Redex68

Yes but my entire point is that it just isn't comparable because of the insane scales we're talking about. For example, WhatsApp has 2 billion monthly active users. Let's say Signal had the same number and let's say it costs them 0.5$ per user per year (probably an underestimate). That's 1 billion dollars in yearly expenses. Wikipedia, which is one of the most successful donation based companies to my knowledge, has a yearly income of only 180 million $. I just don't see there being enough donation capacity in the general population to sustain that high of a figure.

GrapheneOS might be fine even with 2 bilion users with the same amount of funding as they have now, because their costs aren't tied to their userbase. But scaling Signal to the size we're talking about is an entirely different beast.

No, they don't have recurring costs that scale with their size. The whole original point of my argument was that Signal is fine now because its userbase is above averagely passionate about it and willing to donate, but if it were to become mainstream that would mean the percent of its users donating would go down whilst its cost would go up, in other words its costs would outscale its revenue. This doesn't apply to GaprheneOS as their costs don't scale with the number of users.

I mean comparing it to GrapheneOS doesn't make much sense, they don't have recurring costs.

My exact thoughts

I mean, there are some who will be willing to do that, but the vast majority of average people won't pay for something if a free version exists (like WhatsApp)

Edit: Ok I just Googled it and apparently their operational costs are less than 1$ per user per year which is far less than I expected. That's way more sustainable in that case, possibly even through just donations.

I see a lot of people saying it's time to switch to Signal, and I mean I agree in principle, it's my main messaging app, but I don't see how it can scale. It runs off of donations and the only reason it's still functioning is because the users that are there are above averagely passionate about it and willing to donate. If it became the defacto messaging app I fear that there is no way they would be capable of financing that level of traffic.

Because SMS is trash, most of Europe doesn't use iPhones and WhatsApp was one of the first messaging apps, so yeah.

That depends on the size of the economy and whether he uses his power responsibly. If he just sells as much gold as he needs then that won't cause much devaluation of it.

I mean I'm no expert either but you can see this characteristic burning on most ICBM videos, it's just the reentry vehicle reaching insane temperatures.

E.g.: https://youtu.be/3ZM3y5qpMgY

I mean, for spear fishing or doing literally anything under water it's very helpful. I have a friend who regularly spear fishes and it's very important that he can spend a long time at the ocean floor without moving so he can catch fish off guard.

Here's the translated Croatian article:

An incredible Guinness World Record was set in Opatija – Vitomir Maričić held his breath for an astonishing 29 minutes and 3 seconds, leaving both the audience and experts amazed. This is one of the most demanding records, lying at the intersection of sports, medicine, and science.

The record dive was performed after several minutes of preparation and breathing pure oxygen. The entire attempt was monitored by five judges and an official team to ensure the result was valid according to Guinness rules.

"Today it was really hard for me to dive; yesterday it was easier, but after the 20th minute, everything became easier – at least mentally," said Maričić.

The feat is part of the Fit for the Ocean campaign, which raises funds for the organization Sea Shepherd, known for its fight against illegal fishing. Maričić used the opportunity to highlight the importance of ocean conservation and the need for informed action from all of us.

I think the difference in speed in the video is just perspective + distance, plust Iran has many different types of balistic missiles. I mean, technically speaking many balistic missiles do go at hypersonic speeds, but that's not what people mean when they say hypersonic missile, they refer to missiles that fly very low at hypersonic speed and can maneuver before hitting their target. You can clearly see the balistic trajectory of these missiles.