Notices by M. J. Fromberger (creachadair@phire.place)

Solidarity is not some fuzzy leftist ideal. It is a defense against arbitrage, the only one that is reliable and effective over time.

Solidarity is not easy: It is a compromise among people with a shared interest, a sacrifice of narrow individual advantage to avert a greater compromise with an adverse interest.

Solidarity is always available, even when political means—which might have been simpler—have been captured and corrupted.

Solidarity is our only permanent weapon against tyranny.

The authoritarian coup taking place in the U.S. federal government right now, although it is driven mainly by the so-called "conservative" party, is not a matter of policy disputes of any ordinary sort.

Reasonable people can be "conservative" about policy, but to align yourself with the GOP in this moment is a very different signal: It says you would rather burn the world than compromise in any way. It's not a political choice, it's an assault, and marks you as an enemy combatant.

Internet search in…

1990: ask people you know for their FTP server address

1995: scroll through twenty pages of Altavista results

2000: ten blue links

2010: ten blue links below ten ads

2020: one useful link to Wikipedia below the fold, all ads above

2024: AI summary followed by ads followed by a Wikipedia link

2025: AI summary followed by AI summaries of ads followed by a Wikipedia link behind an AI summary

2026: ask people you know for their archive torrent address

@grimalkina You are making a vital point: much of the obsession with "tech aptitude" and "technical competency" is a way to create, circumscribe, and defend an in-group. For a long time that was used to curate an idea of an elite, as a competitive measure in a vibrant economy; but it is also a way of kettling labour among a certain class of workers, as we have seen more recently.

"Is that free as in beer, or free as in freedom?"

"It's free as in use-after."

I accidentally typed "git pull --rebae", now my relationship is all screwed up and I think I'm about to be in a detached head state.