I’m not in academia, but I’m pretty sure research papers are usually part of the job for many professors, and they are paid for those jobs. Research students get stipends (money) to live off of while doing research and publishing their work. So, money is supporting those efforts as well, right?

You don’t get paid for your research papers being published, it’s required in may fields but it isn’t something you get paid for. Stipends are not money to live off, in most cases you barely get by. So no, money is not supporting those efforts, it’s literally corporations taking the labor of researchers and making money off it.

I’m not in support of having to pay for quality information being the way, but it is the way right now. There are people that refuse to pay for journalism, some saying because it restricts access to quality information to those that can’t afford it, but I posit boycotting paying for journalism is having a net negative effect on quality information getting into anyone’s hands, including those that don’t have the means to pay for it.

Who are you shadowboxing here? I’m simply agreeing that information SHOULD be free and you clearly agree.

That doesn’t really address their point, that’s simply a motte and bailey. Limiting access to information (knowledge/education) on a basis of payment is a hindrance of lower classes not upper classes. We especially see this with academic publishing and the people writing those papers aren’t even paid for it usually.

You shouldn’t have to pay for the journalist or the transmission, similarly to education it is best for a society (especially a democracy) if information is freely accessible regardless of one’s finances.

You might. 🏴‍☠️

I don’t really think it will happen either, it feels like a really poor decision but I thought the same thing about Russia invading Ukraine and that shit still happened.

I’m not sure gallium, germanium, or antimony will play much of a role in inflation as they are not generally in consumer purchases. US inflation is almost entirely from inelastic goods like housing, medical, education, and food. Sure, these will get worse with tariffs but China would have to ban the exportation of their manufactured goods to really impact US prices.

https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/germanium-oxides-and-zirconium-dioxide https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/antimony https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/gallium-germanium-hafnium-indium-niobium-columbium-rhenium-and-vanadium-articles-thereof-unwrought-including-waste-and-scrap-powders

China exported less than a billion dollars worth combined of all these metals, even if you quintupled the price it would still not be enough to meaningfully impact US inflation. Meanwhile, the US imported 8.3 billion dollars worth of steel and mostly from Canada, a country that is being threatened with annexation if it doesn’t make that steel significantly more expensive for US buyers.

Because they voted away the problem in the past right? Hell, it doesn’t even matter that a third of American’s didn’t vote because most of them live in like 4 states. You say that as if it has any real measurable weight when in reality it is a handful of states that had maybe a million or two combined not participate. The type of base you could inspire instead of parading around you’re endorsed by a war criminal.

This has been common for so long and 2020 was a fluke with voter turnout. You’re totally right here, people did just not vote but it’s also a result of not giving people incentives that get them to vote. Voting isn’t really easy in much of the US, especially for those working long hours at the start of the holiday season. Biden ran on stimmy checks and student loan forgiveness, Harris ran on small business tax incentives and building a wall. Just like with plastics, it’s easy to look at individual blame here and get upset with the people who didn’t vote but it’s the system that made them not want to vote.

There’s also the reverse effect where kernel level anticheats provide the illusion of no cheaters so people can cheat more openly without being reported or kicked from the lobby/server like the old days.

I don’t know how much I can be mad at the mentally impaired for voting against their own interest. Like, I can be mad about it but really I’m just frustrated how the system encourages their exploitation.

It’s really just systemic failure all the way down. The constitution is a sham and needs a full rewrite. Giving each state the same power in the senate and capping the house is beyond corrupt and feeds the general apathy.

No, we miss abortions in this neighborhood, brother.

Not like coffee. Your average person simply can’t consume coffee beyond the average at any meaningful rate. We both know that internet usage can go from close to nothing to 100TB of data depending on the user.

Internet isn’t like coffee, it’s not that simple.

That simply isn’t true, the costs are small and arguably negligible but they do have increased costs on more data usage.

ISPs have real costs too

I completely disagree that it is a decent metaphor. Unlike coffee, internet data usage is entirely nebulous to mostly everyone outside of the tech sphere. The metaphor serves as a way of misrepresenting a widespread ignorance for a fundamental understanding.

If we wanted a decent metaphor we’d have to compare data usage to something like health insurance. Well you see, you pay for your rate of coverage at these visits per year but also have to pay your deductible that might or might not be used off routine…

In the end if we want to simplify internet expense it is this: ISPs charge way more than they need to and search for ways to charge more to maximize profits without improving service.

Pretty much everything does, even your car will and I would totally download a car if I could.

It doesn’t really matter as a PC does so much more than play games. It’s like arguing that a Nintendo Switch is cheaper than an a flagship smartphone. Ok, have fun trying to file your taxes, run blender, write code, browse the web, or backup media on your playstation.