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Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

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Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#91
post #79

> Citizen does moderate comments, but "two people having an argument about whether or not someone’s comment is racist drives engagement," LOL, my publicist does this on linkedin and other places for us because people are gullible. Source article: Executive of does a thing 0 engagement, nobody knows Social Media version: [First] Executive of does a thing 15,000 comments, 2 million reach, supporters and detractors argu…

Must be nice, actively exploiting human nature and then calling the humans dumb and gullible for having said nature and falling for your exploitation. Absolves you of any liability for being no better than a troll because what, you’re smarter than everyone else, I guess? You and your “publicist” (what are you, Ryan Gosling?) figured out dark marketing patterns and now you’re on a different plane of existence from the…

I/Execs don't care

My publicist definitely doesn't care

You/Commenters care and that's whats funny

Publicist gets results and I decide to pay their monthly retainer again or not

I occasionally look at what they're doing and sometimes it demystifies what other trends I see on social media like LinkedIn, a perpetual crowdsources A/B test that they keep falling for. I don't think it is human nature, as different humans are inspired by people that look like them and would not be aware if it was not mentioned, and different humans have no clue why it is mentioned and a subset of those different humans a triggered by that and think it is their mission to reveal to everyone that mentioning it is the problem.

Bread and circuses

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#92
post #9

It's crazy watching the world turn into a dystopia and being powerless to stop it. It not just about this company. If they fail another will replace it. Society seems to be on a convergent path with dystopian scifi. This, Chicago police automated policing program (detects crime before it happenes and actually hurt innocent people), racially biased facial recognition. I read an article today about some DNA software be…

You’re not powerless. Shut off the anxiety generators, and be the change you want in the world. I dumped Facebook & Twitter, and am reducing HN & other social media. Get news from proper objective sources, choose the category of media you consume (TownsendsPlus.com provides great reality checks), and otherwise choose the life you want to live - and live it.

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#93
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Must be nice, actively exploiting human nature and then calling the humans dumb and gullible for having said nature and falling for your exploitation. Absolves you of any liability for being no better than a troll because what, you’re smarter than everyone else, I guess? You and your “publicist” (what are you, Ryan Gosling?) figured out dark marketing patterns and now you’re on a different plane of existence from the…

I/Execs don't care My publicist definitely doesn't care You/Commenters care and that's whats funny Publicist gets results and I decide to pay their monthly retainer again or not I occasionally look at what they're doing and sometimes it demystifies what other trends I see on social media like LinkedIn, a perpetual crowdsources A/B test that they keep falling for. I don't think it is human nature, as different humans…

As long as you’re amused by being a putrid waste of humanity, I guess, you do you. Gotta get them lulz for this week’s Bitcoin newsletter so you can forget how crushingly empty your soul is while grifting those who believe fintech to be an actual thing and behind your genz wisdom lies their yacht.

ABH, hype is value, I get you, don’t worry. You’ll be admired for it in the end, I’m sure. Those who substantively contribute to society are just inches away from understanding you.

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#94
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything is "BREAKING NEWS" these days, complete with fancy graphics and soundtracks. But there just isn't enough news day-to-day to warrant that level of importance. Not everyday is 9/11, much to news outlets' dismay.

I agree, I watched the weather channel with my father in law yesterday... Everything was "THREAT!" and "POSSIBLE TORNADO", etc. This is being shown in Southern California lol and they are reporting on minor weather risks a thousand miles away. Fox news does the same thing... Find crime anywhere in the country, bonus points if it involves sex or a minority and make it a headline if it involves an immigrant.

That is, to an extent, a US problem. At least at the very extremes US media shows. Stuff like Citizens is even more extreme, using these mechanisms for even clearer, and more direct, monetary gain. Just how something like that can be legal is beyond me. Even US police saw it as potential risk, that alone tells everything.

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#95
post #9

It's crazy watching the world turn into a dystopia and being powerless to stop it. It not just about this company. If they fail another will replace it. Society seems to be on a convergent path with dystopian scifi. This, Chicago police automated policing program (detects crime before it happenes and actually hurt innocent people), racially biased facial recognition. I read an article today about some DNA software be…

Dystopian novels aren't very sci-fi. Many of their authors just researched what was already going on in their own time and formed a new narrative around them. The only thing different today is how people allow themselves to be taken advantage of. They used to give up their freedom for security. Now they give up their privacy for entertainment. But even mega-corps being the new oligarchy isn't new. The railroads, oil…

Every time someone pops up with one of those "Google destroyed my business and won't respond" type problems I'm always reminded of the movie Brazil. Just read the automated messages Google sends out sometime and the callousness of how they can ruin lives by sheer algorithmic accident.

I call this phenomenon: Getting Fucked By Scale. It's the idea that a scaled algorithm (take, for example, YouTube automated copyright filters) have some percentage of false positives. Maybe that percent is only 0.05%. At a scale of millions and billions of people, that's a lot of people getting fucked.

And today, any one of us could end up as Sam Lowry. A fly gets stuck in the Google machine and your life is suddenly going sideways.

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#97
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I/Execs don't care My publicist definitely doesn't care You/Commenters care and that's whats funny Publicist gets results and I decide to pay their monthly retainer again or not I occasionally look at what they're doing and sometimes it demystifies what other trends I see on social media like LinkedIn, a perpetual crowdsources A/B test that they keep falling for. I don't think it is human nature, as different humans…

As long as you’re amused by being a putrid waste of humanity, I guess, you do you. Gotta get them lulz for this week’s Bitcoin newsletter so you can forget how crushingly empty your soul is while grifting those who believe fintech to be an actual thing and behind your genz wisdom lies their yacht. ABH, hype is value, I get you, don’t worry. You’ll be admired for it in the end, I’m sure. Those who substantively contri…

Join my Masterclass for $29 using the HN promo code

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#98
post #57

Perhaps this is a mere symptom of some other problem. In Canada I dont personally recall witnessing crime in my adult life. If I saw someone doing something criminal today I would just you know... call the cops. Perhaps in the USA the lived experience is somewhat different? Maybe more crime? Maybe the police dont show up?

I also don't think I witnessed much crime until I moved to Seattle. In the six years I've been here though I've witnessed: 1. Somebody broke into my Aunt's place while nobody was home and took some jewelry and a cell phone. Police came by, handed her a form, said nice things for five minutes then took off. Never heard anything about it again. 2. My car window smashed after being parked on the street overnight. I call…

> and I don't think the answer is beefing up local law enforcement.

Yes, I think the number of police and the funding police receive is definitely not the problem here. It doesn't matter how many cops you have or how many expensive toys those cops have. If the DA refuses to charge the people the police arrest, then the police will stop arresting people because they know it's a waste of their time. The root of the problem is with the priorities of the electorate and the people they choose to elect (DA is elected in Seattle.)

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#99
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything is "BREAKING NEWS" these days, complete with fancy graphics and soundtracks. But there just isn't enough news day-to-day to warrant that level of importance. Not everyday is 9/11, much to news outlets' dismay.

I agree, I watched the weather channel with my father in law yesterday... Everything was "THREAT!" and "POSSIBLE TORNADO", etc. This is being shown in Southern California lol and they are reporting on minor weather risks a thousand miles away. Fox news does the same thing... Find crime anywhere in the country, bonus points if it involves sex or a minority and make it a headline if it involves an immigrant.

> This is being shown in Southern California lol and they are reporting on minor weather risks a thousand miles away.

Well, yeah. The Weather Channel is nationwide. ???

Re: Citizen’s dangerous effort to cash in on vigilantism

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People demand justice, in other words punishment Not being able to distinguish justice and punishment sounds terrifying. To me this is as fundamental as "innocent until proven guilty". I am simply not interested in living in a society in which these two notions are confused for each other (and no, I am not privileged rich elite that gets to not be affected by crime).

Don’t complain about vigilantism. Worry about a crooked justice system. Vigilantism is coming, there is no stopping it. Terrify yourself, or agitate for the proper punishment of criminals.

This is a ridiculous defeatist attitude. What is the point of living in a hellscape like the one you seem to desire (celebrating vigilantism or desiring punishment)? A civilization that focuses on punishing criminals is just a sad place to be in. Crime falls when you work to prevent it and rehabilitate, not when you punish it after the fact. Look at all the countries that have learnt that lesson, that do not punish but rehabilitate and how they did not have a societal collapse or rise in vigilantism, rather they are some of the best places to live in. Sure, there are growing pains when you switch from a medieval attitude of punishment to something more civilized, but your scaremongering is in direct contradiction to the successes of civilizations that embrace rehabilitation and justice (which has nothing to do with punishment).
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