Notices by Eric the Cerise (nattiegoogie@mstdn.io)

@aral

PS: For those destined to repeat history, that's an actual quote from the man about the users of his software, from way back in the day, and to date, I've seen no indication his view has mellowed.

The only way They actually delete your data is if the entire project is deemed useless and the whole db and codebase gets chucked ... and even then, there's still backups sitting somewhere ... for just-in-case.

So, seriously, just don't give us your data in the first place.

3/3

Instead, we add a flag to each line of "deleted" data that means, "this record is marked as 'deleted' and should no longer be used in standard searches/queries.

It goes against our instincts and nature to actually delete the data ...we know it's gonna come back to bite us in the ass, so we always save that "deleted" record for just-in-case.

And don't even get me started on database backups.

2/

So ... I've been in IT for 20+ years, most of that time working directly in databases.

That whole thing about Twitter, FB, Reddit, Google, whoever ... "deleting" your data after you jump thru the right hoops.

That's all bullshit.

I mean, even apart from the whole "market, monetize, sell and spy on our userbase" thing.

DBAs, people who actually work with databases, we almost never *actually* delete stuff in a database.

1/

@lienrag

That might be what I had in mind. Why can't we just convert the FAANG corps into those?

I realize that's not an easy task, but Big Picture, wouldn't that be easier than putting them out of business and starting over from scratch?

Or is that equally infeasible?

@aral

Watching @aral et al rage against the machines, this has been on my mind for awhile.

Bear with me.

Corporations are not evil.

They are constructs; artificial life forms defined and designed by us, just trying to survive in an artificial ecosystem we created for them.

When we see "evil" corps rise to the top, and "good" corps go bankrupt...that is just an indication that we have designed them poorly.

A bad algorithm.

We do not need to "fight evil corps".

We need to redefine what a corp is.

@aral

Me, clicking on the button in the screenshot, wondering why it won't work.

You know how video games always ask you "are you sure you want to quit playing" when you try to shut them off?

How come they never ask if you're sure you want to start playing?

Hi @gwil

First I've heard of your Earthstar project.

Intrigued. Looking into it.

Have you already met @aral ...? I feel like you two should compare notes.

Hey @aral

You have a typo in your ... oh, wait ... no you don't.

@GossiTheDog

@aral

Damn. We *just* discovered a very similar recipe here.

1. Put yesterday's leftovers on the stove to warm up, set the stove at 9 and think you set it at 3.
2. Go to the bathroom.

Serve hot.