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TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • Recounts do not include submitting new votes.

    If you read my comment more carefully, you'll find that I mentioned those two things separately, as example responses to a problem. I did not say or imply that one included the other.

    You are gambling on the hope that the problem gets fixed later.

    No. I am saying that election interference reports must go to the election authorities. Directing people to a political organization instead undermines the process, and is not sufficient. (Reporting to both is fine, though.)

    And local election offices - often under partisan control - have no obligation to assist individuals in getting their ballot cast.

    If that is a problem where you live, then I suggest also reporting to the federal authorities. There's a whole list of contacts on the .gov page I provided.

    And maybe making a special post aimed specifically at people in that situation. Not telling everyone, everywhere that a partisan political org is the place to report election interference, as was done in the problematic post.

    (Again, reporting to the authorities and also reporting to a non-government org is fine; what's bad is leading people away from reporting to the officials. The officials need to know when this stuff is happening. We need to get it on the record.)

  • TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • The misinformation is directing people to report election interference using phone numbers belonging to a political organization, rather than the election authorities. A call to those numbers is not a call to the authorities. The post directs people away from the appropriate channels. It is therefore misleading.

    [Edit: I acknowledge that it might have been well-intended. It is still misleading.]

    the image clearly states who is behind it.

    The presence of a domain name printed at the bottom of the list of phone numbers, which most people will not carefully consider (or in many cases even notice), doesn't make it okay.

    you came at it as “lies”

    I said no such thing. Please don't put words in my mouth.

  • TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • Of course, if there is immediate danger, calling someone who can show up and help right away is always a good idea. (I wouldn't think this needs stating, but yes, I agree on this point.)

    None of the resources detailed in this post provide any form of immediate assistance to resolve an ongoing threat to your ability to cast your vote.

    The local election offices are not substitutes for police departments, but I think they are likely to respond quickly. They have phone numbers.

    If your ballot is never cast, it can’t be fixed later. The best the folks in the OP can do is punish the people who committed the crime. They can’t get your vote counted.

    This is untrue. It is better to get your vote recorded the first time, of course, but fixing things later is also possible. If regional authorities are made aware of election interference, they can initiate a re-count, refuse to certify the results until a new vote is taken, etc. That's part of their job.

  • TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • I agree, but every avenue at our disposal are forms.

    This is untrue. A phone number is prominently shown on the very first official link I tried: the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. There are more phone numbers at the various state election offices.

    You assuming that because they are a political org, they will play partisan politics,

    No. I have assumed no such thing. I am pointing out that they are not the authorities, and since they are not, a report to them is not a report to the authorities. They might play partisan politics, or they might not. They might remember to pass your report on to the authorities at some point in the future, or they might forget. There's no way to know, and it doesn't matter.

    Report directly to the authorities. It's fine to also report to someone else, but they are no substitute. Definitely report to the authorities.

  • TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • You called a political organization, and reached someone who is trained to tell you the sort of thing you wanted to hear.

    The election authorities need to know about vote interference immediately. If you witness it, call the authorities directly.

    It's possible that the political org you called might be helpful as an extra measure, if you have additional free time to contact them as well. It's also possible that they will reassure you and promptly drop your report in the proverbial trash if the interference you reported aligns with their interests. It's impossible to know, no matter what they say. Either way, they are no substitute for calling the authorities.

  • TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • I would report that other post (and it's source, since it's a re-post) to the Lemmy mods for spreading misinformation.

    I don't think the phone number image in it is technically fraud, since it identifies its sponsoring organization and doesn't claim to be from an official government office.

  • Featured
    [META] Where to call if you witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • Who is Vote Save America? How are they funded? How can I verify that these phone numbers aren't controlled by a political interest or foreign adversary?

    [Answer: I looked up some of the phone numbers. They route to a politically-aligned organization.]

    More importantly, why would I follow the advice of some random web site regarding something this important, rather than looking for an official source?

    I wouldn't. Here's what I found with a quick search:


    https://www.usa.gov/voter-fraud

    How to report voter fraud, intimidation, or suppression

    If you suspect voter fraud, report it to your state or territorial election office. You can also report it to:

    If you witness or suspect voter intimidation or suppression, there are three ways you can report it:

    LAST UPDATED: September 18, 2024

  • TIL who I should *actually* contact if I witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.

    This is in response to someone else's post from half an hour ago, which contained phone numbers controlled by a politically aligned organization. It doesn't matter which one.

    Reports of election interference should go directly to the authorities:

    https://www.usa.gov/voter-fraud

    How to report voter fraud, intimidation, or suppression

    If you suspect voter fraud, report it to your state or territorial election office. You can also report it to:

    If you witness or suspect voter intimidation or suppression, there are three ways you can report it:

    LAST UPDATED: September 18, 2024

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    Removed
    [TIL] Where to call if you witness anyone intimidating or harassing at polling places.
  • Who is Vote Save America? How are they funded? How can I verify that these phone numbers aren't controlled by a political interest or foreign adversary?

    [Edit: I looked up some of the phone numbers. They route to a politically-aligned organization.]

    More importantly, why would I follow the advice of some random web site regarding something this important, rather than looking for an official source?

    I wouldn't. Here's what I found with a quick search:


    https://www.usa.gov/voter-fraud

    How to report voter fraud, intimidation, or suppression

    If you suspect voter fraud, report it to your state or territorial election office. You can also report it to:

    If you witness or suspect voter intimidation or suppression, there are three ways you can report it:

    LAST UPDATED: September 18, 2024

  • All You Need For Artificial Intelligence Is A Commodore 64
    hackaday.com All You Need For Artificial Intelligence Is A Commodore 64

    Artificial intelligence has always been around us, with [Timothy J. O’Malley]’s 1985 book on AI projects for the Commodore 64 being one example of this. With AI defined as being the the…

    All You Need For Artificial Intelligence Is A Commodore 64
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    Touchscreens Are Out, and Tactile Controls Are Back
  • When I’m driving, it’s actually unsafe for my car to be operated in that way. It’s hard to generalize and say, buttons are always easy and good, and touchscreens are difficult and bad, or vice versa. Buttons tend to offer you a really limited range of possibilities in terms of what you can do. Maybe that simplicity of limiting our field of choices offers more safety in certain situations.

    Or maybe being able to consistently and reliably operate the thing without taking your eyes off the road has something to do with it? Hmm... Yes, this is really hard to generalize.

  • (SOLVED!) Please help with Running Baldur's Gate 3 on linux (Debian)
  • That symlink approach is one way to run the game executable directly, but it's a little heavy handed, and likely to be reverted whenever the game gets updates or you verify the game files.

    Sometimes you can put something like /path/to/game/executable.exe %command% in the Steam launch options to accomplish the same thing without symlinks. I suggest reading more of those comments to see if anyone had success with this approach.

    It might still be a good idea to replace exFAT, though. Symlinks are often useful. :)

  • (SOLVED!) Please help with Running Baldur's Gate 3 on linux (Debian)
  • I don't know if --skip-launcher is a valid command line option. If it is, I expect it just tells the launcher to immediately launch the game without showing a launcher screen. Of course, if the launcher requires a version of .Net that isn't set up correctly, then it can't run at all, and therefore can't even get as far as noticing the command line option (let alone run the game). So I wouldn't expect this to work.

    Instead, read through the bug report that I linked earlier. Look for the comments that explain how to make Steam run bg3_dx11.exe or bg3.exe instead of running the launcher at all. (I don't remember the exact paths, so I can't just write the correct command line here.)

    (Note: GitHub often hides some comments until you click the link to reveal more of them, so just using Control+F in your browser might not find these comments until you've clicked it several times.)

  • (SOLVED!) Please help with Running Baldur's Gate 3 on linux (Debian)
  • wine doesn’t emulate hardware,

    FTFY

    Wine's very purpose is to emulate the Windows runtime environment. Translating API calls is only part of that.

    So kindly leave people alone when they refer to it emulating, or as an emulator, or something that emulates. They're not wrong.

  • How would I use a DS4 (wired) on Linux to play old games on RetroArch?
  • AFAIK, RetroArch is just a front-end for the emulators that actually use the controller, so getting this to work depends on the emulator you'll be using.

    I would expect any decent emulator on Linux to work with the standard Linux joystick and/or evdev APIs, which are supported by the Linux DualShock 4 driver. This driver is built in to the Linux kernel; nothing more should require installation. However:

    It's possible that your distro might not load that driver automatically. To check, connect the DS4, power it up with the Playstation button (if its light isn't already on), and run lsmod |grep -E 'hid_sony|hid_playstation' in a terminal. If it responds with some lines containing hid_sony or hid_playstation, then the driver is loaded.

    It's possible that your distro might not have labeled the DS4 as a joystick device in udev, which isn't strictly required, but some software expects to see. On the distros I've used, the easiest way to get this done is to install the steam-devices package. I think most desktop distros do it automatically these days, though.

    You don't want DS4Windows. That's Windows software. There is a program (not a driver) called ds4linux, which creates a virtual Xbox controller alongside the real DS4, similar to what Steam Input does when you use it. You shouldn't need this for games/emulators that were written properly for Linux, but it's there for cases when a developer took a shortcut and assumed Microsoft game hardware is standard on our non-Microsoft OS. Alternatively, I think you can use Steam Input when launching non-Steam games in Steam.

    There are various joystick test programs for linux, to give you an idea of whether the OS sees the controller. (This can be helpful when a game doesn't appear to see it, to determine if it's the game's problem or a connection/driver problem.) KDE Plasma has one built in to the System Settings. There's a also generic one called jstest-gtk, available with most desktop distros. There are probably more out there.

    Keep in mind that test programs like that don't necessarily know which inputs map to which buttons/sticks on the controller. Don't panic if they look mixed up in a test program; try it in a game first. If they're still mixed up, look for a way to remap the inputs.

  • Fix That Old Remote With Graphite
    hackaday.com Fix That Old Remote With Graphite

    A button that stopped working has probably led to more than a few smashed remotes over the years. Fortunately [pescado99] has shared a beautifully simple cure for dead or dying remote buttons: grap…

    Fix That Old Remote With Graphite

    Surprisingly, the youtube comments contain useful information, too.

    8
    VirtIO-GPU Vulkan Support Approaching Upstream QEMU

    I smile every time I see an improvement that will make it easier for games to run near full speed while confined to a virtual machine. Another step forward for security and privacy.

    6
    TIL a useless structure preserved as part of a building or environment, becoming a piece of art itself, is called a Thomasson.

    I capitalised it in the title because of its etymology, and for emphasis. I think I would use lower case in regular usage.

    More examples:

    https://www.messynessychic.com/2017/01/18/the-inexplicably-fascinating-secret-world-of-thomassons/

    https://kyotojournal.org/kyoto-notebook/kyoto-tomason-the-hunt-for-hidden-hyperart/

    https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/04/thomasson-architectural-relics-that.html

    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hyperart_Thomasson

    13
    The unreleased Commodore HHC-4's secret identity
    oldvcr.blogspot.com The unreleased Commodore HHC-4's secret identity

    Once upon a time (and that time was Winter CES 1983), Commodore announced what was to be their one and only handheld computer, the Commodore...

    The unreleased Commodore HHC-4's secret identity
    1
    Figuring Out The Most Efficient Way To Reuse Bags Of Desiccant
    hackaday.com Figuring Out The Most Efficient Way To Reuse Bags Of Desiccant

    Everyone knows those small bags of forbidden “Do not eat” candy that come with fresh rolls of FDM filament as well as a wide range of other products. Containing usually silica gel but s…

    Figuring Out The Most Efficient Way To Reuse Bags Of Desiccant
    0
    Modern 2024 PC with a vintage twist (ft. Ryzen 5 7600 & Geforce 4060 Ti)
    yeokhengmeng.com Modern 2024 PC with a vintage twist (ft. Ryzen 5 7600 & Geforce 4060 Ti)

    If I were to tell you a PC has a floppy drive, optical drive, Sound Blaster card, serial, parallel and PS/2 ports running DOS, you would think I’m referring to a machine from the 1990s. But my very modern PC built in 2024 possess these characteristics! I recently built myself a PC as my previous des...

    Modern 2024 PC with a vintage twist (ft. Ryzen 5 7600 & Geforce 4060 Ti)
    1
    License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of More Than Just Cars
    www.wired.com License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of More Than Just Cars

    From Trump campaign signs to Planned Parenthood bumper stickers, license plate readers around the US are creating searchable databases that reveal Americans’ political leanings and more.

    License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of More Than Just Cars

    cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/27154690

    > From Trump campaign signs to Planned Parenthood bumper stickers, license plate readers around the US are creating searchable databases that reveal Americans’ political leanings and more.

    7
    Sid Meier's Pirates, and everyone else in the game, are aware of the date...

    I recently started a game of Pirates! When I sat down to play today, the pirates were no longer the only ones spicing up their speech with arrs and ahoys. The merchants were doing it. The military were doing it. The nobles were doing it (awkwardly). The barmaids were doing it. Even the user interface was doing it.

    I thought at first that it might have always been that way, and just escaped my notice, but that seemed unlikely. Next I thought I might have accidentally enabled a game option for it, but I didn't remember reconfiguring anything.

    Then another possibility came to mind. It seemed like a long shot, but just in case, I looked up today's date. Sure enough, today is International Talk Like a Pirate day. This 20-year-old game apparently knows it, and switched every bit of its dialogue and writing into pirate speak to honour the occasion.

    I love this.

    24
    LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service
    www.404media.co LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service

    Multiple LinkedIn users on Wednesday noticed a setting that showed LinkedIn was using user data to improve its generative AI. LinkedIn told 404 Media it will update its terms of service “shortly.”

    LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service
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    InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)MO
    mox @lemmy.sdf.org
    Posts 165
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