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Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

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Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#91

Post by jkelleyrtp »

mandmandam wrote: post #34
igetspam wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which also were not a utility... Rotary phones are an interface to a utility. But let's be realistic, the copper required to connect homes to each other required a massive public works effort. Facebook turned on a server and ran some PHP to stalk college women. Big difference.

Ah right so. Well if we're being pedantic like that, I guess my oven is just an interface to the gas line, and my lights are just an interface to the leccy lines. Guess I don't need to pay my utility bills, which is great news because they're gone through the roof.

The government doesn’t make ovens or light bulbs, but does maintain the infrastructure. I think there’s a distinction to be made there.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#92

Post by helloworld11 »

sandworm101 wrote: post #79
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #75

Was talking about this with a friend today, and I think this incident highlights why I sometimes get really depressed about my career and technology. I'm a Gen X-er, and I started my career in the late 90s. Before that I was a ham radio operator in junior high and HS (back when they had Morse code tests!). I remember the heady euphoria around the Internet then, and the vision of "tech utopia" was certainly the domina…

Let the sheep have their facebook apps. Modern tech has also brought us strong open source tools. We have stronger encryption in any linux distro than any army had in the 90s. We have communication pathways (Tor) that defeat censorship. I can send an email today, encrypted then sent via Tor, that no government can censor, read or even detect that I have sent. I have a dongle that plugs into my phone that can decode a…

curious, what is this dongle called and where would I get one to give it a try?

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#93

Post by JoshTriplett »

jcfrei wrote: post #10
zwieback wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SMS is sort of that, right, at least a crude form?

Yes, why shouldn't the next standard (like 6G) introduce support for a better messaging network than SMS? With group chats and image support. Each carrier could decide if you can send unlimited messages or a few thousand. In any case it would remove this dependency on a single company. Edit: Just realized there's RCS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services

Such a standard is unlikely to ever introduce end-to-end encryption.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#94

Post by jkelleyrtp »

Why would breaking Facebook down and regulating them solve anything related to the global dependence on WhatsApp? Aren’t the only people who know how to run these services already running them?

Like, do we expect the government to take WhatsApp away from Facebook and then create government contracts for companies like Oracle to maintain the infrastructure? So we’re back to square one but with the bureaucratic mess of the government involved?

The answer to all of this is very rarely “break it apart and give it to the government.” It might work for utilities and public works, but do we seriously believe that apps - the interfaces of the utilities - need to be regulated? I don’t get these arguments, and I see them everywhere.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#95

Post by 3grdlurker »

snek_case wrote: post #80
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #75

Was talking about this with a friend today, and I think this incident highlights why I sometimes get really depressed about my career and technology. I'm a Gen X-er, and I started my career in the late 90s. Before that I was a ham radio operator in junior high and HS (back when they had Morse code tests!). I remember the heady euphoria around the Internet then, and the vision of "tech utopia" was certainly the domina…

It's easy to feel blasé about the internet, but it's also played a huge role in making information easily accessible. I learned about electronics from online tutorials. Taught myself programming. Also learned a lot about home repairs and renovations. Made a lot of contacts, landed jobs, etc. I met my partner through a dating app. I would say the internet has brought a lot of positive things in my life so far. The ope…

> one person can have hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers that basically encourages flamewars, short inflammatory comments

Honestly you just described reddit, too, except of course for the follower count—but the point is that reddit doesn’t have to have that many participants in a discussion thread for it to reach a level of toxicity same as Twitter.

Sure, social media did make information more accessible, but the vision of the internet before Web 2.0 was that it’ll democratize information without the trade off that comes with social media today—because that trade off is exactly what we hated then about the status quo.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#97

Post by fidesomnes »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #75

Was talking about this with a friend today, and I think this incident highlights why I sometimes get really depressed about my career and technology. I'm a Gen X-er, and I started my career in the late 90s. Before that I was a ham radio operator in junior high and HS (back when they had Morse code tests!). I remember the heady euphoria around the Internet then, and the vision of "tech utopia" was certainly the domina…

> I'm a Gen X-er

none of this has anything to do with you. good night and please don't do this again.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#98

Post by sandworm101 »

helloworld11 wrote: post #92
sandworm101 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let the sheep have their facebook apps. Modern tech has also brought us strong open source tools. We have stronger encryption in any linux distro than any army had in the 90s. We have communication pathways (Tor) that defeat censorship. I can send an email today, encrypted then sent via Tor, that no government can censor, read or even detect that I have sent. I have a dongle that plugs into my phone that can decode a…

curious, what is this dongle called and where would I get one to give it a try?

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/

Don't go for the 15$ bare-bones options. Buy one of the 50-100$ kits so you have at least some basic antennas and necessary cables.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#99

Post by oska »

ALittleLight wrote: post #28
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, yeah, Zuckerberg is a real Howard Roark. Please.

Whatever you think of Zuckerberg, Ayn Rand, or politics, it's unquestionable that Zuckerberg and Facebook have built, bought and maintained useful services used by billions. That's literally what the featured tweet is complaining about - Whatsapp is so crucial for so many it's like a utility.

This is so disingenuous. From day one, Facebook have done all in their power to make themselves a monopoly while simultaneously trying to avoid all of the legal restrictions that normally apply to a utility service.

Re: Facebook going down meant more than just a social network being unavailable

#100

Post by wetmore »

sandworm101 wrote: post #79
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #75

Was talking about this with a friend today, and I think this incident highlights why I sometimes get really depressed about my career and technology. I'm a Gen X-er, and I started my career in the late 90s. Before that I was a ham radio operator in junior high and HS (back when they had Morse code tests!). I remember the heady euphoria around the Internet then, and the vision of "tech utopia" was certainly the domina…

Let the sheep have their facebook apps. Modern tech has also brought us strong open source tools. We have stronger encryption in any linux distro than any army had in the 90s. We have communication pathways (Tor) that defeat censorship. I can send an email today, encrypted then sent via Tor, that no government can censor, read or even detect that I have sent. I have a dongle that plugs into my phone that can decode a…

Calling people sheep in this context is uncalled for.
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