Heads up: I often disappear down rabbit holes, generally post unlisted but boost a lot. Posts haphazardly swept.
This is generally my commonplace book.
(en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book)
Politics: Mute the words; examine the actions.
Remember: Also read that with which you disagree.
Admire: Joseph Bindle.
Interests: ideas, flows, patterns, science...
I'm very much hoping (and expect) that @Gargron is working to address the issues @pluralistic raised regarding required arbitration...
See @mcc post: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/35086
This thread amplifies: https://mastodon.social/@pluralistic@mamot.fr/114706885626515803
# Some thoughts on mastodon.social's updated terms
I hadn't intended to read mastodon.social's updated terms of service this evening.
But I did, and so I wrote up my thoughts in what I hope is a kind, helpful manner.
But, tl;dr, there are some bits with which I really struggle, particularly in the context of a federated service.
https://neilzone.co.uk/2025/06/some-thoughts-on-mastodonsocials-updated-terms/
Time travel is increasingly regarded as a menace. History is being polluted.
FediTips mentions a couple on this page ( https://fedi.tips/how-to-download-your-mastodon-post-archive ). I've not used them myself though.
( cc @FediTips )
@dheadshot @pluralistic @Gargron in Germany, "arbitration agreements with consumers are only considered valid if they are signed, and if the signed document does not bear any other content than the arbitration agreement", per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbitration_clause
@pluralistic such a clause would, I believe, be illegal and unenforceable in the UK in a consumer contract, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents
@neil ?
As we were in the EU at the time this law was enacted and thus necessarily in conformance with EU law, I would expect similar legislation to be in place in all EU countries, specifically including Germany.
In other words, I think this 'agreement' has no legal force.
IANAL etc.
EU Open Source Solutions Catalogue | Interoperable Europe Portal
https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/eu-oss-catalogue
…
Discover European Open Source Solutions
Repository of Open Source Solutions of Public Administrations
Centralised platform to discover Open Source Solutions for diverse needs
Open Source Solutions that empower collaboration, creativity, and efficiency across various domains
…
@EVDHmn Ah I wrote these posts a month and a half ago and today Vance has encouraged right wingers to start joining Bluesky, and it just seems inevitable to me that the "look, we're being silenced on Bluesky!" is a thing they're aiming to do next
I am trying not to be dramatic here, but this is a deal-breaker for me - literally. I changed dentists because I wouldn't sign binding arbitration. I changed solar installers because I wouldn't sign binding arbitration.
I could never, in good conscience, recommend that someone use a service that required binding arbitration as a condition of use - which means that as of July 1, I would no longer be able to recommend that people get an account on mastodon.social.
ETA: GOOD NEWS!
https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/114709820512537821
In reading an important discussion of the IP assignment in the new Mastodon.social ToS:
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/35086
I was GOBSMACKED to discover the new ToS has a "binding arbitration waiver," which takes away your right to sue, no matter how badly the service abuses you.
These are profoundly unethical, terrible clauses. They should never, ever appear in "adhesion contracts" (that is, contracts that you merely click through, rather than negotiating.)
Looks like there's a bit of a meta about binding arbitration waiver in mastodon.social ToS :blobcateyes:
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/114706885462760813
I do hope m.s admins fix that. But if they don't – this is #fedi, there are thousands of great instances, and this is a good moment to exercise the option of moving one's account :blobcatthinksmart:
https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moving/
Eons ago I had also started off on m.s. I have moved this account several times since then. No regrets. Pretty painless. :blobcatcoffee:
Trump legal goons threaten Wikipedia https://www.theverge.com/news/656720/ed-martin-dc-attorney-wikipedia-nonprofit-threat
It's a bullshit case, but bullshit cases can do a lot of damage these days.
I've been expecting that we'd see attacks on Wikipedia and Bluesky this year from Trump and co, since those seem the "big targets" to go after.
"Australian sugarbag honey from stingless bees found to have antimicrobial properties" - ABC News
…
Even more surprising — the honey's microbe-fighting properties persisted through heat treatment and long-term storage, with one batch of honey having sat for 18 years before being used in the study.
…
Australian sugarbag honey from stingless bees found to have antimicrobial properties https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-19/sugarbag-honey-australian-stingless-bees-fight-against-microbes/105325690
So I've been looking at this guy Sergio Gor, who's been described as one of the most powerful figures in the Trump administration: Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
Per The Times of Malta:
"While not the most glamourous sounding position, Gor’s role will see him wield considerable influence in the Trump government, responsible for vetting the appointment of thousands of employees.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/meet-sergio-gor-the-maltese-man-heart-trump-administration.1104244
Meanwhile, The New York Post wrote on June 17 that Gor still hasn't been vetted himself:
"...three administration insiders told The Post that the vetter-in-chief has not turned in his Standard Form 86, or SF-86 — a more than 100-page set of questions required for officials who need security clearances."
"Among the questions applicants must answer under threat of criminal penalties is where they were born and whether they have any foreign connections."
"Gor claims to be from the island country of Malta, though an official there could not confirm his birthplace when provided his exact birthday, saying: “No acts are registered with the provided details.”
"Gor declined to divulge his birthplace to The Post, other than to say it was not Russia."
His Wikipedia page says he was born in 1986 in Malta, and later moved w/ family to Los Angeles. But there indications he was born in Russia in 1980.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Gor
Sergio Gor is known to have worked on the campaign of the conservative former Rep. Steve King, and a search in Domaintools finds Sergio Gor registered Steveking.com way back when. Domaintools says Gor used the email address sergio.gor@gmail.com, which was also used to register the vanity domain sergiogor.com.
Constella Intelligence, a threat hunting platform that indexes breached data, finds this email address used the rather unique and long password: 961649507273. Constella further finds that this password is almost exclusively tied to a bunch of email accounts for the same name, including sgoryachev999@rambler.ru, goryachev-sergey@yandex.ru, sergio-gor@yandex.ru
sergio-gor@qip.ru, goryachev-sergey@ya.ru, goryachev-sergey@list.ru and goryachev-sergey@gmail.com.
Constella also says goryachev-sergey@yandex.ru has multiple entries in Russian government databases for a Sergey Anatolyevich Goryachev, DOB, Nov. 20, 1980, phone +79689210000. This person appears to have lived in Saratov, RU, has a tax ID number, etc.
Here's a mind map I put together on these findings. The password thing is very hard to get past.
Gilead has announced that lenacapavir, the game-changing HIV prevention drug just approved by the FDA will cost $28,218 USD per person per year.
Researchers say a generic version could be made for just $25 per person a year.
Capitalism kills.
… , today’s tech giants cheat in the same way everywhere. They do the same spying, the same price-gouging, and employ the same lock-in tactics in every country where they operate, which is practically every country. That means that when a large bloc like the EU makes a good tech regulation, it has the power to ripple out across the planet, benefiting all of us – like when the EU forced Apple to switch to standard USB-C cables to charge their devices, and we all got iPhones with USB-C ports.
…
"Apple to Australians: You’re Too Stupid to Choose Your Own Apps" | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Cory Doctorow
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/apple-australians-youre-too-stupid-choose-your-own-apps
…
Which is why Australia is so interested. A late 2024 report from the Australian Treasury* took a serious look at transposing DMA-style rules to Australia. It’s a sound policy, as the European experience has shown.
(*https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-12/c2024-547447-pp.pdf)
…
At #OSPOsForGood today during #UNOpenSourceWeek, Adriana Groh made several insightful comments during the panel “The Role of Open Source in Digital Public Infrastructure”:
"At the #SovereignTechAgency, we focus on the software that developers need to develop software. We call that 'infrastructure,' which is a different understanding to what many hear when we talk about #DPI. Both things are extremely important and exist at the same time. We need to understand how they are connected..."
1/
Keep this to yourself, while all this "it's a perfect time to switch to Linux" stuff is going on, nobody's jinxed it by even whispering "year of Linux desktop..." Wait a minute, oops: End of Windows 10: Don't Worry Be Happy https://linuxiac.com/end-of-windows-10-dont-worry-be-happy/
