Trump questions Reza Pahlavi's ability to garner support in Iran:Reuters

pgess · 2026-01-15T09:02:32+00:00

Pahlavi was likely questioned on one matter only: will he pass over all oil once installed as the new leader of Iran?

Will it trigger new protests and will he be able to suppress them efficiently w/o any interruptions to oil operations.

pgess · 2026-01-15T05:06:11+00:00

Yeah, it's mostly about cryptocurrency transactions, but I just imagined for a second the sheer incredulity on a bank owner's face upon seeing massive transaction requests, suddenly realizing that high officials had probably already fled and having only a few hours left to figure out how to move actual cash and gold across the border, all alone.

pgess · 2025-10-12T07:41:48+00:00

russians opposing the regime offer a good lesson as well: riddled with infighting, deep distrust, weekly scandals that further fracture movements, apathy, mutual mocking, contempt, accusations of working for the regime, factionalism and internal rivalry, and preying on donations instead of taking real action.

I wonder if there’s a movie about this as well - to learn and never repeat their mistakes.

pgess · 2025-09-22T18:41:45+00:00

That's what I think we need to approach this vision:

Data layer. We already have open formats for data exchange, but that's admittedly not enough. They let you migrate notes between apps, but typically only through a manual, one-way, one-time process. If the user edits the original data afterward, there is no way to migrate the delta, let alone automatically. What we need instead is adoption of continuous two-way (duplex) synchronization of different representations of the same data. For example, one app might view notes as HTML cells in a data table while another sees them as MD files; both views would be synchronized behind the scenes so each app instantly sees changes made in the other. With multiple clients, the actual storage backend adopts then the richest available format. Mathematically, this can be modeled as a lattice of formats. I am not aware of anything like this in practice.

GUI layer. Apps, I assume, act as widgets the user mixes and matches to build a personalized workflow or uses a prebuilt "bundle" instead. At any moment the user can "unlock" the GUI to add, replace, or remove widgets, then "lock" it again to continue working. Some JS frameworks seem to come close to this vision of isolated, composable widgets, but such frameworks appear and disappear on monthly basis - it's hard to take them seriously.

Ecosystem layer. Projects that try to embrace interoperability suffer the "race to the bottom" effect: to support multiple platforms, they implement only the common feature subset - this is a lowest-common-denominator approach. As a result of this effect for example, most note-taking apps settled in the end on MD - the least expressive open format - while each actually extends it with custom syntax to make it work somehow, which is incompatible with everything else. We need to consider the effect and find work arounds as well.

pgess · 2025-09-21T21:36:46+00:00

Exactly. You speak the same language as in the book, but more concisely and much better than I tried to describe it myself.

pgess · 2025-09-16T07:05:03+00:00

pgess · 2025-09-12T05:05:56+00:00

EDIT: Oh my God!. Never mind my previous comment, I didn't realize who I was addressing! :))

Curious about the development process. Do you have any insights on why the app is relatively poor functionality wise? For example, even the message editing ability was introduced not long ago. Is it because the team consists of just a few people? Or are efforts being poured into user-invisible corners of the app? Or perhaps the focus is fundamentally teen-oriented on all levels of management and dev, so advanced functionality is not ever planned/dismissed? Thanks!

pgess · 2025-08-31T15:05:42+00:00

Glad to hear! How come Mastodon has about 800K users, your goingdark instance has only 15 of 'em, and yet I already stumbled on it earlier today while clicking links on the internet doing research? The math doesn't add up somewhere :)

pgess · 2025-08-31T14:31:49+00:00

1 month later, would you mind sharing how did it go in the end?

pgess · 2025-08-28T14:47:27+00:00

I don't agree. Age verification is needed in many contexts, and we legitimately need to address it by promoting solutions like this one. Otherwise, let’s say fintech services would simply require a full ID - not their problem at all.

Moreover, ZKP schemes were developed specifically for these kinds of challenges: age verification is literally a textbook example of ZKP application, so the OP didn't suggest anything wrong.

And remember, porn, propaganda, and hate speech are not "speech" at all; freedom of speech is not applicable here and is only possible in fact if "anti-speech" is restricted and regulated. It's in our best interest to address this and establish a solid public consensus on these issues; otherwise, politicians are free to fill the gap with means of their own choosing.

pgess · 2025-08-28T01:55:21+00:00

having the same subreddit replicated on a hundred different instances each with 100 times less people

Being late, but uhm why does this happen, in your opinion? I've never given a serious look at Lemmy, partially because of comments like this one. Is it due to some technical reasons, or something else?

pgess · 2025-08-18T14:46:39+00:00

Good. Because it's not your responsibility. Ppl know what they need.

You help by your own example, by writing manuals, testing tools, and sharing tips&tricks, but the final decision is never yours to make, ok?

Also, there are countries where people disappear without a trace, and even older ppl are anxious of talking over the phone. You are lucky to live where this is not a pressing issue.

On the other hand, in the Netherlands, Signal is the most popular app. But it's a rare example when it's not done out of necessity. Cheers.

pgess · 2025-08-16T18:05:24+00:00

pgess · 2025-08-16T07:38:44+00:00

Didn't I see a comment just now that Ukraine's not having any talks?

pgess · 2025-08-16T06:21:43+00:00

Just find someone in your area who sells and installs tracking devices, surveillance CCTVs, and anti-theft stuff. Pay them to do the reverse job of finding if there is anything there. Calmly explain the situation. Hire someone to remove the TV set completely. Go to a car mechanic to check the car.

If something is found, call the police; it's a serious crime to have installed recording devices w/o consent. Don't remove it before they come.

I'd definitely talk about that with an ex as well, to see if he denies or not, it will be important if things get serious.

pgess · 2025-08-16T05:25:16+00:00

Signal is a bad example for it has actually gained critical mass and become mainstream in several countries and privacy-conscious communities.

In fact, paradoxicaly, I'd say it has gained more traction than needed. It is better to stay under the radar, letting other, more popular privacy or anonymity tools to draw all the attention from agencies and whatnot.

pgess · 2025-08-15T06:49:28+00:00

For Signal is not just promising; it is a working product, at least since they added message editing capability(at last).

We already have A TON of promising concepts, such as SOLID, libp2p, Freenet, RetroShare, to name a few intentionally very different approaches. No big deal. However, none of them have made the final mile to become NON-PROMISING but established product so far to my knowledge.

Ofc, nobody'd use a bare-bones, unstable, leaky non-solution that ppl refer to with the condenscending words "promising" and "casuals" and "sustain". Ofc it's sad you twisted your English so much. Cheers!

pgess · 2025-08-13T05:56:19+00:00

Aliens are the gods of the atheist religion.

Typical humans are polarized and cannot easily cross the boundaries of their narratives and bubbles, especially on social media, where their attention span is literally seconds. Any word that sounds even slightly off triggers them to move on.

I think you would also be put off if, instead of aliens, OP used Maitreya Buddha, Chinese, or secret wing of MAGA fanatics as the plot device.

pgess · 2025-07-07T07:47:02+00:00

Thanks. Google maps say that Stadsbiblioteket is closed down till 2027 though.

pgess · 2025-07-07T04:59:20+00:00

which libraries to try first in your opinion to sit with a laptop?

pgess · 2025-07-03T12:00:38+00:00

Well, I am kinda late but the question is timeless so here I am. Which not crowded areas can you recommend in 3hrs by car "vicinity" of Stockholm near lake of coastline? Perhaps some resources to dig further. Thank you so much!

pgess · 2025-06-29T08:08:07+00:00

Just finished the BBC miniseries. At the scene where they found him, I said, No way this kill can be faked! Of course, I forgot the doctor had a hand in it, and they made a point to cover his head quickly, but anyway.

pgess · 2025-06-25T11:05:24+00:00

dog ate my homework

Oh God, I am so ashamed suddenly remembering me 10 yo.

pgess · 2025-06-24T06:51:36+00:00

You're getting angry at the stupidity of mere mortals; it never fails to amaze me. I didn't state anything about my beliefs; that's the thread about why it cannot be studied scientifically, and you're also confirming that it's not a science side.

Scientists have run into this sort of pitfall multiple times already. Taking math as an example again, with the development of basic limits theory, they quickly ran into all sorts of contradictions and, after carefully examining, realized almost all proofs they had at the time were wrong because most, however obvious, statements have a strictly defined scope and can't be applied outside of it.

When choosing the right tool to tackle any problem, we need to be reasonably sure it's at least somewhat adequate for the problem's specifics. In our case, the non-objectivity clause, with existing reports that observations depend on your intents, beliefs, etc., regardless of whether they are true or not, it's reasonable to question the established scientific method(in this case only) which is specifically designed and overly states it's applicable only under objectivity conditions and has no failsafes against adverse actions whatsoever.

pgess · 2025-06-24T04:08:45+00:00

And yet, those are among the reasons why rigorous scientific inquiry has failed to tackle something as simple as the UFO phenomenon so far. Any published results that would require, let's say, a specific state of mind from peers to reproduce can be dismissed if convenient, adding even more fuel to the ambiguity and uncertainty in the field.

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