[godelski]

  > They just need to have a good enough reputation to make sure environmentally-conscious people don't boycott their products.

And what do you think happens when people spread messages like mine?

Change the tides and they follow. It isn't futile because as you said, they need enough reputation. They don't want the negative effect on their bottom line. So maybe instead of "correcting" me, push it too. They seem to benefit more from your comment than we do, despite you seeming to agree with the sentiment.

[gtvwill]

Lol you talk the talk but don't walk the walk. You said it yourself, you might tell people they aren't green but you still mostly use their products. This is what most folks do. They say their all for the green movement, but they don't actually live up to it and try and brush the action side off to someone else. It's like nimbyism but for tech.

What's more important? Your perceived personal privacy benefits or the future of the planet? At the moment your living for you and not for the future.

[godelski]

I get how you might think that from the comment but I think you’re too quick to judge. I’ve salvaged many computers and it’s how “I got into the game” per say. Learning Linux because all I had was a machine others threw in the trash. I do a lot of free repair for friends and friends of friends. I lend my tools and teach others my skills. I still repurpose many machines. And what can’t be saved becomes parts. My old phones still live lives. And while Apple machines are getting harder to repurpose that doesn’t mean they aren’t ewaste, but yes, it takes more time. But they also still tend to last longer, though that’s changing (though I’ve already seen methods to upgrade the M series machines). I assure you, by backyard has taken a hit for my values.

Is it unfortunate that I have to balance more than one thing? Yes. The fuck do you think I’m complaining about. And yes, I want to reduce the amount of tracking a mega corp does on me and then uses to try to manipulate me into buying more junk that I don’t want. To use that data to manipulate me to vote for people I do not want, who push policies against my interests.

But do not think my efforts on that end are fruitless. The trades aren’t for nothing. There is real ground you can make there. But it is a complicated space.

Here’s the cold hard truth. When it comes to stuff like this, you’ll be able to accuse everyone of being a hypocrite. The environment is such that there’s no optimal choice. You’ll always find a reason someone is not a true Scotsman, but maybe that’s because a true Scotland doesn’t exist. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to make it.

So shut up and lend a hand if you care. Help us become truer. If not, I don’t see how you aren’t just perpetuating the state of things now. If you only see black and white, if you can’t see the difference between being malicious and being tarnished, then I fail to see how you are not malicious yourself. Surely you too are not without fault, have never had to make choices.