A coronal mass ejection (CME).
The near-Earth Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this CME in September 2012, which traveled over 900 miles per second, causing an aurora to appear. NASA/GSFC/SDO
“Hacking was the only entertainment that would occupy my mind – like a huge video game, but with real consequences. I could have evaded the FBI a lot longer if I had been able to control my passion for hacking.” Kevin Mitnick
Special thanks to GBTC!
Is hacking in alignment with the Gospel?
Many of you have learned that TWW was hacked last evening. Thanks to the efforts of the “Guy Behind the Curtain,” the blog was back in business quickly. I have a good idea who might have been behind this attack, which is a crime, by the way. For some, criminal activity is warranted when it is done to defend or support one’s cause or pastor du jour. It’s pretty hard to find such license in the Scripture. The confusing message left by this “gospel” individual is that I, along with many of you, regularly dox and slander others.
Let’s look at what dox and slander and slander is all about,
What is “dox?”
According to Merriam-Webster:
to publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge
According to the Urban Dictionary:
Personal information about people on the Internet, often including real name, known aliases, address, phone number, SSN, credit card number, etc.
What is slander?
I have written a lot about this term. It is defined by Scripture and the law quite simple.
Knowingly telling or writing a lie about someone in order to cause malicious harm to that person.
Before I started this blog, I spoke with a famous attorney, Jeff Anderson, about blogging and what happened in my previous church. Anderson repeated this definition of slander. He told me that writing about abuse by a clergy member is not malicious since I would be doing it to protect those attending the affected churches. Another well-known lawyer, Mitch Little, has spoken to me about the gold standard when I write about these subjects. I tell the truth.
Let me sum this up.
- I NEVER knowingly tell a lie on this blog. I only post what I believe to be true. I spend untold hours listening and reading. I believe that Todd does the same.
- I have refused to post stories I had a hard time corroborating. Those stories may be true, however. I know that the folks behind those stories were upset.
- I have the right to believe stories in the news and stories that have not been in the news.
- I have the right to believe or not believe a jury verdict. In other words, I believe that OJ Simpson murdered his wife even though he was acquitted.
- I have the right to believe that someone was molested or otherwise abused, even if it was never heard in a court or has yet to be heard.
- I have the right to believe the story of a victim even if it was not reported to the police.
- A crime that occurred 25 years ago is no less of a crime today, even if it cannot be prosecuted due to SOL.
- I NEVER write a story to cause malicious harm to another. I do it to protect the community.
- I allow for a difference of opinion on this blog, even if that opinion may be uncomfortable or not an opinion I share.
- We have never attempted to dox anyone. We use publically available information when it surrounds an abuse situation. On one occasion, we posted and took down a picture of a person’s house and family. It was up for just a few minutes. We realized what we had done immediately. Our intent was NOT to dox someone. Besides, GBTC and Todd could testify to my abysmal computer talents. I couldn’t find private info if my life depended on it.
- Both doxxing and slander involve the intent to cause malicious harm.
- I have not seen anyone “doxxing” or in the comments.
- Some comments may be harsh or not kind to someone’s hero, but that does not constitute slander.
- There is more about defamation in the second story about Johnny Hunt.
I’m suspicious that our “gospel” hacker is upset because we featured an abusive pastor he adores. He probably doesn’t believe his favorite pastor “Did it.” That is his right. However, that does not mean he should commit a crime. Somehow, I don’t think it matters to him. All is forgiven in Jesus, right?
Hacking is not in alignment with the Gospel.
Johnny Hunt doesn’t believe anyone should know his private information.
This is one for discussion. Julie Roys posted Bob Smietana’s article: Is A Pastor’s Sin A Private Matter? Johnny Hunt Lawsuit Makes That Claim. Here are some statements from the article:
- On July 25, 2010, while vacationing in Florida, Hunt had kissed and fondled another pastor’s wife in what his attorneys would later call a “brief, consensual extramarital encounter.”
Then Hunt spent more than a decade covering the incident up.- He denied this happened and then said it was consensual.
- (He had a ) lucrative career as a preacher and public speaker.
- He went through a secretive restoration process years ago and went through another restoration process, then made a defiant return to the pulpit earlier this year.
- Hunt filed suit against the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee and Guidepost, claiming they had ruined his life by revealing his misconduct and including him in an abuse report.
- “Pastor Johnny was not the president of the SBC or a member of the Executive Committee at the time of the incident,” they wrote in a memorandum, opposing the denomination’s attempts to have the case dismissed. “He was merely a private citizen whose marital fidelity was nobody else’s business.”
- His lawyers claim that by including Hunt in the Guidepost report, it createdthe false impression that he is an accused sex criminal.
- The former SBC president’s defamation claim could have some merit if the allegations against him are proven false. But even then, Freeman said, Hunt, a prominent evangelical leader and speaker, would likely qualify as a public figure — making the defamation claim harder.
The post raises the million-dollar question:
Can a pastor’s sins ever really be private? Can a pastor who has made a living urging others to follow a morality code then claim his own failings are no one else’s business? And was the harm done to Hunt’s reputation primarily due to his own acts — both the misconduct and the subsequent coverup?
This leaves us with questions like:
- Hunt was famous for preaching family values. Should he be exposed when he wasn’t living out those family values?
- The SBC 9Marx boys are big on church discipline. Should Hunt’s sin be disciplined like it would be for a church member?
- Are pastors and their sins treated differently than the sins of members?
- Should pastors be allowed to hide sexual sin from their church members or those who support their ministries?
- Since this was a nonconsensual act, according to the victim, should this have been reported to the police?
- Should Hunt step down from ministry since he was involved in an apparent nonconsensual molestation? (He claims it was consensual; she does not.)
- I worry about the victim of Hunt’s actions. Does he? Imagine her stress.
Finally, on the malice issue that I raised above:
Hunt would also have to prove the Executive Committee and Guidepost knew the allegations were likely false and still published them. That’s a harder argument to make, given that the woman involved in the incident, who has not been named, insists it was not consensual.
“You have to prove that there was actual malice,” Freeman said. “And that will be hard to do.”
I think Johnny’s suit will eventually be thrown out. He should take the money he has accumulated and go gently into that dark night. (I’m saying that a lot recently.)
PS All discussions about Hunt’s actions are considered alleged at this point.
I have to get off since I promised GBTC I would be done at 2 p.m. so he can do some work to fix things.
Dee, when people try to shut you down it is indicative that the truth you tell is on point.
YOU GO, GIRL!
I would believe 9 Marks a whole lot more if they were consistent about their “discipline”, but they often apply it only to those they consider lesser and excuse themselves and their friends from it. The same goes for Johnny Hunt. I don’t think their beliefs are sincere and used only to control others. I think their gods are themeselves.
Sent an article to the Facebook page, as I no longer have Twitter, but there’s a woman in Virginia who was removed from the church rolls when her health was bad and she couldn’t attend, and they refuse to let her be buried with the rest of her family. Her daughter has started a Change petition, and I thought y’all would be interested in it.
Luckyforward,
I have hope that this will give me street cred!
ishy,
Can you post a link o this page?
https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-our-beloved-mother-grant-her-rightful-burial-in-her-community?redirect=false
we have the tendency to believe that which we WANT to believe as ‘true’ and certain media giants capitalize on this by promising us that they are ‘fair’ and ‘balanced’ and unlike ‘other’ media outlets . . . .
but in the end,
if people try to corral us to their points of view to the EXCLUSION of other ideas, that may be a ‘red light’ that we are getting conned for sure
‘isolating’ a group of ‘followers’ does not bode well
point: don’t be afraid of ‘competition’, iron sharpens iron so to speak
The thought occurs that since a faction within the SBC is seeking to amend the meaning of “friendly cooperation” to include obligatory exclusion of females from pastoral ministry, perhaps it would not be out of order for a future Convention to entertain motions to include in the definition of “friendly cooperation” a firm stance against restoration to ministry of fallen pastors; there are certainly Biblical texts on the character and reputational requirements for church leaders that support such a stance.
The debate on that would be illuminating to watch.
How does that saying go? Something like, “when they tell you who they are, believe them”.
“Are pastors and their sins treated differently than the sins of members?”
“When we teachers of religion, who should know better, do wrong, our punishment will be greater than it would be for others” (James 3:1-2 TLB)
What is “dox?”
According to Merriam-Webster:
to publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge
“Let Bubba Do It. My Hands are Clean.”
ABSOLUTELY WILL!
If I’m reading this right, “Pastor” feels that a church member can only be a member when they are healthy and active in the work of the church. When they are unhealthy and inactive, they cease to be a member and can no longer enjoy the benefits of member-status (e.g. being buried with family in the church cemetery). This action is not only disrespectful to Sister Garrison and her family, but drops into the unChristlike category. I wonder if Pastor visited Sister Garrison to minister and pray for her during her illness?
“Truth is unkillable” (Anabaptist Balthasar Hubmaier)
Truth is also unhackable.
“Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day. And yet there is one thing that is more dangerous than Truth. Those who would silence Truth’s voice are more destructive by far.
It is most perilous to be a speaker of Truth. Sometimes one must choose to be silent, or be silenced. But if a truth cannot be spoken, it must at least be known. Even if you dare not speak truth to others, never lie to yourself.” – Frances Hardinge – Fly By Night”
Luckyforward,
Great quote!
There’s a line attributed to Mark Twain that applies to the popularity of aberrant theologies (e.g., New Calvinism):
“The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.”
ishy,
It’s really hard for me to understand why otherwise rational and intelligent adults willingly put themselves under these despots.
What’s the mechanism?
Any ideas?
He (Twain) did conjure up Muff Potter after all.
This slander stuff can be a bit of a sticky wicket… I’m acquainted with a man I’ll call pastor A. He sometimes quotes approvingly his mentor pastor B and pastor B’s mentor pastor C, now dead, who founded the denomination. I know A knows about B’s indiscretions but for all I know they’re all forgiven and restored. But A may not know about C’s indiscretions. But I only read about either one’s indiscretions on a blog— just that one blog on the planet so far as I know. I trust the blogger and asked him about it – and he verified the allegations are true, and that B knows they’re true. But none of his sources will go on the record – perhaps still afraid of repercussions even though C is pushing up daisies. If I should chance to meet B, who lives nearby, should I ask him? He’d probably just think I’ve been reading and spreading slander so probably I’ll just keep quiet……….
ishy,
This story is actually quite disgusting…. These “leaders” are not much different from organized crime… their power comes from exploiting people.. and making “examples” of them…
‘I have refused to post stories I had a hard time corroborating. Those stories may be true, however. I know that the folks behind those stories were upset.’
It is an unfortunate fact that so much of trying to stop an abuser in their tracks is waiting for them to make the mistake which will enable you to take action or go public.
You are of course right about who is likely to have hacked this blog: no ethical hacker would hack a blog revealing abuse.
Muff Potter,
and Injun Joe!
Pulpit despots cast a spell over gullible followers with a touch of charisma, a gift of gab, and a bag of gimmicks. Then they manipulate, intimidate and dominate the spiritual daylights out of them. The American church is littered with “otherwise rational and intelligent adults” drawn into this snare because they don’t seek God as they ought … prayerless and powerless they fall before the despots.
Ethical hacker is an oxymoron … heavy on the moron side. I figure the TWW hacker is a fanboy of either a church leader/abuser or NeoCal icon which have been the subject of a TWW post.
Now that I’ve been out for a while, I cannot understand why I did it for so long. I liked the community and thought there would always been troublesome people in every community, but most of these groups were set up to feed the vices of the leaders and supress everyone else. It’s just sometimes hard to see that from inside, especially when everyone is telling you that it’s all for the glory of God. I am not even really someone who craves being part of a group, so I imagine for those that do, it’s even more difficult to leave.
Just a bit of contraian thoughts on why so many people go along and enable these creeps.
People want simple answers to all problems. Be they simple or complicated. And they don’t want to think about things that take away from their enjoying life or that make force them to admit they were wrong about something.
So denial is a big part of all of this.
Ethical hacker is a job title for those who work for a website trying to find the exploits in the site before unethical hackers do.
If you don’t work for that site and you hack it, you are not ethical.
Of course, we know certain groups who hate anyone who talks about the realities of their groups have other problems with ethical behavior, since their groups tend to focus on removing the autonomy of individuals for the benefit of their leaders.
I agree. I think a lot of Christians want to believe that God will make life easy for them and that’s why they are Christians, even though that is not a theme in the Bible. And a lot of corrupt leaders manipulate those people, promising that if you follow them, they can make sure God does that for them. I suspect very few of those promises ever really come to fruiition, but it doesn’t stop people from hoping.
ishy,
The saddest thing is that I think my life has been so much less complicated since I left the church, but I never would have guessed that before I did.
Thanks Ishy for educating this ole guy on the hacking business (hope I didn’t offend any of you ethical hackers out there). So a Christian ethical hacker would be sort of a watchman on the wall – a valuable service indeed.
That’s exactly right!
ishy,
“Sent an article to the Facebook page”
+++++++++++++++
is that wartburg watch facebook? if so, where would i find the article?
i’m a total dork about these things.
elastigirl,
never mind – saw the link you posted above. thanks.
I posted the link above. I sent it in a message to dee earlier because I don’t use Twitter anymore.
You’re not alone.
I don’t do ‘smart phones’ (I have a land line and that’s it)
I don’t do ‘facebook’, and I don’t ‘tweet’.
I could never get on board with it, and I still don’t see what the draw is.
I resemble that remark! And I am a reluctant participant in the blogosphere … I’m only here to help TWW fight devils.
If the hacking was because of comments I made, I apologise to Wartburgers for the trouble they caused. I found TC’s article
a) lazy because everything he wrote came from De Witt Talmage
b) offensive to the point of intimidatory and threatening. Such language might be good for drawing a crowd but it is hardly Christian.
If TC’s supporters or any other aggrieved pseudo-Calvinists were behind the attack, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for such an unchristian act.
They should also take heed of RL Dabney’s insightful words – “ “The Scotch-Irish are the most inflexible people in the world when they are right, and the most vexatiously pig-headed and mulish when wrong, on the face of the earth.”
(RL Dabney, letter dated July 30, 1849)”
With fraternal best wishes from such a true Scotsman. 🙂
Well….pardon my sass….but if a calvinist hacked this site….it was all GODS WILL!!
Headless Unicorn Guy,
Dox-ing has become a hall-mark of trumpism . . . he points out the ones to be harassed and ‘worked on’ and his minions attack full throttle . . .
it filters ‘down’ into the local scenes of the school board meetings, and city council meetings, where victims are even pursued to their cars and threatened by trumpists ‘carrying’ legal weaponry to emphasize the threats to person and families and even to children . . .
nothing is sacred when it comes to ‘supporting’ trump: all is ‘approved’ from on high as trump is called ‘the anointed one of God’ . . .
so God gets blamed for this mess too by the claims of trump minions as ‘backing the persecution of them what do not worship the trump’
too much?
or have we already SEEN and HEARD enough????
God have mercy on the innocent who WILL BE made collateral ‘damage’ to keep the intimidation going in this strange new world of fascism where even children are canon fodder
Christ have mercy on the children. . . . so often placed in the center of culture war fighting before they have the where-with-all to cope with all that hatred
“Sinfulness proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, ch5: ‘Of Providence’
How many of them and what of their work do you know?
John Berry,
I spoke out of ignorance about what a “ethical hacker” is … Ishy corrected me upstream … don’t personally know any, but sure sounds like we need them!
I work at a university which offers, under careful control, bug bounties (up to $1,000) to university students who uncover security issues on a fairly large list of university webpages.
Erp,
Using the term “ethical hacker” is a great way to start a fight.
If you work in security you tend to want to probe EVERYTHING. Sort sort of. WordPress is a huge sprawling set of computer code. With a million or so combinations of settings possible BEFORE you add plugins and themes. The combinations of settings is on the order of stars in the universe. So probing only the sites “you own” (and security sites don’t actually host many sites) doesn’t prove much. And there are a few million WordPress sites. A flaw that’s not exposed at this time on a particular site can be exposed just because someone starts using a mailing plug in in combination with a search engine flag in combination with the TCP/IP stack of version x.5.z of the particular OS running in combination with ….
So ethical security firms tend to probe things all over the planet. And this upsets some people. And I can see both sides. Some folks don’t want ANYONE to knock on their door that they don’t know. (See nextdoor.com for all the “only cars I recognize should be on my public street” threads.) And those we say “my site was SAFE till you found out about this issue”. Not realizing that “this issue” likely exists in 10,000 sites. Or more. And that some bad guys very likely already know about the issue and you just haven’t been hit yet. On the other hand everyone who claims to be a legit security researcher knocking on every web site creates a level of chaos all its own.
Security in general is a mess. Even physical security from days of yore. Computers have just put it in front of everyone’s face.
This ties in with trying to explain to people why the smart phone they have or want to buy or how they use their computer is bad tends to be met with glazed eyes or “go away I know what I’m doing”.
Well, here is another example of trying to gloss over the problem of abuse in churches by acknowledging that there is some abuse but it’s not nearly as bad as the number of bad churches that abuse their pastor, or as bad as is made out by watchbloggers who are addicted to”scandal porn”. Nice one Todd!
You can find his article here – https://www.reformation21.org/blog/you-probably-have-a-good-pastor.
A much better point , expressed more succinctly, was made at the 1957 SBC Chicago Convention- “ The devil would rather start a church fuss than sell a barrel of liquor.”—Dr. W. Ross Edwards, pastor, Swope Park Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo.
And then there is the “I have to admit I was wrong about ….”
Dee and I personally know someone who refused to consider any facts that made a non lead pastor look bad. His continued refrain was “I know xyz and he could NOT have done any of these things and I will not believe he did.”
Dee and I thought we were friends with this person. That ended. By him.
NC Now,
I
GuyBehindtheCurtain,
We live in a “fallen” world…..
You never hear about this group church disciplining a leader that I am aware of. Thus more used for bullying regular members.
It is shocking how many supposed Christians including leaders that follow an end justifies the means thinking like this hacker showed. CJ Mahaney had that mentality when he blackmailed Larry Tomczak.
Steve240,
Exactly… this “says it all”…
Call me a Luddite, I don’t care, but I’ll never understand how people confuse layers and layers of glitz and graphics glamour with being ‘smart’.
And there aren’t (ones in meaning) on women pastors which shows that’s no criterion.
Muff Potter,
In every case I fell victim to, it’s because goal posts moved.
It only became clear after a while, that what I had joined was not what I thought it was going to be. Even when I already expected it to be bad (it was worse).
You’re welcome to your taste in phones, but there’s more to them than selfies and curated lifestyles. I’ve used my smart phone to summon an ambulance after someone totaled my car with me in it, check the active ingredients of children’s medications on display, find a lost person in a medical emergency, receive calls from an elder and their caregiver, locate a library where I could find a book from the 1800s, read a menu at a cafe that went paper free, translate headstone inscriptions into English, and do countless other things that would be hard even on a home PC. If that’s glitz and glam, my life is more glitzy and glamorous than I knew, so thanks. 🙂
Not to start a long discussion on this but most “dumb” or flip cell phones sold these days (and for 10 years) are running older versions of Android OS. And will NEVER get security updates. And can get infected with malware. And….
OK, now everyone with glazed eyes ….
Friend,
We all have our own likes and dislikes, Vive la difference!.
What a boring world if we all liked the same things.
Muff Potter,
🙂
Muff Potter,
Paperback novels rule!
Sorry about the last comment – I hit “Post Comment” before I’d actually written anything! Plagiarism run riot..
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I expect you share my love of StackOverflow, GBTC. In which at least one answer to every question is,
Why are you even trying to do that? You're stupid. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries.I documented software for a company whose developers only tested the keystrokes that made things happen as intended, such as Ctrl+S to save changes. I pressed things like Ctrl+D, the key next to S. The developers would tell me, “No, you pressed the wrong key,” while everything on the screen went haywire.
My nickname there (the one they used in front of me) was Bug-A-Minute.
I’m sure there’s an analogy to church behavior somewhere in this, or at least to hamsters and elderberries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SepZDSkY4Ro
….and was pre-destined. 🙂
(My apologies if someone’s already said this….I haven’t finished reading the comments yet….now back to reading the comments. 🙂 )
That. 🙂
(I understand why so many people have cell phones, and there’ve been MANY times when owning a cell phone would’ve made life WAY easier for me — and for the other person (or people) — but cell phones are WAY outside my budget. One of the advantages of being a computer nerd (amongst other things), is my background helps me advocate for people who are worse off than I (and not just financially).)
Thank you for taking the time to reply with this information, GuyBehindtheCurtain!!! 🙂 And my eyes aren’t glazed. 🙂
….I recently needed to consider buying a cell phone (omitting details for my safety and protection), but found out (after much research) that not only would buying a cell phone be unnecessary, but that a basic cell phone wouldn’t do text messages, etc. Basically, it’d not even be as good as my landline.
With the information you’ve taken the time to write, GuyBehindtheCurtain, I know that — for me — a basic or old flip-phone style cell phone should be avoided….
(The bold was done by me.)
THAT was a neat thing I hadn’t thought of…. 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
….although I use “stack overflow” and “system overload” to refer — in jest — to someone I’m talking to getting what TheGuyBehineTheCurtain calls glazed eyes.
My days of having to use — and deal with — actual Stack Overflow issues are long past. 🙂
I’ve encountered (and worked with — omitting details for my safety and protection) computer programmers and developers like you describe, Friend….what I refer to as “techies”, as opposed to techies.
I used to do some computer programming and customize some computer applications (omitting details for my safety and protection)….and when I was doing that, I considered as many possible wrong (accidental or otherwise) keystrokes the user would type. And sometimes the user would come up with something I hadn’t considered. Having someone like you around, Friend, would’ve been so helpful! 🙂 (The more pre-release testing that can be done, the less chance of “undocumented features” (aka bugs).
….and I’ve sometimes documented software (omitting details for my safety and protection)….see the above paragraph. 🙂
Any reading material is good because it engages the coordinate systems of the brain in ways that visual media does not.
Right now I’m thoroughly enjoying Stephen King’s new novel Holly.
Actually SO never grabbed me. I do us things there I find doing searches on problems.
Since the utter wipe out of technical mailing lists, I’ve mostly become a Reddit guy.
I have no patience with “I’m smart so quit asking stupid questions” or any of the variations. Most of these folks are people I would not want to have lunch with. Much less more interations than that one thing.
Way back in very ancient times a university started a course in interactive programming. To demo your work you had to set up an appointment with the instructor. He would show up, ask for the user instructions, then very early in the session, “oops and drop his hand on the keyboard”. “YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT” the student would say. “Oops” would be the reply. Followed by when do you want to re-schedule?
His point was the real world is full of oops. Get used to it.
The Mint Cellular and similar are fairly cheap monthly. Less than most land lines. And if you get a year or two old iPhone used you get multiple years of security updates for not much money.
My wife and I dropped our last land line nearly 20 years ago. 🙂
Now that I’ve said that, my #1 rule about buying tech is:
I’ll give you my strong opinion if asked. But at the end of the day, buy what makes you happy.
researcher,
Right now I’m doing investigation for a ‘dumb phone’, just talk and text.
No internet, no features, no e-mail, no nothin’.
I’ve finally realized that I’m not smart enough for a ‘smart phone’.
Here’s a site that demystifies the buzz-lingo.
https://thetinylife.com/dumb-phones-for-minimalists/
Nah, you’re smart. My cousin had a nice phrase about this: “I can refrain from learning this now, or I can refrain from learning something even more complicated later.”
So did I, long ago in the Southern Calif. aerospace industry.
We used the APT language (batch-submit) to provide motion for numerically controlled machine-tools.
Muff Potter,
i’ll make a note of it.
i’ve enjoyed Wilbur Smith books. “When The Lion Feeds” (the first book of the Courtney Family Saga, historical fiction 19th century South Africa) is all-engrossing.
The 5th book “The Burning Shore” (WW I era) is extraordinary.
In my quick scan, that site totally skips over the security issues that may be in play. Well are ALWAYS in play. Since they don’t list the OS running on the phones (and YES they all have an operating system running inside of them) they are almost 99.999% likely to be running an older version of Android. With security holes and no plan for them ever being patched.
I understand your desire for a simple phone. But the reality today of how the cell phone networks work is way more complicated than in the days of “candy bar” and original flip phones. No phone manufacturer does it “from scratch” anymore. Which is why we’re down to basically 2 choices. Apple and Google. The software needed for a phone to work on cell networks is just way too complicated for anyone to do it alone anymore. So no matter what you THINK is going on there is an operating system full of applications running inside of your phone.
So buying a “simple” phone has two paths. One path is to buy one with all the features hidden up front. Which means you get to think you have a simple phone. What you really have in almost every case is an Android phone with 90%+ of the features hidden or disabled (sort of). And even when the phone is new it will be using an out of date android OS and to keep costs down never have a plan for updates.
The other way to do it is to buy a current “feature” phone which is truly supported by a major vendor and work with someone to turn off what you don’t want to see or deal with. At least that way you have a phone with security updates.
I’m not trying to pick on Android but there is a free open source version of it (the OS) available for a manufacturer to use but the downsides are steep and vast. And Apple does software only for use on their own hardware.
In recent years Bill Gates was interviewed and asked what happened to Microsoft phones. He said it wasn’t obvious early on but it turned out that there was basically only room for 2 phone operating systems in the world and Microsoft was #3.
TANSTAAFL
elastigirl,
Thanx for the book recommendations, I’ll have a look see.
GuyBehindtheCurtain,
Thank you for your kind reply.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, I’m as recalcitrant as can be.
I’ve gotten along all these years without a cell phone, so I’m wondering if I truly ‘need’ one now in these last years of my life.
I’m still weighing however, and Mrs. Muff sez I do need to have one.
So if I do take the plunge, it’s probably gonna’ be a low-end flip phone so I don’t hafta’ lug a damn fish-aquarium around.
I won’t be doing my banking on it, so I should be good to go.
Bring me up to speed in the acronym soup, what is TANSTAAFL?
TANSTAAFL
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
Everything in life has a cost. It may be hidden from you but is there and is real.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch
And yet Big Bizz still thinks that they can get more and more output with less and less input.
They haven’t figured out yet that perpetual motion schemes don’t work.
Muff Potter,
1 – Small professional services in my town got almost completely eliminated in the last four years.
2 – Is there a difference between “truly” and “untruly” supported and let’s remember low calibre religion invented these ambiguities first (what they bound on earth).
Thank you for the information, GuyBehindtheCurtain, and for taking the time to reply. I did a quick check, and Mint Cellular is not yet available in Canada. Perhaps if (when?) Mint Cellular comes to Canada, I’ll change my mind about owning a cell phone. 🙂
Thank you for the link, Muff Potter. 🙂 And for what it’s worth, after I skimmed the information in the link you provided, the basic cell phone I’d looked at doesn’t even qualify as a “dumb” phone — it doesn’t even have text messaging….and that was part of the reason I didn’t want it. 🙂
Cool. 🙂
And for anyone who might be interested, I looked up APT in Wikipedia — APT stands for Automatically Programmed Tool. And, Muff Potter….I took a quick look at the short example program they had in Wikipedia. APT sure looks fun! 🙂
GuyBehindtheCurtain,
Thank you for all the information in your comment, GuyBehindtheCurtain….something for me to keep in mind. 🙂
I’ve often said that these guys revel in heartlessness and cruelty, and here it is, posted by ishy.
Neo-Calvinism will strip you of your humanity if you let yourself be taken in by it.
Muff Potter,
Their god (neo-cals) isn’t much different than Chemosh and Molech.
Neither is the god of The Culture Wars.
“O GREAT CHEMOSH! O GREAT BAAL!
RAIN DEATH AND DESTRUCTION DOWN UPON ALL THESE MINE ENEMIES!”
— Some 1950s Bible-epic Movie (I think the title was “The Story of Ruth”)
Their God is Heartless and Cruel, and they are just conforming themselves to His image.