SCmSTR
@SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone
- Comment on American Foreign Policy 1 day ago:
Asking for a friend
- Comment on What brings you peace in your life? 1 day ago:
Oh fuck I didn’t see what comm this was. Brb editing
- Comment on What brings you peace in your life? 1 day ago:
Orgasms, novelty, socializing with people I love, focusing really hard on something I deem productive or valuable to me
- Comment on New York sues Valve for enabling "illegal gambling" with loot boxes 1 day ago:
The implications and nuances of this lawsuit are so incredibly deep and ripple so far, that anybody on here or anywhere else that says they strongly feel one way or the other is either completely full of shit, has an ulterior motive, or has a personal stake somehow.
This lawsuit, when deeply thought about, is the opposite of simple. The more you know, the messier it gets.
- Comment on Talking to new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty — "This team has brought it back before, and I'm here to help us do it again." 1 day ago:
You, too. What an absolutely toxic and unhelpful thing to say to somebody.
- Comment on Talking to new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty — "This team has brought it back before, and I'm here to help us do it again." 1 day ago:
Chill. This isn’t Reddit. People are allowed to express themselves or go on tangents here. No need to be an asshole.
- Comment on Talking to new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty — "This team has brought it back before, and I'm here to help us do it again." 1 day ago:
Black pilled. But probably based. What if she is AI?
- Comment on Talking to new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty — "This team has brought it back before, and I'm here to help us do it again." 1 day ago:
I’m convinced it won’t happen.
We’ve seen it age and age again, the young people and new people are too ignorant and weak. The only way is through learned family values, which take far too long to impart. Maybe, once the gaming community settles and all parents who vote with their wallet tell their kids to vote with their wallet…
The rate at which young people appear and give leeway to companies catering to inexperienced kids enforces a no-consequences for zero innovation and continuously evolving dark patterns.
We have to solve the company bad behavior problem a different way.
- Comment on New York sues Valve for enabling "illegal gambling" with loot boxes 1 day ago:
This is a mess. I’ve rewritten this a bit of this and added sections and removed sections. The gist of what I think is just that I have a lot of mixed feelings about all of this, and it’s a very VERY complex topic that I just want to be done with…
In addition to asking Valve to modify or eliminate its loot box system, the New York suit asks for Valve to make “full restitution to consumers” for the disgorgement of “all monies” received from its gambling system, and for fines of “three times the amount of its gain.” Ars Technica has reached out to Valve for comment.
Lol.
Okay, so,
- Loot boxes, like other forms of gambling, can lead to addiction and result in real harm. But Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents, who are lured into opening loot boxes by the prospect of winning expensive virtual items that convey status in the gaming world. Research has shown that children who are introduced to gambling are at a significantly higher risk of developing gambling addictions later in life.
I read the “nature of the lawsuit” part of the lawsuit, as I think it’s enough to understand the gist of what’s going on. The lawsuit is like 50 pages long and I’m not a lawyer, I’m just laying in bed with my eyelids getting heavy.
Basically, 1-11, and 13 are entirely THIS IS GAMBLING with sprinkles of GAMBLING IS BAD. Like, yeah, no fucking duh. 14 states:
- As described further below, Valve’s actions violate Article I, Section 9 of the New York Constitution, and Sections 220.05 and 220.10 of New York’s Penal Law.
Looks like article I section 9 is ‘gambling is illegal in ny’. It doesn’t immediately say what 220.05/10 are, but going off the really big focus on THIS IS GAMBLING AND GAMBLING IS ILLEGAL trend, I can guess what it says.
So, why the fuck is ny going after valve NOW? Why not… I dunno, a decade ago? This is so weird! And why not sue ALL the companies that have been doing it for many decades now? Niantic, Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, the hoards of gacha games and trading card games? It can’t really be that the valve definition really just hit some specific conditions, like being otherwise useless skins, most crate opens are worth basically nothing, etc. can it?
And then mixed in is a pretty heavy amount of protect the children. Which… Yes, virtue signal, but yes. Valve shouldn’t allow children to be gambling. But also, I think this is a case of a mean-well situation that developed in the wrong way. Valve needs to check themselves and fix this, 100%.
If you don’t know, the skins thing developed over probably more than a decade. It was a way for modders and skinners to legitimately make money, rather than be barred by copyright. Valve would share in the profit, everybody would see your custom skins rather than just you, it would give everyone a sense of uniqueness, and wouldn’t unbalance the game because it was just cosmetics. Then rarity and logistics, and then it spiraled out of control. It was never meant to be “hey let’s give kids gambling addiction and steal their money”, Valve is one of the very few companies that that ISN’T their goal, as is very evidenced by anybody who knows anything about them. They aren’t EA. It’s unfortunate that it ended up this way, with other companies only seeing the dollar signs, with valve landing on it where they have, with the building hate for them.
I had a bunch of other stuff written out, mostly thoughts as I went. I have many thoughts on this. I think Valve should stop lootboxes and set an example as a leader of the industry.
I’m sad to see Valve get kicked so much, and would be devastated to see Steam and Valve fall (muh library!). They generally do try to serve consumers well, it’s very clear. They single handedly saved pc gaming by offering a quality service better than piracy. Always on DRM was the trade. I hope they can innovate and do better without further dark patterns. Maybe this lawsuit is just what they need to get their shit together. Maybe it’ll destroy them and a bunch of actually shitty companies will continue to be the shittiest companies to ever grace the earth in Valve’s place. I have a very bad feeling about this.
Valve, for all our sakes, do better, plz fix. Before this gets worse.
- Comment on me btw 2 days ago:
More like ffmpreg amirite?
- Comment on i unapologetically love male pits 2 days ago:
Bidets traditionally do to my knowledge. Mine doesn’t, but I don’t have the space to get one of those nice, porcelain standalone ones with the dedicated soap and dedicated towel that I’ve seen in videos online.
Someday… 🥺
- Comment on i unapologetically love male pits 2 days ago:
I think for those people that’s like a fine developed umami
- Comment on i unapologetically love male pits 2 days ago:
Pits strong and vulnerable and powerful and flexing bicep and posing and ribs and waist and little hairs and smelly warmth gahhh i need to sink my teeth in
- Comment on Day 588 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing 4 days ago:
In Sync, I only see the first picture of the post until I see the full contents of the post…
I looked at the picture and thought “what the fuck are they playing?” Lmao
- Comment on The bad behavior of the richest: what I learned from wealth managers 4 days ago:
It’s the kid in the group project that claims they did more work than everybody else and tells the teacher to give them bad grades.
It’s the partner that says they do the majority of the chores.
It’s literally the iamsosmart person, who’s really just an actual idiot with low empathy, who grew up and never actually grew up.
- Comment on Relieving oneself over the edge of the ship 4 days ago:
If you’re the buddy, be sure to keep your mouth shut
- Comment on Every so often, it's important for our community to pause, heal, and reflect together on what's truly important and why we're all here. 1 week ago:
Too much usa-centric politics -> corn as a protest
- Comment on Mentorship Monday - Discussions for career and learning! 1 week ago:
Wow. After reading all of that and seeing what you’ve been through, all I can say is that infosec somehow seems worse off than I even imagined. I feel like I’m standing in front of a series of hundred story walls telling me to try harder.
- Comment on When DinoCon is doing more than the US Gov 1 week ago:
I don’t think they buried the corpses. I could be wrong though.
- Comment on When DinoCon is doing more than the US Gov 1 week ago:
This is the question of ethics vs pragmatism. I do not denounce the discussion, nor do I discourage you from considering the pitfalls of choosing. Also, right now, timing and politics affect everything, and so also must be considered.
One of the cool things about most sciences is that it can wait. Society is delicate, too, and people’s lives are REAL.
Another thing to consider is that not all currency is monetary, and that by not condemning these monsters, there are many situations where you effectively do support them and their actions, and that is what the convention is pointing out.
Goons may not be the heads or decision makers, but they are, at best, malevolent negligence, and are often the active forces executing the very will and accumulating more power and attention and importance of the heads.
Maybe, use your science for good, instead? And if you can’t figure that out… There’s no nice way to say this… but, you probably need to work on your (weak) moral compass.
And if you do decide on your way, know that you have also, then, accepted all consequences of your actions.
- Comment on Anon is a PC gamer 1 week ago:
Cloud gaming only happens if people break down and pay for it.
But seeing the usage rates of Gamepass, I’m not encouraged.
- Comment on we're all a little gay inside 1 week ago:
Some of us more than others.
_>
<_<
_>
- Comment on When DinoCon is doing more than the US Gov 1 week ago:
You can’t really be this obtuse, can you?
- Comment on Vibecon invite 1 week ago:
This would be funny if it wasn’t so sad and frustrating and deeply horrific and exhausting.
- Comment on the wok agenda 1 week ago:
Grindr and Barq? Dude must really party.
- Comment on Tune a fish 1 week ago:
My aneurysm is acting up again
- Comment on Tune a fish 1 week ago:
Steak is a cut, not a type of meat
- Comment on Every day 1 week ago:
You know, looking back, the signs I had adhd are obvious
- Comment on Games you fell out of love with. 2 weeks ago:
Er, yes 3. That’s what I meant.
- Comment on Games you fell out of love with. 2 weeks ago:
you, fellating es4
As one should.