#Love in the Decentralized Web

[nxlvb4]

Love in the Decentralized Web

It was the summer of 2035, and the world had changed in ways Olivia never imagined. The towering giants of the internet—Facebook, Google, Instagram—had begun to loosen their iron grip, giving way to a new era of decentralization. Users no longer had to rely on big tech to control their data or feed their content into a vacuum, hoping for a glimpse of visibility. The future, everyone said, was in…

[essential-randomness]

Enter the FujoVerse™

Starting 2024's content creation journey with a bang, it's time to outline the principles behind the FujoVerse™: an ambitious (but realistic) plan to turn the web back into a place of fun, joy, and connection, where people build and nurture their own communities and software. (You can also read the article on my blog)

The Journey

As those who follow my journey with @bobaboard or read my quarterly newsletter (linked in the article) know, the used-to-be-called BobaVerse™ is a collection of projects I've been working on since 2020 while pondering an important question: how do we "fix" the modern social web?

Obviously the joyless landscape that is the web of today is not something a single person can fix. Still, I loved and owed the internet too much to see it wither.

After countless hours of work, I found 3 pillars to work on: community, software ownership and technical education.

Jump in after the cut to learn more about how it all comes together!

Community

Community is where I started from, with good reason! While social networks might trick us into thinking of them as communities, they lack the characteristics that researchers identify as the necessary base for "true community": group identity, shared norms, and mutual concern.

Today, I'm even more convinced community is a fundamental piece of reclaiming the web as a place of joy. It's alienating, disempowering, and incredibly lonely to be surrounded by countless people without feeling true connection with most of them (or worse, feeling real danger).

Software Ownership and Collaboration

As I worked with niche communities "software ownership" also became increasingly important to me: if we cannot expect mainstream tech companies to cater to communities at the margins, it follows that these communities must be able to build and shape their own software themselves.

Plenty of people have already discussed how this challenge goes beyond the tech. Among many, "collaboration" is another sticking point for me: effective collaboration requires trust and psychological safety, both of which are in short supply these days (community helps here too, but it's still hard).

Education (Technical and Beyond)

As I worked more and more with volunteers and other collaborators, however, another important piece of the puzzle showed itself: the dire state of educational material for non-professional web developers. How can people change the web if they cannot learn how to *build* the web?

(And yes, learning HTML and CSS is absolutely important and REAL web development. But to collaborate on modern software you need so much more. Even further, people *yearn* for more, and struggle to find it. They want that power, and we should give it to them.)

Once again, technical aspects aren't the only ones that matter. Any large-scale effort needs many skills that society doesn't equip us with. If we want to change how the web looks, we must teach, teach, TEACH! If you've seen me put so much effort into streaming, this is why :)

And obviously, while I don't go into them in this article, open source software and decentralized protocols are core to "this whole thing".

The Future

All of this said, while I've been working on this for a few years, I've struggled to find the support I need to continue this work. To this end, this year I'm doing something I'm not used to: producing content, gaining visibility, and putting my work in front of the eyes of people that want to fight for the future of the web.

This has been a hard choice: producing content is hard and takes energy and focus away from all I've been doing. Still, I'm committed to doing what it takes, and (luckily) content and teaching go hand in hand. But the more each single person helps, the less I need to push for wide reach.

If you want to help (and read the behind the scenes of all I've been working on before everyone else), you can subscribe to my Patreon or to my self-hosted attempt at an alternative.

I deeply believe that in the long term all that we're building will result in self-sustaining projects that will carry this mission forward. After all, I'm building them together with people who understand the needs of the web in a way that no mainstream company can replicate.

Until we get there, every little bit of help (be it monetary support, boosting posts, pitching us to your friends, or kind words of encouragement and support) truly matters.

In exchange, I look forward to sharing more of the knowledge and insights I've accrued with you all :)

And once again, to read or share this post from the original blog, you can find it here.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Alilat - Day 44

Race: Entity

Arcana: Empress

Alignment: Light-Chaos

June 13th, 2024

A personal favorite kind of demon throughout the series has to be the ones that are completely alien- demons that look like they originated from a psychological study, or living beings that, by all means, look like they shouldn't be real. Demons of this kind are surprisingly few and far between, with most appearing as rather standard depictions of monsters or humanoid beings, but when the artists dip their toes into the strange, almost beyond this world, I fall in love with the designs the instant I lay my eyes on them. One of these, of course, is today's Demon of the Day, and a strange outcast even among the strangest demons throughout the series- the ill-known Mother Goddess of the Arabian Peninsula, Alilat.

Mostly known by one of her many names, al-Lat, Alilat is a relatively obscure goddess in the grand scheme of history. As a pre-islamic goddess worshipped in Arabia, a lot of history surrounding her is hard to parse, even down to the exact areas that her reign was present within, but the general consensus appears to be that she was mainly worshipped in several widespread cults throughout Arabia during its pre-islamic days. Another name of hers, Allat, has actually been the name of several goddesses throughout several different areas in history as well, making her story even more confusing to dig through. The tangled webs of tales and future conflations between her and other deities make her an incredibly confusing deity to sift through the facts about.

Our first recorded mention of Alilat actually comes in the form of a retelling from Greek scholar Herodotus, who, in his book 'Histories' wrote,

"They believe in no other gods except Dionysus and the Heavenly Aphrodite; and they say that they wear their hair as Dionysus does his, cutting it round the head and shaving the temples. They call Dionysus, Orotalt; and Aphrodite, Alilat."

I will admit to copying that passage from Wikipedia, but I'm not about to sift through a copy of such a massive transcript to search for a single line. Interestingly, this transcription by Herodotus actually has a conflict with how most other people drew comparisons- it was commonly believed, and still is today, that Alilat was actually the ancient Arabian's version of Athena. As a goddess of motherhood and fertility, as well as peace, she shares some similar traits to Athena in greek myth, as they also both share a trait as a goddess of war. Where this came from is described in several Safaitic inscriptions, as she used to be invoked by travelers through the region in order to guarantee peace, prosperity, and protection, while warriors at the time would invoke her name to ensure good loot and those attacked would invoke her for vengeance. As one of two principal deities, she seemed to be stuck working overtime a lot.

This is also proven by how scattered her inscriptions are throughout Africa- there are only few given, and most of them are in vastly different areas, giving light to the idea that her cult was widespread but decentralized. And yes, it was a cult, not a formalized religion, as her worship was incredibly sparse. She was revered by many names and even more traditions, including a northern Arabian tribe known as the Qedarites, the widespread peoples of the Nabataeans, and even those residing within the largest Parthian city of its time, Hatra. A lost city known as Iram of the Pillars was also a home of Alilat worship, with them having erected a temple that has now been buried beneath the sands- tragically, all that has been left was a few pillars and a crumbled statue of a lion, but accounts and some small inscriptions on the inside of the temple revealed that it originally had a gorgeous statue of Alilat inside, resembling none other than Athena.

Unfortunately, as time went on, the temple fell into disrepair, having been the target of an attack from Greek forces, then utterly demolished in the fourth century by Christian mobs. You can read more about it on the blog I linked above. However, in terms of Mythology, there's still a bit more to go. Al-Lat wasn't just the deity of a cult, but also appears in Islamic tradition as well, fulfilling a similar purpose to Ba'al in some respects as a false god, though one depicted far more sympathetically. In some retellings, she's not even that, and is instead a daughter of Allah, or even a consort of his in others. Alilat was also the subject of the infamous Satanic Verses incident, something that is beyond the scope of this post, but is an incredibly interesting (and kinda hilarious) rabbit hole to dig through.

In the Book of Idols, an encyclopedia on pre-islamic religion in Africa written by scholar Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, it's written that a group of the Quraysh would chant a set of verses celebrating al-Lat, al-'Uzza, and Manat, of which al-Lat is our subject of interest. A common translation purports the word used to refer to them as a collective, gharaniq, to mean "Most exalted females," but this is hotly debated. Again, see the Satanic Verses incident. Lastly, she is mentioned in the Quran, albeit rarely, and, again, as the subject of the Satanic Verses incident. This is starting to feel like the noodle incident of this post.

I wish I could've shown her uncensored design, but alas, I have no idea if it'd pass the 'Female presenting nipple' guideline, but take it from me when I say that Alilat has an amazing design. Combining her esoteric and hard to sort through lore with her role as a mother goddess was a great call, as it makes her both unique and almost unsettling, even in this series rife with body horror. Even the titties, which I normally see no real point in having on a lot of designs and just feel like gratuitous fanservice (cough cough LAMIA) serve a purpose, as what does a mother do but breastfeed? The idea to portray her almost like a piece of art on a bizarre, floating obelisk was such a cool concept, and it was done perfectly.

I also love how the imagery associated with Alilat on the stone itself resembles stone-age portraits of how a body would look, more specifically the Venus of Willendorf, a famous sculpture that is typically used to represent fertility, tying it all together. Given that this inscription was also carved into stone in Alilat's design, and it ties everything together. Not only does her design look unique even for the series, not only does it tie so many ideas together in neat little bows, not only is it glowing, but it's all also brought together in representing one of the most mysterious and interesting gods in history, and demons in the series.

[sodaliteskull]

Top 5 Things I Enjoy Writing About

I appreciate the tag @byjillianmaria! You can find hers over here!

This one's an open tag, but I'm also hitting up @noblebs, @noveldivergence, and @wintherlywords (no pressure though!)

*Hatsune Miku voice* ~Women~: I know this is the piss on the poor website, so upfront disclaimer about how this is not in reference to actual living, breathing, IRL people (HAVE WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT?!?), but I am fucking sick of men! "Male" has been the default gender, the default POV in stories for eons now, and I'm tired of it! Men bore me!!! I want to write about men the way misogynist men write about women - in that there is only one of them (if any at all!!!), and they're only there to advance the female character's story (by being fridged, most likely!!!)! I want to write about WOMEN!!!! I want to write about them being cunning and clever, as badasses and bastards, as both the princess and the knight!!! You know, like how women actually are in real life!!! Decentralize men? Honey, they're not even in my orbit!!! NO BOYS ALLOWED!!!! I'M EXHAUSTED!!!!!

Monsters as metaphors: Tale as old as time here, but I love it when a creature is actually a stand in for something a little more abstract. Vampires as a the fear of foreigners come to despoil our delicate Victorian sensibilities, Godzilla as the spectre of nuclear annihilation, werewolves as the visceral and horrifying changes girls go through when they enter puberty, that's some good shit!!! Any time I have some kind of monster in any of my stories, please know that it actually represents something else!

When a plan comes together: I love when people are in cahoots, when they get up to shenanigans, when games are afoot and capers are carried out! Heists? Delicious. When it looks like the antagonists have thwarted the protagonist's plans, but that was actually accounted for in the plans all along and they've actually fallen even deeper into the protagonist's web?! SUBLIME.

Hashtag Squad Goals: Having people grouped up for whatever arbitrary reason the plot demands is such a neat little way to get to play with a bunch of different dynamics all at once! These two are ride or die, but these two don't see eye to eye, and yet they're all the best of buds! How does that work?! I love getting to show the ins and outs of that!

Ancient Aliens: I don't mean the concept that all historical feats of engineering carried out by non-White™️ cultures were actually done by aliens (THAT concept makes me fucking furious!!!), but instead the theory of panspermia, of life originating elsewhere in the universe and being seeded across the stars. My favourite flavour of THAT is life originating on Earth, but then being brought elsewhere, with humans as basically food stock for some more advanced race! I was digging through my WIP pile the other day, and I realized that concept crops up A LOT for me!

[unspeakablehorror]

Where to Find Me

Date Created: 7/20/2023 Last Update: 9/1/2023

Edit on 9/1/2023: Added a link to my personal website to the Fanworks section as well, since my fanfic can be found there.

Edit on 8/7/2023: Added a second website that's for archiving fanworks and other stuff I like to 'My Websites'.

EDIT on 7/21/2023: The @ symbol was automatically redirecting (or attempting to redirect) the second part of the pillowfort, dreamwidth, and cohost urls to tumblr accounts, so I got rid of these in all the links.

NOTE: I HAVE STOPPED REGULARLY CHECKING TUMBLR.

The interface of this site has become nearly intolerable for me, and it's become clear to me over the intervening years that Mullenweg is committed to making it progressively worse. So if you've wondered if the reason I've stopped commenting on your posts has anything to do with you, let me assure you, it's not. It's not you. It's not me, either. It's Tumblr. I logged out like maybe a week ago? And it's been amazing? I can live my life again? Miss you all, though.

So anyone who knows me (or has looked through this blog carefully enough) knows I haven't been on here since 2018. But it's been a few years, so now it's time to update my 'Where to Find Me' post! Since there have been several notable changes, and because I wanted to change how this post was structured a bit, it felt easier to me to just make a new post rather than editing the old.

My Websites

Unspeakablehorror's Site - I'll be keeping copies of my fanfic here, recipes, assorted essays, and other things of interest to me here. I will also archive select works from others on this site (with the creator's permission).

New Old Web - This is my website where I talk about how the web is crashing and burning and think about how we can make it not crash and burn. I'm still building it up, but I hope I can add lots more thoughts here.

Main Social Media

I currently feel that I use Pillowfort the most and Dreamwidth the second most. Something my main social media sites both have in common? They don't take venture capital. They're also great for longform writing and conversations.

unspeakablehorror at Pillowfort - Like if Tumblr and LiveJournal had a baby. I love the way this site handles commenting, reblogs, post edits, and privacy. And I love the communities feature. I'm the mod of 3 different Star Wars comms on here: Andor, Sith Empire, and Star Wars-The Sacred Texts.

unspeakablehorror at Dreamwidth - LiveJournal but better. Interface is a bit retro but I absolutely love the tag cloud. Every social media should have tag clouds. Dreamwidth has so many customization features. Also this site has my favorite setup for privacy options. And I love the communities feature on here. I'm the mod of the Sith of Korriban comm here.

Secondary Social Media

unspeakablehorror at Mastodon (fandom.ink instance) - I am on Mastodon, too, which is similar to Twitter with respect to the character count limitations, but has many exciting ideas, like using a protocol for social media that allows accounts on different servers to seamlessly interact with each other (as long as the server isn’t blocked for incompatible rules). It also incorporates the idea of decentralization in a very intriguing way and is entirely non-profit.

unspeakablehorror at cohost.org - Yeah, I'm here too. I don't currently use this account as much, but I do check the site from time to time and I've made a few posts here. I'd be here more often if any of my friends used this platform, but I don't prefer the interface, which is too much like Tumblr for my taste. Basically this is Tumblr if the interface wasn't total garbage, lol. I think I clash with some of the core principles of this site somewhat, and the only way to delete your page is by emailing the site owners, but at least it doesn't have ads or take venture capital. This site is what happens when some furries with coding and design skills are given a bunch of $$$ to make a social media site.

You can also PM me if you want to inquire about other ways to contact me or discuss anything else. I might be a little slow to answer Tumblr PMs, but I'll try to log in from time to time to check for them. Hopefully Tumblr doesn't end up breaking that, too, lol.

Fanworks

I am actually in the process of decentralizing my fic storage! Currently using a combination of social media posts for my oneshots and external storage links to store pdfs and epubs of my longfic. These can be found by examining my 'About me' in my bio on Pillowfort and my profile on Dreamwidth. My eventual goal is to also have my own website to store my fic on.

Unspeakablehorror's Site - I'll be keeping copies of my fanfic here, among other things.

Fanfic on Pillowfort - Access all my fic from Pillowfort!

Fanfic on Dreamwidth - Access all my fic from Dreamwidth!

unspeakablehorror at AO3 - Ah, I hope AO3 can work out their, uh, severe organizational issues, but in the meantime, I'm uncertain how much presence I'm going to have on this site.

unspeakablehorror at ffnet - This site is awful. The ads alone cause me psychological damage. Probably going to have to phase out posting here.

Well, that's all. Time for me to take my leave of this ball pit!

[bawwsadface]

cohost is dead, long live tumblr (again)

in 2023 i took a liking to the independent blog platform cohost.org. it was a very cool, very principled website that offered a taste of the old internet with a splash of the posting-centric new net. it functioned very similar to tumblr, but attracted its own type of crowd. mostly millennials burnt out on the death march of the modern web. those of us old enough to have been on forums and been on irc and been in ancient aol chatrooms. those of us who remember a more decentralized internet. one that felt like a destination as opposed to an ever cancerous appendage of modern life.

cohost was cool. everybody on it was chill and we all used that space for different things. but all outlets were equally as expressive. it was a place to try new things, to do old things you hadn't done online in 10 or 15 years, to post like you used to pre-2010, and it was a place to find community. many of us migrated over there with a handful of friends and formed a comforting online space together. i know i very much enjoyed my time there.

and i used it to practice my skills writing. taking a crack at longer form blogs and formulating in-depth and involved writing projects for the future. i love the stuff i wrote on there, and it gave me the confidence to use that skill more often and on other ventures. i think i'm gonna start making youtube video essays. i think i was always destined to follow this path, glad my writing feels worth the effort of trying now.

cohost also made me realize that to have a decentralized web again, or to usher in a new age of the web that is untethered from algorithms and the prying hands of the devilish tech sector, you have to build your own communities. you have to work outside the major forces and try and grow an online coalition. or at least online spaces that aren't hostile. you have to build a website. you have to make a blog. you should start an rss feed. and you shouldn't use squarespace. it's time to learn html buddy. cuz the internet you want is not the one that gets venture capital funding. a better web is possible, but it's not going to be handed to us, we have to make it.

in the meantime tho, while i learn how to do all that, i'm coming back here. to the one social media site that will always have me back without judgment. at least for a little while. look forward to more writing. and thanks to those who still follow the blog and look at it all these years later. love yall.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

#10yrsago Lavabit competitor Silent Circle shuts down its secure email service, destroys servers https://silentcircle.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/to-our-customers/

#10yrsago Bikram “Yoga” Choudhury accused of rape, sexual harassment, racism, homophobia, and unsafe practices related to the color green https://jezebel.com/bikram-yoga-founder-hates-sluts-and-fatties-loves-talk-1068127138

#10yrsago More on the NSA’s weird, deceptive, indefensible definition of “targeted surveillance” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/07/what-it-means-be-target-or-why-we-once-again-stopped-believing-government-and-once

#10yrsago Assault on Equestria: My Little Pony themed D&D game with a young kid! http://www.chippewavalleygeek.com/2013/07/assault-on-equestria.html

#10yrsago Court finds for man who rewrote the credit-card fine-print to give himself unlimited, interest-free credit https://consumerist.com/2013/08/09/man-tries-to-beat-bank-at-its-own-game-with-fine-print-that-gives-him-unlimited-credit/

#10yrsago NSA leak: US can spy on Americans, despite direct statements of President, Congress, top spooks https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/nsa-loophole-warrantless-searches-email-calls

#10yrsago Animatronic Hatbox Ghost https://insidethemagic.net/2013/08/haunted-mansion-hatbox-ghost-reanimated-at-2013-d23-expo-as-disney-imagineers-demonstrate-audio-animatronics/

#5yrsago My closing keynote from the second Decentralized Web Summit https://archive.org/details/decentralizedwebsummitmedia-2018-courtyard-2?start=475

#5yrsago Bad infrastructure means pacemakers can be compromised before they leave the factory https://www.wired.com/story/pacemaker-hack-malware-black-hat/

#5yrsago Florida’s prisons change tech providers, wipe out $11.2m worth of music purchased by prisoners https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/08/captive-audience-how-floridas-prisons-and-drm-made-113m-worth-prisoners-music

#5yrsago Kill sticky headers: a bookmarklet to get rid of the web’s static blobs https://alisdair.mcdiarmid.org/kill-sticky-headers/

#5yrsago Defective Comcast security exposes 26.5m customers’ partial Social Security Numbers and addresses https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/a-comcast-security-flaw-exposed-millions-of-customers

#5yrsago State of Georgia goes to court to defend voting machines that recorded 243% voter turnouts https://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article216056560.html

#5yrsago Everybody hates their cable company, unless the company is Google, or the city, or a tiny mom-and-pop https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/telecom-services/best-and-worst-home-internet-providers-a2853390170/

#5yrsago What should go in an IoT safety-rating sticker? https://memex.craphound.com/2018/08/09/what-should-go-in-an-iot-safety-rating-sticker/

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

[safety-pin-punk]

Hello, new-ish follower of yours here! First off, I think your blog is awesome, and that it is very cool that you also have a Blogger. Decentralize social media! Woo!

Second, if you're still doing patch ideas, do you have any for digital rights/anti-surveillance? I've seen a few really cool ones, like the chrome logo but the circle in the middle is an eye, and am looking for more ideas for my patch pants!

I hope your day/night is lovely!

HI HELLO TO YOU TOO THANK YOU FOR COMPLIMENTING MY BLOG!!! AGAIN, SO SORRY FOR NOT CHECKING WEB MORE OFTEN TO SEE ASKS THAT MOBILE JUST DOES NOT SHOW ME

And yes! I do have a blogger that I very infrequently update, but when I have spare time I try to. Its mostly so that if tumblr ever goes down I still have all my writing and shit, but I also agree the idea of decentralizing social media is very very cool!

As far as the patches go, if you are still wanting some ideas, this is what I got for you (sorry this ones a bit out of my wheel house but I tried my best):

"Big Brother is Watching" from 1984 (honestly just an awesome anti surveillance / dystopian novel)

"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -Edward Snowden

This patch from etsy that looks cool

'Destroy The Surveillance Society'

I'm gonna ask people to add more in the notes cause thats all I got for this one

[meeedeee]

"We will find or make another place, eventually. It won’t be exactly the same. It never really is. But we’ll gather again, and they’ll burn it down again, and we’ll start over again. Some of us will lose everything in the cracks between safe spaces. Some of us won’t. It’s impossible to predict who will be who. We just keep trying. Keep trying not to let each other fall. I’m exhausted but that doesn’t mean I get to stop.

Doesn’t mean we get to stop.

Don’t ever stop talking to each other. It’s what the internet is really and truly for. Talk to each other and listen to each other. But don’t ever stop connecting. Be a prodigy of the new world. Stand up for the truth no matter how often they take our voices away and try to replace the idea of reality with fucking insane Lovecraftian shit. Don’t give up, don’t let them have this world. Love things. Love people. Love the small and the weird and the new....

Geeks, though. Us weird geeks making communities in the ether? We love. We love so stupidly hard. We try to be happy. We get enthusiastic and devote ourselves to saving whales and trees and cancelled science fiction shows and each other. The energy we make in these spaces, the energy we make when we support and uplift and encourage and excite each other is something people like Musk can never understand or experience, which is why they keep smashing the windows in to try and get it, only to find the light they hungered for is already gone. Moved on, always a little beyond their reach....

Because that’s what we have to do. Be each other’s pen pals. Talk. Share. Welcome. Care. And just keep moving. Stay nimble. Maybe we have to roll the internet back a little and go back to blogs and decentralized groups and techy fiddling and real-life conventions and idealists with servers in their closets. Back to Diaryland and Minnesota and grandiose usernames and thoughts that take ever so much more than 280 characters to express. That’s okay. We can do that. We know how. We’re actually really good at it. Love things and love each other. We’re good at that, too. Protect the vulnerable. Make little things. Wear electric blue eyeshadow. Take a picture of your breakfast. Overthink Twin Peaks. Get angry. Do revolutions. Find out what Buffy character you are. Don’t get cynical. Don’t lose joy. Be us. Because us is what keeps the light on when the night comes closing in. Us doesn’t have a web address. We are wherever we gather. Mastodon, Substack, Patreon, Dreamwidth, AO3, Tumblr, Discord, even the ruins of Twitter, even Facebook and Instagram and Tiktok, god help us all. Even Diaryland."

[ambassadorquark]

oh god there’s more people on that post doing big impassioned paragraphs against points i didn’t even make. like please for the love of god don’t reblog this but i do actually think there’s a lot of great comics on webtoon and i’m glad it works for some people... i just think everybody ought to read more old-school webcomics that have been running for ages because i feel like they are really special and they’re what got me into comics myself. i probably shouldn’t have even mentioned webtoon because what i think of as the thing that makes Webcomics great and even kinda different from awesome indie comics in print is some nebulous vibes based thing that applies to plenty of stuff on there anyway. so whatever. i’m just saying, like, i was in a comics course where i was surprised how many people hadn’t really read many webcomics that weren’t contained on a platform you can download an app for and i think most people that describes would probably find a bunch of new favorites outside that sphere if they looked. it’d be really tragic if the amazing stories that still exist on a more decentralized version of the web sort of faded away just bc nobody knew where the hell to find them anymore without the help of social media-style platforms.

[bossbotmgr]

Minor ramble under cut about browsing thru old posts. I was gonna put them in tags of a shorter post but its too long lol

If you can't tell I really love going thru sprees of finding blogs from 2010s. I didn't use Tumblr very much until 2017ish and although I wasnt into Toontown its oddly nostalgic seeing similar posts. In a way it was all heartwarming, bittersweet, kind of sad, a bit cringe inducing (old memes) but mostly positive.

Internet archival and history is a pretty big interest of mine, and I know its a joke to say "Wonder what historians will say about this in 100 years" but in a way you kind of are like a historian on the internet looking at these old posts (If that makes sense..) And putting together trends and even silly discourse.

Its no secret the internet and fanbase culture has really shifted within this decade. I don't know what the reason would be exactly (Probably a mixture of userbase aging and the crushing presence of things like capitalism and other oppressive forces) but even then, hostility is present among new fans and younger fans. Who I do feel sorry for they didn't experience things like goofy reblog chains or DeviantArt journal entries. But even then now, it feels like there isn't much of a space for many of us online. Not without becoming incredibly decentralized, which some people can't just quit certain platforms. (Like needing it for their job)

Getting off topic a bit- I thought about that when I was looking at those old "New to Toonblr <:D" introduction posts, and deactivated blogs long gone welcoming them. I know that theres been quite alot of discourse/bickering lately in certain areas. I've seen alot of pessimism among people I follow or are mutuals with. I also have had experiences with being harassed or being block evaded. I don't know what would neccessarily "fix" that issue, as discourse and bad apples will be in every fanbase. But I think theres a bit of "for myself" think. Sometimes it feels like people view each other as enemies O~O and I notice alot of cliques..

Anyways, just things I thought about. I don't want this to be a "old web good" post. Thats viewing the past with rose tinted glasses. But I think we should maybe examine our relationships with media and our interests and how we talk among each other to create a more fun space for everyone. At the end of the day we all like the same defunct mmo :p

[klug]

I get that having your own site is like a little bit of a reason to be pretentious but I really really really really hate it when people with their own websites make fun of people with like premade layouts/css or using tools to plan it out like genuinely not everyone has the time/resources to sit down and teach those things to themself. like what's common sense to you might not be common sense to them...

And isn't the point of reviving the decentralized web supposed to make it more like, accessible to people and give them the tools they need to just have a website without it being some esoteric knowledge only the True Code Wizards can understand? I don't get why these people push for a decentralized web and then make fun of people who don't have as much knowledge or god forbid don't really want to have to do a bunch of code wizardry to have a site.

I guess this is why my own neocities looks pretty shitty. I want to show that you really don't need to have some amazing aesthetic sense to just build and make something. You just can and I use a fuck ton of tools and it's why I advocate for static site generators and lightweight sites that load quickly. It's why i love txti and things like bettermotherfuckingwebsite. It's easy and people shouldn't feel like they're joining some exclusive club just to have their own site.

Not to mention I just get sick of like neocities users acting like this specifically since it's still a somewhat centralized platform... it is not truly "independent" idc.

[citynewsglobe]

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[unspeakablehorror]

Where To Find Me

Added: Sept 21, 2024

Updated: Sept 21, 2024

Just making a pinned post.

My Websites

Unspeakablehorror's Site - I'll be keeping copies of my fanfic here, recipes, assorted essays, and other things of interest to me here. I will also archive select works from others on this site (with the creator's permission).

New Old Web - This is my website where I talk about how the web is crashing and burning and think about how we can make it not crash and burn. I'm still building it up, but I hope I can add lots more thoughts here.

Main Social Media

I currently feel that I use Pillowfort the most and Dreamwidth the second most. Something my main social media sites both have in common? They don't take venture capital. They're also great for longform writing and conversations.

unspeakablehorror at Pillowfort - Like if Tumblr and LiveJournal had a baby. I love the way this site handles commenting, reblogs, post edits, and privacy. And I love the communities feature. I'm the mod of 3 different Star Wars comms on here: Andor, Sith Empire, and Star Wars-The Sacred Texts.

unspeakablehorror at Dreamwidth - LiveJournal but better. Interface is a bit retro but I absolutely love the tag cloud. Every social media should have tag clouds. Dreamwidth has so many customization features. Also this site has my favorite setup for privacy options. And I love the communities feature on here. I'm the mod of the Sith of Korriban comm here.

Secondary Social Media

unspeakablehorror at Mastodon (fandom.ink instance) - I am on Mastodon, too, the most popular type of Fediverse server. Mastodon is similar to Twitter with respect to the character count limitations, but uses a protocol for social media that allows accounts on different Fediverse servers to seamlessly interact with each other (as long as the server isn’t blocked for incompatible rules). It also incorporates the idea of decentralization in a very intriguing way and is entirely non-profit.

unspeakablehorror at cohost.org - Yeah, I'm here too. I don't currently use this account as much, but I do check the site from time to time and I've made a few posts here. I'd be here more often if any of my friends used this platform, but I don't prefer the interface, which is too much like Tumblr for my taste. Basically this is Tumblr if the interface wasn't total garbage, lol. I think I clash with some of the core principles of this site somewhat, and the only way to delete your page is by emailing the site owners, but at least it doesn't have ads or take venture capital. This site is what happens when some furries with coding and design skills are given a bunch of $$$ to make a social media site. $$$ ran out! As per the most recent financial update, Cohost is planning an imminent shut down. A switch to read-only mode is planned to start in October and deletion of the entire site is expected by the end of the year.

unspeakablehorror at goblin.band - like Tumblr but for the Fediverse. Just joined recently so we'll see how this goes!

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Another week, gone. Life seems to be flying by at an accelerated pace and I’m not fond of it.

I continue my React Native and TypeScript work, at work. I’m refactoring a bit of UI code to be shared in the project. It’s been a good experience. I’m definitely a fish out of water but making progress.

We’ll see what next week brings.

Hope you enjoy the links.

Alex Butler • UPI

Katie Ledecky left swimming rival Ariarne Titmus in her wicked wake, revving through the La Defense Arena pool waters toward a record ninth Olympic gold medal with another 800-meter freestyle victory Saturday in Paris.

YAY KATIE! 🇺🇸

Jay Famiglietti • The New York Times

The Central Valley of California supplies a quarter of the food on the nation’s dinner tables. But beneath this image of plenty and abundance, a crisis is brewing — an invisible one, under our feet — and it is not limited to California.

One quarter of the food on the nations table. That’s a big deal.

The big challenge moving forward is how do we get enough water to the Central Valley to continue to raise all those fruits and vegetables to feed everyone?

Yet again, we ignore climate change at our own peril.

Herb Sutter

That’s a great question. Cppreference is correct, and for all class types the answer is simple: The object is initialized on line 1 by having its default constructor called.

But (and you knew a “but” was coming), for a local object of a fundamental built-in type like int, the answer is… more elaborate. And that’s why Sam is asking, because Sam knows that the language has kind of loose about initializing such local objects, for historical reasons that made sense at the time.

Of course Mr. Sutter goes into great depth to explain how the declaration int a; is handled by the C++ compiler (how it’s supposed to be handled according to the standard.)

Remember C is a subset of C++. That was intentionally part of the goal at the time. To get folks to adopt C++ all the C code that had been written needed to continue working.

So, what does that mean for int a; in the question?

It means that declaration doesn’t really initialize a. It just gets whatever value is at that address. Let’s say there was a string represented by the memory now assigned to that declaration and the string began with the letter the ASCII letter ‘a’. Any guess what the value of ‘a’ would be? It would be 97.

In other words, ‘a’ is random.

Mike Masnick • Techdirt

I am excited to announce that I am joining the board of Bluesky, where I will be providing advice and guidance to the company to help it achieve its vision of a more open, more competitive, more decentralized online world.

This is surprising in a good way but I wish we didn’t have two competing decentralized protocols for the social web. It’s fine, I suppose, but having Blusky and Mastodon work with each other would be amazing. Threads still hasn’t delivered full integration with Mastodon, but Micro.blog has, WordPress has achieved some integration points, and Ghost is working on theirs. Tumblr would also be a nice addition but it’s now in a “keep the lights on” mode.

More Fediverse integration, not less.

Bradley Brownell • Jalopnik

Michael Andretti’s denied attempt to join the Formula 1 grid has been granted a DOJ investigation. American firm Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1 Group, denied Andretti Global’s entry to F1 earlier this year. The denial by F1, following a six-month review of the team’s application, which included a commitment from General Motors, claimed that it didn’t believe Andretti could field a competitive car in the series.

This has been a bit frustrating to watch. I would love to see another American company on the grid and I’d really love to see Guenther Steiner in charge of it! 😃

It would also put an American manufactured power unit on the grid from Cadillac. 👍🏼

Nadine Yousif and Michelle Fleury • BBC News

A US judge has ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on online searches and related advertising.

This is going to ripple throughout the industry. Does Apple lose their $20 billion fee from Google to be the preferred search engine? I guess we’ll find out.

Stephen Moore

Every friend I have with a job that involves picking up something heavier than a laptop more than twice a week eventually finds a way to slip something like this into conversation: “Bro,1[1] you don’t work hard. I just worked a 4700-hour week digging a tunnel under Mordor with a screwdriver.”

They have a point. Mordor sucks, and it’s certainly more physically taxing to dig a tunnel than poke at a keyboard unless you’re an ant. But, for the sake of the argument, can we agree that stress and insanity are bad things? Awesome. Welcome to programming.

Programming is definitely part science part insanity. I spend my days agonizing over coding choices, bouncing between feeling kind of smart to feeling a complete idiot.

It’s just the way, at least for me. 😃

Hanaa' Tameez • Nieman Journalism Lab

MTV pulled down MTV News in June. After Deadspin was sold, many of its archives temporarily disappeared. This week, Flaming Hydra reported that The Awl’s archives are gone. And those examples are just from the past couple of months; in 2021, the authors of a Reynolds Journalism Institute report found that just 7 out of 24 newsrooms they interviewed were fully preserving their news content.

This is kind of sad, isn’t it? Journalists losing their work because a publication shuts down.

Then we had the recent kerfuffle with TUAW where someone purchased the site and content, ran it through and AI, and republished all the content under the original authors names with different profile pictures. That’s slimy.

It’s no wonder authors are backing up their own work. I certainly would and do. I have 23 years of blog posts.

Simon Willison

It’s amusing to see Apple using “please” in their prompts, and politely requesting of the model: “Do not hallucinate. Do not make up factual information.”

This is an interesting piece. Go read how Apple is approaching AI. I love their prompts including words like “please” and “do not hallucinate.” Classic! 🤣

Charlie Savage • The New York Times

A bipartisan American Bar Association task force is calling on lawyers across the country to do more to help protect democracy ahead of the 2024 election, warning in a statement to be delivered Friday at the group’s annual meeting in Chicago that the nation faces a serious threat in “rising authoritarianism.”

If Trump loses in November the country needs to be prepared for all kinds of slimy efforts to take the election for themselves.

I have no clue what they’re going to do, but it’s coming.

Nikita Shukla • earth.org

Generative AI has very quickly been adopted across various sectors. However, this has led to increased global electricity consumption that is only predicted to increase further as the technology expands, with many tech companies already at risk of defaulting on their net-zero commitments.

This is a new type of arms race between the big players. They have to do it but they’re not going to make money from it for a long time and oh by the way they’re going to strain the crap out of our power grid. Why? Shareholder value. So while your power is out and you’re baking in the heat of summer or the cold of winter they’ll be happily churning out their next iteration of a fancy pachinko game that isn’t really intelligent, it’s just a super fancy decision tree being jammed into everything because AI.

Each and every AI company should be regulated and be required to generate two times the power they consume, at no cost to the consumer, to offset their consumption. Darned digital vampires.

Stephanie Apstein • Sports Illustrated

U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village

It’s amazing what a country can do for their citizenry, isn’t it? Healthcare for all, I say! Some things need to be done for the good of society. Healthy, educated, people are an amazing thing. It will allow us to invent and solve big problems. It’s good all around, in my opinion.

[tokenlauncher]

How Entrepreneurs Are Thriving with Custom Tokens

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies, custom tokens have emerged as a powerful tool for entrepreneurs. These digital assets offer a new way to raise funds, engage with communities, and create innovative business models. This blog explores real-life success stories of entrepreneurs who have thrived by creating and leveraging custom tokens, highlighting how they have navigated the crypto landscape to achieve their goals.

What Are Custom Tokens?

Custom tokens are digital assets created on an existing blockchain, such as Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, or Solana. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which operate on their own blockchains, custom tokens are built on top of these networks. They can represent various assets, from financial instruments and utility tokens to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and more.

Why Custom Tokens?

Custom tokens offer several advantages, including:

Flexibility: They can be tailored to specific use cases and business needs.

Accessibility: Creating custom tokens is more accessible than building an entire blockchain from scratch.

Community Engagement: Tokens can incentivize and reward community participation and loyalty.

Fundraising: Custom tokens are a popular tool for raising capital through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) or Security Token Offerings (STOs).

Success Stories

1. Uniswap: Revolutionizing Decentralized Exchanges

Background: Uniswap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to trade ERC-20 tokens directly from their wallets, without relying on a centralized intermediary.

Token Creation: Uniswap launched its native token, UNI, in September 2020. The token was created to decentralize the platform’s governance and reward early adopters.

Impact: UNI holders can vote on key governance decisions, such as fee structures and development roadmaps. The token launch was a massive success, with UNI quickly becoming one of the most traded tokens on Ethereum. Uniswap’s innovative model and the success of the UNI token have revolutionized decentralized trading, making it one of the most influential projects in the DeFi space.

2. Axie Infinity: Pioneering Play-to-Earn Gaming

Background: Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game that allows players to collect, breed, and battle digital creatures called Axies. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, it incorporates NFTs to represent unique assets within the game.

Token Creation: Axie Infinity introduced two tokens, AXS (Axie Infinity Shards) and SLP (Smooth Love Potion). AXS is used for governance and staking, while SLP is used to breed Axies.

Impact: The introduction of these tokens enabled a play-to-earn model, where players can earn real value by participating in the game. This model has attracted millions of users, particularly in countries with lower average incomes, where players can earn a substantial income through gameplay. The success of Axie Infinity has demonstrated the potential of NFTs and custom tokens to create new economic opportunities.

3. Brave Browser: Redefining Digital Advertising

Background: Brave Browser is a privacy-focused web browser that blocks ads and trackers by default. It aims to create a more private and faster browsing experience.

Token Creation: Brave introduced the Basic Attention Token (BAT) to create a new model for digital advertising. Users earn BAT by opting into viewing ads, and they can use BAT to tip content creators or pay for premium content.

Impact: BAT has created a more equitable advertising ecosystem where users are rewarded for their attention, and advertisers can reach their audience more effectively. Brave’s innovative approach has garnered millions of active users and created a thriving ecosystem around BAT, proving that custom tokens can disrupt traditional industries and create value in new ways.

4. Chainlink: Connecting Smart Contracts with Real-World Data

Background: Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that provides real-world data to smart contracts on various blockchains. This functionality is crucial for enabling complex smart contract applications that require external data, such as financial markets and weather conditions.

Token Creation: Chainlink’s native token, LINK, is used to incentivize data providers (oracles) to deliver accurate and reliable data to smart contracts.

Impact: LINK has become one of the most widely used tokens in the DeFi space, with numerous partnerships and integrations across the blockchain ecosystem. Chainlink’s success has highlighted the importance of reliable data in smart contract applications and the role of custom tokens in facilitating decentralized services.

5. Golem: Decentralized Computing Power

Background: Golem is a decentralized platform that allows users to rent out their unused computing power to others. It aims to create a global supercomputer powered by the combined resources of its users.

Token Creation: Golem introduced the GNT token (now migrated to GLM) to facilitate transactions within its network. Users pay with GNT to access computing power, and providers earn GNT by offering their resources.

Impact: Golem’s token model has enabled a decentralized marketplace for computing power, reducing costs and increasing accessibility for users. The success of Golem demonstrates how custom tokens can create new economic models and decentralized services.

How to Create Your Own Custom Token

Creating your own custom token is more accessible than ever, thanks to platforms that simplify the process. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Choose a Blockchain: Select a blockchain that supports token creation, such as Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, or Solana. Each platform has its own advantages, so choose one that fits your needs.

Define Your Token’s Purpose: Determine what your token will represent and how it will be used. Consider factors like supply, distribution, and utility.

Use a Token Creation Platform: Platforms like [Your Platform Name] allow you to create custom tokens without coding knowledge. Simply fill in the required details, and your token will be generated in less than three seconds.

Deploy and Promote Your Token: Once your token is created, deploy it on the chosen blockchain and start promoting it to your target audience. Build a community around your token to drive engagement and adoption.

Conclusion

Custom tokens have opened up new opportunities for entrepreneurs, allowing them to innovate, engage communities, and raise funds in unprecedented ways. The success stories of Uniswap, Axie Infinity, Brave Browser, Chainlink, and Golem illustrate the transformative potential of custom tokens in various industries.

By leveraging platforms that simplify token creation, like Solanalauncher, entrepreneurs can quickly and easily launch their own tokens and join the growing ecosystem of blockchain innovators. Whether you’re looking to disrupt traditional industries, create new economic models, or engage with your community, custom tokens offer a powerful tool to achieve your goals.

Start your journey today and explore the endless possibilities of custom tokens. The future of decentralized innovation awaits!