Jean-luc Peak-hard

I can’t recall who said this, but they noted that the purpose of engaging in debate is not necessarily to persuade or educate the opponent, but rather to provide insights for the audience, who may have similar questions and can benefit from the discussion.

Being a Satanist while identifying as an atheist is often associated with a specific philosophical stance rather than a belief in a literal Satan or supernatural entities. In this context, Satanism can be seen as a symbolic representation of individualism, self-empowerment, and rebellion against traditional religious norms. Here are some key points to consider:

• Atheistic Satanism: Many atheistic Satanists do not believe in a literal Satan but use the figure as a symbol of freedom, personal responsibility, and the questioning of authority.
• Moral Framework: For these individuals, Satanism can serve as a moral compass that emphasizes personal ethics, critical thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge. It often promotes values such as individualism, self-determination, and hedonism, but within a framework that encourages personal responsibility.
• Philosophical Approach: This form of Satanism is more about philosophy and lifestyle than theology. It focuses on human experience and the material world rather than spiritual or supernatural beliefs.
• Cultural Critique: Atheistic Satanism can also be a critique of organized religion, particularly Christianity, and may advocate for secularism and the separation of church and state.

In summary, being a Satanist while being an atheist often reflects a philosophical and ethical stance rather than a theological one, emphasizing personal empowerment and a rejection of traditional religious dogma.

TL;DR Atheism simply means you don’t believe in a god. It makes no other claims. Satanism encompasses more than that simple perspective.

Civil war

I’m a Satanist. We accept reality as revealed by science.

His response answered your question. Science doesn’t believe in Satan, thus he himself doesn’t believe Satan exists. For the record, most Satanists don’t actually believe in anything “supernatural”. Read more about Satanism here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism#Contemporary_tendencies_and_groups

My brother in christ, lemmy is not the world. Please go touch grass

Because its always appropriate to remind the world what these cretins look like without filters:

their servers are in the usa.

Their “home office” is in the US. That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have servers distributed globally.

So the usa government has the same level of access as compared to whatsapp?

No, the US government does not have the same level of access to Signal as they do with Whatsapp. The only reason the US has so much access to Whatsapp is because Whatsapp only bothered to implement End-to-end encryption (E2EE). Unfortunately, in 2205, E2EE is the bare minimum. E2EE via the Signal protocol has been a “solved issue” since 2013 and Whatsapp implemented it 3 years later (great!) but they have not improved privacy since. Whatsapp still collects a metric-fuck-ton of metadata like:

• Who you communicate with
• When you communicate
• How long your calls last
• The frequency of communication
• When you’re “active” on the platform
• Group memberships and group titles
• Your profile information (this is E2EE on Signal)
• Your contacts get uploaded in a way that’s visible to Whatsapp. Signal does contact discovery in a privacy preserving way.

Then they correlate this data with everything else they have about you to “fill in the gaps”. Signal doesn’t collect any metadata.

It’s non profit now, but so was openai…

The difference here is there’s nothing of value for Signal to “sell” since they don’t collect metadata and have engineered it to work without being able to see anything. The Signal server and client are already open source, there’s no “secret sauce”. Lastly, because they collect zero data they can’t even sell it for ad-serving purposes. Who would buy Signal?

switching to another app is difficult, it’s hard to get people ingrained in an ecosystem switch once let alone twice

100% agree. The best way I’ve found is to drop the offending platform (whatsapp) and move to Signal. Let others know you accept text/SMS or Signal messages. Over the years the people on Signal (at least in my group) has steadily grown.

I would like to close by saying that Signal is not shy about complying with the law, they will not go to prison for anyone’s potential crimes. That said, they publish the data they provide when compelled by law and the only data they collect is the day + time you signed up with their service and the last day (not time) one of your clients pinged their servers, source: https://signal.org/bigbrother/

Here’s a list of reasons why you should consider moving to Signal , if you haven’t already:

• End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) by Default : Signal uses the Signal Protocol, which is considered the gold standard for E2EE. This means that all your messages, calls (voice and video), and file sharing are encrypted on your device before they leave and can only be decrypted by the intended recipient’s device. Not even Signal can read your communications. This is a crucial differentiator from many other apps (like Telegram, which doesn’t encrypt all chats by default, or WhatsApp, which collects metadata).
• Zero Data Collection (No Metadata) : Signal is designed to collect as little user data as possible. They don’t store information about who you talk to, when you talk, your contacts, group memberships, or even your profile ID. This means even if subpoenaed, Signal has almost no user data to provide, in fact all they can provide is the date + time you registered with the service and the last day (not time) one of your clients pinged their servers. Other apps, including WhatsApp, collect significant metadata, which can reveal patterns about your communication even if the content is encrypted.
• Open Source and Audited : Signal’s code is completely open-source, allowing security experts and the public to inspect it for vulnerabilities and ensure its integrity. This transparency fosters trust and makes it highly resistant to hidden backdoors or malicious features.
• Non-Profit Organization : Signal is run by the Signal Foundation, a non-profit organization funded by donations. This means there are no commercial interests, no ads, and no pressure to sell user data for revenue, unlike many commercially driven messaging apps.
• Phone Number Privacy (Usernames) : While Signal historically required a phone number for registration, it now offers the option to communicate via usernames, allowing you to connect with people without revealing your phone number.
• Relay Calls : For voice and video calls, you can opt to “relay” your calls through Signal’s servers, which helps hide your IP address from the other party.
• Standard Messaging Features: Signal offers all the core features you’d expect from a modern messaging app, including text messaging, group chats, voice and video calls (both individual and group), file sharing, and voice messages.
• Cross-Platform Availability : Signal is available on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• User-Friendly Interface : Despite its strong focus on security, Signal maintains an intuitive experience, removing the barrier to entry for anyone who isn’t technically inclined.

good article! thanks for that

Bitcoin is not anonymous, it’s pseudonymous.

Pseudonymous: the semi-anonymous nature of transactions and wallet addresses.

I believe Monero is supposed to be anonymous. not sure what other crypto out there has this property.

Past trading trends are no indication of future performance.

100%. But that doesn’t mean you don’t take that data into your own personal risk evaluation.

Drawing pretty hopeful pictures on graphs is not an indicator.

As you’re side-stepping the argument, I’ll just point out BTC is back up to 107k and I fully expect it to drop below 100k at some point in the future. Anyone who has been tracking it long enough is not concerned.

Bitcoin’s dropped way more

Signal still centrally collects metadata

Signal doesn’t collect any useful data; they’ve been compelled by court to present all data they have on users and all they know are two time stamps. The date + time your phone number registered and the last day (not time) one of your apps (linked desktop app or tablet) pinged their server.

Source: https://signal.org/bigbrother/

… and requires a phone number to participate.

Because it originated as an overlay of the SMS/MMS network, a text messaging replacement, before everyone was “always online”. But that’s beside the point as you can now hide your phone number from others.

If you’re serious about privacy, ESPECIALLY if you’re part of a group looking to organize in a clandestine fashion, you should look into the vastly superior SimpleX Chat.

I wouldn’t recommend SimpleX chat, its developed by a Trump-supporting Antivaxxer who believes in wild conspiracy theories, not the kind of person I would put my trust in. Source: https://social.tchncs.de/@pixelcode/114633102552691724

If you’re serious abut privacy, ESPECIALLY if you’re part of a group looking to organize in a clandestine fashion, you should fund the development of your own secure channels. Don’t outsource the important stuff. For everyone else, there’s Signal.

ACKSHUALLY back in their day they just got paid significantly more. Minimum wage hasn’t kept up with inflation and median pay hasn’t increased with productivity for the last 40 years.

For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJN9mBRX3uo