I didn't realize that about clients. (apparently since I last checked some instances have an algorithm as well). That makes downvotes from just annoying and demotivating to active censorship. There is a large number of people who will downvote anything they disagree with, and if clients or instances use that as a signal it really is harming discussions.
bluGill
Bikes are already at the limit. We need transport options for longer distances that are not a lot worse than a car.
Problem is you are now in an echo chamber of left wing hate. Oi course the hate of the left wing is different form right wing - but just at evil
There is no algorithyn. There needs to be but the cultrure is opposed and has made downvote not a useful signal. Downvote here means 'I disagree with this insightful comment'. Most other places downvote means 'this is trash just one step above so bad the mods should delete it'
some of the mods (.ml) are famious for their delete anything they desagree with.
most homes don't run their computers in multi-user mode. Even when they do most kids will learn the admin password because parents don't select good passwords.
Kids are not stupid. Even if some are, there are many kids in school and so any bypass will spread kid to kid fast. For each of the following reread this paraghraph to remind yourself all kids will know this.
kids can install linux /bsd on a raspberry pi or old/cheap computer - this is something I want to encourage. that of course means they are root and can claim whatever age. They can likewise do it in a vm.
if there is any security flaw kids can use it to change their age.
many programs will not check when they should. Kids will install/use these instead. this is a likely exploit vector of actors (in foriegn counties) that target kids - release a new program that does what the kids wants while also doing what they want. (Websites have done bitcoin in javascript while you read them)
who will check? onlyfans probably will, but small web sites spring up all the time, and they won't bother - many are already illegal (either copyright or illegal content).
Meanwhile many programs that we want kids to use won't bother to check. why would things autocad check - they target professionals but kids can use them and may even have to.
the above is not a complete list!
Age is useful for 'buy cigerettes' that is illegal for kids in some way.
However most of what parents care about isn't automatically bad and I know plenty of panents who are frusterated because we can't controll things how we need to without being a helicopter parent (bad). Playing video games is fine in moderation - AFTER YOUR HOMEWORK IS DONE - but we don't get an easy way to enforce that. My teens are old enough to stay home alone and do homework - but they will not do their homework when they can do something else (this problem has been around since school)
my kids phones have parental controls that I turn on. However they lack a way to enforce homework vs play vs sleep time. There is likely more, this is just what frusterated me yesterday. some things are not gated - my kids have got up at 3am, and connected their school device (under school control not me) to their phone hotspot (turned on who knows when - I can't block that at all) to play a game that the school will block next week when they figure out it is one kids are playing but they shouldn't.
people are proposing age verification because they have no idea what else they can do and are frusterated at how bad things are.
There are nearly 9000 hours in a year. Performance after only 2000 isn't a useful metric. I know there are people who can give better numbers
Glad I bought and EV for trips too far for my bike. My local power is 100% renewable wind (I'm sure there is some hand waving in there for when the wind isn't blowing). Most people could easially do the same - they won't, but they could.
I was taught basic programming in school - by people who clearly had no clue. (it was clear to 11 year old me, and in hindsight I was far to kind in my evaluation of their knowledge) I was also taught on the then very modern apply IIgs - I wouldn't be surprised if you have never heard of that, but all you need to know is nothing I was taught is relevant anyway - if you were taught on windows 7 a lot of what you learned has changed anyway.
Point is we need to teach people to teach themselves because things change.
Unfortunately downvote is the standard response to 'i disagree to this insightful comment'. They really should just track total votes as a 'this is how important others feel your coment is'. There is value in downvote for 'not bad enough for a reasonable mod to delete but still bad'. (.ml is not a reasonable mod - they delete anything)
At what point do I change from a concerned parent protecting my kids to an over protective hellicopter parent?
My wife often does my laundry - but she has better things to do with her time.
You really have bought into the echo chamber if you believe that.
There are bad people on both the right and left wing. However the majority on either side are not bad. Most (on both sides) have not thought deeply about the effects of if their ideas really were done in the real world. (A few have and have decided the downsides are worth accepting, but if you are not aware of the downsides and intentionally accepting of those as the least bad compromise you are part of the problem) We can disagree on which downsides are not bad enough to ignore - but everything has downsides.