Which is interesting, because the point of the phrase is to imply something is so commonplace that it practically has no value. It’s so commonplace you can get a dozen of them for a dime!

So technically while the relative value of the dime in this phrase decreases, the relative value of the phrase itself increases as the dime’s value ever further approaches negligible, ever better emphasizing the point!

Words are fun.

I agree entirely and will add that hell, I even miss the satisfying sound of the CD drive opening and closing slowly with its mechanical whirr

Not allowing reviews on the storefront seems minor, but is in fact an aggressively anti-consumer move given the standards of the industry. They’ve got other issues too, but that one gets ignored way too often for me to not mention

My friend, I regret to inform you that you are misunderstanding the meme

Very valid. All the more reason to need something to aspire to, imo.

Bananas. I’m not saying it’s hard now, but it used to be insanely easy to pirate. Everyone I know my age had a PC full of pirated films and music just searching directly on Kazaa or limewire without having ever even heard of terms like “VPN.”

and binge nutrek shit.

I hate how all of the new Trek shows seem so intent on subverting/dismantling the hopeful and utopian world of Star Trek.

Like, at least to me, the whole point of Star Trek is that while we have no shortage of pessimistic dystopian Sci-Fi, there’s painfully few major properties that paint a hopeful picture for the future. Star Trek was always an aspirational look at humanity to me; the new shows seem so focused on being tense and dramatic that they forget they’re supposed to have that aspirational quality.

A- I like your wit.

B- I really appreciate this comment because it taught me that if somebody edits their comment Lemmy will also retroactively change the comment notification to the edited text as well (when I saw it originally it was before your edit so the message said “I am an internet person” but now shows your Zuck joke)

@labbbb

Are you a person or a bot?

Has your boss ever said something to you to the effect of “Hey I know you already clocked out but you forgot to do ___; can you knock that out for me real fast before you go home?”

If so, you’ve been the victim of wage theft. Wage theft isn’t not making the whole sum of the value you bring in to the company, it’s not getting any portion of the sum for which you are legally and ethically entitled to.

I get your point, my point is the infringement would be less egregious without trademark and thus easier for Valve to turn a blind eye to, or even potentially officially endorse via some potential deal à la Black Mesa.

But hey, I am fully willing to concede that I am just a layman with enormous distance from this topic and no specific expertise or insider knowledge, so the possibility of me being wrong is high

Yes, but it’s easier to give permission to use concepts that don’t infringe on trademark than it is to give permission on something that could be argued in court as muddying a trademark.

I know they require permission either way, but what permission they’re actually asking for changes based on what terminology they use

Well then I got nothin’ 🤷‍♂️

Imo, Trademark. Black Mesa is a concept from Half-Life, but “Black Mesa” to the best of my knowledge wasn’t a registered trademark. “Team Fortress/Team Fortress 2” are registered trademarks however, and that significantly changes the value and functionality of the specific terms.

Unfortunately it’s not just well within their rights, it’s their legal obligation. The stupid situation that is America means that for them to be able to maintain their claim of ownership on the IP trademark, they have to both actively use the trademark and actively police unauthorized use of the trademark by others. If they don’t, they risk losing the right to claim the trademark, which wouldn’t just mean independents running servers for the game, but also would mean unscrupulous entities could produce and sell merchandise featuring the trademark en masse without having to seek permission from or pay any commissions to Valve.

It’s shitty, but it’s more shitty because of the stupid system we’ve built than because of any intentional malevolence on Valve’s part, imo.

Important caveat: I am not a legal professional and it is entirely possible my understanding of trademark law is flawed, but this is my earnest understanding of the situation.

My dad

Meh, I think there are some private companies that manage to remain vigilant in their purpose even as leaders change.

In my opinion, most problems happen the second a company goes public. So I’m just hoping that Valve never chooses to go public and is thus never legally beholden to shareholder interests.

It depends, largely on your opinion on and experience with Linux.

This. OnlyFans is the “farm to table” of the porn industry and people feel differently about stealing from a small family farm than they do from Walmart.

Also, beyond just the guilt aspect, that same “farm to table” principle also means that a lot of people see OnlyFans as a fair and reasonable exchange with minimal unnecessary exploitation. Paying a major porn company feels scummy and gross and may make you feel complicit with the various evils of the industry; subbing to an OnlyFans can feel more like a donation to a creator who makes content you enjoy.

I just started Fire Emblem: Three Houses, my first Fire Emblem game. Bit confusing to me, but so far very fun.