Rob

Born and raised in Wisconsin, escaped and living in Minnesota.

If I am not making Mastodon a better place, who is?

#minnesota #minneapolis #fediverse #mastodon #fedi22

Public Key

npub1gv9jgaqc76h857m6qw7hfe2py6xa5dnsz3ypm76834qgu7pjan9qqnh53g

NIP-05 Address

rob@skol-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsyxzeywsv0dtn60daq80t5u4qjdrw6xecpgjqaldrc6syw0qewejs4tzqx8

Author Public Key

npub1gv9jgaqc76h857m6qw7hfe2py6xa5dnsz3ypm76834qgu7pjan9qqnh53g

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Last Notes

2025-04-09 21:23:38

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@nprofile…lwgl
The photos I have seen do not do the terrible condition of the corner justice. Part of it includes a burned out gas station, boarded up, sometimes with barrels burning paper like you used to see in the movies. Violence sometimes breaks out. Some of the businesses - besides the gas station - were forced to close. A beloved neighborhood restaurant closed.
It isn’t good. It doesn’t do justice (in my mind) to George Floyd and it’s bad for the city.

2025-04-09 21:12:01

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@nprofile…lwgl
That is exactly right. I have a brother who lives one state over in Wisconsin. He never went to college, has lifelong drug problems, hasn’t left the area in 30 years.
But because of social media, he believes himself to be a worldly sage. He’s the exact demographic that is repulsed by protests. We can’t speak to each other about many topics because although we live about 200 miles from each other, it might as well be a different planet.

2025-04-09 20:13:37

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@nprofile…lwgl
Question: have you seen pictures of the George Floyd "memorial"?

2025-04-09 19:15:12

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@nprofile…lwgl
I would argue that the most important place to let leaders know we are unhappy is at the ballot box. The US representative method of government is showing its age right now, so I would say that it is part of the problem.
The questions I have for you is: What did the last 5 years teach us all about protests? Did the world change for the better? Did the changes last?
There is definitely a role for protest in a free society. But maybe protest energy should be channeled elsewhere.

2025-04-09 14:02:00

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@nprofile…lwgl
Republicans (I know you are in England, I can only speak to our politics) have been working very diligently for 15 years on a project to systematically win state and local elections. This is hard work. And you know what? The work has paid off.
Protests are not hard work. They last for a day and then people forget. They don't have durability. And the American left has shown hostile intolerance to diverse viewpoints.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP

2025-02-09 19:07:19

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@nprofile…lwgl
I’m sure you have seen this.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/darren-beattie-trump-musk-dei-competent-white-men.html

2025-01-18 19:36:40

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@nprofile…lvhv @nprofile…k8gs
Saw this and thought of you…
https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/113842232251884422

2025-01-17 14:44:35

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@nprofile…lvhv
I stand by my criticism of iPad OS. But the hardware is great. The “old” magic keyboard was pretty good. The display is amazing. And as @nprofile…k8gs has noted, the light stuff - particularly writing emails and notes - is great on the iPad. The always on nature. It’s very stable. Some of the software is great - which is a point you’ve made.
Sorry if I came across as a negative Nelly.

2025-01-17 14:33:24

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@nprofile…lvhv @nprofile…k8gs
The iPad is a weird device that has forced me to think about desktops. I strongly prefer one or two apps on any computer I use - aka split screen - which cone from using my iPad.
My Linux machine runs Pop OS mainly because it has a great window tiler that displays Windows like an iPad.

2025-01-17 14:30:05

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@nprofile…lvhv @nprofile…k8gs
Let me be clear - because I think my answer was very negative - any frustration you see here is aimed at Apple and not at you. I know people have done very cool things with iPads. I believe that you have found it very useful.
And I even “run” Windows (remotely) on mine, which is very odd for most users. I have a love/hate relationship with my iPad.

2025-01-17 01:17:35

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@nprofile…lvhv @nprofile…k8gs
Everyone knows that Apple has purposely crippled certain items on the iPad because they don’t want to lose sales of their other computers and/or they want to force you to buy apps. That is specifically why the browser is so terrible.
And I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen a spreadsheet yet that can even match Google sheets. Numbers is a disaster, especially on the iPad. If you have minimal needs, it’s doable. But the iPad is only 80% of a computer due to its limitations.

2025-01-16 12:38:01

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@nprofile…k8gs
During the pandemic, I had stopped traveling and so I started listening to a lot of podcasts where people bragged about living the “iPad lifestyle”…using an iPad as their primary computing device. I decided to give it a go: big iPad Pro with magic keyboard.
Four years later, I would say that the experiment was a failure. The iPad is a MISERABLE laptop: no file system, the browser experience isn’t great and the programming isn’t great.
But here I am, using it now to type this.

2025-01-15 16:32:55

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@nprofile…lwgl
Yes. Except when I get a fav from David, I feel a small joy. 😎
Question for you: you’re an Android user, no? Do you use the stock Mastodon app?
My preference is Ivory on iOS or sometimes I just use the mobile site. But I find the iOS app to be confusing and bad.

2025-01-15 15:48:11

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@nprofile…lwgl
I thought that the difference between a boost and a like is that a boost is positive towards your followers (and, I suppose, the person you are following) and a like is just a positive to the person you are following or acknowledgement in some way.

2024-12-16 14:45:01

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@nprofile…lwgl
I know you don’t live in America, but I’d say that there are enough people here who believe the same thing you do and that is one of the reasons we lost.
Underestimating a foe is a classic self-defeating tactic.
That…and my governor (who I really like) was a terrible pick for VP.

2024-12-16 14:00:43

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@nprofile…lwgl
Trump ran a much better campaign this time, surrounding himself with some very smart people. It’s very clear here in America that his message resonated with a lot of people. Republicans - under his leadership - captured the house, the senate and the presidency. No matter how much I dislike the person, there is no denying the results.

2024-11-21 17:07:16

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@nprofile…hyrk
Sometimes it’s as important to focus on what isn’t said in these interviews. Getting angry about whether #bluesky is federated or not is not productive at this point. #bluesky users will not remember or care.
But the people who try #mastodon and give up because of some design flaws will care and remember. These users might be lost already.

2024-11-21 17:04:10

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@nprofile…hyrk
In my opinion, #mastodon has many advantages over #bluesky. True federation is the big one.
But the average user doesn’t care.
The average user wants the following:
* Make it easy to follow accounts
* Decent search
* The app should not be confusing
* The mobile experience should be the same as the desktop experience
I haven’t used #bluesky, but #mastodon does not offer these features and likely lags in all of them.

2024-11-21 16:41:01

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@nprofile…hyrk
Here is a post by @nprofile…nvxe that explains how #bluesky is not decentralized.
TLDR: all traffic is routed through relays. All relays are operated by #bluesky.
There is a diagram included in the post. Yes, you can operate a personal data store at great expense. It's all laid out in the blog post.
https://jan.wildeboer.net/2024/11/My-Digital-Life-After-Twitter/

2024-11-21 15:26:22

I don't want to take anything away from Jay Graber. She is an effective leader that has steered her company to massive growth,
But I feel like she needs to work on her elevator pitch for what it means for a system to be "decentralized". Note: no one says the word "federated" in this interview.
Of course, it would be nice if #bluesky was *actually* decentralized. Maybe that is why she struggles with the question?
https://youtu.be/Xa-EvA95Eqw?si=lscEM-YWb6XCFa_6
#fediverse #federation

2024-11-19 00:28:36

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@nprofile…9rp6
I gave $50 to Mastodon. Now is the time to build. Please boost and donate to Mastodon so the software can get better.
Every little bit helps.
https://givebutter.com/nAk74p

2024-11-19 00:15:50

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@nprofile…9rp6
Boosted. But I find the Bluesky jealousy to be weird and non-productive.
Mastodon software is not where it needs to be.
Following people sucks for new users.
It's weird that following hashtags is better than following people...and then hashtags are hidden in the UI.
I hate that I can't see my all my lists on one page.
Why isn't the mobile app as good as the mobile web page?
It's time to reflect and rebuild.
#fediverse #federation

2024-11-18 19:36:35

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@nprofile…lwgl
I have older kids and I think there’s some truth to this fear. In many ways, I succeeded as a parent. I’ve got 2 in college and one graduated.
But in other ways, I failed. I didn’t give them enough skepticism to escape misinformation and snake oil sales.
And the fear, which is part reality, is that these things can happen without your knowledge. In the olden days you could keep tabs on who your kids hung out with. Now the “bad kids” are everywhere all at once.

2024-11-18 12:52:47

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@nprofile…8vqk @nprofile…5jjk @nprofile…yd4f
I’m sorry but this is a weird comment. CSV might help you and all of us on this thread.
But what about the person who comes to social media to check basketball scores and see check to see if they actually felt an earthquake? This person doesn’t know or care about CSV. A list of CSV’s isn’t going to help that person.
Mastodon doesn’t offer a good experience to most people.

2024-11-14 15:54:42

No joke. The Onion now owns Alex Jones' Infowars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/business/media/alex-jones-infowars-the-onion.html
#assclown #nytimes #theonion

2024-11-14 04:17:03

I’m a Mastodon booster. The question is: why is Bluesky crushing Mastodon?
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/13/24295484/bluesky-15-million-users-social-media-x-musk

2024-10-30 18:57:43

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@npub1afz…wdvg
That is more than 3 times my listening. That is so crazy. You must be listening for most of your waking hours.
Shoutout to #pocketcasts which is the best podcast player.
https://cdn.masto.host/skolsocial/media_attachments/files/113/397/901/461/279/407/original/58a56cee4db31dd0.png

2024-09-24 04:07:24

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@npub1hvd…9sq9 I hope you're right, but today was a no-good, very bad day for Harris fans. The polls are neither moving in the right direction, nor are some of them reliable.
I'm nervous.

2024-07-17 02:26:00

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@npub1afz…wdvg
https://www.econtalk.org/virginia-postrel-on-textiles-and-the-fabric-of-civilization/
This history of textiles podcast blew my mind.

2024-06-28 01:34:41

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@npub1wf7…9q4x Biden looks feeble and Trump goes off on these rambling, lying tangents.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of these diminished people will be the next president.

2024-05-07 14:28:38

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@npub1yyx…qa5g
I’m very curious on what you saw that made the new iPad more appealing than the last ones.

2024-05-07 14:17:00

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@npub1yyx…qa5g
The music is so bad though.

2024-03-22 23:42:26

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@npub1tuz…y7d3 @npub12dr…p8rf Meta straight up has more beautiful software. (And this is being sent from Ivory on iOS.) Is it more functional? Better?
I thought you said you didn’t want Meta to have your data. That’s the cost that I was referring to.
It’s odd to me that you keep debating this point. I feel like you’re still thinking about it.
Else, go on. Nothing is stopping you. How to see you when Threads federates.

2024-03-22 17:11:07

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@npub1tuz…y7d3 @npub12dr…p8rf Mastohost starts at $6/month. That is the cost of social media privacy now. If you own any URLs, then there aren't any additional costs to you.
I set up my Mastohost in about 30 minutes. It took me longer to choose the URL than to get my first account created.
Bluesky....just isn't there yet. As far as I am concerned, Bluesky is "classic" Twitter until they get some vendors hosting instances.

2024-03-22 12:33:10

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@npub1tuz…y7d3 @npub12dr…p8rf please let me be clear: I respect your decision and your logic, but disagree with it.

2024-03-22 04:00:09

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@npub1tuz…y7d3 @npub1dvn…gnxg Curious: what is motivating you to move from Mastodon to Threads? Wouldn’t Federation demotivate you now that you could talk from Mastodon to Threads but without all the crappy garbage that comes from Meta?
I could see the reverse, “I want to talk to people on Threads, so that’s where I need to be because I can’t see them here.” THAT makes sense.
But you’re saying, “Now that Threads can talk to Mastodon, I’m outta here.” Odd.