Pillowfort, Tumblr, Steve Jobs, and History

[shadowkat]

Hmmmm...

1. Pillowfort has now entered the fray on free speech (and not in a good way. Apparently they are banning content that they've determined to be inappropriate or pornographic in character...(I seriously hope it's not just a bunch of people without their shirts on. I just looked at site called Deviant Art with all sorts of warnings, that had been banned on Tumblr, and all I saw were a bunch of similar sized and colored people without their shirts on, male and female. It was quite lovely and humane. And I thought...okay the people who think this is pornographic, probably should stay away from French beaches (unless they've changed a great deal from when I frequented them in the 1980s), and never see the musical Hair. Nudity is NOT pornography. Nudity used to titillate or objectify the human body in a way that is degrading is pornography - see Playboy, Playgirl, and Penthouse magazines. It's not that hard to figure out the difference.)

The battle is currently over NSFW or what some identify as "pornography". This is a old old old battle that predates the internet by about 70 or more years.

On Tumblr -- it is owned by Verizon, apparently, and Oath, which has a similar decree to LJ and AOL, which is why I left both. What is that? Oh. "We own your content and can do whatever we bloody well please with it, including censor, remove, repost, publish, market, reproduce, etc...unless you pay us not to." Well, forget that. I'm moving to DW. Bye now.

They are both upfront about it now. LJ's agreement pretty much stated that -- and I couldn't access my journal, post in it, or change it without agreeing to the agreement. I could however delete. Which I promptly did. Tumblr at least told me upfront.

Why did people move to Tumblr over DW to start -- well not being savvy in US and Global copyright laws they didn't move for the same reasons I did. They moved because LJ went on a tear about NSFW art a while back, and it was easier to post art work from phones etc to Tumblr than to DW or LJ. DW by the way is insanely difficult to post images to -- it is not an art, photo or image friendly site. Tumblr on the other hand is. I'm more interested in writing than posting pictures, so DW worked for me. But if I'd been the opposite? I'd have gone to Tumblr.

2. Forget Tumblr, it's all Steve Jobs fault -- hee hee.

Eh no. There were other people working on the technology at the same time as Jobs, he just got there first. I've family members who are software engineers and know quite a few, if Jobs didn't create the Iphone, someone else would have eventually. Also people were already moving in the direction of apps long before the smartphone took off. Facebook popped up before smartphones.

And, I remember Voy, Bronze Beta, chat rooms, and LJ fights over free speech and content. There were wars about that long before apps. Also they had walled content and moderators removing content long before the arrival of the smart phone.

Do I like smartphones? No. I preferred it when they didn't exist. But alas, they do. I resisted as long as I could get away with it -- but eventually I hit a wall and realized, okay, you have to have one because this is how EVERYONE else is doing business and operating today. Tough boogies.

When did I figure it out?

It was a slow process. My immediate family is not a fan of gadgets. (Understatement of the year.) We're luddites. We wait a VERY long time before buying a new gadget. We learned our lesson when my Dad bought one of the first 8-Track Players...because he thought it would take off, and didn't see how cassette players would (less durable). We all know how well that turned out, don't we? (Are there any 8-track players around now? No. Actually there aren't that many cassette players either -- so my father was right about the durability issue.) Deeply humbled by this turn of events, my father and the rest of my family, chose to be very cautious around new technological advances and gadgets. (In other words, we decided we were not tech savvy and to let the experts work all the kinks out first, before we considered jumping on board. Also cheaper.)

My flight was cancelled because of a computer failure in 2004. And I had to borrow someone's cell phone in line -- to call my travel agent pal and my parents to see what I could do about it. (Nothing, they had a computer error and all the flights were cancelled for two days. It was Christmas Eve and I only had Monday off, because my idiotic boss refused to allow any one to take time for Christmas -- because the department needed to be covered and there were only three of us. Of course the other two were born and bred New Yorkers who didn't have any family out of state. It was only a problem for one year. My parents came up the second year, and the third year we got bought out by another company and everyone was laid off. I did however learn that I needed a cell phone -- because there were no phone booths or pay phones that I could use. Everyone had cell phones.)

So I got a cheap flip-style cell phone.

Then...the smartphone got invented. And my friends wanted to text. My cell didn't text. And use messenger. My cell couldn't use messenger.

So I got a Samsung Android phone.

Android phones and Messenger are unmixy things. Also you have to keep them charged. But if you keep them charged the battery burns out. And the typeface was impossible. And it kept breaking.

My brother who wrote the user manual for the Android phone, convinced me to buy an Iphone, more user friendly, he told me. He was right. The Android phone did not work for me.

Do I like my I-phone? Eh, it has a great camera function, except when I can't get rid of the photos and they overload the phone's memory. Plays great music, but no memory and if it goes out of range, no music. Horrible service. The internet, wifi, and the cellular come in and out. GPS is...not necessarily reliable. I hate the Siri function -- it's useless and annoys me. But I like the In Transit notifications, the Jetblue Plane APP, the ability to make appointments on it and track appointments, the alarm function, the time function, the calculator, and FB Messenger and Texting on it. Also great camera. First time I've ever felt comfortable using a camera in my life.

So..love/hate relationship. Don't use it all the time. Forget I have it half the time. Don't talk to people on it. I basically use it for everything but as a phone.

Also..I really hate being in a perpetual phone booth. People? You don't have to be in constant contact with whomever. It is possible to go to the movies, out to dinner, to the theater, to church, and walk down the street without talking on your cell phone constantly or texting on it. Also when you are on your phone in a movie theater -- it's akin to shining a flashlight in the faces of everyone sitting next to you or near you. They do want to kill you or bash you in the head with your cell phone. That nasty look of death? IT's genuine.

So, if I thought getting into a time machine and killing Steve Jobs would resolve the cell phone problem? I'd consider it. But alas, it won't. Would have happened anyway.



3. I'm wondering if they teach history in public schools any longer.

Coworker: I'm thinking Obama should run again.
Me: he can't run again.
Coworker: Why not?
Me: Because they can only serve two terms.
Coworker: I did not know that.
ME: Did you skip the US Constitution in school somehow?
Coworker: So when did this happen?
Me: With Franklyn D. Roosevelt who ran and won four terms..
Coworker: Who is this guy and how many terms?
Me: You don't know who Roosevelt is?
Coworker: No. And you're telling me that he served four terms?
Me: Well he died during the fourth term in office, then they passed an amendment to the Constitution to make sure it didn't happen again. Did you skip history in school?
Co-worker: Next time I'm going to lie...and pretend I know.
Other Co-worker: She's just schooling you.
Me: You need to read a few books on WWII.

On the plus side, he's a whiz at math and taught music. I'm beginning to wonder about our education system -- do they not teach history in public schools any longer? I can understand not knowing who Ruthered B. Hayes is...but really?

Comments

[deird1]

I've gotta say, I don't think my history classes covered any Australian political history at all. (And I'm pretty sure our national curriculum doesn't mention it.)

[wendelah1]

I was taught American history in HS in 11th or 12th grade. My teacher was a Civil War buff which meant we learned a lot of material on our own by writing term papers so he could drill down on the generals and battles. One of mine was on the Army-McCarthy hearings. Another was on the New Deal, I think? I can't recall the other topics.

On the other hand, I got out of taking history in college because I aced the AP exam.

My son certainly was taught American history in his high school AP class.

The level of ignorance of today's citizenry flabbergasts me.

[shadowkat]

I didn't have to take history in college. I was admittedly in an odd college. I did do a thematic minor -- and took anthropology, theology, mythology, and folklore. Also I had a frustrated history professor as a father. It's weird, because I wanted to be a history/poli-sci major. I even picked my college with that in mind. But they made it really hard to go that route with how they set up the courses. So I ended up going the English Lit/Cultural Anthropology route.
Didn't matter - I ended up in the same place I would have if I'd gone the other route -- in law school, then working as a legal professional for a state transportation agency.

But it blows my mind. My niece who is 14 is taking a course on the US Constitution and tried to get into a college level course on the Ottoman Empire, her professor lobbied for her to get into it. But her advisor nixed it because she didn't want to set a precedent for freshmen students taking college level courses -- she's already advanced as it is. The kid has decided to teach herself pre-calculus. (She's 14!)

Meanwhile, I have twenty-something co-workers who don't know who Franklin D. Roosevelt is or how many terms you can run for President in the US.

It should be noted the co-worker is African-American and from Alabama, who went to public schools. Niece is from an upper-middle class white family in upstate New York and going to expensive private schools. Life is not fair and we all don't get the same opportunities or a level playing field.

[shadowkat]

In Australia or the US?

I know the US doesn't cover European or other countries well. I actually got a bit of Australian history -- by way of my parents who moved there for two years, actually more like a year and a half in the early 1990s (1990-1992). Father is a frustrated history professor and policy-wonk. I don't remember most of it though.

Did you cover the Constitution?

In the US public schools - during 1970s-1980s, we basically got the Explorers, the American Revolution, the Civil War, WWII, and that was it. Got a little towards the end on Vietnam, Korea and WWI.

It was odd -- each year we'd start with Columbus and end with the Civil War. And it was rather white-washed until approximately the 11th grade. I didn't realize we'd pretty much slaughtered the American Indians until I hit high school.

Also it was inconsistent -- some public schools taught European history, some American. When I moved to Kansas from Pensylvania -- I went from the Civil War (which by this point, I was rather bored of) to the Ancient Hebrews, which really interested me and the British Empire during Queen Elizabeth I reign. This was new. Then middle school - we sort of were all over the place. I did contemporary history, we did a model UN (that was fun). World Geography. Then we jumped back to the American History model, then forward again - and did the US Constitution. History was fun but all over the place.

Now? I don't know what they are teaching in the public school system. My niece, who is in private school is learning the US Constitution -- and she's 14.

[deird1]

Sorry - to be clear, I'm an Aussie. :)

We covered no US history at all, and our Australian history is limited to convicts, gold rush, and federation. We get a fair bit of history from Europe and Asia, though.

[yourlibrarian]

I'm beginning to wonder about our education system -- do they not teach history in public schools any longer? I can understand not knowing who Ruthered B. Hayes is...but really?

It makes me wonder how old your co-worker is?

[shadowkat]

Late 20s, around 28. Smart guy. Well-read, culturally savvy, used to teach music and worked for the Department of Education.

[shadowkat]

Thanks, I thought you were...from other posts. But wasn't entirely certain.

Interesting how limited your Australian history is...

Where in Australia?

[yourlibrarian]

That's what I was figuring. It's not just a lack of history, it's also a lack of civics courses. I had Civics in 7th grade and then in 12th grade I had political science and economics in a single course which were also relevant. Not many high schools teach the latter but all of them used to have Civ which is where a lot of those elements come in.

Of course, it also depends on the schools themselves. The daughter of a friend is an art-centered HS in NYC and she's taking Physics and Calculus in 11th grade even though she plans on doing animation.

[shadowkat]

Also neither history nor Civics is required in a lot of College's and University's. So if you are math major, or music major, and you don't watch television and only films, and do everything via streaming or internet -- you could never hit any of this information.

When I said, "did you skip the US Constitution" or "History" in school - turns out I was right.

It's sad.

It's not just a lack of history, it's also a lack of civics courses. I had Civics in 7th grade and then in 12th grade I had political science and economics in a single course which were also relevant.

I had both under the title of "social studies". I loved that area -- so took a lot of courses in it. Also, my father had done post doctorate work in social history -- so I had him telling me stuff at home. Then of course I went to law school -- so got plenty of Civics. We studied the Constitution, and how the legislature works in depth.

But I knew most of this stuff by the 10th grade or the age of 15. It blows my mind that a 28 year old man, with a higher education, doesn't. It's not his fault, it's the fault of the educational system in which he was raised.

[deird1]

In Melbourne. (The liberal capital of the country.)

Come to think of it, today's history lessons almost certainly include the Stolen Generation (Aboriginal cultural wipeout).


Our political history isn't all that interesting, in some respects. I mean, you guys had a revolution, created a constitution, had a civil war...

We:
- asked very politely if we were allowed to be our own country
- were told yes, we could
- kept the same kind of parliamentary system
- kept most of the same laws

About the most interesting thing that's happened politically was the Whitlam Dismissal. Which, yes, should be taught in schools. And is not.

[shadowkat]

Ah, I liked Melbourne -- visited it for New Years in 1990.

To be fair -- Australia was colonized a lot later than the Americas, and too far away for the other European countries to fight over it. We has a lot of Wars - War of 1812, French and Indian Wars, the American Revolutionary War. I think the British used Australia to get rid of all their undesirables. (Actually the Europeans sent their undesirables to the US too...many of which were my ancestors, my great great great grandfather on my father's side killed someone and was in debtors prison...LOL!)

And Australia and US have in common their horrific treatment of the native inhabitants. For the US it was the American Indians...which was beyond horrible.
I remember going to the Aboriginal Museums in Australia in the 1990s...you were slightly nicer.

For the US, we didn't really start having the slavery or the Native Americans -- from their perspective until the late 1970s and 80s. Our history was horribly white-washed up until about the late 20th Century.

[trepkos]

People? You don't have to be in constant contact with whomever.

YES! I have managed to stay smartphone free, but I'm sure it's a matter of time before they become compulsory. Very annoying.

[shadowkat]

I wish I could -- but it rapidly became a necessity for me in NYC, due to all the travel apps, and connections with friends who insist on using them. And the lack of pay phones. If I get stuck anywhere...I have to have a way to call and inform people.