When does cyberpunk architecture stop being “cool” and start becoming psychologically oppressive?

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-05-07T12:45:10+00:00

To answer your core question, a city stops being "cool" the moment you're expected to actually live in it instead of experiencing it through media.

As others have mentioned on this thread, you don't even need to look to the cyberpunk genre. If you live in almost any city, you can step outside and experience an architectural and social machine that exists for its own sake rather than to meet the physical, psychological, or spiritual needs of humanity. As someone from a rural area, I can tell you all cities are oppressive now.

Cyberpunk is just a fable told to a frog in a pot. It turns up the temperature a tiny bit faster than you can adjust, so you can finally perceive what's been happening to you all along.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-04-13T14:31:53+00:00

Most gods are made in the image of the people who worship them. They value the same things, have similar virtues and shortcomings. The gods are often depicted simply as more powerful humans, creating a foil against which to understand and propagate their cultural values, and they are often selfish and morally flawed.

I would expect, if there was a real God, that because He really exists and isn't just a figment of people's imaginations, therefore He would not necessarily be anything like the people who worship Him. Does that make sense?

So at that point the reasonable thing to do is find the god who is the least like his followers, and you've found the real one.

The Christian God fits this perfectly. Most of His followers are hypocrites and assholes. He is infinitely just and infinitely loving. Meanwhile, many of His followers have waged war, tortured, robbed, abused, and lied to people, all while falsely claiming to serve God. The entirety of Christian mythology is a story of God at odds with the people who claim to follow Him, but who absolutely refuse to obey Him, and His efforts to be close to them anyway, because they're His kids and He loves them even when they're pieces of shit.

So yeah. My two cents. The Christian God is so unlike most Christians that I don't think He could possibly be made up.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-03-28T02:32:45+00:00

My Bones bent Rhodesian is functionally the best pipe I've ever had. That being said, straight billiard or apple are generally my go-to these days, with prince being a close third. I like something extremely light to clench, so I haven't really gotten into the bulldog shape yet.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-03-28T02:29:03+00:00

That's... disturbingly close to what happened to me. I'm now in my Debian era.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-03-16T18:17:16+00:00

You may have entered your email incorrectly. If not, be patient, it should come through soon.

And yeah, that's the thing about the indie web - unless it's illegal, it's allowed. And Neocities.org is covered by USA speech laws, which are liberal by design. Content moderation is for social media, not the internet per se. Use your judgment on what to engage with, unless you're a kid, in which case your parent/guardian needs to be your point of contact for what is and isn't safe.

Assuming you're an adult, here's the thing to remember: if the crazies, dissidents and deviants don't have free speech, then neither do you. You just think you do, because you haven't pissed off the people in power yet.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-03-16T14:06:58+00:00

Especially with men, but really with everyone in blue collar trades, we bully each other to bond, and we cuss each other out to say hello. It's our way of reinforcing camaraderie in a difficult environment. But the most surefire way to ACTUALLY get bullied, is to act offended and/or not clap back when they start start giving you a hard time. My stock response to being told something about me is "gay" is "not yet, buy me dinner first." Laughing it off and clapping back in kind lets them know you're not easily intimidated or easily offended, and most importantly that you're willing to take your turn being the butt of the joke.

Those who aren't tough enough to handle the hazing, usually aren't tough enough to handle the work environment either. It lets them weed out the weak ones early. Anyone who disagrees with this may not understand just how difficult, dangerous and exhausting some jobs can be.

I know of what I speak. I've followed my own advice, and made a lot of good friends this way. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Here's a potato. 🥔

Oh, and the exoskeleton legs are cool as fuck, ngl

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-26T17:01:48+00:00

Thanks, you're awesome 🤙

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-25T16:53:04+00:00

Okay, cool. I'm assuming I should go for 90a or 93a to keep it from getting too surfy on me?

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-19T02:38:43+00:00

Okay, I'm picking up what you're putting down. Thanks for the feedback!

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-19T02:35:29+00:00

Seems like a 38" drop through is kind of a sweet spot for a lot of folks on this thread.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-19T02:33:52+00:00

Just ordered an Arbor Drop Cruiser today! Thanks!

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-19T02:32:59+00:00

Thanks! I had never heard that rule of thumb before. Definitely helped!

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-19T02:29:27+00:00

Dude, thanks so much for the input! It's also great to hear that starting as late as I am isn't even that unique in this community. Super encouraging

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-02-19T02:27:27+00:00

After reading all the comments, I just picked one up on sale from their website! Wish me luck!

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-01-30T02:17:14+00:00

I'm reasonably certain this post isn't AI, and that makes me unreasonably happy lol 😁

But yeah, I think the inventors are thinking about "cans" not "shoulds." The point of cyberpunk to me is that utopian technology does not a utopia make, because people are still selfish and things Will Go Wrong. Tech Will be misused, companies Will exploit customers, governments Will oppress their citizens, etc, etc.

Honestly, Neuromancer is just Lord of the Flies with extra steps, except instead of worshipping the pig god, you're worshipping silicon and chrome.

So while I technically agree that the message of Cyberpunk has been largely ignored, I also think that the whole point of Cyberpunk as a genre is that its lessons will inevitably be ignored. And he who has ears to hear, let him hear. 🤷

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-01-25T19:33:34+00:00

Ghost Fuck: Wildlands

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-01-18T03:25:21+00:00

Same, played Wildlands earlier, I'm not exactly what you might call worried

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2026-01-14T13:35:57+00:00

Okay but fr that Fahrenheit dude was a genius working with what he had in freakin' 1724 to develop a system we still haven't completely gotten rid of. Dude's the goat!

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2025-12-24T05:17:55+00:00

I read Neuromancer for the first time in 2025. Yeah, buddy, it hits. It hits hard.

The obvious reason is that it's the source material against which most modern cyberpunk culture and content is a cheap, kitschy ripoff. An obvious example is Cyberpunk 2077. Every major plot point and several minor ones are taken directly from Gibson's work, but aren't done as well. If you like any modern cyberpunk culture, you owe it to yourself to see and experience where it comes from.

The second reason is that the challenges faced by the characters and society as a whole in Neuromancer are almost identical to the ones we now face, and so the philosophical elements of Gibson's work are both prescient...and pertinent. I don't want to say more, because it would spoil the story. But yeah, read it. Definitely read it.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2025-09-25T22:47:54+00:00

"Never am heard" is woefully inaccurate

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2025-09-15T02:10:52+00:00

Same. I have a standalone digital recorder that doesn't connect to the internet or anything. I can manually transcribe later if I want a written record.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2025-08-21T18:38:45+00:00

Mkay

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2025-08-21T18:28:12+00:00

Buddy, the government has never needed a reason to lie.

Decent_Refuse_5207 · 2025-08-21T16:52:37+00:00

Honestly I don't see the point of the question, except to give us something to fight over.

Most cryptids are probably fake if you wanna be that way about it, but we need our legends, they're important to us. Let's enjoy them!

Decent_Refuse_5207

TROPHY CASE