I have the impression that primarily anglophone people don't read as much translated literature, because so much good literature already exists in their language, so this issue may not be as familiar within that demographic. As someone who did not grow up anglophone, I can tell you there is a world of difference between a good and a bad translation even when done by humans. Machine translations are not even on the scale.
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Machine translations are often brought up as a gotcha whenever I criticize LLMs. It's worth pointing out two things: Machine translations existed decades before LLMs, and yes, machine translations are useful. However: I would never in my life read a machine translated book. Understanding what a social media post is talking about in rough terms? Sure. Literature? Absolutely not. Hell, have you ever seen machine translated subtitles? It's absolute garbage.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@paulrickards/116076611382717131
This is what they took from us.
RE: https://fandom.garden/@ezelty/116184029653174542
C'est trop mignon!
I feel like in the last couple media interviews I’ve done after stepping down as CEO I’ve done a much better job communicating the vision and importance of the fediverse than I’ve ever done before, which is ironic but maybe logical? Brain work better when less pressure?
RE: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/116177753236186999
There won't be any more new merch for a couple months at least, I need to sell these out before I can make more stuff like the beanies.
We now have two t-shirt designs on our merch shop! Both are unisex, high quality 100% organic cotton, with screen prints of @dopatwo's awesome illustrations. You voted for these slogans! "I write alt text" and "My friends are not for sale". We offer free shipping over a certain threshold, shipping from Germany.
https://shop.joinmastodon.org/products/mastodon-i-write-alt-text-unisex-t-shirt-copy
I love this.
Handdrawn 2D animation! I repeat, handdrawn 2D animation! This is what they took from us. #Gorillaz - The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God
Would you buy this fisherman beanie if it was on our shop? (The materials are 95% certified organic cotton, 5% elastane)
Yes
No
Some folks at #FOSDEM tried to buy the makeshift hats one of our team members brought, so I arranged for this prototype of an official hat to be made. It's a fisherman beanie with our logo embroidered. I'm trying to gauge interest here. Is this something you'd buy? (Poll in follow-up post)
Interesting. 4K is mostly a lie.
RE: https://cyberplace.social/@0x3e4/116098761782540264
I hope the dog is gentle 😅
You voted for this slogan and now it's here! We have a new batch of super nice t-shirts (they're 100% organic cotton with a thick, soft feel) with a cute screen printed design from @dopatwo. "My friends are not for sale"—because your connections to other people are more than a bargaining chip for big tech companies to keep you from leaving them.
https://shop.joinmastodon.org/products/mastodon-my-friends-are-not-for-sale-unisex-t-shirt
Have you enclosed your horse today?
RE: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/116063785665412449
There are now 58 big plushies left (US only), and 22 small ones (US, UK, EU).
RE: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/116063785665412449
Please be aware that whenever I post something like, this is what's playing in my head.
I posted this earlier today, but realized it was not a reasonable time for US folks. So here goes: The big #plushtodon is now on sale, 20% off. Only available in the US, shipping locally. There are 87 left and we will likely never make one of this size again. I have some cool new things planned and clearing them out would be a big help. Thanks!
I could not resist sharing at least a part... It was the first snow of this winter.
I got my first roll of #Super8 film developed. But, since I filmed near where I live, I cannot share the footage online. Still, it's so cool! Focusing on the Yashica Super-600 is not easy though, especially with a moving subject.
I know it's a long shot but if someone who sees this found their way to Mastodon through one of the leaflets we distributed at #FOSDEM, I want to hear from you--what did you think of the leaflet? I need to generalize those for other events.
Someone at #FOSDEM asked us to put some promotional materials on our website that they could print for an event. There is now a section for that on the Branding page with our first poster:
RE: https://mastodon.social/@verge/116041069446538092
We’ve moved our internal communications from Discord to Zulip at Mastodon, and I think there are plans to do the same for our Patreon community. The harder part will be untangling my gaming communities from this…
I hate that I had to think about the modern equivalent of asbestos--the wonder material of AI--at the time, but it made me think of how a line its proponents often use is that the introduction of generative AI mirrors the advance from painting to photography--a line that's been said to me even on this platform. Of course, that's a lie. Photography never replaced *this*. It simply cannot.
Amelia and I got to visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels--specifically the old masters collection--and it was fascinating. Didn't have nearly enough time to see everything, only a couple of rooms before closing time. They don't prepare you for how large these paintings are in real life.
This video is so depressing.
Our free stickers went like hot cakes yesterday at #FOSDEM. The new "My friends are not for sale" ones are all gone, they were an experimental last-minute print of a new design (which is coming soon as a t-shirt, by the way!). The less stuff for us to carry back home, the better. I wish people would grab the leaflets too!