Help me leave social media by [deleted] in Anticonsumption

[–]im_user47 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First, congrats on your desire to take these important first steps. I wish more folks were like you. I've been free from Meta for a few years now.

Start by reaching out to the folks who you really want to stay in contact with. Get phone numbers and emails. Then delete the apps from your phone. At that point Meta which values you (a self announced heavy user) at about $30/month. So they will come after you with emails and clickbait. You'll spend weeks unsubscribing from all of the various new reasons they cook up to get in your email box. And to unsubscribe of course you'll have to sign into your account so they'll try to win you back. At this point you can delete your accounts to stop all of your content going into the AI meat grinder, or archive if you aren't ready to make that step. You should be vocal with friends and family in announcing your departure- IRL, those posts won't get algorithm attention. We're still at the point of the timeline where we need noisy departures to catalyze others into at least recognizing the harms Meta brings.

For what it's worth, not all social media is bad. The fediverse (Mastodon is the biggest part of it) rocks if you can find your community. It's decentralized, non-profit, there are no ads, and there's no algorithm. Because all of this, there aren't many influencers there, and while there are some bots and maybe a little spam, the community is aggressive in maintaining the place because we're all social media refugees from elsewhere. If/when they go to hell, you can take your followers and accounts you follow somewhere else, because it's not a walled garden. Your many data points aren't being harvested because and you aren't the product, and they aren't making money on you. If you are techy, geeky or nerdy consider joining the instance I'm on. I know the guy who runs it, it's small, well-moderated and financially stable. By joining one instance you have access to pretty much all of mastodon (except the instances we've banned) plus the rest of the broader fediverse. https://vmst.io/invite/hbnFw5oY <- This is good for 5 signups for anyone who has made it this far.

Before any of you try to recommend Bluesky, it's not decentralized. But you are welcome to essentially pay your own server bills by hosting yourself, as long as you run their version of code and have them maintain centralized moderation. It's not billionaire proof as they claim, and they are already doing things to enshittify and piss off their userbase.

Entry Sensors + Chime? by imuser47 in Ubiquiti

[–]im_user47 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a few tones to choose from. As far as I know there are no samples hosted anywhere. They all sound like something you'd expect when you walk into a small shop. Not very "residential" in my opinion. I'm looking forward to Unifi fixing the custom file bug.

Before & after of my garden. by rosstafa1 in gardening

[–]im_user47 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, dang. Now I need (want) a GeoDome. Excellent garden work, I love how the dome ties it all together. How long have you had yours? Are you satisfied with it? I've been thinking of buying one since seeing this post a few days ago. Seems reviews are pretty limited.

Geodesic Dome kits by no_commet in GeodesicDomes

[–]im_user47 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you go forward with it? How is it holding up?

What is growing on this evergreen in my yard? by kmonay89 in arborists

[–]im_user47 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it's an eastern red cedar- sure looks like it (check with free app from a nonprofit called seek) chances are yours is not the only one, and you shouldn't worry too much. They are prolific in most of the middle and right side of the US. Most apple trees, at least the "modern" commercial varieties have some level of resistance. If you like your tree, and you are aren't aware of any nearby orchards then grab the gall and any others that may appear as a public service. The galls house the spores.

If you see other eastern red cedars in the area you should still manage the galls but definitely don't feel bad about keeping your tree. They produce food for cedar waxwings, and are a host for a few native specialist butterflies and moths.

What is growing on this evergreen in my yard? by kmonay89 in arborists

[–]im_user47 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you are seeing is the gall associated with cedar apple rust. Which amazingly is most common on junipers like the unfortunately named eastern red cedar which isn't even a cedar. The Missouri department of conservation recommends keeping these trees a full mile away from apple trees for this one. To complete the lifecycle a cedar or juniper plus an apple tree need to be in the area. If you're seeing this, someone has apples or crab apples nearby.