#reddit also doesn't have any solutions that work

[hyunjinz]

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[pipermca]

New AO3 Tag Wrangling Policy and the Transformers Fandom

Edit in the event people come back to the original post: Please do not email AO3 about this issue. See their response about this issue!

(This is a long one, folks, but I think it's important.)

A new tag-wrangling policy on AO3 has the potential to create some massive confusion and chaos in the Transformers fanfic community, with regards to fandom tags. There is a Reddit post about it here with a focus on anime fandoms, but I want to give some concrete examples for the Transformers fandom on why we DO NOT WANT this, and why I think it's a horrible idea.

The Problem

Basically, AO3 is looking to get rid of the "All Media Types" fandom tag across the board, either by dismantling them or just not maintaining them. The Transformers - All Media Types tag has been an all-purpose tag that you could select when your story doesn't fall into any one specific continuity. Additionally, all most (see below) TF continuities on AO3 are considered a subtag of the Transformers - All Media Types tag. For example, if you look at the link above for all works in the All Media Types tag, you will see fics that are also tagged ONLY with Transformers: Animated, because it falls under the All Media Types tag.

One exception: With the upcoming Transformers: One movie coming out imminently, there will likely be a big influx of stories tagged with Transformers: One. In fact, there are several already. However, it hasn't been linked to the larger Transformers - All Media Types tag yet. I wasn't worrying about it though, because I know these things can take time.

With information about this new tagging policy, however, I'm now wondering whether it'll EVER get linked to the All Media Types tag. If that happens, and when more continuities are developed in the coming years (since you know Hasbro loves creating new universes) this has the potential to cause massive confusion when looking for stories to read.

Searching for Stories with the New Tagging System

So let's say the All Media Types fandom tag isn't accurate anymore, because it no longer includes ALL of the continuities (such as TF:One). You will need to include ALL the Transformers continuities when browsing for TF fics.

How many tags is that? Well, here are all of the tags currently listed under the Transformers - All Media Types tag:

Note that this doesn't include Transformers: One since it hasn't been categorized yet.

You will potentially have to have 40 or more different fandom tags in your search, just in case the author tagged their story with something you weren't expecting.

This massively decreases the findability of a story.

Tagging with the New System

The email response from the Tag Wrangling group (see the linked Reddit post above) seems to be a bit flip in the response to the user's concern. "...encourages creators to tag with the media they intend."

While I appreciate what they are attempting to do, this policy change feels like a solution in search of a problem, especially in larger fandoms with multiple continuities, versions, and media types that are all cross-pollinated in both canon and fanon. While I'm focusing on Transformers fandom, imagine a creator in the DC comic universe writing a story that incorporates bits and pieces from a dozen different reboots.

For example, let's say that I am writing a fic about Ratchet. I am using the setting of the original G1 episodes, but I also am using the characterization of him as a bit of an old man grump. That characterization originated in the Animated continuity, but I want to incorporate bits of pieces of his other characterizations as well (old friend of Optimus from TFP, Ratchet ran a faction-free clinic like he did in the War for Cybertron series, he's got a Decepticon boyfriend like in IDW1 - or maybe even Cyberverse, etc.)

With this new tagging structure, I might potentially have to tag the story with ALL of those continuities. So instead of just slapping down the "All Media Types" tag (and maybe one other fandom tag that matches the characters as best I can), I'll have to analyze my story and try to figure out how best to tag for the characters I used.

And what if you're doing a completely AU version of the story? For example, a humanformers story, or merformers? Using the All Media Types tag along with a Alternate Universe - Human or Alternate Universe - Mermaid tag worked perfectly, since you weren't writing the story to fit into one specific continuity. But now, that might not be an option.

What To Do??

The first thing I would suggest is to contact AO3 (using the Feedback and Support page) and let them know (nicely) that you think this is a horrible idea. Give them some examples on how you use the All Media Types tag to find stories to read, or to help you tag a story. People outside of the Transformers fandom don't always appreciate how absolutely tangled the continuities can be with each other, and providing examples might help them see why this would be a really messy change.

Readers: Be aware that when you are looking in the All Media Types tag, it will no longer show newer continuities. And if AO3 starts dismantling that tag like they suggested they are doing, be aware that some stories won't show up in that tag like they used to. You can also create and then bookmark a custom search page that includes all 40+ continuities. REALLY annoying, but it's a workaround.

Writers: Until they start dismantling the All Media Types tag, ALWAYS ALWAYS tag your stories using Transformers - All Media Types... Especially for newer continuities. This will be especially important if you are writing a Transformers: One story. Right now, anyone who is only browsing the All Media Types tag will not see a story tagged only with Transformers: One. Make sure you're aware of how tags work and how they can affect the visibility and findability of your story.

Epilogue

Ugh. That's a lot of words for a long-weekend Saturday. And maybe I'm overreacting a tiny bit. But my work involves information architecture, and this change just absolutely baffles me. It's almost as though they want to make it harder to find stories. Considering that AO3 won a Hugo partially because of its fantastic tagging system, this change seems like AO3 is doing its best to shoot itself in the foot.

When you have a square hole, a round hole, and a rectangular hole… Yeah, you DO want each peg to go in the "right" hole. But if all of the pegs fit in the square hole, who cares? You got the job done.

I love you @ao3org, but please reconsider this change... Especially for IPs that are as old and are as varied as Transformers.

[ms-demeanor]

since twitter has become actively hostile to its users, so they came to tumblr, and reddit has become actively hostile to its users, so they came to tumblr, what do we do now that tumblr is becoming (more) actively hostile to its users? i’ve been here for over a decade so i know tumblr users are the type to cling on despite everything and revel in undoing every change, but i’m so tired of the way this website breaks the way it fundamentally works in order to appeal to new users. the twitterfication of the site seems so much worse than when people jumped ship after the porn ban, and even then, only small communities (and twitter) cropped up as solutions. you might not be the person to ask for a definitive answer, but i figured a tech blog might be interested in considering - what do we do when there’s nowhere left to go?

Okay so, I mean this very seriously: how has tumblr meaningfully become like twitter?

I don't personally find the sidebar view obnoxious and it seems to me like just another layout change that's pretty typical to tumblr. New users are getting signed up with a bit more emphasis on algorithmic feeds, but that is still very easy to change (MUCH easier than on any other social platform) and the algorithm has been there for everyone for quite a while, we just typically don't notice it because a lot of long-term tumblr users don't go into the "for you" feed.

I don't think that tumblr *has* fundamentally broken the way that it works to appeal to new users. My dash now is still very much like my dash in 2019, and still very much like my dash in 2018 (though much less pornographic). Reblogs are still reblogs, likes are still likes. Replies, for all that they seem like they've been around forever, are new and good and I think they work well. I'm irritated that the notes menu doesn't have a "view all" option but I think that's a worthwhile tradeoff for an easy way to see tags.

I *do not* understand why tumblr has broken linking back to previous reblogs but I don't think that's out of an effort to act like twitter; it is a bizarre choice that I dislike and don't understand but I also don't think that it has fundamentally changed the way the site works and i mean you've been around long enough that I'm sure you've had the same experience I have of going into the notes of a post and randomly clicking until you found a version that you wanted to reblog without a bunch of bullshit at the bottom. Tumblr has always kind of sucked, this change DOES suck but it doesn't suck in a way that is particularly novel or insurmountable. (For instance, I think this change sucks MUCH LESS than when they made posts with links invisible to the search, that is something that is genuinely bad that has been long lasting but doesn't get brought up much in lists of the ways that tumblr has gone wrong)

Tumblr *is* changing, but I think it is changing more incrementally and less terribly than other parts of the internet. I also hate the floating clown, the login walls, the dash-only view for blogs (you can't archive it and I HATE that), and - to an extent - the new lightbox on mobile. And I dislike that less than I thought I would but I don't think it's a fundamental change that necessarily impacts my interactions with the site - it *adds* a feature that I don't care for but it doesn't *break* anything that I require to have a good time on tumblr - in that way I think of it very much like Live. People hate Live so much and I find that perplexing because it is so easy to simply ignore it.

But that's not really your question; that's just some stuff I want people to think about because as much as tumblr has changed in the last two years it is nowhere near as fucked up as the recent things that twitter and reddit have pulled.

So, as to your question: where do we go?

Well. Not to be an extremely old person on the internet, but damned if I don't miss email lists. And forums. God I miss forums. Neither of those things has all the bonuses of platforms like twitter or reddit or tumblr or facebook, but they were great ways to hang out with people you liked on the internet.

The internet is changing. I can feel it, you can feel it, I'm pretty sure we're all like cattle in a field lifting our noses and hearing some distant rumbling and becoming slowly aware that it's almost time to run. There's a coming stampede and it isn't here yet but you know it's on its way. You're not imagining that, that's how things feel right now and there are a shitload of things contributing to it.

Things like SESTA/FOSTA and KOSA (which has not passed yet but is a big red flag waving on the horizon) have been eroding away the way that users on various platforms can function. Some platforms have consolidated in ways that harm users; some new platforms have popped up and shaken up the map of the internet; some platforms are being torn apart brick by brick by owners who don't care about the users. It kind of seems like people are actually looking up and realizing that advertising is A) bad and B) doesn't actually work and I think we're running straight toward another advertising-based crash like we saw in 2017. It feels like all the desperate things that tumblr is doing is just rearranging deck chairs on the titanic as the internet as a whole starts to sink into the ocean.

Honestly, I don't think it's that bad. I think it *feels* bad, but I think we're looking at a slow whimpering death of the platforms, not a bang. I think tumblr is going to hang on at least for a few years and I think it's going to end up like livejournal and myspace, which both still exist as websites that are recognizable as updated versions of the sites they were in 2004-2010. The thing that I think would really, honestly hurt tumblr in a fundamental way is if it moved to a more algorithmic and data-sales based model of advertising, and I think that's still pretty distant. I think Automattic is aware that killing the chronological feed would be the one unforgivable sin that would cause a mass exodus and a final crash, and I think when we see that, when we can't just scroll through the feed and see what our friends did that day in order of when they did it, that's when the party is over here.

But that's still not answering your question.

So, where do we go? What do we do? Well, for now, I'd say it's a good time to get contact info for your friends across various platforms. Get email addresses, get phone numbers.

Now is also the time for you to set up a personal website. NeoCities is currently the best place to do this, though it takes a lot more effort than just starting a blog on tumblr. I think that various oldschool blogging sites like Wordpress and Blogger/Blogspot/whatever the hell the google one is are a better place to have your emergency backup than a more platform-y platform if you aren't up to doing something with NeoCities.

If you've got the ability to do so and a group of people who are interested in the same core subject, set up a forum. There's a decent amount of off-the-shelf forum software out there and a text-and-small-images forum isn't prohibitively expensive, but it's never going to be huge and you're never going to have the kind of spread and virality and random connections that you would on a platform with millions or billions of users.

If you can't set up a forum, setting up or joining a discord server for your friends is a decent enough option at the moment, and may be a very good option for people who are looking to keep their interactions more private.

But yeah i think right now is a great time for people to start setting up their own personal websites, to start visiting actual webpages again, to start bookmarking their friends' websites, and to start collecting contact info that isn't tied to platforms.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Fanfics often state that transferring spiritual energy to someone without a core is impossible, but is this actually true in the MDZS-verse?

I see this used in a lot of fanfics - someone tries to transfer spiritual energy to an injured WWX, it doesn't help because the energy dissipates or something like that, and then the person transferring realises WWX doesn't have a golden core. But is this actually a fact in the MDZS-verse, that transferring energy only works if the recipient has a golden core? Does this also mean that you can't transfer spiritual energy to heal a non-cultivator?

Follow up questions: Is this a general xianxia convention or just popular fanon?

I saw this post in reddit and I was wondering what would your thoughts on this be and if you would mind explaining it?

So the usual trope of transferring spiritual energy and it doing nothing comes about when a cultivators meridians to their spirit roots get destroyed or blocked severely debilitating their progress in cultivation. As long as you can absorb qi by refining it through the body (naturally through the environment meditation or by tempering the body with training), you can access spiritual energy.

In a lot of cultivation novels cultivation levels can really fluctuate dependent on what's convenient for the fantasy aspect... and then get the left field solutions to restore cultivation despite nothing having been said or established before for that to have been a plausibility (all those sex plots in harem novels).

If it can be true for the mdzs-verse, I suppose it can, it's really bare bones in terms of what its cultivation actually is. It uses the convenience of magic without being as ridiculous in its separation of mundane vs the world of cultivation. But I think fandom itself puts more mystic upon MDZS's cultivation than there actually is. It's more of a tool than a life necessity (despite how some characters react to this convenience).

The story itself doesn't lend to the idea that they can heal with spiritual energy, it's more about the invulnerability you can have for battles, at least to me it seemed that way. As well as say the likes of Jin Guangyao still being able to use some spiritual energy even with the lack of core too. Wei Wuxian did not have his meridians destroyed and he begins to mediate as a cultivator would even with Mo Xuanyu's coreless body.

So the lack of a core doesn't seem to affect the transfer of spiritual energy through meridians. All in all, MDZS cultivation seems to be more of the physical convenience it provides than anything else. We also do not see any actual "spiritual healing" on page in comparison to usual cultivation genre conventions. The most we get is MXTX joking about dual cultivation making Wei Wuxian get a core again. If Wei Wuxian fully lacked being unable to channel spiritual energy I feel like Suibian would be locked for him as well, which certainly is not the case as it recognizes his signature qi with and without the core.

[manicpixiemidgirl]

Some more help for reddit refugees!!!!

So I just noticed this happening recently in the 196 and adjacent tags, but people who are unfamiliar with how Tumblr works are reblogging things in a way that might be detrimental to their blog.

I was on Tumblr for YEARS, just barely after the Onceler/Mishapocolypse shit disappeared, all the way up through the death of p⁰rn and decided to leave for reddit. So I think I can safely say I'm a bit of a veteran.

Now, interacting with posts is very obviously different here than on Reddit. Of course interacting with posts is the whole point, right? So I've seen a lot of people write out their responses or comments on the post itself when you reblog.

Now, objectively, there is nothing wrong with this. Hell, feel free to do it to this post if you want. The problem is, it's kinda against Tumblr etiquette. It's basically the equivalent of going to someone else's post on Reddit and editing it to say "(username): OMG LOLOLOLOLOLOL" at the bottom instead of saying that in the comments. Normally when people write responses in their reblog, it's because they have something meaningful to contribute or they can add to the joke.

I want to reiterate, there is nothing wrong with this. Please don't feel like this is a bad thing to do.

You can add to the post all you want and it's totally fine and no one will bully you for it. However, people are much less likely to reblog something from you if you do this. They'll more than likely go to the person you reblogged from and reblog it from there instead so it doesn't have the addition on the post. Now, I want all the refugees to have a great Tumblr experience and have interaction with everyone! So, here's my solution:

Say it in the tags. Yes, it's used as a way to search for posts and also to help the algorithm, BUT you can actually put whatever you want in the tags. Literally whatever you want. If you use it like a comment section, people can see what you want to say without it being added to the post!!! I do it on basically every post I make/reblog.

Have fun friends! If you need any other advice or just need to talk, I'm here for you :)

[pathfinderunlocked]

Healthy Boss Template (CR +3)

Wait, why did a giant health bar just appear in the sky?

Artwork by Jeff_Chee_471 on Reddit.

D&D and Pathfinder have a really unusual idea of what a "boss" is compared to, like, any video game ever made. They often tend to just take an enemy that would be part of a group of normal enemies if you were about six levels higher. When they do something more unique, it still tends to be balanced like that. Tons of offense, not that many hit points, but often extremely hard to hit. Adventure designers often try to make up for this design by making a boss weaker but giving it minions, but that doesn't change the fact that there's really no concept of a creature that's inherently a "boss creature" in this game.

And sometimes that's fine. But sometimes you just want a big chunky fight that's balanced more like how a video game boss is balanced: only a little more damage than other creatures, but way more health, and the ability to recover if you do nasty stuff like stun it. Something that lets the players go all-out using their abilities, and rewards them for doing so, instead of having to spend most of the fight just focusing on not getting attacked, because they know one attack can take them out.

This template isn't a global solution. It'll get old, and if you reuse it too much, players will find strategies that bypass it. That's why I design so many different boss monsters that each work differently. But if you want to convert an existing monster into a boss, this is one way to do so without a lot of effort, and without just giving it the advanced template and several fighter levels to max out its offense.

Some of the options for different abilities are there to deal with different kinds of player strategies, rather than because they're appropriate for different kinds of bosses. If your PCs use vital strike, give it vital negation. If they use combat maneuvers, give it reset stance. If they cast a bunch of spells on the terrain, give it undo. If they rely on hungry pit, give it escape to nowhere. Don't feel bad about using this template specifically to counter them, since the inflated HP and the limited uses of these special abilities mean that the players' strategies will still be useful, they just won't instantly win the fight.

Healthy Boss

Healthy boss is an inherited template that can be applied to any creature.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature + 3.

Hit Points: A healthy boss's hit points are three times as high as the base creature's.

Initiative: A healthy boss gains a +10 bonus to its initiative.

Defensive Abilities: A healthy boss can never be surprised, and is not considered flat-footed before it has acted in combat.

Special Abilities: A healthy boss gains 1 of the following special abilities:

Bolstering Cry (Ex) Twice per day as a move action, a healthy boss can grant all allies within 60 ft. a number of temporary hit points equal to its new challenge rating. When it does so, it also suppresses the following conditions on affected allies other than itself for 1 round: blinded, confused, entangled, fatigued, exhausted, nauseated, paralyzed, shaken, sickened, staggered, stunned. The healthy boss does not need line of effect to these allies, but they must be able to either see or hear it. Second Wind (Ex) Five times per day as a free action at the start of its turn, a healthy boss can gain a number of temporary hit points equal to its new challenge rating. These temporary hit points last for 10 minutes. It can only use this ability only once per round. Vital Negation (Ex) Once per round, a healthy boss can halve the damage of a single incoming source of damage. It can choose to use this ability after hearing the amount of damage that it would take. This does not require an action.

Additionally, a healthy boss gains 2 of the following other special abilities:

Aura of Recovery (Su) The healthy boss gains a 40-ft. aura. At the end of each of the healthy boss's turns, one of the healthy boss's allies within this aura (including itself) gains a new saving throw against any one ongoing harmful effect that initially allowed for a saving throw. Escape to Nowhere (Su) Once per day, at the end of an enemy's turn, a healthy boss can escape to the ethereal plane, as if using ethereal jaunt. This does not require an action. It remains in the ethereal plane during its next turn. At the start of its second turn after using this ability, the healthy boss returns to the plane it was on, but is staggered during that turn. Legendary Resistance (Ex) Once per day, when a healthy boss fails a saving throw, or when an enemy succeeds on a check against the healthy boss's spell resistance, the healthy boss can expend its legendary resistance to treat the roll as if the healthy boss had succeeded on the saving throw or the enemy had failed on the check against spell resistance. A healthy boss with a total challenge rating of at least 9 gains a second use of Legendary Resistance per day, and a healthy boss with a total challenge rating of at least 18 gains a third use of legendary resistance per day. This does not require an action. Reset Concentration (Ex) Once per day, when a healthy boss fails a concentration check, it can steel its mind against future distractions, gaining a +10 bonus on concentration checks for the next 10 minutes. This does not require an action. Reset Stance (Ex) Once per day, when a healthy boss starts its turn prone or grappled, at the start of its next turn after being successfully subjected to a combat maneuver other than trip or grapple, it can spend a move action to stand up, free itself from any grapples, pick up a single item within its reach, end the effect of a dirty trick maneuver, and move up to its move speed without provoking attacks of opportunity. Upon using this ability, the healthy boss also gains a +5 bonus to its CMD and a +10 bonus to Acrobatics, Climb, Ride, Swim, and Fly checks for the next 10 minutes. Undo (Su) As a standard action, once every 3 rounds, a healthy boss can revert the effects of any number of ongoing or instantaneous magic spells that are affecting itself, other creatures, or the surrounding environment. Each spell effect it attempts to undo must be within 60 ft. of the healthy boss, and must have been applied during the last 10 minutes. Even instantaneous spells can be reverted with Undo, but damage is not reverted. To attempt to undo a spell, a healthy boss makes a caster level check against a DC of 6 + the effect's caster level, using its hit dice as its caster level. If successful, the ongoing spell ends, or the effects of the instantaneous spell are reverted.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Harry if you are reading this here is your solution to getting out of this mess. by u/Meegainnyc

Harry if you are reading this, here is your solution to getting out of this mess. Harry you need to fix Meghan up with a wealthy oligarch that you have connections and access to. Make it look like a business venture, and gently pass her off. Once Meghan has attached herself to a new host, you will be able to go back home. Under the current situation, Meghan will not allow you to reconcile with your family without her being let back into the fold. She also will not allow you to find happiness with another woman. Make sure there is enough money dedicated for the kids to be in boarding school till 18. Send them to Switzerland, so you can visit when you want and Meghan can have as many Diana ski trips as she would like. Seek getting alimony from Meghan since everything is in her name, and on paper is the breadwinner. If that doesn't work give Meghan a lump sum that will last her a couple of years. Enough to put a roof over her head and cover her current living costs. Do not agree to providing alimony until she remarries someone else, as you will never get rid of her. Sell the House and put that money in a trust for the kids that Meghan can't touch. Make her sign an NDA and final settlement clause. Hopefully this will be amicable as if this goes according to plan, she will have someone else's money to spend. All thanks to you!Go home and stay out of the public for a good 5 years to work on your sobriety & mental health. Say you are sorry and begin repairing the damage with your family. Keep expectations low and be patient as it is going to take years to build back any kind of trust to even walk your brothers dog. Remember to stay positive.Take a job out of the limelight. Get those crayons out and do a Hunter Biden by selling your masterpieces. Invest the money into your children and make them your purpose. The world will be fine if you just focus making an impact and uplifting communities where they are growing up. Start with coaching little league or be a member of the PTA. post link: https://ift.tt/mtfN30M author: Meegainnyc submitted: July 28, 2024 at 06:37PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

so back when I was on reddit I posted this to r/thomastheplankengine a while ago ( a sub for either memes based on dreams you have, or realizing memes that appeared in your dreams), based on a dream I had once where this was a thing that happened. so then I (a Floridian) wrote a satirical article about it the next day

transcription in case the text is hard to read. again. this is a work of satire-

Florida Government Introduces "Stop WOKE Animals" Act to Ban All Animals not Mentioned in the Bible [A picture of an American alligator] "Name one time the South American Two-Toed Sloth is mentioned in the Bible," said Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday. "And Noah's Ark doesn't count. Or the Creation story." TALAHASSEE, FLORIDA- Florida lawmakers introduced a new bill, supported by Governor Ron DeSantis, called the "Stop WOKE Animals" Act. If passed, it would ban any animals not explicitly mentioned in the Bible from the State of Florida. While creatures such as sheep, doves, lions, bears, Leviathans, oxen, and goats would be permitted to stay within the state, many others, from the iconic American alligator to Florida's signature cryptid, His Fetidness, the Glorious Skunk Ape, would be banned. While critics of the bill and environmental activists argue that not only would this be ineffective and costly, but removing keystone species from Florida's delicate and unique ecosystems would also greatly upset the balance of nature, DeSantis has stated that the purpose of this bill is to "secure freedom for Floridians from the Communist woke agenda from the Democrats, snowflakes, and Nine-Banded Armadillo." He has also attempted to assuage the fears that non-Biblical animals would be killed, saying that instead, he would put them all on airplanes with the next group of unwilling Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. As for the balance of the ecosystem, DeSantis has also pointed to a solution for this, stating that he plans to replace the animals removed from Florida with creatures found in the Book of Exodus' Ten Plagues, such as frogs, locusts, dead cattle, lice, and the Angel of Death. Obviously Fake Please Don't Repost This News has reached out to DeSantis and the Florida government for comment, but have only received a link to a 2009 YouTube lyric video of the song "The Plagues" from the DreamWorks animated film The Prince of Egypt in response via e-mail.

[reblogsreblogs]

I've seen a few folks visiting/moving from Reddit who are worried about reblogging too many things on their main blogs (the first blog you're prompted to make when you join is your "main").

I'm not familiar with mobile, so this will probably be a bit different there, but I thought I'd mention for new folks that you can make side blogs if you'd like. The reason I made this blog is because 1) my main blog sort of has a theme, and 2) I do worry a bit about spamming some of my mutuals (folks I follow who also follow me back) with too much random stuff, but I still find that stuff interesting or entertaining so I want to horde it somewhere!

So this blog I'm posting from, ReblogsReblogs, is a side-blog that I pretty much entirely just reblog things to (no original content). Well, until I make this post right here, I guess.

You can see here in this screenshot of this post I'm currently writing that I can select from the dropdown which of my blogs that I want to make this post on, and it works the same for any reblogs I make of other people's posts.

There's probably a better guide somewhere, but if you're new and you're feeling worried about reblogging too much now you know one of the possible solutions! Or maybe you can finally just live our your dream of having a side blog dedicated entirely to deep sea animals? That's good too.

If a side blog doesn't sound any good to you, I've seen some folks mention the queue and scheduling options we have on Tumblr and that's also a good solution for extra things you want to reblog, but don't need to reblog immediately. A lot of us have BIG queues that we fill up with interesting stuff that keeps getting posted until it runs out, so our blogs keep posting fun stuff even if we're on vacation or w/e.

I was a Tumblr person before I became a Redditor, years ago, so it's been cool seeing some Redditors come over and check things out. I hope some of you stay and enjoy yourselves, Tumblr can be a refreshingly non-toxic space if you curate it properly. Fuck Spez. :)

[frickfatphobes]

My joints have been getting more painful over the last year but I really don't know if I should even talk to my Dr about it because I'm 90 percent sure her solution and diagnosis will be weight related. I've tried to tell her I'm not interested in weight loss and why prescribing weight loss is wrong and for two whole visits she didn't mention weight and then next visit was well once we get x problem a little more under control we can talk about your weight and then she's mentioned dietitians and other stuff since. I've tried asking the local city reddit if anyone knows a fat friendly pcp and all the comments were just incredibly confused about what I wanted, I also tried googling and calling around and got no results besides secretarys talking down to me about how weight is bad and even when I switched to asking do the chairs have no arms or are bigger and the tables and equipment they use are there larger sizes all I got was idk and of course not were not a weight loss dr, which it's totally messed up that they think only weight loss Dr's should have equipment to fit people. Do you happen to have any thoughts on what I could do to either find a new dr or bring up the joint pain in a way I'll be taken seriously? Though she already doesn't take my medication resistance especially to pain blockers seriously but it's just so difficult trying to find a new dr.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry you have to deal with that. No one should ever be judged this way, especially for their weight.

This is a tough one. I completely understand not wanting to find a new doctor. It's not easy.

I have no idea if this will work, but consider saying something along the lines of "I had joint pain before I gained any weight" or "I've tried weight loss and even when I was thinner, it didn't help." If neither of those statements are true for you, there may be another way to say that you know weight loss won't help the pain. Maybe even a simple "Do you have a solution I could start on before I lose weight? I don't know if I can deal with the pain throughout the months it will take to get the number down," and then DON'T try to change your body after you get the pills/physical therapy/whatever your doctor prescribes. That might give some perspective and help your doctor see what you're going through.

It's super hard to know what to do in situations like this. Do any of my followers have a good suggestion? I'm sorry I didn't have anything better than this, I hope it helped at least a little.

[mythgrippa-blog]

Day 0 - rebooting

Hello, call me Mythgrippa! Nice to meet you, the name comes from two fascinations I have, myths and Marcus Agrippa (my favorite Roman). I am currently doing my final year of computer science and I've done a lot, I'll list them out in a different blog post but it was a lot a lot and I'm left with only one semester which I'm quite excited about.

However, I think I must have overworked myself to get to this point, like I'm truly exhausted all the time, can't really focus on my work and having constant feelings of stress and anxiety, I used to be a stallion programmer but I can barely write a few lines of code and not feeling mentally overwhelmed.

This morning, like in the night I woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep so I went online and got a bit too curious and searched up why I'm like this and found an online blog post which explained all the symptoms I've been experiencing with pin point accuracy.

I'm mentally exhausted, it makes sense because I'm always thinking about whatever school work I have and trying to get good grades, sleeping deep into the night trying to get work done. My performance has been declining, I still get work done but my quality isn't what it used to be. I've also been neglecting self care and not going outside, my skin is starting to show, I'm black by the way and my tone has started feeling... spotty? I don't know, I don't like it. My self confidence has kind of diminished because of it so there's that as well.

So, I still have a lot of work to do, like a software project for school that I'm the leader of, so I have to be the technical lead and also the semester hasn't started yet so I've to prepare for that as well. These are my stressors. I've to stop this mental daemon from running all the time.

To accomplish this, the article I read suggested these 11 solutions

Eliminate the stressors

My stressors would be mostly work, I can't just simply eliminate it because I have to finish this semester, and its not something I can set aside, plus my software project with my group isn't going so well so we gotta work our butts off for that

Work-life balance

Alright, this is part I get because I honestly don't have a life. The closet life I have is the friends I hang out with at school when on break and also the tennis games we go to, but I've mostly been a work person. So, for starters I need a life!!! But where to start... maybe I should start. Perhaps restricting myself to working up to 6 hours or less per day?

I could play video games or watch movies, I mean... hm... I'll try out the other games and watch more TV, I haven't been reading any of my novels or play board games. I'm off Twitter and Reddit, I don't like scrolling mindlessly for hours.

Damn it!! I remember that one of my friends has my board games, no matter I'll just play on ipad, hopefully there are good apps in the app store. I'll see what my other friends have to say. Well I'll see what I will do

Clear your space

I suppose this means I should rid of what doesn't kindle joy, I'm in recess at the moment and I'm back home, I don't have a room of my own so I sleep in my little brother's room (which used to be mine before I moved to uni), the spare that I usually sleep in is occupied by one of my older brothers. This room is a mess and I really can't do much about it other than tidy some stuff but the way things are laid out is just so annoying, so much wasted space. But this isn't my room anymore so I can't really do anything major plus my energy is down the drain.

Schedule (and take) regular breaks

I should take breaks when working, I used to study using Pomodoro and it was quite effective I won't lie but I've lost some of my discipline, at least partly attributed to the main reason I'm writing this in the first place.

How did I go so many semesters without taking regular breaks, not even like five minutes, I'm really a mad lad. I'll try to take at least 5 minutes off per hour, that should make it easier, but what constitutes a break? Doing nothing? I suppose that works

Get outside

In terms of this, I try to go outside but the weather is just so cold, but the sun does feel good but I'm the type of person who likes dark and gloomy weather accompanied by rain and thunder storms, I just really like that, the rain drops crashing onto the roof or window, the warm clothing I get to wear!! Oh my goodness, it feels like a mental refresher because I naturally feel easy and relaxed when there's rain. But I'll try to go out, perhaps a jog every now and then?

Do something new

Something new... well I could really try that, I used to go to the gym but school got so hectic I had to cancel my membership but I think I'll go back since I believe the hardest semester has concluded (last semester was the hardest honestly and I'm glad I made it out alive).

I'll try out other types of sports because I want to regain my stamina and activeness, my right leg though... its fine I'll be fine, I'll buy better shoes and sports gear. I'll try to be healthier, eat my fruits daily, and drink plenty of water.

That's a lot of stuff, how will I manage though? I'll figure it out but at least the idea is there

Reduce screen time

I mean... even though its the start of recess and I'm done with my old modules and the new ones haven't started yet, I'm still checking my emails and notifications, I do have the group project, and I'm doing Computer Science, I need a computer to science god damn it, how am I supposed to reduce that. I'll let this one slide. Because I can't really digitally detox... I'm not ready for that or even see the need to, but I can reduce the amount of time I spend on my phone, no phone time between 10PM and 7AM, that worked before in the past. But as for computer time, yeah I can't really reduce that.

Find positive ways to distract yourself

I used to have this bad habit I'm still recovering, I tricked myself into thinking it could help get the "edge off", I regret it and I'm glad I'm not that person, incase you're wondering its not drugs or weed or alcohol or any bad substances... I've never done any of that, and NO I DON'T VAPE. I'm as a clean as they get, but there's always been something I've been struggling with for almost four years now but I think I've finally learnt to let it go for the better.

You could say it was a negative distraction for myself, but no more of that I just need a positive way to distract myself, perhaps calling up an old friend? I haven't spoken to a number of people, I am messaging someone but they're not a regular person I talk to because of odd response times but I'm one of those people who'll reply as soon as they see your message no matter how long you take because I get people have stuff to do or don't feel like replying at times, its completely normal.

Perhaps I'll start playing games again? But that can get out of hand pretty quickly, actually... having coffee with my best friend can work? Yeah, there are plenty, I'll just ask her (oh yeah, a bit of a rant but I'm a guy, my best friend is a girl so yeah that can be a thing, why don't people get it! Guys and Girls don't have to date to have fun, goodness I hate my class mates, for CS nerds they're sure talkative, they're nice people but JEEEEZ). I'll ask her if I want to be distracted, or my other friends as well

Take care of yourself 

I need to eat nourishing food, I ate a lot of KFC and boy it ain't good for ya, but it helps fill me up but I'll try to be better than that and eat better. I'll start eating from this restaurant I frequent they sell some delicious and nourishing food. I'll also try to sleep by 10 and wake by 7, that should be plenty of rest yeah? I will drink water every day, trust me I'm a water freak.

Focus on what you can control

I can't really do everything, so I should be able to tell others what to do, I am group leader after all. I'll see what I can do and what should be done, I'll delegate and try to organize more. So, that the objective is very clear. I'm not a stallion anymore, I can't code for hours on end like I used to, but luckily there's capable members in my group so I'll delegate the work to them and do my group leader duties.

Talk to a coach or therapist

NO

Well that lists everything, I wrote so much without realizing it, this was all in one sitting so I'm impressed with myself. I always did enjoy writing stories, I'm not as creative anymore but when it comes to stuff like this, I have like 3 filled up diaries.

If you made it this far, I'm so impressed with you, thank you for taking an interest and reading my first public blog (I've written so many private ones that I'll never release because I'm so embarrassed plus its useless and uninteresting, like unfinished stories, other diary attempts, blah blah)

Well thanks again you and I'll see you in the next one

[song-of-the-rune]

Two things I have seen mentioned but no solutions suggested.

Advice on tagging (no miracle cures for the search function but hopefully this is helpful):

Don't use tumblr's search function. go to tumblr.com/tagged/tagname or blogname.tumblr.com/tagged/tagname. It works far better -- I haven't noticed any lost posts this way but YMMV.

This^ does require a very consistent tagging system, though, as it doesn't pick up substrings to my knowledge.

Tags are still good for filtering either way; that's the main thing I use them for.

Reddit's search function is also garbage so it works out.

Advice on comment threads:

just be glad we don't have indented text for reblog chains anymore.

if you absolutely hate the comment layout, you at least used to be able to disable comments to force people to reblog in order to comment. I don't know if that option's still there.

y'all are absolutely free to use tumblr however you please but I want redditors to know that they could, hypothetically, start a sideblog about a particular topic, add moderators to it, turn on submissions (and asks), make an "about" page laying out rules and such, and create a good tagging system. If you want it to be a bit more familiar.

[roboticsysinfo]

Start Your App Development Journey Today with Robotic Sysinfo: The Best App Development Company in Karnal!

I want to be an app developer, but I feel like I'm starting from scratch. Trust me, you're not alone. It feels like the tech world is some exclusive club, and you're standing outside looking in. But here's the thing: becoming an app developer, even with no experience, is 100% within your reach. It's all about taking that first step and staying motivated, no matter what. Our team has 5+ years of experience in app development solutions. So, let's get started and talk about how you can make this dream a reality—without any experience in your pocket yet.

Problem: The Struggle to Start

We've all been there. You want to break into a new field, but the amount of knowledge and skills you need feels impossible to conquer. You might be wondering: Can I even do this? Where do I start? What are all the things that I need to know to start building an application from scratch? It's pretty easy to get the feeling of lagging behind, especially when you view some of those super cool applications that you have installed on your mobile or the developers coding in lightning speed. It feels as though everyone has it all covered, and here you are stuck.

Solution: Your Pathway to Becoming an App Developer

Let's break this down into manageable steps. This journey may take a while, but every step forward will help you get closer to your goal.

Learn the Basics of Programming Languages

Code knowledge is what one needs in order to make an app. Don't be too worried though; you are not supposed to be a wizard overnight. Start learning the basics of some programming language, which will be good for beginners. Swift is for iOS apps while Kotlin is suitable for Android. JavaScript is ideal for something universally available. Go for one at a time. Free tutorials abound on the internet, while platforms like Codecademy or Udemy present structured courses so you can work your way toward getting the basics down.

Now get out there and start building something

Now, fun part: Create! Yes, you will not build the next Instagram tomorrow; that is okay, too. Try something simple for now, say a to-do list app or a weather app. You aren't going for a masterpiece, but for trying, experimenting, and learning. Don't sweat it if everything doesn't seem to work exactly as expected right off; that is how it is in the process of learning.

Participate in Developer Community

Sometimes, building an app on your own can feel lonely, but guess what? You don't have to do this by yourself. There are entire communities of developers out there—many of them started from scratch just like you. Forums like Stack Overflow, Reddit's r/learnprogramming, or local coding meetups are places where you can ask questions, get advice, and make connections. These communities are full of people who want to see you succeed, and they'll help you get through the tough patches.

Create a Portfolio of Your Work

Once you’ve started building apps, showcase them! Create a portfolio that highlights your work, even if it’s just a few small projects. A portfolio is essential to landing your first job or freelance gig. Make it public on platforms like GitHub or build your own website. Show the world that you’re serious about your new career, and let potential employers or clients see your growth.

Take Online Courses to Take It to the Next Level

If you want to level up your skills, consider enrolling in a structured online course. Websites like Udacity, Coursera, or freeCodeCamp offer great resources for both beginners and intermediate learners. Getting a certification can also boost your credibility and show potential employers that you've got the skills to back up your passion.

Look for Freelance Opportunities or Internships

With that said, as you build some small confidence, find opportunities where you can implement this knowledge into the real world. Start applying for internships or volunteer work. Don't be afraid to take small gigs; places like Upwork and Fiverr offer many smaller projects, just right for those starting out. Every single one of them teaches you something and gets you a little bit closer to what you want to be.

Why You Should Wait: The Tech Industry is Booming

Here's the exciting part—the app development industry is growing fast. According to Statista, the mobile app market generated over $407 billion in 2023. This means there are endless opportunities for developers. Whether you're building the next great social media app, a life-saving health app, or an awesome game, the demand is huge. And it's only going to keep growing.

One company that started with zero experience and grew into something amazing is Robotic Sysinfo, an app development company in Karnal, India. Now, our team has 5+ years of experience in this field. They started small, and through dedication, they’ve become a leading player in the app development world. Their story is proof that with persistence, even those who start with no experience can build something great.

Read More:

Conclusion: You’ve Got This!

It's time to stop wondering whether you can. Yes, you should try! The process of becoming an app developer isn't an overnight thing; however, it can happen if you start small, continue pushing, and embrace the journey. You would surely stumble, but with every line of code written, you are getting stronger and stronger before you even realize how far you have come.

Remember: the world needs more developers, and this is your chance to be in this exciting world. Whether you aspire to create something big or are just learning because you love the idea, today is the best time to fit into it. Your future as an app developer begins today. So, let's get started on your journey with a real app development company like Robotic Sysinfo!

[asoulofatlantis]

Research on what tho...? Judging by everything we know from Kai I would almost believe she knew since a long time ago what was about to come and why it was about to come. So its not like she didn't know the pictures in the observatory were fake either - I presume. I could be wrong and she just figured everything out a few years ago... but given her connection to Epstein and his "daughter" as well as the fact that she knew what Agnes was supposed to do, it is really highly unlikly that she didn't know ever since her work with Epstein what was going on.

Well... I mean... he... isn't completly wrong... he isn't completly right either but... you know... those Nukes did end up having a purpose in the end after all. Granted, it wasn't enough, but it was... quite the archivement.

Yeah but... were did that lead them? Can't see them running around here often these days ^^'

XD I kind of get her tho. She is not just some simple AI you can mess with however you want and Van hasn't been treating her super respectfully until now - although he did call her princess, to be fair. He did keep cutting her off and ignoring her words tho and then he let Risette put shackles on her to stop his transformation from beeing corrupted...

I do wonder if Kai revealed what she did those 2 1/2 years she was gone? She left Quatre alone, even tho knowing it was hard for him but with what she did with the water supply for the future, I doubt she trusted enough in the Skytaker projects to really bother finding a solution for the desertification. So what has she been doing? And why show up now?

The thing with Hamillton is... she migh be sorta a traitor and certainly something of a lyer as well BUT she did have good intentions. When she saved Tharbad the way she did, she wanted it to be able to prosper and the people there to be happy as long as it was stull possible. With the rewind happening, there was technically speaking no use for the water that she has used, so she didn't really intent to cause any harm with it. OBVIOUSLY she overstepped one to many boundaries but it still doesn't make her a complete asshole, nor is it enough for the church to go all "heretic that must be killed" on her. BUT I do not know the full picture as I did not understand all of Kai and there is propably also something left to find out about her too... so lets see what I say in about two years about all of this. By that time, Kai should be translated and Kai 2 will likely be out in japan.

But here is the thing... they were intended for a Claudel to use to somewhat "stop" the reset. Why are they also capable of all that other bullshit? I Mean Hamilton even copied them to use them for the kid of miricles that she has caused in Tharbad. But... HOW?! How are they capable of doing stuff like that, if the original intention was different? Or was it rather that that wasn't there original intention and Epstein just harnessed their power when used within the tower for this purpose? Urg! Stil! So. Many. Questions!

Yep, that old Lady definitly is a very good liar. Pretending not to know anything about the Genesis like this, even tho she herselves has made copies of them... Tze. I mean what I said when I mentioned that she doesn't deserve assasination because she did mean well, BUT I also stand behind that I think she needs at least some sort of punishment for all the shit she pulled.

Awwwwww...

Seems like Van has given up on fighting the fact that the ASO is growin with every big mission they have XD

Why can I not at all remember this? I was so irritated when everyone on Reddit spoke about the space station like it was common knowledge while it was news to me. How the fuck did I forget that? Did I accidentally skip that scene? I really do remember nothing of it. Conkide working with/for Gramheart was also a surprise for me back then. WTF?!

Uff! I FINALLY left Basel behind. This chapter was such a drag unbtil the plot finally was found again close to the end of that chapter.

I never fully got what her obsession with Rean was. She even learned to ride a Motorbike just because she heard he did. Was she jealisous of Ka Fai maybe talking about his potential or something? Or did he really impress her that much in their short encounter?

Well... I mean... give it another year or so and you two will have the chance to cross Swords again. Heck, it isn't even a year. So its actually sooner than you think.

I am inclined to say now one should trust anything Marduk say or does BUT there is my azure Traitor running around with one of their weapons, that idiot...

Okay. Its time for a break. Longelai will be next but it feels like I am still far away from finishing this game.

[wndaswife]

https://www.tumblr.com/wndaswife/758720363597316096/the-fact-that-lizzie-has-no-piercings-is-beyond-me

stop, rae - i had this exact thought yesterday haha. i actually just got my first helix piercing a few days ago, do you have any advice? bc lowkey its so sore :( i’m very firm on cleaning it twice a day and not touching it whatsoever so i’m hoping my healing is on par with the 6-9 months my piercer told me. i’m getting a little worried bc a couple ppl have told me theirs isn’t healed after, like, 2 years … but i’m like, girlies i feel like you’re not as careful as me 💅🏼 (i’m extremely paranoid over this lmao i don’t want an infection)

ohhhh i get it, i got mine during covid and my fucking mask kept getting caught in it so i would just tug at it super hard by accident

my piercer told me sometimes it's actually better to clean once a day as long as it doesn't keep developing things u need to clean in which case twice is good, because he said your body will do most of the cleaning and anti bacterial stuff! just make sure u are cleaning with good stuff like saline solution (and some ppl say not to do this but it was fine for me - warm water and some salt) the soreness is really normal and so is the swelling, but everyone's reaction and healing is totally different (so... if once a day starts being weird then stay with twice a day, if it works better for u then it works better for u, everyone is so diff)

if it gets infected you'll be able to tell, it will literally be an unbearable pain and you might even get sick and the piercing hole will start looking strange if it begins rejecting the jewelry (none of this ever happened to me but if it's infected you can just tell somehow! also i like to read reddit stuff about piercing advice)

my cartilage is super healed lolz and was very healed like.... def within the year i think tho it was prone to being sore if i slept directly on it somehow or if my headphones were just pressing against it (which i also think is normal if any part of your skin is pressed up against metal)

and ur piercings and ears r pretty resilient, but the healing isn't exactly linear, at least for me! but also yes don't touch it as much as possible :) this one im bad at i literally fuck with my piercings to fidget which is why i bring a fidget toy to study LMFAO

[trainsinanime]

Oh man, the discourse around this for the next few weeks is going to be wild! And I think Staff is well aware of that, and is not going to read the replies to this, so I'm just going to list my thoughts here. But I do believe every Tumblr user who is at all interested should read the entire thing, top to bottom.

With that, three main takeaways from this:

Tumblr isn't making enough money; they're not showing enough ads to enough people

Other social networks prove that algorithms work at getting more people to see more ads

Other social networks prove that annoying users and random passers-by works at getting more people to see more ads

I really wish these things weren't true, but I fear that they are. The conclusions from that are basically inevitable. I mean, I absolutely hope that @staff manage to find some other way to make more money that no other social network has managed before, but I'm not holding my breath.

Most of the knee-jerk replies to this post are kind of useless, dealing with age-old Tumblr minutiae. I particularly love the people who go "improve the search" and, best of all, "we don't want an algorithm, just give us better blog recommendations", as if blog recommendations were not fed by an algorithm. My hope is that Tumblr will allow old users to turn off the more annoying features. If not, yes, I will definitely start to think about things.

But more importantly in a broader context: This once again proves that all that shit people have been saying in the wake of the Reddit collapse is wrong. Tumblr isn't "the only good social network". Tumblr isn't "the one that magically survived". Tumblr is actually in the same goddamn position as Twitter and Reddit: A website designed to make a profit some day, that now has to deal with the fact that "some day" has come.

We don't notice it because in a lot of areas, Tumblr is already on the other side of this whole debacle (or part-way through). Consider how third-party clients, the thing that Twitter and Reddit both killed, were never allowed here to begin with. Or the whole porn ban.

I have seen people call this enshittification, and I can't disagree with that. But I've also seen people say, "Tumblr is not a product, you idiots, Tumblr is a community", and that's just plain wrong. Of course it's a product, run by a corporation that wants to make money. It always has been, it just has gone for long times when the big corporation was too busy with other stuff to notice it. Community doesn't pay the AWS server bills. Ultimately, making money (or at least not losing money) will always come first as long as we all continue to pledge allegiance to the big centralised sites.

(Man, I should really look into that whole Mastodon and Fediverse thing again. Setting up my own ActivityPub server is certainly way too difficult, but it sure sounds like an interesting challenge…)

Some of the issues described here absolutely sound reasonable, like how replies and reblogs and "prev tags" are a mess that is very annoying to navigate. Will the solution be any better? I have doubts, but we'll see.

Overall, I fully understand the impulse to go, "I hate you idiots, I hate that you're trying to make money". But obviously staff can't and won't listen to that, and getting angry at them treating Tumblr like a product now, in 2023, is not productive.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

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

The Diagnosis

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

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

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

Our Guiding Principles

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

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

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

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

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

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

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

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

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

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

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

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

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

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

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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