Yeah, most online stores don’t accept gift cards, unfortunately. 🙁 Especially Amazon…tried to order some much needed products with Amazon cards, and they require a bank card.

IME, (on Amazon at least…and a few others I’ve tried) masked cards are usually accepted as bank cards. Gift cards are not.

I’d love to build myself a privacy-respecting online store that accepts everything from Monero to cash to Apple pay (for the general populous that doesn’t care), but I sort of lack the capital. 😅

I mean, yeah, it would be great if Amazon took Monero, but I don’t see them ever even considering that.

I always called it a sweat jacket.

Yes! Thank you! That’s what i was looking for.

Although, yeah, Ramsey definitely has had his share of controversy, so I listen to the episodes with a grain of salt.

Yeah, I tried a few episodes. Couldn’t really get into it for some reason. Maybe I’ll try again.

Years ago I think I would have been in the same boat about not being a fan of something like this being paid, but I think the main reason why big tech platforms have become enshittified is because we haven’t demanded value and instead demanded free. And because we’ve demanded free we have two camps: big tech that can yank our chain, and free/libre solutions that may survive just barely on donations and the good will of people (and wanting it to be free as in $ IMO is devaluing the importance of the fediverse). I think a good solution to promote software freedom and the fediverse is for some paid instances to be part of it.

True, and thanks.

Ah, I see. Yeah, I keep forgetting that a lot of people use LinkedIn for job-searching (I mean, I kinda do too, but been active on it like 7 years without a single follow-through). I see it as a networking tool. Job-searching may be part of it, but business leaders and ultra wealthy use it to make connections and support each other (theoretically). Businesses/creators would be the target market. Maybe some job-search aspect to it at some point.

Haha, this is true. Hence why I was looking for a way to serve people.

Yeah, that’s why I was kinda wondering.

Yeah, that’s what I was hoping for. I’m a believer that money = value. If something or someone is valuable, it should be paid for and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I’m also a believer that you can operate in FOSS/Fedi-mode and still make money.

Yup, an instance would be paid, but if someone wanted to launch a service of their own they totally could…they just won’t have the upstream features and the primary support from the paid instance.

Job-seeker/employer is only a drop in the ocean of what professional networking (and LinkedIn) is about. It’s a community of businesses that all help each other collaborate and build…a way to share ideas and make new connections…at least, I think that’s what everyone wants it to be.

Nope, no verification system…complete opposite…you’d just need to pay an I don’t care who you are (I’d even take crypto like Monero). I think being on week 4 of wrestling with LinkedIn’s verification system (being in LI jail for the 3rd time!) has made me sick of it.

One thing I like about the fediverse is it’s very community-driven. If I come across a spam message on Mastodon, I’ll start to report it to the community but find 10 others who are saying the same thing and within 5 minutes the dude is out. Meanwhile LinkedIn has a draconian verification system that treats its users like toddlers, while every other week I have someone asking to take over my UpWork account (and LI doesn’t ban them).

Good suggestions! Yeah, I’m one of those folks that likes nuance, so anything that science fiction-y is totally fine. One thing I like to read (and write, since I also write short stories) is exploration of the fantastical. Something out of the ordinary to give a different perspective on the human experience.

I’m not against libraries. It’s just that I prefer reading physical books. But with a library it’s a lot of stress to remember the due date (although I usually finish books long before the due date), and it does make me slightly uncomfortable that the library keeps a record of every book read (I’m sure it sounds paranoid, but I also know on here I’m in good company. lol). While my reading material isn’t anything noteworthy it just makes me uncomfortable.

So I prefer raiding Good Will or bargain book stores for secondhand books. No due date, no record that I bought it (since I pay in cash, although I’m sure if you’re really desperate you can look at security cam footage when I bought the books and cross-reference). But since I can’t afford that I figured I could make do with digital books until I can afford to buy books again.

Bookmarked!

Thanks. I did read one of his novels a while ago (not i-robot, but I forget the name of it). I was kind of bored by his novel, TBH. But if I may give it a second go at some point.

Thanks, I’ll look into those.