Goldkin @Goldkin@awoo.space

Well, I guess I’m reading this thing tonight. Wish me luck?

@Lingondraken PS: I’m aware of how Telegram normally connects contacts to each other (ie, by phone number in your contacts or theirs). That interaction shouldn’t be happening here, unless they’re pulling data from a different source than phone contacts for the primary account number. Or I missed something in how they handle this integration.

@Lingondraken I went back to confirm their identity later, since I had added them to my block list immediately, and I found the names were no longer ones I recognized.

Which leads me to hypothesize either this is some data integration by Telegram gone awry, or some folks spoofing the contacts interface in some way? Not sure. (2/2)

@Lingondraken I didn’t save the exact text, but I roughly asked the following:

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had two “X has just joined Telegram” messages seemingly from folks that would have my main phone number, but not my Telegram number or contact. I’ve denied the app contacts access on my end since it was first installed and never shared my Telegram number with anyone, which makes this interaction weird — it shouldn’t be in their contacts either. (1/2)

Also relevant: https://zenpencils.com/comic/king/

On principal, this should not be a decision I need to make because a popular mobile messaging app is becoming more grabby with data. But that being the reality of it, and with the reality being that many friends use it, I might be able to tolerate this.

I’ll have to think about this more, though.

I am not out to family or out at work. My leading presumption is that (a) the Mormon branch of my family will become extremely aggressive, (b) it’s career-limiting to have a furry identity known by coworkers in my field, and (c) it makes it very difficult for me to share personal thoughts not endorsed by my employer.

Re-evaluating these, I think I might... finally be in a position in which I can weather them okay, when and if they happen?

No response from Telegram support to my question about contact permissions. Hm.

I guess I now get to decide whether I want to let it back on my phone, when I’m reasonably certain it’s scraping new data or someone is actively misusing the contact identification features of the app. I guess I need to assess whether I’m prepared for it to out my private profile to more family and coworkers before proceeding.

Not an easy decision to make, but I might just say fuck it.

@Grisser Of the set, Satisfactory might come closest, since its primary motivator is crafting sim, but it has a huge world to explore with limited numbers of baddies to zap or avoid.

@Grisser Some pretty good ones I’ve worked through (other than Stardew Valley, which is a really common recommend):

* Rune Factory Series (farming sim, cooking elements in later titles)
* My Time at Portia (deep crafting sim/time management game hybrid)
* Satisfactory (early access, exceedingly deep automation crafting sim)

If you like crafting sims with puzzle elements, pretty much everything by Zachtronics is a recommend.

I have a new 3D pen, so I made a friend today.

And support request sent.

I wonder if this is something Telegram itself was running or if someone has been using scraped data and fake contact list additions at Telegram's API. Guess I'll see what they reply back with.

So this is weird. Triaging the accounts I blocked yesterday after "X has just joined Telegram", the block rules show completely different users than the ones I added.

Telegram was definitely calling these contacts I recognized yesterday, and now they are... other people? Hmm.

I wonder if this is some kind of phishing thing being run on their platform. Dropping Telegram support a line.

@Xarph Great explanation. Thanks!

@Xarph Dumb question from a frotz and Inform 7 user, possibly to other folks reading here: how much would this differ from what exists in FOSS ZIL compilers (for community games, as opposed to Infocom games)?

@lugh Oof. That’s pretty rough. Thank you for sharing.

Dunno what’s going on either, and I’m fumbling for innocuous explanations (old data? Ad network data? FB/GV integration somehow?). I’d assume there is one, but I _really_ want to know what source they’re pulling from.

@lugh np

It feels like they’re pulling data from somewhere new, but I haven’t narrowed down where yet. The two new contacts that are suspicious popped up a week or so ago and today.

Keeping my antenna up to see if I can figure out more.

2009 me: I really wish I could find more friends online.
2019 me: I really wish online could stop trying to find more friends for me, to sell, for cash.