We've never seen anything like this in our lifetime since the Soviet Union days, which most of us were either too young to remember or not even born yet.
It doesn't matter how it gets spun, this is what authoritarianism under a tyrannical Government looks like.
It's really important that people rely less on just social media to spread these things and instead send them out directly themselves as well. I know that sounds silly and like it won't accomplish much, but when I began doing it after the election in 2020 — when they cut-off people being able to share information — I was surprised at just how many people close to me didn't have a clue what was happening.
It does wake people up. Or, at the very least, it plants tiny seeds in the minds that sprout into questions later as they begin to notice things. That's just how I see it.
I think the worst thing people can do is be apathetic and silent.
If we don't begin taking risks and speaking up then the consequences later seem like they'll be far more pernicious than the potential for being socially ostracized in the present. Those people who would lose a friend for such things are the truly intolerant ones and aren't worth keeping around anyway — that's for damn sure.
There is another tool in the kit that the soviets didn't have. Sort of a neo-Samizdat. Encrypted messaging apps like signal and telegram. They can be used to send info directly to people and are at least fairly difficult for them to intercept. You can easily get all your family and friends on the platform and it's like your own personal Twitter or something.
I don't think many people would understand the days of the old internet. Back when you skirted everything through IRC chats, sharing files scattered into pieces that needed to be compiled, renamed, and combined. Or, even finding hidden links to things in a webpages source file.
We had so many little tricks that even savvy people who didn't participate in the coding/hacking part were privy to, because back then we were communities that shared everything — especially information.
People traded those valuable skills for convenience. Which is understandable in a way but has also made them so much easier to control.
We're seeing 1984's Big Brother take shape in real-time within what people thought should be the free world. This is like the CCP stepping in to squash the Hong Kong protests.
I heard it was just one ISP? I'm trying to understand the scope and something more than a screen shot would also be good to have. I certainly don't doubt that they'd do this though.
Reports I've seen indicate that it was just Telstra, which is one of the biggest ISPs in Australia. The reports saying that the Victoria police ordered this may be false, but either way, it is a very conveniently timed outage.
Australia is in civil war, and not only does most of the world not know it, I don't think half of Australians do either. I've seen several videos where some folks will just ignore and walk away from clear brutality moments.
When North Korea and other dictats do this behaviour they're all over news.
Kind of hard to tell whether you mean that or not, but if you do, thanks, I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
Coincidentally, I’m not in that state (yes, yes, confusing, I know). Different state = different problems. I don’t even think this one HAS riot police. Not really needed...
So... Provided I don’t find myself in the healthcare system, which has been completely broken by vaccine mandates, or... Piss off a cop, I should be right. Not so sure about my grandfather in “aged care”, however...
But more broadly, there’s clearly other Aussies in this forum, so if any of them are in Vic, or even in NSW, those are who I would be worrying about, right now. Like the people I know, there...
Whole country will fall apart (even more), soon, though. Then you can worry about me actually doing something stupid, like fighting back.
A) All I did was call put censorship that I found irksome, and b) this is not some sort of “competition” or “flame war”...
At least not on my end. I don’t fucking care.
Easy to be “the bigger man” when you’re literally the chief janny of this fucking site.
For what it’s worth, bullshit aside, I’m fine.
I’m sure Dom’s fine, too. I didn’t really feel the need to ask, though, coz, you know, I actually have a life. And I don’t really give a shit about being perceived as “the bigger man” on an obscure Internet forum, either.
u/danielmann81 (or whatever his handle is) probably deserves the check-up, more than me, if this was a genuine effort, rather than an attempt to bait me.
It’s the biggest weekend of “sportsball” for that state, this weekend. Think the Super Bowl. So... I wouldn’t expect much protesting, over the weekend. Everyone’s too distracted, because they can only watch the game on TV (from Perth).
Though I dunno. There’s usually riots after the AFL GF anyway, semi-regularly (y’know, like Liverpool last year, in England), so... Maybe they’ll use that opportunity, given that the usual “football hooligans” don’t have their regular release..?
Idk guys. But can I just say it’s really fucking frustrating to know that 2021, over here, has somehow been much WORSE than 2020, even though, from a “pandemic” perspective, that makes zero sense...
I’m just... Really tired of all this shit. Like Sydney (Watson) said.
Trust me, I get it. I'm in Canada, which is two steps behind you fellas in terms of totalitarianism, and catching up quick.
Just remember: the way you're feeling right now is the way they want you to feel. This fear campaign is designed to wear down your defenses. They want you tired, frustrated, beaten down, feeling impotent and powerless, overwhelmed and surrounded, isolated and alone.
We've never seen anything like this in our lifetime since the Soviet Union days, which most of us were either too young to remember or not even born yet.
It doesn't matter how it gets spun, this is what authoritarianism under a tyrannical Government looks like.
It's really important that people rely less on just social media to spread these things and instead send them out directly themselves as well. I know that sounds silly and like it won't accomplish much, but when I began doing it after the election in 2020 — when they cut-off people being able to share information — I was surprised at just how many people close to me didn't have a clue what was happening.
It does wake people up. Or, at the very least, it plants tiny seeds in the minds that sprout into questions later as they begin to notice things. That's just how I see it.
I think the worst thing people can do is be apathetic and silent.
If we don't begin taking risks and speaking up then the consequences later seem like they'll be far more pernicious than the potential for being socially ostracized in the present. Those people who would lose a friend for such things are the truly intolerant ones and aren't worth keeping around anyway — that's for damn sure.
There is another tool in the kit that the soviets didn't have. Sort of a neo-Samizdat. Encrypted messaging apps like signal and telegram. They can be used to send info directly to people and are at least fairly difficult for them to intercept. You can easily get all your family and friends on the platform and it's like your own personal Twitter or something.
Yes. HAM radio. WiFi mesh networks. Local autists building mini servers of cached data like a local library on mesh networks.
Back to the BBS days, boys! Door games, muds, caches of text file and pdf books, local roving bands of hackers and demo coders.
I don't think many people would understand the days of the old internet. Back when you skirted everything through IRC chats, sharing files scattered into pieces that needed to be compiled, renamed, and combined. Or, even finding hidden links to things in a webpages source file.
We had so many little tricks that even savvy people who didn't participate in the coding/hacking part were privy to, because back then we were communities that shared everything — especially information.
People traded those valuable skills for convenience. Which is understandable in a way but has also made them so much easier to control.
We're seeing 1984's Big Brother take shape in real-time within what people thought should be the free world. This is like the CCP stepping in to squash the Hong Kong protests.
Ah, Covid.
Big tech is the enemy of the people.
Isn't this what Egypt did during the Arab Spring?
Rofl.
Governed like a third world shithole.
I heard it was just one ISP? I'm trying to understand the scope and something more than a screen shot would also be good to have. I certainly don't doubt that they'd do this though.
Reports I've seen indicate that it was just Telstra, which is one of the biggest ISPs in Australia. The reports saying that the Victoria police ordered this may be false, but either way, it is a very conveniently timed outage.
There aren’t a lot of ISPs down under.
Telstra owns the landlines, and most of the WiFi infrastructure... And most of the broadband network (as in, the physical infrastructure), here...
It’s complicated, but, if this is accurate, it’s a bit bigger than just, say, Vodafone or AT&T shutting down.
Australia is in civil war, and not only does most of the world not know it, I don't think half of Australians do either. I've seen several videos where some folks will just ignore and walk away from clear brutality moments.
When North Korea and other dictats do this behaviour they're all over news.
I'm genuinely hoping u/bamboozler1 is safe
Kind of hard to tell whether you mean that or not, but if you do, thanks, I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
Coincidentally, I’m not in that state (yes, yes, confusing, I know). Different state = different problems. I don’t even think this one HAS riot police. Not really needed...
So... Provided I don’t find myself in the healthcare system, which has been completely broken by vaccine mandates, or... Piss off a cop, I should be right. Not so sure about my grandfather in “aged care”, however...
But more broadly, there’s clearly other Aussies in this forum, so if any of them are in Vic, or even in NSW, those are who I would be worrying about, right now. Like the people I know, there...
Whole country will fall apart (even more), soon, though. Then you can worry about me actually doing something stupid, like fighting back.
No, I do. I'm concerned for any user in Australia or New Zealand. You have fascist governments and internment camps!
I recommend decentralized communication systems. Thinks like Keybase.
Way to be the bigger man 👍
Death by Fascism is way more important to me than, "Hey, Dom quit being a faggot"
I will always be a faggot, but good lord I don't want to fine my users getting actually sent to a gulag.
Sigh... Come on, man...
A) All I did was call put censorship that I found irksome, and b) this is not some sort of “competition” or “flame war”...
At least not on my end. I don’t fucking care.
Easy to be “the bigger man” when you’re literally the chief janny of this fucking site.
For what it’s worth, bullshit aside, I’m fine.
I’m sure Dom’s fine, too. I didn’t really feel the need to ask, though, coz, you know, I actually have a life. And I don’t really give a shit about being perceived as “the bigger man” on an obscure Internet forum, either.
I don't care who was wrong and who was right in a stupid Internet fight
I was commenting more that it takes class and maturity to be able to separate online from IRL and wish your opponents/critics well.
u/danielmann81 (or whatever his handle is) probably deserves the check-up, more than me, if this was a genuine effort, rather than an attempt to bait me.
He’s closer to the action than I am, currently.
Australian government! Fuck you!
Xi is preparing a medal for Chairman Dan
It’s the biggest weekend of “sportsball” for that state, this weekend. Think the Super Bowl. So... I wouldn’t expect much protesting, over the weekend. Everyone’s too distracted, because they can only watch the game on TV (from Perth).
Though I dunno. There’s usually riots after the AFL GF anyway, semi-regularly (y’know, like Liverpool last year, in England), so... Maybe they’ll use that opportunity, given that the usual “football hooligans” don’t have their regular release..?
Idk guys. But can I just say it’s really fucking frustrating to know that 2021, over here, has somehow been much WORSE than 2020, even though, from a “pandemic” perspective, that makes zero sense...
I’m just... Really tired of all this shit. Like Sydney (Watson) said.
I’m kind of sick of talking about it all.
Trust me, I get it. I'm in Canada, which is two steps behind you fellas in terms of totalitarianism, and catching up quick.
Just remember: the way you're feeling right now is the way they want you to feel. This fear campaign is designed to wear down your defenses. They want you tired, frustrated, beaten down, feeling impotent and powerless, overwhelmed and surrounded, isolated and alone.
You're not.