#morals — Public Fediverse posts

#MissKitty just wants to say if you don't know your #morals, you might not want to get them from a #chatbot. You might want to read some of the great #Literature of the world, and think and think and think, and then read some more and think and think and seek and you will find. But not in a chatbot.

China Wants Its Data to Power ...

Killing pigs in gas chambers is ethically wrong.
#Food #Morals #Carnism #Veganism #Animals #Feelings

@Codeberg I just received this email, titled “Your recent Mastodon post” from @dpk on behalf of the Codeberg “Presidium”:

***
Dear Aral Balkan

In your Mastodon post at <https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/117041803584140945> you publically criticized a repository that was hosted on Codeberg, despite linking to an issue thread in which it was made clear that the content should be reported through our usual internal channels for moderation. The repository in question was reviewed by the moderation team and removed. We understand that you suffered reputational damage as a result of this repository’s content, but this does not justify damaging the reputation of Codeberg e.V. in turn. The moderation team is still a volunteer operation and sometimes it takes a few hours for someone to be available to deal with reports or to ensure that consensus exists.

We therefore warn you not to make posts of this kind that could damage the association’s reputation in future. Acting against the interests of the association can be grounds for exclusion from the membership (§5 (5) of the by-laws). If you have issues with content posted on our site in future, please report it to our moderation team at [email protected]. In general, reports sent to that email address will usually receive a reply describing what action was taken once the moderation team has considered how to deal with the reported content.

Kind regards
Presidium
***

So, I have a problem with this.

My post in no way damaged the reputation of Codeberg. It publicly asked them to do something about it and to state, publicly, where they stand on an issue. An issue, may I add, that has to do with real people facing actual genocide as we speak. Not to mention I thanked them for making the right decision (https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/117043586669877395). If anything, until this email, it made the organisation look better. Unless, of course, opposing certain genocides is something that damages reputations in Germany.

I do not agree with the public issue being closed either. An issue was reported and the response was not “oh, this is serious, we’ll look into it”. It was, rather, “you reported it wrong. Report the same thing at this other place instead.”

And that other place is an entirely opaque internal system where no one gets to see what decision-making process is employed.

This is not the transparency that should exist in a member-run organisation.

So at the end of the day, I am the one being threatened with being removed from membership while the person who is actively trying to harm genocide victims (https://codeberg.org/Linux-Is-Best/) is still welcome on Codeberg?

This is a very insidious form of bothsidesism and, I can only imagine, is to ensure that I keep quiet in the future and to create a chilling effect where we cannot discuss certain things publicly for fear of reprisals.

Well, that won’t be happening.

I am sick and tired of people who cannot provide a proportional response when asked to choose between people harming genocide victims on the one hand and those trying to protect them on the other.

If this means I cannot be a member of Codeberg, so be it.

Let me know if I’m not welcome there and I will leave.

And you can show the world that Linux-Is-Best is welcome and I am not. If that’s who you are.

#codeberg #israel #germany #zionism #genocide #ethnicCleansing #apartheid #settlerColonialism #fediverse #mastodon #transparency #ethics #morals

@marcosh @jaror
Affirm. This is also how I grok it. The way I think of it is that morals are just neural pathways inside an individual's own skull, whereas ethics are anything that expand into the space beyond that.

> Morals are personal beliefs about right and wrong; ethics are shared rules or guidelines within a group or profession.

https://www.difference.wiki/morals-vs-ethics/

Of course, the only philosophers I like are (whether de-jure or de-facto) stoics, so I'm maybe not the best person to ask 🤣

#philosophy #morals #ethics #openBSD #FOSS #openSource

@marcosh
Okay, I'll bite, but I'm going way off the rails and interpreting 'ethical' as in some way 'moral', and to be clear I know fine well that that is no definition of 'ethical' really...

I'm going to propose the default applications that come as part of #openBSD because they're chosen, broadly speaking, because they do the thing they're supposed to do as well, as cleanly, as correctly, as the people that designed and selected them for the job thought it was practicable to do. They're kind to their users because they tend not to use abstraction that they don't need to, to be easy to use. This is kind to users who want systems to be as uncomplicated as possible.

I bet someone would know a list of #accessible #openSource programs, if that might meet your needs. They tend to be made by thoughtful, kind people too.

I liked the android apps developed by https://github.com/woheller69 because they basically feel like they're made with love and kindness (a secure browser with granular security/privacy settings tab-by-tab, a very simple to read weather app, a nearest-public-lavatory app, etc...).

#ethics #morals #software #coding #love

@elsua54 That "tribe" you keep mentioning doesn't exist or isn't like a peice of wood somewhere I can just go find.

It's individuals keeping it alive much like a #individual #samurai keeps it alive - and frankly samurai's are all but dead as a bred species.

Like #Animals and #humans pushed out by cutting their #trees, concreting, asphalting it all - #tribes do not exist much.

Try not to think of my species as common like #Mastodon's #Tech & #Caturday core.

Strong #principles #morals = rare.

#Bible, #ethics, #morals, #principles, #kindness https://mastodon.social/@chrissbiblenewsletter/116980799405044738

Political #Parties should work together and find the balance between each others, giving space for #business but forcing Morality and #Ethics to be Your Main Objective. #Economy can be leaded by the Right hand, while #Justice can be leaded by the Left hand. Is part of Sensibility of each parts. So, as you know, #religions try to give some #morals to people, but people need to be more sensible to what a religion is. #Taoism is a religion? I nevel know nothing about it!

Illustration by Théodore Marcile, from Civitas veri sive morvm (1609).

Source: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign / Internet Archive

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/290853e1-6693-46e1-9d89-dfec59ef2fdb

#aristotle #dystopia #ethics #emblems #morals #utopias #architecture #truth #art #publicdomain

Alex Turner: Why I Left Google DeepMind. “I wanted AI ethics commitments to hold under pressure. In particular, I wanted Google DeepMind (GDM) to maintain its existing commitment against supporting killer robots. Over several months, I asked many people to act. I asked senior people⁠—respected people⁠—people with reputations silvered by their concern about AI ethics and […]

Liberals and the "market place of ideas", per Aamer Rahman: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IKICKcMU3MU

#debate #rationality #ethics #liberals #voteBlue #Democratic #DemocraticParty #values #morals #anger #humor #humour

Earthling Ed:

Isn’t it strange that we can’t bare to look at something something that we claim is moral, acceptable and even natural?⁣
⁣
We turn away from animal suffering, the suffering that we pay for, because it pains us to watch someone else suffer. Yet we pay for, perpetuate and defend the very industry that we’re so upset and distressed by. ⁣
⁣
1/2

#earthlinged #vegan #ethics #morals #animalrights

High Country News: Will betting on wildfires lead to arson?. “In January 2025, Polymarket listed almost 20 questions, created by the platform’s ‘markets team,’ related to the wildfires burning up Southern California. How many acres will the Palisades Fire burn by Friday, three days after it ignited on a Tuesday? Will the Palisades Fire reach Santa Monica by Sunday? When will the Palisades […]

#biblical, #ethics, #morals, #commandments, #virtues https://mastodon.social/@chrissbiblenewsletter/116830224481269459

@aSweetGentleman
#Israelis ?
#morals ?
🤔😂🤣😐😑
#CrimesAgainstHumanity

TechSpot: Android engineer leaves Google amid concerns over defense partnerships. “René Mayrhofer, a principal software engineer for Android Security and self-described pacifist and privacy advocate, has resigned from Google. The engineer had worked at Mountain View since 2017 but said he had become increasingly dissatisfied with what he sees as the company’s departure from its previously […]

Blog: What Does it Mean to be a Savage?

One of the themes in Brave New World is what it truly means to be a savage. The hero of Brave New World is a character named John, who grew up on an Indian reservation in New Mexico. His mother, Linda, came from London, where the people are “civilized.” However, her idea of civilization is filled with soma (a drug that appears to act as a sort of opiate), free sex, overconsumption, and every vice imaginable, obeyed immediately. Meanwhile, the “savages” of the reservation where John grew up look down upon those things and the people who engage in them. John thinks that mindset is better and more moral, thus when he’s brought to London, he’s so disturbed by what he sees that in the end, he kills himself. He recognizes that he was never the savage; the people of “civilization” were. 

According to Mirriam-Webster, “savage” means to be untamed, or “lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings.” By this definition, a savage would be animalistic in their desires. If they want to sleep with someone, they do it. If they want to pig out on food or buy ridiculous amounts of something, there’s no moral guide stopping them. Any desire that they have must be fulfilled as soon as possible.  

In Huxley’s Brave New World, we see the “civilized” people acting like this. There are no moral restraints on anyone in this world. The only unspoken rule is not to do anything that would place morality on the shoulders of the people. This is why the government of this world does whatever it can to destroy the old way of life and keep people from ever interacting with it. The more animalistic people are, the easier they are to control.  

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, the “savages” are mostly Indians who haven’t conformed to the new way of life. They work to keep the old traditions alive. Thus, the government agrees to let them live, as long as they stay on the reservation. 

Ironically, though the Indians are called “savages” and painted as such in the brave, new world, their actions speak otherwise. Overall, their civilization practices restraint because they have morals. Yes, some of their practices are barbaric, such as flogging themselves as a sign of bravery. However, they try not to drink copious amounts, they have monogamous relationships, raise children, and don’t accept hedonism as a good thing. In fact, Linda is thoroughly hated by the wives in the reservation because she’s a drunken prostitute who steals their men. Except for the guys that have slept with her, everyone dislikes her for her immoral ways.  

Further, the people in Brave New World have very different views of goodness and beauty. In civilization, “art” is whatever happens to satisfy one’s sexual desires. That’s why most of the “feelies” (movies you can literally feel) are extremely pornographic with very little plot. Meanwhile, when John the Savage arrives in London, he is very well read in Shakespeare. He loves it because while Shakespeare’s plays often display the depravity of Man in his fallen state, he recognizes the beauty of humanity because there’s a higher morality. Thus, the struggle between Man wickedness and his capacity for good appeals to John.

This is a sign of civilization, as a civilized person strives for goodness. A savage strives not for beauty, but what satisfies his base desires. 

The savages in Brave New World are not the people living on the reservation. The true savages are those living in the “civilized” world, ruled by rampant hedonism. They may be easy to control, and it may have led to a peaceful world, but ultimately, they have no humanity. They lost it and became no better than intelligent apes. However, those living on the reservation are the truly civilized ones because they kept their humanity. They know what it is to struggle against the world and themselves. They acknowledge a higher morality that goes outside of themselves to live by. Thus, though they may live in squalor and have some backwards practices, they don’t deserve to be called savages.

Until next time,

M.J.

A quotation from Mark Twain

Ah! what could our Family do without the moralist? He has always been our stay, our support, our friend; today he is our only friend. Whenever there has been dark talk of assassination, he has come forward and saved us with his impressive maxim, “Forbear: nothing politically valuable was ever yet achieved by violence.” He probably believes it. It is because he has by him no child’s book of world-history to teach him that his maxim lacks the backing of statistics. All thrones have been established by violence; no regal tyranny has ever been overthrown except by violence; by violence my fathers set up our throne; by murder, treachery, perjury, torture, banishment and prison they have held it for four centuries, and by these same arts I hold it today. There is no Romanoff of learning and experience but would reverse the maxim and say: “Nothing politically valuable was ever yet achieved except by violence.”

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Story (1905-02-02), “The Czar’s Soliloquy,” North American Review, Vol. 180, No. 580 (1905-03)

More about this quote: wist.info/twain-mark/83906/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #marktwain #assassination #despotism #history #moralist #morals #oppression #politicalhistory #politicalviolence #ruleoflaw #tyranny #violence

There's another mini-rant on my blog this morning: "On the Sexing of Toilets".

https://zenmischief.com/2026/05/on-the-sexing-of-toilets/

#currentaffairs #law #morals #privacy #thoughts #blog #zenmischief

On the Sexing of Toilets

Unisex toilets? I’m not sure that shouldn’t be uni-gender toilets!

The powers in this country are getting their collective knickers well tangled over the Equality & Human rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on the use of single sex toilets, changing areas, hospital wards etc. which is now before Parliament. This follows on from the April 2025 ruling by the UK Supreme Court that sex in the Equality Act means only biological sex (as defined at birth). This means ipso facto that single-sex toilets etc. end up excluding transgender people. (That in itself seems daft in the extreme, but that’s the law as presently laid down.)

I’m not going to spell out the details, partly because it looks a mess largely created by conflicting self-interest groups. If you want more background then there are countless media reports including from The Guardian and BBC News.

FFS guys, get a life! And grasp the nettle! There’s a very simple solution which I’ve been advocating for years, and which we know works. (See for example the last paragraph of my post from February 2013 and this longer post from May 2018.) What is this solution? …

Make every facility unisex. Yes, toilets, changing rooms, student accommodation etc. At the end of the day, as I’ve said before, where’s the problem: we all know what’s under each other’s t-shirt and jeans. But no, it doesn’t have to be quite that open – and yes, I do understand why some people feel the need for privacy.

My local swimming pool has had one single sex changing room for over 15 years to my knowledge. It is a single space used by men, women and children. For privacy there are lockable cubicles (of varying sizes to accommodate single people, parents with kids etc.) to change in, and lockers (in the open area) for your belongings. That way no-one should be blocking a cubicle for more than a few minutes while changing. So anyone can arrive dressed, choose any free cubicle, get changed and put their stuff in a locker; on return pick any free cubicle etc. etc. There are more lockers than cubicles, and cubicles can’t be locked from the outside, so you can’t block the cubicles.

It works. No-one in my experience even considers walking around the open area clad in anything less than a towel or swimsuit. There’s a choice of showers, either “open” or in cubicles – but all cubicles would be easy. And toilets can be easily arranged with just cubicles. Everything can have floor to ceiling partitioning if felt necessary.

Oh, and by the way, most accessible toilets are already unisex. So you can do it!

The one place it might be difficult is hospital wards; but then there’s a question of medical privacy to consider as well. A mix of alcoves with two to four beds and single rooms would seem doable – and if properly designed probably no less space efficient.

So, guys (of all sexes and genders), stop having conniptions and get a life. The solution is easy and it could/should have been universal decades ago.

Strong—Baptist, seminary president—places moral responsibility on the saloon that entices, not merely the drinker. Christians should stand for the weak against the strong. The church has been losing ground by attending to its own concerns. This conflicts equally with liberalism’s celebration of debauchery and conservatism’s quietism about exploitation. Strong would find both inadequate.

#baptist #responsibility #morals #justice