I mean, I’m not an ML. I just happened to wind up on this instance.

I mean, the thing you can say for pro-communist arguers vs anti-communist arguers is that the former group is practically guaranteed to have read at least several books. It’a a total crapshoot with the latter.

Depends on the treaties in place with your government. Kim Dotcom isn’t American either.

A great point. That’s exactly the problem the libertarian socialists have been trying to solve for 100 years, and they have actually recorded some pretty intelligent thoughts on the matter in that time.

I get so frustrated with the “communism is unequivocally bad because my oligopolistic government told me so since childhood and I’ve never actually looked into it” crowd. Not because of their beliefs, but because they’re grounded in nothing of substance. And any attempt at all to say “well have you actually thought about this, because there’s nuance” is met with foaming mouths and flying spittle.

(Prefacing this with a disclaimer, because reading comprehension is in the toilet these days, that in the following paragraph I am addressing a hypothetical “you” and I am not actually asking anyone these questions)

Like, communism bad? Sure, maybe. Let’s talk about it. Okay, which communist ideology are you talking about? And are you talking about the ideology itself, or the specific ways in which various projects have attempted to implement it? Do those implementation attempts align with the ideology? Why or why not? And are you aware of the critiques of that ideology and / or approach by other communists, or are you just parroting what you’ve heard from other people who also have not read a book on the topic?

I genuinely do not not have it in me to care what people believe, but seeing people react like agitated weasels—screaming, crying, and flailing when something they in no way understand is raised in conversation just makes me despair for the species, and wonder whether people actually put any thought into their positions at all!

Such a shame all countries that have catched communism have descended into dictatorships huh.

Almost like the anti-authoritarian schools of thought aren’t adopted by people who are keen to size state power or something, eh? Like those people would adopt different tactics or something? Like, maybe Juche and Anarcho-Syndicalism are different things with different approaches?

Also the “both sides” is such an outdated propaganda lie

So, are you saying that anti-communist propaganda doesn’t exist?

In my original comment, I wasn’t making an argument for or against communism. What I was saying is that people don’t know what they’re talking about and react on a hair trigger (because of years of propaganda). And you’ve just illustrated that beautifully.

Like, I don’t care what you believe, but maybe pick up a book and come to understand an ideology before you criticize it?

Love your paintings by the way. Especially the one with the window on the yellow wall. I’d totally buy a print of that.

Also worth mentioning that there is propaganda on both sides: it’s really difficult to know what’s true. People also like to throw around terms without knowing what they mean and make assumptions that may not be grounded in fact (E.G., communism = authoritarianism: there are entire communist schools of thought dedicated to critiquing authoritarianism and how power has been / should be used in communist projects).

Maybe? Sounds like a tricky thing to automate and then you also have solvent as an additional consumable. This is a problem even with huge industrial inkjets.

I mean, commercial printing is typically 300-600 DPI…

A bunch of rollers that need to be cleaned fastidiously if you want them to keep working.

That’s just what happens when you have stuff dissolved in solvents.

That’s direct thermal, not laser. Problem is direct thermal prints don’t last very long and the paper is expensive. Thermal transfer uses expensive ribbons, and laser is super complex.

20% has been the norm for the past 15 years or so.

I built a webapp for work, and when a new PR firm / subcontractor entered the picture, they complained that it didn’t work. I spent hours pulling my hair out until I figured out that they were using a seven year old version of Safari. Apparently, their laptops stopped receiving system updates from apple, and you can’t upgrade safari alone. As someone who has never used an Apple computer, this blew my mind.

I have never had a single landlord where this isn’t the case, except in instances where they are too cheap to even hire professionals to do things that they don’t have the skill to do, and they get their dipshit son to “fix” the sink that fell clean out of the kitchen counter with a lumpy bead of clear silicone and a 1’ piece of 2x4 wedged underneath.