Honestly, I think this will be a bigger boon to folks like Elevated Access than to the billionaires of the world. Makes it a little harder for some chud who doesn't like what they're doing to show up at a pilot's home with a rifle.
Interesting. The screenshots shared with me by a friend:
Given the corporate media sane-washing and general kissing of the ring, I choose to believe what has been shared with me directly over the "actchually, it was an awkward gesture of exuberance" milquetoast media.
Especially when the list looks like this:
Hastags that have also apparently been blocked from user experiences. Will keep updating. Range is worldwide.
"#berniesanders"
"#queer"
"#obama"
"#voteblue" (#votered remains unaffected)
"#dnc" (#rnc remains unaffected)
"#fucktrump" (#fuckbiden remains unaffected)
"#democrat" (#republican remains unaffected)
"#kamala"
"#prochoice"
"#constitution"
"#reproductiverights"
"#jan6th"
"#insurrection"
"#14thamendment "
"#republicans" (with an s)
"#fascism"
"#liberal"
"#rightwing"
“#georgeconway”
“#domesticterrorist”
“#jacksmith”
“#drumpf”
“#johnoliver”
That is not a "glitch."
I think the premise is flawed. Most of us have been brought up in a world that preaches "if you're not growing, you're dying." That mindset is harmful in a whole host of ways. I have no idea if lemmy is growing or not, but it's quite possible, perhaps even preferable, for a service/site/mom-and-pop shop to be sustainable without unending growth.
7 websites, Jellyfin for 6 people, Nextcloud, CRM for work, email server for 3 domains, NAS, and probably some stuff I've forgotten on a $4 computer from a tiny thrift store in BFE Kansas. I'd love to upgrade, but I'm always just filled with joy whenever I think of that little guy just chugging along.
I'm going to say first off that this is kind of depressing. That said, after my initial knee-jerk reaction of "fuck you, Duolingo," it occurs to me that is might be a better outcome than them pulling out of Russia altogether.
Providing Russian citizens easy access to language learning provides them access to non-Russian media and non-Russian discourse on queer issues.
In my own experience, learning a language as an adult has taken place in ~3 stages: 1. learn from instructional material exclusively, 2. consume foreign language material with native-language support/tools, 3. learn more of the language via context. If having an app available to folks in an oppressive country helps them get through stage 1 and into 2/3, it gives them a chance to escape the hateful discourse of the regime... In theory.
On the other hand, maybe it's just capitalists being capitalists.
Humans, in their current form, have survived for ~200k years sans the ability to surveil the location of their children at all times, an activity that has dubious safety benefits.