ColonelSanders

Ok, but only if I get to make the next post that complains about people complaining about people who complain about Reddit. Or…something.

*Donaghy, and at least Jack had Liz to act as a moral compass/course correction. David is just another asshat CEO with no moral or ethical scruples.

Liquidator Spez. RCA (Reddit Commerce Authority)

Turns out one of the users they alienated was Morn. He was their best customer. And his stomach was full of latinum.

If that V were any deeper it’d be a | |

Companies are going out of their way to ignore the fact that “the easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.” - Gabe Newell

I consider adblocking to be in the same boat. Piracy/Adblocking only exists because it’s not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue. By making the free version even more intrusive ON PURPOSE, they’re not pushing as many people to buy a subscription as they are pushing people to install adblockers. If YouTube only ever showed a quick 10-15 sec ad at the very beginning of a video, I’d be less inclined to go out of my way to find and install an adblocker (and maybe even eventually just buy a subscription) than if they force feed me back to back, 30-second, unskippable ads.

It’s the same with those stupid fucking commercials that run ALL the time and try and be as annoying as possible. If I find your ad to be annoying and frequent and shoved down my throat all the time, I will vehemently and actively go out of my way to AVOID that product, not be more inclined to buy it.

Good news to everyone! We’ve wanted an alternative to YouTube for a long time. Now it looks like Google that next big step in forcing alternative platforms to rise in it’s place. I’m an avid user of YouTube, but not a snowball’s chance in hell will I buy Premium when they are trying to shove it down my throat like that. That’s a very good way to get people to NOT buy something but for some reason companies don’t seem to understand.

Gabe Newell said it best: “We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem.” - Piracy was down and streaming subscriptions were up when Netflix first came about due to the ease/convenience of it, but piracy is seeing a return due to the mishandling and misconception of companies about how to gain profit through improved services vs increased pricing/poor performance.

The reason I bring this up is because YouTube, like many companies, thinks they’re “solving” the issue of adblocking by force-feeding this kind of bullshit to the masses, but all they’re doing is forcing more people to turn to alternatives instead.

I suppose it depends on what a person considers a hidden gem because everyone’s tastes are different. I’ll list a few categories and at least 1-2 of my favorites in those categories that I’ve found on Steam and are currently on sale:

Exploration/Base-Building:

• Grounded
• Raft
• Rimworld
• Subnautica/Subnautica: Below Zero

Story based/Farming/Romance:

• My Time at Portia*
• My Time at Sandrock

Visual Novels:

• Basically anything made by PixelFade (Ace Academy, Ethereal Enigma, Crystalline). One of the few English-based VNs that are fully voiced in English and have a pretty decent plot/story. Interactive with different choices affecting different outcomes and even some minigames at least in EE.
• Nekop-er Hush Hush. Ok, listen. I’ll admit there IS an 18+ DLC for this but it’s not necessary to enjoy the game. It honestly has a pretty interesting story/premise and I did get pretty heavily emotionally invested in the characters.

*Note that MTAP has been fraught with issues. Although these issues don’t necessarily make the game unplayable, and it’s still enjoyable, be aware that it is was Pathea’s (the studio) first such attempt and as such they were still learning. Their second game Sandrock has solved a lot of the issues and it’s not necessary to play the first one

I suppose it depends on what a person considers a hidden gem because everyone’s tastes are different. I’ll list a few categories and at least 1-2 of my favorites in those categories that I’ve found on Steam and are currently on sale:

Exploration/Base-Building:

• Grounded
• Raft
• Rimworld
• Subnautica/Subnautica: Below Zero

Story based/Farming/Romance:

• My Time at Portia*
• My Time at Sandrock

Visual Novels:

• Basically anything made by PixelFade (Ace Academy, Ethereal Enigma, Crystalline). One of the few English-based VNs that are fully voiced in English and have a pretty decent plot/story. Interactive with different choices affecting different outcomes and even some minigames at least in EE.
• _Nekop_er Hush Hush. Ok, listen. I’ll admit there IS an 18+ DLC for this but it’s not necessary to enjoy the game. It honestly has a pretty interesting story/premise and I did get pretty heavily emotionally invested in the characters.

*Note that MTAP has been fraught with issues. Although these issues don’t necessarily make the game unplayable, and it’s still enjoyable, be aware that it is was Pathea’s (the studio) first such attempt and as such they were still learning. Their second game Sandrock has solved a lot of the issues and it’s not necessary to play the first one

War were declared

I’m active on here so I don’t have to be, IRL!

Yeah I mean, it’s all still going to be relevant (the Reddit stuff) at least until after the end of the month.

https://kbin.social/m/[email protected]/t/76632/Almost-OVER-90-of-the-accounts-on-lemmy-are-now

If it’s any consolation, I went through something similar. There’s a subreddit community that I was a part of for a long time that I loved deeply, it was a very warm and inviting place. When the sub went on blackout and took a poll to extend indefinitely, I made a passionate plea to the sub to really consider what’s at stake, even though so many of them felt like it was pointless. I wasn’t rude, I wasn’t callous or pessimistic, I just wanted people to know that whether something seems hopeless or not isn’t the point at all, but rather taking a stand for something you believe in should be the point.

I was promptly met with a barrage of downvotes and someone replying to me spewing vitriol and telling me to ‘touch grass’, with another person just shrugging and saying they just want things to go back to the way they were (by ending the blackout). It’s weird but I was honestly pretty hurt by that response. This community that I came to know and love turned on me the moment I suggested we take a stand.

Apathy is, unfortunately, a real problem in our world today. Too many people aren’t willing to do even the bare minimum to protest or protect their rights. They would sooner just fall back into what is comfortable (or worse, they just give up before even trying because they have already lost hope) and have decisions and actions be made for them rather than risk losing that “certainty.”

I remember reading a comment that said they half expected this to be a ‘Door in the Face’ technique (or a different one with a different name, can’t recall) wherein Reddit was being a clever sales person by starting high and then going low, because the true goal was to just introduce a pricing plan to begin with. If they had just started with a pricing plan, there’d be pushback and they might have to rescind it, but if they started with something ridiculous and then walked it back/lowered it to something reasonable (their goal the entire time), they could save face and say “hey Reddit we heard you loud and clear and you’re right!” and Reddit could go “We did it Reddit!” - I thought that seemed very plausible at the time.

Then I thought maybe it was just Hanlon’s Razor. They were just being stupid. Turns out it was a little of both malice and stupidity.

I’ll never forget the sound of the siren’s call as it wafted sweetly over the waves, gently washing over me like a warm blanket of security. That dulcet tone that cried, “You’ve Got Mail!”

Honestly the only people that will remain there are, as you said, either very stubborn, or too young to give a damn. There’s a community that I was a part of for a long time that I loved deeply, it was a very warm and inviting place. When the sub went on blackout and took a poll to extend indefinitely, I made a passionate plea to the sub to really consider what’s at stake, even though so many of them felt like it was pointless. I wasn’t rude, I wasn’t callous or pessimistic, I just wanted people to know that whether something seems hopeless or not isn’t the point at all, but rather taking a stand for something you believe in should be the point.

I was promptly met with a barrage of downvotes and someone replying to me spewing vitriol and telling me to touch grass, with another person just shrugging and saying they just want things to go back to the way they were (by ending the blackout). It’s weird but I was honestly pretty hurt by that response. This community that I came to know and love turned on me the moment I suggested we take a stand.

There really is no persuading people like that unfortunately. But, hopefully, slowly, change will still happen.