Off Topic Thread 5.0

Podge_irl

I don't think misinformation has anything to do with anonymity and I'm not really sure how you would come to the idea that it is. People very, very publicly spread misinformation - a lot of the time it is indeed a means to notoriety.

I agree with the concept that the internet has created echo chambers and I do agree that this is damaging. But I just don't see where identifying everyone solves that and I do see the problems it would cause.

The other benefit of being able to identify people is being able to permanently ban people. It shouldn’t be about regular users knowing who each other user is, but about the platforms knowing.

There is absolutely no way I am trusting Boards/Reddit/Wherever to verify and store that information and I highly doubt they would want the burden of doing so.

Michael Zozimus Moran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595593#Comment_118595593

I agree there has to be accountability on the user side and by site owners. But accountability and people using ID to register would cause a raft of court cases for banned users who could argue they are being defamed by the site whose banning could damage the reputation of the user who is named.

The alternative is to manage an anonymous name system but be allowed to track their IP Address if a claim arises. This rendering anonymity obsolete. I’m not sure if that’s possible it most likely is already used by most governments. They use it most likely for detecting terrorism and not personal claims.

A lot of the damage on the internet has been done for a generation at least. Hatred, bullying, rumours, collapsed economies, war. Something has to change but accountability will only empower the wealthy who can afford to take legal cases. And it will radicalise those who don’t have a voice and are sidelined. How can you arbiter for the voiceless who don’t know website owners and mods?

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595797#Comment_118595797

Regulation. Plenty of other industries operate under strict regulation that requires that sort of identification of customers and more. Social media has become so intertwined with every day life in every single developed and developing country in the world that it needs to be regulated to the level many other industries already are. It’s too ingrained and too influential for it not to be.

"I don't think misinformation has anything to do with anonymity"

I rarely use facebook, but someone I know who owns a company that is very public facing came out with some awful stupid stuff about covid, flagrantly dismissed the rules and spread anti vaxx conspiracy nonsense, easily disprovable stuff. He was practically sneering at people for following guidelines, went totally off the deep end and get embroiled in heated rows with people that he would historically have been friendly with.

He's basically torpedoed his reputation and lost a huge number of his customers. He was resorting to posting fox news links and I think breitbart at one point.

He went completely quite about it some time ago and as I understand it someone basically took him aside and had a pretty serious word with him. I'm not sure if he fully realised that whatever echo chambers he was getting his news from weren't shared by his customers, but he's subsequently learned that people buy from people they like and a lot of people didn't particularly care for him anymore.

Anonymity allows people to not just be dicks on line, but repeat nonsense they've consumed and in the current climate go unchallenged on a personal level. That's why I have an issue with it.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118596320#Comment_118596320

But your example is literally someone who is incredibly not anonymous spreading the info. Fox and Breitbart aren't anonymous either.

Removing people's anonymity online is a big step and would need, as far as I am concerned, very compelling reasons. Someone who is very public facing spouting nonsense doesn't really seem to justify it. Again, I just don't see what problem you think it is solving - Tucker Carlson will still exist, anti-vax people will still exist, Joe Rogan will still exist, Andrew Wakefield will still exist. In contract, whistleblowers will find it harder, insiders who provide a viewpoint on their workplace like Secret Barrister will be gone, forums such as this will be absolutely hammered due to the oversight required. I say all this as someone who doesn't even care if people know who I am

dregin

If the government implemented an SSO service using PPS numbers, we'd be sorted. Platforms like boards need know nothing more than a unique id to attach to a user and further details are available should the gardai be called in. Grand.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118596477#Comment_118596477

Assuming people have a PPS number...

While Boards users are predominantly Irish who would have one, its certainly not all of them.

hold my beer

You're given a PPS number at birth here these days. It's easy to sort those that don't have one (a very very small group I'd wager) with one.

RichieRich_89

Personally, I think calls for censorship are selfish. Removing certain views stops everyone from hearing them, not just you, the person who doesn't like seeing those opinions.

And anyway, talk of concerns about "misinformation" and "hateful content" is a red heron. The real motivation for power centres who want to be able to censor is to be in a position to be able to stifle dissent.

OldRio

Freedom of speech comes with responsibility. Many use this freedom without responsibility. They spread lies and misinformation. When confronted they hide behind the cry of 'Censorship'

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118596729#Comment_118596729

I mean, its everyone on this site not born in Ireland for one.

hold my beer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118596833#Comment_118596833

Ah right yeah. Do you reckon that's a lot of people? Either way, any sort of move to link internet identity to real identity would have to be a global effort I'd say.

pickarooney

Aren't the servers for this place hosted in Canada now? That would scuttle everything from the off.

Neil3030

This clip just refuses to stop being relevant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPNZTtoQBmA

hold my beer

The Beatles doc Get Back is one of the best things I've ever seen. I've watched it twice now in the last week, and have fallen down a massive Beatles hole. What a band.

Clegg

Anyone watched the Boba Fett series? The show was essentially more about Mando (Din Djarin) than the title character. Disney's Star Wars shows started strongly, but they're already going the way of their Marvel IP. They're afraid of original ideas and going in a new direction. Everything has to be familiar and palatable to the broadest possible reach. We didn't need to see Djarin in this at all. He has his own show.

For a while I enjoyed the callbacks and reintroduction of characters. It was good to see the continuation of their stories. The return if Ahsoka remains a high point of any Star Wars programming.

I recently found out that Coruscant has a population of 4 trillion people. That's one planet in the entire galaxy. 4 thousand billion people. Yet 9 main line films and copious spin offs have revolved around 1 Jedi, his offspring and small group of friends. The world is vast yet the scope of the story is incredibly narrow. The franchise desperately needs new ideas

Podge_irl

I recently found out that Coruscant has a population of 4 trillion people

Tbh, I just find this another example of how **** they are at world building in Star Wars. Its just a completely silly number.

Though admittedly, I'm a sci-fi fan who just never "got" Star Wars. There are more terrible movies than good and its all a bit childish story-telling.

Clegg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610283#Comment_118610283

I agree that it's silly, but when you've set the number so high it means you have a potentially countless number of stories to tell on Coruscant. Yet they don't. It's all about the Skywalker's and those adjacent to them.

The first season of the Mandalorian was a departure from that, but the second season contracted the world yet again and brought it back into the sphere of Skywalkers wider story. Star Wars is definitely a story with greater appeal to kids. But when it's by far the most popular Sci Fi franchise in a genre that's starved for quality television, I would like to see it do more.

But I suppose the expansion of the story away from the Skywalkers was killed off after the fans took a collective hissy fit after The Last Jedi. It's the best movie since the original trilogy, but not what was wanted apparently.

hold my beer

If ye haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend The Expanse on Prime. Quality sci fi

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610227#Comment_118610227

The first half of BOBF wasn’t bad and did look to tell a new-ish story. But bringing DD back into it and effectively having 2 entire episodes dedicated entirely to him was a big issue. It killed the momentum in the main story entirely and left the last episode feeling a bit flat.

I do think that Favreau and Filoni have done a great job of world building. They’ve created a recognisable Star Wars (in ways that the awful sequels couldn’t) while also building on it somewhat. It looks like there will be more of that from upcoming tv shows too. They aren’t leaning too heavily on the original source material. If anything they are just continuing on with a lot of the extra characters and story arcs of the animated stuff (that admittedly I saw little of) and moving that away from the core story and characters more.

Clegg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611551#Comment_118611551

I think the first two seasons of Mando are excellent and certainly better live action products than all the prequel and sequel movies bar The Last Jedi. They're simple stories told well, unlike the mess of the film series.

You're also right that they're following on from the animated series and characters established in that. That's what I don't really want though. A lot of those characters are Skywalker adjacent and I would really like a clean break from all of that. The animated series was incredible and told the story of Ahsoka from beginning to her exile. The story was finished and ended very neatly. I would just like something completely new.

It's the same with the upcoming slate of Star Wars shows. They all show a lack of risk taking. I've no doubt the Obi Wan series will be well made and entertaining. But it'll tell nothing we already didn't know. It's the same with the Rogue One spin off, the droid show etc. Everything is based off the movies and the Force and the Jedi/Sith conflict. I'd just like something completely removed from all of that. The Star Wars canon is just to unwieldy. Mando was a decent effort, but even that started to get embroiled in the old Force bullshit.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611264#Comment_118611264

God I love that show. Can't believe its gone 😭

Podge_irl

I agree that it's silly, but when you've set the number so high it means you have a potentially countless number of stories to tell on Coruscant. Yet they don't. It's all about the Skywalker's and those adjacent to them.

Because I'm not convinced anyone involved in Star Wars has ever put more thought into anything than "that sounds cool, let's go with that" with giving a **** about the greater picture.

I actually thought the newest movies were taking a slightly more interesting take on things until they just went full circle and made it all about the same family all over again. Mind-numbingly boring.

Clegg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611264#Comment_118611264

Watched it all! It was a brilliant show and of a far higher quality than most other genre shows. Wish we got more sci fi like it.

Dave_The_Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612372#Comment_118612372

If you're interested, the last book in the series was only published last year (Nov 21) and the last three books aren't covered by the series if you want to get more from the same universe.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118612372#Comment_118612372

They really left the door wide open for a continuation all the same. Heard some talk of a further season being done but animated.

Have watched all the Disney / Marvel shows with the kids as they're suitable for both of them. We all liked the Mandalorian, Loki and Hawkeye. Wandavision didn't appeal to them, Falcon and the Winter Soldier was only ok and they didn't particularly take to What If.

As for Boba Fett, they loved clone wars so they're enjoying the call backs but I'm struggling with it. I'm not sure if there is some issue with the actor playing Boba Fett but half way through the season it basically turned into a season of the Mandalorian.

The prequals and all the Abrams movies are dire. Shouldn't have been made and do nothing but detract from the original trilogy. The TV shows are far superior mainly by keeping the scale more intimate to the protagonists.

bilston

I liked most of the Force Awakens, but the starkiller was just ridiculous and don't get me started on the Sith Fleet in the Rise of Skywalker, plus the fact they brought the Emperor back from the dead. Snoke could have been an interesting character, but he went nowhere. One of the things I liked about the Last Jedi was the idea that Rey had no particular lineage, but then JJ Abrams changed that.

I loved Rogue One and unlike many I actually enjoyed Solo.

As for the TV series, the Mandalorian was very good and I'm only 3 episodes into Bobba Fett, it's OK, it will keep me going until Obi Wan is released. You can never get enough Vader and I think the gap between 3 and 4 has loads of potential.

I

Teferi

Anyone watching the Louis Theroux doc on BBC? He's interviewing a bunch of alt right Trumpers and, to a man, they act like billy big balls until he challenges them and then they turn into pussies. Less virgins at Comicon.

Bazzo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626733#Comment_118626733

I watched it. It was fairly car crash TV, cringe inducing but hard to take the eyes off it. It really does show them up for the sad, pathetic people they are though. Most of them are desperately in need of some psychiatric help.

Michael Zozimus Moran

Any British intellectual can come on and use reason to undermine and humiliate people. They do it all around the world. America is about a feeling. It’s a fiery place - Britain is a place of intellectuals and sinful underclass. Louis should go do a few to shows on his own mentally sick country. But no he loves America and making himself master of it by force of humiliation.