Notices by Kagan MacTane (kagan@wandering.shop)

I just tried to leave the following comment on Mozilla's feedback page regarding their new AI "feature". Sadly, it asked me to log in *after* I hit Submit, despite the previous page saying I only needed to be logged in if I wanted to add an attachment. So now I'm even more unhappy.

Anyway, @mozilla, you don't seem to want to hear feedback on this, but I'm @-ing you anyway.

Comment comprises the rest of this thread... 1/3

#Mozilla #AI #Firefox #AICrap

@mozilla

I do not want this.

I did not ask for this.

AI is setting the planet on fire and polluting humanity's store of knowledge. It's simultaneously destroying the biosphere *and* the infosphere. In the process, it's stealing huge amounts of labor from hard-working artists and writers. 2/3

@mozilla

I've been a user of Firefox since it was first released (at which point I migrated to it from Netscape Navigator - I was *never* an Internet Explorer user). I'd been proud to use it and promote it up until recently. But crap like this has got me looking very seriously at switching to Vivaldi.

Mozilla is on the wrong path, and this AI crap is one example of it. It might not be too late to turn back. I implore you to do so. 3/3

Oh, great. Computer security researchers have developed a proof-of-concept for a type of ransomware that would act when you try to *upload* a file. It would be able to encrypt any files in the folder you uploaded from, and any subfolders of it.

This is a proof-of-concept; the researchers have not seen any such attacks in the wild. But stay careful out there, okay?

Affects Chrome and Edge, but *not* Firefox or Safari!

https://theconversation.com/cybersecurity-researchers-spotlight-a-new-ransomware-threat-be-careful-where-you-upload-files-219560

#security #cybersecurity #malware #ransomware

The news out of Columbia University and UCLA last night is horrific. I can't even think of anything articulate to say, just...

Fuck the police.

Fuck genocide. I stand with those protesting against genocide and senseless killing.

The Columbia administration should be ashamed of themselves for calling in the cops. The right-wing thugs in LA are just plain shit-stains on the ass of humanity.

Free Palestine. Stop Genocide. 🇵🇸 ☮️

#FreePalestine #StopGenocide #ACAB

@aral Yeah, this is what I'd agree with. Particularly the last sentence! I'm rather bummed on @JenniferdeGuzman's behalf that her editor doesn't.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 15: Is it worthwhile buying professional cover art?

Absolutely. I've already heard people are starting to get turned off by computer-generated art, finding it cheap and formulaic. If you want something done right, get a professional.

(Seriously, how would you answer someone asking, "Is it worth it to hire a professional writer?")

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: Regardless of the genre you write in, do you bring in ideas from other genres?

Well, I'm writing an urban fantasy, but I plan to have a romance subplot...

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 16: How do you feel about an ISBN? Is it important to have them?

Do I have the option not to? I haven't even thought about this before. I have to admit, my immediate thought is that it wouldn't feel like "a real book" without one.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 18: Does your work feature on BookTok? How do you feel about the platform?

I am not on TikTok, and have no desire to be. The things I've heard about its algorithm, and who it favors (conventionally pretty people) and disfavors (people with disabilities, overweight people, etc.) turned me off to it even before I heard about how it's a surveillance app.

No. Thank. You.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 17: Do you think about your WIP every waking moment?

No. When I'm working, I'm concentrating on work. When I'm hanging out with my partner or friends, I'm trying to be present with them.

But I'll admit, it does creep in *a lot* if I have any time where there's nothing specifically using my focus!

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 19: How do you decide on character names?

I go by a combination of sound/feel, meaning, and if it's a given name rather than surname, I also look at how common it was in the year the character was born.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 20: Do you have a blog? Tell us about it and share a link.

I used to have one for technical stuff (software development, tech policy, stuff like that). Near the end, it branched out a little into plain old politics and geek stuff, but then I dropped it entirely because nobody read blogs anymore, they just posted long threads on Twitter.

I've been thinking of reviving it, but am not sure how I'll balance the software professional vs. writer vs. "all the other stuff".

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 22: Have you ever used storyboarding? When and how?

Certainly not yet, and I'm unsure how useful storyboarding would be to a novel. If I were writing a screenplay, maybe, but I'm not.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 21: Do you know the ending before you start writing?

I only know a few small things about the ending yet. The amount of stuff I don't know far outweighs the bits that I do.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 23: Who do you publish through or aim to publish with? How's it going?

It's far too early for me to look at stuff like that; right now, I need to concentrate on the manuscript, not what comes after.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 24: How often do you ignore your editor/proofreader?

Haven't gotten to that point yet. We'll see... someday.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 25: How do you feel about writers who write outside their gender/sexuality/race etc?

I think it's *necessary*, unless you have a reason why all your characters can be the same gender/race/etc. as you are. Like, back in the '50s, setting _Twelve Angry Men_ in a jury room meant it made sense for all characters to male, and white, and presumed-straight — but that was gross and wrong (of society), and it's good that modern productions include women and people of color. 1/2

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 26: How do you ensure that you don't infringe copyright in your work?

Mostly by writing it myself? I'm not sure how I'd infringe someone's copyright, except for by having a character quote something.

And that's a bit of a problem, because I do want my characters to reference things, particularly certain songs. I expect I'll have to seek permissions before I try to get published, or else rewrite to carefully avoid the issue while still making the idea clear.

Most settings are too diverse to allow a writer to make everyone match their own demographics.

And isn't this part of why writers are supposed to observe people? To learn about people who aren't like themselves, so that we can be sure to depict them accurately? 2/2

(Note: This post has been edited to add the final clause, starting from the comma.)