Tbf if you’re used to the ol’ emoticons its muscle memory in a way that emojis can’t be because your frequently used ones are always moving (at least on my phone).

I sometimes have a weird issue with my laptop WiFi where it intermittently drops speed to 0 without disconnecting… Network troubleshooter always fixes it despite the fact I never can lol.

Many copyright holders believe that if they’re able to communicate with pirates, a proportion will change their behavior.

Yes, they will probably be more careful next time

Hmmm … well, if I was going to hire, say, a chemist to work in a research lab, I need some way to identify if my candidates have the required skills/knowledge/etc. Now one way to quickly ascertain that is to see if they have a chemistry degree (or master’s, PhD, whatever is necessary for the particular role). Possibly practical experience could be enough, also - I know people who have worked up through corporate labs without degrees.

However if someone comes and says “trust me, I’ve read a lot of papers and watched YouTube videos”… sure, they might know what they need, but how am I going to check? The point of a degree isn’t necessarily just to legitimise that knowledge, it’s also a stamp that says a trusted entity has confirmed you have those skills and knowledge. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but there is a purpose to the whole institution.

N.B. maximize air content while minimising air movement and therefore convection. Otherwise you could just have cavities in your walls for maximum air.

Except an actual compas, of course. They really don’t need a third axis in most cases.

I agree that there’s a lot of anti Romani/Traveller sentiment in Europe but I’m not sure that alone swings the political compass so wildly.

“Serious” literature and fantasy fans often don’t like him.