The result for the people who block them is still the same, though: they no longer see the troll garbage.

I look at it this way: I don’t let in the crazy person on the street screaming racist garbage into my house, so I also don’t have to listen to or engage with that person on the internet, either. That doesn’t make my house an “echo chamber.”

For a long time I tried to treat “internet people” with some level of “respect” so to say. That is, I didn’t spend time blocking people and whatnot. But now? Screw em. I don’t have time to listen to nonsense, so if someone tries to come in to a conversation in bad faith, it’s very easy to block and move on.

Or on short-form social media like Bsky or Masto or whatever if someone posts a racist thing. Or a bigoted thing. Block and move on.

Those trolls live off of engagement so just don’t give it to them. And those same trolls are the ones complaining about “echo chambers.” “Waaa, no one wants to listen to my racist nonsense. It’s an echo chamber!” No, you are just a trash human, and no one is obligated to listen to you.

I just happened to get a great deal from this accidentally.

My subscription renews on Dec. 1, and my credit card company actually flagged the $135 or so for the middle-tier service that Sony tried to put on my card as suspicious so they didn’t process the payment. As a result, my plan was canceled for a moment.

But when I looked at renewing, they were running this 30% off deal, and I was able to get Premium for $111. So…I went with that of course.

As an aside: it’s wild to me Sony doesn’t let everyone do game trials. Or at least stream game trials. I tried Baldur’s Gate 3 over streaming with this Premium plan and ended up buying it.

Troy Baker sure is Troy Bakering in this one.

Really?

I mean, do what you will. No worries either way. But it does surprise me to hear lots of people turn their computers off all the time. I tend to just let them go to sleep and then wake them back up.

How often do you turn off your computers?

I feel like “buttongate” is one of the biggest non-issues the internet has gotten riled up with in a while.

The moment you stop having a sub for something like FF14 (which has no in your face upsell garbage in-game), you turn in to something like LotR: Online (which when I played that briefly was FILLED with windows trying to get you to buy gold or other nonsense).

You pay a sub so the servers stay online. So the writers/coders/management get paid. In the case of FF14, so the game can continue being great.

Another problem is they ruined their own search with AI.

Kicked themselves right in the nuts.

I have turned mine on once since I got it at launch.

I’m one power button press in the last month with it.

And then it just goes to sleep (and wakes instantly with a button or mouse press).