#but like the great elon musk....they thought that was a good idea

[thetimelordbatgirl]

One hand, its concerning that Elon Musk is being said to be getting a government position under Trump. Other hand, the announcement calling him 'the great Elon Musk' calls for all the mockery in the world because they really went with that-

[medicinemane]

I once was talking with my pharmacy manager about... democracy, about how while there's plenty of stupid people in the world we'd all probably prefer didn't vote, that it was very very hard to actually make a line that makes sure only wise people vote while keeping all the idiots out

And I basically said to him "think of all the doctors and pharmacists you know who are smart, well educated people, who you 100% don't think make good choices"

From the look and his face, I'd say that spoke to him (it's incredible how many smart idiots there are in the world, isn't it?)

Anyway, I make that point because it much more addresses the whole concept of... lets call it democracy of the fit

Like it sounds great till you actually take even one second to think about it. It's almost like trying to draw any line in the sand for who it's ok to disenfranchise is not only dumb and ineffective, but also super dangerous. Ah man, I'm sorry, you scored too low on this test which happens behind closed doors and is graded by my political ally... it's not like you disagreeing with me had anything to do with that

(I'd hope we don't even need to touch on why the idea that testosterone levels are a really stupid useless way to decide who gets to vote, cause if that's true then we don't even have to disenfranchise anyone, we can just give out steroids and have the best country in the world... or is it only naturally produced T that makes you a free thinker?)

oh hey just in case anyone who left twitter is wondering how things are going over there

last night elon tweeted a 4chan screenshot (with bonus antisemitic text in the OP image) advocating for only “high status males” in government and the implied repeal of women’s suffrage. Cool cool cool

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

Hello hello 😄

I've been wondering, what are your thoughts on the Vees' public perception and how do they compare to other overlords? We see people swarming Vox at Vee tower in episode 2, addressing him as Mr. Vox and seemingly without fear. The Vees also seem to market a lot of products themselves, like the love potion and I'm sure there's gotta be merch. I mean, they have popsickles with their faces on 😂 I wonder about their public personas. So far, the only one we've seen interact with the outside is Vox, but I'm curious to know what Val and Velvette are like and how the public views them. Any thoughts?

I think that the Vees in hell are celebrities. Vivzie once compared Angel Dust to Paris Hilton since porn is a completely normal medium in Hell so I think porn directing and pimping is also a well-respected profession sksksks Who knows, Valentino probably has a collection of Porn Oscars. Velvette is an influencer and Vox is like Elon Musk. Yes, he's a billionaire but he's also cool and relevant and probably has thousands of fuckboys ready to ride his dick into oblivion, proving to everyone how brilliant Mr. Vox is.

Carmilla disregards them as wannabes because they are different than the rest of the Overlords. They do not operate in shadows, they are not terrifying like Zestiel or Alastor or focused on taking care of their own like Rosie. Instead, they choose to weaponize people's sympathy. Our brand is perfection. Trust us. Vox puts so much effort into keeping their image clean because when you are simply liked you can get away with so much more. Maybe people move out of your way when you are feared but will they support you when you need it?

So I think publics love them and have no idea how terrible they are. Even Val - these two girls at the club seemed really comfortable with him so the extent of his abuse is not public knowledge. All nasty stuff happens within the Vees' Tower and is available only for the inner circle. On the outside, the Vees deliver citizens of Hell only good things - entertainment, escapism, prestige, fashion, everything a common person would want to make their life a little bit less shitty. They are the pop Overlords of the masses and I think that it will be their great asset as villains in season 2.

[sirfrogsworth]

The Babylon Bee School of Comedy

Have you ever wanted to make Elon Musk reply to you with a double cry laughing emoji?

If you crave that sweet billionaire validation you need only follow this carefully crafted conservative comedy content creation course for that powerhouse of online satire... The Babylon Bee.

Soon you too could be bootlicking billionaire balls with the rest of The BBee writers.

Are you ready to get your learn on?

Let us Bee-gin.

The number one most important rule that all The BBee writers must internalize to their core...

Conservative comedy abhors effort.

Brainstorming for hours on end to craft the perfect premise and punchline... is for the Libs. Check out this Facebook meme that got 10,000 likes.

Can you order Starbucks from a bar? Doesn't matter, it's a snowflake drink for a snowflake Lib.

Does this joke not have an actual punchline? Doesn't matter, get lost you stupid Lib!

Is this technically a joke by definition? Doesn't matter, if you believe it is a joke, then it's a joke! Just like modern currency.

If you put too much thought into a joke, it might grow in complexity. That could be confusing! The death knell of any conservative joke are the words, "Hmm, that's a thinker."

This brings us to rule number two...

NO THINKERS!

Let's take this Ben Garrison comic as an example.

Spell everything out! Label everything! Don't leave anything to the imagination! If your audience has to figure something out or draw their own conclusions, what fun is that?

Conservatives want to hear things that are familiar. They want their beliefs parroted back at them. You must regurgitate those beliefs and then just make it *sound* like a joke. Don't break new ground or introduce new ideas. Don't get all caught up in interesting wordplay or clever puns or subverting expectations.

All expectations should be fully verted.

That is definitely a word because I saw someone use it on Facebook. End of research.

Here is a helpful tip. If you can't imagine the joke coming out of the mouth of late night comedy genius GUTFELD!, then you need to dial it back a bit. Do not surpass GUTFELD! levels of humor. GUTFELD! is your touchstone.

Oh, GUTFELD! I laughed so hard I FELD it in my GUT.

See, I went too far with my fancy pun. That is not the GUTFELD! way.

But what happens if inspiration is fleeting and you can't pay attention to your comedy writing task because you don't believe ADHD is real and thus you are unmedicated?

Don't you worry. If you do happen to get writer's block or are distracted by a funny Pepe meme or a shiny object, just call your racist uncle and say the magic word... "Bidenflation."

As the ensuing unhinged rant darts from subject to subject without any kind of connecting theme, just start writing down every right wing buzzword you hear. Then just insert those buzzwords Mad Libs-style into a derivative joke format.

Let's practice!

Ex. 1: Why did the PRONOUNS cross the BORDER? To get to the DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR!

Ex. 2: How many GENDERS does it take to GROOM a lightbulb? Two! One to hold the BUTT PLUG and one to GO WOKE, GO BROKE.

Great start! I'm sure with a polishing pass those will make more sense. Or not. The bar is pretty much "will it get clicks?" so we're not too worried about coherence.

Heh... Mad Libs.

U MAD, LIBS?

Get it? Cuz Libs are always mad? About the normalized bigotry and whatnot.

Jokes are always better when you need to explain them.

Oh! That's another rule. Write that down. Wisdom like this is why I am teaching this course, of course. Hah, that's like that horse show song. I got jokes coming out the wazoo. Wazoo is my butt, right? Siri, is wazoo a butt? Oof, I'm kinda spacing on what the next lesson is.

I really wish Matt Walsh hadn't flushed my Adderall down the crapper.

Can I get a second opinion? Top Gun was so good. What does Tom Cruise think about ADHD? He always has good takes on stuff like this. Did I leave my oven on? Shazam, what song goes doodoo doo doo doooooo? Can you vacuum a yard? Has anyone tried that? That sounds more like a marijuana thought than an ADHD tangent. I should double check the THC content of that cotton candy vape juice.

I'm flyin' off the rails over here.

Matt, are you super duper sure it's not real?

Okay, fine. I'm an "energetic boy."

I hope whichever fish absorbs my meds is extra focused on whatever fish shit he needs to get done.

COMEDY WRITING!

Sometimes it is best to learn through observation. Let's eavesdrop on an actual The BBee writer's room to see how the sausage is made...

"So what did your racist uncle have to say?"

"Well, first he texted me a cameraphone picture of Trump as an astronaut that he wants me to print out cuz he doesn't know what a crypto wallet is... but then he said all the woke schools are turning kids into a bunch of gay commies."

"EUREKA!"

Classic! The BBee writers strike again. I mean, they aren't striking. There is no commie clamoring for a union at The Babylon Bee. That's for damn sure. FOCUS!

Do you get the joke though? With the kids and the gay and the communism?

Because all of those woke schools totally cover complex economic theories in 4th grade and all it takes to turn gay is a little persuasion from a teacher with green hair. Libs of TikTok wouldn't lie about that. End of research.

Look at this public school teacher!

I mean, you knooow she has a litter box in her classroom. I can just sense it. End of research.

Sure... it is just a context-free picture of a person with green hair in front of a flag and you cannot actually judge the quality of their teaching ability from this. But yoouuu knoooooow she is skipping right over grammar lessons and giving detailed instructions on how to turn gay.

Step 1: Look at a bunch of butts. Step 2: Touch a bunch of butts. Step 3: Gay sex a bunch of butts.

(Replace butts with cooches for lesbians.)

Grooming accomplished.

And you definitely shouldn't look up that green-hair'd, nose ring'd educator and research her any further. Extensive research is for the Libs, bro. Because you definitely don't want to discover she is a passionate high school English teacher who makes fun content on TikTok in the hopes that people will buy things off her wishlist so her students will have a better learning experience. I mean, caring about her students? That's so gay.

YoooOOOuuuUUU knnnooooooOOOw she is a bad teacher because she has green hair and a flag. End. Of. Research.

So... you have your gay communist headline that is perfect to get all of those sweet conservative clicks. But you still have a full webpage to fill out with more words and stuff.

Now I want to see if you learned anything from my perfectly focused and informative teachings. I want you to write some jokes about kids becoming gay communists.

Ready? GO!

Joke #1 Little Billy has wealthy parents so all the students will share his cookie at snack time.

Joke #2 At the beginning of the day, students pick a new gender out of a hat but all the kids fight over Attack Helicopter.

Joke #3 At lunch, the students have to stand in a peanut butter and jelly bread line.

Joke #4 The teacher makes the kids take turns combing each others' hair for a grooming session.

Wait a sec... are those... THINKERS?

No no no no no! You made my brain all confused and thinky!

You need to calm down, you overachieving silly billy. You forgot the first rule... NO EFFORT.

Just make the same joke over and over again with slightly different wording. EASY!

Remember the classic final rule of comedy...

Jokes always get funnier the more you repeat them.

Anyway, that's probably enough... joke.

Now let's close this article out!

Maybe we can drop the pretense this is comedic satire and just do some hardcore pandering. Gotta own the Libs, amirite?

Gender theory and drag queens and guns, oh my! That is pure pander-monium.

Just shove those factless tactless Tucker talking points straight down their gullet. They'll forget this was supposed to be funny and shake their fist in the air with exaltation. And it's definitely a great idea to put the thought of gunning down drag queens in their heads. That won't backfire in any way!

Congratulations! You are now ready to "write" for The Babylon Bee.

Please purchase this official Trump NFT certificate for $99 that acknowledges that you have completed this course and have a very poor understanding of what satire actually is.

End of research.

[msmysticfail]

Elon Musk Natal Chart Reading

Believe it or not, Elon Musk is a very romantic and reserved person. This is because he has Sun and Venus in the 12th house, which means that he lives a lot in his head, he has an entire universe inside his mind, which he really wants to share with others, this is because his Sun is in Cancer, this sign generally wants to share its intimate universe with other people, as it does not like being alone. Elon has been very deluded in love (Venus in the 12th house), he falls in love with intelligent women, who can be a match for his curiosity and intellect (Venus in Gemini), but they are usually not very attached, or he is not very attached. He can have a difficult relationship with women because at the same time that he wants intimacy, he also craves space and innovation.

As everyone already knows, Elon considers the “family institution” to be very important, he has said this in several interviews, this is due to his Sun in Cancer, who loves the idea of being able to generate life and nourish it, that people should have more children. He feels good about his children, as they are his legacy(Descendant in Capricorn), what he will leave to the world, in a way.

He is a great father, despite being absent most of the time, as the Sun in the 12th house represents physical distance. He lets his children live their own world, but he will always be there to provide unconditional support and love (Sun in Cancer in the 12th house) if they need it.

He is very restless, since his Sun makes an aspect of tension with Uranus, he may have had/still has anxiety, this is because when he wants something he wants to see it manifest as quickly as possible (Uranus in the 3rd house + Mars in Aquarius). He may also have suffered many betrayals from people he thought were his friends (Uranus in the 3rd house in Libra), whom he trusted or had partnerships with (Libra). These betrayals really affected him(Sun + Venus in the 12th house), as he did not expect such behavior from certain people (Uranus).

Because he was betrayed, he may have closed himself off (Mars in the 8th house), creating certain barriers between himself and others in an emotional way (Sun in the 12th), distrusting people's motive and intentions (Mars in the 8th). He also likes to see his projects bearing fruit soon (Mars in Aquarius). He rarely changes his mind, as Mars in Aquarius is very stubborn, when he gets an idea in his head he will pursue it fanatically. No one can stop him, as Mars in this sign is unstoppable, he goes after what he wants, fighting for his ideals in an unbeatable way (Mars in the 8th house).

He is very critical of himself and others(Moon in Virgo), he generally doesn't take people's opinions into consideration, which can hurt them, but he doesn't criticize to harm people, he really wants to see things around him improve.

He has the Moon in the 2nd house, which means that financial security is very important to him, the accumulation of financial resources is something that brings him comfort and emotional security on a certain level. He also knows his worth, knowing how to nurture himself (Moon in the 2nd house + Sun in Cancer) and others.

Elon Musk is very affectionate and generous with the people he loves, he is always giving gifts (Moon in the 2nd house), sometimes he does this to compensate for his absence in the lives of those he loves (Sun + Venus in the 12th house: absence), but he is always thinking about these people while he works (Moon in the 2nd house).

With Saturn in the 11th house he may have just a few (real) friends, generally these people do not give him the emotional support he needs, those who support him are there most of the time just to advise him, and not really listen to his emotional problems and face difficult situations together with him.

One thing that everyone also knows and that defines Elon's fame: he has many children. This can be explained by his Jupiter in the 5th house: the 5th house talks about children, our creations, things that are created through love. Jupiter expands everything it touches, so obviously he can be very f2rtile, mainly because of his Sun in Cancer and Jupiter in Scorpio. Furthermore, he has strong genes (Jupiter in Scorpio), his children look a lot like him.

He has Mercury in conjunction with the Ascendant, he is very strategic, when he knows what he wants (Mars in the 8th house), he gathers all his strength, collects and saves all his resources (Moon in the 2nd house + Mars in the 8th house) and then invests everything in what he wants. His actions are well thought out and he is very intelligent (Venus in Gemini + Uranus in the 3rd house in Gemini + Mars in Aquarius), and he is also very sincere (Moon in Virgo).

In his free time I would say that he likes to drink (Sun+Venus in the 12th house), expensive wines (Moon in the 2nd house), and read a good book (Mercury conjunct the ascendant + Uranus in the 3rd house: need for intellectual stimulation).

As his 6th house begins in Sagittarius he has physical vigor, he doesn't get sick easily, he likes to do things that give him energy on a daily basis, this is good because his Sun and Venus in the 12th house could have given him low immunity.

He also loses interest, romantically speaking, if the relationship lacks intellectual stimulation or if the other person no longer stimulates his curiosity, as he likes new things, especially with Uranus in the 3rd house and Venus in Gemini.

Also, with Uranus in the 3rd house he is very open-minded, unconventional and finds it very difficult to fit into conventional patterns. His mind doesn't sit still and his thoughts are so fast that sometimes everything gets jumbled in his mind, even though he knows almost intuitively how each thought and idea connects together.

[kawaiibunnora]

Top 10 Game Changer Episodes

In lieu of the recent WatchMojo video, Top 10 Best Game Changer Episodes, I feel like making my own top 10 Game Changer eps in spite of them. (fyi I will be grouping any repeating episodes into one unit. Ex: Sam Says, Sam Says 2, and Sam Says 3 would all count for "Sam Says")

10. Bingo The reason this episode makes it into my person top 10 is because of how many times I was caught off guard. The plot twist AFTER the plot twist made this episode such a fun watch. Also I love seeing the cast torture Brennan by making him "defend" Elon Musk /lh

9. Deja vu Everybody do the Wenis! The Wenis is a dance. Everybody is a genius who knows it in advance! This episode has such a great cast and the reoccurring bits were so fun. I loved how they started bribing Brian to stay quiet, and I'm personally just a huge sucker for time loops (one of my favorite games is In Stars and Time)

8. Yes or No Do I even need to explain this one? Just go watch the clip if you dont know why this is here. Look up "Brennan Lee Mulligan monologue" and you'll understand why this episode is in the top 10. The only reason the episode isnt any higher is because the bulk of the episode is pretty forgettable.

7. Second Place Another Brennan monologue!!! Honestly, If Brennan stares into the camera and monologues for a solid minute or two, that episode is guaranteed to be in the top 10, but, what puts this episode above Yes or No is the episode itself. The cast is so full of life and passion, and Brennan's consistent philosophy throughout the whole episode makes it one of the greats.

6. Don't Cry I have been a Dropout member for 2-ish years now. When I first became a member, I binge-watched all of Game Changer. Or at least I thought I did. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I saw someone mention Don't Cry and I had no idea what episode it was. So I went back, watched the episode, and was in tears by the end of it. Not only is the episode a beautiful gesture for an amazing writer and comedian, but every word spoken felt genuine, which made the entire episode so much more impactful.

5. A Game Most Changed Every single Dropout cast member is extremely talented, but not once have I seen an improve show as breathtaking and skillful as A Game Most Changed. The amount of skill and talent that is required to improvise an entire Shakespearean play while being thrown those curveballs- the insane coordination between the three actors, with each setting the others up for points. Despite playing for points, the cast frequently set up the others to succeed, favoring storytelling over winning. Absolutely beautiful.

4. Escape The Backroom Pure, unadulterated entertainment. Watching 3 grown adults go ape shit trying to solve puzzles and escape an escape room while unsubtly threatening their captor. Brennan, Lou, and Siobhan have such good chemistry as a team, leading to some of my all-time favorite Game Changer clips. The creation of an entire story for the escape room was inspired, and Sam's switch at the end was just the cherry on top.

3. Sam Says Whenever I have a friend over and I want to show them one Game Changer episode to represent EVERYTHING that Game Changer can be, I show them Sam Says. Each episode has an amazing cast that bounces off each other, and each episode continues to surprise and delight me. Personally, I think Sam Says 2 is the best, but all 3 are fun, high-energy, and insane. Perfect for comedy television.

2. Survivor The tension. The trust. The drama. The betrayal. And, most importantly, the funnies. These episodes have it all and more! In a game where relationships ARE the game, we, as the audience, get invested in each player. And as Brennan seemingly schemes and plots his way to victory, Lou manages to rival Brennan and best him in a game of trust and loyalty. Survivor truly shows what Game Changer can be, and as we see in later seasons, the show keeps evolving from there.

1. Make Some Noise Season 1, Episode 2. SEASON 1, EPISODE 2. Clipped so much that it got it's own show which is now clipped even more. The reason many people sign up for Dropout (and for good reason), this episode puts 3 of the most talented comedians in a space to just be funny. These episodes not only contain some of the best Game Changer moments, but they contain the best Dropout moments, the best impressions, and the best jokes I've ever heard. It's no wonder that these episodes got spun-off into its own show, which is now one of the primary advertisements for Dropout in the form of YT shorts. Brennan, Zac, and Josh are all so talented in drastically different ways, and by putting all three together, something magical happens. Make Some Noise is the gateway into all of the amazing content on Dropout. It is the best episode of Game Changer without a doubt. Season 1, Episode 2, Game Changer, Dropout.tv.

[blackraged]

MORTAL KOMBAT 1 Thoughts Pt2.

[❌❌contains SPOILERS❌❌]

Continuation from yesterday

Chapter 6

They keep switching between Bromance and Romance for Kenshi and Johnny. Which one is it now???

I adore Johnny being protective of Kenshi, and Kenshi holding onto him while walking.

The way reptile switched from human to lizard, makes it look like he is not actually shape shifting, merely casting an Illusion to seem human.

Nitara is hot and all, love the design, but....who thought it was a great idea to have Megan Fox voice her? No shade but the voice acting is pretty awful.

Kenshi trying to run in with Sento but is pushed back in a comedical way by Ermac SENT ME. I felt so bad but I couldn't stop laughing.

Sento activating in this fight was pretty cool, I will not lie.

Not Jerrod shouting out for Sindel😭😭

Chapter 7

I wonder why Liu Kang didn't get fully rid of Krusty Kronika. Just because he is playing god now doesn't mean she's any harmless. But also wasn't Kronika fully destroyed?

Lesbians

Johnny and Kung Lao trying to knock out Quan Chi in the middle of the street while dressed up in those carneval suits was a sight for sore eyes.

NOT THE SIDE KICK PREDICTIONS WITH REPTILE AND KENSHI LITERALLY FLYING IN PLSSS

This entire chapter is full of comedic bits, and I'm here for it. We need more stuff like this.

Chapter 8

I like the implication that some things are inevitable, no matter how you think you shaped things differently.

I enjoy Geras and Liu Kang s friendship a lot.

So Liu didn't intend for Kronika to be alive in this timeline after all.

"Father" Is smoke now Bi-Han and Kuais brother??Was he adopted adopted??

Aight but am I the only one who thinks Smoke looks like Elon Musk? Like, for real,, it's freaking me out.

I know Smoke is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal but I keep hearing Troy Baker.

That manipulative parallel from when Shang Tsung was a Merchant still was very clever

Chapter 9

Okay crazy theory, but what if Kronika isn't Kronika, but Alt Shang Tsung in disguise???

Why am I not surprised by the betrayal. Still having hopes that Bi-Han is just bluffing to save Kuai.

Kuai being out for blood is really entertaining. That melting sword scene was so damn cool too.

Scorpion being affected and literally burned by heat somehow doesn't make sense to me. Especially with Subzero seemingly not being harmed by frost and ice. Also Havik recovered from that melt off really fcking fast. Bowing down to you, king.

Bi-Han literally showing up from behind the cold wind was such an amazing entrance. I was even jumpscared a little.

5bucks that new course is the Shirai Ryu

Chapter 10

If the second timeline the ending to aftermath where Shang Tsung won?? If so, that is the coolest decision NRS has ever made so far.

Li Mei is so pretty. I adore her so much.

Have y'all noticed how weird the run animation in this game is. It's so awkward and looks half-assed.

Mileena is such a good fighter but I hate how much she is being babied. I know it's because of Tarkat, but it's kinda silly.

Lesbians

I am very amazed with the character design improvement in this game. I thought MK11 was already damn pretty, but MK1 really put the icing on top. There are so many fine details in the environment and outfits, I am eating this up like desert.

Will hopefully finish the rest of the game tomorrow though! Last and Final thoughts coming in soon!

[utilitycaster]

Okay but what if Ludinus is AoA old and was in fact the Elon of that time. He was less competent than others but was filled with the same amount of hubris and got so mad when people ignored him. So now he is naming things after AoA tech because in his mind he is the one who laughs last because he is still here. So he gets to feel really special about himself (while there is still no one who truly respects him outside of his cult)

Hey anon,

I feel like that's summarizing a few posts as of later (someone else definitely made the Elon comparison) and so I guess just to sum it up, like, a big part of why I like the idea of him lying that he's from the era of the Calamity is that it makes him much more formidable. I think the idea of someone who, resenting something that happened before he was born and feeling he was robbed because he missed the age when everyone thought wizards were just the coolest ever painstakingly recreating technology from that era is, while not precisely sympathetic, deeply compelling, extremely impressive, and honestly a great foil to some of Bells Hells (most obviously Ashton). Because yeah, if he is Aeorian it's like. Well, you are the survivor of a city that was deeply flawed and built multiple horrible weapons and also fucked up the astral plane for a millennium with an eldritch horror city, and you're not even that good at plundering this tech, and you yourself destroyed an entire fucking city too and did countless war crimes and murders besides and are about to unleash a power that is, frankly, indistinguishable from the gods in terms of the scope of its powers, so I think if your motivation is the destruction of Aeor you have lost yourself in vengeance and have yourself become that which you hate, and not even in a sexy way.

I do think that Ludinus is rather more widely respected than one thinks, is the thing; I think people often try to gloss over the fact that he is, in fact, D&D Donald Rumsfeld as well as known to the former Molaesmyr elven communities in Bysaes Tyl and Uthodurn. That does not garner him much respect outside the Dwendalian Empire, but he is in fact a really important political figure. Like...that's the thing. I think he is extremely competent, and I feel making him from the Age of Arcanum makes for good jokes but for a lesser character both in terms of how interesting his goals are and how competent he is. I will joke about him being Elon Musk-like and the Raven Queen thinking his vibes were rancid back in the day when they were in Wizard Grad School, but I think the story is better if he's terrifyingly brilliant and a great liar.

[ritunn]

A Very Short "Essay" On Why They Should Teach Philosophy in School (and Why You Should Learn It Anyway)

Something I've realized formally studying philosophy now is that holy mother of all gods, this stuff would be super useful to teach in school. Why? What are Plato, Aristotle, and even modern philosophers going to teach us that's useful for adulting as many people are concerned about now when it comes to high school? Philosophy boils down to how to live a good life, a civic one at that in many cases! It's how to be a good person and how to have direction in life. Honestly, that's something I think a lot of people need right now. There's no one philosophy either, there's so many schools of thought, so you can find the one that fits for your life.

Other than this though, philosophy also helps deal with a few other surprising things: misinformation and being a fudging a**hole. Misinformation is rampant in online spaces, HBomberguy even highlighted how misinformation from James Somerton led to it being accepted as fact by some people. Philosophy is a counter to this. It asks to think critically of life, of the things we encounter in it, and how we accept it. Misinformation thrives on either willful ignorance, or a simple laziness to not fact check what you're hearing. Sometimes that's understandable, like with the case with James, people trusted him and the information he shared. However, spreading something like that like fact yourself requires you to first confirm the information, often from an additional source (always have multiple sources for information, it's a life saver). Philosophy itself as a subject is the art of critical thinking, and this is exactly what critical thinking teaches us, to never trust the words of just one person. Get different views, look into it yourself! Teaching philosophy can reinforce this idea and help folks avoid falling down rabbit holed that lead to social isolation in the cases of things like flat earth and climate change denial.

I also mentioned preventing a**holes. A**holes are a pretty common problem. Just look at Elon Musk, Trump, or rich guy YouTubers like Logan Paul. Why does this happen? It can be a mix of social pressure, how they were raised, and even the very institutions of our world that can lead to it. A**holes: A Theory, by Aaron James, is a great way to learn more about this, but to put it plainly, a**holes often exist because they feel an entrenched and high sense of entitlement. They won't apologize for their actions in a meaningful way, and they certainly don't see you as having the same moral standing to them. They're a bane to a cooperative society. So, how do we deal with this? James suggested a few ways, landing on that there's an understanding that life kind of sucks. However, if we, as cooperative people, unite, we can life a little less sucky, and by virtue, better. Philosophy comes into play here yet again. It teaches social values, how to be a good person, how to be a civil person. Being a civil person means we can meet that call, we can make society less sucky, and make it better. If we understand our civic duties to one another, learn critical thought, and have meaning in this turbulent boat of world, we can be better people, we can live better lives! Teaching philosophy does that.

In the end, life sucks, but it doesn't have to. In fact, I'd say there's hope. I know some schools (especially in the States, I'm Canadian myself) already teach philosophy. Does it help? I can't quite say. I can tell you it's helped me when I learned it just as an interest by myself, but my peers who did go to schools with it often share that they were the better for it when I ask them about it. So, give it a try. Explore philosophy a bit! It can truly be a delight.

[wealmostaneckbeard]

Yob's Odyssey

That is the title of a self-published novel by a real person named Thor Weir, that I will attempt to write a review about here. It has a lot of problems, most of which stems from Thor apparently ascribing to libertarianism. That ideology agrees with the fascist notion that history is dictated by Great Men. Despite sharing this favored narrative, there is a difference between the two schools of political thought. The fascist believes that it's leftists and ethnic minorities who are holding back Great Men from seizing control of the government and making their nation great. The libertarian believes that it's tyrannical governments holding back Great Men from using the free market to innovate solutions that will bring freedom to the masses. And that latter version of the Great Men narrative is what dominates Mr. Weir's novel. The other lesser components of the story consist of things he loves and assumes to understand but doesn't actually know. These things being nature, science, women, history, and Elon Musk, which he presents very strange versions of.

If you think I'm not addressing the substance of Mr. Weir's work, I am. The plot of Yob's Odyssey is focused on a genetically predisposed supergenius boy named Boy and his companions Girl and the alien Yob, who are aided by divorced billionaire Elon Musk, Boy's Mother and Father, talking animals serving the will of Gaia the mother-goddess of Earth, and some military Commanders (plus a number of other allies). Together, they develop and implement a new source of infinite energy that can save the Earth and start a utopian age for humanity. But Vladimir Putin, Big Pharma, Oil, and other malignant actors get in the way of the greater good. Thus they have to be defeated in the most clever-ist and least detailed ways possible. Seriously, in some sections Weir merely summarizes events rather than actually describes it in any detail.

Hopefully, you, the reader can see the parallels between Mr. Weir's ideology and his writing. And you might even, ironically, see a blind spot of his regarding racial and economic exploitation. I will let rationalwiki posit why that might be...

Look, as an english major who graduated college and is the son of a professional writer, I was taught a lot of things about the practice. First is that writers should give characters actual names, and not leave them with placeholder titles like "Boy." Second is that they should create multiple drafts and supporting documents as they work on a project. This paraphernalia might not make it into the final draft of the story but it provides guidelines for an author as they go along. Like the thing with the names, Mr. Weir did not do this. He instead left in a lot of repetitive political diatribes, sourceless citations presented as scientific facts, and hand-waving regarding the incompatibility of his own contradictory ideas, in the published copy that I received. These all detract from the central plot of Boy trying to save World. This causes the story to become a boring slog to read through instead of an exciting adventure.

Despite all of the flaws, I can sense a better future for Weir's career as a writer. I think he'd improve if he started reading the works of John Tolkien, Ursula LeGuinn, Terry Pratchett, and eventually George RR Martin. That could form the basis for writing his own fantasy stories. He's apparently very knowledgeable in horse riding, thermal physics, sailing, and outdoor survival according to his own biography. So he'd probably be really good at inventing world-building details like the differences between Gnomish and Goblin cavalry on the march, or schools of magic, in a mystical world. Furthermore Mr. Weir would be free to expound upon his ideology without being fact checked. For instance if he claimed that the lost kingdom of Goltanor extracted and used oil from the ground which ultimately led to it's ruination, everyone would accept it since he invented the Goltanorians. But Weir instead claims that's what The Roman Empire did and that's why it collapsed. Even though a precursory study of the empire shows that slavery and multi-lingual communication is what built it up while disease and political corruption is what brought it down. This isn't the only inaccuracy, Thor spreads misinformation about other subjects like vaccines in the same strangely confident way throughout the story.

In conclusion, if Thor Weir had made an effort to be creative with Yob's Odyssey , rather than write libertarian propaganda about reality, that would solve half the problems I have with his book. The other half would be solved if he had shown some professional restraint and actually left things on the proverbial cutting room floor.

[zalia]

For the OTP ask

Unoriginal and predictable for my part yes but I like seeing u enjoying the collective Blorbo so

Osiris

i am always happy to ramble about Osiris because I too am predictable XD This is also for @vallaragna who asked for Osiris as well!

favorite thing about them He cares *so much*. He is bad at showing it at times, and hides it with the veneer of arrogant narcissism, but he is so wholly dedicated to defending his people. And he has a rock solid moral core. I think with Saint being so nice and openly caring, it's easy to forget that it was Osiris who was seeing the Eliksni as more than just enemies way back before he even became Vanguard Commander and calls Saint out several times on his hatred for them. He's a good person. He's just not always a very nice one.

least favorite thing about them It's hard to think of something because even the negative parts of his personality are things that I love because they make him more interesting. I guess, we do have a joke amongst my friends which is 'But what about Osiris' needs?' because god, the man can be very self-centred and a diva, and that bleeds into any fic I write with him. He can and will make himself the centre of any narrative and from a writing perspective, it can feel very self-indulgent.

favorite line I love the line from Season of the Seraph where he snarls at Clovis to keep his damn thoughts away from Saint. It's so protective, a crack that shows us something beyond what he tries to project to the world.

brOTP I am very invested in his friendship with Lord Shaxx XD There's not a huge amount in canon, but there's such a casual vibe between them in the Devil's Ruin quest. Also we know that the Speaker suspected Shaxx of being one of Osiris' followers (and in the comic Shaxx is right there with Ikora trying to stop Osiris from getting exiled), so I figure there is some closeness there. Also love him being friends with Eris and Mara. We got a glimpse at the closeness between him and Mara in Season of the Seraph, and I really hope we get some with Eris too!

OTP Saint-14. No matter what else I write, there's always gonna be Saint in the background (even when I write things from before they meet each other). They just obviously love each other so much.

nOTP I don't really have one honestly. If something can be written well enough, I'll probably give it a chance, although I have my own specific ideas about his relationships with other people. I guess I would struggle seeing him and Ikora?

random headcanon Obvious to anyone who has read my fics, this man is autistic and really fucking tired. He also has a sweet tooth.

unpopular opinion Not something I've seen on Tumblr, but in my occasional dives into Reddit, I have seen people complain that he isn't as cool and badass as he is 'supposed to be' in the really early lore. Blah blah, depowered, blah blah, whatever. What they wanted was apparently an all-powerful asshole genius who was flawlessly 'logical' and... look, it is the same type of guy who reveres Elon Musk. But just... besides showing a complete lack of understanding of how characters have biases in how they talk about things, they seem to hate the very things that make Osiris fascinating as a character. He's deeply flawed, massively traumatised, and very emotional. Also gay. Something tells me this may be influencing certain opinions.

song i associate with them This is the question I always fear because I suck at it XD Not sure specifically for Osiris, but A Good Song Never Dies, by Saint Motel, is a great song for Guardians in general.

favorite picture of them

This concept art I adore!

[feelingdeath]

The last one (for a while)

I have zero drafts now, fewish followers, and this is going to be my 385th post.

I am logging off of tumblr, for a good bit. I did think about deleting my account, but i have people on here that i care about and who care about me (also i remember when @doritosaftersex deactivated his account and i felt bad). So instead ill come back in maybe a few months or years, or maybe never depends on well lol if i actually kms. Although don't worry i really doubt i have the time or energy for that. Before i go though i lowkey realised that i haven't ever spoken about like the well other side of me. The parts that i don't tumblr about. So here's this post- an Introduction and a Good-Bye.

My name's Piki, and that's me in the pfp { One of the good days}.

i like cats. (I think most people would start off like that).

M a living cliche and also a hypocrite cos i hate cliches and i literally wanna do something different, but oops =).

I have been in two relationships, second one going on right now, been over six months (and i think this is the last one because i might marry him [ totally will] and i couldn't ask for anyone more better).

I think I am an extrovert ? I don't really know. Making tumble mutuals was so hard for me i literally have only one ( @mqstermindswift ).

i like cyanide, the color and the song and the vibe. (My favourite artists are The Chainsmokers, Linkin Park, MGK, OH AND JAKEHILL [i love jake hill])

I like Italian food and will. eat. anything. that has cheese. I am kinda vegetarian though, i don't like the idea of eating an animal who probably had a family but i absolutely HATE animals as a whole (ref to point 3 about me being a hypocrite)

I hate everyone and everything, the first thing that i said to morphi and it also got me my nickname piki - which means m picky about everything.

i also love doing everything (fk m confusing). i dance, and love to cook, and i draw really well, and i can play the guitar, i learnt the violin nd the piano too a bit, i like debating a lot, and volunteering for things.

On the surface my life seems great, but then comes the well the stuff- i mean clearly it would take you a few scrolls across my blog to see how er bad it really gets but well-

I might have bpd? i am not sure.

i feel terribly lonely sometimes and also inferior to everyone around me.

my parents are not the greatest people out there. they both have done stuff that well i wont type it out here of course, but its bad.

the above thing dig this really deep pit of trust issues and well now i believe in tragedies more than hope ( morphi hates that but he'll get it once he knows)

i have tried to km, when i was younger. And if i had a penny for everytime i thought about killing myself elon musk and i would be homies.

i am really gorey, and i like horror movies and the gore and CNC and stuff.

i cant open up. too many expectations.

i get really low sometimes and i end up saying stuff or doing stuff and i don't particularly remember why or what i did, and so i poof (another thing morphi hates).

i hurt myself a lot which probably comes from point 6.

Sounds like two different people now. There is SO MUCH i haven't told about me, but if you have even like read this at all. M lowkey impressed. I am not going to go in and fix my spelling mistakes and capitalisation so go figure.

OKAY GOODBYE.

[kwaggysshardmindemporium]

Alright, bit block of albums! Friday was The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds. So I did post about the last Byrds album on here which I really liked. The *first* Byrds album I listened to through this project was way before I started blogging about the albums. Short version: I fucking hated it. Here we have the middle ground of those two. It's inoffensive. Nothing really sticks out, good or bad. 3/5.

Saturday was Dry by PJ Harvey. The first album from her I listened to I liked at the time but soured on pretty hard down the line to the point I don't like it anymore. That may end up happening again, because I really enjoyed this on first listen. Her voice is really striking, and she never writes a song that bores me. 4/5

Sunday was Vivid by Living Colour. So I was always a Guitar Hero kid, thus "Cult of Personality" is a song that's etched itself into my god damn soul, and it's the first song on the album. Sadly, nothing else on the album is quite that good. It's all at least solid though. Towards the end of the album, there's a genuinely great cover of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash. Definitely recommend this album. 4/5

Monday was The Atomic Mr. Basie by Count Basie and His Orchestra. Yup. That sure is some big band music. Sounds like big band sounds. I'll be honest I don't feel like I did need to listen to this before I died. 3/5, moving right the fuck on.

Yesterday was Electric by The Cult. This is, without exaggeration or insult, the most generic hard rock album I've heard in my entire life. There is ONE thing that stood out to me, though. There's a song on here called "Lil' Devil." It's decent, as is the entire rest of the album, but the lyrics only refer to the subject as a "lil' angel" and like hey. The Cult? You failed. Literally all you had to do was switch the lyric, or the name of the song. You did neither. I don't normally demand this level of literalism because sometimes people are trying to deliberately contrast two ideas or something like that, but having listened to the album I just flatly don't believe this was a deliberate creative choice when it could be explained as a mistake. Anyway, 3/5. If you abso-fucking-lutely love 80s hard rock AND you're bored of the bigger names from that period, give it a listen I guess but that's the only reason I would recommend this.

And today is Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black by Public Enemy. It's just okay? It kind of just slid off my brain but I did enjoy it. I feel like I should have more to say on something this politically charged but like, no I just don't. Big ol' 3/5 on this one.

But I also listened to a couple other albums that aren't actually part of this project during this time! Think of it as a bonus I guess.

A LARP discord I'm on linked the song "Rät" by Penelope Scott, the closing track on her album Public Void. I immediately went and listened to the rest because "Rät" is an absolutely amazing song viscerally screaming about how betrayed she feels by Elon Musk being a dickweed because she at some point was a huge fan. The rest of the album is similar tone of stuff, but not as catchy. It's alright.

The other one is I heard from under my rock that Olivia Rodrigo dropped her second album GUTS. I REALLY liked it, but have some thoughts. I've realized I actually really hate Olivia when she's doing sad songs. They just don't land for me. Also I really hope she gets over this breakup, but at least she's not over it in an interesting new way where she still hates him but wants him back. It's not just the same feelings as the first album. Favorite song on the album is probably "get him back!"

[flameraven]

Good Omens S2 - Episode 1 Notes/Thoughts

Spoilers under the cut! I made notes while watching + my extended thoughts after the fact:

-I did not expect the show to open with the scene from the Beginning!

Very interesting that Crowley is the one saying Let There be Light. God is really hands-off in this universe, huh?

Angel not-Crowley is adorable, Tennant was definitely channeling his Doctor Who mode as he explains all about the stars and nebulas, he's so excited! I confess that I am disappointed that Crowley's wings were white. It looked better for the scene in space, it makes his change to his current self more obvious, I just find All Angels Have White Wings a little boring and cliche. I will probably continue to draw him with black wings. And now we know what sort of questions he asked that led to him Falling! CROWLEY YOU ARE RIGHT AND YOU SHOULD SAY IT. A good boss SHOULD accept suggestions! Otherwise you end up with Elon Musk. And creating a whole universe only to destroy it 6,000 years later is a bad plan! ***

-People were very resistant to the idea of Landlord Aziraphale, but man, this is exactly the kind of landlord he'd be. "Oh you missed rent for 8 months? I didn't notice. Let me have this record and we'll forget it." Also deliberately keeping the record shop there so he can have easy access to records. Peak Aziraphale. Arranging the whole neighborhood to his tastes. Gabriel! I appreciate that Aziraphale's first reaction to him coming inside the shop is a panicked "NO!!" The only thing inside the box was a fly. But Beelzebub doesn't seem to know what's going on?? Interesting. *** Coffee shop: Honestly I love that Crowley immediately knows something is wrong from Aziraphale's tone of voice. Crowley has a spot in the bookshop where he habitually puts his glasses! Honestly Aziraphale you could have given Crowley more warning besides SURPRISE ARCHANGEL when he's already a bit stressed out and knows something's wrong! But the AAAAAH GABRIEL remains hilarious. *** Maybe too much espresso there, Crowley. I can't blame him for being extremely stressed, though! And I like that he did make an effort to calm down. And there was only 1 coffee shop! The Nina/Maggie plot is such a fanficcy setup. *** The matchbox is empty?? Baby Muriel is adorable, she's so demure, I honestly look forward to her getting recruited into the Ineffables' shenanigans. *** Neil Gaiman promised us no maggots this time but AAAAAGH FLIES. It's only marginally better. D: Eradicated from existence?? Yeah, that's the kind of threat that will drag Crowley on board. It is interesting that Hell is like "we can give you anything you want" and he's just not interested. He just wants to be left alone!! *** Honestly getting the vibes that Nina's partner is kind of controlling/abusive and D: *** Crowley driving at 110 mph, he IS stressed. "I'm back" remains peak dramatic bitch energy. But like. UGH there's such great characterization here. They're angry but they've fought enough times that they've got a routine AND A SILLY APOLOGY DANCE worked out. Amazing. The "half a miracle" to hide Gabriel moment is also hilarious. "No one will notice a thing!" [cut to ALARMS BLARING IN HEAVEN] XD Very interesting that Heaven assumes it must be Gabriel, because Aziraphale's not powerful enough to manage it, though.

[jupitermelichios]

my cousin got me tickets to see spitting image live for christmas. I have no idea why, I've never watched the show, but hey, free theatre is free theatre

i've literally never walked out of a show before. i have nothing else to do today, i enjoy the experience of being in the theatre, and i have a pretty high tolerance for shit productions. I did local am-dram panto for years, willingly.

anyway i'm going to be a good citizen of the internet and leave my unhinged ranting below a cut, but if you're interesting in learning all the possible ways to fuck up a comedy show, read on

we left during the interval, and if we hadn't been in the middle of a row, I would have walked out about fifteen minutes in. not because it's 'edgy' (they literally started the show with a warning about how it might trigger the snowflakes, always a sign that what follows is going to be great comedy) because despite their best efforts it really wasn't. the closest they got to being edgy was a very bad kanye west joke that was clearly written in at the last minute because he went full neo-nazi after they'd finished the script. it was just... baaad.

i didn't find any of the jokes funny, but humour is subjective. but there was just a lot of really lazy stuff, like the lyrics in their parody songs didn't scan. they made tom cruise a main character, but were clearly afraid of getting sued by scientology, so the only joke they could make was about him being short, which is not a joke you can sustain for a 2 hour show. It's barely funny the first time. obviously the plot was extremely lose and just there to justify the impressions, but even so there was weird shit about it that just didn't make sense, like the villains were boris johnson and a cabal of evil, but also putin was there and a villain but not part of the cabal they kept just kind of cutting away to him in a way that felt very weird. also they missed so many good opportunities for jokes, like an extended bit about johnson trying to give carrie johnson a nepotism job and then cutting to trump for a reaction, but the trump joke was just 'he's a mysogynist' with zero reference to all the nepotism he did? which feels like a much more natural joke?

also elon musk is there and has a tesla car that transforms into a mech, genuinely an impressive puppet and probably the closest to an actual joke they got, but then the puppet was too big and clunky so he just leaves and doesn't come back with no explanation and no other jokes. also zuckerberg is there and they just straight up forgot to make any jokes about him? he's literally just standing there, and if I thought it was deliberate that might have been a funny joke, but i genuinely think they just forgot.

they also massively underestimated how many people in the uk watch drag race, rue paul was a main character in the show and got a lot of awkward silence. which admittedly might have been because they also didn't give him any jokes, they just had him say his catchphrases from drag race, but i honestly thing they thought the concept of drag queens was so inherently funny it would carry the character, and instead most of the audience just straight up didn't know who he was

also idris elba was in it and the joke was that he's boring? which i really feel like isn't the first thing most people think of when they think of action-movie actor and sex symbol idris elba, ngl

oh, and this i assume is a problem from the tv show that they got stuck with, but their suella braverman joke is that she's an evil haunted doll, which is like... it's not completely unfunny, and it's at least not racist, but also, this woman quote hitler in front of holocaust survivors and when called out doubled down, and the only joke you can think of is that she's annabelle? really?

i will give them one thing though, their half-lettuce half-liz truss puppet was pretty good.

anyway, don't go see this show, it's shit. my only regret about walking out is that i have blue hair and pronouns and i'm worried me walking out will have made people the show actually succeeded in being edgy and 'triggering the libs'

[saijito]

it's amazing how @staff thought let's get rid of everything that makes tumblr unique platform and make it like every other social media site out there was a good idea. ironic considering staff was mocking the elon musk twt meltdown not long ago but now tumblr is pulling a dumb stunt.

I really hope y'all reconsider forcing algorithms on the sites, and especially collapsing reblog chains. collapsing reblog chains will literally ruins years worth of tumblr heritage/memes/roleplay/info/etc posts on the site. it's how users here communicate. algorithms dont help small people be seen either, and force unwanted content on users feeds too. fix the search and tag functions on here and there would be no need for a algorithm.

Not only that but it's seems like custom themes may eventually be phased out. tumblr is a blogging site, the themes were a great show of that. it'd be unfortunate to have the string of individuality on here be removed to "fit in" with other social media.

On tumblr being confusing. maybe invest in making tutorials for new users? don't remove aspects that are embedded into the culture and functionality of a site for years just to hopefully attract new members. that'd be like discord removing server channels, bots, and roles bc its "confusing" to new ppl. unlike tumblr, discord actually has tutorials for how to use it written by the company.

lastly i hate that tumblr is now practically impossible to view without being logged in or if someone has a custom theme set. it's as frustrating as trying to look at pinterest, or twt without being logged in. maybe more people would want to join or they could get a idea of how tumblr is without needing to signup. i spent a few years just browsing tumblr as a non-user before finally joining in 2013. Also, there's a good portion of people who hate creating accounts without knowing what they're getting into first.

I hope @staff reconsiders these decisions. this will result in the death of the last crumb of the old internet if you go through with it.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.