Argh... got interrupted and messed up one sentence:

So either you care for privacy, then you do not let your email agent show you any pictures that have to be downloaded or you do not care accept the images.

The only option for privacy is not to display ANY image. I have looked at the HTML code of marketing emails and every single one of all the images are being tracked (have unique URLs). If someone does not want to track you, he uses embedded pictures. Totally easy to do. Nearly no marketing agency does it. Why? Because they want to track you in as many ways as possible.

So either you care for privacy, then you do not let your email agent show you any pictures that have to be downloaded or you do and then you forbid it completely.

There is no middle ground....

If Apple would grant gaming streaming the same way it grants video streaming, there would be no problem.

And it is all about money, nothing else.

No chance for FB in front of any EU court, less than the one of a snowflake in hell.

The change of Apple is 100% covered by the EU GDPR directive.

While I see a lot to complain about with Apple, but Epic is the wrong complainant. I understand why Epic is not interested in paying Apple their share, but in the case of Epic IMHO Apple has the right to do so.

Also in the case of Facebook is IMHO correct in enforcing certain rules.

There are much better cases against Apple (e.g. their handling of Gaming Streaming apps). In that case Apple is really stiffing competition.

It was the United States who was the front-runner in this development and who used their own dominant position in the global technology market to spy on everyone else with a complete disregard for moral or international relationships.

If it is OK for the NSA to spy on everyone, why don't you expect others to do the same? The amount of hypocrisy involved is astonishing.

I don't think this to be OK, neither for the U.S. nor for the Chinese. While the excesses of the NSA still disappointed me, I cannot even muster a small amount of surprise for the Chinese actions.

Believe me, with my home movie theater I spent more money on movies than I ever did in the cinema. I have the 4K editions with the best sound, often the extended version.

IMHO nothing can and will save the cinema. Of course there will always be some cinemas but they will become a niche player (extra luxurious or extra cheap).

The average cinema cannot compete with my home cinema:
- There are no people I don't know around me
- Better screen
- Better sound
- Better catering
- Flexible times
- No advertisements
- Clean restrooms ;-)

Of course my setup (with 75'' screen and Dolby Atmos Sound) is not the standard, but since I created my setup, costs have fallen by a factor around 4. In a few years, most people have someone in their circles that will offer a similar performance.

I don't like going into a movie theater and would rather pay extra to see the movie at home. So I guess the market will decide.

It is not that low, I have friends with 4 digit ones...

IMHO you can distinguish it quite well. Most creators communicate a lot and are (even when failing) very transparent. Usually they do not lie and you can see them trying.

But concerning the lack of incentive for Kickstarter and Indiegogo to curb the fraud you're right. That explains but does not excuse their lackluster performance in that regard. So I quite crowdfunding instead...

P.S. I still do Patreon, but that is a rather different approach.

I'm not ashamed.

Today that backpack may look like "nothing special". But if you see it through the 2015-eyes, the view might differ.

I am one of his backers (on Indiegogo) and very much in favor of the FTC suing the hell out of him. I do not resent failing, but he was actively and continuously lying to his backers. Further I have the strong suspicion he gave or sold the data on his backers to third parties (who also tried to scam those).

There were warning signs that I overlooked. But once I got suspicious I really tried hard to get Indiegogo involved to prevent him from receiving any more money from others. There complete lack of interest of Indiegogo is one of the reasons I withdrew from crowdfunding.

Remark: I backed about 100 projects on Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Only less than a quarter of them failed to deliver, but in most cases the project creator tried really, really hard to deliver. In such cases I regard the loss of my money to be part of the game and I do not resent it.

In three cases I would rate the failed project to be a case of fraud. This was one of them.

I wonder why always get this as an undifferentiated suggestion: content is not always of the same type.

Example:

1. 1. I post something offensive. I have also people following me and are seeing my (truly offensive) post. IMHO this should not a liability for Facebook or a similar company. This my responsibility and my followers decided to read my sh*t.
2. 2. I post something offensive. Facebook promotes this post because it draws a lot of interaction (like, comments). People who are not following me se that post. IMHO Facebook should be liable for that post as if they had written it themselves. If they promote it (for their own advantage), so they have to assume responsibility.

Make it that way, and Social Media will be a better place in 15 minutes.

Remark: That are not teens doing that kind of bullshit but grown men (rarely women).

It did not go from 0 to 100 overnight. It is something that has happened over multiple decades.

One reason is that fireworks have become (compared to the average income) much, much cheaper. Even when you are not wealthy, you can easily afford a big stash. One thing that may help here would be a higher taxing.

Another reason is that infractions were not sanctioned. As those were social but not legal rules, the enforcement was lacking and this led towards escalation. The remedy here are IMHO zones where fireworks are prohibited (this being enforced) and people may celebrate safely.

I loved fireworks as a child. But the use of fireworks has (over the last decades) increased to an unsustainable level. In my old neighborhood new years eve felt like a Stalingrad 2.0 with a dense black powder fog and every passing car being shelled with dozens of rockets firecrackers.

As a sense of moderation seems out of supply, legal restrictions will and must come.