On crossposting

LJ keeps doing sketchy things wrt security and data mining (and stealing people's revenue by hijacking their affiliate codes). Here's a nice post by afuna on the current issue, which links to this detailed (and in non-jargony language) post.

LJ has been pissing me off over time. I've toyed with the ideas of stopping crossposting, or turning off comments on the crossposted posts. But the bulk of my peeps are on LJ, and none of you seem terribly inclined to move (other than the several of you who already have.)

I could give all my LJ friends OpenID access to my DW account (those of you who have DW accounts but don't use them would be exempt), but that would make it easier to connect the two IDs than it already is, and I prefer to keep them separate.

Question: If I stopped crossposting, or if I turned off comments on LJ, who would have a problem with coming to DW to comment? You don't have to create an account to read, or even comment: they support OpenID.

I don't want to keep supporting LJ and all their sketchy bullshit and keep providing content for them (even if it's mostly behind a flock) to get more ad revenue.

Dreamwidth has an amazing diversity statement, actively works to be accessible to the disabled, and stood up to repeated censorship trolls who targeted their payment providers (first paypal, then google checkout) under the spectre of "porn sites." They don't allow illegal materials (child porn, for example), but neither do they prohibit free expression. They will not allow advertisers.

I still have an invite code, if anybody wants one. I don't think there are free accounts right now, but you can buy a single-month paid account (for $3, iirc, though they've just introduced a points system which I don't fully understand) and let it lapse to become free. Yeah, it's kinda cheating, but their business model includes that situation. And if you decide you like it, you can buy more paid time.

They don't have a bunch of stupid "features" that nobody wants, and they took the spaghetti code from LJ and cleaned it up, so it works *better*.

It's kinda quiet over here, but the water's nice. Come on in.

Duzen and Siezen

When I learned German, I was taught always to use Sie to strangers, professors, doctors, and pretty much everyone. It's the polite form of "you". The rules surrounding its use aren't terribly complicated, really, and it's generally speaking better to be safe and use Sie when in doubt, especially if you're unfamiliar with German social norms. (I don't claim to be an expert, but I've lived there, so I've got some experience in the matter.) (wikipedia on German T-V distinction)

At Uni Marburg, the professors called the students Herr/Frau Lastname and used Sie. And naturally the students called the professors Sie and used the appropriate title (Herr Doktor Knochel, maybe with a Professor stuck in there somewhere, I forget.) The students all called each other Du.

I've also noticed that in German-language posts on the internet (DW, mainly), people use Du. It's casual and friendly and familiar, because, hey, we're all friends on the internet, right?

There used to be a ritual called Brüderschaft trinken (drinking brotherhood) wherein people would drink together and switch from Sie to Du. It's much rarer than it used to be.

So I emailed my renter the other day, and I used Sie. (Because I didn't want to presume familiarity, and I have no idea how old she is, and that sort of thing. See above re better safe than rude.) I got her reply a few minutes ago, and she used Du, so I'll reply back to her with Du.

Got my battery!

It looks like it'll fit in my netbook, too. However, it's only 4400 mA, compared to the 5800 mA battery that came with it. That means (from what I've gleaned net surfing) it'll have a shorter battery life. However, if the damned thing actually holds charge, it'll have better battery life than what I started with (an hour? and it drains completely when left unplugged for a few days. Piece of crap.)

Other things I've done today: laundry, called Visa to let them know I'm going to Europe, looked up some ATM locations near my temporary home, emailed my renter, watched the last 2 episodes of DARKER THAN BLACK 2, printed a bunch of things (reservation emails, a travel guide) though I forgot to print my flight itineraries, and looked up a few doctors in Berlin who take BCBS though I didn't write them down.

Now it's time to change and grab something to eat then run off to weapons class.