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Comment by yedava | Hacker News Reader

I think there is a difference between a message board where everyone sees the same messages and surveillance software which spy on users to build behavioral profiles, which are then used to tailor content for each user. The surveillance software is an active participant in the conversation. It is no longer merely the medium.

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I long for the days of unfiltered message board communities

4chan with csam?

Won’t somebody think of the children. All communication must be filtered through benevolent feed algorithms! Oh no the benevolent feed algorithms are creating pedophiles and terrorists! I yearn for the days of unfiltered chronological communications. Won’t someone think of the children! All communication must be curated by machine learning algorithm. Oh no the machine has created monsters! Wasn’t the web better without the algorithms? Think of the children! We must censor the web! Oh no the web sucks and we still have pedophiles and terrorists. Wouldn’t it be better to go back to 1999? But think of the children.

Maximum stack size exceeded exception.

There has always been a large spectrum from overly censorious forums to 4chan. There’s a lot of room in between those. I don’t want nor do I visit 4chan but I do want something less censored than Reddit.

Pure unfiltered are very rare, but you can still find things close.

I think it’s helpful to not say things like “surveillance software”, it’s too easy to have those words become a distraction.

When you sort by date you should have quite a lot more immunity than when you pick the content a person sees. Choosing content can manipulate a person and as a result start sharing the responsibility for their actions.

Where on the spectrum between protected first amendment expression and conspiracy does a newsfeed algorithm lie? This is a new question.

But it's so funny that the CIA-funded USG spyware doesn't want to let anyone influence what they show their users! All the more so for the TikTok furor.

"How dare you propagandize to our citizens! That's our job and turf!"

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