Good points. Yes, I do prefer to give an instance at least the benefit of the doubt. Difference tho really with Fediverse is you have to search and follow stuff to see it. It does not get inserted into your feed through ads or people playing the algorithms. So generally I’m only seeing what I follow. I suppose we do need to choose our instances wisely. Certainly, if an instance (not just a user on it) is really spamming or impacting on other instances, I suppose there can be grounds to block it. But we have not all been spammed yet by Threads. I don’t like Threads (cancelled all my accounts years ago) but I left a few good friends and family there that I would like to reconnect with, and follow them. I also like that my metadata stays on the Fediverse side, so I don’t need a Threads account or their app tracking me.

I just would not like to be denied the option to even reconnect with my family and friends. Same goes for WhatsApp interoperating on Signal protocol - I have many friends and colleagues I left behind on WhatsApp, and would like to reconnect again with them.

Especially when any individual can decide themselves to block Threads or Lemmy.

I agree 100%. I don’t need someone else overriding my existing right to decide whether I want to block or not (where is that going to stop). Anyway, I connect and follow individuals, not their whole instance. I’m not going to see anything from Threads unless I choose to follow someone. And if any friend reboosts stuff I don’t like (from Threads or anywhere else) I block that “friend”.

341 Mbps down, 144 Mbps up at about $65pm in South Africa (advertised 300/150).

It stands for Long Range, so would otherwise have been LR.

I’ve been using the Proton Mail Bridge for a while, which allows Betterbird and Thunderbird (amongst others) to securely work with Proton Mail.

Shouldn’t be necessary, as Google accounts have a setting for notifying addresses you provide after 3 months of no activity - https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en. The account deletion was for accounts not accessed for two years, and I think it excluded those with YouTube video channels.

Seems there was some progress at https://www.reddit.com/r/nreal/comments/12z772e/nreal_linux_multiple_screens_poc/ but don’t see any updates since 8 months back. NREAL was the previous name for XREAL I think.

If multi-monitor is supported via USB-C output, it should work? I’ll also need to dig more into Linux reviews on this.

This is lighter in weight, cooler, and cheaper than full VR… It works well with Steamdeck from what I can see in videos. VR to me just not seem mainstream or standardised enough yet to make that investment.

About 3 months back I cancelled Netflix (after being in it for many years) and moved to free Tubi.

My morning always starts with a mixed bowl of:

• Diced paypaya
• Diced seedless grapes
• Slices of banana
• 3 or 4 heaped tablespoons double-cream plain youghurt
• Cocoa powder to flavour
• Some powdered almond nuts

Three fruits are part of my morning breakfast, along with Double Fat Plain Yoghurt, and powdered almonds and some plain cocoa powder.

Yep good advice, some services have no investment value loss e.g. short term insurance, life insurance, etc. You can switch elsewhere for a cheaper rate and lose nothing.

Unless you have a family or dependants, I’d cut out life insurance and focus on the essentials for now to recover. I also learn long ago to pay my credit card off every month to not have to pay interest on it…

Each quirky hobby mentioned here, deserves its own Lemmy community!

And I forgot about those one-liner replies with something semi controversial, without any sort of backing. In the few places where I’ve managed my own community groups, I made it a rule that you can disagree, but then have to back it up with some reference. That made it super easy to get rid of trolls, and supported better debate as it forced people to fact-check a bit.

Actually, you are quite lucky with SDR, as there are many such stations on the Internet where you can tune in locally at that location and listen as if you are there. I operate one for listening to our local ham radio frequencies on VHF at https://openwebrx.gadgeteerza.co.za. But mine is very simple compared to some of the more complex one’s available.

I certainly notice it as I post a lot across networks. I always have a title with my content explaining what’s what. There are so many times I have to reply to a commenter, saying “yes, that was what I mentioned in the post”. Clearly, way too many just dive in and comment on a title without even bothering to read the post content. It’s not that the content is pages long, it is usually maybe 3 or 4 paragraphs.

It’s no wonder so much misinformation takes hold, as few take the time to critically comprehend what they’re reading.

I think it is partly just fast scrolling and laziness to actually read the point being made. But then you may ask, why bother commenting at all then…

“Be careful what you wish for”

–Aesop–

Credit card everywhere in South Africa for me - firstly safer, but I also settle it in full monthly so avoid bank costs and interest, and I get a lot of benefits back like 35% off fruit & veg, 75% off fitness devices annually, etc.