Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The episode centers on two major controversies: Cloudflare’s decision to drop 8chan after it was linked to mass-shooting manifestos, and UserBenchmark’s change to CPU scoring that dramatically reduced the weight of multicore performance, sparking backlash from AMD fans. The show also covers Apple’s battery-authentication lockout, along with lighter updates on merch, sponsor spots, and a public subscriber race with MKBHD.
Main Topics: Cloudflare drops 8chan after El Paso link (Priority: 5/5): Hosts discuss Cloudflare terminating service to 8chan after the site was tied to extremist content and the El Paso shooting, then explain how 8chan tried to move to another provider before that provider also pulled service. Free speech, platform responsibility, and private-company rights (Priority: 5/5): A long debate follows on the difference between constitutional free speech and the right of private companies to refuse service, with emphasis on moderation limits, de-radicalization, and not amplifying attackers. UserBenchmark changes CPU scoring weights (Priority: 5/5): The show explains UserBenchmark’s revised weighting system, which heavily reduced multicore influence and caused uproar because Ryzen and Threadripper parts now rank differently than before. Apple locks battery servicing to authorized channels (Priority: 4/5): The hosts break down Apple’s new battery authentication behavior on recent iPhones, which shows a persistent service warning unless the battery is paired/authorized, raising right-to-repair concerns. MKBHD subscriber race and social-blade culture (Priority: 4/5): Linus publicly challenges Marques Brownlee in a race to 10 million subscribers, using Social Blade stats and urging viewers to subscribe to LTT if they can genuinely help growth. Merchandising updates and product development (Priority: 3/5): The episode includes updates on LTT/TechLinked merch, including mousepads, sandals, joggers/sweats, hoodies, and the reasoning behind prioritizing products the team actually wants to wear.
Key Arguments: Cloudflare and other infrastructure companies are private businesses and may choose not to serve sites they believe directly enable violence. Removing a hateful forum may not eliminate the ideology, but it can disrupt clustering, reduce amplification, and possibly de-radicalize some users. UserBenchmark’s revised scoring is defensible if its goal is gaming-oriented benchmarking, but the site should better communicate use-case-specific scoring or let users choose modes. Multicore-heavy CPUs are not automatically the best choice for average consumers, especially when many common desktop/gaming workloads still favor single-core or modest-core-count performance. Apple’s battery authentication improves service diagnostics and may reduce safety/legal risk, but it also strengthens device lock-in and undermines repairability. Publicly spotlighting mass attackers can grant them notoriety, so media and platforms should avoid turning them into celebrities. YouTube subscriber counts are strategically important, but subscribing without watching can hurt channel performance; growth should come from actual interested viewers.
Data Points: WAN Show start delay: 21 minutes late - Opening banter notes the show began 21 minutes late because Linus was absent. 8chan manifesto timing: 25 minutes - The El Paso suspect allegedly posted a manifesto to 8chan 25 minutes before the attack. Manifesto length: 2,300 words - The El Paso shooter’s manifesto is described as approximately 2,300 words long. UserBenchmark old weighting: 40% single-core / 50% quad-core / 10% multicore - Hosts summarize the prior CPU scoring formula used by UserBenchmark. UserBenchmark new weighting: 40% single-core / 58% quad-core / 2% multicore - The show highlights the revised formula that sharply reduces multicore influence. UserBenchmark traffic: Nearly 10 million visitors per month - Used to explain why the scoring change matters for purchasing decisions. Benchmark database size: Hundreds of thousands of benchmark submissions - UserBenchmark’s score calculations are based on a large submission dataset. Linus Tech Tips subscriber gap: About 80,000 subscribers behind MKBHD - Linus discusses the current subscriber race with Marques Brownlee. LTT daily subscriber gain: About 5,500 per day - Used to argue that LTT could catch or pass MKBHD if growth continues. MKBHD daily subscriber gain: About 4,800 per day - Social Blade-style comparison used during the rivalry discussion. Apple battery affected models: iPhone XS, XS Max, XR - The lockout behavior is reported on the newest iPhone models mentioned. Samsung/Apple style price comparison: $120 quad-core i3-8100 vs $2,000 18-core i9-9980XE - Used as a dramatic example of how UserBenchmark’s rankings can look odd after weighting changes.
Pivotal Quotes: "we reluctantly tolerate content that we find reprehensible" — Cloudflare statement (quoted by hosts): Used to summarize Cloudflare’s rationale for hosting and then dropping controversial clients until a violence line was crossed. "they directly inspire tragic events and are lawless by design" — Cloudflare statement (quoted by hosts): The key justification Cloudflare gives for removing 8chan from its network. "free speech is protection from government persecution, not the right to just say anything you want to anyone you want with no ill effects" — Luke/host: Explaining why private companies are not bound in the same way as governments under free-speech arguments.
Implications: Platforms and infrastructure providers are being pushed to define clearer moderation boundaries, while hardware companies face growing repairability backlash. For consumers, benchmark tools and platform policies increasingly shape what products and communities gain legitimacy.
About The Wan Show
Every week Linus and Luke discuss the most current happenings in the technology universe.