This phlog post is a reply to a reply to a reply, so bear with me
here, here's a timeline if you want to follow along:

 * Sandra's "Talking about my generation" post [1]
   * Solderpunk's "Orphans of Netscape" post [2]
     * Sunset's "The internet of money" post [3]

I think Sandra's initial post and Solderpunk's reply correctly
identify that many of us are part of a generation that tends to be
more likely to see the flaws in modern computing. This is a good
thing to be aware of, and a completely valid point. The parallel
with the Apolo generation is fun, compelling, and valid to some
degree as well.

However, that said, I found solderpunk's post dissapointingly
defeatist, and inaccurate about some other things, and as Sunset
points out in her follow-up, it kind of misses the point.

Our visions of the future were (and are) not some naive dream of an
unattainable future. Our dreams shape the future, and if we want a
brighter, better future, we had better be able to dream brighter,
better dreams. We can't hope to build a better future if we can't
even envision it in the first place. These dreams are essential.

And comparing the smolnet to a retirement home for our generation,
well, that's not only very cynical, but I think it's factually
incorrect. One thing that's always given me lots of hope is that I
see many young people joining pubnixes and setting up gemini (and
to maybe a lesser degree gopher) pages. In fact, I suspect the
majority of gemini users are more represented in the group of
20-somethings rather than those at/over 40.

But as Sunset correctly points out, the problem of our degrading
technology (which certainly is degrading both technically and
morally) is not a problem limited to technology. It's everything
that's being made across the board. Physical consumer products keep
getting worse, services keep getting worse, etc,... and this is a
natural result of the 'race to the bottom' since companies will
try to create things as cheaply as possible (whether it be software
or anything else) in order to maximize profit. Growth no matter the
cost, planet or humans be damned. It's a result of our capitalist
system, which in turn is a result of human greed. It's human greed
systemified into a well oiled machine of funneling money to the
richest. In this system, it's darn near impossible to keep a small
business running, as it will immediately be undercut in price by
the bigger players willing to make more compromises in quality and
morality. These bigger players also spend good chunks of money on
marketing and manipulating public opinion. You can't even explain
this to most people, because they are so caught up in the reality
manufactured by capital, that anything that clashes with that
reality triggers a fight or flight reaction. Most people will
either get defensive and dismiss you as some radical nut job or
they won't want to talk about it at all... move on the conversation
to something more cheerful,... wouldn't want to talk about anything
that matters would we,...

And with that said, to circle back to the positive here for a bit,
another good thing in Solderpunk's post is that we do need the
empathy and understanding with people not of our generation. We
should not dismiss them as norms but rather be their rocks, and be
an example of how we should interact with technology. Pass our
knowledge and ideas on to the next generations.

>> Replies <<

Solderpunk's reply here:

gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/%7esolderpunk/phlog/orphans-of-netscape-ii.txt

A reply by screwtape:

gopher://beastie.sdf.org:7991/0phlogs/j.feynman.txt

A reply by whixr (never say die!!)

gemini://station.martinrue.com/whixr/6ff4099a8f1d42b2addad7e3229eedbb


[1] gemini://idiomdrottning.org/generations
[2] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/~solderpunk/phlog/orphans-of-netscape.txt
[3] gemini://arcanesciences.com/gemlog/23-01-13/