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PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   24830 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 6, 2024

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Ok, so California required default passwords four years ago. Your nightmare world has already arrived. We've already crossed over the epsilon threshold. The boot has already eternally stomped the artist, and you should have already exited the terminally ill tech sector. I don't know why you're complaining now.

Do you have a current complaint about the current regulation, or are you just complaining retroactively about California's regulation?

EDIT: It doesn't sound like you have a current complaint about the current regulation, because you say:

There's no point in talking about the specific merits of the specific regulations

But I want to make sure I'm not strawmanning you. Thus, I'm just trying to confirm that the appropriate understanding of your argument is that everything was doomed (at least) four years ago, and that you have nothing more to add. I think it could have saved us lots of digital ink if you had just spoken plainly about this being your position in the beginning.

Ok, so California required default passwords four years ago. Your nightmare world has already arrived. We've already crossed over the epsilon threshold.

I don't think you know what "epsilon" means. "epsilon" means a small amount, often in a context where a bigger amount is possible. Making one regulation isn't going to cross over the epsilon threshhold, but it can be one step towards having lots of regulations which do.

Understood and agreed. We'd then have to shift to a discussion about the theory of slippery slopes and regulation dynamics. I don't think @The_Nybbler is open to that discussion yet. He thinks that "there's no point" in discussing anything like that; once we've crossed epsilon, all is doomed, and nothing can be saved. If he'd like to walk back that claim and actually have a detailed and reasonable discussion about what happens after we cross epsilon, I am here and waiting, but he has to agree to those terms rather than constantly immediately shifting back to claiming that once you cross epsilon, all is doomed and nothing can be saved.

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