> it just feels like betrayal

It was a VC backed tool. What did you expect?

Nothing. I was very much aware of their prospects. Well, best-case scenario I could imagine them being acquired by Google or Microsoft, that would have looked like a prettier death, to be honest. Anyway, knowing that people eventually die doesn't mean you are immune to being sad when somebody dear actually dies. Especially when they die so young and full of potential.

I (along with many others) always thought that Astral being VC backed is going to lead to a future disappointment for the community.

I don't understand how anyone is surprised at this point. VC project trying to build a brand just isn't going to lead to some utopic community.

I at least thought we'd get a few more good years before the rug pull.

Taxpayers bail them out.

Humans can still use LLM for posting.

It is not about the humans who use AI for posting!

I believe it is more about the bot accounts that gets overwhelmingly annoying... and pollutes this and other places like reddit or other such discussion forums...

Some kind of a verification and vetting needs to happen for account creation.

I agree. But I am also sick and tired of humans prompting some LLM about the points that they want to say and having the LLM generate the response. Online communities will never be the same again.

Also Australia and NZ.

"Insecure apps, reimagined by you"

People around me (including engineers) all casually use things like Alexa, Google Home, Ring, Nest, Chrome, are always signed into Google, have all sorts of apps installed on their phones, and have no problems giving up their phone numbers to services for verification. It's crazy.

Gotta love the slippery slope argument

It's almost like not all "technical" people are the same, and in fact have different wants, needs, interests, tolerances and perspectives.

Terrifying.

They are busy pushing Chat Control.

Just wait till they start vibe coding more features!

Did you even read the article and tried going through the process? Suggesting the user to download the app is front and center and the link to apply online is tucked away in a link at the bottom. Not great, but fine, I'll live with that. But that's not the end is it? The user clicks continue online application, then why does it still give you another screen nudging you towards using the app? Making users feel like they are doing something wrong by not using the app.