#Open-Souce

[swanye-fediverse]

Looks like we picked up a modest amount of new followers (thanks, @queerplatonic-msr).

To answer your question – as the post is now restricted, for commenting –, things are still moving, albeit at somewhat of a pause (right now).

The whole family caught COVID, back in August (which our bodies did not take well, this round; gentle reminder to keep yourselves and others safe and keep masking), and I was let go from my job, after that.

As you might imagine, most of my time and energy is focused on trying to reemploy myself, at the moment; so a bit of a lull in development.

But I have every intention to continue working on Swanye, once I have a guarantee of income.

For newcomers, I lay out – at a high level – what I want Swanye to be and what I want it to do here: https://www.tumblr.com/swanye-fediverse/690187019453890560/what-this-project-is-all-about.

While that can be useful, – for some people – that format can be hard to get excited about so here're images of all the stuff that's been developed, so far:

Alright…; well, I was going to but Tumblr won't let me put any more than one video in this post so I'm afraid this is all I can show, here. But you can take a look at the original posts I uploaded, when I had been developing the feature, at the bottom half of this post: https://www.tumblr.com/swanye-fediverse/701303664961323008/swanye-fediverse-with-people-from-twitter-heading. I go into a little more detail in them and there are video descriptions, as well.

And I try to tag posts which talk about ideas I have regarding Swanye (that aren't development related), when I remember, with Swanye Meta.

In case Tumblr ever does actually go down, I have an account on Mastodon at https://fosstodon.org/@Swanye.

I have a lot of excitement about the social media, currently, that's being built and tries to circumvent or avoid Capitalism and Corporations; people want alternatives and we have a real opportunity to supplant the status quo – at the very least, in this niche – with something better.

[candyisntmyname]

If you watch youtube on android, windows, linux, or mac you should use grayjay !!! Very good app! if you can't pay you can just lie. that shit runs on the honor system

youtube is pulling this bullshit again

praying for the firefox gods to save me once more...

[theblackfemininesociety]

This Is Why I Deleted My Personal Social Media Accounts.

"Do not wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect. Trust your journey, invest in the end game."

Hi Besties,

For as long as I can remember, my life has been a journey - a quest for becoming the best woman I can be. It's been a winding path, with many detours and pit-stops along the way, but each step has brought me closer to understanding myself, my worth, and my purpose in the world. 

I started The Black Feminine Society as a platform to share my journey and to inspire others on their own. This platform has grown from a humble blog to a thriving community, a lighthouse for those seeking to embrace their femininity and navigate through life's challenges with grace and strength.

The Black Feminine Society is more than just a blog. It serves as a souce of inspiration and hope, an oasis of positivity, a safe haven for black women on their feminine journey. It's a space where we can let our guards down, lean into our feminine energy, and support each other through our triumphs and our trials.

So, why did I delete my personal social media accounts?

Simply put, it was a move towards growth, towards focus, and towards authenticity.

In this stage of my life, my brand and my mission have taken on a new level of importance. I am in my late 20s, and I firmly believe that God has given me a vision for this platform. I am at a point where I need to be fully present, fully devoted, and fully committed to bringing this vision to life.

Deleting my personal social media accounts was a necessary step in this journey. It has allowed me to focus on what truly matters - creating content that uplifts, inspires, and motivates. It has enabled me to delve deeper into my own personal growth and to work on becoming the best version of myself.

Just as I encourage you all to level up, I too am constantly striving to elevate myself. I have goals to achieve and habits to form that require my undivided attention. From hitting the gym to working on my self-confidence, I am committed to making life-altering changes.

My hope is that my journey inspires you. That it encourages you to take that leap of faith, to do the things you've been putting off, and to truly evaluate your life. I urge you to take this year to focus on you. To nurture yourself, to love yourself, and to grow into the best version of yourself.

With Love,

Leah

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🛍️ SHOP is opening soon !

[thewastedpotential]

HI! So, im a high school graduate and im writing my final paper about Ares and Aphrodite. Im so exicted cus im a big greek mythology geek and i love them very much. that being said if anyone has some reliable souce of informations about them ( i have theo and homer but i want to be as accurate as possable) and if anybody has something interesting or litteraly anything to share about them (together or as induviduals) i would love to hear it!

i know almost everything about greek mythology (been obsessed since i was 6 lol) and i know A LOT about Ares and Aphrodite of course, but im always open to suggestions and helpfull informations.

P.S.: Im tagging every greek mythology media i know so that other people interested in it can see, that being said ARES AND APHRODITE HATER FUCK OFF

[moonlight-fox]

Brief Thoughts on Shaun the Sheep S7

OK, above the cut just general opinions on the season, I'll do in depth view on specific episodes below the cut.

Very strong season with a lot of episodes that felt like they were going 'back to basics' for me for the most part, which isn't necessarially a bad thing but I did miss the wild stylistic swings which... There were still some, but not as many as S3 or S6 had.

All in all hugely enjoyable, great to get another season of this show, even if it's not my favourite season of the show.

So... Let's start with the end (or the beginning, it's hard to tell if Shirleyverse is intended as the start of S7 or the end of it from how S7 is up on iPlayer, autoplaying early in the season but listed at the end of it, and I'm sure I read the BBC1 transmissions opened with Shirleyverse?)

I don't know what I expected from a two part story with that title, or even the promotional description of the episode, but... I don't think at any point did that episode go where I was expecting it to.

Particularly when it presented me with this image:

Which reminded me of 'spaghetti junction' from Primeval given the context:

Now, I think the second half of the story was unnecessary for the concept, but I don't think 'instead of ending the episode where the story could have ended, at the end of the first half, Shaun finding himself in checks notes a dystopian alt-universe version of the farm run by the pigs. I also think the concept could have worked with just the Quantum Leap parody, though - again - I don't think having as much extra as there was on top of two equally valid takes on the idea of Shaun taking Bitzer for granted [again] and . Efficient storytelling isn't always good, and I think this is a great example of inefficient storytelling working in the story's favour.

Not sure how I feel about a two part story ending on sequel bait, but... Whatever. There's meant to be 20 episodes this season, only 18 are currently available. That might be setup for something, or might be an end gag.

Several episodes add fuel to the 'Bitzer is Autistic' theory, in particular Stars in Their Eyes, Ruffin It, but also Spare Parts, the episode Shelf Life was just solid slapstick stop motion and I really appreciate that, while Spare Parts did a very good Western stylistic gag, it's honestly nice to see the black market duck back from the 2015 movie in more regular appearances selling goods and services, I don't recall that duck being in the show outside of that film but he's in a couple of episodes this season, and I was hugely impressed by the choice to do an entire episode of a children's tv show from the point of view of a doorbell camera in Doorbell, especially since that was almost entirely a single scene - I just appreciate stuff that respects the audience's attention span.

Though I think Power Cut probably has my favourite gag of the entire season with using the farmer using the novelty musical birthday candle as an emergency light souce and Bitzer blowing it out at the end of happy birthday on instinct. Good timing, and good twist on the third gag for it.

[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Shigekiyo "Shigechi" Yangu (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) vs. Elizabeth Afton (Five Nights at Freddy's)

Y'all Hate Kids: Screwed By The Writers

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers)

-

Shigekiyo "Shigechi" Yangu (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

cw child death

He was literally just some kid who was a bit annoying, the protags beat him up about it but they were chill after, and then he literally just wanted a sandwich and the bad guy killed him over it. He's largely forgotten by the story itself since his death, while being what alerted the good guy's to the bad guy's identity, is pretty much never mentioned again after they figure out the bad guy's name except in the opening songs. He gets hugely overshadowed by Reimi's death even though she was dead before the story began (or at least this part of it) and he was the one who actually died on screen, violently. The majority of fans who acknowledge his existence reduce him to a joke, and the most common thing said about him is "Shigechi deserved to die"

Elizabeth Afton (Five Nights at Freddy's)

Child death, child neglect, mentioned suicide/SA (specific to theories), FNaF core 6 spoilers

"Okay. So. This poor child was apparently neglected, left to die, potentially took her own life (depends upon the theory you subscribe to) all because she wanted to feel like her father cared about her for once in her life. And the fanbase saw this and said ""she is a whiny, spoiled brat who deserved to die, and also would deserve to be a victim of sexual abuse."" 

She is 7-10 years old. 

I say apparently because FNaF is really vague. All of this should be taken with a small grain of salt, because Elizabeth/Circus Baby is a purposefully-cryptic character. But from my (very intense) deductions, this is her story. 

Elizabeth was likely neglected and ignored by her father, who prioritized his animatronics over her well-being. (souce FNaF SL pre-night voicelines.) 

Her father, William Afton, cared about her in theory, but not in practice, and while he ignored her to a harmful degree, he also modeled an animatronic after her: Circus Baby. However, while the general fanbase treats this as a sign that he sees her as the favorite, it's actually the opposite. He built an animatronic designed to *harvest other people's souls* in his daughter's image, as a replacement for her. 

Over and over, she asks for his attention, wondering if she can spend any time with him or see what he's been making. He never replies, and she is only treated with silence. He knows this animatronic has the potential to kill her, but what does he do to keep it from hurting her? Not let her see it. That's it. Really some 10/10 parenting (read: neglect.) 

Usually, Elizabeth is naturally curious of Circus Baby, sneaks in to see her, and is murdered by the machine. Her father's only reaction is to hide Baby, so nobody has to know what happened. However, due to the vague nature of FNaF lore, it is also possible that Elizabeth knew Baby was capable of harming her, and purposefully sought her out in an attempt to end her own life. (NOTE: like most things, this is not 100% confirmed. If you choose not to believe this is canon, feel free to skip over to the next piece of propaganda.) 

The Lizzie/Baby combination created by her demise is so desperate for any attention or love that the tries to escape the facility where she's being held in the only way she knows how to do: following in her father's footsteps and taking a life. However, it's not until the last minute that she realizes she's murdered her brother. She manages to escape, via crawling into his body (long story) but has to separate herself from his body and literally *crawl into the sewers* as a mass of broken robot parts and wires. Still, she carries on, and in one last attempt to win her father's love, she reassembles herself out of literal garbage and old animatronic-related junk. She tries, one final time, to reach her father, but it's too late. By now, he's been dead for years, transformed into Scraptrap, which, if you didn't know, is an ugly, moldy fursuit shell, barely reminiscent of what it used to be. She sticks around for one last week, as an antagonist alongside the rotten remains of her surviving(?) family, all because she wanted to be loved. All because she wanted the basic respect she deserved. All because she was a sad little girl who wanted her father to care if she lived or died. 

And what reward does the get for this?

She's taunted by Henry, her father's business partner, trapped in a burning building, melted to death in a fire, and sent to the FNaF equivalent of Hell. 

She's not supposed to be a good guy, and she's definitely not a hero, but Elizabeth might've been seven years old when she died. And if you look at a lonely little girl who just wants to be treated like a person, who is forced to become a monster if she wants to survive, and you say ""she deserves to be abused,"" y'all just hate kids. "

-

She is literally a baby. So what if she was forced via circumstance to kill that guy. Maybe if her dad didn't abandon her she would've turned out better. The fandom acts like she's the antichrist but there are other characters who get off scott free for doing waaaaay worse.

[son-of-avraham]

Do you have advice for dealing with having to take a break in your conversion process due to life circumstances? I haven't really officially started the process yet due to my rabbi being busy, but been attending a shul with people I love for months and it's become part of my routine. But due to having to move a bit farther away temporarily, I probably won't be able to go back for a few months and it's breaking my heart because going to shul for shabbat was honestly the best part of my week and idk how to cope with being away for so long :( ik there's options for zoom services but it just doesn't feel the same. Do you have any advice on how to deal with this/have you had to deal with something similar?? I just don't know who to talk to about it with anyone and it's really weighing on me, especially because the shul closest to where I'll be moving isn't super active. I really appreciate any advice you could give me if it isn't to much too ask, thank you <3

You have all my sympathies, anon. That's honestly really heartbreaking, even if it's a temporary break or even if it's something that can be resolved. I just want to make sure you know you ought to have the space to have this without feeling like maybe you're overreacting.

I think I might list some things - and these would be what I might do in your situation. I don't know if all of these will be accessible to you or something you aren't doing, so if it's not applicable, I'm sorry.

So, I might:

Get as much contact info as you can from members of the shul if you can. Keeping in contact with your community (even if you're away) can be really comforting. In my shul, we have people emailing who are very far away, and it's really nice to hear updates from the people who get emails from them

Do what you're comfortable with. How can you engage in judaism still? You might light shabbos candles, make challah, maybe study - these are all great ways to practice in a safe, controlled environment. Before I started the process, I definitely dove into studying, and it's definitely not ideal to study alone, but I do think it can be a good start if you use jewish souces

Alternative communities. Now, I live in an area with pretty much no jewish presence. I could number the jews I have heard living here on one hand. There's more catholic and litheran churches alone here than jews, so I myself rely on alternative communities. Find any jewish club, social hour, event, whatever that piques your interest and go. You are not an island in judaism. If a community doesn't call to you, you will find a new one. It might not be in-person, it might not always be organized, it might not be perfect, but that community must exist. It pretty much has to in judaism, I have found.

Don't be shy. To expand on that last point, you don't need to be shy about engaging in new communities. It's normal, it's natural, but if you're worried you'll make a bad impression, or make yourself out as a fool, or whatever... Your brain is lying to you. In my experience, the things I've been nervous about (that jews around me will think I'm an interloper, mostly) just aren't true. So many jews I have met are starving for new connections, especially from people who are genuinely interested in judaism and living a jewish life and they have the curiosity to be open to new people. I don't say that as a ride or objectifying thing - I've felt this way. I'm always starving to know everyone, especially in jewish spaces. Healthy jewish communities (I think and in my experience) are elated over new people

If you have already done some of this, I hope my suggestions don't come across as insulting your intelligence. These are the things I have done in a town with very few jews and in a space where it can be hard to engage with judaism properly and in the way I want. I don't understand your personal situation, but I do understand the heartbreak, frustration, and sadness of not having a jewish community or of not being able to live the jewish life you want, so I really hope you don't discount any of those feelings if you're having them. You deserve a healthy, vibrant jewish community and it's one of the lifeline of jews, I think, so it's understandable why it hits people so hard when there isn't that.

I hope that anyone here who also has ideas feels safe and comfortable to share them. This is a very common reality for so many of us, so you are definitely not alone in this. As heartbreaking as it is, you aren't the first person to experience this. I don't say that to discount you! What I mean is that you aren't alone in your feelings and that there are people out there able to empathize with you and want to help. There are few truly unique experiences, and that can be the biggest blessing that g-d could give. If you want or need to talk more, the doors here are more than open for you. Even if these suggestions don't work out for you, I still hope for the best for you, and I hope you find comfort in any community you can find

[prince-does-art]

My Commissions are OPEN, in the form of Ko-fi Donations!

One of my good friends, Toast (Click here for his twitter, and here for their Ko-fi) is getting surgery. Drawing is his only souce of income, and he will need time to recover! To help him out, all commissions funds from the next two months will directly go to him and his partner (and their cat!).

I can also do Sonic style redesigns of your OCs or pets!

Every reblog is a huge help.

[leiyahime]

Update on Advent 2023

Another few days passed. And another hiccup occurred... My thumb hurts from spinning, unwinding the spindle with my electric screwdriver (I guess that's the main souce of the pain) and work, so I haven't spun the last three days and will only resume on Sunday the earliest, to give it a rest. It was okay Wednesday afternoon so I started my new nalbinding project (A pair of socks) which turned out to be a mistake and yesterday morning my thumb hurt more than the day before... now it's okay again, but I don't wanna risk anything for the next two days.

Doesn't keep me from at least opening the fire bags of my advent calendar.

From the berries it turned into a nice cinnamon brown (I want apple cinnamoon cake/cupcakes now!!) and then a nice pine forest green and now it turned into turquoise! I looove this!!!

Oh and I plied the first batch. It's sooo beautiful! Days 1-8:

[ahordeofwasps]

OC in 3

I've been tagged by the spectacular @kaylinalexanderbooks! Thanks for the tag! I'm going to do this for an OC from Crying Wolf. I've already done this game for Ogwut, so I'm going to pick a different OC via dice roll. And the dice has chosen... Justine!

But first, the no pressure tags! I'll be tagging @writingamongther0ses, @chauceryfairytales, @deanwax, @the-down-upside-finch, and open tag!

Now, onto those images!

Souce: [one][two][three]

[loz-stormseye]

Thatchfur Village

Zone 1 of Link's journey in a newly reformed Hyrule. Complete with fuzzy villagers, who would think anything was wrong?

[Photo ID : comprehensive guide (zone 1) Thatchfur village... A mysterious village, located near the coast. For some reason, every season it migrates to the other corner of the island. Some Thatchfur houses can be seen across all of Hyrule.

Thatchferians are a cat-like native species which have a peaceful and calm demeanor. Common clothing includes thick, wollen cardigans, still collar shirts and fish scales. Their main souce of food is fish. This accessory (a red fuzzball) is culturally significant). Most hate water.

Link starts here! End photo ID]

[Photo ID= A generic Thatchfur house= an image of a house with "three roofs" arranged like the top of a stereotypical cat head with a pointy hat, with a circular window at the front and other windows to the side. It has a porch and a door beyond the porch. On the sides, near the bottom are brick arches.

It has the labels : circle window, Thatch (for the roof), window, Brick arches, basement?, gap and porch. End photo ID]

[PHOTO ID: But wait! The house is the same as before, but there is a creature underneath, labelled Domestic Nevt. It has the house as a shell, like a tortoise, and has webbed feet and a tail that curles up. It's face is reminiscent of an axolotl. End photo ID]

[Photo ID: A sketch page. There is another domestic Nevt with an open mouth. Next to it says that they eat anything and live for 100 plus years. Next to it is a happy minimalist Thatchferian family with the house and Nevt, tilted. Underneath it is titled "always appears in portraits". There is a box containing domestic Nevts and houses with the word "migrates!". A small box is underneath that saying "mittens for claw growth duration" which is referencing the kitten next to it, wearing a collar. This is explained by words saying that kittens wear collars for identification (for sleepovers and such). End photo ID]

[Photo ID: A picture of a clueless looking Link, with lightning earrings and a woolen cardigan with a semi-tucked shirt. Beside this image there is an image of a sword, called "Banged up wooden sword" which has 15 attack power. Next to the sword is a wooden shield, which has 20 defense. Underneath, Links outfit is called Cosy clothes, which offers no defense but gives Link 50 Thatchfur reputation. Underneath that, there is an image of a lightning earring, which gives Link 10 lightning mastery. It is a reward from the quest "Ode to a storm". Underneath taht, there is an image of a Fishing Rod, with 15 attack and 15 fishing. It is a reward from the quest chain "a tale of 2 fishermen". End photo ID]

[Photo ID an image of a line that looks a bit like an ear, with an earring hanging off it. It is called the Fuzzball earring and it offers 100 reputation for Thatchfur village. It is found in a chest. Next to it is lore regarding the fuzzball, which states that the fuzzball represents the red moon of wilder times, when Thatferians split from their Linel counterparts. End photo ID]

Ok maybe the photo IDs are excessive but I want to make sure that everyone can be able to tell what is going on because they are a bit chaotic. Also my handwriting is illegible in parts.

[cagemasterfantasy]

Cleric (Grave Domain)

Gods of the grave watch over the line between life and death. To these deities, death and the afterlife are a foundational part of the multiverse’s workings. To resist death, or to desecrate the dead’s rest, is an abomination. Deities of the grave include Kelemvor, Wee Jas, the ancestral spirits of the Undying Court, Hades, Anubis, and Osiris. These deities teach their followers to respect the dead and pay them due homage. Followers of these deities seek to put restless spirits to rest, destroy the undead wherever they find them, and ease the suffering of dying creatures. Their magic also allows them to stave off a creature’s death, though they refuse to use such magic to extend a creature’s lifespan beyond its mortal limits.

Grave Domain Spells

Cleric Level 1: Bane and False Life

Cleric Level 3: Gentle Repose and Ray of Enfeeblement

Cleric Level 5: Revivify and Vampiric Touch

Cleric Level 7: Blight and Death Ward

Cleric Level 9: Antilife Shell and Raise Dead

Circle of Mortality: At level 1, you gain the ability to manipulate the line between life and death. When you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell to a creature at 0 hit points, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.

In addition, you learn the cantrip Spare the Dying, which doesn't count against the number of cleric cantrips you know. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action.

Eyes of the Grave: At level 1, you gain the ability to occasionally sense the presence of the undead, whose existence is an insult to the natural cycle of life. As an action, you can open your awareness to magically detect undead. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any undead within 60 feet of you that isn't behind total cover and that isn't protected from divination magic. This sense doesn't tell you anything about a creature's capabilities or identity.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave: Starting at level 2, you can use Channel Divinity to mark another creature’s life force for termination.

As an action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you, cursing it until the end of your next turn. The next time you or an ally of yours hits the cursed creature with an attack, the creature has vulnerability (Double Damage) to all of that attack's damage, and then the curse ends.

Sentinel at Death's Door: At level 6, you gain the ability to impede death’s progress. As a reaction when you or an ally that you can see within 30 feet of you suffers a critical hit, you can turn that attack into a normal hit. Any effects triggered by a critical hit are canceled.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Potent Spellcasting: Starting at level 8, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.

Keeper of Souls: At level 17, you can seize a trace of vitality from a parting soul and use it to heal the living. When an enemy you can see dies within 30 feet of you, you or one ally of your choice that is within 30 feet of you regains hp equal to the enemy’s number of Hit Dice. You can use this feature only if you aren't incapacitated. Once you use it, you can't do so again until the start of your next turn.

Souce: Xanathar's Guide to Everything

[thescions]

“ don't think for even a second that you have to prove something to me. i love you just the way you are. “ - Venat/Hydaelyn for Minfilia c:

Reassurance Starters || Accepting

Minfilia could not remember the last time she had run so hard. In truth, she was running away from her friends' noble sacrifices just as much as she did the waves of enemies sent to silence them.

Just ahead of her, the Warrior of Light -- unjustly accused, more than the rest of them -- rushed on. Fierce, quick, but never once out of reach. Never once did she feel in danger of being left behind. She had always been guided and protected, nurtured and permitted to grow, with whispers of the Mothercrystal offering insight and reassurance.

You must return, Minfilia. Come back to me. My Champion must proceed alone.

It was the clearest she had ever heard Her Words. There was no reason to question them or disobey.

Now, in a rush of steps and shouts and Y'shtola's spell, she found herself floating in the aetherial sea.

Was she dead? Did that mean Y'shtola and Thancred were, too? Had they been crushed under the tunnel's collapse? Had she done what she was supposed to? Had she failed?

Before those thoughts could consume her, however, a comforting warmth indescriable bid she open her eyes. Before her stood a being that, immediately, she knew to be Hydaelyn, ethereal and wondrous and beyond any could imagine.

Hydaelyn told her everything -- everything that had come before and everything that would soon come to pass. Tales of loss and fire and faith. The truth of the Ancients, of the Souce and its Reflections -- of Her, Venat, the one who did what She could to preserve it all.

It was a tragedy that needed a beautiful conclusion. Minfilia knew that the Warrior of Light would deliver that hope in the end. And so she swore to assist Hydaelyn in all that she could, to do whatever was asked of her, no matter how dire it may be.

Again, Hydaelyn's words stopped her -- in a different way. A softer, warmer way. It reminded her of F'lhaminn, and for a moment, Minfilia could only feel guilt and sorrow over those she would leave behind.

But it was all for them. For her family, her friends -- though they would mourn her, they would continue living anyway. Even if it was hard. Finally, Minfilia looked up.

"And I thank you for that love," she bowed her head. "I thank you for all that you have done, Hydaelyn. And all that you will allow me to help you achieve."

Venat had made countless sacrifices for the people and the world she loved. Minfilia would do the same.

[its-hazzia]

To add some Nuance✨:

There actually have been a few instances lately of bad actors hijacking important foss software libraries (not defending private software, let me get to it). Most notoriously was the case of XZ Utils, which is used by just about everything ever and maintained by one single guy for a very very long time. A certain Mr Bad Guy spent a full year, using multiple dummy accounts, trying to to convince the maintainer to hand off full control to him using a combo of submitting actual helpful contributions and using to dummy accounts to apply peer pressure. This was successful, the Mr Bad Guy pushed a malicious update, and it was only caught because some absolute King noticed his ssh was slow and did a deep dive to find the cause.

Now, does this mean that commercial software is safer? No, of course not, that's stupid. What it means is that we need MORE people in the FOSS game so that there are more expert eyes which are able to actively contribute to, and find issues with, the foundational architectures that power the gears running the most unseen parts of our day to day lives.

There are people who may think "oh, but because anybody can contribute, doesn't that mean it's that much easier for the Mr Bad Guys to do bad things? Well, I want to say "yes and "no", but the answer really is just no. Unless they made the entire piece themselves, and have gotten lots of people to start using it while somehow avoiding ANYONE actually looking at their code (the "open source" part of "free and open souce) and seeing it's shit, it's just not any easier to hijack. As anybody who's worked for a company can attest, the security controls way too many times hinge on a single guy being both in the correct secutiry position and sufficiently competent to keep out bad actors. The actual software update process does normally involve code review, but on top of that tending not to have the rigor behind it you'd think it should, remember that the XZ Utils guy spent a whole year building up trust? International remote hires are common in the private tech sector. They get a couple of bad guys in, build up enough trust and seniority, start doing each other's code reviews, and bam ya cooked son. And no chance for some good samaritan to find any issues with it because the company doesn't want anyone to steal it.

Tl;dr: FOSS has the potential to be way more secure than privatized software, but we need more expert contributors to make that possibility a reality. Start teaching your toddlers software basics today!

before it gets bad I'm just gonna tell y'all certain rich people have literally only recently noticed Open Source software availability compromises the bottom line of their proprietary investments so if you see little chickadees on this website talking about the dangers of Open Source software all of a sudden it's cuz they accidentally sipped some koolaid mixed up by the far right yacht people to fuck with peoples software sovereignty and right to repair, modify, and redistribute robust codebases that become a problem when 30% of your portfolio is in, oh, say, adobe or openai.

This is your unfriendly neighborhood computer fucker telling you not to fall for it and to demand your right to digital sovereignty rather than trusting companies to make correct choices about what to do with the parts of your life they would very much like to have in the cloud to continue improving their products.

[newspatrolling]

Is DeepSeek Better Than ChatGPT?

While majority of mainstream media is backing DeepSeek, user experiences vary depending on the type of queries

Within just a few days of its launch, DeepSeek’s latest version has rattled the global AI and tech industry. US tech and AI stocks have seen a fall of more than $1 trillion in their valuation. Across most media platforms, one can see reports on how DeepSeek is better than ChatGPT. Let us do a quick evaluation to understand if DeepSeek is really better than ChatGPT.

DeepSeek Vs. ChatGPT - Key Differences

Open source - One of the things that make DeepSeek more accessible is that it is an open-source platform. It implies that developers across the globe can contribute to enhance the code. This will ensure that DeepSeek continues to improve with every new version. In comparison, ChatGPT is developed and maintained exclusively by OpenAI. The training models and underlying code of ChatGPT is proprietary. However, being proprietary is not necessarily bad. It is just that DeepSeek's open-source approach will attract more developers who may want to make the platform better.

Affordability - For organizations that may want to benefit from AI, DeepSeek can be a more affordable option. DeepSeek has been developed using fewer resources. For example, most of the leading AI firms use supercomputers to train their chatbots. They have used up to 16,000 integrated circuits for such tasks. In comparison, DeepSeek V3 was developed using just around 2,000 specialized computer chips. The training time was just 55 days and the overall cost was US$5.58 million. That is around one-tenth of the costs involved in developing AI tech by other big companies like Meta.

User experiences - As of now, the digital realm is flooded with numerous reports from mainstream media. As a result, actual user experiences are not getting the attention they deserve. Ultimately, it will be the user experiences that will determine which generative AI platform is better. It is easy to influence mainstream media, but it can be done only for a specific period of time. Some actual user experiences are now starting to get highlighted. And these reveal mixed reactions - some in favor of DeepSeek and others voting for ChatGPT.

Questioning skills - What type of response one gets from an AI platform also depends on the querying skills of the user. While AI platforms are designed to understand badly quoted questions, it may still impact the response generated. Learning to ask the right questions in an easy-to-understand language can help get better results from generative AI platforms such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT. It implies that deciding which is the better AI platform also depends on who is asking the questions.

Privacy and censorship - DeepSeek is developed by a China-based company, something that has raised concerns about privacy and censorship. For example, DeepSeek does not respond to sensitive topics such as alleged human rights violations in China, Uyghurs and 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Discussions are also terminated if one questions any of the core socialist values. It is also being claimed that DeepSeek could be collecting personal data and transferring it to servers in China. This data can be misused for spreading disinformation, carrying out surveillance and developing cyberweapons.

From the above, it is apparent that one needs more time to assess whether DeepSeek is better than ChatGPT. As of now, the media deluge is making it look like a one-sided game. One will get a better idea when the focus shifts to actual user experiences.

souce: newspatrolling.com

[rupalic]

Global Biological Pest Control Market Valued at $13.7 Billion by 2027

The global biological pest control market is estimated to be valued at USD 6.6 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 13.7 billion by 2027, recording a CAGR of 15.8% during the forecast period. Biocontrol solutions are naturally derived crop protection solutions such as biopesticides and semiochemicals. They are derived from natural sources such as microbials, biochemicals, and macrobials. Traditional agricultural chemicals are harmful to both the environment and people’s health. Thus, policymakers across the globe, notably in the North American and European areas are regulating them to assure food safety, security, and environmental sustainability. Consumer awareness and the demand for organic food are both soaring. The market is fueled by a combination of all these factors.

Biological Pest Control Market Drivers: Rapid spike in pest proliferation as a consequence of climate change

Plant diseases and pests are more frequent as a result of climatic circumstances’ rapid changes. Climate change has a considerable impact on agricultural productivity and pest susceptibility throughout time. Changing climatic circumstances make crops more vulnerable to various illnesses and pests, which reduces crop production as a whole. As a result, climate change not only causes farming practises to diverge but also lower crop output. These elements have increased farmers’ reliance on high-quality crop protection products for efficient pest prevention, driving up market demand for biocontrol over the coming few years. Thus, it is anticipated that during the research period, demand for biocontrols will rise.

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The most popular source of biocontrols are microbials, with an estimated market value of USD 3,758.9 million in 2022

Pest-specific microbial biocontrol crop protection methods help control pests without harming the environment. In a short amount of time, microbes can also be cultivated in the favourable conditions. Compared to macrobials, they have longer life cycles and can also be stored for use in the future. In comparison to other sources, the cost of creating microbial-based crop protection solutions is also lower. Therefore, the combination of all these variables has made microbials as a souce the industry leader in biocontrol. Additionally, microbials are anticipated to rule during the forecast period.

North America dominated the market, with a value of USD 2,597.3 million in 2022; it is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 16.1% and reach USD 5,472.3 million by 2027

In 2022, North America’s share of the worldwide biological pest control market was estimated to be 39.5%. US, Canada, and Mexico are among the North American nations taken into account for the study of the market. One of the main factors influencing the market adoption of biocontrol is the loss of conventional products due to registration or product performance concerns. Research is a major area of concentration for many important companies, including Corteva Agriscience, FMC Corporation, and Marrone Bio Innovations.

In terms of the end-use application industry, there is no stand-out trend. However, foliar sprays in the biopesticides segment and traps in the semiochemicals segment are projected to witness the fastest growth.

Key Market Players

The key players biological pest control market include BASF SE (Germany), Bayer AG (Germany), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), and Corteva Agriscience (US).

During the forecast period, the segment for fruits and vegetables is expected to increase at the highest CAGR of 16.2%.

High-value specialty crops like fruits and vegetables are often produced in greenhouses and open fields. Due to the increase in health conscious consumers in recent years, the demand for healthy, organic foods like fruits and vegetables has increased, which has led to a change in crop production to specialty crops. Crop farmers profit more from high value crops. Input into agriculture is therefore consistently greater. Along with biopesticides, several pheromone-based solutions are also majorly used in the crop type due to the semiochemicals’ efficacy to control pests in fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are also the most exported crop types in the organic sector. Thus, to comply with import regulations especially in the North American and European countries, fruits and vegetables segment consume a large share of biocontrol and the demand is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period.

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