Ricardo J. Méndez @ricardojmendez@mastodon.social

so on the eve of the #tumblr shutdown, Tumblr IP-blocked the Internet Archive.

Just to be EXTRA dicks.

Hi, I'm Mohammad. I'm a game developer, story writer and artist. I'm currently working on #RosesWillRise, a strategy RPG visual novel. https://mastodon.art/media/tA9vdT28SXANXuOPrUc https://mastodon.art/media/X28llDlIeTfbbt8dNy8 https://mastodon.art/media/rhCTP_QgeubkUO0Nsq0 https://mastodon.art/media/V90pslMLislBFmn9JPU

... With messaging systems like #WhatsApp, the approach will be slightly different: your user interface will claim you’re in a one-on-one conversation, but behind the scenes, the company will be required to silently switch you into a group chat. Two of the people in the group chat will be you and your friend. The other will be invisible, and will be operated by the government.

This is how it (should) work: In the case of Apple’s #iMessage, #Apple would be compelled to silently add new devices to the list apps think you own: when someone sends you a message, it will no longer just go to, say, your #iPhone, your #iPad, and your #MacBook – it will go to those devices, and a new addition, a spying device owned by the government...

public authorities "can secretly compel tech companies and individual technologists, including network administrators, sysadmins, and open source developers – to re-engineer software and hardware under their control, so that it can be used to spy on their users. Engineers can be penalized for refusing to comply with fines and prison"... sounds like a nightmare but it is reality in the #UK and #Australia https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/new-fight-online-privacy-and-security-australia-falls-what-happens-next #eff #spy #privacy #security

“Word processor pioneer Evelyn Berezin dies aged 93” https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46539934

Mark Zuckerberg Strategy Email: ‘That May Be Good For the World But It’s Not Good For Us’ http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/internal-emails-show-facebooks-focus-on-self-preservation.html

Somebody at Spotify thought it would be a good idea — in the year of Cambridge Analytica — to make a campaign using what appears to be actual user-generated playlist titles and songs.

Australia wyd https://boingboing.net/2018/12/06/pm-drongo.html

⁣

tumblr started flagging pictures of vases and animals as porn. Dildos are alright, though:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/3/18124461/tumblr-adult-content-porn-ban-flagging-errors-algorithm-fail

context matters

RT @recursecenter@twitter.com: We're offering $10,000 Fellowships to women working on open source programming projects, research, and art for our batch starting Jan 7. 50% of funding is reserved for women, trans, and non-binary people of color.

Apply now: https://www.recurse.com/blog/145-fellowships-for-women-working-on-open-source-programming-projects-research-and-art

Please help spread the word!

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/recursecenter/status/1070756125979672577

So I wrote a thread on birdsite on the #Six4Three Facebook files confiscated and released by UK Parliament. Enjoy + feel free to RT the crap out of it:

https://mobile.twitter.com/aral/status/1070537560244580352

#SurveillanceCapitalism #Facebook

At 22 years old, Postgres might just be the most advanced database yet
https://arcentry.com/blog/postgres-might-just-be-the-most-advanced-database-ever/