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corvid-ae · 6 months ago

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So you want to listen to Main Range?

Great! I know how intimidating it can be to try and start listening, so I’ve tried to compile a guide to the main story arcs. More under the cut (minor spoiler warning)!

Also known as the Monthly Adventures, it’s a great way to get into the DWEU and definitely one I would recommend. It is also accessible, with the first 50 stories available on Spotify, or available to buy from Big Finish or second-hand fairly easily (or, you know, via less-legitimate means).

Main Range involves stories from the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors, and various TV and original companions. If you are a fan of eighties and nineties Who, then Main Range might be for you! My general recommendations for people are to pick a specific doctor AND companion(s) to listen to and go from there. Although, if you’re looking for a first story to try, why not start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) with the Sirens of Time.

While many Main Range stories are stand-alone, there are also some overarching plots, which are actually very companion-focussed. Trying to understand these arcs and listen to them in order can be intimidating for people looking to get into listening, however its probably simpler than you’d think.

To help you out with all of this, I have done my best to write down the stories that are probably best listened to in order, with a bit of an explanation about how it fits into TV continuity if relevant. The order is pretty easy to follow as it is pretty much just in release order. No, Big Finish did not intentionally try to confuse their audience by releasing stories out of order (okay maybe they did just a little). However I have provided the story number in brackets [like so] for clarity.

Also, to be clear, all of the arcs are self-contained, so seperate arcs don't have to be listened to in the order I've written them down in, unless I've specified otherwise (like with the Evelyn and Hex storyline).

Again, it is not super important to listen to things in order. If you are getting bored with a story or with listening in order then feel free to skip things. Maybe you could just skim the Tardis Wiki page for the plot if you like. To help, I’ve also marked any of the super plot-heavy stories with an asterix. Most other stories, especially ones that I don’t mention here are standalone and can be listened to however you like.

Also feel free to let me know if I miss anything! Happy listening :)

Fifth Doctor:

The Erimem Arc

This takes place after Planet of Fire and before Caves of Androzani, and features the Fifth Doctor, Peri and an original character called Erimem - an ancient Egyptian princess. This is a pretty good arc and one I would definitely recommend. Please feel free to skip Nekromanteia though it’s genuinely terrible.

[24] The Eye of the Scorpion*

[38] The Church and the Crown

[41] Nekromanteia

[56] The Axis of Insanity

[59] The Roof of The World

[69] Three’s a Crowd

[71] The Council of Nicaea

[81] The Kingmaker

[99] Son of the Dragon

[102a] The Mind’s Eye

[104] The Bride of Peladon*

The Key 2 Time

A trilogy featuring the Fifth Doctor and an original companion called Amy which acts as a sequel to the Key to Time. It is set between Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani. The Fifth Doctor meets Amy again in the boxset Wicked Sisters.

[117] The Judgement of Isskar

[118] The Destroyer of Delights

[119] The Chaos Pool

The Stockbridge trilogy

Featuring The Doctor and Nyssa and set in the fictional town of Stockbridge which was first introduced in the Fifth Doctor’s DWM comics. Knowledge of that is not at all essential however. Set between Time Flight and Arc of Infinity.

[127] Castle of Fear

[128] The Eternal Summer

[129] Plague of the Daleks

The Older Nyssa Arc

This is set between Enlightenment and the King’s Demons and features Tegan, Turlough and an older Nyssa - some years after the events of Terminus.

[136] Cobwebs*

[137] The Whispering Forest

[138] The Cradle of the Snake

[146] Heroes of Sontar

[147] Kiss of Death

[148] Rat Trap

[159] The Emerald Tiger

[160] The Jupiter Conjunction

[161] The Butcher of Brisbane

[172] Eldrad Must Die!

[173] The Lady of Mercia

[174] Prisoners of Fate

[195] Mistfall

[196] Equilibrium

[197] The Entropy Plague*

The Hannah Arc

A very short trilogy featuring the Doctor, Nyssa and another original companion - Hannah - an Edwardian woman. Set sometime between Time Flight and Arc of Infinity.

[185] Moonflesh

[186] Tomb Ship

[187] Masquerade

The Season 19 Gang Arc

Set during the events of Season 19, these stories feature the original gang of the Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa.

[221] The Star Men

[222] The Contingency Club

[223] Zaltys

[234] Kingdom of Lies

[235] Ghost Walk

[236] Serpent in the Silver Mask

The Kamelion Arc

There’s not much to say about this apart from that these three are probably best listened to in this order? Set between the King's Demons and the Five Doctors (i think) and featuring Tegan, Turlough and Kamelion.

[247] Devil in the Mist

[248] Black Thursday/Power Game

[249] The Kamelion Empire

The Marc Arc

These stories follow the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, and an original companion Marc - a man from ancient Greece. It is set sometime between the end of Arc of Infinity and Mawdryn Undead.

[256] Tartarus*

[257] Interstitial/Feast of Fear

[258] Warzone/Conversion*

[266]Ghost Station/The Bridge Master/What Lurks Down Under/The Dancing Plague

[267]Thin Time/Madquake*

Sixth Doctor:

The Evelyn Arc

One of my favourite arcs with some great stories, and maybe where things get a little confusing. This arc features the Sixth Doctor and an original companion, Evelyn - an historian from modern-day England. Set sometime before the Sixth Doctor meets Mel I think.

This arc set up some story aspects which are explored further with the Seventh Doctor’s stories - specifically, the Forge trilogy. There are a few ways you could listen to these but to keep it simple I would also recommend listening to the Seventh Doctor story the Harvest before you listen to Thicker Than Water, and then A Death in the Family once you’ve listened to all the Evelyn stories AND the Forty-Five anthology. This could also be listened to concurrently in release order with the Hex storyline which I’ll outline a bit later.

[6] The Marian Conspiracy*

[9] The Spectre of Lanyan Moor

[11] The Apocalypse Element

[22] Bloodtide

[23] Project: Twilight*

[37] The Sandman

[40] Jubilee

[43] Doctor Who and the Pirates

[45] Project: Lazarus*

[57] Arrangements for War*

[58] The Harvest (7th Doctor)*

[60] Medicinal Purposes

[73] Thicker Than Water*

[100] 100 BC/My Own Private Wolfgang/Bedtime Story/The 100 Days of the Doctor*

[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster

[144] The Feast of Axos

[145] Industrial Evolution

[115] Forty-Five anthology (7th Doctor)*

[140] A Death in the Family (7th Doctor)*

You can theoretically listen to the following before or after Thicker Than Water if you want - they are sort of standalone stories with the Doctor and Evelyn:

[78] Pier Pressure

[84] The Nowhere Place

[108] Assassin in the Limelight

The Charley Arc 2.0

This is best listened to once you’ve listened to the Charley Arc with the Eighth Doctor. Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Charley.

[105] The Condemned*

[111] The Doomwood Curse

[114] Brotherhood of the Daleks

[116] The Raincloud Man

[124] Patient Zero

[125] Paper Cuts

[126] Blue Forgotten Planet*

The Flip and Constance Arc

Featuring the Sixth Doctor and two original companions, Flip - a girl from modern-day England - and Constance - a woman from World War II. Set sometime before the Doctor meets Mel.

[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster*

[156] The Curse of Davros

[157] The Fourth Wall

[158] Wirrn Isle

[182] Antidote to Oblivion

[183] The Brood of Erys

[225] Vortex Ice/Cortex Fire

[184] Scavenger*

[204] Criss-Cross*

[205] Planet of the Rani

[206] Shield of the Jotunn

[218] Order of the Daleks

[219] Absolute Power

[273] Colony of Fear

[220] Quicksilver*

[231] The Behemoth

[232] The Middle

[233] Static

[263] Cry of the Vultriss

[264] Scorched Earth

[265] The Lovecraft Invasion

The Older Peri trilogy

Featuring the Doctor and Peri from after she marries King Yrcanos.

[192] The Widow’s Assassin*

[193] Masters of Earth

[194] The Rani Elite

Seventh Doctor:

The Hex Arc

A great arc that sort of starts with Evelyn’s arc. I would not recommend starting this until after you’ve listened to Project: Lazarus, but maybe at least listen to The Harvest before Thicker Than Water (no stress if you don’t want to juggle listening to arcs concurrently). Features the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and an original companion from 2020s London - Hex. Set after the end of Classic Who.

[58] The Harvest*

[67] Dreamtime

[74] LIVE 34

[79] Night Thoughts

[82] The Settling

[89] No Man’s Land

[92] Nocturne

[106] The Dark Husband

[115] False Gods/Order of Simplicity/Casualties of War/The Word Lord*

[120] The Magic Mousetrap

[121] Enemy of the Daleks

[122] The Angel of Scutari*

[139] Project: Destiny*

[140] A Death in the Family*

[141] Lurkers at Sunlight’s Edge

[149] Robophobia (side note: this is our introduction to Liv Chenka who is one of the Eighth Doctor’s main companions from Dark Eyes onwards).

[151] The Doomsday Quatrain

[152] House of Blue Fire*

[162] Protect and Survive*

[163] Black and White*

[164] Gods and Monsters*

[181] Afterlife*

[189] Revenge of the Swarm

[190] Mask of Tragedy

[191] Signs and Wonders

Also at some point before or after the Angel of Scutari you can listen to the following as they are standalone stories:

[226] Shadow Planet/World Apart

[245] Muse of Fire

[268] The Flying Dutchman/Displaced

The Klein Arc

An Arc featuring The Seventh Doctor and an original character, Klein - a woman from 1940s Germany. Set after the end of Classic Who.

[25] Colditz*

[130] A Thousand Tiny Wings

[131] Klein’s Story/Survival of the Fittest

[132] The Architects of History

[175] Persuasion

[176] Starlight Robbery

[177] Daleks Among Us

Klein is also involved in the final story of the Daniel trilogy which spans the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors.

Eighth Doctor:

The Charley Arc 1.0

The best Main Range arc in my opinion. If you listen to anything, listen to this. Featuring the Eighth Doctor and original companion Charley, with another original companion C’rizz in Part 2 of the arc.

Part 1:

[16] Storm Warning*

[17] Sword of Orion

[18] The Stones of Venice

[19] Minuet in Hell

[28] Invaders from Mars

[29] The Chimes of Midnight

[30] Seasons of Fear

[31] Embrace the Darkness

[32] The Time of the Daleks

[33] Neverland*

[50] Zagreus*

Part 2:

[52] Scherzo*

[53] The Creed of the Kromon* (TW for sexual assault in the Creed of the Kromon. Feel free to stop listening after episode one or just read the Tardis Wiki page for relevant plot info)

[54] The Natural History of Fear

[55] The Twilight Kingdom

[61] Faith Stealer

[62] The Last

[63] Caerdroia

[64] The Next Life*

[72] Terror Firma

[75] Scaredy Cat

[77] Other Lives

[80] Time Works

[83] Something Inside

[88] Memory Lane

[101] Absolution*

[103] The Girl Who Never Was*

The Mary Shelley arc

A short arc featuring the Eighth Doctor and Mary Shelley! Yes, that Mary Shelley.

[123d] Mary’s Story*

[153] The Silver Turk

[154] The Witch from the Well

[155] Army of Death

Multi-doctor arcs:

These are mostly trilogies featuring stories which Big Finish probably mostly intended to be listened to together.

The Forge trilogy

Relevant to the Evelyn and Hex arcs - best listened to in conjunction with the rest of their stories.

[23] Project: Twilight (Sixth Doctor)

[45] Project: Lazarus (Sixth Doctor/Seventh Doctor)

[139] Project: Destiny (Seventh Doctor)

The Villains Trilogy

[47] Omega (Fifth Doctor)

[48] Davros (Sixth Doctor)

[49] Master (Seventh Doctor)

The Harvest/TheReaping/The Gathering trilogy

^^^ I’m naming it that because the other name I’d give it would be a big spoiler lol (if you saw me forget the Harvest out of this no you didn’t)

[58] The Harvest (Seventh Doctor)

[86] The Reaping (Sixth Doctor)

[87] The Gathering (Fifth Doctor)

The Brewster Arc

Thomas Brewster is also vaguely relevant to the events of Stranded with the Eighth Doctor but it’s not really important.

[107] The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (Fifth Doctor)

[113] Time Reef/A Perfect World (Fifth Doctor)

[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (Sixth Doctor)

[144] The Feast of Axos (Sixth Doctor)

[145] Industrial Evolution (Sixth Doctor)

The Sorsha trilogy

[165] The Burning Prince (Fifth Doctor)

[166] The Acheron Pulse (Sixth Doctor)

[167] The Shadow Heart (Seventh Doctor)

The 1963 trilogy

These don’t really have an overarching plot as far as I can remember, they were just released as part of the 50th anniversary.

[178] 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (Fifth Doctor)

[179] 1963: The Space Race (Sixth Doctor)

[180] 1963: The Assassination Games (Seventh Doctor)

The Companions Trilogy

[198] The Defectors (Seventh Doctor)

[199] Last of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor)

[200] The Secret History (Fifth Doctor)

The Master trilogy

[211] And You Will Obey Me (Fifth Doctor)

[212] Vampire of the Mind (Sixth Doctor)

[213] The Two Masters (Seventh Doctor)

The Daniel trilogy

[237] The Helliax Rift (Fifth Doctor)

[240] Hour of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor)

[244] Warlock’s Cross (Seventh Doctor) (Klein is in this one if you want to listen to her arc beforehand)

Edit/addendum:

If you’re like me, you’ve maybe been intrigued by Main Range from seeing/hearing other fans talk about some of the excellent stories there are. Personally, when I am struggling getting through a series, it helps to have a specific story or episode to look forward to. As such, here are a few of my personal favourites from the above list that are definitely worth waiting for (at least in my humble opinion):

5th Doctor:

- Warzone/Conversion

6th Doctor:

- Jubilee

- Doctor Who and the Pirates

- Arrangements for War

7th Doctor:

- Afterlife

- Master

8th Doctor:

- Seasons of Fear

- Zagreus

- Scherzo

- The Natural History of Fear

#doctor who #doctor who extended universe #dweu #classic who #whoniverse #fifth doctor #sixth doctor #seventh doctor #eighth doctor #charlotte pollard #charley pollard #hex schofield #evelyn smythe #main range #audio dramas #big finish #audio drama

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ot3 · 11 months ago

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it's really interesting to me how much of the discussion around the use of AI image generation seems to revolve around the idea that there are really only two types of visual art that exist:

art intended for some sort of commercial use

and

2. art that gets made so that the artist can experience the Joys and Wonder of Creative Expressions Of Humanity

the first is one where i think there's some actual concern warranted. i do think it's legitimate to say that a lot of visual artists and photographers have had their work used in a way they couldn't possibly have predicted and had no means of opting out of. i definitely find it questionable to use ai generated images as a commercial product, especially when it's corporate entities doing it. and as always corporations will use whatever new tech they can to cut out human workers. it fucking sucks and warrants talking about but cutting out human artists for AI art use is an extension of the pre-existing phenomenon, not a new thing.

the second one is complete bullshit. would i personally get a lot of value out of Expressing Myself with ai image generation? absolutely not. maybe some people do. but for the most part anyone who values art as an experiential process and is unconcerned with the final product is already Doing That. they don't need a condescending post about the evocative nature of children's scribbling to know that the fidelity of a piece of artwork does not correspond to it's value. you're talking to the wrong fucking people.

the thing i feel like gets left out entirely is the millions of reasons why someone might want A Specific Image to exists that's outside of these two categories. maybe you just want a picture to go on your dnd character sheet but nothing on picrew has the right features. maybe you want a cartoon of your 4 year old daughter dressed as elsa to get printed on her birthday cake. maybe you want to send your coworker a picture of her dog on the rim of an active volcano as part of an ongoing inside joke. maybe you're a writer and want to whip up a quick visual for something as reference to make it easier to describe.

and i really struggle to understand what the material harm is in any of those things. the closest i can approximate is that people who have a problem with ai image generation for personal use seem to feel like either a. people are robbing freelance artists who do commissions of a Potential Sale which i don't think i need to explain why that's bullshit or b. the fact that they can have access to Images without having to Work Hard like I, a Real Artist did means they are committing some sort of karmic slight against me. and there really isn't any way to unpack/legitimize that particular critique that doesn't result in some ableism, as we've clearly seen.

#long post

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doberbutts · 9 months ago

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That question you got asked about "what if a white person calls themselves black" just immediately shot to mind a Tiktok I saw a while back of a black teacher whose white student (8yr old iirc) called him a "fellow brotha" and said he was "step-black" because his black step father told him so. Wish I could find it, the way he described the kid and how he answered questions was adorable

So to distance from race for a moment:

I am a CODA- a Child Of a Deaf Adult. My father is Deaf, I've talked about his deafness before many times. The Deaf and HOH community came up with their own label for people like me who are not Deaf themselves but have found space within the Deaf community due to their proximity to their Deaf parent/s. This adjacency means that while many CODAs do not experience the world the same way their Deaf family members do, we also are in a weird position where we have witnessed or even been required to help directly with the problems Hearing society throws at Deaf people.

In other words, despite not being Deaf myself, my worldview still more closely aligns with that of my Deaf father as a direct result of having been raised by him. I don't have nearly as much proximity to the Deaf community as a guy whose videos I see every so often but can never remember his name, who is also a CODA and typically signs in all of his videos to make a point to his Hearing audience. This is partially because *my dad* was denied access to the Deaf community and Deaf culture for a long time due to both being black and also being raised by the abusive asshole that caused his Deafness in the first place.

Not all communities have words for this type of adjacency, but some do. Ghat's why I said that a white person calling themselves black probably does have some sort of proximity to blackness. Were they adopted by black parents? Are they part of a blended family where they are the whitest person of the lot? Are they mixed race and just have more dominant European features? Are they black but with a genetic difference such as albinism that causes white skin and blonde hair? Since it's not always possible to know at a glance, there could be very legitimate reasons for someone you pegged as white to call themselves black.

Or, they could be an asshole that's lying for clout. But I find those are a lot less common than (general) you'd think.

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cosmerelists · 11 months ago

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Ranking Cosmere Planets By How Cool I Find Them

[Contains spoilers for all Cosmere! I'll list the books in the title so you can skip the ones relating to books you haven't read]

The Cosmere has some very cool planets: but which are the coolest? In this list, I will rank them by my own definition of cool, which I'm defining here as "Planets where my interest in past or future stories is chiefly driven by the nature of the world itself."

#13: UTol (From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter; this entry also contains a spoiler from The Sunlit Man)

UTol is the sky planet that Painter can see from the surface of his world, Komashi, and we get a glimpse of it just right at the end of Yumi. It's also possible we get a glimpse of the same world right at the end of The Sunlit Man, but I don't think that's confirmed. Anyway. It's an ocean world, and the inhabitants have four arms and may have originally been from Yolen. But we don't learn anything cool about the world itself, really. I guess the fact that it can always be seen even through the shroud that otherwise blankets Komashi--that's cool. But I don't know if that's UTol's doing. Maybe when we get more info, it will turn out this planet is super ultra cool and then I will look like a fool. But for now--eh. Oceans. With water? Yawn.

#12: First of Sun (From "Sixth of Dusk")

First of Sun is a hostile world with jungles and oceans and magic birds. It's cool--as all Cosmere worlds are in my opinion--but none of it had any special, extra coolness for me. I suppose I've never been much interested in parrots, and also its only feature story so far was quite short.

#11: Braize (From Stormlight Archives; this entry also contains a spoiler from The Sunlit Man)

I am legitimately curious about Braize, Roshar's "Hell" where the Fused were imprisoned by the Heralds. Like, what is Hell like in a material sense? I want someone to visit it (and I really want to know if Sigzil has been there himself, based on his mentioning a Hell visit during The Sunlit Man), and my curiosity makes it seem more cool. But not too cool, because for all we know, Braize is super boring. We just don't have enough info yet.

#10: Nalthis (From "Warbreaker")

Nalthis has some interesting things going on, planetarily. People don't always properly die, which anyone who cheated and already looked at my #1 planet already knows is something I enjoy. It has some unique cultures, which is also something I enjoy in a Sanderson world, although the differences are painted in pretty broad strokes. It's colorful. I don't know. I'm not super into Nalthis, but it definitely has some cool aspects.

#9: Taldain (From White Sand)

I have a shocking confession that I forgot to include in my authorial confessions list: I haven't actually read White Sand. At least, not more than a few pages before I got frustrated with how hard it was to read it on my phone, which is where I had access to it. Anyway. I do think the general set up of this planet is legitimately cool: tidal-locked, I think, with a Dayside and a Nightside which each have their own magic system. There's a lot of sand. Water matters. I think there are magic tattoos. So I can't rank this too highly myself simply because I don't actually know much about it, but it does seem "Top 10" cool.

#8: Scadrial (From Mistborn)

Scadrial has an advantage because it has Time Periods, and really is a pretty different world in Era 1 vs. Era 2. I have a dark fascination with Era 1 Scadrial: the ashfalls, the mist, the slow but inevitable apocalypse constantly creeping closer...would NOT want to visit, but it's cool to read about. Era 2 Scadrial is bright and shiny in comparison. I'm not much of a Wild West gal myself, but there are giraffes, and that ups any planet's coolness, even if it has lost its brooding volcanos. Oh! And I hope we hear more about the Southern Scadrians too.

#7: Sel (From Elantris and The Emperor's Soul)

I've been trying to judge these planets based on the planets themselves rather than on their magic systems...but on Sel, can you really separate those? The magic is based on geography, after all! Anyway, I like Sel because of the wild things going on with its pooled investiture. I don't understand computer programming and so I may or may not really get its magic, but I like the fact that it ranges from the stately, sometimes assholish Elantrians to Soul Stamping. It's all very cool.

#6: Lumar (From Tress of the Emerald Sea)

Lumar is very cool. Like, color-based aether seas that each react differently to water? Rain as a deadly but necessary thing? The color borders where one aether sea meets another? Sailing on something other than water?? I ate it all up. Tress's world is wild and creative and definitely lots of fun.

#5: Roshar (From Stormlight Archives)

It's hard to separate Roshar the planet from the people and stories there, as I think it's the Cosmere planet I've spent the most time on, metaphorically speaking. But I gotta say, the idea of a constant, world-spanning storm that spits out magic and death--that's cool. A whole world that's inhabited only by crab-versions of things? Well, I hesitate to call that cool exactly, but it is...something. Plus, so many different cultures and religions and ideas on Roshar, which I really enjoy.

#4: Canticle (From The Sunlit Man)

Listen, I love Threnodites. Wherever they pop up, they are doing wild things and refusing to properly die and having names that are...let's say unique. And Canticle is quite the interesting planet. Imagine--not being able to stay in one place because you're constantly fleeing from the deadly sun while trying not to get too far ahead lest to stray into the constant fire tornado. Imagine powering your ships with dead-people batteries and doing engineering with your captive ghost engineers. The place is tiny and super invested and also an incandescent lightbulb or something. Again, I would NOT want to visit but that world is damn cool.

#3: Komashi (From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter)

I think my love of Threnody really affects these top picks. Komashi doesn't have Threnodites, but it does have the weird creepy shadow monsters which I apparently...love? (Learning much about myself writing this.) But in all seriousness, I really like Komashi and I am so curious about it. The idea of Virtuosity and how she manifests as both magical paintings and magical rock stacking. I am so curious about the magenta and cyan coloring and how Sanderson says its based on printers somehow and that yes there is one color missing (what??). The way the inhabitants just lived in a thick shadow sludge with lights creating small habitable zones...like, again, horrifying but such a cool and creative world to explore.

#2: Yolen (No books so far)

Maybe Yolen is super boring. But it is SO mysterious that it can't help but be cool. I mean, this is where the Shattering happened! I think it's where Hoid is from. I think there are dragons. It's just gotta be cool, right?

#1: Threnody (From Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell)

But my favorite planet, for whatever reason, is Threnody. I am dying for another story set on that planet. I am so curious about what the Evil is, and I want to hear more about the people living in the literal Forests of Hell. The Shadows and the rules that you have to follow to survive them, the use of silver, the fact that Threnodites just can't catch a fucking break. I am fascinated by all of it, and I think that Threnody is the coolest planet in the Cosmere.

#cosmere #cosmerelists

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gothicprep · 9 months ago

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there's a talking point that seems to never die in abortion debates that goes, "if cisgender men could get pregnant, this whole conversation would be different. they'd give out abortions at cvs with your flu shot!" and i have no idea how anybody finds that convincing enough to repeat.

it's overlooking two major things:

pro life people are not being dishonest when they say that they view this as morally analogous to murder. i'm well aware that there are people who feel strongly about this, and then actually get an abortion when it happens to them. but people saying "in this situation, i would...", having an attitude adjustment when they actually are in that situation, and being too proud to publicly admit they were wrong is an unremarkable feature of life. either way, this is not true of the median pro lifer.

in my experience, people are generally not all that receptive to anything that's framed as a men's issue, even in legitimate cases that aren't mra talking points. at least as far as social media is concerned, statements about why boys and men are more likely to drop out of school and seem to be more acutely effected by loneliness invites a choir harmonizing "who cares?"

it's one of those situations where our moral intuitions guide us to a certain position – in this case, that abortion access is a necessity – and we fill in our rationalization after the fact. everybody does this, but the inevitable endgame is a few of these arguments not being convincing at all unless someone already agrees with you. or i guess where it concerns me and my little post here, agrees with you but knows that there are some pretty obvious holes in your logic that prevent you from changing any hearts or minds.

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missedmilemarkers · 2 months ago

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When Opportunity Calls… A Musician’s Tale of a Potential Scam and How to Protect Yourself

My Background: From Internet Security to Photography

Before I became a full-time photographer, I spent years working in internet security for some of the biggest names in the industry. I’ve seen firsthand the types of schemes people fall for, and while it might seem shocking to me, it’s important to understand that anyone can be caught off guard. There’s no shame in it, and you should never feel embarrassed if it happens to you. That’s why I’m offering a free service to anyone who wants it—if someone is asking you for money in any form, consult with me first. I’ll help you determine if the offer is legitimate or a potential scam.

The Call That Almost Hooked Me

It started with a phone call—one that seemed like just another cold sales pitch. You know the type—someone claiming to have stumbled across my music and expressing an almost over-the-top level of admiration. They had a proposition, one that sounded too good to pass up. But as the conversation progressed, red flags began to pop up. Here’s a dramatized version of how it went down:

The Fictional Conversation: "An Offer You Can’t Refuse?"

Scammer: “Hello! I recently came across your music and was absolutely blown away by your talent. We’re launching a new platform for emerging musicians and would love to feature your work. We’re even willing to pay you upfront—$500 just to start!”

Musician (Me): “That sounds interesting! Could you tell me more about your platform? What’s it called?”

Scammer: “Of course! We’re called ‘HyperCompuGlobalMegaTech,’ a new but rapidly growing platform. Our goal is to showcase the best emerging talents. We’re so impressed with your music that we’re willing to cover all your costs, including studio time, to produce exclusive tracks for us.”

Musician (Me): “That’s quite generous. I’d love to learn more about your business. Could you provide some references or connect me with other artists you’ve worked with?”

Scammer: “Oh, we’re still building our roster, so most of our artists are new and haven’t been featured widely yet. But trust me, the exposure you’ll get is invaluable! We’re also offering a bonus—an additional $1,000 if you can produce new music for us within the next month. And guess what? We’ll even give you access to a top-tier recording studio!”

Musician (Me): “This sounds almost too good to be true. I’ll need to verify your business name and do some research first.”

Scammer: “There’s no time for that! Opportunities like this don’t come around often. We’re offering you a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If you wait, we might have to move on to another artist. Let’s move this conversation to WhatsApp so we can finalize the details more quickly.”

Musician (Me): “I understand, but I’ll need to be cautious. Could you provide some form of verification outside of our communication?”

Scammer: “Look, we believe in you and your talent, and we’re just trying to help you grow. Don’t overthink it! You’re missing out on a huge opportunity here.”

Breaking Down the Warning Signs:

Verification of Business: Always verify the business name and check for congruence in their information. Legitimate businesses will be happy to provide proof of their operations and connect you with others in their network.

Escalating Offers: If the offer keeps getting sweeter without you even asking, this is a major red flag. Real opportunities are often competitive, and businesses rarely need to persuade someone this aggressively.

Pressure Tactics: Scammers thrive on creating urgency. If you feel rushed to make a decision, take a step back. Legitimate opportunities don’t disappear overnight.

Transfer of Communication: Shifting the conversation to a different platform, especially one that’s less secure, can be a tactic to avoid tracking and accountability.

Too Good to Be True: Ask yourself—am I hoping for something too perfect? If the opportunity seems like it could solve all your problems at just the right time, it’s worth scrutinizing.

A Cautionary Tip:

If you find yourself in a situation like this, one of the best ways to buy yourself time is to use a polite excuse. Say something like, “I’m sorry, my significant other just walked in,” or “I just got in the car and I cannot speak right now” This will give you the time you need to step back and evaluate the situation—and reach out to someone like me for help.

My Photography Business:

It’s not unusual for me to be approached about selling my artwork. I’ve sold many pictures to a wide variety of clients, and all of my work is presented on a very unique metal canvas. Whenever a buyer is interested in my work, I dictate the terms. If I have a metal print on hand of the item, it’s yours. If I don’t, I will get it produced and delivered directly to you—guaranteed. Every genuine buyer has always agreed to my terms, and I know the value of what I’m offering. My snapshots are unique moments in time that can only be from me and no one else.

P.S. For those who might have missed it, “HyperCompuGlobalMegaTech” is a little nod to The Simpsons—because even when discussing something serious, it’s okay to have a laugh.

A Free Offer to Help You Stay Safe:

If you’ve ever received a similar offer or if you’re currently in the middle of one, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m offering free consultations to help you determine if what you’re dealing with is legitimate or a potential scam. With my background in internet security, I can provide you with the tools and knowledge to protect yourself.

Conclusion:

Remember, not every incredible opportunity is a scam, but if something feels off, trust your instincts. A little caution can go a long way in protecting your hard-earned work and reputation. And if you ever need a second opinion, I’m here to help. Together, we can ensure that when opportunity knocks, it’s the real deal.

Get Involved:

Have you ever encountered a situation like this? Share your story in the comments, and let’s start a conversation about staying safe in the digital world!

#theft #naturephotography #naturelovers #scam #online scams #originalphotography #duckverse #crayfish #missedmilemarkers

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chronicsymptomsyndrome · 7 months ago

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Extended rant about being poor and disabled under the cut, not really worth reading I just needed to get it out.

Hope everyone’s having a decent day

Listen I’m disabled unemployable massively in debt and have exactly $0 in liquid funds and no sizable assets. Unless you count physical assets. Like I could sell my body I guess. Ugh. Anyway throwback to that one time like an hour ago when I at least had a iPad to use. It was from 2013 so I knew this day would come. Can’t believe it lasted this long. And I know I should be extremely grateful to even have a smartphone, but I cannot use my phone as a computer the way most people do. I cannot hold onto my phone that long. I can’t look at such a tiny screen that long. I can’t crane my neck down for that long. I can hold it up level to my eyes but I can’t hold my arm up that long either. It’s not practical or sustainable. Plus my smart phone won’t last forever. Then what will I do? Without access to the internet? Yeah yeah touch grass nobody had internet for millennia blah blah blah okay but now we do. Now it’s a basic necessity. You need internet to do pretty much anything adults need to do nowadays in order to be an active part of society. I agree it’s fucked up but it’s real. I cannot get to a library. I don’t have friends in walking distance (or any distance for that matter) I have no access to using the internet for more than a couple minutes at a time. Im writing this post in segments over the course of a whole day. I keep coming back to it because I can’t think about anything else. I legitimately don’t know how to remedy this situation.

Not that this is a remedy but I want to inflict suffering onto anyone that’s ever said money only causes problems or doesn’t buy happiness or the best things in life are free or any of that classist bullshit. Two hundred dollars is pocket change to so many people but a little refurbished tablet would change my life right now. I hope every billionaire lives long but suffers endlessly and unfathomably until they die.

Also I hope my dad and his wife are really enjoying their fully refurbished three story three bedroom two bathroom home complete with a sunroom a heated deck/screen porch (yes different from the sunroom) heated floors in every room a garage big enough for their two brand new cars a little Vespa & a whole workshop plus a cute little stone patio with a fucking water feature pond fountain thing that they don’t even see that much what with their practically monthly elaborate getaways and international vacations every year. Fuck I hope they are really fucking enjoying themselves. Meanwhile I have to decide if I want to cut back on food and medicine for a while to save up for a device I can access the internet on.

Anyway. Ignore this I’m just really fucking tired, sooooooo unbelievably fucking tired, of being poor and disabled. Big fucking deal I know I’m so far from the only one. I know I still have so much that some people don’t have. And I’m grateful. But…fucking hell. Poor and healthy would be fine. Poor and disabled but still employable would be fine. Disabled but financially stable would be fine. Disabled with adequate support systems would be fine. My piece of shit grandfather finally fucking off and dying and leaving me something to live on would be cool. I’d kill for any of these. But poor and disabled just feels like someone is beating the fuck out of me and every few minutes they stop for just long enough to help me up and let ms pull myself together and there’s a momentary glimmer of hope until they go right back to beating the fuck out of me. I feel like eventually I won’t be able to get up or pull myself together anymore. I don’t fucking know.

Anyway at least I have a place to stay!! At least I have something to eat!! I can make tea if I want!! My eyesight is going slowly enough that my glasses are still usable!! The fact that I even have glasses in the first place!! The fact that I have any clean water at all, even if it only stays hot for three minutes. I can still take a shower. I have books to read. There a lot of ways in which my body and mind have not yet let me down. Honestly how dare I complain about anything I guess??? I don’t fucking know how I’m supposed to feel

#rants & reflections #delete later #disability vent #disability rant #executive dysfunction #audhd problems #physical disability #neurological disability #autistic borderline #bpd mood #disability culture

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stevetown · 2 years ago

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Hi! I just saw your quick start guide for the new twitter refugees and as someone who has been on tumblr since 2013/14 I was actually pretty impressed - you seem to have adapted very well. It got me wondering: how do you feel about all the "twitter-refugee-phobia" you have seen in the last few weeks? Personally, I'm kinda worried with the idea of new people ruining the tumblr echosystem, but I would like to see your point of vew (Sorry to bother you btw <3)

I totally understand that worry! Thinking on it, I believe it comes from two separate sources.

The first, and in my view more legitimate fear, is that Tumblr will become more like Twitter in that we'll see more corporations/celebrities/influencers/advertisers come here and somehow upset the ecosystem, as you say. In honesty, Tumblr has some built in defense mechanisms that make this less of a worry for me. Namely, they have access to the same tools as everyone else. There's no personal information here for them to buy, no real algorithm to game, no verification system. When anyone joins, they're just like you and me.

I'm heartened to see folks like @flanaganfilm come and check out Tumblr and take advantage of things like the ask feature. I think it's a really great way to interact with folks that feels more personal than Twitter pedestals.

The second fear I see is that somehow regular Twitter users are going to come in and ruin the place in an unspecified way. I guess the fear is they're going to bring a specific brand of toxicity or some such, but that seems unfounded to me. I think about how so many people are hooked to Twitter and don't know how awful it is and how much more comfortable they can be with a social media platform and themselves. We should encourage and welcome them!

Sure, this place isn't going to be for everyone, and I suspect many will check it out and bounce. And yeah, some not-so-great folks will find their way in. But at the end of the day, the block button, filtering, and content moderation tools still work the same!

When I came to Tumblr, I felt fairly instantly like I could be more myself. I could talk about weirder hobbies, I could engage with queer art, I could make silly Dracula Daily memes, and it all felt not just okay but encouraged. I want that same experience for everyone.

If Twitter really is the "modern public square," you're still putting on a mask and a front when interacting with people. Tumblr let me take that mask off, and I want everyone to have that opportunity.

#uh oh a long post #thanks for the first anon ask #twitter #tumblr #twitter refugees #fuck elon musk

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lonelyrollingstar · 4 months ago

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God almighty what is wrong with open source devs? There’s so much OSS that’s legitimately great and much better than corporate alternatives functionally but have at best a borderline unusable UI. The devs of Moonlight (local game streaming client based on Nvidia Gamestream) have been pushing people to switch to Sunshine (FOSS version of Gamestream server) because Nvidia is discontinuing Gamestream and I’m all for it, but with Gamestream I just clicked “add game” and then pointed to the executable. Look at the fucking nightmare you have to go through with Sunshine:

It’s great to have access to advanced options like launching from a different working directory or adding command line arguments, but I have literally used non-PC CLI software from 40 years ago that has more intuitive and less obtuse ways of doing something as absolutely elementary as opening an executable. Adding tons of launch arguments for executables when out of style in like 1988, who in the living fuck needs so much control over launching background services and whether they continue running or not while the game is open that you not only add those features, you make them the only way to launch a game? And even that would be fine if they provided documentation, but the Sunshine wiki, which the program opens for you upon install, has literally no information on how to actually use their fucking program outside of tutorials for extremely specific use cases (like adding Gamepass games or Steam commands) and a handful of extremely abbreviated “app examples” that essentially show you how to type in the name and path and absolutely nothing else. After I dug through like 12 Reddit posts that all refused to talk about any use case other than the Steam Deck I reluctantly looked at a few tutorial videos and got nothing but some dipshit in a Nazi band shirt (five finger death punch, it was MiketheTech if you want to know who to avoid) and a few of the irritating screaming “HAAA-LOOUUUUU GOISE AND WALCOM TO MOY YU-CHUBE T’TORIAL” British dorks (who seem to be completely unavoidable in any genre no matter how many you block) who managed to fail at giving instructions on how to do anything beyond installing the server with a focus and intensity normally only seen in successes.

Anyway, it turns out you basically just have to paste in the full path to the exe as a command. So, essentially, that’s two hours of pure frustration straight down the shitter because open source devs absolutely refuse to consider user experience to be anything but unnecessary marketing fluff.

Sunshine has been out for almost two years and obviously had to have started even further back than that; the fact that this is still the basic user experience when they know people have no choice but to switch and even after they got an extra year and a half (3/4 of the app’s existence) beyond the EOL for Gamestream is fucking shameful. If you’re a developer and you think UX is anything less than the absolutely vital top priority it needs to be then you have absolutely no grounds to complain that OSS isn’t more popular, because you are literally the sole reason it isn’t.

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mountmortar · 6 months ago

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Out of curiosity since you've mentioned The Legend of Zelda before, are there any of those games that you would reccomend? I've never played them before. I like Pokemon, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts if that helps

RUBBING MY HANDS TOGETHER EVILLY. OKAY. SO. i don't know anything about final fantasy or kingdom hearts unfortunately but i CAN take a wild guess and say that if you like pokémon there's a higher chance that you're a fan of 2D games because a good majority of fans are in agreement that pokémon was better when it was 2D. in which case. let me put this under a readmore so people who aren't interested in zelda don't get annoyed lmao:

first of all i have to recommend my favorite game in the legend of zelda series ever which is the minish cap. it's definitely the most polished 2D zelda game out there (aside from four swords adventures but that was on a home console not a handheld) and all the spritework is SO good and cute and filled with whimsy and does actually remind me of pokémon. and the soundtrack is an absolute banger AND it isn't a terribly long game at all so it can serve as a great little introduction for people getting into zelda. a couple other fun 2D zelda games (and these will probably appeal more to people who are fans of the original rby/gsc because of the style) are link's awakening (which does have a switch remake) and oracle of ages!!! oracle of seasons was fun to me but most people agree that oracle of ages was much More fun. if you want more of what the majority of the zelda series is about there's a link to the past, which was released in 1991 (so before pokémon) and features link, zelda, and ganon, who are all the Main Three of the games.

aside from that, if the 3D games interest you, a link between worlds (successor to alttp but you don't have to play it to understand what's going on) is REALLY good with a KILLER fucking soundtrack. spirit tracks is wonderful and you ride in a train the whole game for people who are ingo & emmet fans. ocarina of time is probably the most influential zelda game out there aside from a link to the past and in certain games (wind waker [sailing on the ocean!] and majora's mask [THE TIME LOOP GAME OF ALL TIME]) some things will go directly over your head if you don't play ocarina of time first. skyward sword is fucking AWESOME and i cried like a baby at the end of it.

and. this is just me personally but i cannot stress this enough. avoid breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom like the fucking plague. if you do play them you cannot think of them as zelda games. they're alright games for people who like them i guess but they're genuinely the worst fucking ZELDA games in the franchise. i am so serious about this. i'm trying to make my way through breath of the wild right now (previously i'd just watched a playthrough) and it is legitimately so fucking boring and the soundtrack is GODAWFUL. pokémon legends arceus did everything 100000x better than breath of the wild absolutely no argument. and even diehard breath of the wild fans were disappointed with tears of the kingdom which should tell you everything you need to know.

ANYWAY. tl;dr: play minish cap, link's awakening, or oracle of ages if you want some fun 2D games (very easily accessible on an emulator or homebrewed 3DS, or nintendo switch for link's awakening remake). play a link to the past (easily accessible on an emulator) or ocarina of time (has a 3DS remake; opens up the door to gain a better understanding of wind waker and majora's mask*) if you want the Classic Zelda Storyline to understand what's kind of going on everywhere else. play a link between worlds (3DS) or skyward sword (wii or nintendo switch) if you want a good 3D game where things are less likely to fly over your head.

*majora's mask and wind waker can very easily still be played without playing ocarina of time! there are just some things in the game that'll woosh straight over your head if you haven't played them. also okay that's a lie about wind waker being easily accessible because it's only available on the nintendo gamecube or wiiu BUT majora's mask does have a 3DS remake just like ocarina of time so if you've homebrewed a 3DS you're good to go on that end. OKAY i'm done

#asks

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waveridden · 2 years ago

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eight things i've written that i think rule and are underappreciated

because sometimes you go to your ao3 stats page out of curiosity and you see things at the bottom of stats and go what the fuck, that rules and deserves more attention, and honestly i like the things i write so i'm going to promote some. you know how it goes. multifandom but with a heavy blaseball focus

keep low (blaseball semicentennial) was written for the rolling remix exchange, about rat mason avoiding the vault, and i had a lot of fun trying to make it feel legitimately threatening and weird without writing A Full Horror Story

imprinting (blaseball) was written for the blaseball zine jam, specifically fusion weather, where i answer the question, "how fucked up would it be if salmon eclipses could kill people and then undo it" and i'm still really proud of the four different scenarios in the fic

building as a verb (blaseball) was written for one of those maincord flash fanwork prompts, i took two characters i'd never written before and threw them together for no real reason and injected all my thoughts about the gleek having seen so much death, and it was fun just fucking around

on currents (blaseball sc1) is a story about pirates featuring a bunch of temporary characters and so is maybe more accessible to nonfans than a lot of these blaseball fics. what if a sword that became a tree and a star that became a wrestler had to navigate a crew of pirates out of hell. what if i trusted you enough to let you hold my whole body and essence in your hands

hurricane season (blaseball, early expansion) was written for a friendly fanwork jam about elsewhere back when that was a very new concept, and i still love the idea that elsewhere players literally dissolve into immateria. like let's be honest i crushed it

sense/memory (neoscum) was written bc i had the idea very present in the back of my mind and no time to commit, so i sat down and did a messy style experiment and i really love what came out of it

a ten-year concussion (f@tt c/w, jace/addax/jamil) is a ghost au. i don't normally do ghost aus but this one still exists fully in my head. idk i just think that jamil is a fun addition to the jace/addax dynamic and this was me trying to explore that and i think i did well

window blues (campaignpod s1, tryst/aava) was my attempt at smushing together the scenes in ocean's eleven where they recruit young hotshot matt damon, their old retiree grifter, and where george clooney reunites with julia roberts. and i really love the tone that's set here

thank you. tell your friends

#waveridden.txt #long post #i'm coming close to kind of a milestone number of blb fics on ao3 and so i went to look at some numbers and went. some of this is bullshit #so like fuck it. also sorry sense/memory RULES. justice for that fic

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northwestofinsanity · 1 year ago

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So now I’ve come on to check my dash this morning and have discovered what @staff meant by the pirate flag in the “Ongoing” section of yesterday’s post on the @changes … since on Desktop, I’ve got a floating Pirate Clown hanging out in the right side panel of my dashboard… with *no* visible, easily-accessible option to turn it off at the top of the page, as there has been in the past with special events like this.

While my reaction is only a sarcastic “seriously?!” and it’s nothing more than a nuisance to me, I feel legitimately bad for anyone with a fear of clowns (which is a common and well known phobia). Also, it’s blocking the suggested blogs on the side, as well as the “radar” previewed blog. Like, I cannot scroll far enough to get this clown out of the way of the featured artwork without getting the top of it scrolled above my screen’s range.

Now, I’m in a minority of people who aren’t too terribly bothered by the vertical navigation option (the icons going away upset me a lot more), but hey -this may be the best argument yet for the old dashboard style, because A: You know where that clown could have gone and not gotten in the way of anything? That open space on the left would have been perfect -as it was for everything else like this in the past! And B: Remember in past “events” with bells and frogs and other fun features like that day we had some odd light switch and snow on the dash? Most of those had an option to turn them off -which were easily set along the old, top navigation bar, but I guess there’s no convenient place to put one up there now without displacing the whole page.

#Tumblr problems #tumblr’s pirate clown #pardon me my feelings are showing #rant

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loser-female · 1 year ago

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Thoughts on Gender Critical: recruitment video by Cealan Conrad

I definitely support the way they did the research because it's how I would do it.

Here the link. Please don't go and harass them. All of these points are about GC facebook groups and they seem to be as much of a conservative cesspool as GC twitter is.

1. I think using "dog whistle" outside of the context of white nationalism/racism is disingenuous.

2. Radical feminism is trans exclusive but not necessarily anti-trans, and the same could be said about not believing that gender is innate: in itself this belief doesn't negate the idea that some people are GNC, that someone might feel at discomfort with their body and such.

3. Stop saying queer FFS (just annoying)

4. I agree that going to GC groups asking for advice on a trans child isn't probably the way to go.

5. Yes, they have a point on homophobia not being called out.(But I have 0 experience with "gender critical" groups on FB)

6. The antivaxxers using radical feminism to justify being an antivax are so fucking weird to me. "There is little difference between a penis and a needle if it's against our will" it's a fucking offensive phrase that I can't wrap my head around it.

7. Fucking hell that group is full of nutcases (relating to transhumanism conspiracy theories).

8. I probably said it before and I'm going to say it again: yes, going after people for their appearance is shitty. Yes I also agree that these are hatred based circlejerk.

[25 min in] - Recruitment Techniques

9. I don't think that being gender critical is a cult, I don't believe being trans is a cult and I think we should stop using words like that to describe a group with unpopular opinions.

10. They are talking about how cults work. And okay, I know, but still doesn't apply to the situation presented.

11. I know it can be seen as performative from my side because I'm white too, but I also dislike the comparison to white supremacists - the threat a bunch of people pose posting in a closed group is very different from people that have access to guns and police. Women don't have that kind of power on trans people.

12. I had no idea people were monetising off gender critical stuff like that btw o.o

13. Regarding the parents: of course they are scared! If I told my mom I suddenly want something so out of character for me that's extremely expensive and risky why wouldn't she be worried?

14. [they show few podcasts etc recommendations featuring mostly conservative men]. Yes, I've noticed that too.

15. The comments by GCs over the TIF 11yo thinking they want to kill themselves are legitimately awful and dangerous. Calling a 11yo a narcissist is stupid.

[1h in]

16. "TERF doesn't describe them anymore?" And when it did? A radical feminist wouldn't cite a conservative man as a source, would she?

17. We're both bisexual Cealean, and as bisexuals we don't have the right to police lesbians and gay men when they say that they are attracted by sex. It doesn't matter to us, but it matters to them and we should respect that.

18. The disgust and dehumanisation part is very interesting!

19. And they are right about the taking pictures of others and mocking them. It's disgusting and creepy behaviour.

20. Yup, they are right when they say that people consume shit just for the sake of fueling a prejudice. This is something that on radblr happens less because no one likes the sites that do, fortunately.

21. Yeah, Posie Parker is not a friend.

22. I also agree with his talk about transphobia because well, it's the definition.

___

Overall I think their criticism is fair enough, and I think we should do better in kicking conservatives out of radical feminist spaces. I also think that people who do nothing but mock trans women online are useless to the movement overall. These are real and fair complaints I agree with.

Also, they got called a TERF for making this long series of videos explaining why gender critical is bad which is ridiculous. I absolutely disagree with a lot of the things said in the video but this clearly is not good faith criticism. And they have a problem with performativity too - "the moment they have to put in a ounce of labour they back off" it's so real.

I don't think I will watch the rest of the series. I'm considering maybe writing them an email and go over some of my points, but it would require more work I'm willing to put up with.

#ada.txt #gender critical

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pokeheros-drama · 2 years ago

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"To the other anon says that “the community deserves better…”"

Certainly.

-Immediately re-work the block system so it properly blocks users as it does on many other similar sites. This is a major source of negativity on the site and would improve QOL drastically.

-As there are many minors on the site, limit the amount of communication features underage users can use on account creation. Would help with the numerous complaints from other users regarding "annoying posts." The site Goatlings handles this nicely- users under a certain age have access to the game aspects of the site, but are unable to post on the forum. PH could implement something similar, where kids can play the game but not have access to the forum, notif wall posts, and possibly palpad (I'm more concerned for their protection from creeps than trying to police what they can do). Stuff like the advent calendar that requires interaction with these features can auto-complete for accounts flagged as child accounts. Once the user ages up, they gain access to these features. Could also be possible to voluntarily ask for your account to have this limited access even if not a child for those who just want to play the game and find the community to be too much.

-Implement a "pity system" for excruciating hunts that go on for longer than average. Ex. "once a user has hatched X number of eggs, increase the chance of hatching a shiny to X%" OR "once a user has hatched Y number of eggs, the next egg is shiny." Would cut down on the complaints and allow more users to enjoy hunting more pokemon.

-Bring on (an) additional programmer/s. It is clear that Riako is being stretched too thin as it is with his real job and the site. Many similar sites have at least two people with this role. It would not only help speed up updates on the site, but it would also combat the claims that Riako is selfish/egotistical/greedy/etc. It's clear that Riako is under stress, but rather than reaching out for help he reacts negatively and has a mindset of "it's my site so what I say goes." Having another developer on PH could bring new ideas and a fresh outlook to the site.

-Actively view the suggestions board and keep an open mind. The userbase as a whole feels like they're being unheard, and this is causing resentment and more negativity. Yes, some of the suggestions are not as high-quality as they could be, but there are many great ones that a majority of the playerbase would enjoy. I'm sure there have been some that you yourself thought might be interesting to see.

-Retroactively credit everyone who has helped on the site on the wiki or a separate Credits page, barring perhaps staff that were forcibly removed due to legitimate drama. Again, would combat the claims that Riako is egotistical. Many non-Pokemon sites have it programmed so art credits are displayed at the bottom of the page upon loading certain images (such as Dragon Cave).

These are just a few of my thoughts on the matter. I'm sure other users can think of more. Despite what certain other users claim, I don't outright hate the site, I'm just strongly disappointed in seeing it steadily go downhill after so many years.

(And to a certain someone in particular: I have a degree in computer science. I know what running a game like this involves, that's why I'm upset with the state it's in.)

#submission

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