Everything is Shit: Tracking the Great Enshittening

[Hornius Emeritus 12796]

Because libraries are one of the few places you can go and be inside and spent large amounts of time without paying for anything or having to have a membership, librarians ----- LIBRARIANS! ---- are now being threatened, having to do medical interventions, dealing with the homeless etc ....

From the article:

On social media, Mychal Threets was spreading the gospel of “library joy” to hundreds of thousands of followers.

Known for his energetic delivery and signature Afro, Mr. Threets showed off the book-themed tattoos covering his arms and evangelized about the pleasure of reading while cradling one of his cats. Viewers found his enthusiasm for literature infectious, and he got a kick out of drawing in young readers.

But at his job, as a supervisor at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, Calif., he was facing new challenges. The library, which he had begun visiting as a child, had become a gathering place for people experiencing issues like homelessness, drug dependence and mental illness.

Some of his duties had little to do with cataloging books and recommending titles. Over a year, Mr. Threets said, he filed more than 170 incident reports documenting how library patrons had acted out: property damage, harassment, physical altercations.

“There were several instances where people would get in my face and kind of threaten to physically push me,” Mr. Threets said. At one point, he added, a patron threatened to kill him multiple times — visitors pulled knives on each other, too.

His anxiety and depression, both present since childhood, had worsened. And he faced an impossible dilemma: What do you do when the pressures of your profession are harming your mental health?

In March, at age 34, he left the job, announcing his departure on social media in a characteristically upbeat way. “It’s been the honor of my life to work for the library that raised me,” he said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/well/mind/librarian-trauma-homeless-drugs-mental-illness.html

[InkaUtexas 26860]

Buddy is a local librarian. Cool dude, always has great book recommendations. He dreads going to work. He hates summertime.  He is ready to quit.

Constantly harassed.

Drug use in the library.

Multiple fights

Last month there was a stabbing in the library

He was told he needed to get more advanced First Aid training. His comment was "if I wanted to be a social worker or EMT I would have studied that."

 

[NWBuck 8629]

Validation... yay?

‘What many of us feel’: why ‘enshittification’ is Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year

Quote

We’re all living through the enshittocene, a great enshittening, in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit,” author Cory Doctorow wrote earlier this year.

In 2023, Doctorow coined the word “enshittification”, which has just been crowned Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year. The dictionary defined the word as follows.

“The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.”

Social media users, if they don’t know the word, will viscerally understand the concept, the way trolls and extremists and bullshitters and the criminally vacuous have overtaken the platforms.

 

[Parliament 14593]

Pretty sure the first recorded case of enshittification is what happened to Shaggy Bevo.  It was brought down by trademark bullshit and every subsequent iteration has been worse and worse.

Edited November 26 by Parliament

[Captainant 28507]

8 hours ago, Parliament said:

Pretty sure the first recorded case of enshittification is what happened to Shaggy Bevo.  It was brought down by trademark bullshit and every subsequent iteration has been worse and worse.

I didn't think it was trademark - the university didn't take the site down because of the "Bevo" in the name. It was because the former owner made a shit business deal with a scumbag and got fucked over after the fact.

The site was lost because the shitty business deal person successfully argued in court to a judge that shaggy was worth $350,000, based on Blacklab saying it was worth "tree fiddy" on a reddit AMA

Edited November 26 by Captainant

[immamac 44312]

5 minutes ago, Captainant said:

I didn't think it was trademark - the university didn't take the site down because of the "Bevo" in the name. It was because the former owner made a shit business deal with a scumbag and got fucked over after the fact.

The site was lost because the shitty business deal person successfully argued in court to a judge that shaggy was worth $350,000, based on Blacklab saying it was worth "tree fiddy" on a reddit AMA

We did have to change it to shaggytexas because of a lawsuit from the university though. 

[TwiceHorn 32071]

11 minutes ago, immamac said:

We did have to change it to shaggytexas because of a lawsuit from the university though. 

Did they actually sue, or just threaten to?

[Js1 87174]

12 minutes ago, immamac said:

We did have to change it to shaggytexas because of a lawsuit from the university though. 

[Captainant 28507]

2 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Lol the Shag constantly calling Plonsky a cunt probably didn't help with that action

[immamac 44312]

11 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Did they actually sue, or just threaten to?

Doesn't matter there were lawyers its all the same at that point. There was standing pretty clearly. 

[TwiceHorn 32071]

Just now, immamac said:

Doesn't matter there were lawyers its all the same at that point. There was standing pretty clearly. 

Well just curious how hair-trigger they are on trademark issues.  I have pretty mixed feelings about over-aggressive use of trademarks.

[immamac 44312]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Well just curious how hair-trigger they are on trademark issues.  I have pretty mixed feelings about over-aggressive use of trademarks.

I have an outstanding working relationship with them now. It has more to do with that and who's toes you stepped on than them being a bully. 

[tbone_ 14438]

Pretty sure the first recorded case of enshittification is what happened to Shaggy Bevo.  It was brought down by trademark bullshit and every subsequent iteration has been worse and worse.

I don’t think this version is worse.

[blacklab 12064]

They never sued but did say if I didn’t sign and return the docs they sent they were going to sue the next day. 
 

I did have a decent chance at defending but it wasn’t worth the money or time to defend. 
 

[immamac 44312]

2 minutes ago, blacklab said:

They never sued but did say if I didn’t sign and return the docs they sent they were going to sue the next day. 
 

I did have a decent chance at defending but it wasn’t worth the money or time to defend. 
 

Pussy

(Sarcasm for those who don't know it's obvious) 

[Bevo 13870]

35 minutes ago, immamac said:

Pussy

(Sarcasm for those who don't know it's obvious) 

Well, how did you type it? Like this?

 

 

or like this?

 

or like this?

 

 

Or like this?

 

 

Really, it can mean lots of things.

[thunderlounge 8407]

1 hour ago, blacklab said:

I did have a decent chance at defending but it wasn’t worth the money or time to defend.

 

That's the big kicker. Even when you're right, without enough money you're wrong.

 

[Biff Tannen 46150]

2 hours ago, Bevo said:

Well, how did you type it? Like this?

 

 

or like this?

 

or like this?

 

 

Or like this?

 

 

Really, it can mean lots of things.

[Bevo 13870]

33 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

 

That's the one I was looking for. I couldn't find the right search tool at work, though.

[BabaYaga 15623]

Just type in a Google search for "Pussy".  I'd also turn the filters off so you get the best meme's and GIF's back.

Trust me.  I know stuff.

[Bevo 13870]

6 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Just type in a Google search for "Pussy".  I'd also turn the filters off so you get the best meme's and GIF's back.

Trust me.  I know stuff.

 

Luckily, Google blurred out all the images when I was doing my first search. Life comes at you hard and fast.

[956 Worldwide 35589]

On 11/24/2024 at 12:26 PM, InkaUtexas said:

Buddy is a local librarian. Cool dude, always has great book recommendations. He dreads going to work. He hates summertime.  He is ready to quit.

Constantly harassed.

Drug use in the library.

Multiple fights

Last month there was a stabbing in the library

He was told he needed to get more advanced First Aid training. His comment was "if I wanted to be a social worker or EMT I would have studied that."

 

The lessons of the tragedy of the commons are everywhere. Paradoxically, maintaining a useable and pleasant public space will always mean you have to keep a very small part of the public out. Otherwise it becomes a place for only them. 

[Brisketexan 106874]

30 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

The lessons of the tragedy of the commons are everywhere. Paradoxically, maintaining a useable and pleasant public space will always mean you have to keep a very small part of the public out. Otherwise it becomes a place for only them. 

A very compact way of putting it.  Nicely done.

Also, it's why places like Facebook, Surly, and (once upon a time) Twitter have/had policies for user conduct.  Once a turd slips into the punchbowl, then the whole thing is just shitpunch.

[InkaUtexas 26860]

Way to go @956 Worldwide  You brought in the lawyers.

But yeah, open society means just that. Open.

[Chilly Water 421]

Took this week off of work to fix some things around the house including a sagging porch roof since I’ve got family in town and they’ve offered to help with it. The nearest home improvement store that had a jack post in stock was Home Depot in Longview, over an hour drive away. Fuck it, whatever. Place the order for pickup.

Two hours later I get an email that the order has been cancelled because the 7 that they showed in stock are suddenly not. No phone call, offer to order it to the store or have it delivered. I go online to order the jack post for delivery by today. When it arrives, both box ends are damaged and the bolts and threaded screw to adjust the height are missing. Called Home Depot to ask for a replacement sent expedited. Their response was, “We don’t do replacements or expedited shipping. You can return this one to the store, and place a new order if you need a replacement.”  I go online to order a new one but it won’t arrive until later this weekend when my help has already left.
So now, I’m returning this one to the local HD store but keeping the baseplates and one of the poles. When the new one arrives, I’m returning it but keeping the other pole, the bolts and the threaded screw and telling them it arrived damaged again. Fuck these guys and their non-existent customer service.
I’m getting myself a free jack post for this hassle.

Edited November 26 by Chilly Water

[Brisketexan 106874]

11 minutes ago, Chilly Water said:

Took this week off of work to fix some things around the house including a sagging porch roof since I’ve got family in town and they’ve offered to help with it. The nearest home improvement store that had a jack post in stock was Home Depot in Longview, over an hour drive away. Fuck it, whatever. Place the order for pickup.

Two hours later I get an email that the order has been cancelled because the 7 that they showed in stock are suddenly not. No phone call, offer to order it to the store or have it delivered. I go online to order the jack post for delivery by today. When it arrives, both box ends are damaged and the bolts and threaded screw to adjust the height are missing. Called Home Depot to ask for a replacement sent expedited. Their response was, “We don’t do replacements or expedited shipping. You can return this one to the store, and place a new order if you need a replacement.”  I go online to order a new one but it won’t arrive until later this weekend when my help has already left.
So now, I’m returning this one to the local HD store but keeping the baseplates and one of the poles. When the new one arrives, I’m returning it but keeping the other pole, the bolts and the threaded screw and telling them it arrived damaged again. Fuck these guys and their non-existent customer service.
I’m getting myself a free jack post for this hassle.

Perfect example.  Consumers end up gaming the business's system because the business's system games them.  It becomes a ratcheting upward game of fuckery.  NEITHER side should start it.  But here we are.  Where "no, fuck you, HD" is the only rational response.  

[Parliament 14593]

5 hours ago, tbone_ said:

I don’t think this version is worse.

I’m joking.  All 3 sucked equally.  (Also a joke.)

Edited November 26 by Parliament

[General Specific 3507]

Pretty sure the first recorded case of enshittification is what happened to Shaggy Bevo.  It was brought down by trademark bullshit and every subsequent iteration has been worse and worse.

Is that not Enscattification? If not, it should be!

Yours truly,
Webster Mirriam

[Deej 77804]

For those we lost in the move...

[General Specific 3507]

For those we lost in the move...

And to the friends we made along the way…

[Firemans4Horn 18528]

The opposite of enshittification: Bluetooth pairing my headphones to my Roku app and watching tv without my kid hearing anything in the next room. Amazing. 

[thunderlounge 8407]

9 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

The opposite of enshittification: Bluetooth pairing my headphones to my Roku app and watching tv without my kid hearing anything in the next room. Amazing. 

But then you read the Roku privacy agreement/terms, and we’re right back to square one.

I’m in the process of ditching all Roku’s for appleTV’s.

Little more in price, but a lot more bang for your buck without having to look at something like an nvidia shield. 

[elfenix 34744]

On 11/21/2024 at 1:42 PM, Brisketexan said:

Well, of course they're not tied to me.

I use a VPN and a burner gmail for all of my sex site stuff.  Duh.  You think I'm some sort of amateur?

you haven't blocked google? fuckin' amateur

[Foosters 18267]

YouTubeTV announced that there monthly package is now $82.99.

6 years ago it was $34.99

that must mean we're going to get tons of new channels and content, right?

[Sawbonz 28196]

On 11/22/2024 at 9:20 PM, BrazilHorn said:

Well yeah, but he’s at “Saigon Sausage”. It’s close but different. 

[thunderlounge 8407]

52 minutes ago, Foosters said:

YouTubeTV announced that there monthly package is now $82.99.

6 years ago it was $34.99

that must mean we're going to get tons of new channels and content, right?

 

*their

[huge 3831]

20 hours ago, Foosters said:

YouTubeTV announced that there monthly package is now $82.99.

6 years ago it was $34.99

that must mean we're going to get tons of new channels and content, right?

If you ditched cable for YouTube TV because it was cheaper and you wouldn’t have to speak to another human being on the phone in order to cancel, only one of those things is still true. The internet platform told subscribers yesterday that it’s raising the cost of a monthly subscription to $83 starting Jan. 13, up $10 from its current price, and roughly in line with the average US cable TV bill.

TV services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV—which deliver most of the channels of a traditional television package over the internet without needing to install equipment or sign a contract—were supposed to offer a more user-friendly alternative to cable. And they did...for awhile. But as they get more expensive, subscribers are beginning to wonder if the convenience is still worth it.—AE

Also Sling has gone from $20 to $60

[kevwun 16437]

On 12/7/2024 at 9:28 AM, thunderlounge said:

But then you read the Roku privacy agreement/terms, and we’re right back to square one.

I’m in the process of ditching all Roku’s for appleTV’s.

Little more in price, but a lot more bang for your buck without having to look at something like an nvidia shield. 

I would think about it if the Apple TV remote wasn't so awful.  It might be the worst remote I've ever used.

[Biff Tannen 46150]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

I would think about it if the Apple TV remote wasn't so awful.  It might be the worst remote I've ever used.

This.  I'm like Zoolander and Hansel with that thing.

[bolverk 30313]

I'd like to hear from @Pods on this one.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/arts/design/stegosaurus-shares-public-offering.html

Quote

 

With dinosaur fossils fetching millions of dollars at recent auctions, it was perhaps inevitable: A private company said Friday that it had set the date for a public offering that will allow investors to buy shares in a stegosaurus fossil.

It was the latest sign of the booming market for dinosaur fossils, which has raised concerns from academic paleontologists who fear their institutions are being priced out of the market by private collectors, jeopardizing their access to research specimens.

Now a stegosaurus fossil that is still mostly buried in Wyoming is being transformed into an investment vehicle registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Rally, a company that sells shares in a wide variety of collectibles, said Friday that the stegosaurus would go public on Dec. 20, when 200,000 shares will be offered to investors at $68.75 each. The sale could raise up to $13.75 million, according to an S.E.C. filing. The company describes the sale as an initial public offering, but the shares will only be sold through its app or on its website, not on a stock market.

Shareholders will hope for a payout on the dinosaur, nicknamed Steg, once it is sold privately or auctioned to the highest bidder in about a year, according to the company, which sells shares in alternative assets like designer cars, expensive artwork, baseball cards and a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

“We took a risk,” said Rob Petrozzo, Rally’s co-founder and chief product officer. “We feel there is enough upside for investors to see a return.”

The fossil market has been setting records in recent years, the most recent of which was the hedge fund billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin’s winning bid of $44.6 million this summer at the auction of a fossilized stegosaurus. He later arranged to loan the skeleton to the American Museum of Natural History.

The stegosaurus being offered to retail investors was discovered a few months before Griffin’s purchase, but Rally executives sensed a shift in the market. The company said that it paid $2.25 million to reserve rights to the fossil and to fund the remainder of its excavation by Thomas Lindgren, who runs a company that sources specimens for institutions and private collectors.

Lindgren has worked in the fossil industry for over 40 years, including a long tenure as a consulting director of natural history at Bonhams auction house. During an interview, he described finding the stegosaurus remains alongside the bones of prehistoric sauropods and theropods.

“It wasn’t a perfect dinosaur laying there, but it was a pretty complete one,” Lindgren said, saying that his excavation had already unearthed about 67 percent of the bones that scientists would expect on a stegosaurus, and he expects to find more as the excavation continues.

Lindgren has partnered with Rally before, helping the company offer shares in a triceratops skull and a megalodon jaw to investors.

According to the S.E.C. filing, the stegosaurus skeleton measures over 23 feet in length and stands nearly 7 feet tall with most of its spiky tail and most of its back plates preserved. The fossil includes the characteristic dark brown patina typical of fossils found in the Morrison Formation that helped preserve the stegosaurus, which is believed to have roamed the earth about 150 million years ago.

Lindgren and his business partner, Jeffrie Parker, found the dinosaur while excavating Bone Cabin Quarry about 55 miles outside of Laramie, Wyo., under a long-term lease their company has with the landowner. In 1897, scientists from the American Museum of Natural History exhumed the remains of another stegosaurus and other dinosaurs there, including allosaurus and apatosaurus. But museum officials abandoned the site in the early 1900s, when it appeared that the fossil quarry was depleted.

“The museum liked big bones,” said Lindgren, explaining why he’s still finding significant fossils at nearby dig sites. “If they didn’t realize what they had, they didn’t pick it up.”

Lindgren and his colleagues said they would retain 80 percent ownership in the stegosaurus when it is offered to the public. The paleontologist is hoping that increased transparency in the excavation process will entice potential buyers.

Petrozzo said that he hoped that the unusual chance to invest in a dinosaur whose skeleton is still partially buried in the ground would expand on Rally’s typical clientele, which he described as “31-year-olds who have made a little money but aren’t necessarily millionaires.”

“Steg investors might include 18-year-olds who wanted a share, private equity managers or sizable institutions,” Petrozzo said. “You will get a mix of people — a lot of this is driven by popular culture.”

 

 

[Deej 77804]

How much does a share of Armybrat go for?

[Fudge Nuggets 19453]

5 minutes ago, Deej said:

How much does a share of Armybrat go for?

About fo fiddy… inflation.

[thunderlounge 8407]

2 hours ago, kevwun said:

I would think about it if the Apple TV remote wasn't so awful.  It might be the worst remote I've ever used.

I partially agree. I turned off “touch” on the pad, and it’s much more friendly at least.

 

[InkaUtexas 26860]

On 12/12/2024 at 1:49 PM, Foosters said:

YouTubeTV announced that there monthly package is now $82.99.

6 years ago it was $34.99

that must mean we're going to get tons of new channels and content, right?

Even if they did most of it would be shit I don't want t watch. Pissed about this and am looking at options.

[tbone_ 14438]

$10 doesn’t change anyone calculus from when they chose YTTV. And they know it.

[Captainant 28507]

On 12/12/2024 at 1:49 PM, Foosters said:

YouTubeTV announced that there monthly package is now $82.99.

6 years ago it was $34.99

that must mean we're going to get tons of new channels and content, right?

I read that mainly had to do with them offering Sunday Ticket and the whole NFL package not selling as well as they'd hoped 

[rpspeed 1495]

Remember when an Amazon subscription was next to nothing and anything you ordered was delivered in two days, and could upgrade to next day for an extra $3. Yeah, good times. Shopping today and almost everything was showing up as a Dec 27th delivery. 🥳

[Ted Lange 16406]

YYTV and the rest of streaming services will be a yearly subscription soon.    

[Captainant 28507]

1 hour ago, rpspeed said:

Remember when an Amazon subscription was next to nothing and anything you ordered was delivered in two days, and could upgrade to next day for an extra $3. Yeah, good times. Shopping today and almost everything was showing up as a Dec 27th delivery. 🥳

But have you seen those AMZN growth figures??? All time high, baby!

[Dbeasy 15561]

Speaking of enshittification, I received an email notice that my Amazon package had been delivered to my mailbox, which is one of those freestanding ones with boxes for about 15 homes. 

Of course, there was no package.  Told the Amazon vendor and then went to the post office in person to let them know. Past experience told me the carrier probably put it in the wrong box. With me standing there, the post office guy conformed it had been delivered to the box and told the person on the route to go back and check. She never did.

So then I filed an online form. Two days later, nothing. So I got fed up and the next day stalked the neighborhood until I found the postal truck, followed it to our common mailbox area, and then flagged the carrier when she got out of the truck. 

I told her the package was lost, and she said she’d already looked for it and didn’t find it. So I told her to specifically look in the box with the numerical address but one street over. Of course, there it is. 

So think about the number of instances of mistakes. Three at least, and I have to go find my own effing packages. Ridiculous.