Human populations seem to grow until they reach comfortable carrying capacity and then level out to roughly replacement levels. The global growth rate has been decelerating since the 1960s and looks like it's going to stabilize around 2100, barring any significant changes to the situation (hello climate change). Carrying capacity is affected by food availability, medical technology, living space and economic prosperity.
The issue is that we might not be stabilising at replacement levels. Which is good! We need less people in general, and you can't get a better "less people" than dying of old age (as opposed to plague or war). Things are going to get a little hairy in the transition, we've built so much of our society on the concept of endless growth, but hopefully we're gonna end up in a better place than we are now.
We do not need less people. We can handle a lot more people on Earth we just need better distribution of resources, and less pollution.
reminder that population control is fascist talk and should not be entertained. ecofascism is a core belief for nazis
the same people that sell us the lie that we are responsible for our own suffering are the ones that exploit us and the earth
But Nazis also think there's a birth rate problem oooooooooooh
I feel like I am missing some serious historical context here and I am not sure if I want to find out.
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
A head of lettuce
Corporations have managed to turn nearly every problem they caused into a failing of the people.
Pollution getting you some heat from environmentalists? Make the people believe they’re killing the ocean with straws. Litter becoming a problem because of all the shitty packaging you sell stuff in? Time for a guilt trip commercial with a fake Native! People getting run over by cars? Invent “jaywalking” laws!
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Wow these forums really massively sucked 15ish years ago didn’t they?
Jesus tap dancing christ.
+28
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
It’s crazy how much of it I avoided back in the day by mostly only posting in the 40K thread. Even then I still got jailed for being a dick to someone.
The good thing about going back to that thread is the fact that if you look, almost every person that was like haha good story, is gone. But a good chunk of the what the fuck is wrong with you crowd of still here. Minus a few, pour one out for Cal and Anni
Wouldn't have pegged Pony to be on the wrong side of that thread, given he was kind of a belligerent moralizing asshole on a lot of random shit so it's weird to see him just be like "yeah I guess sexual assault was probably just a funny story"
I very much hope my former shitass self wasn't that shitty back then.
Man, old threads. I tell you what, the community obviously is full of great people, but sometimes I randomly think about this place vs most other forms. Especially forums based around a gaming comic?? And it really is pretty nuts what tube and the other mods did
okay had to go ahead and close that thread, as heinous as it is I can't have myself getting mad over 15-year-old posts, there's plenty to be mad about happening right here and now
(that being said, it's absolutely fair and right to call out the original poster about it)
okay had to go ahead and close that thread, as heinous as it is I can't have myself getting mad over 15-year-old posts, there's plenty to be mad about happening right here and now
(that being said, it's absolutely fair and right to call out the original poster about it)
Yeah, I don't care as much about the majority of the posts in that thread because I know the forums have changed culturally, people have matured and grown (many of whom have demonstrated that growth on the forums), it's grim but was a different time and I know most folks won't stand by what they said then, now
Wide berth between that and an admission of sex crimes though
I feel like the Edict and the n-word ban helped filter the forum a lot. People who can't communicate without slurs and insults have a lot of growing to do, and for some people it was probably a forcing function.
Spoiler for Personal Penance (I was one of the gross posters in that thread):
I tried to articulate my involvement in this particular thread of forum history the last time it came up and I was aghast to find myself there, but kept getting gun shy/cold feet engaging with (or even attempting to reread) what I said back then. I think it’s because this forum has meant a lot to my social development over these past fifteen years (half my lifetime, roughly), but at the same time admitting the “why” of that is very hard on a personal level, and I have a tendency to pull an “Irish Goodbye” rather than take accountability when shit goes south for me with a group of people. This is one of the few places I haven’t hit the “escape hatch” and disappeared into the ether once I’d changed/grown as a person, or been rightly-called-out-on-bullshit and presented with former negative behaviors face-to-face without just noping-out and fleeing. In an effort to continue that trend, because I greatly like this place and respect its people (from both then, and now)…
Twenty-something me made racist, sexist, violent, edge-lord jokes. They’re right there on display in that horror-movie of a thread, for the whole world to peruse until the heat-death of the Internet. 20-something-paku thought it was all very funny, and did it to try and fit in with the “cool kids” of this forum, who didn’t give a fuck (something I envied greatly at the time) and were the source of much of the culture around Social Entropy back then. And I did it willingly, eyes completely open, to fit in, knowing it was bullying as a cultural shorthand. Back then, I felt fortunate to fit in just somewhere: the people, now and then, were clever, cultured, funny! Now, despite how awful it all reads in retrospect (and it’s real bad) I just feel fortunate I didn’t accidentally stumble upon somewhere much worseto spend my jaded early-twenties, and that a large group of people from “the Bad Old Times” here have seemed to evolve for the better, as well!
But that doesn’t change the face that my behavior back then was wrong. My words were hurtful. I’m sorry now that I was such a follower. I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to be a decent person in a meaningful way, when it might’ve mattered more. The culture wasn’t an excuse for my actions: I was part of the problem, and could have addressed it/thrown a conniption/left in a rage. Many old posters did!
I can’t read nearly any of my posts from 10+ years ago without wanting to dig a large hole in the ground and climb in from embarrassment, or just quit the forums out of shame, but that feels cowardly. All I can say is that the me of fifteen years later (lucky husband, and a grateful father to three boys somehow, and man I’m trying) would be completely ashamed if my own children engaged anything close to similar to how 20-something-paku did. I’ll do all I can to educate them to do right by their fellow people, knowing where I’ve failed to respect my fellow person in the past. I hope they become better men than me
That all said, I wouldn’t resent anyone that read what I thought to say, out-loud and in an online setting fifteen years ago, who would immediately discount what I had to say or think out loud now. I personally judge people based on shit they did twenty years ago all the time: it’s just human nature. All I can try to do in the present is just attempt to be better, and hope my words and actions today can make up for my words and bullshit back then.
I was thinking about social media tonight and got curious, so I searched my own post history. From 2006, when I was fresh out of high school. Guys, it's still there, all of it I hope for the sake of today's kids that Elon deletes it all forever.
I have sometimes been very grateful that most of my own youth pre-dates the (public) internet. Though that just means that my preserved mistakes are from an age when I really should have known better...
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
A head of lettuce
You stuck around, grew as a person, made efforts to display that change and maturity, and are way better off for it. A ton of us are mortified by stuff we posted here 15 to 20 years ago (myself included! And for a lot of the same reasons you talked about), but for most of us that stuck around here to present day, well, hopefully our post histories are a sort of living record of that growth as people. I know for myself these forums (specifically the regulars here) have been a major factor in my own growth and change in mindset over the last couple of decades.
The fact that you can be embarrassed about your past behavior AND ALSO own up to it and admit you were a real shit is a hell of a lot more introspection and self awareness than some people can manage, so take that as a win. You’re alright, Paku.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Have we tried just killing all the poor people. Like not the slow death of the soul we’ve had going for centuries. Just like, real Midgar sector 7 shit
[stares in Avalanche]
[slowly slots materia into slot on bangle]
"This was your father's triple growth bangle. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age."
You stuck around, grew as a person, made efforts to display that change and maturity, and are way better off for it. A ton of us are mortified by stuff we posted here 15 to 20 years ago (myself included! And for a lot of the same reasons you talked about), but for most of us that stuck around here to present day, well, hopefully our post histories are a sort of living record of that growth as people. I know for myself these forums (specifically the regulars here) have been a major factor in my own growth and change in mindset over the last couple of decades.
The fact that you can be embarrassed about your past behavior AND ALSO own up to it and admit you were a real shit is a hell of a lot more introspection and self awareness than some people can manage, so take that as a win. You’re alright, Paku.
Yeah, like, as embarrassing as seeing that thread again might be I don't really take the posts in there to be an indicator of who you are now because you stuck around and there's plenty of visible improvement even without the (kindly offered and well written) apology
A lot of people made shitty posts back then and I don't begrudge them for it, especially as the forums themselves had a culture that encouraged it at the time - it's a problem if you still posted like that but otherwise, y'know, not hard to see you're a different person
I am gonna begrudge someone who hasn't shown how they made amends for a violent sexual assault, though (preferably via confession and followed by accepting charges, mind)
Eh, depends on exactly how old you were and what influences you had. I'd say in some situation, some stuff in one's very early 20s and under could be easily forgiven if that person has grown up, reflected on their awful shit and moved on.
Like it's not just shitty internet communities that can reinforce some really shitty mindsets. We have plenty of physical communities around and definitely in the early 2000s that were just as shitty.
I'm just glad that the number of spaces that enable fuck awful views on certain issues are decreasing. So it's making it less likely that people fall into that shit and then get stuck in for long periods of time or even forever. Granted also seems like we're hitting a point where it also gets harder and harder for people to justify holding certain shitty views because it's becoming less likely for them to grow up in an environment constantly surrounded by those views.
Of the top of my head and a person that is 37.
-Everywhere I've been, racism has never really be accepted. I mean, I know such places existed, but when I got to school, people were made aware they needed to bury their fucking racism really fucking quick. I'll begrudgingly admit, there are still physical communities (like literal small towns) where open racism is accepted.
-Sexism is kind of mixed bag. Like certain shit would get you in trouble real fucking quick, but there were certainly some takes that managed to fly under the radar, that shouldn't have been tolerated.
-Similar deal with religious bullshit. My hope is that I live long enough to see all the asshole fundy Christians have to gnash their teeth because no one will let them get away with their shit anymore.
-It was LGBT+ stuff where things were absolutely fucking awful. Like views on that changed real quick. I want to say there was a noticeable shift around the early 2000s, where public opinion moved to acceptance when it came to homosexuality and then other things following. Granted, my memory of the shift might be a bit off. I had enough shit going on in my life that I tended to not focus on things that were an immediate concern to me, partly because I didn't have nearly as much time to browse the internet. Anyways not going to be surprised if this is where most of us have said or posted shit that we aren't proud of and wish we had never said.
-Individuals with disabilities. The other area where shit was pretty bad in my teen years. the r-word and permutation of it saw frequent use in public discourse and it is nice to see it being treated like the shitty slur it is. Sadly feel like progress on this front hasn't be as rapid as it really should be. I mean, seems like the banishing of the r-word is still pretty recent and I've gotten into verbal disputes with people I've known about how they shouldn't use it and should stop making excuses for it.
There's a difference between centrism, as based on actual positions (so, for example, you could call the Democrats a center-left party) and The Guy That Rejects Labels, that is mad because nobody else finds his middle-schooler-watching-South-Park interpretation of politics impressive anymore.
The end result of the latter is Elon, that thinks that if mere mortals don't respect his great intellect, well, they need to be taught a lesson.
It's not really a secret. It's right there on the Tesla wiki. As a god, Elon gets special pleading. "Well, he WOULD have founded Tesla if it didn't already exist. It was his divine right to be considered a founder and your mortal courts affirmed it."
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Garlic Breadi'm a bitch i'm a bitch i'm a bitch i'm aRegistered User, Disagreeableregular
The good thing about going back to that thread is the fact that if you look, almost every person that was like haha good story, is gone. But a good chunk of the what the fuck is wrong with you crowd of still here. Minus a few, pour one out for Cal and Anni
i think the wildest part is that a lot of the posters that defended it or said it wasn't sexual assault, or were the ones that committed the sexual assault, were 35-40+ years old. i didn't have the best posts in that thread (and i did and said things around that time that i regret and still deserve to pay for; i am no paragon) but i'm glad i was on the right side then. i was 18 yelling at people who were older then than i am now, 17 years later. that's kinda ridiculous!
I'm fairly glad my only post in that whole mess was me agreeing with Cal.
+1
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Garlic Breadi'm a bitch i'm a bitch i'm a bitch i'm aRegistered User, Disagreeableregular
going back to old threads has the extra benefit of seeing my deadname everywhere on top of seeing my absolutely awful posts. lol at 14 year old me thinking "i change my aim screen name too much i should just start using my real name because that will never change and everything is on the internet anyway" in 2003! my username originally had my last name in it! why did i ever think i was smart, i don't know shit about shit and never have
Sometimes it's really bizarre to get a glimpse into the minds of other people cause like, I can safely say that I would never have thought that story to ever be remotely funny.
Don't even remember what I was like in 2007. Probably a better person than I am now
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
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PiptheFairFrequently not in boats.Registered Userregular
Posts
But Nazis also think there's a birth rate problem oooooooooooh
People who cum on passed out people shouldn’t be allowed to post here, imo
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Pollution getting you some heat from environmentalists? Make the people believe they’re killing the ocean with straws. Litter becoming a problem because of all the shitty packaging you sell stuff in? Time for a guilt trip commercial with a fake Native! People getting run over by cars? Invent “jaywalking” laws!
Here's the Pandora's Box if you want to risk opening it!
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
Jesus tap dancing christ.
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
Steam ID - VeldrinD | SS Post | Wishlist
Man, old threads. I tell you what, the community obviously is full of great people, but sometimes I randomly think about this place vs most other forms. Especially forums based around a gaming comic?? And it really is pretty nuts what tube and the other mods did
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
(that being said, it's absolutely fair and right to call out the original poster about it)
Yeah, I don't care as much about the majority of the posts in that thread because I know the forums have changed culturally, people have matured and grown (many of whom have demonstrated that growth on the forums), it's grim but was a different time and I know most folks won't stand by what they said then, now
Wide berth between that and an admission of sex crimes though
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
Twenty-something me made racist, sexist, violent, edge-lord jokes. They’re right there on display in that horror-movie of a thread, for the whole world to peruse until the heat-death of the Internet. 20-something-paku thought it was all very funny, and did it to try and fit in with the “cool kids” of this forum, who didn’t give a fuck (something I envied greatly at the time) and were the source of much of the culture around Social Entropy back then. And I did it willingly, eyes completely open, to fit in, knowing it was bullying as a cultural shorthand. Back then, I felt fortunate to fit in just somewhere: the people, now and then, were clever, cultured, funny! Now, despite how awful it all reads in retrospect (and it’s real bad) I just feel fortunate I didn’t accidentally stumble upon somewhere much worseto spend my jaded early-twenties, and that a large group of people from “the Bad Old Times” here have seemed to evolve for the better, as well!
But that doesn’t change the face that my behavior back then was wrong. My words were hurtful. I’m sorry now that I was such a follower. I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to be a decent person in a meaningful way, when it might’ve mattered more. The culture wasn’t an excuse for my actions: I was part of the problem, and could have addressed it/thrown a conniption/left in a rage. Many old posters did!
I can’t read nearly any of my posts from 10+ years ago without wanting to dig a large hole in the ground and climb in from embarrassment, or just quit the forums out of shame, but that feels cowardly. All I can say is that the me of fifteen years later (lucky husband, and a grateful father to three boys somehow, and man I’m trying) would be completely ashamed if my own children engaged anything close to similar to how 20-something-paku did. I’ll do all I can to educate them to do right by their fellow people, knowing where I’ve failed to respect my fellow person in the past. I hope they become better men than me
That all said, I wouldn’t resent anyone that read what I thought to say, out-loud and in an online setting fifteen years ago, who would immediately discount what I had to say or think out loud now. I personally judge people based on shit they did twenty years ago all the time: it’s just human nature. All I can try to do in the present is just attempt to be better, and hope my words and actions today can make up for my words and bullshit back then.
The fact that you can be embarrassed about your past behavior AND ALSO own up to it and admit you were a real shit is a hell of a lot more introspection and self awareness than some people can manage, so take that as a win. You’re alright, Paku.
"This was your father's triple growth bangle. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age."
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
Yeah, like, as embarrassing as seeing that thread again might be I don't really take the posts in there to be an indicator of who you are now because you stuck around and there's plenty of visible improvement even without the (kindly offered and well written) apology
A lot of people made shitty posts back then and I don't begrudge them for it, especially as the forums themselves had a culture that encouraged it at the time - it's a problem if you still posted like that but otherwise, y'know, not hard to see you're a different person
I am gonna begrudge someone who hasn't shown how they made amends for a violent sexual assault, though (preferably via confession and followed by accepting charges, mind)
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
Like it's not just shitty internet communities that can reinforce some really shitty mindsets. We have plenty of physical communities around and definitely in the early 2000s that were just as shitty.
I'm just glad that the number of spaces that enable fuck awful views on certain issues are decreasing. So it's making it less likely that people fall into that shit and then get stuck in for long periods of time or even forever. Granted also seems like we're hitting a point where it also gets harder and harder for people to justify holding certain shitty views because it's becoming less likely for them to grow up in an environment constantly surrounded by those views.
Of the top of my head and a person that is 37.
-Everywhere I've been, racism has never really be accepted. I mean, I know such places existed, but when I got to school, people were made aware they needed to bury their fucking racism really fucking quick. I'll begrudgingly admit, there are still physical communities (like literal small towns) where open racism is accepted.
-Sexism is kind of mixed bag. Like certain shit would get you in trouble real fucking quick, but there were certainly some takes that managed to fly under the radar, that shouldn't have been tolerated.
-Similar deal with religious bullshit. My hope is that I live long enough to see all the asshole fundy Christians have to gnash their teeth because no one will let them get away with their shit anymore.
-It was LGBT+ stuff where things were absolutely fucking awful. Like views on that changed real quick. I want to say there was a noticeable shift around the early 2000s, where public opinion moved to acceptance when it came to homosexuality and then other things following. Granted, my memory of the shift might be a bit off. I had enough shit going on in my life that I tended to not focus on things that were an immediate concern to me, partly because I didn't have nearly as much time to browse the internet. Anyways not going to be surprised if this is where most of us have said or posted shit that we aren't proud of and wish we had never said.
-Individuals with disabilities. The other area where shit was pretty bad in my teen years. the r-word and permutation of it saw frequent use in public discourse and it is nice to see it being treated like the shitty slur it is. Sadly feel like progress on this front hasn't be as rapid as it really should be. I mean, seems like the banishing of the r-word is still pretty recent and I've gotten into verbal disputes with people I've known about how they shouldn't use it and should stop making excuses for it.
battletag: Millin#1360
Nice chart to figure out how honest a news source is.
The end result of the latter is Elon, that thinks that if mere mortals don't respect his great intellect, well, they need to be taught a lesson.
It's not really a secret. It's right there on the Tesla wiki. As a god, Elon gets special pleading. "Well, he WOULD have founded Tesla if it didn't already exist. It was his divine right to be considered a founder and your mortal courts affirmed it."
i think the wildest part is that a lot of the posters that defended it or said it wasn't sexual assault, or were the ones that committed the sexual assault, were 35-40+ years old. i didn't have the best posts in that thread (and i did and said things around that time that i regret and still deserve to pay for; i am no paragon) but i'm glad i was on the right side then. i was 18 yelling at people who were older then than i am now, 17 years later. that's kinda ridiculous!
not sure what/where/how cal's doing but anni is on twitter and a discord server i'm on that i always forget about because i hate discord
Seems real contritious to me about the sexual assault he committed and defended
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
weird that those numbers came up
just a coincidence I'm sure
This is close to peak white cis guy
Worst case scenario is they suddenly call you a slur or politely suggest you should die. Maybe a nice brigading from their friends sealioning