@evan Did Internet users benefit from AOL providing access to the Web? There were pluses and minuses; it was good overall, I'd say. Did AOL users benefit from access to the Web? Unquestionably.
@evan Honestly, it's strange that so many programs have their own parser and config file format. After 60 years of UNIX, how is that no format has achieved dominance?
@evan No military strategy has ever had the main priority of minimizing civilian casualties: by its nature, the main priority of military strategy is to achieve some military objective, e.g. capturing a strongpoint. That said, we rightfully condemn those who do not make minimising civilian casualties a secondary priority, and disproportionate injury to civilians is contrary to international law [0].
@evan Somewhat negative. I subscribe to magazines and a newspaper so I don't object in practice to paying for regular content. I have no objection in principle to paying for longer form content such as blog posts, videos and newsletters, but I'm not sure it's worthwhile for the Fediverse to try to develop ways of distributing such items for money; free methods exist, and paid methods have been mostly unsuccessful.
For the Fediverse (or Twitter) as is, I haven't seen any feed I'd pay for.
@evan I voted neither. Almost never get reply guys (good), but get less engagement than I'd like. Not enough people with similar interests to mine present on the Fediverse as yet.
@evan@Sebprovencher Catch the article's reference to "the University of Waterloo, California"? Because of course that must be the meaning of uwaterloo.ca...
"The United States is a heartbeat away from a world war that it could lose. There are serious conflicts requiring U.S. attention in two of the world’s three most strategically important regions. Should China decide to launch an attack on Taiwan, the situation could quickly escalate into a global war on three fronts"
@gemlog My feed is rather tame, so I mostly use CWs when I have comments about #uspol. Some people don't want to read about that topic; it often generates more heat than light; it's not something I frequently write about.
(People who aren't interested in #CanPol, on the other hand, probably shouldn't follow me at all.)
So, like you, I rarely use CWs. Nobody gives me a hard time about it.
@evan Municipal government isn't about the fundamental choices of a people, it's about deciding whether to spend tax money on roads, parks, or buses. Let all those affected — that is, all adult residents and municipal taxpayers, regardless of citizenship — have the right to vote.
@evan The first rule of holes is when you're in one, you should stop digging. But I'll respond anyway...
For as long as I've been aware of the Israel-Palestine conflict, I've supported a two-state solution. I feel like a two-state solution is further away in 2023 than it's been at any point in my life. And a one-state solution is even less likely than two-state.
It looks like the poor Gazans are going to pass from Hamas rule to Israeli military occupation. What better options are feasible now?
@evan As I indicated responding to the self-determination poll, I strongly support the flourishing of nations, but I do not believe that necessarily requires nation-states. Incorporation of a nationality into a liberal democratic state [0] is not "erasure of a people", so long as the larger state respects the rights of the smaller nationality, particularly regarding schools.
Maybe a bad idea, but not repugnant.
[0] Not completely true of Egypt, Jordan or Turkey at present, granted.
@evan@darnell It's probably a bad idea, but maybe the residents of Gaza and the West Bank could stay where they are, and become citizens of some other state? The former was once part of Egypt, and the latter part of Jordan, and I understand that neither of those countries want to regain sovereignty. Maybe Turkish exclaves...
@evan In such circumstances, some dialogue is inevitable, and it should certainly be peaceful when it occurs. We shouldn't however expect the dialogue to be fruitful.