It's just amazing, the number of newspeople and pundits who suddenly know what the word "Tranche" means, now that the Epstein Files have been partially released...
2025-12-26 13:55:59
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OK, hear me out:
Current experiments seem to be producing skin-based(pressure or vibration) remote object detection for blind people. If it works, lets make them superhuman by plugging their devices into things like car radar systems, active radar sets, or topographic satellite data!
I. See. EVERYTHING.
2025-12-25 22:11:29
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36231064
The man in charge of all the apparati of power in the US never finished a construction on time *or* paid his subcontractors the full amount agreed to. What could possibly go wrong?
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2025-12-25 22:11:51
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36228823
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2025-12-25 22:13:24
2025-12-23 13:16:10
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Đe English language once had an alphabet đat actually represented its sounds. It's past time we fix this. I propose the letter Đorn ("Thorn", Đ, đ) as the first back-substitution.
Who's wiđ me?
2025-12-23 14:59:00
2025-12-22 20:39:15
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36049499
Now that I'm an old man, I'm really glad I practiced being crochety all those years...
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-12-22 23:04:02
2025-12-22 16:30:21
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36017867
Friends, free yourselves from the bonds of Goopple! The time of the degoogling (and deappling - unappling? disappling?) is nigh!
murena.com/america/how-to-get-…
How to get the Murena Fairphone (Gen. 6) in the US: a sustainable, privacy-first, deGoogled smartphone - Murena - deGoogled phones and services
Is Fairphone available in the US? If you’re wondering where to buy the Fairphone (Gen.6) in your country, here are good news for you: The sustainable, repairable, and privacy-focused Murena Fairphone (Gen.Murena - deGoogled phones and services
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-12-22 18:26:45
2025-12-22 15:24:39
2025-12-22 15:24:39
36009528
in reply to Blaise
in reply to Unus Nemo
For Pete's Fucking SAKE, can we stop with the "We'll log you in just as soon as you return this code we emailed you." bullshit, please!
It shouldn't take 5 fucking minutes to log into fucking Vrbo!
like this
Unus Nemo likes this.
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The joys of 2fid 😉
2025-12-22 15:52:04
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36007841
OK, hear me out: A kung-fu school chain named "Futopia"
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36005069
Blaise reshared this.
Holy Crap! I am flabbergasted that this worked, but what a whole new vista of thought!
youtube.com/watch?v=FNVBK7-h9F…
I 3D Printed Origami
Learn for free on Brilliant for a full 30 days: https://brilliant.org/matthewlim/You’ll also get 20% off an annual Premium subscription!📂 Patreon project fi...YouTube
2025-12-22 14:46:41
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Me: I made chicken fried rice from sctratch using a recipe from an actual chinese chef. In a real wok!
Kids: Oh
Wife: I kinda like it better than the stuff from our regular place.
Me: My work's done here...
Kids: Oh
Wife: I kinda like it better than the stuff from our regular place.
Me: My work's done here...
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-12-22 14:51:18
2025-12-21 15:29:44
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35861134
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Axial tilt is the reason for the season!
Happy Winter Solstice, which will occur at 15:03 UTC (10:03 a.m. EDT) today.Today, earth's axis, which is currently tilted 23.44° from the plane of its orbit around the Sun (the ecliptic), will point away from the Sun.
It is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere; which means that days will keep getting longer starting tomorrow 🥳
earthsky.org/astronomy-essenti…
1/n
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-12-19 22:26:49
2025-12-19 21:24:47
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35592593
in reply to Blaise
For pity's sake, software people, PLEASE put back the boundary markers around windows, between frames and so on! I just spent five minutes trying to resize a window. Light gray and light gray on light gray, with not a single line.
What software are you using?
2025-12-19 20:53:42
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“She literally went to the police station because an unidentified white man was in her car and she didn’t know what he was doing there”
“may be the first criminal in history to call 911 during the commission of his alleged crime.”
mprnews.org/story/2025/12/17/c…
Judge frees couple charged with 'kidnapping' immigration agent as defense challenges government's account
Attorneys for a couple charged with driving to a police station with an HSI agent in their car dispute the government’s account of the incident. A judge released both from jail pending trial.Matt Sepic (MPR News)
2025-12-19 20:00:39
2025-12-19 19:41:29
2025-12-19 19:41:29
35581114
in reply to Blaise
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They went into schools looking for "illegal immigrants", armed and ready for violence. In a school. While the kids were there. So they could be hurt or killed should violence have occurred.
One of these days they're going to get people killed doing this shit!
ICE descends on my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, hitting K-12 schools and immigrant neighborhoods. Update: ICE reportedly arrested two Dublin Scioto high schools students today.austinkocher.substack.com/p/ic…
ICE Descends on Columbus, Ohio, Hits K-12 Schools and Immigrant Neighborhoods
I received a disturbing text message from my sister yesterday afternoon: “ICE has been at the girls’ old school today.”Austin Kocher
They terrorize the populace by stomping into homes and schools, wearing in many cases no identification or uniform, and often masked to conceal their identities. They are literally Stasi.
"Sicherheit" uber alles!
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Have you seen the new Ice propaganda commercials. I see them in the break room at work. Were they have kids singing how Ice keeps them safe?
2025-12-19 19:49:15
2025-12-19 19:35:36
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35580630
TFW you game the company's systems and find the actual direct phone number of the IT guy who has been ducking your messages for 3 freaking days via the "approved" method instead of just clicking a button to approve the request.
2025-12-13 16:37:36
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Here is 2025 in a nutshell
in reply to Lou Plummer 💖
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Here is 2025 in a nutshell
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Ben Royce 🇺🇦 🇸🇩, hypebot, Cory Doctorow, No Gods , no Masters! RESIST, your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦, Zhi Zhu 🕸️, EndlessMason, Halloween Every Dave, Blaise, Court Cantrell does not comply, Aaron, Santiago, Jeff Forcier, Vee, Spread The Truth, peelinggecko and Zaphod Beeblebrox reshared this.
Stupid, isn't it?
Millions of people all over the world looked at each other and went "My life is shit. So instead of voting for someone who could actually make it better, I'll vote for someone who'll make someone else's life even worse!" and then proceeded to vote for their local fascists.
2025-12-11 02:31:29
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Blaise reshared this.
It feels almost like a biblical morale that the president who mocked another president for being sleepy, is now filmed every week falling asleep at meetings.
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When the time comes, they are going to try to "Weekend At Bernie's" Trump's arse, you watch. Occasionally, he'll be out on the golf cart somewhere riding around.
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Finger pointing always 3 to yourselves #FakeTan
in reply to Randahl Fink
I just keep remembering @SwiftOnSecurity posting this:
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It feels almost like a biblical morale that the president who mocked another president for being sleepy, is now filmed every week falling asleep at meetings.
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TAPAS: Trump Always Projects All Shortcomings
propublica.org/article/trump-m…
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called “deceitful and potentially criminal.”shoshana.gordon@propublica.org (ProPublica)
his every accusation is a confession. Sleepy, crime family, hiding in basement, stealing, high treason, war criminal, betrayal, tax evasion, ...
I wouldn't be surprised, if he was actually born in Germany and falsified his birth document.
I wouldn't be surprised, if he was actually born in Germany and falsified his birth document.
He looks so peaceful when he sleeps...
It would be funny if this guy and his administration weren't so dangerous for the whole world.
Sleepy Donnie ....
And from here it will only go downhill…
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When the time comes, they are going to try to "Weekend At Bernie's" Trump's arse, you watch. Occasionally, he'll be out on the golf cart somewhere riding around.
I don’t think he is well and stress has definitely gotten to him. It’s not a job where you can relax and Trump’s age, diet and health has worked against him.
At least Trump is harmless when he's asleep.
Some would call this irony. I call it poetic justice.
Dozy Don seems apt!
Den Seinen gibt's der Herr im Schlaf ... but Karma is a bitch!
"The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters"
Unfortunately this doesn't work the other way around 😕
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Finger pointing always 3 to yourselves #FakeTan
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I just keep remembering @SwiftOnSecurity posting this:
but what if he’s just really hard working and listening with eyes closed?
For them, politics is just a game where the only goal is to win. For them, there are no morals in politics, and it would be as absurd to them as applying morals to winning in a board game.
They can still accuse their opponents for moral failings, because that’s part of the game.
He's just musing. 💤 😉
I dunno… he seems alert enough when it’s important to him, like when he’s talking to Putin
Every accusation is a confession, including that one.
quick! somebody make his death mask.
But it was a scandal for Biden and not even newsworthy for Trump 🤬🤬🤬
Senor soñoliento
Every accusation is a... zzz... zzz... zzz...
At least he cant lie when he's sleeping .
2025-12-10 02:32:04
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Shit people, idioms only work if we all agree on the definitions!
After nearly 200 years of "Out-Of-Pocket" meaning "Paid for it yourself", some ignorant bonehead mashed "Out of office" together with it, and now all of corporate America says "Out-of-pocket" when they mean "unavailable".
Culturally it important? No, of course not. Am I irrationally furious every time I spend time during a meeting looking like an idiot because I have to translate before I can reply to your ignorant ass? Yes.
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2025-12-05 22:57:09
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33333079
The one thing no one's figured out how to do is require politicians to know what they are doing...
michaelgeist.ca/2025/12/the-mo…
The Most Unworkable Internet Law in the World
Quebec Opens the Door to Mandating Minimum French Content Quotas for User Generated Content on Social Mediawww.michaelgeist.ca
2025-12-05 14:51:33
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Unknown parent
Am I the only one who gets a little subversive thrill every time I type in my unnecessarily required birthdate as January first, 1970, knowing that somebody, somewhere, someday, maybe an AI, is going to expend a lot of effort trying to determine if a) that's my actual birthday, b) there's a bug in their signup processing, or c) I somehow hacked the web form to let me submit it without the date filled in?
Blaise reshared this.
2025-12-01 14:26:40
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Why do hundreds and hundreds of websites all incorrectly, and wierdly using identical phrases, insist that the the term 'blog' is short for 'web log' (True), "which was originally a record of server requests" (False)?
mybookjoy.com/2020/06/23/word-…
Word origins: Why is it called a “blog?”
I’ve been blogging for over a year now, which is a big exciting accomplishment for me! And yet, it wasn’t until this week that I stopped and thought about how weird the word blog is. It…My Book Joy
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2025-12-01 22:09:03
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Why do hundreds and hundreds of websites all incorrectly, and wierdly using identical phrases, insist that the the term 'blog' is short for 'web log' (True), "which was originally a record of server requests" (False)?
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-11-28 19:43:38
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Turkey accomplished!
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It's almost like DOGE was a completely unserious smokescreen for the dumbest of MAGA...
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Raw numbers are perhaps not enough to get across just how bad the centralisation of the Fediverse by mastodon.social is. I've done a chart to show this visually, hopefully this will make the situation clearer?
Given the circumstances, getting people to join *any* other server except mastodon.social would greatly help decentralise the Fediverse. It's no longer big vs medium vs small, it's more like supergiant deathstar mastodon.social vs everyone else 😞
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p.s. For anyone wondering why this centralisation is a problem, here's an in-depth look at why mastodon.social's increasing percentage of the Fediverse is dangerous: fedi.tips/its-a-really-bad-ide…
Mastodon.social is not a good way to join Mastodon. If you’re already on it, you might want to move your account to a different Mastodon server. | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediversefedi.tips
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p.p.s. If anyone currently on mastodon.social wants help moving to a different server, there's an easy-to-understand step-by-step guide at fedi.tips/transferring-your-ma…
Let me know if you have any difficulties with any particular step 🙂
Transferring your Mastodon account to another server | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediversefedi.tips
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Fou reshared this.
p.p.p.s. Looks like Mastodon gGmbH are now discussing this issue, really good to hear them being proactive! 👍
Let's give the new leadership a chance and see what they come up with 🙂
hachyderm.io/@haubles/11558779…
Hi there - I’ve just joined the Mastodon team full time, and part of my role is working on mastodon.social and mastodon.online. I’m just getting started and still in learning mode, but I want to say that I’m aware of this issue and the team is actively discussing how we can evolve in a way that both delivers on #Mastodon’s promise of decentralization, and provides a “safe landing place” for new users. I’m grateful for all the ideas and writing you’ve shared. I’m listening, and thank you.
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FWIW I built a tool to help you see how distributed your own personal network is: moderation-explorer.online/
Who Moderates My Posts and Timeline?
A tool giving Mastodon users visibility into how federated moderation applies to themmoderation-explorer.online
I think one of the main problems is you can't transfer your posts to a new account. But I heard that @jonny was maybe working on finding a fix for this! So, one can hope that if this gets fixed it will be much easier for people to move out of mastodon.social.
PS: thank you for all your great guides 😀
If you follow the guide, your old posts will remain in existence and help redirect people to your new account 🙂
I recently did a poll, and nearly half of all people who voted said that it bothered them that their posts didn't migrate with their accounts.
I have to admit, I was quite surprised.
@juergen_hubert you were surprised that it wasn't more? Or less?
@elduvelle
That it wasn't less.
I mean, for me #Mastodon is #microblogging first and foremost. And in microblogging, posts are ephemeral and soon forgotten. Personally, I don't really _care_ what I posted a year ago - unless I bookmarked it. And even then, the old posts arent even _gone_ unless the old instance closes down.
But evidently, a very large number of Mastodon users feel very differently about this.
@juergen_hubert
I see! Indeed I am more on the side of "permanent repository of my thoughts", I often search my old posts for some link, poll or info that I know exists in the past. I wouldn't want to migrate instances if it meant loosing my post history. I'd rather loose my follows / followers - you can always find then back - than my posts.
I guess I probably also have some trauma from when I had to leave twitter to join mastodon and had to say bye-bye to all my precious tweets.. Not ready for that to ever happen again!
i've moved and deleted thousands of old posts. it doesn't bother me, i think like juergen. but also, i never quote post, and don't see the point: just reply to the person
but i appreciate some people want to keep their posts forever, and like quote posts. it's not like someone else having another option hurts me in any way
but moving posts is *hard*
if you reply to 1,000 comments on 500 servers, then move, every database on every server needs an extensive update
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
@elduvelle @juergen_hubert That’s the exact dividing line between the two opinions: some people feel that their posts are precious, others that they are naturally ephemeral. Personally I think anyone in the “precious” camp needs to have their own website. It is easy and inexpensive, and you are not subject to losing everything just because a random individual server owner quits (or sells out to someone terrible).
@Moss @juergen_hubert
A website is really not the same purpose as an interactive communication platform like Mastodon / Fedi though. It doesn't have the same reach - people have to go and read your website. The interest of the posts on here is not just the posts content but the discussions that come with them.
It's also not that easy to set up, you have to figure out a host, make the website, regularly update the website, probably pay for the domain name etc. (I never made a website, there are probably a lot more steps). It's a good thing to have but certainly not a replacement for social media.
A website is really not the same purpose as an interactive communication platform like Mastodon / Fedi though. It doesn't have the same reach - people have to go and read your website. The interest of the posts on here is not just the posts content but the discussions that come with them.
It's also not that easy to set up, you have to figure out a host, make the website, regularly update the website, probably pay for the domain name etc. (I never made a website, there are probably a lot more steps). It's a good thing to have but certainly not a replacement for social media.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
It's possible to split the middle, though. For instance, I am running a #WordPress site - and turned it into a #Fediverse server with the #ActivityPub plugin.
Now people can search for individual blog posts on their Fediverse instance, and read it and comment on it as if it was a Mastodon post (for instance).
There are also quite a few other Fediverse-based blogging solutions that allow people to blog right into other people's feeds.
@juergen_hubert @elduvelle I also have a Wordpress site, with a “post to Mastodon” plugin. Anything I post there gets posted to my masto account, and also stays stored on my own site. It doesn’t go both ways, so any replies stay on fedi. But if there is a conversation I want to save, I can copy the posts and manually add them to my site. That way you can preserve the context for later reference.
@juergen_hubert @elduvelle Yeah, there are definitely very different ways of seeing this. I also see my old posts as irrelevant and have set them to auto-delete. Of course, having my history reset to 0 on a move is a little annoying, so I guess a way to move say up to 5000 posts (or some cap selected by the server admin) would make sense?
And then there is me ... having a copy of my Twitter archive since 2009 ...
@juergen_hubert @me @veronica
I also spend hours (days?) figuring out how to get a twitter archive working.
Do I go back to it sometimes? Yes! I would say once every few months to try and find something that I posted. Unfortunately it couldn't archive other people's posts, or even poll results, so it's not that useful.
I also used it to (re-)make some of my pinned posts on here, e.g:
neuromatch.social/@elduvelle_n… (my "work" account)
neuromatch.social/@elduvelle/1…
This is the archive: elduvelle.github.io/
El Duvelle (@elduvelle@neuromatch.social)
Attached: 1 image · Content warning: revival of my thread on cute rat thingsEl Duvelle (neurospace.live)
Do you plan to update the feditips article, section "just recommend one good server", now that mas.to is invite only? 🤔
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Thanks, didn't notice that! I've put ohai.social on there instead as it's also a good general server with lots of connections to the Fediverse.
Hi there - I’ve just joined the Mastodon team full time, and part of my role is working on mastodon.social and mastodon.online. I’m just getting started and still in learning mode, but I want to say that I’m aware of this issue and the team is actively discussing how we can evolve in a way that both delivers on #Mastodon’s promise of decentralization, and provides a “safe landing place” for new users. I’m grateful for all the ideas and writing you’ve shared. I’m listening, and thank you.
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@haubles Instead of considering mastodon.social as a “safe landing place,” we should consider it as a “safe launching place.” In other words, accounts on mastodon.social should be considered starter accounts, and the job of mastodon.social should be helping new arrivals learn enough about the fediverse to decide where they want to land.
@Rowan I really like that phrasing. The words we use matter so much 😀 noted, and thank you
Just to push back against this concept of a "starter server" or "launching place", that doesn't really exist. There are just well-run servers and badly-run servers.
There's nothing easier or safer or tutorial-like about using mastodon.social than other reputable servers, and if there was it would simply encourage even more people to join mastodon.social and stay there 😦
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@haubles Currently, yes. I am talking about what I would like to see mastodon.social become, not what it has been. I had other thoughts (e.g., recurring tutorial messages, time-limited accounts, countdown reminders) for features that could help implement the concept of a safe launching place, but I edited them out as they were insufficiently cooked.
My thought is that mastodon.social should enforce its role as a launching place by not allowing anyone to stay there long term.
My thought is that mastodon.social should enforce its role as a launching place by not allowing anyone to stay there long term.
Sensitive content
@haubles Like I said, those ideas are insufficiently cooked.
Think it has merit. Another way to think about this concept would be to take a page from role playing computer games. When you start you arrive on "newbie island" when you walk through a few simple tasks that familiarize you with the UI and your various server options. But pretty soon you have to (get to!) move off into the real game equipt with some knowledge, the choices you've made, and a modicum of skill.
I feel like this is really easily solvable by just having the apps randomly cycle which server is selected by "default" when people are signing up. Obviously still give the option for people to manually select their preferred network, but by having the default random.
Just limit the random server selection to something like 10-20 reputable instances that have a track record of quality administration. That would avoid sending people to an instance that is unsupported and at a higher risk of shutting down.
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J.R.R. Tolkien Expressed a “Heartfelt Loathing” for Walt Disney and Refused to Let Disney Studios Adapt His Work
openculture.com/2025/11/j-r-r-…
J.R.R. Tolkien Expressed a "Heartfelt Loathing" for Walt Disney and Refused to Let Disney Studios Adapt His Work
Image via Wikimedia Commons I’ve just started reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit to my daughter.OC (Openculture.com)
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2025-11-20 14:30:30
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Stop the slop.
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Stop the slop.
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Please: Everywhere. Not just all social media.
Especially needed with web search engines where it must be in effect not only on search terms but on the results, too!
Especially needed with web search engines where it must be in effect not only on search terms but on the results, too!
@Ulan_KA And be a global switch that's on by default. If only..
We really need to re-brand this domain "NI", as in "No Intelligence". Artificial Stupid Slop would be more accurate, that's ASS.
Suck ASS if you want to, I don't.
Suck ASS if you want to, I don't.
@wordshaper and it needs to be toggled ON by default. No so-called AI unless we ask you to include it!
AI is the most expensive boondoggle happening today, all because Trump has no idea how it works…or doesn’t. He just knows there’s gold there for him.
Can we have this button in just one place, and everything obeys it?
I like that printables.com has this switch for excluding AI-generated 3D models.
I don't want to switch anything off. I would prefer no AI by default and switch on if wanted.
It should replace every "Maybe later" button. No, I don't want to be asked later, I want to hide your new shitty feature forever...
Hear hear! If only we could make this a browser setting and have it all set in one fell swoop!
"exclude AI"? The label should be "Include made up data", default off.
@pluralistic great!
Ill give you this button as an premium feature, for premium money and itll do premium nothing — except looking fancy!
Deal?
This idea should be taken seriously. What if it was added as a consent popup like the cookie consent popups? It would be a drag of course, but if the consent was stored in the "for operational purposes" cookie, it would be fine.
Also can we have decent checkboxes / switches that don't rely on position for on or off, true/false. Current so-called "modern" GUI elements are garbage.
Why a slide switch image for enable/disable checkbox? You tap or click!
Why a slide switch image for enable/disable checkbox? You tap or click!
I fully expect to see artistic creations of all kinds labeled "No AI Used" in the very near future.
@briankrebs in my mind the button is playing „Stop the Slob“ von AIpollo 440 song.link/de/i/186059128
Stop the Rock by Apollo 440
Listen now on your favorite streaming service. Powered by Songlink/Odesli, an on-demand, customizable smart link service to help you share songs, albums, podcasts and more.Songlink/Odesli
I've never seen a button fucking!
why do you all want a button to exclude AI? In that way you accept this kind of intusion in a passive way. It's like a trojan horse/virus - take it or die.
That is NOT acceptable.
The correct way should allways be the other way around: If someone wants to use AI, he/she/they could actively turn it on. That will be a way to speak with customers on eye level. I know, it is hard to understand, but that is how it is.
Please think extra long and extra deep about these Standards and come to your own conclusion 😉
2025-12-04 18:51:43
2025-11-19 15:24:40
2025-11-18 08:45:08
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Today I am stepping down from my role as the CEO of #Mastodon. Though this has been in the works for a while, I can't say I've fully processed how I feel about it. There is a bittersweet part to it, and I think I will miss it, but it also felt necessary. It feels like a goodbye, but it isn't—I intend to stay on and continue to advise the new leadership and contribute, because Mastodon—and the fediverse—is one of the very few beacons of hope for a better web.
blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/…
My next chapter with Mastodon
Reflections on my time leading Mastodon and what's to come next.Mastodon Blog
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thank you for all you've done so far! here's to many more years of non-predatory social media!
thank you for everything john
Thanks for all your work on the fediverse! And good look for it in the future also
Thank you for your service to this community, and I appreciate your honest words in your decision to step down
Thanks for all the fish! I expect further caturday posts, Sir!
You've done an amazing job, thank you and best wishes on your next journey!
Thanks for your work!
A sincere "thank you," Eugen, for everything that you've already done and will continue to do, I'm sure. I'm glad to hear that you'll still be around! If I may, here's a warm🫂 from me. I'm grateful.
Thank you for your work.
Wow. Letting go is always kind of hard. Thank you for giving us a truly social platform and designing a whole part of the fediverse that's – hopefully – here to stay. I'm very much willing to do my part in maintaining this beacon of hope for the free and democratic world and do my humble steps – way behind you. Thank you and very much looking forward to keeping in touch here.
Thank you so much for what you offered to the world! 👏
"Und jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne ..." (H. Hesse, Stufen)
thank you, God bless and godspeed!
Yes, #fediverse is the last bastion for community platforms against the corporate model that eventually, and inevitably, devalues into a self-sustaining greed cycle.
I truly appreciate all the work you put into initiating this effort. Mastodon will undoubtedly evolve into the platform we all hope for, and you will be a key figure in its development.
@individual8
+1
and to add:
When I look at how Mastodon has evolved, I think you did a VERY good job in saying "no"!
Saying "no" is one of the hardest thing good product people have to do.
Thank you for providing us all a new "home" in these times.
Well done. Thank you und alles Gute!
Thank you so much for everything. 
you’re amazing. This is a story I will tell the kids.
Thanks a lot, danke sehr und merci.
thanks Eugen, sad to see you go, especially since you are not the typical tech billionaire kind of guy and always had a very healthy, down to earth approach to this crazy project... can't thank you enough for all you've done for Mastodon and the Fediverse, hope to still see you around and good luck for whatever lies ahead for you now
Thank you so much for providing an awesome decentralized alternative to corporate social medias 🙏
thank you very much for all your work!
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
thanks for everything so far. Good luck with your new direction.
Thanks Eugen. You have delivered a tool that opened a window to return to the original intention of the Internet.
Your focus on decentralisation brought thousands of communities the ability to communicate safely. Among themselves or in connection to others.
The Fediverse wouldn't be where it is now without your tenacity and focus to bring Mastodon to where it is now.
You have the respect and gratitude of many.
Furbland's Very Cool Mastodon™ reshared this.
thank you for your work (and play) and all the best in your new adventures, Eugen.
Eskerrik asko guztiagatik.
thanks for your work, your honesty and your generosity.
"The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best shot at bringing this vision of a better future to the masses."
Amazing 🤩 Wishing you all the best best, Eugen and thank you for everything you have done 🙏🏻
只要mastodon不会发生改变就好，希望越来越好😭
that’s a very difficult step to take, and the fact that you’ve taken it speaks really well about you. Thanks for so you’ve done so far, for contributions still to come, and all the best!
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And thank you for what you've done for this platform - and again for helping me out the other. Of course, we expect even more pictures taken by you now you have time to spare! 😉 🙏🏾 @mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
@mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
Best wishes to you all! Thank you for everything you've done so far and will do in the future! ❤
Best wishes to you all! Thank you for everything you've done so far and will do in the future! ❤
@mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
Thank you for all the great work done for the Fediverse, it would not have been this big and public without Mastodon and your effort towards it.
@mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
It is always mixed feelings when the kids grow and leave the house ;)
You can be proud that mastodon continue to grow without you.
Take care and thank you for this candle of hope that mastodon is.
@mellifluousbox is the new John Mastodon
@mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
Mastodon is the only social media I use, and I'm grateful both for the philosophy behind it and for the work you've done to build an application the supports this philosophy. Thanks for everything you've done and for all of your hard work.
Vielen Dank, dass Sie diesen Weg eröffnet und das Fediverse zu einem Netzwerk der freien und respektvollen Meinungsäußerung gemacht haben! Viel Erfolg für Ihre neuen Projekte!
Thank you for all the work you’ve done!
Mastodon specifically has had a character that I really appreciate, and it brought me to the Fediverse after I’d abandoned all the commercial platforms.
I wish you and your family well.
Thanks for all your hard work and don't be a stranger!
Ganz vielen Dank für dein Engagement und dafür, was du für uns alle ausgebaut hast! Ich bin schockiert zu lesen, wie du von manchen Menschen und Medien angegangen wurdest... Jetzt wünsche ich dir Kraft und die Möglichkeit, etwas Abstand zu bekommen. Dein Beitrag zu unserer Gesellschaft ist IMO gar nicht zu unterschätzen. DANKE!
@mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
Thanks for all that you have done.
Because of Mastodon, I am reading, writing, and staying up to date on world events again.
Thanks for al your hard work for Mastodon. You can be proud of the platform you and your team has build. Wishing the best of luck to you and of course to Felix and his team! @mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap
(late to your news here so you're probably tired of talking about it but I still wanted to say) well done for making the decision it sounds like you were needing to make and also have you given yourself time recently to be like "look at this crazy thing I did" because wow, who knew this kind of thing was even possible for a real human with empathy etc
thank you so much for all you’ve done!
Thank you for all the work on this special social place that we enjoy every day! Wishing you the best for the future.
Thank you so much! 🙏👍
Thanks for all the time, effort and hard work you've put in over the last 10 years. We wouldn't be here without you. Really appreciate it 👍🏻
Thanks for all the good work so far!
thank you for all your work, and for getting Mastodon to where it is.
And thank you for making the hard decision to step down and pass the torch. I have seen too many organizations hobbled by the Founder's Syndrome, it is very good to see Mastodon is taking steps to avoid that.
Very thank you for all your work 🫶
I thank you for all you've done to create Mastodon, and though I know you will still have an influence I wish you well on your new endeavours.
As you step away somewhat, I just want to say this:
As a senior citizen, a non-tech person, someone who through the years opened various social media accounts then feeling dissatisfied for the many reasons most are here, closed each one and ultimately decided to stay off of social media platforms, I am thankful I found Mastodon.
This space, Mastodon, the fediverse, is unique because of diversity --people of differing opinions, ways of life, genders, education levels, cultures, geographical location and so on...and sure little conflicts arise, often heated discussions, once in a while hate slips in and moderators take action...but overall I think the concept behind Mastodon/Fediverse is what unites everyone.
I think most people I know here would agree, our time here is well spent because we learn from each other.
You facilitated this, the creation of a unique place, and for that this old person sends a big thank you.
As you step away somewhat, I just want to say this:
As a senior citizen, a non-tech person, someone who through the years opened various social media accounts then feeling dissatisfied for the many reasons most are here, closed each one and ultimately decided to stay off of social media platforms, I am thankful I found Mastodon.
This space, Mastodon, the fediverse, is unique because of diversity --people of differing opinions, ways of life, genders, education levels, cultures, geographical location and so on...and sure little conflicts arise, often heated discussions, once in a while hate slips in and moderators take action...but overall I think the concept behind Mastodon/Fediverse is what unites everyone.
I think most people I know here would agree, our time here is well spent because we learn from each other.
You facilitated this, the creation of a unique place, and for that this old person sends a big thank you.
You were the perfect person at the right time at the right place. Thanks for creating this safe haven for many of us!
Thank you. I'm glad I found here.
Thanks for all what you've done !
"I have so much passion for Mastodon and the fediverse. The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best shot at bringing this vision of a better future to the masses."
Thanks for all that you've done (which I believe your above comment summarises the most key part of, IMHO), and I wish you all the very best for a happy (and less stressful) future in every way!
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Thank you so much Eugen!
Thank you, and the team, for this platform, and best wishes for the future!
Thank you for what you've done - and endured - over the years. You have my respect for making this transition.
Kudos!
Thank you, for everything 🤘
Stop by later for a bag of emeralds.
Thank you for your job
Thank you for everything you’ve done to create a community not spoiled by ads, algorithms, or billionaires.
Thank you for what you've created with Mastodon!
It was a bright and bold idea, and a great tool!
It is also one major proof that the Fediverse concept can thrive, and often serves as the first introduction to that decentralized "movement" for many, such as myself.
I hope you'll take some time off to rest and come back stronger to the project!
thanks so much for your work and best wishes for your future endeavors!
Farewell, Eugen.
This might be a good time to express my gratitude for what you have created. Such a wonderful space. Thank you so much!
And please remain part of this amazing (ad)venture.
This might be a good time to express my gratitude for what you have created. Such a wonderful space. Thank you so much!
And please remain part of this amazing (ad)venture.
Thank you for all your work 🫡, Thanks to your platform, I have experienced a very pleasant and helpful place on the Internet. Good luck on your next chapter, and Godspeed
I've always found you to be a very thoughtful and intentional, authentic human, and that means a lot. Thank you for what you made for everyone! Glad to get to continue to work with you.
Your blog post makes it clear that this is the right move. I’ve really admired the thoughtful leadership you’ve demonstrated. Thanks for all the amazing work.
thank you for starting this project, for shepherding it, and for dealing with all of us 😀
Good luck on your future endeavours!
Brilliant news - you should feel so proud of everything you've created.
Good luck and many thanks!
Thanks for your gi-mastodon-ic contribution to the community.
Sarah Nelson’s gingerbread and a nice cup of tea are on me when I see you in Grasmere
Sarah Nelson’s gingerbread and a nice cup of tea are on me when I see you in Grasmere
that was a really good post. You have created this out in the open, you've had to learn a lot. You've grown.
It is no easy thing to work in the open, especially with such a popular project.
Ensuring that your project can survive into the future is the most important thing any of us can do in this space, and especially in this time.
Thank you.
Many thanks for all the hard, early work. And some more for stepping down when you know you are not the best fit anymore. It takes humility and leadership.
Eskerrik asko egindako lanarengatik! Vielen Dank!
Good call, you've made something Nice 
You have built good stuff for sure. Best wishes!
All the best!
I really appreciate your continued efforts. I’ll be cheering you on!
Thank you for everything - and hope your recovery from burnout is swift and painless. Look forward to hearing from you about your next thing, whatever it is & whenever it is.
thank you so much for all the hard work!
Thank you Eugen! You have my eternal gratitude 🙏
Congratulations, and thank you for everything you've done - given us a refuge, a digital home, a shelter from all-consuming Enfascification.
A massive Thank You and best wishes for your next chapter.
Thanks for everything, Eugen. You're a bloody legend.
Gracias por la labor que has llevado a cabo durante tantos años.
Thanks for all you work, Eugen!
Thank you for everything, you have done for the community and whats to come!
danke für deine Arbeit und deine Ideen 😀
Thank you so much for all your work getting Mastodon here 🧡
Thank you @Gargron for creating an online place I feel welcome. Good luck with your next steps!
just as long as you don't stop posting pictures, especially cat pictures 😁
@benroyce the fediverse is powered by compressed bitmap images of Jiji and Peaches
🫡 wishing you the best with your future endeavours. Hopefully you can now just enjoy it as a user. Godspeed.
“I have so much passion for Mastodon and the fediverse. The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape”
Thank you for making it possible @Gargron !
Thank you for everything ♥️
Thanks for everything and enjoy the next chapter 😀
thank you for all your work!
感谢你迄今为止所做的一切！让联邦宇宙互联网变得更好❤️
thank you for all your hard work to make this happen, dude. Enjoy your next role in the project.
Thank you for Mastodon and making it what it is. And good luck in whatever you decide to so in the future.
Whoa, didn’t see that coming! But cheers for well-ordered change, and for more Mastodon for everyone!
Fully understand your reasons and am happy you will remain, albeit in a lesser role.
All the best to the four of you. (You, @Ameboid, Peaches and ... I'm so sorry, I can never recall the black cat's name! )
Thank you for Mastodon, and good luck with your next chapter!
you’ve done a fantastic job!
Thanks a lot for all your effort.
It's not easy to let go. I'm proud of you for going through with setting us all up for a future.
Ich kann mir kaum vorstellen, wie sich das für dich anfühlen muss.
Tausend, tausend Dank für diese wunderbare Plattform und für deine vielen Jahre der Arbeit und die Badewannen voll Herzblut!
🌻
Beautifully written and explained. Thank you and best wishes for the future!
Thank you for all that you havê contributed.
you created something nice. This is the correct nice step. Good for the community, hopefully good for you. Way better than what other founders did, ultimately ending up so often in forks, feuds and anger.
thank you Eugen, take care of yourself & best wishes for you and your family.
Big moves! Congratulations
Thank you for your efforts.
Good luck Eugen! You have been part of an anti-oligarch revolution!
Thank you for your dedication and excellence in being able to keep the project faithful to its original ethos. It is a very rare thing to see in the environment of digital products of that kind of scale, and I hope this will inspire others to follow that direction. Especially in our troubled times. Thank you again and I can't wait to see how it's going to evolve! Good luck to @mellifluousbox @haubles @renchap and the whole crew and contributors! 💫
I can’t thank you enough for what you have created here.
Thinking of what to say, apart from THANK YOU, best wishes, and congratulations, I have just learned that the etymology of pachyderm says "'thick skin', from the Greek παχύς, pachys, 'thick', and δέρμα, derma, 'skin'", so...
Here's hoping your skin can get softer and thinner now, if you so wish!
Hats off.
Thank you, Eugen! Recently I heard the saying: "Hoffnung ist eine Praxis, die mensch am Leben halten soll." - Thank you for making a dream come true and for nurturing the hopes of many people.
have a nice retirement, unc
Thank you for all your hard work 🫶
You did a great job growing Mastodon and your name will always be connected to this platform in the most positive way. Thank you, for everything.
Thank you for everything you've done.
Thank you for all the beautiful people I have learned to know via mastodon.
Thank you for all the beautiful people I have learned to know via mastodon.
Thank you for giving us Mastodon, and for making this decision 🙏🏻
Mastodon isn't perfect (nothing is) but it is truly the best thing we have around these days, and that's thanks to you! 🙏❤️
Thank you for creating this platform, I wish you well with whatever you do next
your childhood project has grown into one of the few places left on the internet which feels like it was built with actual human interest in mind. Thank you for this respite from the screaming online advertising overload.
thanks for everything and looking forward to the next chapter!
Thanks a lot for creating this space. It has truely been a haven in the chaos of exploitation that commercial social media has become. I've had accounts on here since some time in 2019, because I tried every new platform that was built. I'm glad Mastodon got to be the one that made it work. I donate monthly to the organisation, and there are few places on the internet where I get as much for my money as on here.
More time for #photography, right?
Grin grin snap snap wink wink nudge nudge… Know what I mean? Say no more!
Grin grin snap snap wink wink nudge nudge… Know what I mean? Say no more!
Thank you for all you've done so far. While I can't comment on who's best dressed your photography is better than Bezos from what I've seen.
Bravissimo Eugene! Every founder's dream should be to build an organisation that can be run by others: this is, surely, the best mark of maturity.
Mastodon is a truly wonderful - and exceptionally important - creation. Traditional investors and business folk might lament lack of (even) faster growth, and urge the raising of much more capital to 'leverage' what you and the team have built so far.
But, as you obviously know, that type of investment sows the seeds of enshittification.
thank you!
Eugen you've been a personal inspiration to me and offered me and so many others a viable digital space grounded in civil society values, I am incredibly grateful for everything you've done to build and nurture this space.
Whatever else comes next, you've had a significant impact on the Web, something I hold very dear, and I know from experience how hard it is to take a step like this with something you've created and grown.
On behalf of the Tŵt community, diolch yn fawr iawn!
Thank you for what you've done so far and all the best for your future plans.
Thank you so much for all you've done! Without Mastodon I would have almost no hope for what's become of the Internet. Best of luck to you in anything you do!
Thank you for all your work on building this place, especially your prioritising of non-technical people who want to use decentralised social networks. Mastodon being aimed at a general non-technical audience was a real breakthrough, as was curating instance lists, the covenant etc.
And thank you especially for putting the project's non-profit status first when you turned down buyouts in 2022, this was a crucial moment that showed real integrity.
All the best for your future 👏
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Thank you for all your hard work getting Mastodon to where it is now.
thank you so much for your valuable effort and results to the community!!!
Thank you so much for lighting a light and been brave enough to pass it on.
thank you for creating it!
Thank you so much, Eugen. You've been the best tech CEO ever. 💖
You’ve done a great job and should be very proud of what you’ve built. Coming here after Elon destroyed Twitter was bittersweet but I found it refreshing, safe and inviting. At the Iconfactory we’ve done our best to help promote Mastodon ourselves and wish all of you nothing but success. Good luck in your future endeavors, whatever they may be.
thank you for supporting and being a big part of all this, and being a great example 💜
I can totally understand this decition and will, as many before me, say Thank You for the vision and fir the work you gave done.
Take steolps for more self care and trust in the fediverse and the Mastodon Non-Profit to take good care of Mastodon.
The fact that you’re stepping down rather than becoming a neurotic megalomaniac is the very proof that you were the right person for the job. Prioritising yourself as a human being is a great example for a safe and sane Internet.
Thanks for all you’ve done and welcome on the Fediverse’s backseat. It ain’t that bad. You can see the driver while enjoying the view!
Thanks for all the fish! And keep up the great work.
Thanks a lot Mastodon. Have a good time away from tge helm and being an informed observer. May be difficult to let go but hat one point someone else should take over.
It's a little with with kids. 😜
🖖🖖🖖
Thanks for all the work through this years. Long live to Mastodon!!
Thank you so very much.
thank you and the Mastodon team for evolving an idea into something @trumpet can delight us with. And to all other admins for actually creating and maintaining the federation.
Thank you for all you have done so far, you are a true hero and I wish you find joy in the new role and hope it makes your life less stressful!
Thank you for your efforts!
I think this is a great step. Not because you did bad work, to the contrary! You did amazing work but at some point it feels inevitable that one burns out with such responsibility and things take a turn for the worse. Even with best and friendliest of people. Stepping down before that happens is a humbling move.
Thank you for the time you served as CEO and looking forward to your future contributions as an advisor!
Thanks for all your work and effort Eugen
thanks for founding Mastodon.
Thank you for Mastodon!
I suppose this is a little like when your child grows up and goes out into the world on their own. While you're still around for advice, there's a lot less input on the day-to-day stuff and you just hope that the values you tried to instill will guide them well on their journey.
Thanks for all your work!
Thanks for all your work!
🙏 Vielen Dank für alles, Eugen!
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Thanks to all you have done for Mastodon to thrive into something awesome, it truly became my home on the social web after the dumpster fire that is Twitter…
I’m glad you’ll still be providing input in some capacity, while taking care of your mental health.
Good luck with your future endeavours!
Thank you for Mastodon Eugene. It's been a sanctuary in a sea of tech-bro hellsites and has gone some way towards restoring my faith in social media.
Enjoy the (relative) peace and quiet 😀
Well said, and thank you!
"The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best shot at bringing this vision of a better future to the masses"
"The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best shot at bringing this vision of a better future to the masses"
You did great. Thank you for this place!
Thank you for giving me a safe haven during the great Twitter exodus.
thank you and the team for the hard work. Best luck moving forward.
オイゲン、ありがとう～～～！！！
Thank you for your service.
You'll always be Website Boy in our hearts. 🩶
sad to hear this. Thank you for everything you’ve done!
Thanks for everything 🙏
And enjoy the next steps in your journey.
The work you have done with Mastodon is truly remarkable. Best wishes.
even though I haven’t agreed with all your decisions, I think you’re making the right choice here, and I say that in the sense of you deserving to work on what feels comfortable for you. Some people have made a lot of assumptions about what your priorities are and why m.s has had problems, without ever having tried to do anything like what you’re doing. Even if I would still have gone about stuff in a different way from my own experience, I respect your efforts and wish you well.
maybe the thing should own itself
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Thanks for all your hard work, and for giving us somewhere to go when the capitalist hellscape got too much!
Remember that fashion is like a game for 5 year olds
All the best!
Thanks for all of your work.
thank you for everything, I really hope someone as singular in the belief of Open Web continues leading the project… 🫡🫡🫡
Sensitive content
well done Eugen, first for everything mastodon, but also for being brave enough to take that step aside and let the team take it forward. It’s one of the hardest things for founders to do. ❤️
Much like the Dread Pirate Roberts, the name "John Mastodon" is movable and can be assigned to anyone suitable at a given moment.
But you'll always be the real John Mastodon! Thank you for starting this thing and helping to realise the #ActivityPub potential as envisaged by @cwebber , @evan and all the others.
thank you Eugen. Very happy with how things have turned out during my time here since 2017.
Thank you for everything, thank you SO MUCH!
Thanks for everything, Eugen! This has been one of the few projects that has helped make the internet better.
I get it and I’m glad you’re not stepping away entirely.
Thank you for what you've done and for staying true to your vision despite the sirens of Venture Capitalism !
Soar high, Captain. Sending many loves from NYC. We will miss you, Eugen
thank you for your hard work and vision.
Thank you for all that you have done, it has been no mean feat!
It speaks enormously to your character that you are willing to do what you are doing.
Thanks for everything.
Thanks for making the world a bit of a better place. You did good.
Great platform, thanks for the help! 🌞
Congratulations! You have done great things with Mastodon and deserve a semi-retirement. I will always be glad to see your toots in my feed.
Special thanks for the wisdom to step aside. Wear your humility with pride!
Vielen dank Eugen, ありがとう!!
When I learn that someone like you--who has done such wonderful work for so many people--has personally suffered, I feel truly painful and sad. No one would ever be happy to be unfairly oppressed.
I sincerely hope that you, just as you are, can continue your calm and positive path (with your wonderful wife by your side!).
With respect and gratitude from Tokyo, Japan 😀
Thanks Eugen. I've read a lot of CEO goodbyes in my day, but this was one of the most humble of them. Good luck with your next chapter. Thank you for your service.
thank you and good luck!
a thank you from everyone, here, man. Best luck out, there.
@Gargron@mastodon.social Thank you so much for your work.
Even though I don't use Mastodon directly, its positive impact growing the Fediverse is undeniable. ❤️
Thank you, Eugen, for all you have done to help create these spaces for us. Thanks for holding on to your vision and having firm boundaries, too. It's refreshing to have web space like this that isn't manipulated by algorithms and billionaires. Stay rooted and get some rest if you can! Hope you'll still stop by and toot. 🐘
thank you for everything!! ❤
⏫as long as you shut up about Palestine getting genocided
Yea sure
Good fucking riddance
Thank you for having created this extraordinary place.
thank you for helping to create my favorite social platform and growing the fediverse. Looking forward to seeing what you do next in life.
As a grateful recipient of the light from our beacon of hope, thanks for all the good work you’ve done to give us this refuge! I think your wisdom will play out well over the long run.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Long live the fediverse! Long live Mastodon! 
Thank you, Eugen! May your days be filled with joy!
Thank you for your work and for understanding it is better for Mastodon to change your role! 
Thank you for your service! 🫡
thank you for your hard work and best of luck with your future endeavors. Thanks to mastodon I've felt like I can return to social media empowered by my own self hosted instance. It's something I never thought possible at this level of engagement and scale of community.
Welcome @mellifluousbox and I look forward to seeing your direction take shape!
Bravo to the whole team for getting this far and still pressing forward 🎉
Welcome @mellifluousbox and I look forward to seeing your direction take shape!
Bravo to the whole team for getting this far and still pressing forward 🎉
I'm sorry to see you leaving your position Eugen. You built a platform that has more value than money. I do; however, understrand the importance of self-care and what stress can do to a person. So, with that, "good on you". Take good care of yourself, you are a great human being and an awesome contibutor. I'm also glad to see you will still have a hand in the project. (Keep then honest)!
You deserve a break after so much hard work. Congratulations and best of luck!
Best of luck going forward!
I wish you all the best for your future.
Wishing you all the best 
Now that won't be able to gatekeep and prevent Mastodon adding markdown support, maybe some progress will be made towards that.
Best wishes in your next endeavor. Thanks for working to create this wonderful bit of goodness for all of us.
Best of luck Eugen
thank for for everything you've done, and for the pressure and criticism you've had to put up with. You handled it better than most imagine they would I suspect.
You gave us a tool that is free and open. Thank you for your leadership.
I look forward to how the community continues to grow and make the platform even better.
You have done an incredible job for many, many thousands of users here on Mastodon and beyond.
Personally I’d like to thank you for creating this space for me.
All the very best Eugen
thanks for giving us an alternative to talk in open spaces using open source tech! Good luck in whatever you do mate, cheers!
Thank you for all your work and effort!
That hit hard...
"The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best shot at bringing this vision of a better future to the masses."
"The fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best shot at bringing this vision of a better future to the masses."
Thanks for many things you've done! Maybe we could reopen this PR then:
github.com/mastodon/mastodon/p…
github.com/mastodon/mastodon/p…
Added underlines to links in toots by aardrian · Pull Request #9898 · mastodon/mastodon
Link text color is #f1ebff, surrounding text is #ffffff. They have a contrast ratio of 1.2:1. Not only is hard to see links that are so close in color to the text, they also require a pointing devi...GitHub
good for you, I hope you get to take more photography trips!
Thank you for creating this space and this community
Thank you for all your work! Appreciated.
thanks for everything and I wish you joy with your new endeavours.
Best wishes to you and yours and many thanks for your work. ♥️
Thank you, sir. You work is incredibly appreciated.
Thank you for everything you've done, and will do. We're all so lucky that you saw a better future for the internet, then stepped up, built it, and inspired so many of us.
Thank you Eugen! I respect the hell out of anyone with the humility you have to step down and pass on the torch of such a big project. You did a great job and I hope you succeed in your future endeavors : )
Thank you for everything you've done so far!
All the BEST to you! Thank you
Vielen Dank Eugen und viel Glück! Und lass Dich von den Neidern nicht runterziehen, die 1MIO (vor Steuern) ist fair für 10 Jahre Arbeit…
Takk kærlega!
Thank you for all you've done as head of the project, Eugen.
as someone currently trying to navigate burn out: I hope you're able to get a big breath of fresh air and find a bit of balance.
keep cool. You made the right choice. Such an ambitious project is not sustainable if one way or another it relies too much on one ´s shoulder. I am sure your choice will be rewarded both for you and for Mastodon
Thank you for everything Eugen.
If you ever find yourself in suburban New Jersey, I'll buy you a beer.
Thank you! You have created something great - good luck in your new and hopefully less stressful role!
Benevolent dictator for...about a decade. Thanks for all the hard work Eugen!
Thank you for everything you've done to create a better web. Mastodon became a solid app and a nice community under your leadership. Best wishes for you on your new path forward
Thank you for everything
Thanks for the web sight
Thank you for everything, Eugen! Including modeling self-care and sharing leadership.
Looking forward to your pictures when you feel like sharing as you take a good rest. Put down that heavy pack and breathe. Ya done good.
thanks for carrying it this far. Mastodon didn’t just replace Twitter for me, it reminded me just how good non-algorithmic social networking is
you are doing great. thanks for evrything so far and good luck for everything that lies ahead.
It's sad to see you step down, but I understand completely. Thanks for creating something amazing! Mastodon is by far my favorite social media platform.
Way to become an immortal legend!
Thank you for making things fun again!
I don't know if you'll read this, but thanks for truely great work which has brought some little hope into my heart in this age of full speed enshittification.
I am sorry to read comments have chipped things away from your inner self. And, you are right that you created something that is bigger than yourself, but for a better part.
So, I hope you get well in your feelings again. Thanks again for creating Mastodon ❤️💪🏾
I think you’ve failed to fully grasp the term “benevolent dictator for life” 😂 (But seriously: thanks for everything!)
thank you for all your work!!
Danke lieber Eugen für all deine Mühe und Arbeit❤️
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
What a thoughtful post, such a gracious departure.
Thank you so much for all you created here. It matters more than you think.
You've done great work Eugen. Many thanks for what you've accomplished here and enjoy the next chapter of your life!
danke für das alles hier, Eugen! Es hat mir die Hoffnung auf ein besseres Netz zurückgegeben. ❤️
thanks for your work 🙏
Thank you for providing a safe space for us. I hope it stays this way. And I am so glad you’re taking the advice of Kenny Rogers- knowing when to hold ‘em, knowing when to throw ‘em, knowing when to walk away and knowing when to run. Take care!
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Thanks for all the hard work @Gargron and good luck in whatever the future holds!
incredible run: appreciate the honest and heartfelt post — a level of self awareness we should all aspire to ❤️
look forward to a more healthy future for you!
What does this mean "...I intend to stay on and continue to advise the new leadership and contribute...", what will your role at the gGmbH be now? Will you be fulltime employed or act as an independent consultant? And (since your toot sounds like it) what is your next project?
I didn't even know mastodon had a CEO – which I guess is actually really high praise in this context
you've built a fine thing, sir
Really thankyou dor everything you done to build this community, my best whishes for your future projects
Congratulations for all your incredible achievements, and thank you for all you've done, @Gargron.
thanks for all the fish
Thank you very much for your work
Amazing work you've done here. On to healthier things! But in a world of social media "emperors", you were what we needed. Big thanks!
thanks for everything you have done! Long live fedi and wishing you all the best
Dankeschön für Dein Engagement und die Zeit mit Dir.
Thank you for your work. Thank you for your investment in a better society.
I wish you a very good time! Thanks for all your passion. It’s a great network!
1000x 'thank you' for this wonderful place you've built.
Thanks for your work.
Thank you for your work 🤗
Do your best to steer people away from fixing things that are not broken.
I landed on Mastodon from a referral by a satirical account of John Fetterman's dog on twitter. Thanks for all you've done and for all this has become!
Thanks for your work, Internet Warrior.
Thank you for all the great work you've done!
cheers to new adventures 🙏🏻💙
Thanks for making this cool place I like
Thanks for all you do!
.@Gargron por mi te puedes ir lejos y no volver-
#Mastodon no es mas que otra red de las redes del fediverso que desaparecerá y surgiran de nuevas al lado de las que ya hay, mastodon se metió en el fediverse, siendo una calcomania de Twitter y wsin #GNUsocial nunca hubiera sido nada, sin el #fediverse y ahora parece ser segun ustedes que mastodon hizó al fediverse y NO-
#fediverse >> fediverse.party/
Mastodon solo es un pedacito del fediverse-
No se dice eso en las migraciones
- Fediverse.Party - explore federated networks
Let's make social media free, federated and fun! Fediverse.Party is your guide into the world of decentralized, autonomous networks running on free open software on a myriad of servers across the world. No ads and no algorithms.fediverse.party
Now I just get bullied by some random guy on Mastodon 😔
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all your work thus far.
Dear @Gargron, thank you so much for your huge participation in creating this place we all love so much.
All the best for you and your family! 💐
Joining everyone else in saying, "Thank you for Mastodon." You created something very special, and I hope you're proud.
And I admire you for realizing it was time to step down (while still staying engaged), for your own mental health.
thank you for everything!
@pallenberg Alles Gute! Darfst ein wenig Stolz sein. 👏🏼
dear Eugen, you are too good for this world. Thank you for all your work, we will never forget you. Godspeed!
you accomplished something monumental here, Mr. Rochko.
You helped give the world back control of their social media, their very memories, from the clutches of the multinational corporations.
You've helped to rebuild a decentralized internet - the way it was always meant to be.
Someday, your name will be up there with Tim Berners-Lee, Steve Wozniak, and Larry Page, as one of the visionaries that helped connect the world together.
... we're just not there, quite yet.
But your work, here, will pave the way for that to happen. You've helped DEMOCRATIZE the internet. Now any schlub (like me) that's half-competent with computers and can get their hands on an old "throw-away" hunk of metal and plastic can spin up their own little server and connect to a larger social world.
And be found.
Thank you, Mr. Rochko, for helping free us, and for helping connect us.
o7
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Thank you for giving us Mastodon, Eugen!
I hope you can have a relaxing holiday to celebrate your new role. Yay, now you have a whole crew to share the load.
Thank you for all your hard work so far keeping it all together.
Thank you, Eugen, for making the Fediverse something much more credible.
Well done @Gargron for everything you've achieved in the last decade! Your principles set you far above certain others in the social media space and I really appreciate your integrity and drive. It's a good decision to change roles and I'm optimistic about the future of Mastodon with you still around for guidance. I hope you take this opportunity for some well-deserved rest and recreation. Finally: thank you!
Thanks for all the f̵i̵s̵h̵e̵s̵ code, and sorry to see that fedizens' aggressiveness was what lead you to step down...
Many of your decisions can be criticized, as can most human beings', but you had to take decisions and critic should not come from a position of entitlement nor go beyond what's fair.
Many of your decisions can be criticized, as can most human beings', but you had to take decisions and critic should not come from a position of entitlement nor go beyond what's fair.
Thank you for all of your hard work. I am sorry that your position has caused you so much stress. You have given us avaluable gift.
Thank you for this space you made. It has been a gift especially in these times. Wishing you the very best of all things.
Any comment regarding the amount of money you’re getting for what we understood to be a non-profit?
heise.de/news/Mastodon-Gruende…
Mastodon: Gründer macht Chefposten frei und bekommt eine Million Euro
Mastodon soll künftig von einer gemeinnützigen Organisation nach belgischem Recht entwickelt werden. Zudem tritt Eugen Rochko ab, verlässt Mastodon aber nicht.Martin Holland (heise online)
Thank-you for all you've done to build a better social network. Be proud of what you and your team have accomplished.
Ich bin ein Patreon-Sponsor seit langer Zeit. Gibt es eine Erläuterung zu dieser "Ablöse", welche keine Kleinigkeit ist?
Thank you so much for this platform that kicks so much ass! If you're ever in NYC again, toot me and I'll buy you a beer.
Thank you, Eugen. Small words for what you did, do and will be doing.
hey Eugen, what you have done with Mastodon is awesome. So thank you a lot for this achievement. Sometimes things are not easy as a founder, especially when it grows fast, but you definitely deserve recognition. I think many of us in the open source, privacy and other communities owe you a big THANK YOU for creating a "social media" that is fully independent from the big techs, and with fair values by design. Good luck with your future projects!
Very much hope whatever comes next brings you joy, and hopefully a (very well deserved) break.
thank you so much for this piece of the web I love so much. Take care of you.
thank you for your work
I was delighted to see that you will get a significant compensation for all your effort and contributions over these years 👍
Thank's for all your work. Thank's for creating #Mastodon 👍👍👍🙂
Great work, you deserve a break. And you didn't sell out! ❤️❤️😀
Amazing run 🙏 not an easy job
thank you for all of your efforts to date. And I hope the change finds you in a good place.
Many thanx to you @Gargron for your contribution for the community. We all love you. I wish you the best for your future projects
Thank you for your hard work and impressive integrity to keep this place as a bastion against enshittification. You deserve some time to just enjoy the fruits of your labour after all you have done for the internet and its denizens
thanks for being awesome. You were so hands on with an issue, minuscule issue that I had related to Mastodon. You replied and took care of it right away.
Thank you for what you have done and looking forward to the next things you’re working on.
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Just a quick reminder that we've had so much of our freedom taken, and gotten literally *nothing* in return. No peace of mind, no extra safety, no societal value of any kind.
So now, the US is the dictatorship that its stupid, power-mad, corrupt, game-playing political parties have made it, and no one will even admit what they've lost.
theintercept.com/2015/11/17/u-…
U.S. Mass Surveillance Has No Record of Thwarting Large Terror Attacks, Regardless of Snowden Leaks
A newly disclosed DHS document, for instance, shows how the lack of ISIS attacks in the U.S. is not something the intelligence community can take credit for.Jenna McLaughlin (The Intercept)
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When you're running low on fake criminals to arrest for made up reasons, so you try to expand the pool a bit!
timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/ne…
USCIS halts upstate naturalization ceremonies, leaving hundreds waiting
Clerks in seven upstate counties say the agency offered no explanation for the sudden cancellationswww.timesunion.com
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Hear me out
At this moment in time I am more pissed than when Trump won his second term.
I'm a supporter of third parties because I have felt for decades that neither the Democrats or Republicans have our interest in mind. When the that of Trump emerged, especially in the second term, I bought into the "Democrats care more at least" narrative. For the first time I was motivated against the evil more than I was voting for what I believed.
And here I am watching the people who are supposed to "be a little better" completely throw America under the bus after paying lip service and having people go without pay and go without food assistance and then throw that away despite those people sending a clear message that they were behind the fight.
Trump is evil and he wears that on his sleeve but it's the Democrats who are saying they care but still just throw America under the bus. Please explain to me how the wolf in sheep's clothing is better than the wolf that makes it's self known.
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Sadly, it's incredibly simple. It is virtually impossible to get elected without lots of money. Big corporate donors to the Democrats were fine with this until their CEO's faced the prospect of not being able to fly their jets home without delays, so they called the party up and said "fix this or I'm not sending you any more money!" And then the Dems caved.
In the US, if you try to run on just your principles, you're almost assured to be in a third party. Bernie Sanders might be the only one who manages to escape this trap.
@alan
On Saturday I would have said OK.... But today, fuck that. It's not the people dumping money into campaigns but the people like you saying "it's impossible" because if every person that ever said that voted for a third party then we would be seeing a real revolution right now.
The Democrats just spoke loud and clear that they don't give a shit about us. Why should I keep voting for people that don't care?
SufferForMe 🆘 reshared this.
Two things, I wasn't saying it's impossible. Second, not quite "people like me" though. I live in a country where money is less important, but still we have at most three viable choices, thanks to the first past the post voting system. I've voted for my second or third choice more than once because in my location, opposition to the right is split among several parties, so it's a case of "pick the person on the left who is most likely to win, independent of party". That's worked, but only one time out of three.
You guys really don't have a Left. Up here the Dems would be seen as right wingers who lean slightly toward the centre. Then again, here most voters know the difference between a socialist and a communist.
The US needs to both fix the funding model and the way votes are tallied, and nobody is holding their breath on that one.
Were I a US citizen and in a democratic or swing state, I'd be working to get the person most like Bernie or AOC elected in the primary. Were I in a red state, I'd be working to get the GOP candidate least like Trump elected. In both cases I might vote independent anyway.
@alan
I didn't catch that you weren't a US citizen so apologies for that.
We have a very broken system here and the reality is ranked choice voting (combined with strong third parties) is likely our only hope but I fear it's too late for that. Democrats really did rally and earn the centrist and independent vote and today they shot that all to hell.
Most of all what happened today is the Democrats ripped hope away from people... A hope that grew so much last week.
SufferForMe 🆘 reshared this.
I hate to say this, but it was always a false hope. As your closest partner, we've got a massive interest in seeing the US have a viable democracy and honestly it's been looking less and less viable over the past few decades. I wish I knew what the answer was, but whatever it is we all hope it can be achieved peacefully.
A wave of independents would be great but I really don't know how you overcome the "my granddaddy's granddaddy was a Republican, and so am I, so even if their platform explicitly says they'll cut my arm off and feed it to me for breakfast I'm voting for the GOP" problem.
As for voting systems, I'm leaning more toward proportional representation than ranked choice, but I'll take anything other than FPP. Let the house be full of a cacophony of voices where meaningful compromise is the only way forward.
@alan
Ranked choice basically gives people the option of voting for a third party while not letting "the bad guys" win because you can say "I like third party but if they don't win then I like Democrats" so it takes away the biggest obstacle to getting people to vote for a third party.
As for generations I live in West Virginia and the whole state basically swapped a decade or so ago so change can happen (though I wish WV went the other way).
@alan
8 Dems who need to be voted out, while meanwhile better Dems need to be voted in -- it's the voters who put them in these positions to do good or harm
@alan
8 Democrats, voted in by voters in their states -- find better Dems to vote in when you can, because the Repubs are not going to suddenly care about us
To be clear, I don't know how I'll vote. Maybe the Democrats will do something (boot Schumer?) to turn this around. I doubt it.
The thing is last week I actually felt good about getting behind the Democrats... Hell, I actually had a little hope for our country. What they did today has just made me feel horrible and all the hope that I actually had is gone.
It's really hard to get behind a group of people that just completely shattered what little hope I had. Watching people I supported stand aside and let an authoritarian party walk all over them isn't exactly people I *want* to vote for....
I don't want to have to tell future generations that I voted for the party that rolled out the red carpet for evil.
2025-11-18 16:13:26
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Apparently, the most effective child-behaviour modification technique is "mean", and "not very nice".
But it works!
2025-11-08 10:02:56
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My final disposition on corporate social media...
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-11-08 10:03:59
2025-11-06 17:59:16
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In order to report my phone as lost, I have to log in to the carrier's website. In order to log in to the carrier's website, I have to type in my password as usual, and *then* I have to type in the 9 digit code they sent to my phone... My lost phone.
2-factor authentication has never *once* done me any good, but it sure has fucked up plenty of significant events in my life! Good job, Comp. Sci., you made everything suck.
Unus Nemo likes this.
2025-11-05 17:31:31
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Blaise reshared this.
"Such an update allows the company in China to create an update that allows the bus to not run in any way. "
zetland.dk/historie/svNwC3c5-a…
Dybt i et norsk fjeld blev en kinesisk bybus splittet ad. En status på vores frygt
En kinesisk bus blev nøje analyseret for mystiske signaler.Kaare Sørensen (Zetland)
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@titanmanfred @marjolica Attaboy. 😉
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The most thought proving article I have read this week:
A Norwegian bus company wants to know if their buses could be abused by China in the case of war.
So they drive two buses deep into a limestone mine to isolate them from the internet and forensically investigate how they work.
In the mine, investigators discover a Chinese kill switch which could destroy all Chinese buses.
In Denmark, that is 57 percent of the bus fleet.
Source (Danish):
zetland.dk/historie/svNwC3c5-a…
Dybt i et norsk fjeld blev en kinesisk bybus splittet ad. En status på vores frygt
En kinesisk bus blev nøje analyseret for mystiske signaler.Kaare Sørensen (Zetland)
reshared this
Glyn Moody, hypebot, BrianKrebs, Cassandrich, Jürgen Hubert, Cory Doctorow, Ben Royce 🇺🇦 🇸🇩, Fish Id Wardrobe, peelinggecko, Truth Or Consequences ✅ 🇺🇦, 🇨🇦 Maverick ✊🇲🇲🇺🇦🇻🇪🇬🇱, Alton Barrett, your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦, Zhi Zhu 🕸️, Blaise, m0xEE and Stuart Celarier reshared this.
@eingfoan frightening
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"Wer Billig kauft, kauft zweimal" ... means "Who buys cheap, buys twice"
@titanmanfred John Deere tractors aren't cheap, to buy or to repair.
I wonder where the Chinese got the idea of software/IP lock in from?
@titanmanfred just to amplifiy this point. Nearly all internet connected devices have a kill switch.
Teslas have a kill switch
Your ISP supplied router has a kill switch
Your phone has a kill switch
Your Windows computer has a kill switch
Your programmable bed has a kill switch
Your robot vacuum has a kill switch
Your MS Mail account and your Bank account has a kill switch (ask ICC judges)
Your data in the US owned cloud (even if hosted in Europe) has a kill switch
F35 planes, NATO donated to Ukraine, have a kill switch.
Your Polish locomotive has a kill switch (activated if you try and use an independent repair shop).
All these have been mentioned in the news and in the Fediverse recently.
Most of these are controlled by US or Chinese companies. Particularly with Trump in charge and alll the tech Billionaires subbing him are you sure that the American ones are less lilkely to be used against you by the USAian companies than the Chinese companies to disable your kit and maybe your life?a
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
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@marjolica lukily I am not using many of these toys 😀
* my cars are 1975 and 1990
* using Linux since 20years
* ...
* my cars are 1975 and 1990
* using Linux since 20years
* ...
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@titanmanfred @marjolica Attaboy. 😉
@DrEdBridges @titanmanfred @marjolica you should probably save that one for when linux isn't just mentioned in passing and also relevant to the discussion.
US made John Deere tractors also have a kill switch and it has been used to disable some of them (in this case tractors stolen by Russian troops) remotely:
orchardandvine.net/news/john-d…
edition.cnn.com/2022/05/01/eur…
(EDIT: this was also mentioned briefly in the Danish article linked above)
John Deere ‘Kill Switch’ Renders Stolen Tractors Useless
John Deere has struck a blow against the Russian Army, in its war of aggression in Ukraine.orchardandvine.net
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
To be honest: I'd love a broad scale analysis of this. Few days ago it as a vacuum cleaner, now buses...
Test this in all things. From mobile phones to cars (don't care if Chinese, US or German), smart beds (well... actually leave these ones out. Who buys a bed that needs internet?!), switches, routers, water pumps, ....
I bet they'll find stuff in too many places.
@jesterchen I would like all hospital equipment to be tested.
And everything for critical infrastructure (water supply etc). The rest are details.
there is a little thing called a specification when you buy something. You need to be absolutely sure you have full control over your technology you own.
Some people might find open hardware and open source guys annoying but this what they talk about.
Some people might find open hardware and open source guys annoying but this what they talk about.
m0xEE likes this.
Not just China doing this. I remember arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…
It is generally not a good idea to give others control over apparatuses that you own.
Trains were designed to break down after third-party repairs, hackers find
The train manufacturer accused the hackers of slander.Ashley Belanger (Ars Technica)
@ArtHarg wild. Thanks for that link.
you have plenty of this, everywhere
one of my favorite is farmers using hackers to be able to self-repair their tractors...
copperhilltech.com/blog/farmer…
Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors Because of a Right to Repair Ban
For decades, American farmers have been at the mercy of agricultural equipment manufacturers, who have locked down their tractors with proprietary software, restricting repair options and forcing owners to seek expensive, manufacturer-approved servic…Copperhill
What! 🤨 How would the switch destroy the bus? What's the trick?
@thierry_van_kerm for instance, systems that download software updates, could potentially download a software update which deliberately contains errors.
Is this really surprising?
And, btw, don't you think the US (or Russia) don't do the same?
Time for Europeans to grow up, to stand up and get their balls unleashed from whoever hold them tight! 🙂
@thierry_van_kerm which is also a risk even if the supplier is honest. It's how the Russians destroyed a whole load of satellite kit just before Ukraine kicked off. Compromise the vendor downloads and ship firmware that physically burns the flash memory. At that point it's probably a PCB swap to restore for most users. A PCB that won't be stocked in bulk, probably uses components no longer manufactured and cannot trivially be mass manufactured again.
Here's another article about this in German:
derstandard.at/story/300000029…
Chinesische Busse in Oslo könnten von China aus gesteuert werden – sie fahren auch in Amstetten
Die Verkehrsbetriebe der norwegischen Hauptstadt testeten im Sommer neu angekaufte Fahrzeuge. Auch in Dänemark und in Niederösterreich fahren die BusseDER STANDARD
with reference to some comments below, the USA is far worse on this topic. They call it intelectual property rights. Which makes you hand over all the sensor data of the John Deer plough, seeder or harvester to the USA mothership. Which is then sold to hedge funds to hedge against the price of the harvest you as a farmer have invested in and worked hard for. So your farm data is used by biljonairs to increase their wealth at the expense of the farmers doctorow.medium.com/about-thos…
The existence of a kill switch is one thing, but what's more fundamental here in the case of a bus is why on earth it has to be connected to the public internet in the first place?
It just doesn't make sense.
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Peraphs not..
We must ask ourself where this suspious comes from? I've get you a clue in the interview linked below.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
Reminds me of Polish train manufacturer bricking their trains located close to independent repair shops.
So far, the only people suffering for this decision are the people that helped unbrick the trains in question.
hackaday.com/2023/12/14/polish…
This is not a China phenomenon but a greed one. Not to say that Chinese government doesn’t enjoy the results, just that I doubt they had to actively instruct anyone to include these kill switches.
Polish Train Manufacturer Threatens Hackers Who Unbricked Their Trains
A week ago we covered the story of a Polish train manufacturer who was caught using software to brick their products after they had been repaired by in independent railway workshop. Now 404 Media h…Hackaday
@slotos Demanding that publicly bought hardware needs to have free software is a huge part of the solution to this massive problem.
Now I wonder which car built in the last five years is not connected to the internet and can receive commands from it.
Tl;Dr
Chinese electric buses have independent outgoing Comms that are used for navigation and OTA updates.
These updates could be designed to disable the vehicle (or they could do it by accident).
As others have noted, pretty much all electronic devices (from doorbell cams and printers to trains and combat aircraft) from all manufacturers (western and Chinese) have this issue.
Good to check and worthwhile developing processes to firewall, monitor and control this access.
European option:
"The extensive network of IVECO BUS and IVECO service points guarantees support wherever a vehicle is operating worldwide. The manufacturer employs more than 5,000 people and has five factories, located in Annonay and Rorthais in France, in Vysoké Myto in the Czech Republic, and in Brescia and Foggia, in Italy."
ivecobus.com/france/La-Marque
La Marque - En route vers le changement | IVECO BUS |
IVECO BUS, acteur clé du transport public. Découvrez notre entreprise, nos équipes, et comment nous menons le changement.www.ivecobus.com
Sad story, Alstom Aptis was manufacturing good electrical buses in Alsace, France, but due to low demand, they cease activities in 2021.
European Union countries should give priority to EU products so that OUR companies don't close and to prevent sad surprises.
Or if you "own" an F35 and the Orange Leader of Trumpistan decides it won't fly where you want it to go. Or fires it's missiles for you...
@pa27 thats a bunch of bullshit
Here’s what can happen:
You can get cut off from software updates
You can get cut off from American made parts
But guess what - America needs the parts made in evey f35 partner nation to keep their jets flying too
The program forces everyone to play nice
@Slyence that is a good point.
Kill switches are fantastic folks. The question is only about who controls the switch.
-- When the owner of the asset can control the kill, it is a boon for privacy, anti theft, and pro security.
-- When an adversary controls it, it is coercive, malicious, dangerous and predatory.
If google or apple can update software in my phone while I sleep I *have been hacked* 😛
A Norwegian bus company wants to know if their buses could be abused by China in the case of war.
in the mine, investigators discover a Chinese kill switch which could destroy all Chinese buses.
BOLLOX
Thank you for replicating the ridiculous accusations. A sim card and update box was found.
That system is used in thousands of buses, trains, cars, tesla for example can be switched off from usa as can john deer tractors.
Isn't this a well known practice? Isn't Tesla doing the same with OTA sw updates, performance monitoring et.c. of the vehicles they manufacture?
But, I guess, we are all conditioned to see #US #technofascism as more acceptable, for some reason.
Cassandrich reshared this.
I do not consider that acceptable at all. That is why I would never buy a Tesla.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
I think @65dBnoise has a point. I’m pretty sure the same sort of feature is built into nearly every “smart” lightbulb and “smart TV.” The issue is not the nationality of the software developer. It’s the whole notion of being dependent on some cloud service, generally.
If the authors think war is the only reason the company would use that kill switch (or even the most likely reason) try repairing a bus with unapproved parts or trying to make unauthorised modifications to the software running on the bus. Or maybe just try not paying the bill.
@randahl
@shelldozer C’mon. Be realistic. If the Danish rep in the UN condemns the treatment of Uighurs in China, the Chinese bus manufacturer is not going to retaliate by bricking a bunch of buses in Denmark. The diplomatic fallout would be extreme.
The point is well taken that once it’s possible to brick these buses at all, it is possible to do that for a trivial reason. And what they discovered is that it is possible. But that doesn’t make it likely that they would do this for a trivial reason.
Sadly, I can’t figure out how to pass that article through a translator so I haven’t read it. When I hand it to google translate on my phone, Danish still comes out.
@65dBnoise @randahl
@paco just copy the text and paste it into translate.google.com.
Thanks. I know how to do that. I’m just waiting until I am at a desktop. It’s a pain in the ass on a phone. @shelldozer @65dBnoise
The most thought-provoking thing about this article is that it highlights the absolutely wild level of sinophobia in scandinavia.
My wife's Volvo has remote firmware update functionality, is that a Swedish killswitch? Every one of the tens of thousands of Teslas in Denmark has remote update functionality, is that an American killswitch? Modern BMWs have remote update functionality, are those German killswitches?
I personally hate the techbroization of modern cars, and I believe that every one of these features should be regulated out of existence, but
it's amazing how this kind of stuff is accepted and normal in every part of our lives until a company based in China does it, and suddenly it's "😱 THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS KILLSWITCHES IN OUR BUSSES 😱"
🙄
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
@Tak Not wanting remote kill switches in products has nothing to do with sinophobia. I am against ALL remote kill switches from ANY country that my country could potentially go to war with.
After Donald Trump has threatened to invade Greenland, I find it deeply problematic that Danish politicians continue to use American iPhones. That does not make me anti-American. It just makes me conscious of the very real security risks Donald Trump represents.
@Tak!
I think the point is that every device that supports OTA updates has this sort of "remote kill switch". If Apple or Google wanted to disable your phone remotely, they could push out an update that did that. Same with Volvo, Tesla, Rivian, Chrysler, HP, Roomba, Sony... If it can be updated remotely, it can be disabled remotely.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
@Tak the article doesn’t claim to have found a “remote kill switch” but rather posits that OTA updates could be used as such. Which is almost certainly true. But did the Norwegian government want a different arrangement? did they ask for the opportunity to audit OTAs and sign them for distribution to their fleet? Because big municipal buyers could almost certainly work with these companies to get these things. It’s just not a priority for most government purchasers to add complexity and would be an ongoing expense in IT infrastructure
@Tak!
@Tak Apart from the security risks, it started, I think, with greed - greed by companies who say: you may think you own that device, but no, we control it, we tell you how to use it. It's as simple as software as a service so instead of buying Word or Excel once, you have to pay for it every year. And it's how HP can decide to brick your printer if you put in any brand of ink except theirs. How software companies can force you to buy a new phone just to use basic functionality.
@Tak!
"Destroy" here means "make unusable via an OTA software update". Not any better than "destroy", of course.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
In other good news: Now it's known how to disable buses in China.
So remove the radio modules from them. They should never have been there to begin with. Vehicles do not need "OTA updates".
Not the first time “rogue devices, including cellular radios, were discovered in Chinese-made power inverters“ m.economictimes.com/news/inter… @randahl
Chinese 'kill switches' found in equipment at US solar firms trigger national security fears. What are the
Engineers have discovered 'kill switches' embedded in Chinese-manufactured parts on American solar farms, raising fears Beijing could manipulate supplies or 'physically destroy' grids across the US, UK and Europe.ET Online (Economic Times)
I read the article - they did not find an actual kill switch. They found that it could be updated remotely, to install a kill switch - not quite the same thing
others are correct saying that this seems to be common practice, but it's not good and we shouldn't just take it. We, no matter if a country or a person, should OWN what they buy, without the possibility of the seller to change that after the fact!
well, translation does not sound that scary and specific:
> " The Chinese electric bus contains a computer that, among other things, controls the bus's battery and engine, so the bus can most efficiently drive around Oslo. And this computer is – via a small sim card – on the Internet, so it can send information and sometimes retrieve an update back. For yes, a bus can be updated in exactly the same way as your phone."
TL;DR: remote tracking and updates which can be used maliciously
Sorry, unless we suddenly start to take non-elective OTA updates without safeguards such as independently reviewed, reproducible source code builds as the theoretical but very possible general threat that they are, I fail to see how this is special. Even more so because @briankrebs boosted it.
Vendor-forced OTA updates are an accepted practice. Attack the practice, not the practitioner.
@danimo I see your point. OTOH, this doesn't seem like one of those single-cause problems. Both things can be true and needful.
@briankrebs point taken, but the article is baity to the point of being false. They did not find a backdoor, unless all auto-OTA devices are considered backdoored (which is an assumption most of us professionals work under, but not the articles' general public audience). With a headline like this, I would expect an actual remotely triggerable reverse shell tbh.
yeah it's just blatant xenophobia
of course it is, are TP-Link routers that much worse than all the other routers on the market? If the goal is security, setup a standard test for it.
@shironeko @danimo I think the honest answer to your question is the entire industry is a race to the bottom, and comparing the relative security of devices does not offer a very wide range. That said, not all router makers, e.g., ship devices w/ years-old Linux vulnerabilities, or make major updates but use the same revision numbers etc. Or have a history of including undocumented user accounts, etc. Not saying TP-Link is guilty of all that, but the truth is most consumer-grade devices are best wiped and equipped w/ open source firmware. It's a horrible market all around.
@danimo I think you are missing a crucial point: Over-the-air updates is a general practices, yes, but there is a vast difference between getting over-the-air updates from allies, and getting over-the-air updates from a country which supports Russia's invasion of Europe.
@briankrebs
@briankrebs
Honestly, with the Cloud Act and similar laws in place and tech companies obediently submitting to the Trump Administration, I don't really trust any product from the US, and I am saying this with a lot of US tech on my desk. I don't see why I should trust US products any more than I trust Chinese ones.
If it would serve his purpose, Trump would jump in Putins' lap in a heart beat and abadon Kyjiw. Right now, he's just heartbroken about his imaginary best buddy.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
I wonder how long it'll take to uncover something similar with trains built by CRRC.
china china china, tbh probably all modern cars have this.
@shironeko very true. But that is not the point. From a security perspective, it is more likely that NATO could end up in a military conflict with China which could lead to kill switches being engaged, than for example NATO ending up in a war with Germany, and Volkswagen disables all cars in NATO countries.
if you have a backdoor, anyone can use it
@shironeko if that was true, all iPhones would have been bricked by hackers already.
do you really think state backed hackers cannot possibly do it?
@shironeko if it was possible, do you really believe there would not be a single news story about this happening?
To be fair: All Tesla's, and probably many other EV's on the market today have this same functionality.
It's not a "kill switch" directly, it's that the busses support OTA with full admin-rights directly from the manufacturer without user envolvement that could theoretically be used as a kill switch.
Now, if you read further on the "Lion Cage" project, that is scary shit.
ifixit.com/News/112008/polish-…
Polish Train Maker Is Suing the Hackers Who Exposed Its Anti-Repair Tricks
Newag, maker of Polish trains, is suing ethical hackers who exposed its anti-repair software, threatening independent repair and consumer rights.Charlie Sorrel (iFixit)
@klegdixal insane! Thank you for that update.
yup. That SLAPP is indeed insane.
Dunno if this was brought up, this time a Chinese smart vacuum.
cybernews.com/security/enginee…
Version of the story from The Guardian.
Danish authorities in rush to close security loophole in Chinese electric buses theguardian.com/world/2025/nov…
Danish authorities in rush to close security loophole in Chinese electric buses
Investigation launched after discovery that Chinese supplier had remote access to vehicles’ control systemsMiranda Bryant (The Guardian)
@kcarr2015 It is so funny for us Danes to see the politicians panicking now.
For years, Danish security experts warned about this, but most politician arrogantly rejected this as paranoia.
There was a tv-show were a politician from Venstre arrogantly said: "It is okay to fear wars and such, but one cannot fear a computer".
huawei suspected of kill switch in routers
dji drones suspected of kill switch
e-cars suspected of kill switch
vacuums suspected of mapping
WHEN DO NATIONS START DEMANDING OS SOVEREIGNTY?
(not expensive or complicated: it's called open source software and linux)
PS: the expensive and complicated part?
EDUCATING VOTERS TO VOTE FOR IT
wait until they learn who owns their IT systems
They didn’t find a kill switch. What they found was a built-in SIM card - something that's legally required in some countries and present in most modern vehicles - and the ability to perform OTA updates, which is also standard today. And yes, any modern connected vehicle can technically be disabled through a software update if the manufacturer chooses to do so.
That is disturbing. It is not going to help sales
do busses really need to be connected to the internet?
however attractive that seems, the possibility (actuality, in this case) of remote interference makes it too costly.
same for everything else, too. does my fridge need to be? my tv?
This is important - and is true for all internet connected tech.
Something I've thought a lot of lately because of our proximity to the US and reliance on US tech - in spite of the threats of annexation coming from Trump.
Is it likely? No. Is it possible? Most certainly - and the due diligence needs to be done to make sure critical hardware and services are hardened and impervious to such an attack.
After what #israel did with mobile phones i’m surprised they are only looking at buses.
Can they do the same thing with the other bus types they have? I don't see why a Chinese government having the ability to disrupt bus traffic is different from any other foreign government having the ability to disrupt bus traffic.
I just wrote a similar article about Israel banning Chinese cars from the military...
securityboulevard.com/2025/11/…
Why Israel Just Banned 700 Chinese Cars from Its Military—And What It Means for Security - Security Boulevard
In early November, the Israeli Defense Forces made a decision that sent ripples through defense and cybersecurity circles worldwide: withdraw every In early November, the Israeli Defense Forces made a decision that sent ripples through defense and cy…Jack Poller (Security Boulevard)
They should check the 43% of their busses that aren't from China, too
since most tech is made in China... I imagine most devices may also have this!
I bet f-35 has a kill switch. When USA attacks Greenland and you turn the ignition key, only the dashboard warning light comes on.
And this is why I would never, ever own a Chinese vehicle and am migrating away from all electronics made in China.
Ok I read the translated article and it seems that what they found was the computer that controls the battery and inverter had a sim card in to to allow for firmware updates.
In theory the firmware could be updated to kill the bus but I couldn't see any mention of a function in the existing firmware kill the bus.
This "update firmware to kill" vulnerablity is present in any hardware that can be updated.
Sometimes it happens inadvertently when apple/Google brick a load of phones.
And that is why being electronically independent make sense. Unfortunately not is not always possible but these tests are easy to perform by forensics. That being said, include a clause in the contract specifying remote kill switches, investigate the product you are buying and return them if you find something related.
If you are a country this should be mandatory
One wonders if *any* modem vehicle is free of such controls. Multiple systems could each have one controlled by someone else. Who holds the kill switches?
@ScottMGS we clearly need a law, that EU vehicles must offer the option to ONLY update when requested by owners to do so.
@ScottMGS As 'alarmist' as the post sounds, there is reason to worry, of course - remote updates/command can be abused, and it actually does happen. I also recall the inverters used in many solar installations at one point could be accessed and shut down remotely, by the manufacturer. That definitely is a vulnerability. Shutting down all renewable power is an increasing security risk.
tomshardware.com/tech-industry…
tomshardware.com/tech-industry…
Article says that investigators found no spying functions and no kill switch.
They "discovered" auto update function. Described scenario is of course possible (for every device with auto update function), but this is not a kill switch.
But I guess any reason is good for anti-Chineese FUD?
That sounds like madness, but I'm not surprised. After planned obsolescence, this is the logical next step in control.
can we just have normal buses?
@Joey Provolone @Randahl Fink I fear that it's not possible anymore - most if not all car manufacturers are now required to include certain hardware to abide car safety laws, so fully analog vehicles like the ones from the 80's or so have been gradually phased out.
@csolisr
yeah, i mean even look at appliances. its hard to find a non-smart or basic fridge without smart apps or screens built into them.
yeah, i mean even look at appliances. its hard to find a non-smart or basic fridge without smart apps or screens built into them.
railway-technology.com/news/th…
Polish on Polish Train kill switches. Maybe this is more of anabuse of IP issue than a security/defense issue.
Polish on Polish Train kill switches. Maybe this is more of anabuse of IP issue than a security/defense issue.
The story of the great Polish train hack
Polish rolling stock company Newag has alleged its train systems were illegally hacked, making four of its trains unsafe.Patrick Rhys Atack (Railway Technology)
So they are not different from Teslas.
Or from any other device that can get OTA updates, which allows the maker of the device to install any change any time?
saying they "found a kill switch" is a bit alarmist IMO.
They found that over the air firmware updates are supported. Yes the manufacturer could in principle ship broken firmware, but there's no indication they built functionality specifically to disable the buses - unlike, say, European and North American car manufacturers, which build in features specifically designed for dealerships to disable a car if the buyer misses payments, sold *as a feature* to dealerships.
Linked to being able to install updates over the GSM air I believe.
These kill switches are likely embedded in every chip-enabled product.
It's a national security problem. Spyware, control, & sabotage all in one.
But it's also part of a fossil fuel disinformation campaign to undermine renewable energy.
It's for accelerated planned obsolescence in household appliances, phones, computers, routers, vehicles, satellites, home heating, public lighting, electric grids, and solar & wind electricity generation.
reuters.com/sustainability/cli…
1/
2/
However, when the Right were nattering on about Huawei, remember Accusations are Confessions
wired.com/story/intel-earnings…
theguardian.com/technology/202…
cbc.ca/news/business/us-lutnic…
investors.com/news/trump-stock…
m.economictimes.com/news/inter…
Now that Trump owns 10% of Intel, will Intel chips also get kill switches?
Reminder, both China & the USA have a long history of taking hostages, regime change, & expansionist wars
bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-5…
@jpmens hmm. Everyone knows the bus has a SIM card — just like literally every car these days. Over‑the‑air updates are standard (what do they think the SIM is for?). So why on earth would anyone drive into a mine for that? I mean, it’s probably even spelled out in the bus manual
@Winfried Angele 🇺🇦🇪🇺 @JP Mens @Randahl Fink They weren't looking for the SIM card, they were looking for *any* external communications. Every electronic device has the potential to carry a transceiver, whether for good or evil. They were going to a place guaranteed to have no other RF transmissions at all so that they could know that anything they detected came from the bus.
Afterward, having found nothing else, they examined the potential attack vectors exposed by the SIM card.
Elias Probst likes this.
This clicks with my support for the right-to-repair movement here in the US and elsewhere...consumers should be able to repair their purchases, replace batteries, etc. themselves or by a third party, rather than being forced to go back to the dealer or simply discard it and buy a new product.
And related to that....the ability to turn off updates or sever connections should they see fit.
surprisingly not surprised
Everything else aside, Librewolf's translation including the phrase "a so-called spectrum analyzer". ROFL "spectrum analyzer" as if!
Why don't they mention the manufacturer of the specific vehicle tested, by name?
Two articles in English:
- cybernews.com/security/norway-…
- aa.com.tr/en/europe/oslo-tests…
Oslo tests reveal Chinese electric buses can be switched off remotely
Public transport operator Ruter says manufacturer access allows buses to be stopped from China, prompting Norway to review cybersecurity risks in public transport - Anadolu Ajansıwww.aa.com.tr
Doesn't the SIM card have to connect to a specific, paid-for network? So who is paying for the network?
If there's a way to get a working SIM card without paying, I'm very interested.
I suppose the next step is that the Chinese will require the SIM card to be in place to operate. Which means the bus will stop if you drive through a 0-bar location. And the drive won't be able to call for help because her phone will also have no connection.
Time to jailbreak your bus.
probably fake, it seems
Now imagine the thousands of personal electric vehicules, with their camera, on board computer and network connection: how far are they from possibly remote controlled drones ?
@thierrya they are one software update from that.
Is there really any difference between a remote ‘kill switch’ and a Trojan virus?
per the article, there is no more of a kill switch than in any other electronic product that accepts updates over the internet. It is also not “Chinese” except that manufacturer is in China. In fact, the article even starts off with an example of a hypothetical US military ordering Apple to brick all Danish phones, an example which is different in no functional way than the bus scenario.
@DieWespe maybe you should have read the article? They did not find a Kill Switch. They found the ability for OTA updates.
U.S. kill switches, Chinese kill switches, Russian killers (called "soldiers") are much scarier than the complete Cold War that our parents and our generation witnessed. Coupled with the rise of neo-Nazis around the world, this makes me think that the world is preparing for the next big war.🤔
Another Snowden moment. Meaning, another time that "ordinary people" realises something that tech people have known forever but was told "no, you're just being paranoid" 🫣
Und alle träumn weiter und hoffen darauf, dass es so schlimm ja nicht kommen wird ...
This seems like an important story. Unfortunately the Zetland site doesn't allow Google Translate.
so they found out its like any other device with OTA updates. That an update can brick it. I remember reading that VW requires their ID car to be on flat ground for OTA update because of possibilty of bricking.
@bobdvb
It is misleading though.
Not a kill switch a software update mechanism.
That doesn’t get clicks though does it
It is misleading though.
Not a kill switch a software update mechanism.
That doesn’t get clicks though does it
In Sweden they downplay the risks and say they are in discussion of what or what the manufacturer is allowed to do, like if they get in a contract, the Chinese wouldn't allow the ccp to control the busses...
Why isn’t it possible to discover a kill switch in broad daylight?
It could be noticed by the manufacturer when in broad daylight (see the polish train story), which could trigger countermeasures. Blocking all possibilities for connections creates a reproducible environment. Quite standard stuff. You could also use a big enough faraday cage. @randahl
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
@jwildeboer but then you would have to believe that your Faraday cage worked.
When you drive into a mountain, no one questions that your experiment really blocks all communication.
I think that could be the reason for using the mountain.
2025-11-05 16:55:10
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Isn't it funny how the right constantly wrings their hands over how members of any societal group they don't like, be it trans people, gay people, or even just users of recreational drugs, need to lose a bunch of their rights because somehow, they are a danger to children?
And by "funny", I mean "infuriating", because so many of them are themselves the actual threat to children...
thepinknews.com/2025/11/04/you…
Christian youth pastor who shared anti-LGBTQ+ post arrested on child sexual abuse charges
A Christian youth pastor who shared anti-LGBTQ+ posts has been arrested on child sexual abuse charges in California.Amelia Hansford (PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news)
2025-11-05 19:48:44
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I must admit I have never thought of religion like this before (seen on my pixelfed timeline):
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I must admit I have never thought of religion like this before (seen on my pixelfed timeline):
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Blaise • •@Blaise
You are not even close to being an old man 😉