Commentary on links that caught my attention around the web.
Fediverse
[Mastodon] Mastodon is growing up: "Simply, we are going to transfer ownership of key Mastodon ecosystem and platform components (including name and copyrights, among other assets) to a new non-profit organization, affirming the intent that Mastodon should not be owned or controlled by a single individual. [...] We are in
Fediverse
[Social Web Foundation] The Social Web Foundation's statement about Meta's moderation changes is important: "Ideas matter, and history shows that online misinformation and harassment can lead to violence in the real world. [...] Meta is one of many ActivityPub implementers and a supporter of the Social
Notable Links
[Adria R Walker at The Guardian] A full century after the Bureau of Investigation blamed the Tulsa race massacre on Black men and claimed that the perpetrators didn't break the law, the DoJ has issued an update: "“The Tulsa race massacre stands out as a civil rights
Notable Links
[Jared White] I've been thinking about this paragraph since I read it: "In times past, we would worry about singular governmental officials such Joseph Goebbels becoming a master of propaganda for their cause. Today’s problem is massively scaled out in ways Goebbels could only dream of:
Technology
[Mike Masnick in TechDirt] Mark Zuckerberg is very obviously running scared from the incoming Trump administration: "Since the election, Zuckerberg has done everything he can possibly think of to kiss the Trump ring. He even flew all the way from his compound in Hawaii to have dinner at Mar-A-Lago
Technology
[Rae Morey at The Repository] The bananas activity continues over at Automattic / Matt Mullenweg's house: "Members of the fledgling WordPress Sustainability Team have been left reeling after WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg abruptly dissolved the team this week. [...] The disbandment happened after team rep Thijs Buijs announced in
Notable Links
[Natasya Salim, Najma Sambul, and Bill Birtles at ABC News] This is something that every nation should provide. It's really impressive that Indonesia is putting it into action: "Indonesia has launched a transformative free meal program designed to combat malnutrition and support underprivileged communities. Championed by President
Technology
[Jason Kottke] Jason nails what the supposed focus on free speech by Meta and others is really about: "What Zuckerberg and Meta have realized is the value, demonstrated by Trump, Musk, and MAGA antagonists, of saying that you’re “protecting free speech” and using it as cover for almost
Notable Links
[Arno Rosenfeld at the Forward] The Heritage Foundation is out to "identify and target" Wikipedia editors, using antisemitism as a cover: "Employees of Heritage, the conservative think tank that produced the Project 2025 policy blueprint for the second Trump administration, said they plan to use facial recognition
Technology
[Alex Weprin at The Hollywood Reporter] I don't think this is a great thing at all: "Meta will also move its trust and safety and content moderation teams out of California, with content review to be based in Texas. “As we work to promote free expression, I
Notable Links
[A.R. Moxon at The Reframe] An interesting election mortem and post-mortem, from an arguably refreshing perspective: "Here's what I think is going on: Our system is foundationally built to devour human beings in order to enrich the already wealthy, and it's moved so far
AI
[Things we learned about LLMs in 2024] Simon's overview of what happened in the LLM space during 2024 is genuinely excellent. For example, on the environmental impact: "Companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are all spending billions of dollars rolling out new datacenters, with a very