Android? This is an oversimplification, but these fancy custom Android builds do pretty much nothing better than all you need to live a private life, without even needing to root or seek a specific Google made phone somebody told you on internet.
As for the original claim, the Pixel is the only phone listed on privateguides.org (GrapheneOS and DivestOS are the only listed ROMs), which I think is a pretty well-respected and well-run privacy recommendation website.
You mean the same thieves who stole PrivacyTools website, GitHub and to this day squat on PTIO subreddit, and money laundered $17,500 of public donations into private accounts? The ones who run lemmy.one instance today, and banned me the very first day lemmy.one instance was opened, just to ensure no critics exist?
I have singlehandedly covered these security charlatans in FOSS and privacy communities for about 5 years, and GrapheneOS emanates from the same sewer that “security” clowns like Brad Spengler and madaidan do in Linux community. All they do is either push their bullshit solutions or push corporate Big Tech propaganda and hate any FOSS project they think will not worship them. It might be a good idea to read instead of decide the fate of Lemmy based on "freedom murica heckin yeah" vibes.
Perhaps there should be a no-dogma rule or something, my point is just that removing stuff without apparent rule violations is not great from a user's perspective.
Correct, those rules will be formed and established as of today. I have been on this for months looking what to do about this nonsense making its way on from Reddit/4chan onto Lemmy.
#Google announced that starting in June 2024, ad blockers such as uBlock Origin #uBO will be disabled in Chrome 127 and later with the rollout of Manifest V3 (#Mv3).
My real worry with Google's voyage into enshittification (thanks to Cory Doctorow @pluralistic the term) is YouTube.
Through YT, for the past 15 years, the world has basically entrusted Google to be the custodian of pretty much our entire global video archive.
There's countless hours of archived footage — news reports, political speeches, historical events, documentaries, indie films, academic lectures, conference presentations, rare recordings, concert footage, obscure music — where the best or only copy is now held by Google through YouTube.
So what happens if maintaining that archival footage becomes unprofitable?
"Websites made with Google Business Profiles are basic websites powered by the information on your Business Profile. In March 2024, websites made with Google Business Profiles will be turned off and customers visiting your site will be redirected to your Business Profile instead. The redirect will work until June 10, 2024."
Another day, another product joining the Google graveyard. On the upside, this time it's not a messaging app.
From The Verge:
"You might remember Google had a $5,000 Jamboard whiteboarding meeting room display — well, that’s also discontinued. The Jamboard hardware will no longer receive software updates on September 30th, 2024, and its license subscriptions will expire the same day.
"Then users will have until December 31st, 2024, to back up Jam their files, and on that date, Google will cut off access and begin permanently deleting files."
Pity the schools, universities, and businesses that paid Google $5000 for a "smart" whiteboard, only to now be told their files will be deleted.
Google Bard: "Ultimately, it is too early to say who will win the World Cup. The Matildas have a good chance, but they will need to play their best football if they want to lift the trophy."
Me: Which is heavier: a feather or a mountain?
Google Bard: "A feather and a mountain have the same mass. One kilogram of feathers has the same mass as one kilogram of rocks. However, the feathers will have a much larger volume than the rocks. This is because feathers are made of air pockets, while rocks are solid. So, if you were to pick up a feather and a rock of the same mass, the feather would feel lighter because it has more air in it."
Me: Is Sam Mitchell a good coach?
Google Bard: "Sam Mitchell is a relatively new coach in the AFL, having only taken over the Hawthorn Hawks in 2022. However, he has already made a positive impact on the club, leading them to a finals berth in his first season ... In his first season as coach, Mitchell led the Hawks to a 13-9 record, which was good enough for seventh place on the ladder. They then went on to beat the Brisbane Lions in the elimination final before losing to the Sydney Swans in the semi-final."
So there you have it. According to Google Bard, the Matildas are still a chance.
Also, apparently a mountain and a feather have the same mass.
Disappointed I missed that Hawthorn – Sydney Elimination Final that Sam Mitchell coached in his first season. Sounds like a cracker of a game.
I wrote this blog post to inform the people I know who aren't as tech savvy or otherwise don't put any thought into their choice of browser. Another goal is to help get enough awareness on the topic and make sure it fails.
Have you seen the latest update from the #Instagram Help Center? It offers insight into how #Meta views the #Fediverse. Let's take a closer look at the highlighted text together:
"#Threads is planning to use a protocol called #ActivityPub to connect with other servers that support this protocol. Our aim is to enable communication between Threads and users on different fediverse platforms that we don't own or control."
Now, considering everything we know about Meta and their business practices, you might wonder why they're doing this. Well, here are a few reasons that could shed some light:
Regulatory pressure: While Meta is doing its best to compete with #Twitter, they also want to avoid appearing like a monopolistic force. By joining the Fediverse, they can show regulators that they are simply becoming part of an existing social network.
Zuckerberg's strategy: Mark Zuckerberg has been observing what's been happening with Twitter ever since Elon Musk acquired it, and he's learned some lessons. Twitter has faced criticism for various missteps like alienating journalists, restricting API access, and even requiring logins to view tweets. Zuckerberg wants to assure people that Threads is different from Twitter and avoid those same pitfalls.
Embracing social media decentralization: It's widely acknowledged in the social media industry that the future lies in decentralization. The era of closed-off platforms is gradually coming to an end. Just as Compuserve couldn't survive the open Internet, walled garden social media platforms won't be able to thrive in the open Fediverse. Meta doesn't want to become the next Compuserve.
Early entry into an emerging ecosystem: Meta is eager to establish itself in the emerging Fediverse ecosystem, much like they tried to do with the Metaverse. Being an early player allows them to take a leadership position before other major players like #Google, #Apple, and #Automattic jump on board.
However, it's worth noting that there might be a personal rivalry at play here. There have been rumors of a rivalry between Zuckerberg and Musk, and it seems they don't particularly like each other. So, one could speculate that Zuckerberg might want to undermine Musk by taking down Twitter, the platform Musk acquired for a hefty sum of $44 billion.
Hope that provides some context and clarity on why Meta is making these moves.
What do you think about Meta’s Fediverse explainer?
We really should consider services that are not #ActivityPub based but still a federated to be part of the #Fediverse and promote them accordingly. Self-hosting is a plus.
#Usenet is also federated and has been since 1979! There are free providers: https://www.big-8.org/wiki/News_service_providers. If one excludes binaries groups, it's possible to peer with other providers via #NNTP. Posts and groups are linkable in HTML.
A thing @ploum wrote about corporations wrecking and killing decentralized things (in this case, Google and XMPP) -- and why it's essential to learn from history to resist further corporate destruction:
So Google is now preventing people from removing location data from photos taken with Pixel phones.
Remember when Google's corporate motto was "don't be evil?"
Obviously, accurate location data on photos is more useful to a data mining operation like Google.
From Google: "Important: You can only update or remove estimated locations. If the location of a photo or video was automatically added by your camera, you can't edit or remove the location."
What phone brand do you like the best?
*In terms of privacy, customisation, camera quality, and battery time....
How Google Alters Search Queries to Get at Your Wallet - WIRED ( www.wired.com )
cross-posted from !google...
A list of recent hostile moves by #Google's #Chrome team (Jeff Fortin T. (@nekohayo@mastodon.social)) ( mastodon.social )
A list of recent hostile moves by #Google's #Chrome team;...