I was searching for articles on Google Translate with SearX (serx.cf) and then, when I open the Mastodon Federated timeline (mastodon.la), guess what, a post about Google Translate! Talking about how humans should translate and not machines, the exact same topic. Can’t believe I haven’t escaped this bullshit with Mastodon. Live and learn.

  • obbeelOP
    17·
    3 years ago

    Google translate working isn’t exactly Firefox working with Meta. That is, it isn’t anywhere near a hot topic. Your 2% chance is bullshit, this is much more unlikely.

    • ttmrichter
      6·
      3 years ago

      There is no persuading someone who entered the discourse convinced he was right and who was unwilling to accept any other answer.

      I thought I left this behind with Twitter, but hey!, here we are.

      • kevincox
        4·
        3 years ago

        Yup. I figured I would try once with some rough framework for estimating how likely or unlikely it really is but at this point it definitely isn’t worth trying to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.

        • ttmrichter
          3·
          3 years ago

          Some people just want to feel so special that they’re the only ones who know THE TRUTH and that THEY really are out to get them.

      • obbeelOP
        14·
        3 years ago

        I’m convinced because this is obviously unlikely. Other answers given: scrape a highly complex code for seeing how the federated timeline works, and shitty basic mathematics that never apply to real world probabilities. I could do without those. What would be nice: someone involved in the project pointing out the error in my thinking through the code, or actual mathematics.

        • ttmrichter
          4·
          3 years ago

          That’s pretty much exactly what I said. Just with more self-congratulating bullshit attached.

    • obbeelOP
      13·
      3 years ago

      So, the fedi tracker in Mastodon says there are 3 million mastodon accounts. Lets say there are 5000 posts each minute. That is, 1 in 600 users are posting every minute. The machine is picking 3 out of those 5000 posts to show to me. That is somewhere near 0,05% chance of me seeing a post that happens each minute. I perfectly trust someone in 3000000 people is thinking about the same topic as me, even though that is a weird coincidence that’s worth thinking about. What I don’t believe is the machine picking exactly that post to show me in the federated timeline without manipulation (adjustments to tracking).