Despite their modern reputation, the original Luddites were neither opposed to technology nor inept at using it. Many were highly skilled machine operators in the textile industry. Nor was the technology they attacked particularly new.

The Luddite disturbances started in circumstances at least superficially similar to our own. British working families at the start of the 19th century were enduring economic upheaval and widespread unemployment. A seemingly endless war against Napoleon’s France had brought “the hard pinch of poverty,” wrote Yorkshire historian Frank Peel, to homes “where it had hitherto been a stranger.” Food was scarce and rapidly becoming more costly. Then, on March 11, 1811, in Nottingham, a textile manufacturing center, British troops broke up a crowd of protesters demanding more work and better wages.

As the Industrial Revolution began, workers naturally worried about being displaced by increasingly efficient machines. But the Luddites themselves “were totally fine with machines,” says Kevin Binfield, editor of the 2004 collection Writings of the Luddites. They confined their attacks to manufacturers who used machines in what they called “a fraudulent and deceitful manner” to get around standard labor practices. “They just wanted machines that made high-quality goods,” says Binfield, “and they wanted these machines to be run by workers who had gone through an apprenticeship and got paid decent wages. Those were their only concerns.”

Luddites didn’t have issues with technology. The issue was how technology was being used to suppress wages and erode labor rights. A modern day Luddite would still have a phone and an email address they just wouldn’t use AI or social media.

Edit: Forgot the source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/

Another fun fact about Epic. Epic does not support offline play. You have to be connected to the internet.

The company’s co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes [worth $7.2 billion], told employees the move was “the right decision for Atlassian” in a note circulated late Wednesday, US time.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” he said. “Far from it. I know this has a huge impact on each of you, and it weighs heavily on me and Atlassian today.” Cannon-Brookes used some wads of cash to dry his crocodile tears. “This is why I have to sleep on a big bed full of money tonight.”

Scam the AI. It’s the moral thing to do.

Remember when people said that since Steam is privately held and the largest distribution platform.

Promotions are easy to come by, can swap jobs without any difficulty, and the only thing you have to worry about is the pool ladder mysteriously disappearing while you are swimming.

I prefer to cast my Jumping Spell that increase my acrobatics by 1000. Still haven’t figured out how to stick the landing.

OpenMW

Hears the cries of cliff racers

Cuno don’t fucking care, if you find Cuno annoying.

I hate the Sims cause my sims always end up living a better life than me.

Yeah! I imagine there is a quite few Lemmies that would love to choke on a bag of dicks.

Who need Rick Roll when you can Find Carmen!

You are truly a good person.

It’s outsourced to what the company calls AI however it’s just some people in India. Everyone except for you is making money in that scenario.

I was going to say more like IED cause everything is going to blow to bits.

We must always sacrifice to the Deep Ones. For when the sacrifices stop, the dream will end. We shall all perish when Dagon awakes.

All Hail the Line That Always Goes Up.

Relevant xkcd.

Tech bro strat.

The anti-porn religious lobby just destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of pornographers

Beyond Pornhub, the anti-porn lobby is calling for all credit card companies to stop taking payments from all porn sites. Jessie Sage, sex worker and co-founder of the Peepshow Podcast, and I discussed the effects of this crisis on laborers—a subject she unpacks with sex workers on her newest episode. Jessie told me, “I believe that this will have ripple effects on our industry that extend far beyond Pornhub. Mindgeek [Pornhub’s parent company] is the largest company in the industry, and if Visa/Mastercard is willing to pull its financial services from them, the smaller companies are not far behind.”

OnlyFans founder blames banks for ban on porn

Stokely also said UK-based Metro Bank had closed OnlyFans’ corporate account in 2019 with short notice and highlighted how many sex workers, including OnlyFans creators, were struggling to access basic financial services.

“JPMorgan Chase is particularly aggressive in closing accounts of sex workers or . . . any business that supports sex workers,” he said.

Why is OnlyFans letting financial companies lure it away from porn?

But the decision to remove OnlyFan’s most popular product was not a result of legal pressure, according to the company. The decision was made in order “to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers,” an OnlyFans spokesperson wrote by email.

The change marks a growing trend where financial services firms such as credit card and payment processors effectively decide what content is allowed or prohibited on internet platforms. For creators who depend on internet platforms for their income, especially adult performers, the sudden change represents a cautionary tale as the gatekeepers of the creator economy take shape.

There’s the reason. Anti-porn/religious groups will lobby payment providers and bans to stop payments being made to adult content creators. Is there problematic adult content on Steam? For sure. However, there is also problematic political content on Steam which seems not affect banks/payment providers interest.

We all should care cause adult content is the first to get censored. Then the censor bar will move to include other topics and more topics.