#fb groups / pages exist??

[velvettvomit]

thats fucking wild

[drdemonprince]

ok, listening & learning here. i've been pretty invested in electoral politics my whole life—my dad's a state congressman now, much to everyone's misfortune. so i've definitely been the person who's said stuff like "well, you can do more radical stuff AND vote," but i think you're spot on—i haven't gotten involved in community organizing, but i have gone to democrat meetings. i guess i'm scared because it's unfamiliar territory. i don't really even know how to find the people doing meaningful action and reach out to them. there's a lot of broken websites and out of date fb pages, and i don't have a script for getting involved the way i do with politics. do you have any advice or encouragement? thank you in advance if you do answer, your writing has actively made my life better since i found it

Thanks for your question! This stuff is difficult to locate on purpose -- both because of state repression, and because when you are working outside of the existing legal and political system, there are risks to being out in the open about it.

Adjusting to more extra-political (as in, outside of democratic politics) activities is a gradual on-ramp. You will understand the landscape and see greater options the further you go, but it will take some time. A good place to start out is local mutual aid networks. Look up a local Food Not Bombs chapter, for instance. See if there is an anarchist library or leftist publisher near you and attend some events. Check out your local libraries and on-campus groups to see if there are any engaging in actions that you can contribute to. Interface with the local punk scene and see if there are any people there who are really about anarchist action.

Go to a communist reading group. Start one with your friends! Working outside of the mainstream political system means building the kind of world you want to live in and the communities you want rather than being plugged into a pre-existing structure like a cog in the machine.

Talk to your neighbors. Give money and food to homeless people and chat them up. Drop off supplies at protests and encampments. Ask people what they need. As you prove yourself and come to understand your local landscape, you will get invited into more actions or will form the friendships and political education needed to start ones of your own. Break the law for the sake of helping other people when you can. Find rules you can bend or ignore in all things. Avoid the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Revolutionary Communist Party like the fucking plague. they are cults.

You will find your way. I get more and more radical every year, and figure out a ton of shit I didn't previously understand. It's been at least a decade in the making for me. So don't be too hard on yourself if at first you don't feel like you understand what you are doing or that you are not doing "enough." Electoral politics runs on a constant manufactured sense of urgency and exhaustion. But we are building a world that is better, more loving, slower, and more responsive to the rhythms of the earth and our bodies.

You will be where you need to be. <3

[jiminsass-istant]

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE HICKEY

This post was triggered by an anon moving around in these spaces trying to explain away the hickey/bite moment as something trivial. I will save my thoughts on the hickey for the end of this post.

First of all, to that anon- Get off your high horse. Not being a shipper doesn't make you superior. You are probably one of those cringey people cancelling queer armies on tw!tter these days. Now readers, sip your drink as you read this short think piece-

OT7 Captains in the fandom bubble:-

I really don't get the superiority complex of so called OT7s who love to live inside this cute little bubble they have created for themselves or as they call it nowadays:- " a curated tl". Cancelling people everyday and actually driving people away from the fandom. Every bio says "multis, solos, shippers dni". What are you afraid of? Little pixels? I have personally followed solo fbs of all members and boy the things I have found! They can get extreme at times, but it takes 2 minutes to fact-check their claims and draw your own conclusion.

I follow wholesome ship pages too, they are a great way to not miss out cute moments between various duos. If you are blocking them out, you'll be swept into whatever the OT7 decide the important interactions are. 🤷

Have y'all watched 'The Social Dilemma' on Netflix? I would actually want all bts fans to give it a watch. A very prominent tech figure admitted that she follows a good number of Tw!tter accounts that disagree with her to ensure that she gets to see all sides and all opinions. When you deliberately 'curate' a timeline to feed only your opinions, to make a 'safe' space that doesn't trigger you, without letting new thoughts penetrate it..THAT! That's the beginning of a cult.

Army is not a cult for defending BTS or for calling out billboard and other big authorities, but army is indeed a cult with the way they move against people within the fandom.

I said what I said.

With a curated 'OT7 captain' timeline, you start internalising things about the artists that the people you follow want to believe:-

1. All true army are OT7 and non shippers. 💫💫

Sure some of them are. But biases exist for a reason, right? If you think people don't run their bias's playlist more than the other 6, you are so deluded. Spotify wrapped'23 was a prime example. With the solo era, the rise of solo fanbases was unavoidable.

2. Your favourites are spotless, impeccable people. 💌💌💌

They are so not. They date, they make mistakes, they hurt people (like we all do). Heck, they might even offend certain groups of people, unknowingly or knowingly. Being ignorant is also a flaw.

3. Everything they say on camera is true.🙊🙊🙊

Everything they say on camera is what they want you to know. As Park Jimin of BTS, as Kim Namjoon of BTS and so on. And yes, your perception of them should be built based on their words alone, but it doesn't mean that you purposefully stay blind in a way that serves your personal projections onto the members. As Jimin once said " please take our words as they are"(Festa 2022). Read between the lines, and you get- "please do not make assumptions about us, please do not project past or future narratives onto us." No matter how much it makes BTS look like a saint, DO NOT paint them as perfect human beings just because they are your idols.

Once you get into the fandom bubble, you start rejecting all opinions that threaten to puncture that perfect bubble. In that process, you end up never getting to know about how some member promotions were horribly managed, how company delayed certain stuff, the obvious company agenda and different business strategies for different members. It's not about victimising members, but calling out the company when they make obvious mistakes. You do not see when hate against a particular member gets aggravated to the point it affects streams and sales.

And musical preference? The way the fandom just collectively decided that if you hate any song except 'ON ft Sia", you are basically an anti. I have no words.. I'll come out and say: I don't like DNA. SORRY JIMIN. Sure it's a great concert song, or maybe at a party, but it's never making it to my down-time personal playlists. Cancel me?

Top Social Artist?

This is my personal opinion. BTS having a huge presence on social media is both a boon and a curse. While it ensures that new fans are made everyday, the bts social media presence is an uncontrolled monster right now. Millions of insta, YT channels- most of them spreading a superficial image of BTS. It's for this reason, there are so many 'fans' out there who just love BTS for the few members and their visuals. I can guarantee you that they don't even know how streaming works, but they'll be sure to have an insta name like "mrs.jeon jungkook". If you made it to this part, I don't need to tell you how certain ships inducted their shippers through these very channels, spreading misinfo about the group dynamics and a completely manipulated idea of the boys, as if it's not real life, but some shitty bl drama.

While the company is obviously doing nothing about this mess, it is YOUR duty to focus on what's important as a fan and participate in projects that plan to counteract this mess. ( Of course only if you have time)

So..what does the hickey have to do with all this?

When you finally grow out of your perfect pure breed OT7 agenda, who considers this group of men a picture perfect family who can do no sin, you'll be ready to view the hickey/bite mark as a normal functioning member of the society who's in touch with reality.

Did I just write "pure breed"..

Let's say the hickey/bite does not actually mean anything intimate in a romantic sense. Sure. Even I think it was probably not an exclusively romantic thing. And this is coming from someone who ships them, but I do not see them as 2 people who are dating each other (because I don't claim to know their personal lives).

An older person biting the neck of a younger person long enough to leave a mark is NOT A NORMAL LEVEL of skinship. For friends, for family, for brothers. And this goes for Korea as well as at a global level. Not only k-jikookers but also k-armies had raised eyebrows when that happened. If you didn't raise your eyebrow at this, you need to go out more, have a social life, hang out with long term friends, idk.

But I'm sure if it was a man and a woman, you would have already declared that they are f@cking.

If you have observed jikook through the years, they have had an abnormal level of skinship that even surpasses skinship within their own group. Reminds me of the Butter photoshoot behind, where JK's hands so naturally slid under JM's crop top, like it was a usual thing. Now if one of them reacted differently or in a goofy way, I'd still brush it under the rug. But what had me scratching my head was the indifference. How close do 2 people have to be, for someone to SEARCH for familiar skin to touch?! Let's not forget how JK always touches JM's neck like a habit, massaging, holding, or just caressing, usually a little inside the collar.

Now if they were a man and a woman, you would have already declared that they are f@cking.

If you don't at the very least, acknowledge that it's an abnormally high level of skinship, and that jikook are at the very least, a highly interdependent, symbiotic, close, 2 souls-1 body entity, the closest duo in bangtan..then you are the delulu here. 🫵

I would advice such anons to stop visiting shipping spaces if you are bringing nothing to the table. (As I always say, opposing views are always welcome as long as you bring receipts and not hate). Maybe spend some time talking to real life people, couples, friends, you know?

[spacebunniezzz]

I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that has been really bothering me in my personal life because I am so tired of holding in all of the anger and disgust. I know posting about this is very different from my regular content and what I'd prefer to post but I just can't get this off of my mind.

On Facebook I follow a lot of leftist pages but ever since I have I have also been getting recommended a lot of anti LGBTQ, racist, anti feminist content, for every one leftist page I get recommended I get at least about maybe five or so right wing pages and groups recommended to me. This has been kind of detrimental to my mental health, and again I don't follow any page or group that is conservative but every day on Facebook I'm bombarded with seeing hateful and disgusting individuals on my feed.

I have gotten recommend Candace Owens, Brett Cooper, Michael Knowles, Matt Walsh, Ben Shapiro and a ton of meme pages dedicated to bullying people or very hateful stuff, hell yesterday I got recommended a manosphere/incel page and I am constantly seeing men have absolute shit takes on FB. I have had to block at least near ninety pages.

The most I ever do is maybe like a comment that is going against conservatives or bigoted individuals but other than that I block every account I see or hide the groups because for some reason I can't block a group but can hide them.

I am absolutely disgusted that facebook keeps pushing these groups on me. Why would I support a group and pages full of hateful men that hate my existence and why would I support groups and pages that hate minorities? And most importantly why tf do these pages and groups even exist? I guess people could say it's their freedom of speech but I think freedom of speech is a bullshit excuse to go out to harass people because others are uneducated and would prefer to spread misinformation rather than listen to minorities and educate themselves.

I like Facebook because I have come across a lot of really awesome groups on there but I'm just so tired of feeling mentally drained when I see these pages and groups that are spreading hate speech because yes I fully believe these pages and groups spread hate speech and I honestly don't give a flying F U C K if its "fReE sPeEcH" to me its just an excuse to be an absolute pos.

Also I guess this is me saying that people like this are not welcome to my page. Just because I can't stop seeing bs on FB doesn't mean I'm going to let that bs slide here and for Facebook: fuck you.

With all of that said and done with all of that ranting I will be continuing to post my regular stuff.

[sabrerine911]

So recently I made a discovery about myself I dont know how to feel entirely about.

Ill drop in a long example that made me discover that.

A few days ago I posted all my themed art in a FB BG3 meme group, since most of my art is humor based, it got a lot of positive interactions, and that stuff really made my day and motivated me to get back into BG3 and get more inspiration to do more fun BG3 stuff, but after a few newer goof art, the page seemed to have stopped accepting them. so I figured, well, its a meme group, maybe my art is just not meme material enough, so I figured Id post it in another more general group. So I uploaded the same stuff and I find out that its refused for a reason that was vaguely explained and I cant modify it anymore, I dont wanna reupload the whole thing with another text cause I dont like spamming and dont know what to change so all I can get is a response from a mod there wich i might not get since its hard to ask proper since my refused post doesnt exist anymore...

Combine this with the recent art stuff I posted in reddit being completely downvoted(wich was a big bummer since Ive gotten good reactions there sometimes), tumblr stuff barely gets any reactions and Deviant art is the only place where people like my stuff more...but I was hoping that finding fan based pages I would be able to share my love for the franchise with my fan based art... and now I found out that a lot of my more fan based productivity is very heavily based on the interactions I get from it. This art is like my own form of communication. And now, as absurdly dramatic as it sounds, Im feeling like with the newer atempts and more stuff Im just doing will not even be heard, and that really bums me out.

Both because my motivation is so connected to interactions and the fact I dont want to just spam my art in hopes to find the right group, it feels obnoxious, like im trying to show off my character and art, wich is not really what Im doing this for.

[jerzwriter]

Are We Dating the Same Guy? Ethan Edition

There are Facebook groups called "Are We Dating the Same Guy?". They exist to "expose" cheaters and guys who are just creeps in general. Women will post a photo/profile and ask if anyone has any tea or red flag alerts. The other day I was scrolling through a local one and saw a friend of mine. Talk about a WHOA moment. A few days later, the "AWDSG? Boston" group was recommended to me, and my mind automatically went to... what if Tobias and/or Ethan were on this? I ran the idea past @lucy-268 and @genevievemd and asked if I should do it for Ethan or Tobias. Their answer was, "Both is good." So, in honor of them, I'm doing both. I posted the Tobias version here, and now, I present Ethan's.

Book:               Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing:           Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Kaycee MacClennan)

Rating:            Teen

Words: 1,723 plus edit

Summary: Sienna's dating luck hasn't been as good as she had hoped, so on the advice of her best friend, Kaycee, she is looking to see if her matches appear in the "Are we dating the same guy? Boston/Cambridge", group on Facebook. But instead of finding her most recent match, she finds... Ethan. Here are Kaycee's (and Ethan's) reactions... as well as the post itself.

A/N: The story precedes the FB post of Ethan on the "AWDSG?" page. *** Participating in @choicesjunechallenge Cocktails (they needed one or two... lol)

“Oh my, God,” Kaycee cringed, her forehead falling into the hand that wasn’t gripping her phone.  

“I hope you’re not upset. I…”

“No! No, Sienna… I appreciate you letting me know. Can you forward the link to me? I’d like to see it before I break the news to him.”  

“Damage control?” Sienna giggled.

“Yeah, well, I’d like to see how much damage there is.”

“Sure. I’m heading back to the hospital, but text me if you need me, OK?”  

“Of course. And Si, thanks again; I appreciate the heads up.”

“Hey, what are best friends for if not for letting each other know when their fiance is on some weird stalker page on Facebook.”

Kaycee was relieved Ethan was still out for his daily run. It would allow her some time to research. The irony was delicious. She was the one that recommended Sienna start checking out the “Are we dating the same guy?” group to weed out potential creeps. After Wayne and a couple of terrible online dates, it sure wouldn’t hurt. The last thing she expected to happen was for her best friend to find her fiancé.

“May as well bite the bullet,” she sighed, about to click the link. But then she thought it would be best to have some support on hand… in this case, a mimosa and Jackie. Once the drink was made, she dialed her friend.

“OK, I just sent you the link,” Kaycee stated. “We’ll open it together on the count of three.”

“I don’t understand,” Jackie whined. “If Sienna found this, why isn’t she stuck dealing with it now? Why drag me in?”

“Because she’s working, and if you think I have the self-control to wait ten hours before she’s off shift to open this, you’re high. Now… open!”  

“Damn, you’re bossy. I don’t know why Ethan puts up with you. But then again… once we check this out, maybe you won’t want to put up with him….”

“Jackie, please…,” Kaycee interrupted. “I’m sure he’s not doing anything wrong. I’m just curious to see what people had to say about him. Now ready… one… two… three!”

“Hmm… decent enough picture…” Jackie started.

“Yeah, it’s not his best, but… oh my God!” Kaycee exclaimed. “This sociopath took his picture without him knowing! Carmen is right! That is creepy! What kind of a woman does that?”

“Who is Carmen?”

“I don’t know… but she commented. The point is, she is right. Ethan was clearly dating a crazy woman.”

“Hmm. That checks,” Jackie deadpanned. “Crazy women are apparently his type because I remember someone taking many pictures without his knowledge… across a crowded nurse’s station, in Donahue’s, when she saw him strolling down the street…. What kind of serial killer does shit like that?”

“That was different!” Kaycee defended. “ I knew him. He was my attending.”

“Yeah! That makes it so much better.”

“You’re not focusing!” Kaycee admonished. “Holy shit, Erin sure had a lot to say!”

“Erin? The nurse on four? Is that the one he used to date?”

“One and the same… you know, maybe I shouldn’t read this. Maybe I should just tell him about….”

“Oh, hell no!” Jackie interrupted, her interest suddenly piqued. “Now I want the juice!”

“Don’t you mean the tea?”

“Juice, tea? I don’t care; it’s all served at brunch. Now what do we have here…. Erin seems cool … girlfriend clearly had some feelings about being dumped, but she still gave him the thumbs up. Wait, who is Marissa?”

“Marissa?”

“Yeah, apparently she banged your man when they were both residents….”

“RAMOS!” Kaycee screeched. “He banged Marissa Ramos?”

“Did you not know this? Shouldn’t you have known this?”

“It’s not like I asked him for a dossier of everyone he ever slept with… or vice versa! But he could have told me about her,” Kaycee sighed. “Then again, maybe it would have been better not to know. Fortunately, we rarely hang around with her and her husband. It will be awkward looking at her over the dinner table now.”

“Will it? Is it difficult for you to look at Harper?” Jackie asked. “Does he have trouble looking at Bryce? Face it, a slight tweak here or there, and your story would have been a hit on any Mexican telenovela.”

“Jackie!”

“OK. Maybe it would be better geared toward an Indian soap opera. Hey, wait! That’s it. I’m taking your story, embellishing a little… I think it can sell! This may be how I pay off my student debt!”

“Jackie!”

“What? Do you or Ethan watch Indian teledramas?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the harm? I’ll give you a cut of the profits.”

“You’re not really helping,” Kaycee groaned, rubbing her temples.

“I know. That’s the plan. This way, you'll wait for Sienna when something like this happens again. She’s the supportive friend; you should know better than to involve me. Although… now that you’re part of my new get-rich-quick scheme, I suppose I’ll have to put up with you.”  She cleared her throat. “So, Kaycee… what do you need from me? How can I support you?”

“By hanging up,” Kaycee spat.

“That’s not the answer I was hoping for… how can I get more material if….”

“Jackie! Ethan just got home. I want to go fill him in.”

“Of course! Any chance you could record his reaction to this? I’d love to use it when I….”

The line went dead as Kaycee ended the call and threw her phone in her pocket as Ethan approached.

“Oh, hey, baby,” she smiled nervously. “How was your run?”

Ethan came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaving a soft kiss on the side of her neck.

“Exhilarating,” he half smiled. “Or as exhilarating as a run can be on an eighty-nine-degree Boston day. What about you?” he asked, thumbing through some mail on the corner of the kitchen table. “Did you have fun while I was gone?”

“I don’t know if fun is the word I’d use to describe it,” Kaycee winced. “It was… interesting? Maybe informative?”

Ethan looked over quizzically, both brows raised. “What, were you watching a documentary?”

Kaycee spat out her tea, wiping her mouth with a laugh. “Not… exactly.”  She extended her hand. “Come… join me in the living room.”

“All right… what did I do?” he asked with a grave tone as they sat on the leather sofa. “You know, I’m already a decade older than you, Kaycee, and when you do things like this, I swear, you take years off my life.”

“Me?” she bleated.  “I didn’t do anything! But… I can’t guarantee this won’t take years off of your life.”

She reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone and handed it to Ethan.

“There’s a page on Facebook,” she started. “Where women post photos of men they’re talking to, or just started dating, and….”

“IS THIS ME?” Ethan yelled.

“It is,” Kaycee said, rubbing his knee. “It’s not recent… it’s from 2019, so….”

“So this has been viewable for the past four years!!”

“Uh.. apparently, it has.  But it’s not as bad as it seems….”

Ethan began to read through the comments rapidly, his face becoming paler by the second until it turned crimson red.

“This… this is … this is an atrocity! Is this even legal?”

“I assure you it’s perfectly legal. I mean, I assume someone could have a defamation suit depending on what is said.  But your former chicks seemed to speak pretty highly of you, so….”

Ethan jumped from the sofa and began to frantically pace the floor. His attempts to speak were thwarted when words failed to come… Kaycee wasn’t sure she had ever seen him this flustered.

“Ethan, you’re going to hyperventilate.  Breathe….”

“How… how did you even find this?”

Her explanation failed to offer any relief. “Great! So Trinh knows. Do you know how many others could have seen this in the four years it was up?”

“Well, it was liked by seventeen thousand people, so….”

“SEVENTEEN THOUSAND!!!”

“What do you expect, babe… you’re hot.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he whimpered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m feeling lightheaded.”

Kaycee jumped up and ushered him back to the couch.

“Here, baby,” she comforted, trying to conceal her amusement at his overreaction. “Do you need me to get you a glass of water?”

“No. I need a Scotch.  This occasion requires Scotch.”

“Very well…” she said, pouring his drink. “Ethan, I think you’re making too much of this.”  

“I’m not making too much of it.  I like my private life to be, well, private.  And this is not….”

“Private,” she finished.

“This is the opposite of private!” Ethan downed his drink, then held Kaycee closely in his arms. “I hate the modern world,” he groaned.  

“It’s not all bad,” she smiled. “Why don’t you must message the group’s admin and ask her to take it down. NICELY!”

He shot Kaycee a look that made it clear that her statement changed his message's tone.

“Fine! Hey, out of curiosity, is anyone else we know on this thing?”

“Tobias is,” she smirked.

“Jesus, I can only imagine what people had to say about him.  How many likes did he have?”

“19,500,” Kaycee winced.

“Wait! He has 2,500 more likes than me?”

“That’s unimportant, baby,” she redirected. “What’s important is we get your post taken down.”

“Well, maybe not,” he concluded. “Maybe I should leave it up a little longer. Maybe things will even out – considering our engagement may have this trending.”

“Trending?” she laughed. “Do you seriously want to leave your private life viewable for anyone to see… just so you can attempt to get more likes than Tobias?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” he smiled.  “By the way, what would you have said about me… you know… if you had chimed in on this.”

“Me?” She grinned. “There is none better, but he’s taken… and you don’t want to mess with a girl from South Philly.”

“You know,” he chuckled. “That’s kind of a turn-on.”

“Is it,” she cooed. “Why don’t you head into the shower, Dr. Ramsey… I’ll meet you there in a few?”

“That sounds like a plan, Dr. MacClennan… you know… maybe this wasn’t such a big deal after all.”

“Yeah,” Kaycee laughed. “Funny how that worked out.”

Perma: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @crazy-loca-blog @doriopenheart @differenttyphoonwerewolf @fayeswiftie @gryffindordaughterofathena @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @liaromancewriter @onikalover @openheartforeverinmyheart @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @secretaryunpaid @socalwriterbee @sophxwithers @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

More tags in reblog.

[discluded]

Cringe baby Mile photos from his boy band days 💚💚💚

As far as I can tell, the group was called something like Pynk FM or Pynk Idol.

Their first IG post was November 2011 and last was April 2012, so it didn't last very long... No wayback machine records exist for the website, but the youtube page is still up. So Mile woudl have been 19-20 during the time of the group 🥺

(Mile going for my juggular by wearing the Louis Tomlinson patented baby gay striped shirt 😭😭😭)

Sorry to report my intense desire to bully this baby gay nerd 👓🎀 (Also jesus the red pants. Him and Louis. I really have a type huh. I didn't even know this about Mile until today, but he and Louis are both capricorns born Dec 91/Jan 92 what does this say about me).

They also did stuff like community service and fundraising and blood drives, which I'm sure Mile was proud of to do too!

They also did a concert in Singapore with Sistar and Boyfriend. I remember Mile is a Sistar fan and has been backstage at their Thailand concerts so this might be why. And maybe how he got the idea for KPWT too 😊

There's more photos from their FB fanclub most of which are too low-res for me to bother posting.

Also it seems like a lot of the members are still working in ent. For example, I clicked on the profile of a random member who was also in a photo with Masu and he MC'd a recent JeffBarcode event? Same day and place as the Mile Fan Sign in December!

The end 💚💖

[rhizomehaunt]

local still coviding fb group in nyc has decided to keep conversations about Palestine and "israel" off the main page, moderate any posts regarding the ongoing genocide and occupation, and potentially keep the space completely free of it to avoid "triggering people," i'm so fucking furious, sent a very long response to the moderators and trying to get folks i've started organizing with to join me in a signal group off the main page while we still can bc this is so deeply fucked, as if ANY covid/disability justice exists without Palestinian liberation!!!!!! jesus fucking christ once again fellow white people prioritizing western "comfort" and "exceptionalism" absolutely unable to recognize the imbrications of violence that the US empire is at the seat of (including like, if we wanna talk about covid, restricting vaccine access!!! fucking funding "israel"!!! as if genocide isn't inherently a violent mass disabling event)

[flayote]

ugh the scamming in the taxidermy/oddity community is getting SO BAD. it's absolutely rampant on facebook especially, i can't scroll through the taxidermy buy/sell groups for 2 minutes without encountering a scam or a warning about a scammer. and for months now my pictures have been stolen and used all over facebook and instagram to scam people. there's a whole ass fb page impersonating me, reposting my pictures as items for sale (i've reported it but it's still up). when i call them out publicly to warn people, the scammers just block me so i can't see their posts and keep tabs on them anymore and they continue to get away with it. if they get booted from a group, they just go to another one or use a different account.

it's kinda discouraging me from posting right now cause i'm not sure what to do about it. even though it's not my fault i feel awful that my pictures are being used to steal from people. obviously i need to start watermarking my pictures, but that's not really going to help much because there will still be thousands of unmarked pictures for scammers to choose from just a short scroll away (and they sure don't mind scrolling, some pictures they use are from yearsss ago). and i'm not going to delete everything; that would make it harder for people to tell that the image is stolen since they couldn't search the image to find the source, and i couldn't link to the original post to show it's mine. it would just make the scammers look more legit if the original source of the pictures they use is gone. on top of the fact that i obviously don't want to nuke my entire portfolio of work. it just sucks.

be careful out there everyone. do not ever send payments through a method that doesn't provide buyer protection. if a seller is legit they'll have no problem with that, there are no excuses and it's not worth the risk. if you post that you're in search of a particular item and someone responds with just "pm me" or something similar with no specific info about what they have, be VERY careful. or don't even bother with them at all, 9 times out of 10 it's a scam. they want to send the pictures privately so anyone who recognizes them can't call them out. if the price seems too good to be true, then it almost definitely is (the scammers using my pictures are 'selling' $400-500 ranch fox pelts for like $100-200). reverse image search pictures from sellers you're not already familiar with. even that is not 100% though, it doesn't always find a match even if the image does exist somewhere online. so if something feels off or you're making a risky purchase on a big ticket item, then ask for a new photo to be taken for you in a specific way, like the item with a fork next to it.

it's a damn shame to have to treat everyone with suspicion like this, but the problem really has gotten that bad unfortunately.

[cowboyjen68]

I know it really depends on my location and all that, but do you have any advice on how I could meet older lgbt people? I feel like it’s really important for us in the younger generations to connect with the older generations and learn about our history, but I just don’t know how.

It can be different depending on the size of your city/town and somewhat regional.

Start with local non profits. Pride Fests, PFLAG, LGBT+ youth gropus that may need volunteers etc. Get involved. These groups can teach you valuable life skills, pass on local history and LGBT history that is factual and first hand. You can gain job referrals, contacts and resources that can help you with everything from employment to housing in your life.

If there is a library in your town ask about LGBT (or be specitific as in Lesbian or gay etc) book clubs. Most librarians, even small towns get grants to help community members form groups and are happy to help organize and advertise one. Host an intergeneration lesbian (or whatever you are ;) ) book club. Pick a non fiction book from before you were born and after. Gather to discuss, maybe even watch the companion movie if one exists. Make it about a story and not political readings to keep it light.

Facebook. I know, it is for old people, but you won't find many of us on Tumblr or Discord. Instagram and Tiktok are getting better with older members of the LGBT+ joining and learning to navigate but they aren't regional. Check for a local FB page. We have a Lesbians of Iowa and Queer Women of Iowa page here. You might have a state or city page. Try the MeetUp app. There are broader Facebook pages for all or some of the letters of the acronym as well. Like Rural LGBT pages and LGBT Teachers etc.

I was taught by my elder lesbians friends that if you can't find what you are looking for create the space. It can be as simple as meet up at the breakfast place. If you can get the idea to one older lesbian and ask her to share, you are on the way.

Women's festivals are amazing placed to make intergenerational connections. It has always been encouraged to make random friends at them but in the past few years there has been an active push with workshops and appointed gathering times to get women of various generations together to talk and make friends.

I hope some of this helps. Don't get discouraged. There are lots of us older people happy to invite younger people to our established friend groups.

[flock-talk]

Can answer this privately or publicly! Was just curious if you know of the Avian Raw Whole Food Nutrition FB group with Jason Crean & if you had any thoughts on good resource or no. I've been in it for ages out of casual interest.

So I don’t use Facebook anymore and can’t see any of their content as a result but I’ll use this as an opportunity to talk about raw fed parrots in general!

((Since I can’t access any of their info none of this is reflecting on the page or the biologist who created it either))

I love the idea but it’s likely not the ideal way for the majority to feed their pets. Raw feeding just isn’t very accessible for a myriad of reasons: sourcing ingredients, prep time, expenses with the tools needed for prep, and the severe amount of guesswork.

Getting things balanced properly is hard! We don’t have a lot of data on parrot nutrition, even some of the articles I shared today notes that some nutrient ranges they were using was from data on chickens because we simply do not have the numbers for parrots yet! That’s a tricky thing to try to figure out when scientists themselves haven’t even studied it yet.

Some pellet brands have done feeding trials and there are pellet specific studies to show the long term effects of that brand! No we don’t have all the data yet but the data we do have is pointing at (good) pellets to be the safer feeding option when it comes to nutrient availability and consistency.

On top of that produce changes a lot. The quantity of set vitamins in each produce item will be different every time you purchase that produce. In season, out of season, different fertilizers, shelf life, they all affect nutrient density, unless you’re testing produce yourself with your in-home lab you won’t know exactly how much of each vitamin your bird is actually getting. You’ll have an estimate, but you won’t know for sure, that can make homemade diets very risky.

Obviously parrots exist without extruded food nuggets, obviously they are capable of surviving on raw foods, and yes ideally I would love for us to be able to provide as close to a wild-type diet as possible to them! But presently we don’t actually know what that looks like. Until we have more solid information on what their diet exactly needs I wouldn’t personally feel confident trying to formulate it myself.

Having a group run by a biologist sounds awesome and I hope there’s lots of new information, studies, and data to be gathered there so we can get closer to that goal!

[thelonesomequeen]

Love all this discussion RE: acting/movies/agents, etc.

Way more fun (for me) than the fandom fighting.

Anyways, some random thoughts w/respect to Mr. Evans. The discussion about ensemble casting has been done, but one thing that struck me during the talk about Jeremy Strong is just how many talented actors in that general age group exist. I'll go with the around mid thirties all the way up to the getting a little crispy Leo D. (I'm kidding sort of with him--he's still 'young' per se, but I wish Scorsese had cast a younger actor in Killers of the Flower Moon). Fifty isn't really 'old' but it starts to show differently on people's physical form and thus IMO begins to change one's script offers. I digress.

So, in that mid-thirties to fifty cohort, think of some of the best actors world-wide and it's a larger group than in the past. Note: no scientific research was done to back up that claim. Some of that may be due to the Biz (FINALLY) very slowly beginning to bring in more diversity (keep going because you're not there yet, studios) and some of it could perhaps be to something discussed on your blog earlier-- the streaming networks?

Streaming has opened up eyes to more shows (along with socials like X/insta), IMO and despite the negatives to streaming, some actors may perhaps gain a bit of a following due to a show and that makes them a little more competitive when names are tossed around the table. That used to happen in the days of my grandparents (like the soap opera/or themed tv large cast shows) but it just seems like there's MORE now (almost too much more but again I digress).

Case in point--Regé-Jean Page is a fine enough actor, but w/o Bridgerton I wonder if he'd have made as quick a leap into other high profile discussions (like 007). I have to wonder if streaming has helped actors who have talent but being that it's so hard to get one's foot in the door having a vehicle helps to just plow through it because the viewers are behind the wheel saying, "hey pay attention to this guy, he's good!"

To me, for Chris that means that regardless of awards interest, anytime there is a role, there is a range of people whose names are also being considered--from Benedict Cumberbatch and the rest of the UK crowd to the homegrown talent like Austin Butler (younger but I'll hedge on him) to Lewis Pullman to Jake Gyllenhaal to the two Ryans among others. It's a tough field and always has been, but the 'relegation' tier between film and it's A list B list and television has been blurred more than in the past. Now you have Eddie Redmayne starring in not only the FB series and Oscar nominated roles in film, but once again appearing in the film/streaming category with The Good Nurse. If you're a solid talent, then you might have a miss here and there, but too many strikes at the plate and you may get sent to the minors. It's just my opinion and sure I don't know what the man thinks, but it's his life and I'm a fan of film and actors/actresses so I'll give most anything a view, regardless of critics/general sentiment. I sat through Aloha recently because I had missed it the first go round and I'm a fan of Emma Stone but yeah, that was a hot mess of a plot that was.

Sorry for the length. TLDR: Chris is in a competitive business and he'll have to figure out what he wants if he hasn't done so already (not like I have the man in my contacts) and go from there.

*Side note: I almost ended up with an entire paragraph on the MCU but that really deserves its own discussion and I've clogged up your ask box enough with this soapbox oratory on Chris and the competition.

This is actually a very interesting take, thank you! 🧜🏻‍♀️

[silver-wield]

Story time! I legitimately liked Clerith at one point. A LOT. I played the original game back in the day and I wanted to join the Clerith community. I did so on Discord and nearly instantly was put off by several things within the community, but I pushed it down and told myself I was overreacting. First, it was small things - like how they loathed Team Four Stars' parody videos because of how they treated Aerith. (1)

when in reality all of the characters were given shitty attitudes and backstories because ya'know it was a parody! It felt hyper-sensitive to me for no reason, so I kept it to myself that I loved the video series and went on. Next was how they hated Tifa and willfully misinterpreted canon and characters. Believe it or not I genuinely like Tifa - she's complex and has beauty and brains and brawn so I don't see anything to dislike. But I couldn't exactly say that to them, and any suggestion (2)

that Tifa was a good character got major pushback. I shut up. What really pushed me over the edge was one user I can't recall the name of so I won't guess, but she was a bigwig. I wanted to join a specific part of the Discord. It was advertised as "debate friendly" so I thought - okay finally here is my shot at speaking my mind while not being dog piled. I asked to join and she said basically she had to verify I was a real person so she needed my real Facebook. (3)

A little creepy, and a little odd I thought since I had been in the group for over a month and had caused no trouble (I learned quickly what was and was not okay to say) but I gave it to her anyway. Keep in mind I was a minor at the time. She came back to me and said "You look like my relative." This tells me she was snooping on my page since at the time my profile picture was actually my cat and any pictures of myself were buried some ways back. (4)

About an hour later she told me she denied my request to join because she saw where I had posted Tifa fanart months ago, and since my Facebook was only two years old (again, I was a minor and had only been allowed to get FB roughly two years prior to this) that she was convinced I was a troll. Insert youvegottobekiddingme. png here. I told her she was paranoid to which she went off on a paragraphs-long spiel about how the Clerith community has been prosecuted by Clotis for ages. (nearly done)

I eventually got tired and blocked her and removed myself from the group. Because of that, and another encounter I had much later (in which my sexual identity was mocked) and an encounter a friend of mine had in which she was goaded into crying over her dead husband when she dared suggest that even if Cloud did love Aerith it's cruel to want him to stay single and mourning for the rest of his life, I have thoroughly decided I cannot stand Cleriths. They made me dislike Aerith. (fin)

Sorry for the late reply, anon. I wasn't ignoring it 😅

Tbf I don't like Machinabridged either, but my response is to just ignore it exists. I don't think I've even watched the whole thing. I've never gone off at the team behind it, but then I rarely give a shit because whenever I do I get slammed by tons of people. So, always remember to never express an opinion that differs from the masses, but if you do express it don't expect anyone to be on your side even if they claimed to be your friends.

Yeah, asking for personal info is a huge red flag for me. Nobody needs to know that unless they have plans to use it against you later. That's why I never give out personal info to people. Cleriths generally use it to make sure people don't stray from their hard-line hating. "If you like Tifa, we'll tell the fandom who you really are" kinda shit mentality.

Honestly, it sounds like you were in the cult's discord. Those are things I've heard them do to people. They're legit terrifying en masse. I mean, most large groups are, especially when one person weaponises them against a single person. Fandom and social media shouldn't be a numbers game that people then utilise to push down those with lower numbers than them, but that's what it is.

What's funny is their behaviour makes people dislike Aerith, so you'd think they'd care about how they come across. But then again, they don't even like her, she's just a straw doll they shove in front of them so they can throw shit at people from behind her and then say she's the reason for their actions.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Under Bolsonaro, political attacks gain institutional legitimacy in Brazil

In July 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced the takedown of a network of profiles, pages and groups connected to Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and the party under which he was elected in 2018, the right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL).

According to the big tech company, this network of 33 Facebook accounts, 14 Pages, one group and 37 Instagram accounts entailed duplicate and fake accounts used to “evade enforcement, create fictitious personas posing as reporters, post content, and manage Pages masquerading as news outlets.”

The content published by this network revolved around “local news and events including domestic politics and elections, political memes, criticism of the political opposition, media organizations and journalists,” and news about the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the content published by these actors had already been removed due to violation of the FB Community Standards, particularly in relation to hate speech.

This wasn't just any network. Meta's investigation identified links to party figures and to employees of the offices of President Jair Bolsonaro and his sons, Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. In other words, this complex and violating network identified by Meta was being operated from within the offices of elected officials — including the country's highest-ranking politician: the president.

Nearly the whole family is involved: Carlos Bolsonaro, a councilman in Rio de Janeiro, is seen as the mastermind behind Bolsonaro's social media strategy and believed to be the commander-in-chief of a complex operation of attacks and smear campaigns.

Although Meta removed this network, the damage had been done. The confirmation that public servants produced these attacks against critics and democratic institutions — in what the Atlantic Council's DFRLab, which investigated the network at FB's request, considered a potential misuse of public funds — points to a scenario of institutionalized political attacks.

On one hand, police and Supreme Court investigations suggest the existence of an elaborate network producing social media attacks against political rivals and democratic institutions who exercise their role in containing authoritarian abuses. On the other hand, such an infrastructure is no longer necessary because supporters feel encouraged and authorized to engage in attacks without any command structure.

A fresh report published by Agência Pública on the eve of elections revealed that this election had at least 75 episodes of electoral violence, including two casualties and eight incidents with firearms.

Continue reading.

[jerzwriter]

Are We Dating the Same Guy? Tobias Edition

There are Facebook groups called "Are We Dating the Same Guy?". They exist to "expose" cheaters and guys who are just creeps in general. Women will post a photo/profile and ask if anyone has any tea or red flag alerts. The other day I was scrolling through a local one and saw a friend of mine. Talk about a WHOA moment. A few days later, the "AWDSG? Boston" group was recommended to me, and my mind automatically went to... what if Tobias and/or Ethan were on this? I ran the idea past @lucy-268 and @genevievemd and asked if I should do it for Ethan or Tobias. Their answer was, "Both is good." So, in honor of them, I'm doing both. Here is Tobias's version.

Book:              Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing:           Tobias Carrick x F!MC (Casey Carrick)

Rating:            Teen

Words: 1,428 plus edit

Summary: Casey & Tobias are both on parental leave following the birth of their first daughter. When Tobias steps out for an errand, Sienna notifies Casey that she found Tobias on "Are We Dating the Same Guy? Boston/Cambridge", and apparently, he has a Tinder account. Here's what happens when Tobias returns.

A/N: The story precedes the FB post of Tobias on the "AWDSG?" page. *** Participating in @choiceschallenge-may2023 | ex-crush/lover, bedroom, love. *** @creativepromptsforwriting - Cute Interactions - 23. putting their chin of the other's shoulder

Ethan Edition found here.

Parental leave was a good thing. That’s what Tobias was thinking as he rushed up the stairs to his daughter’s nursery. He was only gone for an hour, rushing out when they realized how low they were on diapers, but that was 60 minutes too long away from his wife and new baby as far as he was concerned. He couldn’t imagine being away from them longer than that.

Casey promptly shushed him when he stuck his head in the door. She had been trying to get little Samantha down for a nap since he left, and she had finally succeeded. Tobias tiptoed over and rested his head on his wife’s shoulder, they both lovingly gazed at their precious little creation fast asleep in her crib.

“You’re a natural,” he whispered into her ear.

“If I was a natural, this wouldn’t have taken a full hour,” Casey whispered back, motioning toward the door. 

With the baby monitor in hand, the couple headed to their bedroom across the hall and collapsed into bed together. Their mothers had offered them sage advice… when the baby sleeps, you sleep. That’s how you survive the first few months. For the most part, they listened, but unbeknownst to Tobias, this wouldn’t be one of those times.

“I missed you,” he sleepily muttered. “I hate being away from my girls.”

“Mmmh,” Casey yawned. “Do you now?”

“Yep, I do.”  

He expected her to snuggle closer like she normally did, but Casey sluggishly sat up and twisted in her husband’s direction. A smirk was on her lips, but he was too exhausted to determine if it was a playful or one of annoyance.

“You sure about that?” She yawned again. “I mean… I suppose you’ll need some time away from us if you’re going to meet up with the women you find on Tinder.”

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle and motioned for her to return to his side. “Yeah, sure, hon. That’s what I need.”

But Casey didn’t return. She took out her phone, opened an app, and flung it in his direction.

“Really, smartass? Then explain this?”

Tobias’s eyes popped open. It was the Tinder profile he had created nearly three years earlier in retaliation for Casey creating one of her own after they split.  

“Case!” He exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. “This isn’t new, OK? This is the profile I created back when… I thought… I thought I had taken this down! You don’t seriously believe I’m on Tinder, do you?”

Casey bit her lower lip in an attempt to prevent her laughter. Was that actually sweat forming on his brow?

“I don’t know, Tobias? You tell me! Because apparently, you also have a little fan club on the Are We Dating the Same Guy’s Facebook page.”

“I’m sorry… on what?”

Casey defiantly folded her arms before her chest, pouting for effect. “Don’t act all innocent! Like you’ve never heard of it.”

“Casey!” He said far too loudly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And, oh my God, do you seriously think I’m out there looking for a side piece? Is that really what you think of me?”

“Sshhh!!!” She said, placing her hand over his mouth as her smile spread. It was going too far now; besides, she would not have him waking Sammy up. “Of course not!” She insisted, pushing him back against the pillows and laying on top of him. “You’re a smart man, and you know damn well you’d never find better than me.”

“Damn straight! But where the hell is this coming from? Are you trying to give me a heart attack so you and your younger lover can run off with my money?”

“YES! That’s it! You’re on to me!” she nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck to muffle her laughter. Still bewildered, Tobias turned her chin toward him in search of an explanation.

“Your Tinder profile is still up,” she said. “Buts so is mine, apparently. It looks like neither of us idiots took it down.”

“Yeah, well, this was right around the time of the attack. My focus was on you, and I didn’t give a shit about Tinder or much else back then.”

“Same with me. And since I had notifications turned off, I never even thought to take it down.”

Tobias took out his phone and opened his old Tinder account. He pulled up Casey’s profile and let out a long, slow whistle. “Look at her… you know, I’d love a piece of that.”

“Well, according to Dr. Garcia, you’ll have to wait another four or five weeks,” she smiled. “But we probably should take them both down.”

“Yeah, given that we’re married with a new baby… it’s a bad aesthetic,” he smirked.

Casey’s finger slid over her phone, about to click deactivate, when Tobias grabbed her hand.

“Wait!” He teased. “Before you do that, are you sure you don’t want to, you know, add a third here?”

She pulled his phone from his hand and pressed deactivate on both devices simultaneously. “You’re such an ass!”

“You love my ass!” He grinned, pulling her into a kiss.

“Always.”

“But wait, what was the other thing you mentioned… something about a fan club?”

“Oh, that’s how this all came to be! Sienna belongs to a Facebook group called ‘Are We Dating the Same Guy?’ Women in the Boston area go on it and post pictures if they think they’re dating a two-timer, or they’ll post a guy they want to meet on a dating app to ask if anyone has any info on them.”

“OK… and?”

“And,” she handed him her phone, “You’re on it!”

“I’m what?”

“Relax,” Casey laughed, “It dates back to 2019, so I don’t have to start divorce proceedings or anything. But someone was about to swipe right on Tinder, and they thought they’d consult the page first. Looks like a bevy of your conquests had a thing or two to say about you….”

The color drained from Tobias’s face. 

“Lisa… Amanda… Celia… though she had nothing good to say. Even Audrey had something to add.”

“Audrey?! She knew about this and didn’t tell me!”

“Don’t worry. It looks like she had your back, babe. Though… I was right all along… she did want my title all along. At least she sees reason now!”  

Tobias only half heard her, too busy reading all the comments. “What is Celia talking about? I never once led her on!”

“Mmm hmm, and Audrey backs that story. But Amanda and Lisa give you rave reviews, dear. Who knew you were Yelp! Certified 5 stars… and I do mean Yelp!” She giggled.

“I mean, it makes sense,” he boasted. “But you see here… it took you to get me off the market. You’re something special, Mrs. Carrick.”

“You better believe it, Mr. Carrick,” she grinned.

“What are you typing there?” he asked.  

“I’m just adding my review,” Casey deadpanned.

“Casey, are you….”

“Relax! I’m just posting an off-the-market notice. You are all mine, buster! Well, mine and Sammy’s.”

“Damn right! And thank God you know that! This could have gone down a very ugly path, even though I didn’t know this existed.”

“I know,” Casey smiled, gently caressing his cheek. “But I know you, baby… and I trust you.”

“That means more to me than you’ll ever know. Now, how do we get this shit taken down?”

A notification popped up on Casey’s phone, “Looks like you’re in luck. The admin just read my comment and asked if she should remove it.”

“YES!” Tobias said, typing furiously. “Hey, do you mind if I thank the women for their… reviews… first?”

Casey shot him a look with a raised brow. “Just keep it brief… we probably only have an hour before Sammy is up again.”

“And what do you want to do with that hour?” He winked.

“In four or five weeks, I’ll have a different answer, but right now…”

“Please say sleep in my arms, please say sleep in my arms, please say sleep in my arms….”

“I was going to say sleep in your arms,” she laughed.

“Yes,” he cheered, pulling her beside him; he held her close and placed a kiss atop her head. “You see, you’re just perfect for me.”

He was waiting for a reply… smart alec or sweet… he knew one would follow, but it never did.

“Case? Casey?”

But her only reply was a soft, barely there snore.

“That’s OK, baby,” he chuckled, pulling the blanket over them. “You have the right idea!”

Personally - I agreed with Morgan. lol

Perma: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @crazy-loca-blog @doriopenheart @differenttyphoonwerewolf @fayeswiftie @gryffindordaughterofathena @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @onikalover @openheartforeverinmyheart @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @secretaryunpaid @socalwriterbee @sophxwithers @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[xtrablak674]

Its All Temporary!

All year I have been going through a review of my digital past, combing through emails from twenty years ago, on the internet archive looking at websites I designed, reviewing actual hard drives of saved instant messages and reading live journal entries from twenty three years ago. All of it is temporary. We thought the internet would be forever, it isn't.

I had a Flickr account for over 15 years, and they deleted it without warning or notice. I was devastated at first because it had the most complete archive of all my work, mind you I have it all backed up other places, but it was the one place I consistently named things and used it for reference when I did exhibitions.

Depending on the kind of work an artist has, most of these platforms aren't welcoming to you. Lets not even talk about AI and how that is distorting art. As a person with multiple identities the only place I could post my work without any restraints is on my own domain, which isn't something that really interest me anymore.

Look you're grown, do what you need to do, but I have been out there and its all crap everywhere! Deviant Art which literally has 'deviant' in its name is restrictive around which kind of work can be posted. As I mentioned previously Tumblr is just frustrating which its 'labels' and calling things "sexual themed" that aren't remotely sexual. I am sick and tired of having to partition my identities to present my whole self, which may not be everyone's struggle but its mine. The TOS are not set up for me to express different aspects of myself at the same time, only those that are more socially acceptable.

Now I have never been on Twitter which I know has a huge number of people using it, I never did because I am primarily a visual artist and I still think of them as a text-based platform, albeit there is loads of visual things posted there. Even Instagram and FB aren't overly friendly to artist and the latter isn't safe because its always under attacks by hackers, there someone on Ello who has been trying to get their page back unsuccessfully for months.

Tumblr is a scrolling site, I don't think of it as a community platform. Flickr was better when it was owned by its original owners. Deviant Art has "groups" that I guess could foster more "community". 

Personally I am at a point where I am not very invested in any of them. The new Tumblr I started is really just for me. I have three followers who sporadically may like a post, but my real audience are the people who will survive me. I think it may be a good way to know me in my own voice, well at least for the time that this platform still exists, as I said its all just temporary just like our lives.

[Photo by Brown Estate]