People who complain about wokeness in new video games don’t actually care about the past, just their imagined version of it.

So this is worth saying:

• the Fairchild Channel F, the first cartridge-based video game console, was invented by a Black man who taught himself electrical engineering
• Sierra, the most important American computer game publisher of all time, was co-founded by a woman
• Baldur’s Gate II, KOTOR, and Dragon Age—the most influential RPGs of all time—was narratively written by a gay man

The games we all love are made by diverse people, many who remain unseen, who put their hearts and souls into these works.

Just because you’re unaware of them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

To everyone when they see horrible privacy news about Microsoft replying with:

"I don't care, I use Linux"

Sure, you do. But does your medical clinic do? Does your therapist do? Does your family member typing a personal email to you in Word before sending it do too?

This is a systemic problem.

You cannot protect your own data only by using Linux yourself. You must also demand stronger regulations and enforcement to obligate organizations around to protect your data as well.

#Privacy #Microsoft

Since I saw a report about 1984 (because of a new audio version done for motherfucking Audible!) with the same talking points, here's the usual correction:

1984 is not a book about total surveillance. It's a book about how to ensure the middle class will never stand with the lower classes against power. It's about how to destroy solidarity. In 1984 only the middle class is surveilled, the lower classes (proles) and the upper class (inner party) are not. It's a book about power and class politics that is more relevant than ever - but not "because our phones surveil us".

“If you truly want to learn about America, talk to Black women.”

—Trevor Noah

So I am in a local-ish book circle with friends here in Sweden, we are reading kind, queer, feel-goody sff mainly. It'll be my time to pick a book in a few months, and I am thinking maybe A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark, to tug the group out of its whiteness for a while. I'd love some suggestions for other books that loosely fill the criteria that are not set in a european-ish/western setting with white people, by poc authors, if you guys have read anything good?

#bookrecs please

Spotify just reported record-breaking profits.

In totally unrelated news, Spotify stopped paying nearly 90% of artists on the service ANYTHING (no royalties for songs w <1k streams/year)

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/spotify-earnings-profitability-subscribers-1236060081/

Over the past few days a series of miscommunications between @[email protected] , the @MastodonEngineering team, and myself occurred. These did push me to a point of outrage, leading to the original version of this post.

I'm happy to continue spending the time, money, and effort contributing to #Mastodon, and wish to work with the team and Eugen to find better ways to work together.

The team is super busy, need more funding & staff to achieve the full potential.

Let's work on working better together.