#{PSA}

[suometar]

Note that if you use a business account (are registered self-employed designer for example) , you're not able to opt out from this.

PSA: Paypal on some more shady shit

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tag an artist save a life etc

[alexandraisyes]

I am being harassed by a member of the TSAMS community.

Hello chat! Unfortunately there is no rest for the wicked.

A previous member of my server was banned for discussing NSFW topics in a channel with minors. They already had one previous offense of linking a NSFW fanfiction in a channel with minors. Anyone in my server knows that just that offense is bannable. We gave them a second chance (a mistake) because they had just joined the server, but they spent their time there breaking minor rules, arguing with moderators, and eventually asking about NSFW content in front of kids.

Proof of behavior:

They used to go by the name bloodmoonfollower, then changed it to nexusservant, and now to officialnexuskisser. They have been banned in two other servers other than mine for spreading slander about me and breaking discord's TOS. One of these servers was the official TSBS server before I became a mod.

Now that I am a mod in TSBS they are trying to damage my reputation by reaching out to my friends, server members, and followers and telling them that I have been lying about this action that they did in a public server that has several eye witnesses.

They spammed my mods until I DMed them, explained why they were banned from my server.

Later, my mod joined a different server they were in that I somewhat co-own because I built the server. They lied to my mod, and tried to get back in their good graces after being cut off. After my mod remembered who they were, they reached out to me to handle the situation, since I have executive power in that server. I did so.

They then sent a friend of theirs to confront me about the situation.

After I confronted them they invited their girlfriend to the server to defend them.

They lied to my friends and fellow moderators about the situation.

It was quiet for a couple of weeks and then today they reached out to a friend and client of mine, whose server they moderated in until today (they were banned and removed after I filled my client in) to try to convince them that I was maliciously slandering them. I have not publicly discussed the situation until this post.

This post is being used for awareness and documentation purposes.

[hashimasims]

NO!!!

Be warned! we're in for another buggy event! AAAAAHHHHHH

[ask-ranma-and-ryoga]

I’m moving!

So ask-ranma-and-ryoga will be taking a break while I focus on house-hunting and moving, but I’ll be back as soon as I can! 🙏

[awesomespiritcat21]

Genuinely disappointed in tumblr for allowing fucking animal gore to be posted in the mouthwashing tags and a bunch of other tags. It's mostly in Jimmy's tags and I completely fucked myself over trying to look for someone I wanted to follow because that was the tag I had to go to. Whoever the fuck is posting that shit needs to get the hell off the internet and be sent to prison.

[intothestacks]

Friendly PSA about the original book version of Wicked

It's very much an adult book.

For the love of sanity, don't read that to your kids or get it for them for Christmas or something!

It's a good read though, I definitely recommend it for grownups.

[questions-about-blorbos]

saying this again since I’ve been asked a lot: the polls on this blog apply only to fictional characters — be it characters from the media you consume or your own original characters that you created — as long as the characters are fictional characters. that’s the main rule.

(live-action characters that are played by real people, aka actors, are totally fine as long as you apply the polls to the fictional characters, not the actors who play them.)

obviously I cannot police people’s thoughts and how they vote with what’s on their minds, but I feel like I should clarify that, as the mod, I am uncomfortable with the polls on my blog being applied to real people. so I’m kindly asking that you refrain from associating the polls on this blog with real people. I create the blog with the intention that it’s about fictional characters only, and I’d greatly appreciate it if you could respect that.

thank you for your understanding.

— mod #1

[kyra45]

Watermark your photographs if asking for mutual aid

(Watermark your photographs if asking for mutual aid)

Hey everyone! Here’s a reminder that if you want to make it harder for scammers to steal your images, please watermark them in a way that it would be difficult for scammers to hide it! If scammers do take your images, they’ll have to explain why their pic has someone else’s username on it.

To make a watermark, just scribble your username somewhere that it’s not too noticeable or cover the entire image with it just enough that it won’t be easy to edit out while not hiding the original image too much. This way you can also have the non-watermarked image yourself if anyone wants proof you are the original owner.

[nattousan]

*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

[alexandra-again]

#a lot of leftists need to confront this too (via @tikkunolamorgtfo)

i think a lot of liberals need to confront the fact that they don’t actually believe everyone should have basic human rights. a homeless person could call me every slur under the sun and i would still want them to have housing, food, etc. the belief that everyone is entitled to basic human rights should not hinge on whether you “like” someone or not. at that point the entire ideology crumbles.

[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

[a-yarn-of-purple-prose]

I'm seeing an uptick on this sort of scam around here, mostly through artists answering an ask from a no-profile-picture-empty-blog-except-for-two-reblogs asker that just cold asked for a commission.

If you do get an ask like that, it's probably this scam. Block and report them.

Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers

There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.

How they begin

Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.

What to look out for:

Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.

Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know. 

They’ll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they don’t really care for this part.

They’ll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD (EDIT: I know it might not be a lot for some work. What I mean here - way higher than your asking price, 100 and 300 are standard rates they give). They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.

Where the scam actually happens

If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible. 

Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. It’s like with any other scam emails you can ever get.

A few things can happen here:

They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and you’ll never see that money again. 

They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.

The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions. 

You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money “back” - aka to their final destination account. 

Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.

You can find more info on that method HERE.

What to do when you encounter a scammer:

Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They won’t supply you with any good answers.

Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance. 

Don’t engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that you’ll regret later.

Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info. 

Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn. 

Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it. 

Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Let’s help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!

Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.

[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

[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.