Pluralistic: The enshittification multiverse (27 Apr 2026)

Today's links

The enshittification multiverse: It's a useful analogy.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Every complex ecosystem has parasites; Prison for "attempted infringement"; When We Were Robots in Egypt; Golfing in The Blitz; Copyright vs privacy (NZ edn); GOP support for pedophile Hastert; EFF's music license; RIP Jane Jacobs; California is fanfic; DMCA v medical implants; "Burglar's Guide to the City"; Flaming river; Fantasy accounting.
Upcoming appearances: Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Ada Palmer's "Inventing the Renaissance": A tour-de-force, a magnum opus, a work of utter brilliance.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Gloating about the dot-bomb; RIAA sues PC-less family; John Deere v infosec; Foxconn v Wisconsin; Copyfraud x torturers' reputations; "Careless People."
Upcoming appearances: London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

A free, open visual identity for enshittification: No mere poop emoji!
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: RIAA v little girl; Portal turret Easter egg; Atari v indie games; Chabon's Phantom Tollbooth intro; The 0.1%; Well-labeled inns; "More Everything Forever."
Upcoming appearances: London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The (other) problem with automatic conversion of free software to proprietary software: You can't add ANY license to a public domain work.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Pimp My Snack; Abandoned Soviet missile silo full of cash; MPAA v 'democratizing culture'; 3,000 page garbage Kindle books; London's lost postal tunnels; Internet voting is stupid; Congress lobotomized itself; GWB v 'truth in politics'; Trump's FTC x tariff profiteering.
Upcoming appearances: San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

It's not a crime if we do it (to nurses) with an app: It's not a bald spot, it's a solar panel for a sex machine.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: PKD named names; Weird Al v Lada Gaga; South Korean Olympic torture camps; McDonald's v ice-cream hackers.
Upcoming appearances: San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff's "Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed": A rocket exploding in a human face, forever.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Is sugar poison? More watch-part motorcycles; "Something New"; "Seeds"; Bulldozer fight; Facebook tonsils; Against transparency.
Upcoming appearances: San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Comrade Trump: Burning down the American empire to save it.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: MPAA's threat-based 'education'; Cuehack; Heinlein on GWB; AT&T v the internet; British tax-havens v HMG; What is neoliberalism?; Newspaper landlords; Watch-part motorcycle; Tax havens bad; Buscemi's eyes; Sesame Street on lead poisoning.
Upcoming appearances: San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Georgia's voting technology blunder: It's possible for Dominion machines to suck, but not in the way that Tucker Carlson says they do.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: GWB's illegal iPod; McDonald's breakfast sandwich fanfic; Technofeudal debt; "The Everything Box"; $100m deli.
Upcoming appearances: Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

A Pascal's Wager for AI Doomers: We're already being turned into paperclips.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Every pirate ebook on the internet; Sun's "Open DRM"; Untranslatable words; Let's encrypt is encrypting; Boots ruined by hedge fund; Brussels terrorists' opsec; Copyrighted Klingon; Murder Offsets.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.