For years, YouTube has been the most profitable platform for content creators and attracted hundreds of thousands of people[1] who think nothing but about money. They don't create to express themselves, they produce content.

The simplest of the questions easily becomes a 10-minute video explanation to optimise the ads you put into the video as well as keep the attention of the viewers.

What could be a cute thumbnail to help a potential viewer understand what the video is going to be about, becomes a shitty thumbnail with cliche tricks like a person with a weird expression and a big red arrow somewhere.

The biggest channels[2] are so driven by profit they make whole videos around sponsor integrations, not the other way around.

Compare that to Twitter or Instagram, or any other major platform, where there's less financial incentive and little to no room for clickbait maneuvers. It's mostly YouTube videos that I feel most disappointed with after clicking on them.

There are so few people who actually use the platform to express themselves in a way they like, without giving the slightest damn how to please or trick the almighty algorithm.

The brain rot of video creation is so real now that you see the same YouTube tricks even when people post to other platforms, for example, PeerTube instances or Odyssey. They feel like cheap YouTube because thanks to the latter platform everybody[3] forgot how to make meaningful videos.

1, 2 and 3 - there are exceptions, of course, but the ratio is insane.

Am I the only one who has this issue? The volume in calls is way too low, even with the maximum volume set. Regular cell calls have higher volume and thus I can't fully switch a relative of mine to Signal.

There are similar issues on Signal's Github but they were all closed without real solutions.

Just for the context GUR is Ukraine's Main Intelligence Agency. Practically like the CIA is in the US.

The relevant part, translated:

BBC: You recently spoke about Telegram being a problem for Ukraine.

Kyrylo Budanov: I can repeat that again for you. It is a huge problem.

BBC: And what can be done about it?

Kyrylo Budanov: Or, as they say, to put it in order - at least legally force everyone to register, so it is clear who is behind which media resource, and Telegram has already definitely acquired the status of media. There is no question of influence or pressure - the issue is not about that. If you want to promote your position - and it may not please someone and that is normal in a democratic society - take responsibility. What are you afraid to say who you are?

BBC: So you're talking about anonymous Telegram channels?

Kyrylo Budanov: They are all anonymous. Do you know a single Telegram channel that openly said I am this person? That's the answer.

BBC: Could their closure become a solution to this problem? Blocking?

Kyrylo Budanov: Temporarily yes, but I still believe they need to be forced to register. This will not be pressure on the press. In a democratic society, I say again, you cannot simply exert pressure...

Why am I even telling you this? You are a media representative. Would you be very happy if someone came to you and said: that's it, from now on you write like this? Of course, that would be abnormal. But being afraid to say who you are is also wrong. And throwing anything into the ether on behalf of an anonymous person, excuse me, paid from completely different parts of the world is also abnormal.

"We're not pressuring them, we are merely holding them accountable"

I'm looking for an RSS reader that would be able to have its data synchronised across devices using Syncthing (it just should store its data locally in a certain folder that looks the same on all devices).

Any suggestions?

Big interview from the Aftermath with Pawel Sasko, quest director on Phantom Liberty and now associate director of the next Cyberpunk game.