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| -rw-r--r-- | article/chinese-pronouns.html | 88 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/contracts-and-validity.html | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/copyright.html | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/democracy-fundamentals.html | 12 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/democracy-us.html | 12 | ||||
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| -rw-r--r-- | article/forge-workflows.html | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/free-hardware.html | 12 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/free-software-education-in-china-and-covid-19.html | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/gender-and-pronouns.html | 2 | ||||
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| -rw-r--r-- | article/purple-hibiscus.html | 8 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/sway-keysym.html | 6 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/texmacs-maxima-integral.html | 8 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | article/the-old-web-was-better.html | 8 | ||||
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| -rw-r--r-- | article/x-pronouns.html | 2 |
23 files changed, 128 insertions, 128 deletions
diff --git a/article/abortion.html b/article/abortion.html index 8173b24..4f459da 100644 --- a/article/abortion.html +++ b/article/abortion.html @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ <p>Article ID: 3</p> <p> -<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/410/113">In 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled seven-to-two in favor of Roe's rights to abortion against a healthcare official of the state of Texas. Roe argued for abortion with “privacy”, derived from the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.</a> As the U.S. has a precedential judiciary system, this effectively legalizes abortion across the country. +<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/410/113">In 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled seven-to-two in favor of Roe's rights to abortion against a healthcare official of the state of Texas. Roe argued for abortion with "privacy", derived from the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.</a> As the U.S. has a precedential judiciary system, this effectively legalizes abortion across the country. </p> <p> @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ The poor person was life, and your decision did cause their decession. But is t </p> <p> -There is a subtle, but eventually significant difference between helping a person down the street and voluntary pregnency. (Involuntary pregnency is basically “alright, here comes a person at your doorstep, you MUST help them and keep them alive”, there's not much to discuss there in my opinion.) +There is a subtle, but eventually significant difference between helping a person down the street and voluntary pregnency. (Involuntary pregnency is basically "alright, here comes a person at your doorstep, you MUST help them and keep them alive", there's not much to discuss there in my opinion.) </p> <p> @@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ Abortion is just okay before the cerebrum (the part of the brain responsible for <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/chinese-pronouns.html b/article/chinese-pronouns.html index 87e131f..15c3d5b 100644 --- a/article/chinese-pronouns.html +++ b/article/chinese-pronouns.html @@ -1,48 +1,48 @@ <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> <head> - <title>Reclaiming “他” as a gender-inclusive pronoun</title> + <title>Reclaiming "他" as a gender-inclusive pronoun</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /> <meta charset="utf-8" /> </head> <body> - <h1>Reclaiming “他” as a gender-inclusive pronoun</h1> + <h1>Reclaiming "他" as a gender-inclusive pronoun</h1> <p>Article ID: 23</p> <p> <a href="#en">English</a> <a href="#zh">中文</a> </p> <section id="en"> -<p>tl;dr: “他” uses the “人” (person) radical, and should cover all +<p>tl;dr: "他" uses the "人" (person) radical, and should cover all people, because not all people are male.</p> -<p>In contemporary English, the traditional plural pronoun “they” is +<p>In contemporary English, the traditional plural pronoun "they" is often used as a gender-inclusive singular pronoun, alongside the -feminine singular “she” and the masculine singular “he”. However, there -is no equivalent in Chinese. “他” is considered a masculine pronouns in -contemporary Chinese, despite its “人” radical and its history of +feminine singular "she" and the masculine singular "he". However, there +is no equivalent in Chinese. "他" is considered a masculine pronouns in +contemporary Chinese, despite its "人" radical and its history of traditionally being a gender-inclusive pronoun until the 1920s. This -article argues for the reclaiming of “他” as a gender-inclusive +article argues for the reclaiming of "他" as a gender-inclusive pronoun.</p> <p>Prior to the May Fourth Movement and the broader New Culture -Movement, “他” was a generic pronoun for all entities, including people +Movement, "他" was a generic pronoun for all entities, including people of any gender, and inanimate objects. In the movements’ efforts to -“modernize” the Chinese language and culture, a separate feminine -pronoun “她” was created by the poet and linguist 刘半农, becoming an +"modernize" the Chinese language and culture, a separate feminine +pronoun "她" was created by the poet and linguist 刘半农, becoming an established linguistic norm after the Chinese Civil War. (A separate -“它” was created for inanimate objects; however this has little +"它" was created for inanimate objects; however this has little relevance to the arguments in this article.)</p> -<p>A distinct feminine pronoun “她” along with “他” being a masculine +<p>A distinct feminine pronoun "她" along with "他" being a masculine pronoun poses three problems: (1) the annoyances caused by the lack of a inclusive placeholder pronoun, (2) the reinforcement of gender binary normatives and the lack of a neutral pronoun, and (3) the marginalization of the feminine from the concept of personhood.</p> <p>When referring to a placeholder of unknown gender in contemporary -English, singular they pronouns are often used, such as in “someone left -their laptop here”. Such colloquial conversations are generally +English, singular they pronouns are often used, such as in "someone left +their laptop here". Such colloquial conversations are generally unproblematic as all normative third-person pronouns in Mandarin sound -the same: tā. However, in written contexts, many use “他/她” resembling -“he/she”. Aside from how this reinforces gender binary and alienates +the same: tā. However, in written contexts, many use "他/她" resembling +"he/she". Aside from how this reinforces gender binary and alienates women (see the next two paragraphs), it is visually unappealing (as half-width slashes look particularly distinct from full-width CJK ideographs and break typographical uniformity) and adds unnecessary @@ -52,33 +52,33 @@ as me until <a href="https://git.andrewyu.org/andrew/www.git/commit/note/pronouns.html?id=ce4cd5fd7b3fd19d8effd3e18f5c71dadfc5874e">this commit</a>) often prefer singular they pronouns. (I do not wish to turn this article into a detailed discussion of non-binary gender, please -read Leah Rowe’s article “<a +read Leah Rowe’s article "<a href="https://vimuser.org/pronouns.html">Better respect for non-binary -people, in defense of human rights</a>” if this concept seems -unfamiliar.) The status quo of “她” being solely a feminine pronoun and -“他” being solely a masculine pronoun reinforces gender binary and +people, in defense of human rights</a>" if this concept seems +unfamiliar.) The status quo of "她" being solely a feminine pronoun and +"他" being solely a masculine pronoun reinforces gender binary and leaves no gender-neutral/inclusive pronoun for non-binary people who would prefer such pronouns.</p> -<p>The more fundamental issue with “他” as a masculine pronoun lies in -its character composition and etymology. “他” is a compound character -consisting of a “人” (person) radical and “也”, while “她” consists of a -“女” (female) radical and “也”. Limiting “他” as a male pronoun assumes -the male gender as dominant in “people”, and marginalizes other genders, -most prominently the female gender, as groups distinct from “people”. -This aligns with the development of the “她” pronoun as a distinct -subset of what used to be covered by “他”. I believe that a character’s +<p>The more fundamental issue with "他" as a masculine pronoun lies in +its character composition and etymology. "他" is a compound character +consisting of a "人" (person) radical and "也", while "她" consists of a +"女" (female) radical and "也". Limiting "他" as a male pronoun assumes +the male gender as dominant in "people", and marginalizes other genders, +most prominently the female gender, as groups distinct from "people". +This aligns with the development of the "她" pronoun as a distinct +subset of what used to be covered by "他". I believe that a character’s composition should not be deceptive to its meaning, and therefore, the -“他” with the “人” radical should describe any person, not just any male +"他" with the "人" radical should describe any person, not just any male person.</p> -<p>While I believe that “他” should be truly gender inclusive, its current +<p>While I believe that "他" should be truly gender inclusive, its current masculine standing does make it similar to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_neutrality_in_languages_with_gendered_third-person_pronouns#Generic_he">Generic he</a> to some extent. I dislike generic he as it reflects bias towards men, but -an inclusive “他” does carry these risks. Therefore I propose that +an inclusive "他" does carry these risks. Therefore I propose that those who prefer a unique masculine pronoun may choose to use one -with a “男” (male) radical instead. While “男也” (read that as one character) has not been given a +with a "男" (male) radical instead. While "男也" (read that as one character) has not been given a Unicode code-point yet, I find this solution to be much more ideal than -stereotypical generalizations with “他”.</p> +stereotypical generalizations with "他".</p> <p> Please share your thoughts. </p> @@ -87,40 +87,40 @@ Please share your thoughts. <section id="zh"> <p> <b> -将“他”恢复为性别包容性代词 +将"他"恢复为性别包容性代词 </b> </p> <p> -一句话：“他”字的偏旁为单人旁，应该要涵盖所有人，因为并非所有人皆为男性。 +一句话："他"字的偏旁为单人旁，应该要涵盖所有人，因为并非所有人皆为男性。 </p> <p> -现代英语中，传统的复数代词 “they” 常用作性别包容的单数代词，伴以 “she” 作阴性单数代词及 “he” 作阳性单数代词。然而，汉语中却没有等效的词语。现代汉语将“他”视为阳性代词，尽管其偏旁为单人旁，且在二十世纪二十年代以前，其曾有过用作性别包容性代词的历史。本文的论点为，将“他”恢复为性别包容性代词。 +现代英语中，传统的复数代词 "they" 常用作性别包容的单数代词，伴以 "she" 作阴性单数代词及 "he" 作阳性单数代词。然而，汉语中却没有等效的词语。现代汉语将"他"视为阳性代词，尽管其偏旁为单人旁，且在二十世纪二十年代以前，其曾有过用作性别包容性代词的历史。本文的论点为，将"他"恢复为性别包容性代词。 </p> <p> -在五四运动及更为广泛的新文化运动以前，“他”曾通用作所有实体的代词，包括任何性别的人，及无生命的物体。这场运动为中国语言和文化的“现代化”做出了许多努力，其中之一就是单独创造了一个阴性代词 “她”。这个字由诗人、语言学家刘半农创造，并在国共内战后成为了公认的语言规范。（对无生命的物体，也创造了一个单独的“它”；但这与本文的论点无关。） +在五四运动及更为广泛的新文化运动以前，"他"曾通用作所有实体的代词，包括任何性别的人，及无生命的物体。这场运动为中国语言和文化的"现代化"做出了许多努力，其中之一就是单独创造了一个阴性代词 "她"。这个字由诗人、语言学家刘半农创造，并在国共内战后成为了公认的语言规范。（对无生命的物体，也创造了一个单独的"它"；但这与本文的论点无关。） </p> <p> -在“他”作阳性代词时，分立阴性代词“她”，引发了三个问题：（1）因缺乏包容性占位代词而产生的困扰，（2）强化了性别二元规范，缺少了中性代词，及（3）将女性在人格概念中边缘化。 +在"他"作阳性代词时，分立阴性代词"她"，引发了三个问题：（1）因缺乏包容性占位代词而产生的困扰，（2）强化了性别二元规范，缺少了中性代词，及（3）将女性在人格概念中边缘化。 </p> <p> -现代英语中，常常使用单数 they 代词来充当未知性别的占位词，例如 “someone left their laptop here”。这种口头对话一般不会出现问题，因为普通话中所有规范的第三人称代词发音都相同：tā。然而，在书面语中，许多人会像 “he/she” 一样使用 “他/她”。除了强化了性别二元论、排斥了女性（见后两段）外，这在视觉上也不显美观（在全角 CJK 象形文字中插入半角斜杆尤显突兀，且破坏了排版的一致性），还添加了不必要的语法糖。 +现代英语中，常常使用单数 they 代词来充当未知性别的占位词，例如 "someone left their laptop here"。这种口头对话一般不会出现问题，因为普通话中所有规范的第三人称代词发音都相同：tā。然而，在书面语中，许多人会像 "he/she" 一样使用 "他/她"。除了强化了性别二元论、排斥了女性（见后两段）外，这在视觉上也不显美观（在全角 CJK 象形文字中插入半角斜杆尤显突兀，且破坏了排版的一致性），还添加了不必要的语法糖。 </p> <p> -有些人并不喜欢分性别代词（我在这个 commit 前亦是如此），所以他们常偏向使用单数 they 代词。（我无意图在本文详细讨论非二元性别，如果你不熟悉这个概念，请阅读 Leah Rowe 的文章 “Better respect for non-binary people, in defense of human rights”）“她”单独用作阴性代词，同时“他”单独用作阳性代词，这种现状强化了性别二元论，并使得偏好性别中性或性别包容性代词的人无法使用这类代词。 +有些人并不喜欢分性别代词（我在这个 commit 前亦是如此），所以他们常偏向使用单数 they 代词。（我无意图在本文详细讨论非二元性别，如果你不熟悉这个概念，请阅读 Leah Rowe 的文章 "Better respect for non-binary people, in defense of human rights"）"她"单独用作阴性代词，同时"他"单独用作阳性代词，这种现状强化了性别二元论，并使得偏好性别中性或性别包容性代词的人无法使用这类代词。 </p> <p> -将“他”用作阳性代词，更为关键的问题在于这个字的组成及词源。“他”字由单人旁和“也”组成，而“她”字由女字旁和“也”组成。将“他”限定为男性代词，假定了男性在“人”中占了主导地位，同时还将其他性别（最明显的是女性）边缘化，将其视作有别于“人”的群体。自从原本被“他”涵盖的这个子集有了单独的代词“她”，前述问题也随着这个代词的发展而发展。我认为，一个字的构成不应该欺骗它的含义，因此，单人旁的“他”应该用于描述任何人，而不仅仅是任何男性。 +将"他"用作阳性代词，更为关键的问题在于这个字的组成及词源。"他"字由单人旁和"也"组成，而"她"字由女字旁和"也"组成。将"他"限定为男性代词，假定了男性在"人"中占了主导地位，同时还将其他性别（最明显的是女性）边缘化，将其视作有别于"人"的群体。自从原本被"他"涵盖的这个子集有了单独的代词"她"，前述问题也随着这个代词的发展而发展。我认为，一个字的构成不应该欺骗它的含义，因此，单人旁的"他"应该用于描述任何人，而不仅仅是任何男性。 </p> <p> -虽然我认为“他”应该要具有真正的性别包容性，但这个词目前男性化的程度，使得它在某种程度上类似于将 he 通用化了。我并不喜欢通用化的“他”，因为这体现了对男性的偏见，但包容性的“他”确实也有这些风险。因此，我提议，偏好使用单独的阳性代词的人，可以转而选择一个有男字旁的字。虽然“男也”（读成一个字）目前还没有 Unicode 码点，但比起刻板地将“他”字一般化，我认为这才是更加理想的解决方案。 +虽然我认为"他"应该要具有真正的性别包容性，但这个词目前男性化的程度，使得它在某种程度上类似于将 he 通用化了。我并不喜欢通用化的"他"，因为这体现了对男性的偏见，但包容性的"他"确实也有这些风险。因此，我提议，偏好使用单独的阳性代词的人，可以转而选择一个有男字旁的字。虽然"男也"（读成一个字）目前还没有 Unicode 码点，但比起刻板地将"他"字一般化，我认为这才是更加理想的解决方案。 </p> <p> @@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ This Chinese translation was translated from the <a href="#en">English original< <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/contracts-and-validity.html b/article/contracts-and-validity.html index a75de7c..7d91526 100644 --- a/article/contracts-and-validity.html +++ b/article/contracts-and-validity.html @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/copyright.html b/article/copyright.html index f04d022..b696f45 100644 --- a/article/copyright.html +++ b/article/copyright.html @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ </p> <p> - Information unlike physical items can be copied with minimal cost, especially in the case of digital information, and thus the traditional private property argument of “this is theft and the author loses stuff” doesn't really apply. However, information/data that an author creates shall be under the control of the author, it's ultimately what they create and is their private information. The authors, not anyone else, should control how their information goes. (Transferring this control to another entity is ultimately using their control to share or give away the same control, so that's no different.) + Information unlike physical items can be copied with minimal cost, especially in the case of digital information, and thus the traditional private property argument of "this is theft and the author loses stuff" doesn't really apply. However, information/data that an author creates shall be under the control of the author, it's ultimately what they create and is their private information. The authors, not anyone else, should control how their information goes. (Transferring this control to another entity is ultimately using their control to share or give away the same control, so that's no different.) </p> <p> @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/democracy-fundamentals.html b/article/democracy-fundamentals.html index 96fdbcb..9742c09 100644 --- a/article/democracy-fundamentals.html +++ b/article/democracy-fundamentals.html @@ -10,24 +10,24 @@ <body class="indent"> <h1>Democracy: Fundamentals (Unfinished)</h1> <p>Article ID: 4</p> - <p><i>Unless otherwise specified, “democracy” in this article refers to representative democracy. “Country” can additionally refer to other regions that have people and its own policies, such as a state, provinces in some countries, etc.</i></p> + <p><i>Unless otherwise specified, "democracy" in this article refers to representative democracy. "Country" can additionally refer to other regions that have people and its own policies, such as a state, provinces in some countries, etc.</i></p> <p> - We usually think of “democracy” as people influencing the policies of the country by electing trustworthy experts that serve their interest to make actual decisions about running the country. This type of democracy, representative democracy, has evolved from direct democracy aging back two thousand years ago as created by Athens in Greece. Representative democracy is more scalable than direct democracy and also avoids some forms of populism and uninformed decisions as its the experts in the field that are making the actual policies. + We usually think of "democracy" as people influencing the policies of the country by electing trustworthy experts that serve their interest to make actual decisions about running the country. This type of democracy, representative democracy, has evolved from direct democracy aging back two thousand years ago as created by Athens in Greece. Representative democracy is more scalable than direct democracy and also avoids some forms of populism and uninformed decisions as its the experts in the field that are making the actual policies. </p> <p> - The Chinese term for democracy is “民主”. The first character, “民”, means “people”; the second, “主”, ascin “主人” means “owner”. You could understand it as saying “the people of the country own the country (and thus get to decide on its affairs)”. But at the same time, “主” as in “自主” means “do things themselves”, i.e. the right not to be interfered by others while doing their own business. + The Chinese term for democracy is "民主". The first character, "民", means "people"; the second, "主", ascin "主人" means "owner". You could understand it as saying "the people of the country own the country (and thus get to decide on its affairs)". But at the same time, "主" as in "自主" means "do things themselves", i.e. the right not to be interfered by others while doing their own business. </p> <p> This is, of course, not the proper definition for democracy; democracy is just saying that the general public ultimately runs the country. But we could take the time to appreciate how with democracy we usually end up with liberty and how we take personal liberty for granted. </p> <p> - In any case, both democracy and liberty are important in a long-lasting prosperous system of society. Note my wording in the first paragraph, that the decisions of elected experts are for “running the country”—I specifically mean issues that deal with either the general public (such as public health and the environment) and things that would be otherwise hard to solve personally (such as enforcement of contracts and crimes). The “will of the people”, represented by the government, have no business doing things like banning freedom of thought or mandating people not to smoke in their private property. Only when things affect others such as smoking in public should the government, or the will of the general public, have any say. And of course, people should take responsibility for their own private deeds. It is argued that a lung cancer patient who got lung cancer by smoking excessively doesn't deserve medical insurance from taxpayers; but for cases where an illness isn't caused by a identifiable private decision factor, medical insurance and support should be given. (In practice the distinction is subtle; this is also a very controversial topic.) + In any case, both democracy and liberty are important in a long-lasting prosperous system of society. Note my wording in the first paragraph, that the decisions of elected experts are for "running the country"—I specifically mean issues that deal with either the general public (such as public health and the environment) and things that would be otherwise hard to solve personally (such as enforcement of contracts and crimes). The "will of the people", represented by the government, have no business doing things like banning freedom of thought or mandating people not to smoke in their private property. Only when things affect others such as smoking in public should the government, or the will of the general public, have any say. And of course, people should take responsibility for their own private deeds. It is argued that a lung cancer patient who got lung cancer by smoking excessively doesn't deserve medical insurance from taxpayers; but for cases where an illness isn't caused by a identifiable private decision factor, medical insurance and support should be given. (In practice the distinction is subtle; this is also a very controversial topic.) </p> <p> People overemphasize the importance of democracy. In fact, democracy is in my opinion less important than liberty—though in practice indeed liberty wouldn't survive for long without democracy. </p> <p> - Note that abortion and similar subjects may fall into the scope of government. Some opponents of abortion believe that fetus is human life and thus abortion is murder and shall be outlawed. The “privacy” and “personal liberty” arguments don't stand up well against this as it's no longer a personal matter when another human life is supposedly on the line. <a href="abortion.html">I oppose the abortion bans that Republicans in the US are placing in many states for a different reason.</a> + Note that abortion and similar subjects may fall into the scope of government. Some opponents of abortion believe that fetus is human life and thus abortion is murder and shall be outlawed. The "privacy" and "personal liberty" arguments don't stand up well against this as it's no longer a personal matter when another human life is supposedly on the line. <a href="abortion.html">I oppose the abortion bans that Republicans in the US are placing in many states for a different reason.</a> </p> <p> Modern populism (which is a poorly-defined term but does have the following general scope) gives the power of deciding everything that happens in the country to the people. This is bad in two ways. (1) The general public often make uninformed and un-thought-through decisions and are easily influenced. (2) The government, in this case directly the collective decision of the people, is stepping its feet into the personal lives of people. While it is democratic, it doesn't give people liberty, creating a tyranny of the majority, and at the same time making uninformed decisions which are better made by experts which people elect. @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/democracy-us.html b/article/democracy-us.html index 3eda08c..581a2ae 100644 --- a/article/democracy-us.html +++ b/article/democracy-us.html @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ <h1>Democracy: The United States (Unfinished)</h1> <p>Article ID: 5</p> <p> - When people talk about democracies, it's common to think of the US Constitution as the “defining point of democracy”. While the US is the first modern democracy, its laws is far from perfect. In fact, it may be one of the worst of modern time! I will briefly go through the following. + When people talk about democracies, it's common to think of the US Constitution as the "defining point of democracy". While the US is the first modern democracy, its laws is far from perfect. In fact, it may be one of the worst of modern time! I will briefly go through the following. </p> <ul> @@ -22,14 +22,14 @@ <h2 id="#corruption">Corruption</h2> - <p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B/S1537592714001595a.pdf/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens.pdf">A study shows that “Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.”</a></p> + <p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B/S1537592714001595a.pdf/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens.pdf">A study shows that "Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence."</a></p> <p> A near-ideal democracy would have a roughly linear positive correlation between the fraction of voters who support a policy and the possibility of the policy being passed in the legislature. But in the US, the line is flat at about 30%. A representative democracy wouldn't have a perfect correlation, because the general public is unable to be informed on all topics; fluctuations are normal. But <em>a flat line</em> means that the opinions of the people don't matter at all. This does not make sense in any type of democracy. </p> <p> - According to the study, the influence of economic elites and business interest groups on politics is rather high with a rough positive correlation as opposed to the flatline for the general public, making the US an oligarchy rather than a democracy. Mass-based interest groups have discernable impact on policies, but are still trivial compared with economic elites and businesses. About three billion dollars are spent yearly by large “politically active” businesses to bribe politicians to pass policies for their interest. While businesses should have a say in legislation, it is unacceptable that they have superior dominance over public opinion. + According to the study, the influence of economic elites and business interest groups on politics is rather high with a rough positive correlation as opposed to the flatline for the general public, making the US an oligarchy rather than a democracy. Mass-based interest groups have discernable impact on policies, but are still trivial compared with economic elites and businesses. About three billion dollars are spent yearly by large "politically active" businesses to bribe politicians to pass policies for their interest. While businesses should have a say in legislation, it is unacceptable that they have superior dominance over public opinion. </p> <h2 id="senate">The Senate</h2> @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ The Senate of the USA consists of 100 members, with 2 from each state. Two senators from California represent 39 million people while the two from Wyoming represent 500 thousand people. The founding fathers never could have imagined such a huge a difference between the population of states. </p> <p> - Some people believe that the Senate helps against populism as opposed to the House. Although the number of Senators for each state do indeed not correspond to the population, this has no correlation whatsoever with preventing populism and doesn't serve an obvious purpose. It only “helps” by giving completely unproportional voting powers to people based on their location, period. + Some people believe that the Senate helps against populism as opposed to the House. Although the number of Senators for each state do indeed not correspond to the population, this has no correlation whatsoever with preventing populism and doesn't serve an obvious purpose. It only "helps" by giving completely unproportional voting powers to people based on their location, period. </p> <p> The Senate also suffers from the fillibuster. Passing a bill in the Senate has a few steps: Firstly the Senators must <em>agree to vote</em>, passed at a supermajority. Then the Senators actually vote on the bill. Those who are against the bill will just disagree to vote altogether, effectively requiring all bills to have a supermajority support to pass which is nearly impossible as the two dominent political parties almost always oppose each others' bills and neither have a supermajority in the Senate. @@ -55,13 +55,13 @@ <h2 id="plurality-voting">Plurality Voting</h2> <p> - Single-winner elections in the US uses what's called “plurality voting”, where each voter casts one vote to their favorite canidate and the canidate with the most votes win. This contributes to the partisan dualopoly (not an actual word, but it basically means “monopoly” but with two rather than one) as voters who support smaller parties will undergo the decision of choosing their honest favorite or one of the two big parties that most closely ressembles their favorite. As it's hard to gather votes for smaller parties, and thus there's a small chance of them actually winning the electron, many voters strategically vote for the big party in order to not be “taken over” by the big party that they oppose more. + Single-winner elections in the US uses what's called "plurality voting", where each voter casts one vote to their favorite canidate and the canidate with the most votes win. This contributes to the partisan dualopoly (not an actual word, but it basically means "monopoly" but with two rather than one) as voters who support smaller parties will undergo the decision of choosing their honest favorite or one of the two big parties that most closely ressembles their favorite. As it's hard to gather votes for smaller parties, and thus there's a small chance of them actually winning the electron, many voters strategically vote for the big party in order to not be "taken over" by the big party that they oppose more. </p> <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/depravity.html b/article/depravity.html index 1f53eb8..0863e5a 100644 --- a/article/depravity.html +++ b/article/depravity.html @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/dream-of-the-whisker.html b/article/dream-of-the-whisker.html index 94a20ed..0180fa3 100644 --- a/article/dream-of-the-whisker.html +++ b/article/dream-of-the-whisker.html @@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ that I would never be able to experience with confidence. Crawling back to my comfortable enclosure, I waited.</p> <p>Usually, around this time the humans would deliver me water and milk, along with opening some canned food for me to <em>enjoy</em> in my warm -and fluffy bed. “Children”, namely young humans, would come and play -with me, often taking weird photos of me with what they call a “phone”, -saying that I’m “cute”. I honestly have no idea what these mean, but I +and fluffy bed. "Children", namely young humans, would come and play +with me, often taking weird photos of me with what they call a "phone", +saying that I’m "cute". I honestly have no idea what these mean, but I guess it’s nice that I could bring them some fun. Now it’s been a while and they still haven’t came. My intuition tells me that something has changed. Only now did I realize, that what I feared has been true, all @@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ never-changing. I now do not fear, I won’t fear <span>…</span> I <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/forge-workflows.html b/article/forge-workflows.html index f62573b..599d71b 100644 --- a/article/forge-workflows.html +++ b/article/forge-workflows.html @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/free-hardware.html b/article/free-hardware.html index 8e5a8f5..9541a09 100644 --- a/article/free-hardware.html +++ b/article/free-hardware.html @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ <h1>Free Hardware</h1> <p>Article ID: 8</p> <p>This article is unfinished, combined from all over the place, and is a big mess. Read if you want, I guess.</p> - <p><strong>In “free software” and “free hardware”, the “free” in “free computing” does not refer to price; it refers to freedom and liberty of users.</strong></p> + <p><strong>In "free software" and "free hardware", the "free" in "free computing" does not refer to price; it refers to freedom and liberty of users.</strong></p> <p>This section is mainly for posts on <em>hardware hardware designs</em>. Without which, <em>no computer user is free</em>.</p> <blockquote> <p>In fact, access to schematics, boardviews, datasheets and any other documentation is <em>critical</em> to software freedom.</p> @@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ Intel and Microsoft. An oligopoly is a market structure in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of large sellers or producers. People often confuse this with monopolies, for which the latter Francis Wayland -defines as “an exclusive right granted to a [hu]man or a monopoly of -[hu]man, to empoly their labor or capital in some particular manner”, +defines as "an exclusive right granted to a [hu]man or a monopoly of +[hu]man, to empoly their labor or capital in some particular manner", which cannot exist in a free market (i.e. free of government regulations). The technology industry in most countries is an oligopoly, not a monopoly. @@ -92,12 +92,12 @@ for daily life, exacebating the harms of a relevant oligopoly market. There is yet another practical harm of a oligopoly technology market: about the rights of users. When CPUs are produced by almost solely Intel, AMD, and a few others, they are now free to add their backdoors -and “management engines” into the CPUs that we users use daily, and +and "management engines" into the CPUs that we users use daily, and their seek for profit pushes them to do so. We now have to work with spyware in our computer hardware, and we can't do anything about it, because the oligopoly nature of the market doesn't allow us common people to monitor, produce, develop, or otherwise deal with our own -technology except for the “expected usages” that the oligopoly +technology except for the "expected usages" that the oligopoly superimposes on us. One way out is to decentralize the development and production of CPUs @@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ attempting to do.) <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/free-software-education-in-china-and-covid-19.html b/article/free-software-education-in-china-and-covid-19.html index 924fe18..ff99ff6 100644 --- a/article/free-software-education-in-china-and-covid-19.html +++ b/article/free-software-education-in-china-and-covid-19.html @@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ </p> <p> - The contact tracing system used is not Free Software. At first I didn't understand why (except for the explanation that they want to profit from harming citizens which is hopefully just a hypothetical “explanation”), but I noticed that the authenticity and accuracy of the system may be affected if users are allowed to modify their software. This seems to be the core of some problems with regards to software freedom—here, the user is not running software to complete their tasks. Rather, it's the government's way to maintain public safety, therefore I believe that whether users should be able to modify software in these conditions is up to discussion. Back to the point, since a green-code proof from the system is needed to get in a lot of places, a person basically needs to use proprietary software to live a normal life (to get into coffee shops, for example). + The contact tracing system used is not Free Software. At first I didn't understand why (except for the explanation that they want to profit from harming citizens which is hopefully just a hypothetical "explanation"), but I noticed that the authenticity and accuracy of the system may be affected if users are allowed to modify their software. This seems to be the core of some problems with regards to software freedom—here, the user is not running software to complete their tasks. Rather, it's the government's way to maintain public safety, therefore I believe that whether users should be able to modify software in these conditions is up to discussion. Back to the point, since a green-code proof from the system is needed to get in a lot of places, a person basically needs to use proprietary software to live a normal life (to get into coffee shops, for example). </p> <p> @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/gender-and-pronouns.html b/article/gender-and-pronouns.html index bd7b7ab..7828487 100644 --- a/article/gender-and-pronouns.html +++ b/article/gender-and-pronouns.html @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/math-science-and-philosophy.html b/article/math-science-and-philosophy.html index eb293c7..b751695 100644 --- a/article/math-science-and-philosophy.html +++ b/article/math-science-and-philosophy.html @@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ specific conditions, etc. are all, formally, abstract activities with little reference to the physical world.</p> <p>However, humans do not truly invent ideas out of pure thought. The basic building blocks of our analytical cognition, which may be in some -sense considered “axioms” of our perspective of the world, result from +sense considered "axioms" of our perspective of the world, result from us observing the world around us, finding patterns, which then evolve into abstract ideas. Consider the possibility that the formation of numbers as a concept in mathematics results from humans using primitive @@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ imperfection, is used in every part of physics, not just for its calculations but also for representation of ideas down to the basic level. I find this to be uncanny. What if the physics theories we derive are erroneous because of erroneous mathematical systems or concepts? I -believe that part of the answer is “experiments”, to return to the +believe that part of the answer is "experiments", to return to the empirical nature of, well, empirical sciences, and see if the theories actually predict the results. But there are tons of logistical issues that prevent us from doing so, not to mention the inherent downside to @@ -147,32 +147,32 @@ unforseeable implications.</p> <p>The addition of mathematical concepts into physics doesn’t only bring the maths we want to bring over, it brings all relevant definitions, axioms, logic, proofs, theorems, etc. all along with it. Once we -“assign” that a physical entity is “represented” by a “corresponding -concept” in mathematics, we can only abide by the development thereof. +"assign" that a physical entity is "represented" by a "corresponding +concept" in mathematics, we can only abide by the development thereof. So although physics originally isn’t guided by mathematics, the act of choosing the part of math that’s useful in physics puts physics under the iron grip of mathematical logic, which is inconsistent and potentially incomplete, as contrary to the realistic and observable nature that physics is supposed to be.</p> <p>I had a brief chat with Mr. Coxon and he aclled how the existence of -neutrinos were predicted “mathematically” before they were +neutrinos were predicted "mathematically" before they were experimentally discovered physically. I do not know the history of all this, but Mr. Coxon said that physicists looked at a phenomenon (I believe that was beta decay) and went like: -“where did that missing energy go”? and proposed that there was a +"where did that missing energy go"? and proposed that there was a particle called a neutrino that fills in the missing gap. (Alternatively, they could have challenged the conservation of energy, -which leads us to the topic of “why do we find it so hard to challenge +which leads us to the topic of "why do we find it so hard to challenge theories that seem beautiful, and why does conservation and symmetry -seem beautiful”, but let’s get back on topic...) Then twnety years later -neutrinos were “discovered” physically by experiments. Mr. Coxon said +seem beautiful", but let’s get back on topic...) Then twnety years later +neutrinos were "discovered" physically by experiments. Mr. Coxon said that it looked like that mathematics predicted and in some resepct -“guided” physics. Personally I believe that this isn’t a purely -“mathematical” pre-discovery and it’s more of a “conservation of energy, +"guided" physics. Personally I believe that this isn’t a purely +"mathematical" pre-discovery and it’s more of a "conservation of energy, a physics theory was applied, and math was used as a utility to find -incompletenesses in our understanding of particles.” I think that I’ve +incompletenesses in our understanding of particles." I think that I’ve heard (but cannot recall at the moment) two cases where conceptual -analysis in “pure math” perfectly corresponds to the phenomenon in +analysis in "pure math" perfectly corresponds to the phenomenon in physics discovered later which again makes me question whether math played some role in the experiment-phenomenon-discovery cycle of physics. I guess I need more examples.</p> @@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ physics. I guess I need more examples.</p> and its leading into rational thought and reason. To me this sounds like the development of math, but in some sense this could also apply to physics, though I still believe that physics theories even if reasoned -require experimental “testing” (not “verification”) for it to be +require experimental "testing" (not "verification") for it to be acceptable in terms of physics. THis leaves me in a situation where none of the ways of knowing that I can understand, even if used together, could bring about an absolutely correct[tm] theory of physics. See, @@ -195,9 +195,9 @@ messey real world (and if we do simulations that’s just falling back to our existing understanding of logical analysis). So now we have no single way, or combination of methods, to accurately verify the correctness of a physics theory, which by definition of physical is -representative of the real world, basically saying that “we will never -know how things work in the real world”. That feels uncanny. Also, how -do I even make sense of a physics theory to be “correct”? It’s arguable +representative of the real world, basically saying that "we will never +know how things work in the real world". That feels uncanny. Also, how +do I even make sense of a physics theory to be "correct"? It’s arguable whether any physics theory could be correct in the first place. If Kant is correct then all our theories of physics is ultimately perception and having biology in the form of human observations in the absolute and @@ -226,9 +226,9 @@ class="math inline"><i>A</i></span> (i. e. physics is squishy) is both true and false. Thus, <span class="math inline"><i>A</i> = 1</span> and <span class="math inline"><i>A</i> = 0</span> are both true. Then, take a random statement <span class="math inline"><i>B</i></span> -(let’s say “Z likes humanities”). Thus we have <span +(let’s say "Z likes humanities"). Thus we have <span class="math inline"><i>A</i> + <i>B</i> = 1</span> where <span -class="math inline">+</span> is a boolean “or” operator because <span +class="math inline">+</span> is a boolean "or" operator because <span class="math inline"><i>A</i> = 1</span> and <span class="math inline">1 + <i>x</i> = 1</span> (<span class="math inline"><i>x</i></span> is any statement). But then @@ -237,10 +237,10 @@ class="math inline">0 + <i>B</i> = 1</span>, which means that <span class="math inline"><i>B</i></span> must be 1 (if <span class="math inline"><i>B</i></span> is zero, then <span class="math inline">0 + 0 = 0</span>). Thus, if we can prove that -“physics is squishy” and “physics is not squishy” (without differences -in definition), then we can literally prove that “Z likes -humanities”. Other from not defining subjective things like “squishy” -and “is” (in terms of psychology), we can’t get around this easily, and +"physics is squishy" and "physics is not squishy" (without differences +in definition), then we can literally prove that "Z likes +humanities". Other from not defining subjective things like "squishy" +and "is" (in terms of psychology), we can’t get around this easily, and everything would be provable, which would not be fun for physics.</p></li> </ul> @@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ href="#fnref1" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li> <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/means.html b/article/means.html index e9c7033..5cac5e8 100644 --- a/article/means.html +++ b/article/means.html @@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/poems-1.html b/article/poems-1.html index 19c7e95..7931649 100644 --- a/article/poems-1.html +++ b/article/poems-1.html @@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ All I am is alive. <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/poems-2.html b/article/poems-2.html index b048c4b..3aef217 100644 --- a/article/poems-2.html +++ b/article/poems-2.html @@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ I'll face it with a heart that's bleak and brief. <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/pragmatic-use-of-nonfree-software.html b/article/pragmatic-use-of-nonfree-software.html index ed29fcc..831f79d 100644 --- a/article/pragmatic-use-of-nonfree-software.html +++ b/article/pragmatic-use-of-nonfree-software.html @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ <h2>Abstract</h2> <p> - Free Software is undoubtably a good thing for society. However, modern computer users are stuck in the proprietary “ecosystem” for historical reasons. This document describes the justification and best current practices of using proprietary platforms to spread the ideas of Free Software. + Free Software is undoubtably a good thing for society. However, modern computer users are stuck in the proprietary "ecosystem" for historical reasons. This document describes the justification and best current practices of using proprietary platforms to spread the ideas of Free Software. </p> <h2>Status of This Memo</h2> @@ -28,11 +28,11 @@ </p> <p> - In February 2022, the author decided to permit limited usage of nonfree chat platforms to hopefully spread our ideas to the general public. This was attempted by registering a Discord account, creating a Guild called “Free Software Introductions”, and setting up a basic Discord-to-IRC relay to #fsi on both irc.andrewyu.org and irc.libera.chat. + In February 2022, the author decided to permit limited usage of nonfree chat platforms to hopefully spread our ideas to the general public. This was attempted by registering a Discord account, creating a Guild called "Free Software Introductions", and setting up a basic Discord-to-IRC relay to #fsi on both irc.andrewyu.org and irc.libera.chat. </p> <p> - One of the communities that he knows about, the VF-Technic Minetest community, primarily uses Discord as a means of communication by players not in-game. As the users inside are Minetest players, a Free Software voxel sandbox game, similar to but much more flexible and freedom-respecting than Minecraft, it is believed that the users have some contact with Free Software, although they might not understand the freedom part of the issue, i.e. they might be thinking in terms of “open source” instead, and do not understand the harms of nonfree JavaScript and services like Discord. After sharing the invite link in the VF-Technic Guild, some people joined, and we've partially converted two users. + One of the communities that he knows about, the VF-Technic Minetest community, primarily uses Discord as a means of communication by players not in-game. As the users inside are Minetest players, a Free Software voxel sandbox game, similar to but much more flexible and freedom-respecting than Minecraft, it is believed that the users have some contact with Free Software, although they might not understand the freedom part of the issue, i.e. they might be thinking in terms of "open source" instead, and do not understand the harms of nonfree JavaScript and services like Discord. After sharing the invite link in the VF-Technic Guild, some people joined, and we've partially converted two users. </p> <h2>Justification</h2> @@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ </p> <p> - Generally, users on IRC and XMPP have a fair understanding of the Free Software Movement, and it is quick and easy to inform them what we mean by “free”, “the four freedoms”, and similar ideas. For users on the Libera Chat IRC network, which by far has the most users of any network, it is exceptionally easy to introduce a user into the #fsf channel for discussions with people supporting Free Software. Introducing ignorant users on these protocols and platforms are a day-to-day simple task. Furthermore, the amount of users we can reach on these protocols are rather limiting. Libera has around forty thousand users according to the `LUSERS` command, and considering the fact that around 90% of these people aren't ignorant, there isn't much we can do. + Generally, users on IRC and XMPP have a fair understanding of the Free Software Movement, and it is quick and easy to inform them what we mean by "free", "the four freedoms", and similar ideas. For users on the Libera Chat IRC network, which by far has the most users of any network, it is exceptionally easy to introduce a user into the #fsf channel for discussions with people supporting Free Software. Introducing ignorant users on these protocols and platforms are a day-to-day simple task. Furthermore, the amount of users we can reach on these protocols are rather limiting. Libera has around forty thousand users according to the `LUSERS` command, and considering the fact that around 90% of these people aren't ignorant, there isn't much we can do. </p> <p> @@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ <h2>Current Practices</h2> <p> - Activists <b>MUST NOT</b> list such nonfree services in “Contact Information” pages on their website or similar sources, unless followed by a explanation that the purpose of the nonfree platform is to introduce users thereof onto free protocols and to eventually exterminate the nonfree platform. Whenever these references to nonfree platforms appear, the author <b>MUST</b> present free methods of communication. Activists <b>SHOULD</b> pragmatically use as many of the popular free protocols as possible, to ensure that oppurtunities of introductions are not lost. In cases involving competition between free and nonfree protocols and platforms, ethical concerns (i.e. enabling talking to a new user on any ethical platform) <b>MUST</b> take precedence over technical concerns (such as disliking the XMPP protocol for its inefficent use of XML). + Activists <b>MUST NOT</b> list such nonfree services in "Contact Information" pages on their website or similar sources, unless followed by a explanation that the purpose of the nonfree platform is to introduce users thereof onto free protocols and to eventually exterminate the nonfree platform. Whenever these references to nonfree platforms appear, the author <b>MUST</b> present free methods of communication. Activists <b>SHOULD</b> pragmatically use as many of the popular free protocols as possible, to ensure that oppurtunities of introductions are not lost. In cases involving competition between free and nonfree protocols and platforms, ethical concerns (i.e. enabling talking to a new user on any ethical platform) <b>MUST</b> take precedence over technical concerns (such as disliking the XMPP protocol for its inefficent use of XML). </p> <p> @@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ </p> <p> - For example, the author created a Discord Guild called Free Software Introductions, which is one-way-puppeted to #fsi on irc.andrewyu.org, which is then one-way-puppeted to Libera. The relay system is sort-of messed up, but it's working. Inviting new users to such Guilds (https://discord.gg/7CYp7ntww7) when perse refuses to or is ignorant on how to use IRC helps conveying our ideas to users, but as the author has made their own “sacrifice” already, there exists less of a need for other existing Free Software activists to join and use it instead of free protocols. + For example, the author created a Discord Guild called Free Software Introductions, which is one-way-puppeted to #fsi on irc.andrewyu.org, which is then one-way-puppeted to Libera. The relay system is sort-of messed up, but it's working. Inviting new users to such Guilds (https://discord.gg/7CYp7ntww7) when perse refuses to or is ignorant on how to use IRC helps conveying our ideas to users, but as the author has made their own "sacrifice" already, there exists less of a need for other existing Free Software activists to join and use it instead of free protocols. </p> <h2>Technical Limitations</h2> @@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/purple-hibiscus.html b/article/purple-hibiscus.html index 83d20cf..2977024 100644 --- a/article/purple-hibiscus.html +++ b/article/purple-hibiscus.html @@ -13,17 +13,17 @@ <p>These are some random, unorganized thoughts on Purple Hibiscus, particularly around the bildungsroman of Mama.</p> - <p>Adiche wrote in chapter one that Mama polishes the figurines often, especially after episodes of family violence, suggesting that the figurines were of symbolic importance to Mama. After they were shattered as Papa flung his missal at Jaja and missed, “it was not just the figurines that came tumbling down, it was everything”, suggesting that the figurines symbolizes family unity. This indicates a critical change in Mama—from someone that views herself as a “wife” and a “woman” and truly believes that Papa is correct in violence and punishment and that such violence is justified, to a person who understands the importance of independence and freedom and opposes tyranny.</p> + <p>Adiche wrote in chapter one that Mama polishes the figurines often, especially after episodes of family violence, suggesting that the figurines were of symbolic importance to Mama. After they were shattered as Papa flung his missal at Jaja and missed, "it was not just the figurines that came tumbling down, it was everything", suggesting that the figurines symbolizes family unity. This indicates a critical change in Mama—from someone that views herself as a "wife" and a "woman" and truly believes that Papa is correct in violence and punishment and that such violence is justified, to a person who understands the importance of independence and freedom and opposes tyranny.</p> - <p>I believe that this sudden change is uncanny when considered from a relatively logical perspective. The figurines merely symbolize the family environment, and logically it makes little sense that Mama would perceive “the figures broke” as a fundamental change in the family environment—in real life it's hard to imagine someone being so sensitive to symbolism. I will need to look through the novel again, but I do not currently recall prominent foreshadows of Mama's perception of the family environment falling apart in the story's timeline before Palm Sunday. These might just be subtly hiding somewhere waiting to be picked up by the cautious reader, but if such foreshadows are actually present, Adiche may be hinting at the tendency for people to not consciously realize or to intentionally hide subtle feelings until a point where the pressure could not be held any more, and emotional, irrational acts of desperation inevitably commence, reflecting on the futile nature of humans trying to approach rationality but failing to do so. Alternatively, a simpler explanation would be that Adiche is trying to highlight the sensitivity to seemingly irrelevant symbols of emotional and irrational side of people. I believe that both of these are possible interpretations of the novel on first read, but some close analysis in the future or further knowledge of context, such as Adiche's family and cultural background, may be in favor of one particular explanation. I'll see when I get to reviewing the whole novel, and I believe I shall take extra care on the part after Mama comes to Aunty Ifeoma's after Papa breaks the bible table on her and causes another miscarriage and her exact actions on Palm Sunday.</p> + <p>I believe that this sudden change is uncanny when considered from a relatively logical perspective. The figurines merely symbolize the family environment, and logically it makes little sense that Mama would perceive "the figures broke" as a fundamental change in the family environment—in real life it's hard to imagine someone being so sensitive to symbolism. I will need to look through the novel again, but I do not currently recall prominent foreshadows of Mama's perception of the family environment falling apart in the story's timeline before Palm Sunday. These might just be subtly hiding somewhere waiting to be picked up by the cautious reader, but if such foreshadows are actually present, Adiche may be hinting at the tendency for people to not consciously realize or to intentionally hide subtle feelings until a point where the pressure could not be held any more, and emotional, irrational acts of desperation inevitably commence, reflecting on the futile nature of humans trying to approach rationality but failing to do so. Alternatively, a simpler explanation would be that Adiche is trying to highlight the sensitivity to seemingly irrelevant symbols of emotional and irrational side of people. I believe that both of these are possible interpretations of the novel on first read, but some close analysis in the future or further knowledge of context, such as Adiche's family and cultural background, may be in favor of one particular explanation. I'll see when I get to reviewing the whole novel, and I believe I shall take extra care on the part after Mama comes to Aunty Ifeoma's after Papa breaks the bible table on her and causes another miscarriage and her exact actions on Palm Sunday.</p> - <p>Further on in the novel, Mama then commits the “desperate act” of poisoning Papa to death, after which she experiences another change in personality. She becomes fairly robotic and rarely displays emotions, which in and of itself could be considered an unnatural emotional state. This reflects how constant emotional pressure, and likely her own guilt of killing a supposed “loved one” tends to make people numb and hyposensitive to emotional stimuli, creating depressive dissonance. Kambili's anger for Mama, but ultimate understanding, the former of which hasn't really occurred before in the entire novel suggests how even after turmoil in constant domestic violence and unhealthy family relationships, death is ultimately empty in its very nature. This in turn reflects that Kambili, who may be considered to be in the most healthy mental state in the her inner family, is able to understand and perceive emotions from the perspective of others and appreciate how there is a sensitive and kind part of everybody. However, I'm not sure how this interpretation could extend to political violence, which is routinely compared with against domestic violence and religion throughout the novel. It could be argued that Adiche wants to present the inevitability of power dynamics in modern society, but I doubt that that's the actual point of the novel.</p> + <p>Further on in the novel, Mama then commits the "desperate act" of poisoning Papa to death, after which she experiences another change in personality. She becomes fairly robotic and rarely displays emotions, which in and of itself could be considered an unnatural emotional state. This reflects how constant emotional pressure, and likely her own guilt of killing a supposed "loved one" tends to make people numb and hyposensitive to emotional stimuli, creating depressive dissonance. Kambili's anger for Mama, but ultimate understanding, the former of which hasn't really occurred before in the entire novel suggests how even after turmoil in constant domestic violence and unhealthy family relationships, death is ultimately empty in its very nature. This in turn reflects that Kambili, who may be considered to be in the most healthy mental state in the her inner family, is able to understand and perceive emotions from the perspective of others and appreciate how there is a sensitive and kind part of everybody. However, I'm not sure how this interpretation could extend to political violence, which is routinely compared with against domestic violence and religion throughout the novel. It could be argued that Adiche wants to present the inevitability of power dynamics in modern society, but I doubt that that's the actual point of the novel.</p> <p>(Then there's Jaja getting into prison and the weeks before he gets out of prison and such, which gets messier. I don't have the time and energy to write about that today, so I guess that comes later.)</p> <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/sway-keysym.html b/article/sway-keysym.html index ef22625..a6bed91 100644 --- a/article/sway-keysym.html +++ b/article/sway-keysym.html @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ xkb_symbols "basic" { // leave "basic" in-tact unless you know what you're doing key <CAPS> { [ Shift_L, Shift_L, Shift_L, Shift_L ] }; };</pre> <p> - Note that here, the “<code>key</code>” lines are in the form <code>key <X> { [ A, B, C, D ] } ;</code>, where “<code>X</code>” is the keycode symbolic name of the physical key you want to press. In my case, it is <code>CAPS</code>. Check <code>/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/pc</code> and <code>/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/latin</code>, or the relevant files for your keyboard configuration, to look up the keycode symbolic name from the name you're used to. (Looking up <code>Shift_L</code> in <code>symbols/pc</code> gets you to <code>LFSH</code>, which is what you would use in place of “<code>X</code>”. <code>A</code> is triggered when <code>X</code> is pressed alone, <code>B</code> when it's pressd with Shift, <code>C</code> with AltGr, and <code>D</code> with both AltGr and Shift. + Note that here, the "<code>key</code>" lines are in the form <code>key <X> { [ A, B, C, D ] } ;</code>, where "<code>X</code>" is the keycode symbolic name of the physical key you want to press. In my case, it is <code>CAPS</code>. Check <code>/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/pc</code> and <code>/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/latin</code>, or the relevant files for your keyboard configuration, to look up the keycode symbolic name from the name you're used to. (Looking up <code>Shift_L</code> in <code>symbols/pc</code> gets you to <code>LFSH</code>, which is what you would use in place of "<code>X</code>". <code>A</code> is triggered when <code>X</code> is pressed alone, <code>B</code> when it's pressd with Shift, <code>C</code> with AltGr, and <code>D</code> with both AltGr and Shift. </p> <p> <b><code>$HOME/.config/sway/config</code></b> @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ xkb_symbols "basic" { // leave "basic" in-tact unless you know what you're doing xkb_layout "gbcustom" }</pre> <p> - Of course, replace “<code>1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard</code>” with your actual keyboard identifier listed in <code>swaymsg -t get_inputs</code>. And reload Sway. + Of course, replace "<code>1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard</code>" with your actual keyboard identifier listed in <code>swaymsg -t get_inputs</code>. And reload Sway. </p> <p> There might be better ways to do so, but I've got this to work. For these unusual setups, it is a bit complicated and not as straightforward as adding a <code>xmondmap</code> line to <code>.xinitrc</code>. Hopefully things would get better as Wayland matures. @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ xkb_symbols "caps_lshift" { <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/texmacs-maxima-integral.html b/article/texmacs-maxima-integral.html index 57ddd43..e2bc447 100644 --- a/article/texmacs-maxima-integral.html +++ b/article/texmacs-maxima-integral.html @@ -15,16 +15,16 @@ I've been trying to get <a href="https://www.texmacs.org/">TeXmacs</a> with its <a href="https://maxima.sourceforge.io/">Maxima</a> <a href="https://www.texmacs.org/tmweb/documents/tutorials/maxima-tutorial/maxima-tutorial.en.html">plugin</a> to work. </p> <p> - Enabling the “mathematical input” mode in its interactive sessions I can use TeXmacs as a nice computer algebra system. However, an issue arises when I use integration. + Enabling the "mathematical input" mode in its interactive sessions I can use TeXmacs as a nice computer algebra system. However, an issue arises when I use integration. </p> <p> - If I enter \(\displaystyle\int x\,\mathrm{d}\,x\) with “<code>\int <enter>x d<tab><tab>x</code>” (spaces here are actually typed in while the “<code><tab></code>”s and “<code><enter></code>”s are their respective keys), I get this idiosyncratic error: + If I enter \(\displaystyle\int x\,\mathrm{d}\,x\) with "<code>\int <enter>x d<tab><tab>x</code>" (spaces here are actually typed in while the "<code><tab></code>"s and "<code><enter></code>"s are their respective keys), I get this idiosyncratic error: </p> <pre>incorrect syntax: 1 is not an infix operator integrate( x 1, ^</pre> <p> - This seems to be a bug when TeXmacs is translating things into Maxima. Just replace the “<code><tab></code>” between the integrand and the “\(\mathrm{d}\)” with a multiplication operator entered by “<code>*</code>”. For example, <code>\int <enter>x*d<tab><tab>x</code> yields the correct result of \(\displaystyle\frac{x^2}{2}\) rather than the nonsensical error. + This seems to be a bug when TeXmacs is translating things into Maxima. Just replace the "<code><tab></code>" between the integrand and the "\(\mathrm{d}\)" with a multiplication operator entered by "<code>*</code>". For example, <code>\int <enter>x*d<tab><tab>x</code> yields the correct result of \(\displaystyle\frac{x^2}{2}\) rather than the nonsensical error. </p> <p> For reference, the source code of a demonstration document is included below in Scheme and XML-like (?) formats. @@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ integrate( x 1, <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/the-old-web-was-better.html b/article/the-old-web-was-better.html index 3565198..a5eb101 100644 --- a/article/the-old-web-was-better.html +++ b/article/the-old-web-was-better.html @@ -11,19 +11,19 @@ <h1>The Old Web Was Better</h1> <p>Article ID: 9</p> <p> - When I go to an average “modern” World Wide Web site with the default configuration of Lynx, a wonderful plain text Web browser, I am usually greeted with things like <code>example.com cookie: some jibberish Allow? (Y/N/Always/neVer)</code> for which I'd press V a couple times. Then, I would press C-f or page-down a couple times to scroll past a giant navigation bar full of nested lists, a few HTML login forms, multiple search bars. Then I'd see the actual text of the article I'm looking for. Or sometimes, the site would show “Please enable JavaScript to view this page.” or some Cloudflare prompt saying that I need to enable JavaScript to solve a proprietary CAPTCHA to view the page because they have detected “unusual activity from my network”. Or I would be met with a blank page. If I decide to visit the modern Web with a “normal” Web browser such as Firefox or Chromium, with a default install, I'd get a ten-megabyte load of a bunch of fancy advertisements at the top of the page, a giant navigation bar that's really colorful to distract me from what I actually want to see, some pop-ups wanting me to fill in my email address to sign up for their newsletter (which as people say would usually be weekly HTML email spam), flashy advertisements on the side bar, and when I finally scrolled past the header part of the page, a few hasty paragraphs with large paragraph seperations unreadably wrapped in a narrow column. All to display a few kilobytes of actual text, and rarely a few hundred kilobytes of useful images. + When I go to an average "modern" World Wide Web site with the default configuration of Lynx, a wonderful plain text Web browser, I am usually greeted with things like <code>example.com cookie: some jibberish Allow? (Y/N/Always/neVer)</code> for which I'd press V a couple times. Then, I would press C-f or page-down a couple times to scroll past a giant navigation bar full of nested lists, a few HTML login forms, multiple search bars. Then I'd see the actual text of the article I'm looking for. Or sometimes, the site would show "Please enable JavaScript to view this page." or some Cloudflare prompt saying that I need to enable JavaScript to solve a proprietary CAPTCHA to view the page because they have detected "unusual activity from my network". Or I would be met with a blank page. If I decide to visit the modern Web with a "normal" Web browser such as Firefox or Chromium, with a default install, I'd get a ten-megabyte load of a bunch of fancy advertisements at the top of the page, a giant navigation bar that's really colorful to distract me from what I actually want to see, some pop-ups wanting me to fill in my email address to sign up for their newsletter (which as people say would usually be weekly HTML email spam), flashy advertisements on the side bar, and when I finally scrolled past the header part of the page, a few hasty paragraphs with large paragraph seperations unreadably wrapped in a narrow column. All to display a few kilobytes of actual text, and rarely a few hundred kilobytes of useful images. </p> <p> The Web, which people often refer to as the aggregate of human knowledge and high-speed distribution of information, has turned into a degenerate mess of advertisements, JavaScript, slugishness, tracking and profiling, security holes, and slowness. In summary, the modern Web is <em>painful</em>. </p> <p> - I'm looking back towards the 1990s, where Websites would be like this one. Simple (X)HTML, plain text, or another lightweight markup language. No ads, trackers, JavaScript, popups, <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.en.html">Software as a Service Substitute</a> etc. Just distribution of information and ideas, as gophertext, plain text, or simple (X)HTML. As simple as that---basically “use the simple defaults of your Web server program and don't bother with huge management systems”. + I'm looking back towards the 1990s, where Websites would be like this one. Simple (X)HTML, plain text, or another lightweight markup language. No ads, trackers, JavaScript, popups, <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.en.html">Software as a Service Substitute</a> etc. Just distribution of information and ideas, as gophertext, plain text, or simple (X)HTML. As simple as that---basically "use the simple defaults of your Web server program and don't bother with huge management systems". </p> <p> Though, some semi-modern things are good. MediaWikis, for example, while their behind-the-back workings of mulplitudes of PHP mountains, SQL databases, and recently JavaScript-infested visual editors are extremely unelegant, they do provide a consistent simple user interface, without many browser requirements, for users to distribute useful information with. Just not loads of JavaScript and margins and paddings and ads, please. </p> <p> - It would also be better if more people were to have personal Websites to express themselves with, rather than relying on centralized social media giants, who once again display a bunch of ads and wraps articles/“posts” at 30 columns to make people uncomfortable reading comprehensive ideas and get them inclined to write short illogical rants and personal attacks. <a href="https://learn.tuxiversity.org/">Tuxiversity</a> and <a href="https://landchad.net/">LandChad.net</a> are useful resources to get started with. + It would also be better if more people were to have personal Websites to express themselves with, rather than relying on centralized social media giants, who once again display a bunch of ads and wraps articles/"posts" at 30 columns to make people uncomfortable reading comprehensive ideas and get them inclined to write short illogical rants and personal attacks. <a href="https://learn.tuxiversity.org/">Tuxiversity</a> and <a href="https://landchad.net/">LandChad.net</a> are useful resources to get started with. </p> <p> The same applies to the Internet more generally. Don't send huge, clunky HTML emails. Simple chat protocols like IRC. Whatever. @@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/unicorn.html b/article/unicorn.html index 1358946..ae14b00 100644 --- a/article/unicorn.html +++ b/article/unicorn.html @@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ Horizons beckon, as life's tapestry we read. <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> diff --git a/article/x-pronouns.html b/article/x-pronouns.html index 3b3407e..ad72ba4 100644 --- a/article/x-pronouns.html +++ b/article/x-pronouns.html @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ X-Pronouns-Preferred: zh-cn:他</pre> <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - <p>Unless otherwise specified with the “<span class="copyright">copyright</span>” HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> + <p>Unless otherwise specified with the "<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted on this subdomain (<code>www.andrewyu.org</code>) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is available under <a href="https://www.andrewyu.org/note/pubdom.html">Runxi Yu's Public Domain Dedication</a>.</p> </div> </body> </html> |