Veronica Explains

I make dorky YouTube/PeerTube videos about Linux and vintage tech, and occasionally write about stuff. I'm also a geeky musician and used to be a COBOL dev. Pronouns are she/her.

Proudly supported by viewers like you via Patreon and Ko-Fi. Thank you for your consideration!

Mutes/blocks rude folks and reply guys. No offense, just not interested.

(This is my new account, I used to post at [@vkc](https://mspsocial.net/@vkc ).)

💻 Web: https://vkc.sh
📺 Peertube: https://tinkerbetter.tube/c/veronicaexplains/
📼 YouTube: https://youtube.com/veronicaexplains
💸 Patreon: https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains

Public Key

npub1dmlzf6x428vxd8vht2skcelgd6a8p8zy8ug8hxe6gg5hcrv0fn8sycx796

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsxal3yar24rkrxnkt44gtvvl5xawnsn3zr7yrmnvayy2tupk85encpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds8a2xj4

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1dmlzf6x428vxd8vht2skcelgd6a8p8zy8ug8hxe6gg5hcrv0fn8sycx796

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Last Notes

2024-08-31 17:56:28

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"But Veronica, it's defederated, so there's nothing we can do about that"
I know. That's why I'm saying maybe this place isn't fun for a woman with a following.

2024-08-31 07:22:04

Deleted my affirming Friday post because I can't escape pervy guys replying to me.
I guess that's one more thing I don't get to do here anymore.

2024-08-26 01:24:42

Anyone have an FTP client they like for Windows 9X?
I'm having fun playing with these systems this week but pulling out floppies is painful at times.
I always used something that came with my AOL setup back-in-the-day but I have no idea what that was.

2024-08-15 22:22:19

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honest and sincere question: was your post directed at me? Or my readers?
Because to me, it absolutely read as though you wanted to tell *me* something you thought *I* didn't know, and then added hashtags to encourage others to participate in that behavior.

2024-08-15 22:05:38

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Didn't we have a singalong performance of Purple Rain (the song) literally in the state House once? Did I dream that?

2024-08-15 21:17:33

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"how could that even be considered criticism or harmful?"
Because it takes away control over discoverability. Hashtags increase discoverability surface here on Mastodon. I for one value being able to control parts of my visibility and don't want every word I said getting picked apart through hashtags I didn't put there.

2024-08-15 20:12:10

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right, but you didn't say "subjectively there's an argument to be made".
You got on my post and felt like you "wanted to remind people", which *absolutely* comes across as arguing down to me, a literal professional, about the benefits of hosting your wares.
And if that's not how you intended it, please rethink your word choices and hop off this thread.

2024-08-15 20:01:42

POLL: so if you post a post without hashtags here on Mastodon, and someone comes in and replies to your post and adds hashtags, does that feel aggressive to you?

2024-08-15 19:32:59

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Can't speak for everyone, but for me it's just habit at this point. I run across lots of unsavory links in my work and it's probably better for my mental health to not have bad stuff suggested back at me.

2024-07-31 22:28:35

Test your backups.

2024-07-23 04:28:53

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(Sees that it's KDE Plasma, immediately starts tweaking things)

2024-07-21 19:20:41

Tried out the new ProtonMail "AI assistant" to see how "great" it is.
First problem, requires Chromium to run locally. This does not bode well.
https://mastomedia.linuxmom.net/media_attachments/files/112/825/617/199/983/472/original/5aea36826b6d20a0.png

2024-07-18 23:32:23

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what I want to know is how to search for an address in US postal format. As in "1234 Cheese Ave, Cheddarville, CH 99999". I can never figure out how to search for an address in Organic Maps, so it becomes challenging to use unless I know a nearby named business that shows up.
If there's some magic order those items need to go in, I don't know it yet, and would love help clarifying that.

2024-07-18 20:32:53

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I have forwarded this to the graphics department ( @npub1rza…wc9x ) for creation.

2024-07-15 19:02:54

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Mainly to learn more, in my case. Folks ask me about it so I decided to try it.
Jellyfin can work as a server to Kodi. This has the advantage of working with Kodi's vast plugin architecture, and many users prefer Kodi's look and feel. In my case, Kodi does work really well with my remote control, better than Jellyfin.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a "Jellyfin alternative" unless you have a reason to prefer Kodi, and the two can work side by side.

2024-07-15 18:57:26

I've been playing with #Kodi for the last few weeks. It's nice, works well with #Jellyfin and my #selfhosted media, etc.
I'm wishing it had three more features, but maybe there's plugins that I don't know about? Answers welcome.
1. Watch an m3u8/IPTV stream from a specified URL
2. Listen to an internet radio stream from a specified URL
3. Pull up a specific website in the browser
(Note I'm not interested in non-Kodi ways to get these features)

2024-07-10 05:21:08

"Why not just run an emulator?"
Because I want my vintage/retro experiences to be as far away from my modern computer as possible. That's why. Offline, intentional, and contemplative.
There's nothing wrong with emulation if you're into it. But picking on folks for wanting a deliberate experience is just gatekeeping by another name.
#VintageComputing #RetroComputing

2024-07-09 18:03:11

I live in the non metric world, which frustrates me to no end because my brain goes to imperial units.
Anyway, when a project says they need 6x20mm screws, is that the same thing as an "M6" screw at 20mm long?
I used to google it every time on DDG but now SEO is getting in the way of a straight answer.

2024-07-09 05:50:59

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This is incredible. I would have been so excited about this as a kid!

2024-07-09 05:49:16

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I was in the same boat, but I found a VCR in a box recently and managed to get it cleaned up OK. Runs right into the RetroTink which plays nicely with my capture setup!

2024-07-09 05:36:24

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I see, it was something that worked after you recorded? That's pretty cool.

2024-07-09 05:09:04

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For those who were too young to experience it- before DVRs and on-demand media via the internet, there was a wonderful time when we could record television shows on VHS tape via our VCRs.
We could set timers according to TV Guide, and because encrypted television wasn't a factor, we could pretty much record anything we could watch.
I had an awesome VCR which did a really good job of pausing while recording, so I could easily edit out commercials if I was watching it live.

2024-07-09 05:05:22

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It's not exciting- a bunch of documentaries, MST3K, and The Simpsons, as well as bands I enjoyed when they were performing on late night TV.
Plenty of Star Trek as well.

2024-07-09 05:03:03

Currently digitizing some old VHS tapes I recorded off the TV as a teenager.
Observation 1: commercials haven't changed much.
Observation 2: I was an insufferable nerd as a teenager based on what I wanted to tape.

2024-07-08 04:58:46

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There's a difference between someone asking for *everyone's* recommendation and someone asking for *a particular person's* recommendation.
If someone toots at me and asks for a recommendation, I would prefer to respond in a way that keeps the discussion open yet prevents thread hijacking.
I can hardly respond to a question without it becoming a large mess of replies, and that's noisy both for me and the original poster, who I want to respect when I answer their question.

2024-07-07 23:28:05

Reason 24601 why we need to be able to limit replies on Mastodon: recommendation requests.
I can't make recommendations without incurring reply after reply with lots of opinions, which can be noisy. And making the recommendation private prevents others from learning from our conversation.
(I am not seeking technical advice or feasibility studies regarding this toot)

2024-07-06 19:48:47

KDE Plasma is great. GNOME is awesome. Window managers are wonderful. Everything has quirks but I love all these options we have. I can't wait to see where we take them.
#Linux

2024-07-06 05:21:34

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This week, I'm thankful for supporters both on Patreon/Ko-Fi as well as folks buying merch. It's been an expensive and hectic few weeks and the support has meant a lot.

2024-07-04 20:49:05

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I don't know of a good resource, I pretty much just go with trial and error.
My general workflow is to first rip with MakeMKV, which gets a raw version off the disc and into an mkv file quickly. Then I use HandBrake and a lot of trial and error with animated/interlaced content. But since I'm just working with a file and not the disc, it's much faster to perform the trial/error!

2024-07-04 18:59:13

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Hometown is incredible. My former instance used it and as a literally-local instance it was incredible. Community in the classical sense of the word. Highly recommend.

2024-07-04 18:49:32

One downside of hosting my own Mastodon account is that I have to, you know, *do stuff* just to post silly things on this service.
Another reason to pick, or create, a small instance based on your likes or locality.

2024-07-03 22:40:31

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That entirely makes sense, but here's the goofy thing- the *original* opening crawl didn't say "Episode IV" but after 1981, it did. 🤷‍♀️
FWIW I grew up calling the three movies by their titles and *not* their episode numbers, so in my mind they'll always be "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi". But the following two trilogies changed that naming format and then George Lucas continued editing the original films, so does it really matter? :P

2024-07-03 21:56:33

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ANOTHER POLL: let's say you load the original 1977 "Star Wars" film into your Jellyfin/Plex/Emby/etc. Not one of the sequels/prequels, but the original movie from a galaxy far far away.
In the metadata, you are referring to this film as...
#StarWars #SelfHosting

2024-07-03 21:51:03

POLL: let's say you load the original 1966 "Star Trek" series into your Jellyfin/Plex/Emby/etc. Not one of the spinoffs, but the original five year mission that only lasted three seasons. NBC/Desilu.
In the metadata, you are referring to this series as...
#StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #SelfHosting

2024-07-03 20:58:53

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I want a macro lens so I can take photos of networking cables in the garden!

2024-07-03 20:53:23

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Update: several of you have said the same thing in response to this. Namely, that you don't know each other is talking because of the way Mastodon/ActivityPub is federating replies. That's a good point and doesn't change the perception of the OP.
Maybe that contributes to folks feeling dogpiled on this platform? Sounds like a bug that needs some level of working out.
(I am not asking for opinions here on whether this is feasible)

2024-07-03 20:28:11

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BTW, I know I'm being overdramatic by saying that replies are telling me I "got it wrong", but when I say "don't quote me on it" and a *bunch* of comments have already added lots of context, I wonder why people continue to post the same type of replies over and over again.
The first one or two replies feel like "hey here's some useful additional information." But the next several that say nearly the same thing? Those hit different.

2024-07-03 20:24:30

Me: "don't quote me on that"
The comments: telling me repeatedly that I got it wrong

2024-07-03 19:07:14

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[hides from fans of T568A]

2024-07-03 19:03:48

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Anywho, the order of colors in the standard is hard for some folks to memorize, so I made a shirt with it. It's also nerdy and the most popular shirt in my merch store.
https://vkc.sh/product-tag/t568b-cheat-sheet/
https://mastomedia.linuxmom.net/media_attachments/files/112/723/629/188/749/783/original/a371f1675c99538f.png

2024-07-03 18:47:38

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Now, I'm not a network historian, but here's how I was taught.
Earlier registered jack connections had two wires. For the sake of understanding let's call them "the two blue wires" (but they weren't always blue, this is a simplification).
When two more wires were added to the mix (let's call them "the two green wires" even though they weren't always green), they were added to either side for ✨compatibility reasons✨.
Contracts required it, so standards were built around it.

2024-07-03 18:34:54

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So why is this important? Well, standards for one. That's why so many folks have learned a "right way" to do it, and some will be upset if you do it *differently* than they're anticipating. And for good reason as unexpectedly terminating a cable in different ways on each end can result in headaches.
But, why not just pair the colors off? Why doesn't solid-green come *after* white-green? Why is blue there instead?
For the best reason in the world, legacy!

2024-07-03 18:23:45

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So now, after digging out some passthrough connectors to really demonstrate this, I've (somewhat hastily) begun the process of terminating that sliced cable, thus turning it into something that can be used in the network.
Notice the color scheme? 😜
https://mastomedia.linuxmom.net/media_attachments/files/112/723/469/661/981/866/original/5f270598a19c39e8.jpg

2024-07-03 17:54:14

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There's eight wires here in total. Those wires are twisted into pairs, which is a way to reduce electromagnetic radiation between each other.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair

2024-07-03 17:50:12

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This is a glamour shot of a cat-6 twisted pair cable, which we (somewhat lazily) call "Ethernet cable", cut open. Chances are pretty high that you have at least one of these somewhere in your network, if only between your router and modem.
Here you can see the inside of the cable: four pairs of twisted wires, in addition to a plastic backing (which I think helps avoid breakage by reducing the bend radius, but don't quote me on that).
https://mastomedia.linuxmom.net/media_attachments/files/112/723/316/272/563/353/original/e0e858cd273e9a2c.jpg

2024-07-03 17:25:31

So I have a shirt that I sell which has been gaining traction on the merch store recently. You may have noticed it, the shirt has color names written on it:
white-orange
orange
white-green
blue
white-blue
green
white-brown
brown
A few folks have asked me "what does this mean", not getting the joke. So, I'll explain it!
(Link in case you're interested, it's my merch store and proceeds support my work: https://vkc.sh/product/t568b-cheat-sheet-fashion-fit-tee/)

2024-07-02 19:20:51

Like all social media, the Fediverse isn't the real world. As such, I try not to assume too much about a person based on what they say, or don't say, online.

2024-07-02 01:02:16

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Oooo that's quite good.

2024-07-02 00:59:18

Go do something.

2024-07-01 21:26:07

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I'm willing to bet it is, much like a simple server backup and restoration. But I'm also assuming there might be configuration headaches on the web server side owing to containerization futzing that I haven't experienced yet.

2024-07-01 21:23:51

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(I mean, I suppose I could just port it to a fresh container but I figure someone's made a snappy way to do this by now?)

2024-07-01 21:22:40

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My preferred container is LXC, if that helps, but I'm learning Podman lately and don't hate it.

2024-07-01 21:21:37

Has anyone written up an explainer on porting a Mastodon from bare metal -> container without losing your toots?
I'm making plans for eventually containerizing my instance but don't want to lose my ✨precious history✨ here.

2024-07-01 19:15:13

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I should also mention that I typically remote from a static IP provided by my wireless carrier. So, in my case, the firewall knew where I'd be coming from and I could block most of the internet from getting in.

2024-07-01 19:13:05

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"safer" is relative to the threat, of course.
In my typical case, OpenVPN is handled itself by my firewall appliance. While it opens a port it also knows what bad traffic to scan for, without me telling it what to do. Again, I'm not a security researcher, but I tend to trust pfSense/OPNsense/etc more than myself when it comes to opening a port and watching for baddies.
And nowadays I don't even do that, because I just don't need it badly enough anymore.

2024-07-01 18:09:54

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awesome! Some VPS providers do really cool things with firewalls and virtual networking. Combining that with pre-defined SSH keys for initial setup and a lot of SSH security steps becomes simply a few clicks!

2024-07-01 18:07:47

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Tailscale is fun, I haven't deployed it personally but have played around on it a bit. I'm also not a fan of port knocking and tend to VPN when away from home.
I'm ancient so I've typically used OpenVPN but I rarely use it anymore anyway, since nowadays if I'm leaving home I don't need to bring my homelab with me. :)

2024-07-01 16:39:37

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I have a ufw script written for a future video and I'm kicking myself for not having worked on that video last week!

2024-07-01 16:22:17

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This is a friendly reminder to put a firewall in between your server and the wider internet, and no, I'm not talking about fail2ban. Which is good for lots of things, but I wouldn't rely on it alone.
Don't open SSH ports up to the entire world. Put a firewall in between your server and those who would do you harm. Lots of providers have network-based access controls, cloud firewalls, etc: use them.
Friends don't let friends run sshd out in the open. :P

2024-07-01 16:06:53

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I am not a security researcher, and I don't want to sound authoritative on stuff I'm *not* an authority on.
If you run Debian like I do, this page might be useful. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-6387

2024-07-01 15:53:05

Happy "quickly updating all of the servers" day to those who celebrate.

2024-07-01 02:34:53

I adore Dusty Springfield.

2024-06-30 21:16:27

I have deleted my post saying "I like trains" and the thread that followed because people were sharing memes and references saying things like "I hope you don't get run over" and sending me pictures of stick figures getting run over by trains.
Look, I don't care if it's a funny meme. I am NOT a terminally online person and I don't know all of the lingo. Sharing unsolicited violence with me is a great way to make me walk away from a platform.

2024-06-30 21:08:22

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I am planning a trip that involves carrying some equipment and I *loathe* that my only economically viable option is via car.
Passenger rail should be cheap, plentiful, and effective, even if that means we subsidize the crap out of it. It's worth it!

2024-06-28 22:15:43

Hey you! Good job this week.

2024-06-28 19:19:29

Yesterday was exceptionally traumatic for a lot of people here in the US. For lots of reasons.
Please be kind to each other here, and be kind to yourselves. We're going to need each other no matter what happens.

2024-06-28 18:02:18

The most consequential album of my youth was 2001's "Is This It" by The Strokes. I still dwell on it frequently.
Overnight we were all trading in our full stacks for lil boutique amps and exploring what it meant to actually write observational songs.
I'll never forget popping it into my Discman on the bus and having my friends crowd around me. "Last Nite", for us, was a tidal wave. Everything felt different after.

2024-06-27 04:19:16

It is June 26, 2024, and I have not had a Twitter account since shortly after Elon bought it. Anyone pretending to be me or representing me there is not official.

2024-06-27 00:51:42

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I intentionally didn't pipe the Atari audio in because I wanted to keep fuss to a minimum, I think in the future I would consider running the audio into an interface and piping it back out to headphones (so I can hear it without it bleeding into the mic).

2024-06-26 20:12:10

I wish I knew who shared my T568-B shirt, sales are way way up over the last 24 hours.
https://vkc.sh/product-tag/t568b-cheat-sheet/

2024-06-25 18:10:30

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I will say that I might try to space it away from the controller input if I ever reprinted it, because sometimes I yank the RCA plug out when trying to remove the joystick/paddles.

2024-06-25 17:16:53

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I just found a control plate for the VIC-20 (Thingiverse I think) and drilled a hole in it because I didn't know where I'd want it at first and needed to see it.

2024-06-25 17:12:04

RSS

2024-06-25 05:54:09

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Nope, there's a whole lot of options. I just did a live stream with one of these on a VIC-20, and I have another one that converts CGA.

2024-06-25 05:18:58

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This incredibly clean picture came right from the console, thanks to the RGBtoHDMI board and the Lumacode addon board that I've been excited about for the last few weeks.
I've NEVER seen an Atari game look this good outside of an emulator.

2024-06-25 05:17:17

Centipede on the Atari 2600. June 24, 2024. NOT emulated.
#VintageComputing #Retro #Atari
https://mastomedia.linuxmom.net/media_attachments/files/112/675/077/592/779/543/original/da3c9545a9282746.png

2024-06-25 01:57:24

Muting #linux for one week. I'm a retro tooter now.

2024-06-24 22:13:12

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what if I told you I've been successfully ripping blu-rays, DVDs, CDs, vinyl, and cassettes for my entire life? And that I've done the VAST majority of that on Linux desktops, successfully, without issues?
For blu-ray, MakeMKV can do a ton, and is very reasonable.
And "remains hobbyware" is only true if you discount the millions of people who work everyday in Linux, and the billions of people who benefit from it.

2024-06-24 21:19:53

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And so many folks who aren't impacted have *strong opinions* that don't necessarily have a basis in practical solutions.
I'm hopeful that we'll experience progress in this regard, but I don't expect that it'll happen without some changes in who is building and testing software (and who is hiring those folks).

2024-06-24 21:16:34

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That's a can of worms that I'm not qualified to address. Obviously the Linux ecosystem has work to do there.

2024-06-24 19:59:27

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Oh, addendum: "it doesn't work in my profession" is NOT the same as "it doesn't work for all professions". Because your world isn't mine.

2024-06-24 19:58:05

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(Bracing for more comments)

2024-06-24 19:57:08

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And, perhaps most importantly: if someone says "I like X tool", replies saying stuff like "you're wrong, X tool sucks" are ABSOLUTELY not helpful.
Doesn't matter if X tool is FOSS, proprietary, Linux, Windows, Mac, or Amiga. Guys with those replies can hit the bricks.

2024-06-24 19:54:38

To be clear, since many folks seem to not understand it:
I am NOT saying Linux and FOSS software is perfect for all workflows. I am NOT saying you aren't "trying hard enough" if you can't switch or don't want to. I am NOT saying my way is better and your way is worse. I am NOT calling you lazy.
What I am saying, emphatically, is that telling people that #Linux and #FOSS are *incapable* of professional work is fundamentally incorrect.
It's my profession, I do it, and it works.

2024-06-24 19:47:18

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I agree with a caveat: "Hey, you know, you mentioned this issue and it's not an issue with [blank]" is probably welcome among friends, but replying to a stranger on the internet with that can be rude, IMO. Unless, of course, the stranger is *asking* for feedback from the broader community.
In my case, I usually wait to post the "Linux btw" comments until the OP says "Is anyone else having this bug?", because in my mind that's when it becomes relevant.
@npub18tq…z2pm

2024-06-24 19:42:26

Last night I installed the Lumacode mod on my (very gross) Atari 2600. Video Olympics has never looked better!
This morning, I hosed down the chassis because it's been *well loved* over the last 40+ years or so.

2024-06-24 16:53:47

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"it often is, of course" is not correct.
"Worse" is subjective. I promise you GNU/IMP is better *for me* because I understand it more than the other software I tried. But if I publicly stated "GNU/IMP is better than Adobe" without the qualifier "for me", there'd be legions telling me why I'm incorrect.

2024-06-24 14:52:46

I'm muting everyone who is reply-guying at me to tell me why Adobe etc has "better workflows" than FOSS. That's all subjective, you missed the point, and I'll see you next year.

2024-06-24 04:13:18

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They do know that, IMO. At least generally.
This is a comment I hear and read regularly from folks who work in the creative-yet-tech-adjacent industry, and who understand at (at least) a basic level that the world runs on *NIX.
These are the kind of folks who know how to install Linux, but didn't stick around to learn how to live with it. Which is fine, but doesn't reflect the whole ecosystem.

2024-06-24 02:33:03

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And again, just to say it over and over again- there's nothing wrong with preferring your workflow on Windows or Mac either.
But saying "Linux can't do it" or "FOSS can't do it" is just... incorrect.
I'm proof.

2024-06-24 02:30:19

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And like, not to toot my own horn (Mastodon pun intended), but my videos are doing OK. Kdenlive can do a TON of really great stuff.
Are there bugs? Yup! But it's not like Adobe and DaVinci are well known for being bug free.

2024-06-24 02:28:17

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Every video I've done? Kdenlive or OBS, entirely on Linux. Thumbnails? GNU/IMP or Inkscape, entirely on Linux.
What they mean to say is "Free/Open Source Software isn't what *they* know." And that's fine, but like, that doesn't mean the entire ecosystem is unusable.

2024-06-24 02:25:50

People: "Free/Open Source software can't be used for making professional content on the internet."
Me: [looks up from making popular YouTube videos with FOSS] "what?"

2024-06-23 17:52:07

Do I know anyone who has streamed via their #peertube recently?
I'm wondering how live comments work. Moderation is key to a good time and I've been worried about how that works in Peertube.

2024-06-22 16:49:40

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This is too bad, I hope someone figures out a solution soon.
I'm going to dig around on this a bit on my testing instance and see if I can replicate the behavior. I didn't notice that last time I tried a sync but that was a couple of months ago. Recently I've just uploaded twice.

2024-06-22 02:14:32

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"But you brought it on yourself by showing your face on the internet"
blocked.

2024-06-22 02:10:00

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I'll be blunt folks, cause it's the end of the week and I'm tired.
Don't fucking tell me whether or not you think I, or any other woman on the internet that you don't know, is attractive.
It's unwelcome and we don't deserve it.

2024-06-22 02:05:15

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I don't know what that means, but it reads like an inappropriate response.

2024-06-22 01:31:29

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I'm so sick of dealing with this problem.

2024-06-22 01:27:10

Please don't digitally catcall me.