None of these complaints is inherent to the structure or functionality of Twitter…

Picking up on this again briefly:

None of these complaints is inherent to the structure or functionality of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc. They’re deliberate UI design choices to optimize for the company’s targets. A third party client could bypass it all (which of course is why they don’t allow those).

Similarly, Mastodon and Pixelfed and so on *could* implement UI like this, but they don’t. The project goals aren’t engagement at all costs. And each instance can have its own goals.

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Someone could add an ATTENTION-GRABBING EXPERIENCE on top of the Mastodon or Pixelfed code.

And those of us connecting with different software wouldn’t be affected.

Or they could write an app that adds it! Though I’m not sure many people would consider that an improved experience.

Then again, people do use Yahoo mail. 🤷‍♂️

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IMO there are two sensible ways to handle granular push #notification preferences:1. Use the system’s …

IMO there are two sensible ways to handle granular push #notification preferences:

1. Use the system’s per-app settings for all of it. (Tusky does this, even putting your per-account preferences in the system UI)
2. Use the app’s settings for all of it, and let the system just be an on/off toggle for what you’ve chosen in the app (like it was before the system had UI for it)

#ui #usability

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And while I’m griping about Instagram, why the heck are the detailed notification preferences split …

And while I’m griping about Instagram, why the heck are the detailed notification preferences split between the app and the system notification UI?

That’s terrible design.

Well, if it’s intended for usability, anyway.

If your goal is to make people see more notifications, though… 🙄

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The way the palantir network compromises Saruman and Denethor shows the danger in who controls the algorithm

LOTR rewatch: The way the palantir network compromises Saruman and Denethor shows the danger in who controls the algorithm that manages your newsfeed.

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Pippin picks it up, starts doomscrolling, and can’t put it down. Literally.

Aragorn plans out his post, gets on *just* long enough to make his point, and gets the hell out, knowing he’s made an impression.

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Finally made it out to the botanical gardens up in the hills for a hike.

Finally made it out to the botanical gardens up in the hills for a hike. They’ve actually stayed open this whole time by requiring reservations to limit the number of people on the grounds at a time. (Also face masks, distancing, and closing off benches and some sections.)

Ironically there were more people there than I usually see. The limits must be against an increased demand due to the fact that they were actually open!

#nature #signs #bench #trail #closed #hiking #mask #photo

Closed due to Covid-19.

Bench (and caution tape).

Shady amphitheater.

Discarded mask on the trail.

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So he disassembled & reassembled the dead Nexus 5x that got stuck bootlooping 2 years …

So he disassembled & reassembled the dead Nexus 5x that got stuck bootlooping 2 years ago. Plugged it in. Waited. It actually powered on enough for us to get it into recovery mode!

Unfortunately I should have left it in fastboot mode, because now that I’ve downloaded an image to install, I can’t get it to power up again at all.

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covid closures & beaches

The beach is closed now, along with the bike path and the sidewalk I was standing on. ALL of Los Angeles County’s beaches are closed.

Neighboring Ventura County just re-opened some of theirs with distancing rules in place, and while Orange County has resisted closing their beaches, they had so many people show up at the coast this weekend that some cities are thinking about closing them after all. (Well, maybe only on weekends when non-locals might show up. 🙄 )

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Thinking back to the last “normal” weekend in southern California

Thinking back to the last “normal” weekend in southern California before it became clear that covid-19 was spreading locally & closures started.

After a busy Saturday & Sunday morning, I went out for a calming photo walk at the beach.

Not many people were there. I’m not sure if it was just not warm enough yet, or people were starting to keep their distance already, or if they were just all at the other end where there was a kite festival.

#photo #beach #SocialDistancing #california

kelsonv: Thinking back to the

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Covid19/events

Back in my college theater days, I remember one of the teachers remarking that what sets theater apart from other types of events is the audience. A sporting event with no one watching still counts for the rankings and records. A play without an audience might as well be a dress rehearsal.

Well, sporting events are being scheduled without fans…and my old college just announced that this quarter’s performances will be done without audiences.

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Though I guess they do still count for class credit

A bright sundog next to a glass-sided building

A bright #sundog next to a glass-sided building. The sun is off to the left out of frame. The sundog had a bit more color and more of the spectrum in it as seen through my polarized sunglasses, so I kind of wish I'd taken a shot through one of the lenses, but at least you can see how bright it was. I haven't adjusted the color on this image at all - except for cropping, it's straight out of my phone. #sky #halo

A bright #sundog next to a glass-sided building. The sun is off to the left out of frame. The sundog had a bit more color and more of the spectrum in it as seen through my polarized sunglasses, so I kind of wish I'd taken a shot through one of the lenses, but at least you can see how bright it was.

I haven't adjusted the color on this image at all – except for cropping, it's straight out of my phone.

#sky #halo

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I need to start collecting screenshots of ghost Pokestops…

I need to start collecting screenshots of ghost Pokestops. Not ghost-type nests, but the stops that highlight something that isn’t there anymore.

In my area there are several murals that have been painted over, fountains that have been converted to planters, a park pond that’s become a splash pad, a sculpture in a store that’s been bulldozed…

It’s like a digital afterlife for landmarks.

#PokemonGo

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blog post

rambling thoughts on self hosting

Thinking about what it means to self-host a service, and that there are degrees even within that.

I have a self-hosted WordPress blog in the sense that I manage an installation of WordPress, but I run it on a VPS at a web host. It’s not as self-hosted as someone running a server on a Lollipop or FreedomBox, but it’s more self-hosted than someone using WordPress.com. It’s also more self-hosted than someone using the managed WordPress hosting at the same web host.

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The key advantages of self-hosting are privacy and control. Unless a service uses end-to-end encryption, the admins at each level can probably read your stuff – you have to trust that they won’t do it unless they have to.

And of course when you run your own service, you don’t have to fear losing control when Google Plus shuts down, or Flickr changes their pricing structure, or Tumblr changes their TOS, or MySpace botches a server migration.

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The obvious disadvantage of self-hosting, of course, is that you’re on the hook for all the maintenance. Spam filtering, moderation, security updates, server migrations – those are all on you.

And unless you’re using your own software, even on your own box there’s still the risk that a project is going to shut down & leave you without security fixes, or pivot to a new direction that no longer fits what you want. (So glad WP’s block editor is still optional!)

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@iona Yeah, that’s sort of the balance I’ve settled on, too. I manage the top-level web apps, but my webhost handles the hardware, the virtualization and the LAMP stack.

(And email. Ugh, I’d forgotten how much of a pain a mailserver can be to handle until I tried to set one up on a Raspberry Pi a couple of months ago.)

I guess I’m kind of splitting the difference.

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Interesting vocab mixup with the 7YO last night: He agreed to stop a game at …

Interesting vocab mixup with the 7YO last night: He agreed to stop a game at “the first save point” and get ready for bed. When he didn’t, he said he hadn’t gotten to a “safe point” yet.

It turned out he didn’t understand what a save point was, because all the games he’s played up until now either don’t save progress at all, or save continuously.

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You know what I miss about CDs and other physical music media? Liner notes.Art, …

You know what I miss about CDs and other physical music media?

Liner notes.

Art, lyrics, sometimes stories…

…and credits. Who is that familiar-sounding background singer? Who wrote the song? Is it a cover? This one really reminds me of a certain composer, lyricist, or arranger’s style – can I confirm that?

The performer and title are easy to get, even if it’s not in your own library.

But the rest? If the song is notable enough for Wikipedia, great. Otherwise, who knows?

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