#// .& psa

[jonquilyst]

(Sourced from the Sims After Dark discord server)

DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY MODS FROM MODTHESIMS! Numerous mods there (including those by TwistedMexi) are being compromised by hackers adding a malicious file with the mods

Please reblog!!

[lostsoulau-ask]

*evil laughters intensifies*

*doom music starts to play* I actually kindof like scheduling these kinds of appointments now...

but seriously Fellas, don't forget to schedule a pap smear every couple of years just in case. If you still have a cervix you can still get cervical cancer. ilu

this has been a psa

[ultraviolet-ink]

An Important Warning:

On November 1, 2024, I received the below comment on one of my fics. I had replied to it, believing it to be in good faith. This person, Leaona Colin, as seen by the Ao3 comment chain and discord profile below, directly messaged me under the guise of discussing my fic, and the conversation was normal for the most part

The conversation started to change into an attempt to strong arm me into commissioning them directly (something that unfortunately does happen through a desperate measure) for an animation project. I had believed, in my naivety, that this was just two artists workshopping ideas until they had mentioned this being a "paid collaboration". Please note that I at NO POINT made any indication of wanting to make a commission or anything of the like. For the full context, I will link our discord conversation in its entirety

At this point, the conversation started to change to the commission, and in my own personal awkwardness/fear of being perceived as rude, I played along because I honestly did not know what to do next. The way that this person has approached me feels like a MUCH bigger red flag than the insane price they came up with. It would be one thing to come into my direct messages and say "hey, I'm an animator and I'm wondering if you'd be interested in commissioning me to draw [scene] as a paid commission", however what I went through was a bait and switch. I had gone into this thinking I would be entering a casual conversation about my fic, about the story, and about my writing process, but that pretense was very quickly dropped after the above polite small talk

Mind you, THIS is the animation that they seem to be requesting between 1800-2200 USD for:

I had debated whether or not I should include the video, but I feel that it is important to bring up due to the insane price and the information that @baratrongirl helped provide me with due to her husband's own experience in this industry (thank you SO much Richard!!)

I have reported the comment to Ao3 and I have reported the profile to Discord itself. This is a warning to fic authors and other fan creators to please, please, PLEASE, be on the lookout and to stay safe. I have also learned of a recent scam in Ao3/FFN comment sections where a wave of commission scammers use stolen or ai art to promote themselves and either make of with the money or send some sort of ai art. There hasn't been any mention of anything for animation, but it is very much possible that the scam is evolving, more info about this can be linked below r/FanFiction: PMs on Fanfiction.net offering me commissioned art r/AO3: Great, the art scammers are now being registered users r/AO3: These comments are starting to be an annoying trend

[originalleftist]

Final Pre-Election Day Reminders:

(Please Share)

If you encounter voter suppression, intimidation, or other issues, you can contact these numbers:

You can also contact the Department of Justice and FBI, and of course report threats, violence, or intimidation to 911:

If you need a ride to the polls, this may help:

If you are not registered to vote, many states allow same-day registration:

If you are turned away at the polls, say:

I REQUEST A PROVISIONAL BALLOT AS REQUIRED BY LAW.

Be sure to insist on a receipt.

Vote as early as possible if you have't yet. Bring a friend with you- or more than one!

Check to confirm if possible that your ballot was counted- this goes for early/mail voters too. If there was a problem for example with your signature, it may be possible to "cure" your ballot and have it counted if you act quickly. Check your state election sites.

IF YOU ARE IN LINE, DO NOT LEAVE, even if the polls have closed.

IF YOU ARE IN LINE WHEN POLLS CLOSE, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE.

Stay safe.

Stay focussed.

We've got this.

[alistu]

Avoid MTS for now!

I hate to say it, but stay away from ModTheSims for the time being.

It appears that several accounts have been compromised somehow and have had suspicious files added to the available downloads.

My account appears safe for the time being but err on the side of caution and avoid the site until further info is available.

[claraameliapond]

There is no perfect, just better or worse.

You have to vote to keep the better in and to keep your basic human rights .

You have to vote to maintain the basic access to things you have right now, and to restore what was taken from you.

Your vote makes every difference

To all Americans out there:

[cellarspider]

I've been fairly quiet recently as I work on a number of things off Tumblr--including volunteering to help people vote in the US elections on Tuesday the 5th. It's been a lot of good, satisfying work, so I figured I'd spread the love here as well!

Lots of people have already voted, but for those who have early ballots filled out but not returned, or plan to vote in person--make sure you have a plan! Especially if you have a buddy who also needs help getting to the polls. The site below can help get you there. Enter in your state, street address, and zip code, and it'll tell you where and when you can vote:

There's state and local elections that will also be on the ballot, and policy decisions that are being put up for a vote. These are important--lots of people skip these because they don't know what they're about. A small number of people can really make a difference on these: In my area, a municipality was able to kick out abusive corporate landlords thanks to a margin of a handful of votes.

Take a quick look here to find out what's on your local ballot:

That's all from me. Love y'all, and give 'em hell out there.

[cinamun]

Also!! Hang in there y'all! Take a deep breath, stay tf off twitter, HYDRATE (have you had enough water today?), put some moisturizer on. Go for a walk, pet your cat, drink some tea, draw something! We gon' be aiight!

[shadow-wasser]

*Someone* is going to be voted in.

Not voting just means you don't care who.

So there's something I want to say re: intentionally withholding your vote, and I want to do it without coming across as condescending or dismissive.

I've worked as a field organizer in two campaigns, 2010 and 2012, and my job was to help turnout the vote for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket. Technology may have changed, but people are still knocking on doors for specific voters the way they were 12 years ago.

If you say you're not voting/voting 3rd party, the campaign volunteer is supposed to mark that and move on. Their job, in the final month of the election, is to make sure the campaign's supporters have all the information and resources they need to cast a vote.

They aren't collecting data on why you're withholding your vote. They aren't submitting opinion polling results to the campaign. Something like 155 million people voted in the 2020 election, and if you say you're not voting, the campaign is not going to waste a volunteer's time and morale begging you to vote when there are literally millions of other voters to turn out.

Let me repeat that: The campaign does not track why you're not voting. They simply note your vote is not a priority for turnout and move on.

I say this because I see a lot of promotion of non-voting like that's a boycott, when the function is not the same. A boycott is a coordinated mass refusal to engage with an institution—which sounds similar if you see a vote as a good or service to withhold. Unfortunately, it's not.

A vote is a choice you're making as part of a community hiring committee. Your abstention doesn't prevent someone from being hired. It just lowers the threshold for the worst candidate to succeed.

All this to say: In my direct experience as an organizer, abstaining from the vote sends a message. That message is not "You need to try harder to win my vote." It's "Don't waste time on me."

[sgiandubh]

Today, tomorrow, always

Hear me, America. This is what I have to tell you, wherever you are:

I, for one, do not want to wake up tomorrow and see you turned into Gilead. That is just about how much I love you. Please unfollow if you disagree or if you think this is too much for you. I won't be angry, I won't comment. Some things cannot be fixed and this is one of them - only this is too important and I hope you get it before it really is too late.

This page will go back on track tomorrow afternoon. Thank you for your understanding.

[meluiloth]

Since the whole thing with NaNoWriMo has gone down, I've noticed that one of their former sponsors, Ellipsus, has cut contact with NaNoWriMo because they do not support their stance on AI; I didn't know what Ellipsus was, but upon further research I've found that they are a writing platform that works a lot like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, only with a heavier leaning on the story-writing aspect and connecting with other writers - and they also completely denounce any use of AI, both in the writing process itself and in the use of their platform. I really appreciate that.

Since this is the case (and since I've noticed Google has begun implementing more AI into their software), I've decided to give Ellipsus a try to see if it's a good alternative to Google Docs (my main writing platform). It's completely free and so far, I've found it simple to use (although it is pretty minimal in its features), and I really like the look of it.

I figured I'd spread the word about this platform in case any of you writers would want to give it a try, and if you do, let me know how you like it!

[heywriters]

btw the majority of your life will be lived as a adult. yeah i don't make the rules. go have fun in your 40s or 70s or whatever. no one expects you to accomplish everything at 17 or 27. you've got time and in the meantime get some life experience, it will pay off

[everlastingrandom]

U.S. people, if you bought cinnamon from Dollar Tree, Dollar General, or other discount stores, throw it out. It's got lead

[hershelchocolateart]

Just to make a point, every time I finished a panel of this I would export it as a PNG on the perceptual setting and use it as a color reference for the next panel

IT'S BAD

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COLOR SETTINGS

EDIT: If you're still having problems, it might help to switch from "Save/Save as" to "Export (as a) Single Layer". Just. Make SURE the box labeled "Expression Color" is set to RGB. I've been messing with this all day, and it looks like this combination of settings will allow exported PNGs to maintain their colors perfectly. To you. So far both Discord and Toyhouse still only display desaturated images and I cannot for the life of me figure out why

[awlwren]

[id: poster-like graphic from the ACLU titled "Know your rights on Election Day", and including a bulleted list:

If the polls close while you're still in line, stay in line - you have the right to vote.

If you make a mistake on your ballot, ask for a new one.

If the machines are down at your polling place, ask for a paper ballot.

If you run into any problems or have questions on Election Day, call the Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE]/end id.

[creature-wizard]

Since the r-slur is making a comeback (you know, the word that starts with R, has six letters, and ends in D), I'm gonna make a little PSA:

Yes, it's an ableist slur.

Terms like "asshat," "head-up-ass," "up their own ass," and "high on their own farts" exist. There's also words like crap, dogshit, half-assed, assclown, and chucklefuck. And on the less vulgar side, there are terms like ridiculous, nonsense, train wreck, pointless, insipid, self-absorbed, pretentious, annoying, boring, contemptible, vile, and disgusting.

Substituting words like restarted, poptarted, brain damaged, smoothbrain, etc. is still ableist, because either 1. you obviously still mean the r-word, or 2. you're still using disability as an insult.