David Penfold :verified:<p>Just putting the original <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a> tweet image here so I can tap the sign as required.</p>
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#TormentNexus
1 post · 1 participant · 0 posts today
*|FNAME|* 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇬🇱<p>How long before we get <em>The Running Man</em> in real life?</p><p><a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a></p>
Maypop the Dragon<p>NOBODY WANTS <a href="https://wetdry.world/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AI</span></a> JUST GIVE UP ALREADY</p><p><a href="https://wetdry.world/tags/vent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>vent</span></a> <a href="https://wetdry.world/tags/shitpost" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>shitpost</span></a> <a href="https://wetdry.world/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a></p>
Colin Warren<p>Today in <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a> news:<br><a href="https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/17/today-in-i-literally-fcking-wrote-this/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/17</span><span class="invisible">/today-in-i-literally-fcking-wrote-this/</span></a></p>
AI6YR Ben<p>The Guardian: The big idea: will sci-fi end up destroying the world?</p><p>Skewed interpretations of classic works are feeding the dark visions of tech moguls, from Musk to Thiel</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/14/the-big-idea-will-sci-fi-end-up-destroying-the-world" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/books/2025/apr</span><span class="invisible">/14/the-big-idea-will-sci-fi-end-up-destroying-the-world</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/scifi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>scifi</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/apocalpyse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>apocalpyse</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a></p>
Jason William Karpf<p>Good overview of Torment Nexus concept. In the end, sci-fi doesn’t teach people to be evil. It simply amplifies today’s evil with tomorrow’s technology.</p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://newsmast.community/@books" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>books</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/religion" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>religion</span></a></span> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ChristianSciFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ChristianSciFi</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ProfessorK" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProfessorK</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AI</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>space</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/amwritingsf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>amwritingsf</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/secretscifinetwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>secretscifinetwork</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/neilstephenson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>neilstephenson</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/isaacasimov" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>isaacasimov</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/matrix" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>matrix</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/robertheinlein" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>robertheinlein</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/williamgibson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>williamgibson</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/philipkdick" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>philipkdick</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/cyberpunk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>cyberpunk</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/bladerunner" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>bladerunner</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/dystopian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>dystopian</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/musk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>musk</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/thiel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>thiel</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/14/the-big-idea-will-sci-fi-end-up-destroying-the-world?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/books/2025/apr</span><span class="invisible">/14/the-big-idea-will-sci-fi-end-up-destroying-the-world?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1</span></a></p>
leyrer<p>Minority Report was NOT meant as an instruction manual !!!</p><p>UK developing ‘predictive tool’ to determine if someone will become a killer<br><a href="https://ground.news/article/uk-creating-murder-prediction-tool-to-identify-people-most-likely-to-kill" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">ground.news/article/uk-creatin</span><span class="invisible">g-murder-prediction-tool-to-identify-people-most-likely-to-kill</span></a></p><p><a href="https://23.social/tags/tormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentNexus</span></a></p>
Jason William Karpf<p>And the company behind it is called Colossal Biosciences. Do you want to call Jeff Goldblum, or should I?</p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://newsmast.community/@books" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>books</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/religion" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>religion</span></a></span> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ChristianSciFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ChristianSciFi</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ProfessorK" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProfessorK</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/JurassicPark" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JurassicPark</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/amwritingsf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>amwritingsf</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/secretscifinetwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>secretscifinetwork</span></a></p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/dire-wolf-colossal-biosciences-de-extinction-56d6c192c5d968731b448081aa4149fe" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apnews.com/article/dire-wolf-c</span><span class="invisible">olossal-biosciences-de-extinction-56d6c192c5d968731b448081aa4149fe</span></a></p>
tomate 🍅<p>Warhammer 40.000 was not meant to encourage walking a certain path but a warning to do so. As always, the techno fascist got it wrong. Please do not create the machine god, our life is hard enough without praying to the omnissiah. Looking at you Open AI. I am too tired to live in unification wars.</p><p><a href="https://ohai.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a></p>
Jason William Karpf<p>SNTIENT is an unfolding digital tale of corporate overlords and robots reaching singularity. Brands can be in the story as product placement. It is not interactive or transactive, but brands can transfer appearances into their own marketing communications. Sponsoring dystopia conveys coolness in Blade Runner and Minority Report.</p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://newsmast.community/@books" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>books</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/religion" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>religion</span></a></span> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ChristianSciFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ChristianSciFi</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ProfessorK" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProfessorK</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AI</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/amwritingsf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>amwritingsf</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/secretscifinetwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>secretscifinetwork</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/marketing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>marketing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://apple.news/AMLeckUCXTg-_oSyAgc7IIQ" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apple.news/AMLeckUCXTg-_oSyAgc</span><span class="invisible">7IIQ</span></a></p>
Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈<p>(also, it's just a sales pitch, nothing is 'melting' and you are a soulless monster Sam) </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SamAltman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SamAltman</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/OpenAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OpenAI</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/StudioGhibli" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StudioGhibli</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/GenAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GenAI</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a></p>
Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈<p>I see the Torment Nexus has given birth to an entity called "Daniel Shitton".....or sorry, "Daniel Bitton" </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/GenAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GenAI</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/YouTube" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>YouTube</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SocialMedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SocialMedia</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a></p>
Jason William Karpf<p>Saudi Arabia's 100-Mile Skyscraper Is Turning Into a Disaster—Futurist</p><p>Recap of WSJ exposé on multi-trillion dollar costs and years-long delays for proposed megacity—twin structures 100 miles long, 1,600 ft high. More megalomania dressed in sci-fi trappings—all too common these days.</p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://newsmast.community/@books" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>books</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/religion" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>religion</span></a></span> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ChristianSciFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ChristianSciFi</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ProfessorK" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProfessorK</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/amwritingSF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>amwritingSF</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/secretscifinetwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>secretscifinetwork</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a></p><p><a href="https://apple.news/AEO3aNWMES52BdKIRoceRIA" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apple.news/AEO3aNWMES52BdKIRoc</span><span class="invisible">eRIA</span></a></p>
notable person<p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://werd.social/@ben" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>ben</span></a></span> and now they've gone and made the <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a> despite our warnings 🤦♂️</p>
Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈<p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mstdn.ca/@dyckron" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>dyckron</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://fedi.aiga.rocks/@andymoose" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>andymoose</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@BNONews" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>BNONews</span></a></span> these oligarchs saw all those 80s dystopias and thought "cool, let's build it!" </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Oligarchs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Oligarchs</span></a></p>
MrMozz<p>Why is it that when <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>pluralistic</span></a></span> writes dystopian fiction, people take it as a challenge?</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/high-tech-toast/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">wired.com/story/high-tech-toas</span><span class="invisible">t/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://social.linux.pizza/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tormentnexus</span></a> <a href="https://social.linux.pizza/tags/scifi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>scifi</span></a> <a href="https://social.linux.pizza/tags/unauthorizedbread" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>unauthorizedbread</span></a></p>
Unstoppable Trolley<p><strong>Don't Create the Torment Nexus?</strong></p><p>You're an engineer working on a top-secret project for a mysterious billionaire. The project is complete, and you're tasked with flipping the switch to start it up. Unknown to the rest of the team, the project is a doomsday device that will eventually destroy all life on Earth. If you flip the switch, you'll make billions of dollars and secure your family's future for generations. But flipping the switch means the end of humanity as we know it. Do you flip the switch and bring your family enormous wealth, or do you not flip the switch and save humanity, knowing your family will suffer?</p><p>If you flip the switch:</p><ul><li>You become incredibly wealthy.</li><li>Your family is set for life.</li><li>You may feel guilt, knowing you caused the end of humanity.</li><li>You get away with it, as no one but you knows what really happened.</li></ul><p>If you don't flip the switch:</p><ul><li>You save humanity.</li><li>Your family suffers due to your decision.</li><li>You are revered as a hero.</li><li>You feel immense pride in saving the world, but constant guilt about your family's lost opportunities.</li></ul><p>What do you do?</p><p><a href="https://gts.chapek9.com/tags/trolleyproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TrolleyProblem</span></a> <a href="https://gts.chapek9.com/tags/tormentnexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a> <a href="https://gts.chapek9.com/tags/moraldilemm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MoralDilemm</span></a></p>
Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈<p>From the Torment Nexus Newsletter: </p><p><a href="https://torment-nexus.mathewingram.com/does-elon-musk-want-to-buy-openai-yes-and-no/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">torment-nexus.mathewingram.com</span><span class="invisible">/does-elon-musk-want-to-buy-openai-yes-and-no/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a></p>
tante<p><strong>The Open Source Torment Nexus</strong></p><p>One of the most popular memes when it comes to talking about the tech sector is Alex Blechman’s tweet about <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/torment-nexus" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Torment Nexus</a>:</p><p>One can interpret the tweet in a bunch of ways. As a comment on the level of reading comprehension that billionaire tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk or some ghoul that Peter Thiel funded constantly show: Calling one’s products or comapnies “Metaverse” and “Palantir” does not express an understanding of who and what is criticized in the respective works of fiction. And we are not even asking for nuance here.</p><p>Another interpretation is that the products that are being brought to market as massive innovations seem to be less than stellar. Best case scenario they are just weird stuff nobody asked for (think <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juicero" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Juicero</a>), most of the time they are “here’s a thing you kinda want but you have to pay rent for it now instead of buying it and we might shut it down any time”. And a lot of the time they are just bad for you, products that insult your existence as a human being.</p><p>Obviously there is no objective way to make these calls, to decide what is dumb but meaningless or what is evil. People have different values, different needs and sometimes can accept different levels of crap for a specific product or service.</p><p>We talked about this a bit in the Q&A part of <a href="https://tante.cc/2025/02/06/a-luddite-criticism-of-open-source-at-fluconf/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">my talk at Fluconf</a> that gave a bit of criticism of the Open Source movement and its beliefs. But while my argument in the talk was mostly that the beliefs that Open Source is based on might not actually be based on or support the actual political values that people might have there is value to having Open Source software. Software that you can use and change to suit your needs and demands (if you can of course).</p><p>But Open Source software does not happen in a vacuum, it is written by people. Often to serve their needs, sometimes to serve a community’s needs: To provide a better solution for users. The “Open Source Alternative to proprietary X” thing.</p><p>If you’ve been on the Internet for about 7 seconds you will have come into contact with guys (using a gendered term here because they are mostly male) who will respond to any criticism of or issue you have with a proprietary software with “Just use this Open Source tool”. It’s a bit annoying because a lot of the time that answer doesn’t come from a genuine desire to help based on empathy and an understanding of the problem the original post expressed. But It’s also oftentimes better than one might think.</p><p>The Open Source community has gotten quite good at replacing proprietary tools with open source solutions. The feature set might not be 100% there and some things might not work but there are totally valid alternatives to Slack or Chrome or Microsoft Office (if you really just need office tools and not something that specifically depends on MS’s ideosyncracies). There are whole websites dedicated to listing Open Source alternatives to proprietary tools with at least one of those alternatives being pretty much a copy.</p><p>This has tremendous value and provides a bunch of people with the software tools to do their thing – me included. But when building those replacements the Q&A at FluConf made me wonder: Are we maybe doing a tech-bro? Are we not properly reading and understanding the <em>texts</em> we reference? </p><p>Any artifact is a text. You can read for example any piece of software as a document about the beliefs and assumptions of the programmer about the users. The software tells you how the programmer sees and understands the user. It’s just a form of text that is maybe a bit harder to read and it might have animations and sounds and can send bits somewhere.</p><p>What triggered this train of thought was me thinking about social media platforms. With Meta and X and all US tech companies finding their love for fascism currently many people want to jump off those platforms to find a better home. And there are Open Source Alternatives to Twitter/Instagram/WhatsApp/etc. Which in general is good. Maybe. Sometimes.</p><p><em>(Quick sidebar: I’m gonna use an example of an Open Source project here but don’t read this as me shitting on that project. People can build what they want and have their reasons for doing things. My feelings and needs are not “right” and other perspectives are wrong. I’m using the project as an illustration.</em>)</p><p>I don’t use Instagram. Not because I don’t like seeing pictures or because it is “beneath me” and not even because it’s Meta and Mark Zuckerberg bend the knee to Trump. (In fact I have an account I use to follow tattoo artists but that I only use for exactly that research because tattooers live on Instagram sadly) I don’t use Instagram because it’s bad for my mental health. The affordances and the social practices of Instagram have lead to every picture (and the people and lives in it) looking like an ad. Perfectly designed and sculpted representations of better lives of better people. It just makes me feel bad about myself, my looks, my life. For <em>me</em> Instagram is the Torment Nexus.</p><p>Now that might just be a me-problem. But when I see an Open Source project like <a href="https://pixelfed.social/web/explore" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pixelfed</a> that basically attempts to provide users with a federated, open source drop-in replacement for Instagram I wonder: Are we just building an Open Source Torment Nexus? Because Pixelfed looks like Instagram. Has all the bones of Instagram. The same basic logic of the app (maybe the recommendation algorithms aren’t as aggressive but you can always patch that). There is nothing that would lead me to believe that – should Pixelfed get very popular – it would not also develop similar esthetics. Would also help people feel bad about themselves (if they are vulnerable to that kind of thinking).</p><p>And Pixelfed isn’t the only tool here. Bluesky is basically a carbon copy of Twitter a few years ago (not technology wise but in the way that interactions work, the way in which status is produced). Mastodon isn’t that different either. Which in this case doesn’t feel as bad for me – but I also liked Twitter.</p><p>It feels like too often we are bound to think about what’s possible in the framing of what businesses think is possible. I recently argued <a href="https://tante.cc/2025/01/26/against-scale/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">against scale</a> and that topic is a perfect example: Meta needs any new product to scale to millions if not billions of users. Amazon needs to scale products to the whole world. Google needs to scale. Microsoft needs to scale. And they all need to do the things you need to do to scale. Build interaction loops that enforce you coming back to an app or platform regularly ideally daily, to make it a habit. Build tools promising you a view on <em>everything</em>, to give you feelings of power, understanding and control.</p><p>We here on the open, decentralized, free web don’t need to do that. Pixelfed does not need to scale. Mastodon does not need to scale. At least not in the way that Facebook needs to.</p><p>We are doing a tech-bro. Just like Peter Thiel calls his surveillance company after the stones the evil wizards use in The Lord of the Rings because he doesn’t seem to have understood that those are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the baddies</a> we are building tools that are built for growth hacks and scamming VCs out of their money because we don’t <em>read</em> them properly. Because we just take what’s there and make it open source.</p><p><em>Just</em> is doing a lot of work in that last paragraph. The amount of work that goes into duplicating those proprietary functionalities is incredible, awe inspiring. Thousands of people put work into building those tools, often without payment, without a lot of thanks. Spending their limited time on this planet contributing to the commons with software.</p><p>But recognizing the amount of work and time and <em>life</em> that goes into building this huge pile of software shouldn’t we spend it on something <em>good</em>? Something that is actually good for the people using it? And are we always so sure that the things we build do that, enable that?</p><p>We should stop building the Open Source Torment Nexus. Because the problem with the Torment Nexus is not the software license or opaqueness of the code: It’s the part with the torment.</p> Liked it? Take a second to support tante on Patreon! <p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.patreon.com/tante?utm_content=post_button&utm_medium=patron_button_and_widgets_plugin&utm_campaign=78367&utm_term=&utm_source=https://tante.cc/2025/02/07/the-open-source-torment-nexus/" target="_blank"></a></p> <p></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank"></a>This work is licensed under a <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>.</p><p></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://tante.cc/tag/fluconf/" target="_blank">#fluconf</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://tante.cc/tag/open-source/" target="_blank">#openSource</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://tante.cc/tag/torment-nexus/" target="_blank">#tormentNexus</a></p>
Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈<p>We all knew this day was coming....</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TormentNexus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TormentNexus</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Ukraine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Ukraine</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Warbots" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Warbots</span></a></p>
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