How does this end? He’s already a felon and already has incredible power over the government

He’s made it clear there will be no more elections

I guess the primaries will make his life hard, but what does it take to remove him from power at this point? Does he even need voters anymore?

Never thought I would be finding common ground on a controversial topic with a guy named petrol_sniff_king but here we are

That’s just about how I feel.

Although I do wish we could take action on obviously terrible media without fearing slippery slopes to mandatory chastity cages.

I have to assume there are many non-zealot feminists who exist and are happy to see this gone. But all I see online is grumbling- it’s disturbing

I mean isn’t this the gaming concept of scrub mentality? If I believe a specific moral act outweighs a minor dishonourable act, then shouldn’t I still do that act?

Say I know someone is being beaten in a locked room. It is an important government room, and only key holders elected by the community should enter.

I think it’s justifiable to kick down the door and stop the beating, because beating people up is against my morals so much more than ensuring proper procedure.

But when if someone does that, and everyone endlessly gripes about how “passerbys should not have authority to enter the special room” instead of “well at least I’m glad someone isn’t being beaten up anymore”, then I have to wonder if most people are fine with beatings?

Terrible analogy, non-equivalent etc, but do you see what I’m saying. Because I agree with you that card companies shouldn’t set the terms of what’s acceptable - I mentioned it in my first post.

Using the card company to stop the distribution of tape material is a cheap tactic, but if preventing harm is winning, then saying it’s never justified is scrub mentality, as if beating someone by spamming hadoken doesn’t count.

Patch the game later if it’s so unfair, this is the only way to get it removed right now. The deck is stacked against activists - usually the only effective options they have are disruptive and outside the system.

Okay, devils advocate time.

What is the correct way to ban rape and anime CSAM games from Steam?

Because I don’t buy “freedom” and “none of my business” as reasonable moral positions.

I think it’s justified to want to prevent people from normalizing extreme content publicly.

I think one of the greatest moral failings of modern society is the obsession with allowing companies, rich folk, and the deranged to build systems and communities of harm because society should always be neutral for some reason.

I do agree that payment systems shouldn’t be the ultimate arbiters of what’s permissible, and general sexual content is a normal part of what it means to be human. But we should have limits.

This conversation is completely dominated by people focusing on the “censorship.” As if we don’t justifiably ban snuff or actual films of these sorts of activities.

Please think of the children? Yes, and think of the women these sorts of norms harm. Sometimes you really should care.

This conversation is always completely without nuance, as if all censorship is objectively wrong. Sex games should be legal, unless they are absurdly harmful. And yes, I realize that line is sometimes hard to draw, but we absolutely should find it.

Failing to have a reasonable way to remove something you find genuinely immoral, and defaulting to this “trick” I think is a respectable action for someone who is trying to be ethical to take, even if I don’t completely agree with all her views.

Man kids should not be able to enter strip clubs, that’s insane to me.

This is the most convincing argument for me, as I know many governments have not been putting their citizen’s interests first.

Despite the risks, I know these sorts of anonymous confirmation systems already exist, and can be implemented effectively with transparency.

Most VPN services tout “zero logs”, and many back it up with audits. We can demand the same from our government.

I’m sure drivers licenses and social security numbers made people uncomfortable too when they were rolled out, but they certainly improved our lives.

A slippery slope is a logical fallacy - we can impose just enough oversight to be helpful AND curtail overreach. We can build and verify a good system.

Also, thank you for being kind.

I think at this point it’s clear to everyone that content moderation done by humans is not viable at scale. In this sense the web is unique, and would require a more dragnet solution, like ID verification. This is done in China already to much success to limit game time for youths.

A child would be turned away at a strip club, so perhaps this is a better analogy than a bar.

Still, if a parent wanted their children to browse an unfiltered Reddit they could provide their ID, and in this way we have a similar analogy.

This is just a lack of imagination on your part.

You could theoretically come up with a system that is both decentralized and able verify age using dedicated protocols/API to respective governments. Just like how most Lemmy sites scan for and report CSAM.

Sure, we all have anecdotes of finding porn on the internet before it was reasonable. And everyone can eventually find ways around barriers. I also remember someone young googling terms and not realizing there was a setting blocking content. They had given up.

Barriers can meaningfully delay, giving young people more time to mature before they are exposed to this content. If every social media platform implemented this, it would have a significant impact. That’s why the porn industry lobbies so hard against these sorts of laws.

I think many underestimate how damaging porn use actually is, how toxic the industry is, and how much of the traffic is generated by the underaged.

We can change anything, and if it makes society a better place then we actually have a moral obligation to try.

I’m also not asking for perfectly monitored total surveillance. Just some barriers for surface level use.

A kid can camp outside a liquor store, offering strangers money to buy them alcohol. But this is difficult, and has a chance of having them turned in.

In the same way an ID pop-up can be circumvented with savvy use of VPNs etc., but it will easily block many of the youngest and most vulnerable. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective.

Advertisers have already been mining porn habits on Reddit to sell to third parties. Browser fingerprinting and the Reddit app identify you. If you were concerned about privacy you would not be using Reddit.

But a lot of children and teens do use Reddit, and we should do our best to limit their access to pornography, especially when this data is indiscriminately collected about them too.

If this is true, then this censorship is a terrible tragedy. I still would like government imposed ID age verification for porn though.

Edit: Judging by the spike in downvotes on this comment I can see assumptions are being made about my intentions.

You can limit pornography and not limit access to sex education services, or LGBT communities as they are not pornographic.

But if there was an LGBT forum posting LGBT pornography, then yes, it too should have age verification.

Parents should monitor their children’s behaviour AND society should also impose barriers. The “everything is on parents” is the same personal responsibility myth that conservatives use to justify removing government assistance and cutting things such as healthcare and schooling.

On their way home from school children cannot enter a bar and be served alcohol - or at least this is exceedingly difficult. This has undoubtedly saved people from substance abuse. The same can be said here.

Of course parents should discuss porn and its problems, just as they would with alcohol and other vices.

Also, I have taught young people technology. VPNs are not as intuitive for the mobile generation. Many will not bother, or when they figure it out they will be much closer to a reasonable age.

The barriers do not have to be perfect, but they will help.

Unpopular opinion: this is a good thing - there should be more barriers to porn. I know some teens will find a way around it, but it has been proven to affect the developing brain negatively and normalizes some really harmful behaviour.

You had your chance, it’s Bernie-Alex time now

This might be an unpopular opinion but online dating works and is worth the struggle.

I also experienced some ghosting, periods of few replies, etc as well but I got better at it over time and found much better results as I adjusted. This is honestly a marathon not a sprint. Pace yourself, take a week off from matching (sometimes more) when it wears you out.

If you’re not getting enough dates then you must improve your photos. Your photos are everything in online dating. Even one 15% better photo can make all the difference. Over the next while try to improve your appearance, whether through some nicer clothes, finding a pretty setting, or a haircut and make sure to take a couple photos wherever you go. Most new photos may not look good but occasionally you will create one that’s an improvement worth updating your profiles with. People will learn about you after they are attracted to you. This is not vain or selfish, we want a partner we are attracted to.

I briefly dated someone who worked at one of the dating apps, and she told me about the science of dating. It’s called an “optimal stopping problem” and I highly recommend you google it.

It boils down to meeting as many people as does not burn you out, then locking in on the next best person you find. This will be your best chance of a good life partner. Also for men, there is a pay to play aspect. Be comfortable paying a monthly fee if you’re not getting any new dates. I know this is not perfectly fair but it makes sense how it came about. (And can be cheaper than buying strangers drinks.)

Once things get rolling be sure to turn down people you have doubts about. There is an ADHD impulse control issue where you may have an urge to go all in on a person showing you affection, especially if you’ve been needing it for some time. But please don’t settle, you should have very few reservations when you meet someone ideal for the long term. Again, your best chance of success is to say no to a good handful of people first so you know what’s possible and have more insight into what you need.

We spend so much energy on schooling for jobs we might change, but ideally a good partner is forever too. This is worth spending time and energy on. I married someone so perfect for me I didn’t let myself believe it was possible before I met them. I wouldn’t have found this without online dating - I am convinced it is better at putting you in front of people who suit you more than what past generations had to go through as long as people are willing to adjust to its quirks.

clears throat

Markets are not evil in and of themselves.

Concentrated capital and poor market controls lead to unfair outcomes.

Markets can be an efficient way of distributing goods, even under socialist structures.

Me but like with everybody despite my very grown up job and wife

Bruh is just so fun to say okay?

I started to say “that’s a bruh moment” instead of genuinely committing to the “bruh” and it’s made a small difference

Right, phew, I was kind of worried I should have been editing more of these but I suppose it’s mostly just as I add certain software or features