Amen to that. I’m not a busy CEO of four companies, I don’t need or want an assistant, digital or otherwise. I want to read through articles and watch videos, I can scroll/fast-forward through myself if I feel like it. And while we’re at it, I don’t really need or want personalized anything - just give me ALL the search results and I’ll sort through them myself. Luddite? Maybe, but I literally cannot think of a case where this would be useful or helpful to me…
They used to have invite threads on Reddit - that’s how I got mine when the API changes were announced. I think it was in Reddit alternatives subreddit? Not sure, haven’t been back since. If there’s still a thread (and if the subreddit even exists still), asking there might work.
I don’t know (or, frankly, care much) about the “why”, and I like Lemmy the way it is, but if your looking for deeper discussion and longer posts I do recommend Tildes, if you can get an invite: https://tildes.net/ It’s not open to the public, so the post volume is quite low, but most responses are well thought out, longer and often thought-provoking. I don’t post much there, but enjoy reading it a lot.
Server doesn’t really matter much (to me), but I’m on toot.community because I’m mentally a child and like the funny name :)
App-wise, I really enjoy Moshidon, been using the nightly version for a while now: https://github.com/LucasGGamerM/moshidon
To be honest, they probably are. My pet theory is that they’re trying to do what do many politicians are doing - drive away everyone but the strongest base electorate that will stay with them no matter what they do. And then, the grift starts. I’m reasonably sure sooner rather than later they’ll start charging a subscription fee to use Windows, and people and companies will bend over and pay it…
I solved this issue by following multiple tags that interest me. People tend to tag their posts on Mastodon it seems, so discovering posts about, say, wine and cacti is as easy as following #wine #cactus #cacti #redwine #oragewine and so on and so forth - it’s working pretty good for me without an algorithm recommending stuff to me, maybe it’s worth a try?
BMW, soon: “Warning - you are almost out of your free braking credits for this month! Purchase additional BMW Premium Gems that can be exchanget for braking credits at the rate of 13.7 to 1 and into acceleration credits at the rate of 12.864 to 1 now, or activate the Braking Unlimited subscription to receive unlimited braking credits and a chance to win 4 free hours of air conditioning!”
I still play it, even though the console version was basically abandoned ages ago and we didn’t even get the offline mode and seasonal journey PC players got. It’s still really fun regardless and is recommend it to anyone who likes that style of game.
I have an idea Elon - how about we bomb your house with you in it? I’m sure after a while some other people will build another house there and move in, so it’s all good, right?
I can see why spez is upset about scrappers and search engines - image a company profiting from people creating lots of data, just hoarding it and using it for free, and not paying those people a cent, preposterous, right? :)
The good’ole strategy of “if we cut enough corners we’ll become a circle and circles are perfect”…
No, thanks. Here’s an idea Google - how about you keep your greedy paws off the apps I install from different sources, since I have good reasons for doing so?
You guys! I did it! Like, with an actual woman! And, wait for it, no condom! You guys, I wennt in raw! And I totally came inside! Is your mind blown yet?
So just like all those “unlimited” phone plans with limits, “free” trials that require a credit card number and “lifetime” warranties that expire after a few years? Cool. Cool cool cool…
Greedy little pigboy was happy to GET it for free though…
Right, can’t have records of illegal raids, theft or murder uploaded somewhere before they can destroy/confiscate them…
Thing is, I want really a fan of boybands back then, so I have no idea why it hit me so hard now - I didn’t hate them, but I preferred other things. This song though, welp, hook, line and sinker. I even love the silly wink-wink-nodge-nudge lines like “boys are in sync” - I’m literally listening to the song as I write this, but the way :D
I made a live wallpaper using an Android app called Magic Fluids (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magicfluids) that is fully black, but creates a flame effect every time I tap the screen or slide my finger across it. Yeah, edgy and tacky AF, but it really is a pretty cool effect and I’ve been using it for years, so whatever.