Notices by Robin Riley (fka Josh) (josh@josh.tel), page 2

Please join me in supporting the work of @thisismissem and become a recurring donor: https://support.thisismissem.social/

Emelia does an extraordinary amount of work to make the fediverse a better place for all of us, and basically contributes to all the top fedi projects. Let's help make that sustainable for her!

#Fediverse #Fundraising #IndieWeb #OpenSource #FOSS

@ntnsndr Yeah, the ecosystem definitely has some work to do on the UX front!

As someone wiser than me recently said, in many categories proprietary tools have largely plateaued and their "innovation" now is typically for the benefit of shareholders rather than end users... so now is the time for FOSS to finally catch up.

As always, it's tradeoffs all the way down. There is no single correct answer.

When I think about Discord, which seems to be the thing as Slack has gotten shittier with people:

Yeah probably fine for a small group who understand the privacy tradeoffs. But for a public community that one hopes to grow and nurture over the course of many years? Nope nope nope.

*taps the sign*

Choosing to host a community on a "free" proprietary platform offered by a for-profit is choosing short term ease and long term pain, and often comes at the expense of privacy. These tools _will_ get shitty and extractive. And what then?

Community migrations are painful and lossy.

We must select tools for our community while considering a time horizon longer than the economic boom/bust cycle.

I'm looking at moving my Nextcloud and Matrix servers to my home network.

Folks with servers on your home network: any suggestions of guides you found helpful, or machines or storage solutions you recommend (or advise against)?

#AskFedi #IndieWeb #SelfHosting

I'm glad to see Sticker Mule took the mask off for all to see.

Many of us who have worked in developer relations and marketing have been avoiding them for _years_ because of its owners.

If you're looking for a new place to get stickers made, I'm seeing people recommend Sticker App, Sticker Ninja, Bumperactive (a union shop!) and I have been using Jukebox Printing.

#StickerMule

It's one thing to see the pandemic era data sets. It's another to feel it...

Far too many young people dying of cardiovascular issues these days.

#COVID

Currently live on FLOSS Weekly with @matthew talking about @matrix! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lcsy9LP7og

#Matrix #FLOSS #OpenSource

Glad to hear Mozilla has restored the anti-censorship Firefox add-ons that they took offline at the request of Roskomnadzor.

But still weird that it happened.

Every reputable org I know does one thing with requests from Roskonnadzor: ignores them.

Hey folks! I'm looking for examples of elected officials and people running for office who have accounts on the fediverse.

Know of one? Please let me know! Boosts appreciated :boost_requested:

#USPol #CanPoli #UKPol

A reminder: epidemics and pandemics are expected to increase in frequency as the climate crisis advances [1] and as humans build deeper into wildlands [2].

So what do we do?

1) Address the climate crisis!
2) Embrace urbanism, controlled growth, and leave wildlands alone.
3) Push for infrastructure improvements for indoor air quality.
4) Push for better healthcare and sick leave policies.
5) Advocate for better funding for scientific research.

[1] https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk4500
[2] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2020.11.002

#PublicHealth #ClimateCrisis #COVID #H5N1

I only have direct influence over small and mid-sized events.

Ultimately, it's going to take someone who has influence in organizing larger events mustering a bit of courage and conviction to step up and join PyCon US.

We cannot sit by and let PyCon US be the only flag bearer at that scale. We must rise to the level of their excellence.

Personally, I'm hoping to see the Drupal or Ruby communities step it up.

The organizers of @pycon have given community organizers a massive gift 🎁

Let's not squander it!

A *sold out* #PyConUS 2024 proved that even large events can prioritize safety and inclusion for caregivers and immunocompromised people by way of requiring masks, and gathering venue data to calibrate their policy from year-to-year. Smaller events have proven it's possible at that scale, too.

Now is the time for at least one other large event to step up.

Who will it be? 👀

#HealthAndSafety #FOSS #OpenSource #PublicHealth

PS. It's no coincidence that the Python has arguably the single most diverse and welcoming global tech ecosystem on the planet.

That happens *because* they make choices like this, again and again.

If you're in a position of influence or decision making authority, the questions are:

* What kind of culture do you want to foster?
* And are you leaving something on the table that would help you foster that culture?

Don't let yourself be cowed by fear of possible blowback on mask requirements.

Not only is that fear overblown, but giving into it prioritizes reactionary jerks over people who actually have something to lose.

Does your public library use Overdrive/Libby for ebooks or audiobooks? ⚠️

In the US and Canada, the answer is probably yes. And you should speak to your library staff and commission about it.

Libby is now owned by a private equity firm & making sketchy changes: https://buttondown.email/ninelives/archive/the-coming-enshittification-of-public-libraries/

The latest development is that their overbroad privacy policy allows them to sell your borrowing history to advertisers: https://infosec.exchange/@longobord/112243098104196246

Thank you @karawynn and @longobord!

#Privacy #Libraries

It has never been more important to include attribution or cite our sources.

Not just the right thing to do, it also helps with information and media literacy at a time when convincing bullshit is easier than ever to produce.

Addressing indoor air quality saves lives and helps us achieve at work, in school, and in self-governance.

Brain function declines by 15% as CO2 levels hit 945ppm, and by 50% at 1400ppm.

Have you ever measured CO2 at your desk or a contentious City Council meeting? What you find might surprise you!

These scientists recommend mandating clean air in public buildings, with 800ppm as the upper limit. That's good policy: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl0677

#IAQ #COVID #HealthAndSafety #PublicHealthPledge

Beware folks, there's an astroturfing campaign emerging on fedi that appears to be aimed at garnering support for the actions of the Israeli government.

BTW did you know that FlightRadar24 and FlightAware don't show you all the aircraft you could be seeing?

For instance, you'll never see military aircraft, private jets from the uber wealthy, or even, say, the Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter: https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N108SC

This is why things like Airplanes.Live are so valuable. They get data from a network of hobbyists with base stations (like me!), who share and publish open data for the joy of it.

#AVGeek