#i'm so over online theft istg

[bitchofdarkness]

You know what annoys me a lot? On any other social media platform they trash talk tumblr, BUT at the same time steal posts; even edit out usernames in screenshots of said posts.

On the one hand tumblr isn't cool enough for them, but on the other we're so cool they need to steal our posts to become cool on their own stupid social media platform.

Make it make sense.

[killian-whump]

Why do you hate NFTs?

Well, I'll start with the main societal complaint against them - which is that they're horrible for the environment, chiefly because they churn through a downright ridiculous amount of energy. From Investopedia:

Every transaction on the Ethereum proof-of-work platform, including every NFT transaction, uses more than 260 kilowatt-hours of electricity—equivalent to the electricity used by an average U.S. household over 9.05 days.

That's why, IMHO, everyone should dislike the fucking things. I mean, we as a society will sit here and debate the carbon impact of cow farts, but we let shit like this just run rampant? Seriously, WTF is wrong with us? And yeah, there's ways to make NFTs less energy-consumptive, but that cuts into profits - which should tell you all you need to know about how often it's actually done and by whom. Which is to say "rarely" and "the smallest fish in the proverbial ocean".

Secondly, it's basically a giant Ponzi scheme. In order for NFTs to be financially beneficial to those partaking in them, more and more people have to invest/spend money on NFTs. This is why NFT Bros always sound like used car salesmen trying to sell you a broken-down Edsel, and why the entire community comes off like a weird ass cult. They're all trying to sell you something. They're all trying to entice you to spend your money on NFTs - because whatever money you put into the network, they're hoping to eventually pull out of it. Without your money (and the money of all the other dupes investors), there would be no money for them to make. And they love to tell everyone how they're in on the ground floor, and you could be too, and the biggest profits will be made by those who get in early! If it sounds like a Ponzi scheme and looks like a Ponzi scheme...

Oh, and they all like to act like they're hip and cool, and like NFTs are the wave of the future and all the cool kids are doing it and... yadda, yadda, yadda. #OnWednesdaysWeBuyNFTs #TotallyNotConArtists

There's also the issue of art theft. When you're a con artist trying to swindle people out of money... why let a little thing like legality stand in your way? You can right click on any picture on the internet, save it, and sell it on the block chain! Instant millions! Or, you know, at least tens of tens of dollars. Anyway, I have seen WAY too many of my favorite artists complain that their art is being illegally sold as NFTs. A lot of them are locking down or removing their online portfolios (or marring their beautiful artwork with extensive watermarks). While I'm not an artist myself, I hate seeing the damage this is doing to the art community.

And I just hate the whole idea of it all, anyway. What, exactly, are people buying here? It seems to me that they're buying nothing but imaginary coolness points and the vain hope that they'll be one of the millionaires to come out on top. And they won't be. The ones who will benefit from this whole debacle are the people already sitting at the top of the pyramid. The rest of them will either break even... or end up looking back on it with fond/bitter memories, like a former Beanie Baby collector. Only without the cute plush animals. Because these boneheads aren't even actually buying anything.

All of that said, it's now become the kind of "craze" that sweeps up well-meaning people in its wake. I don't think Colin is intending to scam or con anyone. I just think he's been sold on the "better" aspects of the topic by his brother, who does come off like an over-exuberant NFT Bro. So... I'll ignore it.

But ISTG, if he goes whole hog into the cult, that seriously could be something I'd leave his ass for. Just saying it now.

Let's hope this is just a one-off thing and passes quickly.