Sven Slootweg @joepie91@pixie.town

@hweimer I have been involved in some of these projects and no, they are certainly not sustainable, especially with a worsening political and social environment.

@molenaar @mina Yep; I have frequently linked students to this article to set the right expectations :)

@Violet Oof, this definitely sounds like some serious air quality problems :/

In the past I've dealt with this kind of airflow issue by putting a fan directly adjacent to the (open) window to maximize the air circulation, in such a way that there's also space for an outgoing air stream through the same window. Though it sounds like your room may be worse in terms of airflow than any room I've ever dealt with...

@Violet Hmm, do you also sleep better if there's a bit of wind outside? If so, it may be worth trying to fit a cheap large-blade fan (or even an air purifier/filter) into the room, to cause some active air circulation at all times.

@Violet Hm, I wonder if that may be part of the problem? Perhaps other places you've slept had more 'breathing space'? Might even be something as simple as too much stale air (eg. too high CO2 levels), which is more likely in smaller rooms.

@Violet This is going to sound weird, but have you tried moving or reorienting your bed within the room?

@mina Probably not quite the same problem you have with them, but from my perspective as a tutor, I hate 'bootcamps' with a passion.

They invariably promise impossible learning outcomes ("become an expert on _____ in two weeks!") and completely fail to teach foundational concepts, instead they tend to focus on rules-of-thumb and highly-specific patterns that aren't even appropriate in most cases, but it sure *looks* very advanced!

Every single time I've tutored someone who had tried a 'bootcamp' before, I spent the first few weeks to months 'un-teaching' all the nonsense they picked up during it... before we could start on the actual foundations of the skill.

@hweimer I think the missing component in your perspective is the large personal and social costs involved in making all those things happen.

The people who have burned out or who we have otherwise lost, as a consequence of various factors relating to power and agency over technology; abusers, bad governance, the fundamental power differential vs. tech corps, and so on.

Most of these initiatives exist *in spite of* immense social forces acting against them, and people frequently pay for them with their personal and/or community health, which is not a sustainable approach in the long term.

I think that is where the techno-pessimism is coming from; the knowledge that we are going to lose these things in the not-so-far future if something doesn't change about the larger power differentials involved.