Mastodawn

David Chisnall (Now with 50% more sarcasm!)

@david_chisnall@infosec.exchange

2.7K Followers

83 Following

6.7K Posts

I am Director of System Architecture at SCI Semiconductor and a Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. I remain actively involved in the #CHERI project, where I led the early language / compiler strand of the research, and am the maintainer of the #CHERIoT Platform.

I was on the FreeBSD Core Team for two terms, have been an LLVM developer since 2008, am the author of the GNUstep Objective-C runtime (libobjc2 and associated clang support), and am responsible for libcxxrt and the BSD-licensed device tree compiler.

Opinions expressed by me are not necessarily opinions. In all probability they are random ramblings and should be ignored. Failure to ignore may result in severe boredom and / or confusion. Shake well before opening. Keep refrigerated.

Warning: May contain greater than the recommended daily allowance of sarcasm.

No license, implied or explicit, is granted to use any of my posts for training AI models.

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)3h ago

L. Rhodes ⁂23h ago

"People who use AI at work feel that they're more productive" is an argument I've been seeing in various forms lately, which, as a recommendation, is not far removed from "people on cocaine at parties feel that they're more interesting."

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)9h ago

Bruh-soka Tano 23h ago

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)11h ago

There are a lot of legitimate reasons to criticise #Signal but I've noticed in the last few weeks a lot of people criticising it for really stupid reasons. Is there some coordinated disinformation campaign, some popular LLM that's spewing nonsense when asked about Signal security, or just a large enough critical mass of awareness that this is the normal proportion of idiots?

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)11h ago

Anyone else remember when back when 'don't break the back button' was one of the core design rules for web interfaces?

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)12h ago

MostlyHarmless 1d ago

Squirrels always look and act like it’s their first day being a squirrel.

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)1d ago

Tim Hergert 1d ago

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)1d ago

LordWoolamaloo 1d ago

Starmer: I lost control over the benefits rebellion because I was focused on foreign policy.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/29/keir-starmer-lost-grip-labour-welfare-revolt-focus-foreign-affairs

So, not because he's an incompetent, authoritarian arse who ignored clear warning signs because he arrogantly assumed the rest of his party would do whatever he said, regardless of conscience?? Because I'm thinking it's more that, really...

Starmer says he lost grip on Labour welfare revolt due to focus on foreign affairs

Prime minister says he would ‘have liked to get to a better position with colleagues sooner than we did’

The Guardian

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)1d ago

‘Make Britain Cool Again’ should be the new slogan for our Green Party.

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)1d ago

Emma the Curious 🧐1d ago

Dear Sir/Madam/bespoke-gendered person,

I would like to cancel my subscription to Hot Weather, effective immediately.

I find your product does not agree with me.

Yours sincerely,

Hot & Harried of Harwell

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)1d ago

Sir Rochard 'Dock' Bunson 1d ago

×

Tim Hergert 1d ago

ity [unit X-69]1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve if someone sends me tiktok or youtube shorts, I will ignore them

Sincirely, GenZ.

ity [unit X-69]1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve I grew up in the age of 2-4 hour long YouTube documentaries, YouTube shorts makes me cry

@ity @cjust @USBTypeSteve youtubes used to top out at 10 mins so to me feature-length youtubes are asking a lot

youtube shorts want to be vines

Heather 👻1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve Ah yes just send a picture of the text too. Logical.

@cjust As a Millennial who has never had a TikTok account and who does read articles, I can't relate, but I do get the sentiment because I know plenty of people my age who succumbed to brainrot.

Kara Goldfinch 1d ago

@USBTypeSteve @cjust I'd love to know how short a YouTube short could be and still have some meaning to these people. How much could you cram into 0.5 seconds, for example.

martinl 🇨🇦🤝🇺🇦1d ago

@KaraLG84 @USBTypeSteve @cjust According to the biased sample I get when I accidentally visit YouTube's main page: tits. Or ass. Or tits 'n ass.

Tim Hergert 1d ago

@martinl @KaraLG84 @USBTypeSteve same

Shaula Evans 23h ago

@cjust @martinl @KaraLG84 @USBTypeSteve Okay, now this is in my head. 😂

https://youtu.be/FhsFZDrRvoM?t=138

A Chorus Line (1985) - Dance: Ten, Looks: Three Scene (4/8) | Movieclips

YouTube

@cjust @martinl @KaraLG84 @USBTypeSteve @temptoetiam https://youtu.be/xKDxke5BuVU?t=34

"Dance Ten, Looks Three" from A Chorus Line at The 5th Avenue Theatre

YouTube

@USBTypeSteve @cjust seems like a lot of people still misjudge the age of millennials. We're getting pretty old now :) I grew up right through the switchover from flip-phones to smartphones (and started using a smartphone before mobile data was cheap enough to watch videos on the go).

But you also have to consider other factors - even though many millennials and older generations were the right age to have grown up using desktop computers, a lot of people simply didn't need one at home or couldn't justify paying for one, so they don't have the same experiences as more affluent members of their age group. For many millennials and folks from earlier generations, the modern smartphone was their introduction to computing and the internet.

@kepstin @USBTypeSteve @cjust True.

But some of the (us) older people grew up in nerdy families. Mom worked on computers that took punch cards. My only formal training was on a large programmable calculator with punch cards, in high school. The first home computer we had ran CP/M and took 5" floppies.

I have termux and a Debian Linux distro running on a Lenovo tablet.

As always, YMMV.

Jay Stephens 20h ago

@kepstin @USBTypeSteve @cjust I feel like there's a huge amount of amnesia among early tech adopters about how much later adoption of a lot of now-ubiquitous tech was, by the late adopting cohort.

Sarah Sammis 18h ago

@kepstin @USBTypeSteve @cjust college was my introduction to the internet. I’m Gen X. My Boomer parents had computers in their jobs from the early 80s onwards. My grandmother used computers in WWII as a secretary at General Electric.

Petra van Cronenburg 12h ago

@pussreboots It also depends on Geography. In the 1990s, I lived in Eastern Europe and could only buy hardware thanks to a new US-Japanese shop in the capital. Impossible in rural regions.
Computers during WWII ... in Europe, there was Mr Turing against the Nazis ... computer photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing#/media/File:Bombe-rebuild.jpg

@kepstin @USBTypeSteve @cjust

Alan Turing - Wikipedia

Chris Routh (He/Him)1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve

As an elder millenial (or xennial, whichever you prefer), I approve this message.

@cjust @USBTypeSteve Gen Z and Alpha I get, but there are Millennials who aren’t begging for text?

Arthur van der Harg 1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve Exactly why I don’t like podcasts.

Wilfried Klaebe 1d ago

@ArtHarg This! Please, provide transscripts!

@cjust @USBTypeSteve

Sven Geggus 13h ago

@wonka @ArtHarg @cjust @USBTypeSteve Hm. While reading I usually can not do something else. While hearing Podcasts I can.

Arthur van der Harg 12h ago

@giggls @wonka @cjust @USBTypeSteve I prefer to either give my full attention to what I’m doing or let my thoughts wander. Paying attention to a podcast while doing something else feels like I’m giving neither the podcast nor the task the attention they deserve.

When my mind wanders while doing a routine task, my brain is still in control of the switch when the task needs my attention. I barely notice the interruption. Not so when I’m concentrating on a podcast.

Wilfried Klaebe 12h ago

@giggls I can't. If I try, I accomplish neither of the two things I try to do in parallel.

Also, transscripts can be read by the deaf. And they can be searched more easily.

@ArtHarg @cjust @USBTypeSteve

Sven Geggus 12h ago

@wonka @ArtHarg @cjust @USBTypeSteve Hm I am talking about stuff like cleaning the Kitchen, hanging up laundry and other boring stuff.

Wilfried Klaebe 12h ago

@giggls Those are not a good fit for me somehow.

@ArtHarg @cjust @USBTypeSteve

@ArtHarg @cjust @USBTypeSteve I used to listen to a podcast where they talked about articles while tidying up or doing the dishes. Not as informative but still interesting, and I have hands and eyes free for other things. Video just combines the disadvantages.

Derrial Book 12h ago

@ArtHarg @cjust @USBTypeSteve
At some point I knew that I dislike podcasts. I also an not a big fan of walking (yeah, I'm lazy). However, I love walking and listening to podcasts simultaneously.

Arthur van der Harg 11h ago

@DerrialBook @cjust @USBTypeSteve Sort of “mutual annihilation of the unpleasantness”?

Kent Navalesi ☕️1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve

I'm an older millennial and perpetually embarrassed "slow reader." The fact that I read faster than GenZ should terrify everyone.

Jamie Gaskins 1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve I get the sentiment, but as a GenX person who reads really slowly and sometimes doesn't have the patience for it, the generalization isn't great.

Graham Watt 1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve

Can I add, stop breaking up your post into a dozen posts when Mastodon supports a wall of text. We can read longer text and should be doing so.

Daniel Gibson 1d ago

@guamwatt @cjust @USBTypeSteve
Mastodon only supports 500 chars (unless patched).
Other Fediverse Software supports more, though

Graham Watt 1d ago

@Doomed_Daniel
Thanks for the correction. I guess infosec.exchange has a higher limit (10000+)

Daniel Gibson 1d ago

@guamwatt
yeah Mastodon can be patched to support that (see e.g. https://fouquet.me/2024/10/10/mastodon-4-3-char-limit)

It's baffling that Mastodon doesn't seem to provide a proper setting for this

Ash_Crow 1d ago

@Doomed_Daniel @guamwatt A 500 characters limit is fine. It allows you to like or boost the parts you want in a thread in a way that is not possible with a single wall of text.

And a single 10000+ chars message is too big in a system that doesn't manage headings to split it reasonably.

martinl 🇨🇦🤝🇺🇦1d ago

@guamwatt @Doomed_Daniel Yeah, you guys are loquacious motherfuckers 😆

@Doomed_Daniel @guamwatt @cjust @USBTypeSteve that's just newbie mode that has the 500 character limit if you switch it to expert mode you can write longer posts and use 𝓯𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓼

Winchell Chung ⚛🚀21h ago

@aeva @Doomed_Daniel @guamwatt @cjust @USBTypeSteve

How does one switch to expert mode?

Graham Watt 16h ago

@nyrath @aeva @Doomed_Daniel @cjust @USBTypeSteve

Tap the BIG GEAR for settings, tapped on Other, maybe this setting for Default Format for Toots is the control?

Daniel Gibson 16h ago

@guamwatt @nyrath @aeva @cjust @USBTypeSteve

the different "font" is using weird unicode chars instead of actual formatting

that "default format" thing is not a regular Mastodon feature, but one of the "glitch-soc" fork: https://glitch-soc.github.io/docs/features/rich-text/

Formatted toots | Mastodon Glitch Edition

@Doomed_Daniel @guamwatt @nyrath @cjust @USBTypeSteve do not listen to these fools, you have to ask gargon to enable it for you

Sci-Fi Girl 9h ago

Not everyone is on glitch

@nyrath @aeva @Doomed_Daniel @cjust @USBTypeSteve

@5ciFiGirl @guamwatt @nyrath @Doomed_Daniel @cjust @USBTypeSteve what about that instance for dolphins where people can only say the letter "E" I bet you didn't think of that did you

Petra van Cronenburg 12h ago

@Doomed_Daniel The number of chars depends on your instance. @guamwatt @cjust @USBTypeSteve

The Book of Kels 1d ago

@guamwatt @cjust @USBTypeSteve

This one I don't mind, because when given the opportunity to make a Wall o' Text, a lot of people forget what *paragraphs* are.

I'm fine if they're forced to break things up for readability sometimes.

Sarah Sammis 18h ago

@guamwatt @cjust @USBTypeSteve not all instances do.

Crystal_Fish_Caves 1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve to all tik tokers and you tubers; if your vid starts with, Hi I'm....I have already left the building.

Tim Hergert 1d ago

@Crystal_Fish_Caves @USBTypeSteve SMASH THAT SUBSCRIBE AND LIKE BUTTON!

@Crystal_Fish_Caves @cjust IT’S YO BOIIIIIIII

ʙwɑnɑ нoɴoʟʊʟʊ

@cjust Elder Millennial here, agreeing. And if it *has* to be a video, at least let me watch on 2x speed. 😅

MylesRyden 1d ago

@cjust @USBTypeSteve

Totally relate, hate watching a 5 minute video where the actual content could have easily been boiled down to a sentence.

Yes, DIY type information needs to be seen for the technique or something, but most of the time the straight information would be much better in text.

@MylesRyden @cjust If it's on YouTube, I sometimes just click "show transcript" and CTRL F certain keywords. Saves a lot of time.

MylesRyden 1d ago

@USBTypeSteve @cjust

Actually, this touches on what I really meant to say...

Often if I do look a the transcript of a video, I can read it in usually a third of the time that the video is. Again, does not apply to a video that actually shows how to do something step by step. But giving straight information often seems this way.

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)1d ago

@MylesRyden @USBTypeSteve @cjust Even the videos that are actually showing how to do something often require me to skim to find the 30 seconds that shows how to do the thing somewhere in the middle of a 15-minute video. A well-written article with illustrations and a 30-second video in the middle would be much more useful.

@cjust @USBTypeSteve YES.

@cjust millennial co signing this. Please just make articles on how to do stuff. I'm tired of 1.5x-ing bloody tutorial videos.

Richard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴‍♂️📷 🗺️1d ago

@Theorem_Poem @cjust @USBTypeSteve

And we really do not need to be shown how to take the thingamajig out of the box.

@the5thColumnist tap tap tap on the box mandatory ! 😅
@cjust @USBTypeSteve

Laura Hargreaves 👩‍💻10h ago

@Theorem_Poem @cjust @USBTypeSteve Finally someone else saying it! 😅 Fellow millennial here and I HATE video as a format. I can skim an article for what I need in seconds, absolutely just wasting my time with all the 'like and subscribe' stuff 😂

@laura intro + outro + ad plug = 80%, content 20% @cjust @USBTypeSteve