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ffmike

@ ffmike @beehaw.org

Posts

23
Comments

94
Joined

3 yr. ago

These days, just a retired guy who likes to hike.

3y ago

What exactly is the "language" dropdown in creating comments/posts?
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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago
Yes, both the settings and post language selections are multiselect. But it feels like there's a chicken & egg problem here: until something is done to encourage users off the default (which I would guess many don't even know is an option), changing post language will severely limit its reach.

3y ago

Quick question about usernames.

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

That I do not know for sure. But you can get the username by hovering over their display name.

3y ago

Quick question about usernames.

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Yes. If you set a display name, it displays without the "@". If you leave the display name blank, it displays the username with the "@".

3y ago

Ethics Teams in Tech Are Stymied by Lack of Support

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

And just like DEI teams, ethics teams will be easy to cut back on if a company runs into economic trouble.

Politics @beehaw.org

ffmike @beehaw.org

3y ago

Supreme Court dismisses Louisiana’s appeal of ruling that found racial gerrymandering

www.politico.com /news/2023/06/26/supreme-court-louisiana-racial-gerrymandering-00103631

3y ago

What exactly is the "language" dropdown in creating comments/posts?

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

The dropdown lets you select the language of your target audience (or at least I find that the easiest way to think about it). If you select "English" then only people who select "English" in their settings will see that post.

But because most people leave their settings at the default "Undetermined" those people won't see a post that's marked as "English".

So for the moment, the best practice is to just ignore that dropdown and leave everything as "Undetermined".

The warning banner looks to be duplicated from the Settings page, where it actually makes sense.

3y ago

Moderation / Rules of "news" community?

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Sure, no argument there. There's a choice to be made between "post the second story as a comment to the first one" and "post the second story a a separate topic". I'm in favor of the first approach to keep discussion in one spot, but it's not something I feel super-strongly about.

3y ago

Moderation / Rules of "news" community?

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Avoiding dupes is, I think, an important one. We've had multiple instances on Beehaw of the same story showing up more than once. If you try to post a duplicate link, Lemmy will let you know (by showing the previous copies to you as crossposts). It's harder to make sure you're not posting the second or third story from a different source on the same topic. Perhaps we can just encourage people to search before posting.

I'd like the rules to at least ask people to add an image description in their original post. https://beehaw.org/post/686974 would be good to link to here.

And given the nature of many posts in the news, I think it would be good for this community to remind people to be(e) nice in their discussions.

3y ago

At High School Debates, Watch What You Say

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

My own high school debate days are decades in the past. From that perspective, though, the fact that you can easily look up the judges' biases, and so prepare for them, is a huge advance that we would never have even dreamed of.

I'd be interested in a more serious analysis that went through all 47,000+ paradigms and categorized biases so some non-anecdotal conclusions could be drawn. That would take a lot more time and money than picking out a few instances that the writer knows about.

And yes, if an alternative ends up being liked better by debate coaches, people will go in that direction. It's entirely possible that debate competition will end up being as fragmented as national politics.

3y ago

At High School Debates, Watch What You Say

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

The article here takes a bit stronger stance than "losing debates because of tweets":

The NSDA has allowed hundreds of judges with explicit left-wing bias to infiltrate the organization. These judges proudly display their ideological leanings in statements—or “paradigms”—on a public database maintained by the NSDA called Tabroom, where they declare that debaters who argue in favor of capitalism, or Israel, or the police, will lose the rounds they’re judging.

The article calls out five judges for being biased. The NSDA site shows 47,168 paradigms. So, while there may be an issue, there doesn't seem to be much proof here. It could equally well be that the author is cherry-picking instances that fit his ideology.

Environment @beehaw.org

ffmike @beehaw.org

3y ago

The U.S. Government is Awarding $1.7 Billion to Buy Electric and Low-Emission Buses

time.com /6290129/us-biden-electric-bus-funding/

3y ago

Trump takes aim at EV industry during speech to Michigan Republicans

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

With Michigan being a pretty competitive state, and the unions being largely Democrat, I assume this is his pitch to try to pry some of those union voters away by scaring them about their jobs.

And yeah, decimate. "I do not think this word means what you think it means."

3y ago

Furbies returning to store shelves next month

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Clearly someone needs to figure out how to get an old Furby to interact with a new Furby.

(Of course, someone has already done ChatGPT + Furby)

Environment @beehaw.org

ffmike @beehaw.org

3y ago

Trump takes aim at EV industry during speech to Michigan Republicans

thehill.com /blogs/blog-briefing-room/4067252-trump-takes-aim-at-ev-industry-during-speech-to-michigan-republicans/

Gaming @beehaw.org

ffmike @beehaw.org

3y ago

Furbies returning to store shelves next month

thehill.com /changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/4066879-furbies-returning-to-store-shelves-next-month/

Environment @beehaw.org

ffmike @beehaw.org

3y ago

5 Takeaways from the Montana Climate Trial as We Await a Historic Ruling

www.scientificamerican.com /article/5-takeaways-from-the-montana-climate-trial-as-we-await-a-historic-ruling/

3y ago

Any chance of some local bots for things like summaries etc.

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Beehaw's community mods and admins have discussed this particular use case, and so far we haven't seen anything that we'd be comfortable having on Beehaw. The summary bots have (so far) too many problems with posting misleading summaries to make them a good addition to thoughtful conversation.

3y ago

making your own medicines

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Their web site is down, but their Github account is currently still available, with 3D printing files and software for their microlab.

3y ago

Is Dr. Bronner’s the Last Corporation With a Soul?

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

There are lots of B Corps out there these days, which I would say have at least some soul, but Dr. Bronner's is definitely something in its own class. I was surprised to discover Dr. Bronner's chocolate bars at the natural foods store the other day - honestly nothing special as far as taste goes, but the labels do have some of that classic vibe.

3y ago

askBeehaw (not-so-serious edition): what's the dumbest thing you did as a teenager?

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

So many, many choices.

I think my all-time dumbest came when I was about 22, so it doesn't fit here. In my teens...probably driving drunk at speeds up to 100mph on the mountain roads up above Pasadena with the headlights off at night.

3y ago

Nearly half of US honeybee colonies died last year. Struggling beekeepers stabilize population

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

You appear to be unable or unwilling to distinguish between "preventing births" and "voluntarily choosing not to have children."

Not sure why you're quite so interested in escalating the rhetoric here (forced sterilization? in a thread that started with individual action to save honeybees? really?) but in view of the first rule of Beehaw ("Be(e) nice") I'm not interested in joining you.

Science @beehaw.org

ffmike @beehaw.org

3y ago

1.6-billion-year-old steroid fossils hint at a lost world of microbial life

www.sciencenews.org /article/steroid-fossil-lost-world-microbe-life

3y ago

Nearly half of US honeybee colonies died last year. Struggling beekeepers stabilize population

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Telling one person that they can help out by not having kids is rather different from, as the dictionary says

the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group

Even suggesting to a whole group of people not to have kids is not the same as killing them.

So no, it's not a logical conclusion. It's illogical rhetoric. But you do you, I guess.

3y ago

What's going to happen to all of these SUVs?

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Here in the middle of America, it's not SUVs - it's full-size pickup trucks. Just as much of an ecological and safety disaster though.

3y ago

Fusion, Recoil, Discovery: A New Type of Atomic Nucleus Discovered

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

I'm pretty sure that discovering a new isotope while working on your MS guarantees that you'll get the degree.

3y ago

Google Perspectives Search

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ffmike @beehaw.org 3y ago

Yep, I get it. Effectively block ads and javascript and it doesn't much matter what a site wants to do. I skip the few that have actually effective paywalls (as opposed to just putting a div over content on the page - as far as I'm concerned, if it's downloaded to my computer, I am allowed to read it). Of course, the sites that load up on ads tend to be pretty low-quality content anyhow.