Recent comments in /f/articles

Moonside wrote

Reply to Two types of privacy by Seirdy

When qualifying privacy recommendations with context, I think we should go further than describing threat models: we should acknowledge different types of privacy. “Privacy” means different things to different people. Even a single person may use the word “privacy” differently depending on their situation. Understanding a user’s unique situation(s), including their threat models, can inform us when we select the best of approach. How do we choose between reducing a footprint’s spread and size?

I think this is excellent thought and even if it ultimately the insight can be accommodated within the framework of threat models, it's useful as an architectonic principle. Privacy to me is a cluster concept, covering concerns as varying as state surveillance, confidentiality in therapy and being able to sit on the loo in peace!

That said, I think the central distinction of the piece is stated in terms that could be more helpful:

I highlight two main approaches to privacy: “tracking reduction” and “tracking evasion”.

Approach, I fear, is the wrong term and too general as well. TR and TE seem to be general privacy strategies. Strategy is a term that also avoids an exact definition, but a helpful starting point might be that a privacy strategy would consist of privacy objectives, the ways they can be achieved and the resources employed. Since the ways of undermining privacy are quite similar (the internet is a mostly open platform with often untrustworthy agents that are hyperconnected) and the means (computer software and hardware) are similar, making the distinctions primarily a matter of privacy objectives and secondarily of the other factors seems most prudent to me.

My second concern is how 'data' is employed in the definitions of TR and TE. Reading the main text it seems to me that leaking less data is not the point of tracking evasion, but rather reducing the range of inferences that may be done with, especially avoiding deanonymization. This isn't some monotonically decreasing function of how much data is being collected.

A downstream of this is that distinction between wants and need such as in the passage

In other words, TR falls closer to “wants” on the (somewhat contrived) “wants versus needs” spectrum

mostly loses its force. I block adverts online mostly to avoid malware, which is a low probability threat never-the-less a pain to deal with since I need access to a computer to get my needs met. Very casual means suffice to accomplish this, but it's not a mere want that is out of synchrony with my needs.

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emma wrote

Reply to comment by Moonside in Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then vanished by Moonside

I just don't like the framing of cryptocurrency scams as a phenomenon no one could have predicted. Media plays a huge role in hyping up these scams with uncriticial coverage, and some people will inevitably invest because they get the impression they have to jump on the bandwagon or lose out on an opportunity.

I take back the "dipshits", though. I didn't realise the extent of the scam, and it's not fair of me to be judgemental towards people who lack impulse control.

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hollyhoppet wrote

Reply to COVID lesson: trust the public with hard truths by Moonside

I honestly wonder how much this would have helped in the case of the states given so many republicans themselves seem to want to spin vaccination as a "personal freedom" issue. Like I doubt there would have been panic but I also doubt the needle would have moved. Moreover, the Danish social contract is significantly different from the US social contract. As the article alluded to, there's more trust in the government and trust in each other.

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KeithPreDramamine wrote

Reply to Revolt of the delivery workers by oolong

Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, it's a straw, you see? Watch it. Now my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I... drink... your... milkshake. I drink it up!

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voxpoplar wrote

Reply to comment by voxpoplar in Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’t (to do list users, how do you do) by oolong

I think it has helped me but only in:

  1. Helping me overcome decision paralysis
  2. Letting me figure out what doesn't need to be a priority right now
  3. Letting me look back over and recognise what I have gotten done

It has not helped me get more done. There is a limited amount of time and brain juice for that.

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voxpoplar wrote

Reply to Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’t (to do list users, how do you do) by oolong

I keep a weird hybrid diary/todo list just in text files on my PC. I put stuff on it I want to get done that day and also just add stuff after the fact as well, including shows I watched, games I played, etc. Sometimes I write actual diary entries at the bottom too. I then keep a few separate lists as well for "stuff I want to get done", "stuff I want to get done when there's time" and "stuff I want to do eventually". I used to dump project ideas into that last one but it was getting too big and stressing me out so I started moving each to their own text file or folder in a separate project ideas directory. It's stuff I still play around with exactly what I'm doing with it but I feel like overall it has helped me plan out things I want to get done and prioritise them without just getting overwhelmed with the amount of tasks.

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