Ben Matthews

Can use Scala to gradually transition away from java - convert code module by module, interop just works, until eventually no java left, can then compile instead as js, native or even wasm (i recently tried this for my climate-system model which evolved from old java). Also, btw, made in europe, not big-tech, and scala3 looks more like python.

Interesting. Five million years is not so long in geological time, so how is that such “exposed section of lithified sediment deformed by the megaflood” (note photo) are now above sea-level, did Sicily rise so much since then?

Two thoughts:

• I’m subscribed to 160 communities, most very small, but see interesting stuff due to the Scaled option - also deliberately avoid the big news communities. Evidently, it takes time to join 160 small cs, so to get started it could be handy to have an all/local except list, and remove the biggest news /memes unless people tick a box saying they like such. Or make an algorithm that prioritises stuff related to what I upvote (which is how other social sites seem to get people started - e.g. i just tried rednote and it quickly learned i like mountains and trains) - but i guess that’s hard to implement as each instance would need to work out ‘related to’.
• 2nd point - there are other user-interfaces - I’m using Alexandrite which has a better layout than lemmy default, but how to make this easier (instructions suggest docker, how many casual users will do that …)?

OK so I read "Here the key concept is that some of the effects of the large herbivores, such as eradicating trees and shrubs or trampling snow, will result in a stronger cooling of the ground in the winter, leading to less thawing of permafrost during summer and thereby less emission of greenhouse gases".
I know the big impact of trees and shrubs on albedo - in spring they absorb sunlight and shake off snow, which remains on flat grassland. But regarding trampling - compaction- I’m not convinced. Winters are long and summers short, so accelerating cooling by some weeks wouldn’t make so much difference, as accelerating warming in the summer - that’s when the gases are released.
Anyway what we do urgently need is global science cooperation to try to save the carbon and ecosystems of that permafrost, in that spirit such projects might help to thaw geopolitical obstacles.

Where are these mammoths meant to roam ? And does anybody get why they think trampling grass and snow is going to protect permafrost ?

I might try Friendica, although coming from lemmy I’d be more inclined towards Mbin, to combine topic-focus and people-focus.
However as a developer I first check the code repos and see that both are based on php, which seems rather old, and i doubt this would scale efficiently if the network really took off. Recall that twitter was once based on ruby (like mastodon is) and shifted to scala for such reasons. So I feel, these are exploring well the potential user-experience, but the code may need a fresh structure (if somebody knows this tech issue better, please say). It’s good to discuss these things, to help consolidate potential efforts.

A wee quote from the author of the original little red book …:
“the two slogans – let a hundred flowers blossom and let a hundred schools of thought contend – have no class character; the proletariat can turn them to account, and so can the bourgeoisie or others. Different classes, strata and social groups each have their own views on what are fragrant flowers and what are poisonous weeds”.

Seemed a good idea at the time (1957?), remember how that trick evolved thereafter …?

At the end I read: “I found my ideal social network … with the functionalities of Friendica, the UX/UI of Sharkey and the stability and reliability of Mastodon …” - so - please forgive me if I missed something, what does this combination, do we have to make it ?