Today's threads (a thread)

Luxury Kafka: US Immigration on the easiest setting.

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116022803319662931

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Hey look at this

* The Big Idea: Justin C. Key https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/05/the-big-idea-justin-c-key/

* Jeff Bezos Just Taught Liberal Elites How Oligarchy Really Works https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/jeff-bezos-finally-pulls-the-mask

* Yes, Democrats should run on ICE https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/yes-democrats-should-run-on-ice

* "ICE Out of Our Faces Act" would ban ICE and CBP use of facial recognition https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/ice-out-of-our-faces-act-would-ban-ice-and-cbp-use-of-facial-recognition/

* ‘Ripping’ Clips for YouTube Reaction Videos can Violate the DMCA, Court Rules https://torrentfreak.com/ripping-clips-for-youtube-reaction-videos-can-violate-the-dmca-court-rules/

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#20yrsago UK nurses want to supply clean blades and cutting advice to self-harmers https://web.archive.org/web/20060206205108/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2025748,00.html

#20yrsago PC built into whisky bottle https://web.archive.org/web/20060210043104/https://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/whiskypc/index_eng

#15yrsago Startups of London’s “Silicon Roundabout” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/feb/06/tech-startup-internet-entrepreneurs

#15yrsago Antifeatures: deliberate, expensive product features that no customer wants https://mako.cc/copyrighteous/antifeatures-at-the-free-technology-academy

#15yrsago Steampunk Etch-a-Sketch https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/erbnf/a_steampunk_etchasketch_we_made_for_a_friend_this/

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#10yrsago There’s a secret “black site” in New York where terrorism suspects are tortured for years at a time https://web.archive.org/web/20160205143012/https://theintercept.com/2016/02/05/mahdi-hashi-metropolitan-correctional-center-manhattan-guantanamo-pretrial-solitary-confinement/

#10yrsago Error 53: Apple remotely bricks phones to punish customers for getting independent repairs https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/05/error-53-apple-iphone-software-update-handset-worthless-third-party-repair?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#10yrsago Toronto City Council defies mayor, demands open, neutral municipal broadband https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/02/toronto-city-council-sides-with-crtc-in-rejecting-mayor-torys-support-of-bell-appeal/

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#5yrsago Amazon's brutal warehouse "megacycle" https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/05/la-bookseller-royalty/#megacycle

#5yrsago AT&T customer complains…via WSJ ad https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/05/la-bookseller-royalty/#go-aaron-go

#1yrago MLMs are the mirror-world version of community organizing https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/05/power-of-positive-thinking/#the-socialism-of-fools

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Yesterday's threads: All laws are local; and more!

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116018345665883141

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My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels

--

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

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My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

https://craphound.com/shop/

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Upcoming appearances:

* #SaltLakeCity: Enshittification at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Tanner Humanities Center), Feb 18
https://tanner.utah.edu/center-events/cory-doctorow/

* #Montreal (remote): Fedimtl, Feb 24
https://fedimtl.ca/

* #Victoria: 28th Annual Victoria International Privacy & Security Summit, Mar 3-5
https://www.rebootcommunications.com/event/vipss2026/

* #Berkeley: Bioneers keynote, Mar 27
https://conference.bioneers.org/

* #Berlin: Re:publica, May 18-20
https://re-publica.com/de/news/rp26-sprecher-cory-doctorow

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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* #Berlin: Enshittification at Otherland Books, May 19
https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/cory-doctorow.html

* #HayOnWye: HowTheLightGetsIn, May 22-25
https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay/big-ideas-2

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Recent appearances:

* Why Everything Got Worse and What to Do About It (Jordan Harbinger)
https://www.jordanharbinger.com/cory-doctorow-why-everything-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it/

* How the Internet Got Worse (Masters in Business)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auXlkuVhxMo

* Enshittification (Jon Favreau/Offline):
https://crooked.com/podcast/the-enshittification-of-the-internet-with-cory-doctorow/

* Why Big Tech is a Trap for Independent Creators (Stripper News)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmYDyz8AMZ0

* Enshittification (Creative Nonfiction podcast)
https://brendanomeara.com/episode-507-enshittification-author-cory-doctorow-believes-in-a-new-good-internet/

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@pluralistic Everyone is comparing our current "situation" with Orwell, Kafka, etc. I think Terry Gilliam's "Brazil", (which has inspiration from those previous authors). Enshittified corporatized public services, and disinformation whipping a weary public into submission. Thankfully we have folks like you as our Harry Tuttles.

@scottymace @pluralistic

I had a similar thought some time ago; how sometimes it feels like we don't just live in the most ridiculous timeline – it feels more intentional than that. Like we live in a #SimulationTheory dark comedy.

'Brazil', but made real.

I wonder what kind of advertising runs in-between the gags? And what kind of drugs the writers are using?

@scottymace @pluralistic

Buttle. Harry Buttle. Read the receipt.

@scottymace @pluralistic

I'd add a bit of 'Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future' into the mix. Dangerous advertising, a deepfake, and AI.