Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/13/i-read-zines-to-escape-surve.html
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Headline: "Dystopian society saves print industry!"
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This reminds me of the stupidity of the FBI seizing patrons’ library records. A person can read a book in the library without ever checking it out.
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Only pay with cash.
I once had to explain to my son that sure we had the internet when I was young, the websites were called magazines, and you surfed them with a mailbox.
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I read fast. If I have a couple hours to kill, I could read an average-sized book.
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I hope the deep irony is not lost you ; no doubt, others have pointed out the irony in the comments already. Although they were much more subtle than me.
But for anyone who doesn’t know and is randomly reading these comments (I’m sure there are very few but hey):
This statement is being posted on a former zine that now has ties to click-bait articles and social media for advertising. (definitely not blaming them for any malice though)
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I would hope that the irony is thick enough for Mark to notice, i’m sure he got it. However i think the online community that surround BB outweighs the necessary evils of affiliate links, ads, etc.
Maybe it’s possible for BB to have a patreon page or something of the sorts to offer people that are willing to pay for a cleaner experience and perks? I don’t know.
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I’m not sure that there is any irony for Mark to “get”. I am certain that our beloved editors know quite well what sacrifices to some personal standard or another they had to make to turn a zine into a lifestyle, and a multiple family supporting business, while maintaining complete control over the presentation of their creative works and content. Even writers and pixel-wranglers need to eat. I think that if there is actually any irony to be had, it would be people commenting about business practices at one of the best spots on the web for finding other freaks in the digital ether, and the only zine turned daily publishing website that spans decades, instead of, ya know, unplugging themselves from this massive data-hose we lovingly call “a series of tubes”, and picking up a zine, or even better, making one.
I believe the finger you are pointing is actually pointing at you.
Also: Personal safety in the net is everyone’s personal responsibility. Choose your OS, your messaging apps and your networks wisely, and learn how to use encryption to limit how much of you is exposed online.
Or start a zine. I’ll even help. =)
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This is something I can relate to. I came to Boingboing probably 10yrs ago in the hunt for a single place to entertain, inform, and share to others.At that time I’d say options were fewer but perhaps better quality. Now I find options are greater but general quality, privacy, malware, etc are compromising the experience.
More and more I’m finding myself going to maybe 5-6 sites on the web (slate, politico, BBC, a couple sport-specific sites, etc). My WWW is condensing. Perhaps this was Facebook’s mission all along - condensing the online experience into a single room where participants are held for observation, targeted marketing, generating revenue.
I’d be grateful to other readers to point out some other places on the 'Net to reaffirm my faith in the whole thing. Old standbys like Wired.com have been contaminated, and as some others have noted - BB might be on its way as well.
Thanks.
PS - My deepest condolences to Americans this week - any thinking person’s worst nightmare is being realized on the 20th.
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https://www.metafilter.com/ is a good place, one of the first places I go to each day after reading my email. It costs a few bucks to join, which is a effective measure to keep the trolls down.
I’m wary of our public and private surveillance society, however, just because a surveillance method isn’t a 100% complete record of a target’s behavior isn’t really an argument that the method has no value. Criminals are often (well, usually) imperfect. I think targeting a specific library patron’s records with a valid warrant based on probable cause during an in investigation is reasonable.
If avoiding surveillance is why you read zines instead of using the net, keep in mind what happens if you have those zines mailed to you. USPS scans and tracks all sender and addressee info (“metadata”).
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You know, more and more I am seeing confirmation of a point made by Battlestar Galactica - too much networked computerization can reach a point of simply being too hazardous, and in some cases, it’s best to stick with the Old Ways of doing things.
It was reported a while back that Putin has ordered his people to use paper and ink in lieu of 0’s and 1’s over wires.
“After scandals with the distribution of secret documents by WikiLeaks, the exposes by Edward Snowden, reports about Dmitry Medvedev being listened in on during his visit to the G20 summit in London, it has been decided to expand the practice of creating paper documents.”
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Typewriters are super easy to hack.
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True but it almost requires a state actor if the people doing the hacking aren’t residents of the country doing the typewriter keylogging.
Typewriters come with built-in keyloggers.
I’ve heard in the heyday of typewriters, people would sneak into offices and install a radio transmitter in typewriters to capture the keystrokes and send them to nearby receivers.
Either way requires physical access to the typewriter at least once.
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