Almost makes me think that we have a fighting chance to make tags on Lemmy work. Part of me would want to see tags get some unique formatting like post flairs, but even just inline tags would be a leg-up.

Or maybe both in-line and post tags. Neat stuff to daydream 🤔.

I love Tech Connections. Unnecessarily long deep dives, but that’s the kind of content I absolutely appreciate. His stuff is a treat that helps to highlight the rabbit holes that can be found in the mundane.

I don’t know about a rifle, but there was at least one video of his recently where he draws a pistol to help drive a point home. Maybe it’s only because I’m from California, but even as an American that bit was jarring. I said it elsewhere in a comment for this post, but in sum I know to give his work a skeptical lens before I decide to take it in.

Ironically his videos ultimately helped me to become less paranoid about government and corporate data collection. His work help shows that no countermeasures taken will be absolutely bulletproof in protecting from data collection, and that the kind of work and changes needed to get somewhere closer to absolute feels like a mountain. Personally I have my respect for people with the resolve to see that through, but for the kind of experiences and tech I want in my life, there’s no way I could get close to that kind of dedication to privacy.

I really miss that brief moment around the start when it seemed thought of as an alternate currency with its own benefits and drawbacks rather than an outright investment. I’d like to think that with crypto gradually exiting the light as popular grifting vehicle of the time, we’ll gradually return to that more grounded outlook of it.

Hopefully at least, but admittedly I’m not holding my breath 🫠.

There was another comment somewhere in this thread that did a pretty good job at summarizing where I think it comes from. From what I can tell of the videos I hunt and peck from him, his general outlook can be summed up to be libertarian in the traditional sense of the term. On one end of that, he consistently criticizes the reach and practices of US intelligence agencies, which is something I’d think a lot of the country’s politically left would agree with. On the other end, he’s a passionate advocate for firearms, something more in line with the country’s right leaning libertarians. The consistent trend seems to be a view that government ought to have less authority. I don’t think that’s inherently a politically right or left attitude, but in the US at least, I think that it’s more embraced by the country’s right rather than the left, so that’s the kind of audience that builds up a sizable chunk of his own.

There’s also the aesthetic. I think it’s reasonable to say that his demeanor styling appeals to that kind of bend, so that’s another pull for people who get into that kind of culture. I wouldn’t have any examples that come to mind, so take it as hearsay, but I’d wager it would be in theme of him to throw in the likes of a 4chan derived slur if it were relevant to the content. Which is a shame, because I like the kind of internet grit that comes with the vibe, I hate the discrimination it tends to attract and even have baked in it if you’re not careful.

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It’s all to say I can see him leaning libertarian. Not necessarily in the politically right sense, but in the general “let people govern themselves” sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t mean to have an intolerant fan base, but his political stances end up letting him have that intolerant fan base. Goes back to that paradox of tolerance, I suppose. I keep my distance from his comments.

Still, the man and the content itself seems textbook and divisive, at least around here. I’ll keep future material of his to myself and continue having him in the kinda arms-length distance I have. He has occasional takes that strike me as informative and balanced, but he also has occasional takes that I plainly don’t care for. Seems like a creator to look at critically and not to take their word as gospel, which come to mention it, is likely a kinda perspective to have of creators by default.

It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, at least. It definitely fits the naming convention I’m used to.

If so, yeah—that scratches a kind of itch real nice. I used to be really into RCT3. RCT2 was my introduction to tycoons and sim kinda games when I was in like kindergarten, and it probably played a big part in my video game tastes since. I’ve shifted over to Parkitect these days: it’s got a nice balance between the logistics/business end, building up a theme park, and the detailing. I try to get into Planet Coaster every once in a while, but I end up feeling like it gets tantalizingly close with letting me do stuff I want, but something would somehow feel lacking. Planet Coaster’s path building mechanic comes to mind.

Sometimes I’ll still boot up RCT3. Its mechanics aren’t quite as robust as modern games in the genre, but the rides and attractions set and the aesthetic somehow manages to feel evergreen to me.

When I first starting shifting away from Reddit, I was nervous about whether I’d like having smaller communities. I’m definitely adapting more to it myself.

I remember coming to a similar realization with Discord servers. I started out with joining servers between friends and I figured that maybe I was missing out by not getting into some larger ones. I actively tried getting into a couple of servers that weren’t even all that big compared to some numbers I’ve heard before—the servers I’d try to get into were like, 3,000+ users typically?

The conversations always felt way too fast for me to get a word in, and it never felt like I had many chances to start conversations unless it was like 2am and most of the serve was asleep. Voice chat feels like I can’t even get my foot in the door. Server rules and policies paradoxically felt convoluted as well as nebulous. I make a solid attempt at integrating into the culture wherever I go, but I could never seem to do those servers right. I still stick around some of those servers now, but only because they play meaningful roles in communities I’m in.

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It feels radical to say, because I’m so used to equating Big Numbers and Lots of Content to being a healthy community, but maybe there really isn’t too much wrong with a smaller or slower community? That’s not to knock anyone who’d prefer the contrary, but I’m starting to realize that me personally, it’s those smaller places that I really enjoy, and that maybe I don’t give them enough credit. It takes more time for fresh content and talk to come in, but when it does, it feels meaningful and like I actually have a chance to be that someone who starts it in the first place. The moderation and culture feels much more in touch with the community there.

I hope Beehaw succeeds in whatever the community and its leadership wants it to be, but I hope that it holds on to its integrity and the philosophy it’s communicated so far, even if that means it leans toward a smaller feel. I think I kinda like that feel to it.

Differences in an instance’s culture and moderation is one reason I’m not too worried about fragmentation. If anything, I think it’ll be for the better. Even if there’s a lot of overlap in purpose between communities from different instances, the administration, moderation, and lay users of the communities will lend differences to how things feel. Sometimes it’s going to be obvious, sometimes it’s going to be subtle. Either way, I’m in favor of having more options. I think it increases the odds of finding a place that feels just right.

I agree that something similar will happen over time. I think there’ll inevitably be overlap between instances and their communities, and that overlap will stymy discussions to a degree. But I also think that instances and their communities will gradually begin to develop their niches and have different strokes for different folks. Beehaw may be more attractive to having a friendlier or more cultivated group and discussion, another instance could lean toward corralling the banter and memes, and another still could be the best fit for media.

I think the most powerful thing about platforms like Lemmy, even if instances aren’t in federation and even if multiple accounts end up needing to be juggled, is that Lemmy makes creating communities and instances like Reddit so much more accessible. Reddit is no longe the only place to get an experience with a format like Reddit, and I think that’s a big win.