Waypoint Writers Quit Over Removal Of Articles Related To New Steam Policy
Waypoint Writers Quit Over Removal Of Articles Related To New Steam Policy - Aftermath
Two articles by writer Ana Valens were removed at the demand of Vice owner Savage Ventures, the latest in multiple deletions at the siteaftermath.site
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I två artiklar har DN skrivit om Uddebo och om hur den gamla texitilfabriksorten, bruksorten, levt upp igen. Artiklarna handlar itill stor del om det mer udda i Uddebo men den ger ändå en bild av ett levande ort med framtidstro. En ort där folk har framtidstro och hopp. Där det föds och finns många barn. En plats där befolkningen ökar.
Ah yes, equating a working class movement that uplifted hundreds of millions from poverty and killed 85% of the Nazis in World War II with a genocidal bourgeois reaction that murdered tens of millions out of racial, sexual, ableist, and political supremacy. Gotta love historical nihilism and horseshoe theory.
Read Blackshirts and Reds. Quit it with the Holocaust minimization.
@Cowbee @BuboScandiacus
Stop Killing Games has exceeded 1.4 Million Signatures!
There is still 10 days left. Even though the stretch goals were met, you can still sign.
If you haven't already and you live in the EU (they will check), you can sign here: stopkillinggames.com/
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Is it in the game vendors' interest to do that? No. And they have more money than the gamers.
So... Cute petition, but sadly you can be absolutely certain it ain't going nowhere.
Oh I don't know... how about banning glyphosate,
Glyphosate isn't banned in the EU. From the EU website: "Glyphosate is currently approved as an active substance in the EU until 15 December 2033".
There was a petition to ban it, but the response was "On the first aim, to 'ban glyphosate-based herbicides', the Commission concluded that there are neither scientific nor legal grounds to justify a ban of glyphosate, and will not make a legislative proposal to that effect."
the Clean Water Directive received major updates as a direct result of collecting 1.80 million signatures.
You might mean the Drinking Water Directive, and 1.6 million signatures.
I see some press releases on updates, but I can't find anything outside of government websites saying things have improved. I'd imagine if this was a big deal there'd be news stories on it.
While it wasn't a citizens initiative, certain countries did let the people vote on if they thought it was a good idea.
If you're only interested in citizens initatives, here are some examples:
* Right2Water
The first citizens initiative that passed, which led to a lot of things regarding the availability of water
* Stop vivisection
* Save the bees
* Stop finning
along with all the other answered initiatives.
Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!
Follow-up page for the successful European citizens' initiative (ECI) Right2Water - Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!European Citizens' Initiative
Most of those resulted in "the laws in place are already good enough" responses. From your links
The EU response to stop vivisection:
The Commission considers that the Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (Directive 2010/63/EU), which the Initiative seeks to repeal, is the right legislation to achieve the underlying objectives of the Initiative. It sets full replacement of animals as its ultimate goal as soon as it is scientifically possibly, and provides a legally binding stepwise approach as non-animal alternatives become available. Therefore, no repeal of that legislation was proposed
The EU response to Save the Bees:
In its reply, the Commission underlined that rather than proposing new legislative acts, the priority is to ensure that the proposals currently being negotiated by the co-legislators are timely adopted and then implemented, together with an effective implementation of the CAP.
The EU response to Stop Finning:
the Commission commits to better enforce the EU’s already strong traceability measures by strengthening the enforcement of EU law that applies to the entire value chain - control of fishing at sea, full traceability of shark products from landing to consumer, consumer information, and prevention and redress of illegal trade - and ensuring the collection and reporting of complete and reliable information by fishermen and Member States’ authorities on all these aspects.
A boycott of the worst companies. I've seen lots of people commenting they're never buying an Ubisoft game again under pretty much every article in relation to them. Perhaps boycotts haven't worked in the past but this seems to have enough support and momentum that it could have a real direct impact. Recently, boycotts have been pretty impactful as the world has stopped buying US products and within the US, conservative groups have influenced many companies with boycott and social media campaigns against companies. It's also something that all supporters globally can participate in rather than everyone just hoping a European law might affect products purchased elsewhere.
The petition was a great way to gauge support, but I feel like people are going all in on its success and when the EU parliament likely issues its "we take consumer protection seriously which is why we already have the best laws in the world and don't need to change anything" statement, people are just going to act defeated. There's going to be a doomer post about how the EU parliament is corrupt and piratesoftware is the devil that gets 1000 upvotes and then that'll be it instead of using the support and momentum in a more direct and impactful way.
There are lots of ways to make a change. It shouldn't be all in on a single petition and that's it. That's not how social and political changes happen.
While it's easy to be pessimistic about this. This is one of the few options to make actual change. Leaving thing as they are is a worse situation since it means that companies like Ubisoft can and will destroy the games which we own.
Will there be resistance? Yes Ubisoft is already stated their opposition to it.)
But it's not up to companies like Ubisoft for how the EU makes it's laws, it's up to the EU itself. When there is potentially 1.4 million people in Europe telling you to "stop killing games" it's going to be hard to tell them no.
Ubisoft’s CEO fights back against Stop Killing Games initiative
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillermot commented on the Stop Killing Games campaign during a shareholder meeting on July 10.Joe Pring (Dexerto)
Cute petition, but sadly you can be absolutely certain it ain't going nowhere
"Not going anywhere" isn't the same as "completely meaningless"
this is not simply a petition, it's a tool for bringing issues in front of the eu parliament, which has to address it. it's a kinda new thing, and untested, but it looks pretty functional for now. also, Nicolae Ștefănuță, vice president of the eu parliament, has openly supported this citizens initiative.
not all countries are as dysfunctional as the US, and i'm sorry for you that your government sucks ass. But if this works, it will be positive for every gamer worldwide, so maybe you get to enjoy more consumer protection than before.
How about you Prime Video subscription?
Yes, we have it
Great! Let's watch
You have to pay £12.99 for it
What? I already pay you monthly! Why?!
Because fuck you.
Are you fine with being a moron or does that bother you?
You ran out of arguments so now you’re personally attacking me. Pathetic.
No point in arguing, since you clearly don't understand the real issue at hand.
Bootlicker.
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Yup, same. Your options are usually either “pay for fake ratio bonuses” or “seed dead torrents for six months in order to get enough time credit to convert into ratio.” If you’re trying to chase the freeleech tags, then you’ll never hit decent ratios because now you’re seeding a torrent that has 1000 other seeds and only 5 leeches.
And if you have to pay for fake ratio to get started, just fucking pay for Usenet and skip the hassle instead.
Here's a great resource for sites and a rating system with explanations for each site
And if you want to explore more of the site there's other resources for other media, and a guide to help protect you're privacy
Ublock still mandatory on any site there, they don't hold responsibility for the ads those sites allow
Some yes, but some no. A few I've been on are downright absurd in how most of the things are free.
I agree about not having to pay etc too.
I suspect I've just gotten lucky but several of the trackers I've found are easy to just let the ARRs do their thing.
For English content, torrents are great.
But I've been having much better luck finding Spanish content on streaming sites, instead of torrent sites, and then downloading. See Guides for downloading streams.
The The Stream Detector is great!
The Stream Detector – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)
Download The Stream Detector for Firefox. This addon provides an easy way to keep track of manifests and subtitles used by various streaming protocols. Also allows for detecting custom file types and downloading media files.addons.mozilla.org
The usual suspects for modern stuff is easy to find in Germany.
What becomes difficult is getting older or obscure stuff (like the Pokémon show) in a decent enough quality.
Recently ordered the first season dvd box to trial the ripping process as most of the stuff I found is either incomplete (missing entries) or not up to quality (mixing audio segments between english/german or leaving out the intro/outro)
There are at least three VHS copies on ebay right now that I found pretty easily. Radarr found it on rutracker for me as well (though it looks like it might be dubbed).
edit: yeah it's dubbed
Cross-seed is a big part of being able to sustain on mediocre upload. Download a torrent on one site but get credit on 7 different sites.
Alternatively many sites offer infinite download if you have a certain total size of torrents available. (Sometimes together with a account age requirement too). So get a permanently online torrent client (mini pc, seedbox, vps, etc) and you're set on those sites.
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It's no more effort than it was to type this comment. Literally go to the site and type in the name of the show and that's it.
If you don't want to pay, just say you don't want to pay. None of this non-sense about how you were totally going to but just couldn't figure out how.
firstly, in the comic, none of the streaming service has the movie, so a site telling him this doesn't change that point.
second, even if one streaming service has that movie, it might not be the one you are subscribed to. so instead of "just watch"ing, you have to make a new subscription on that service and pay for all their content although you just want one movie
thirdly, often it's not a matter of whether or not someone wants to pay, but how much someone is willing to pay. This depends on many factors, which boil down to how much they want to watch the movie and how much they can afford. imo there are two acceptable ways to charge for entertainment: paying once for that particular piece and you get to enjoy it as often/long as you want forever, or you pay a monthly fee and get access to everything for as long as you pay. unfortunately, thanks to the fragmentation of streaming services, option b has become quite expensive and not a lot of people are not willing to spend that much, but they would be willing for a lower price.
There are options other than streaming sites. Your local library is a big one.
If it's really obscure, I'll often buy a copy and rip and seed it myself.
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firstly, in the comic, none of the streaming service has the movie
This is based on what?
even if one streaming service has that movie, it might not be the one you are subscribed to. so instead of "just watch"ing, you have to make a new subscription on that service and pay for all their content although you just want one movie
Which is a different issue entirely than it not being available at all.
it's not a matter of whether or not someone wants to pay, but how much someone is willing to pay
Same thing.
unfortunately, thanks to the fragmentation of streaming services, option b has become quite expensive
The services have not become fragmented. There was never one streaming service that had all content available. They've just added more options.
I don't want to pay (I don't think anyone wants to pay). All of what you said (well more said I said) was never mentioned by me. Really where did I (or anyone here really) spout anything about totally going to pay or sign up for anything?
And your logic of ease goes as much against your position as for it, as you can literally go to a site and type in the name of the show and that's it (in this case download/stream the show for free). Hell your logic falls even farther apart when you factor in the next step of finding the listed legal service, signing up (if you can in your area), putting in your payment and then typing the show into the service (and in amazon's case maybe paying again).
The issue with piracy being a service issue has not changed, I was more then happy to pay netflix $10 for the ease of the service back in the day. But now? I will pay an amount just to stick it to netflix, fuck them.
I don't want to pay
Once again, just say that. There's no need to fabricate some nonsense justification for it.
All of what you said (well more said I said) was never mentioned by me
You replied to me. Not the other way around. I was replying to OP. If your reply was not in reference to the OP then I don't understand why you replied to me.
Really where did I (or anyone here really) spout anything about totally going to pay or sign up for anything?
There are only handful of words in the OP and you couldn't read them all? What exactly do you think "Cant say I didn't try" means? Try to what? Go on, take a minute.
your logic of ease goes as much against your position as for it
Only when you intentionally misrepresent my logic. My logic was that it was easy to find where to stream shows, not to stream them. Because that is the logic OP is using for not paying.
I was more then happy to pay netflix $10 for the ease of the service back in the day
The "ease of service" hasn't changed. What happened to just not wanting to pay? Your logic is all over the place.
Once again, just say that. There’s no need to fabricate some nonsense justification for it.
Where Once again did we fabricate or justify anything?
You replied to me. Not the other way around. I was replying to OP. If your reply was not in reference to the OP then I don’t understand why you replied to me.
If you look above you will see the thing you replied to was my comment "Why go to that effort just to pay?"
There are only handful of words in the OP and you couldn’t read them all? What exactly do you think “Cant say I didn’t try” means? Try to what? Go on, take a minute.
Really? this has what to do with my statement? Did you not mean to reply to me?
And besides, If you look for a show/movie/thinger and its not available in your area does that not mean you did try? (hell of a lot more effort then I would ever go to).
Only when you intentionally misrepresent my logic. My logic was that it was easy to find where to stream shows, not to stream them. Because that is the logic OP is using for not paying.
Ah yes, knowing where I can pay (or in the case of most non us places, can not pay) is the exact same as watching the thing.
The “ease of service” hasn’t changed. What happened to just not wanting to pay? Your logic is all over the place.
Yes it has, netflix is not the same nor does it have even 1/5th the shows/movies avalible (worse so outside of the us) and costs much more ($23.99 per month now). Hell the interface alone makes me want to shoot my TV (full volume previews anyone?). There is no logic issue with not liking the changes, the only logic issue here would be thinking that people will endlessly put up with enshitification.
Where Once again did we fabricate or justify anything?
I've already explained this, multiple times at this point. I'm not repeating myself again.
Really? this has what to do with my statement? Did you not mean to reply to me?
Listen, you're obviously trying to rope me into some sort of strawman argument. I'm not interested. When you want to get back to talking about the comic in the OP, I'm ready.
I’ve already explained this, multiple times at this point. I’m not repeating myself again.
No, you have not. You keep deflecting. The comic does not fabricate or need to justify anything, it is just whats happening.
Listen, you’re obviously trying to rope me into some sort of strawman argument. I’m not interested. When you want to get back to talking about the comic in the OP, I’m ready.
Really, at this point you think I am trying to rope you into a strawman argument? After placing words and motives in my mouth? You, who comes to a piracy community trying to push some sort of pro corporate agenda and is somehow shocked that you are not taken seriously?
You keep deflecting. The comic does not fabricate or need to justify anything, it is just whats happening.
I'm not deflecting, you are. I keep telling you and you come back with "I didn't say that", but I never said you did. It's in the OP. Once again, I replied to the OP. Answer the question about what "can't say I didn't try" means if not that the character fully-intended to pay. Any further deflections will be considered bad faith and disregarded.
What a threat.
I keep telling you, "can't say I didn't try" holds true if the media is not available. There is no justification here, no fabricated anything. Its amazing that anyone would go so far when the high seas are easy and available, but for you its some sort of high treason.
What a threat.
I think you might want to look up what a threat is, because that's not what that was.
I keep telling you, "can't say I didn't try" holds true if the media is not available.
You never said that. And it doesn't hold true if you don't try, which is what you suggested ("Why go to that effort just to pay?"), regardless of whether the media is available or not.
There is no justification here, no fabricated anything
I don't understand how "Can't say I didn't try" is interpreted as anything other than justification.
but for you its some sort of high treason.
I said nothing of the sort. All I said was to stop bullshitting and own it.
JustWatch is still useful if you want to act like you watched it legitimately, e.g., if a coworker asks where they can watch it. Even if your coworker also pirates, they might not have an account on your private tracker, Usenet, etc..
I may be wrong, as I haven’t actually torrented anything substantial since Demonoid was still a thing, but it all feels less accessible than it used to be.
Yeah, nice try Jeff, except no, there's a lot on justwatch but it definitely doesn't tell me where to find "anything".
Either you are so boringly mainstream not to know, or you are simply full of it, but there is plenty missing from the streaming world.
Especially if you consider markets outside the US.
For instance, in Italy The West Wing has not been available for years, neither streaming nor DVD. Only option is used DVDs off of eBay.
But even in the US, where exactly can I stream the original Spider Man animated series from 1967?
If you're not Bezos, you must be Bob Iger.
Either way, I feel you should educate yourself on the concept of a joke.
And work on general reading comprehension really.
OP: Makes a meme about torrenting things he can't find on streaming services.
You: not true, you can find everything here!
Me: Well, ackshually really no (provides real life examples).
You: (downvotes) it was a hyperbole!
You must be real fun at parties.
There's an easy solution to that.
Seed something yourself.
Go buy a garage sale DVD of something that is semi-popular and doesn't already exist on the private tracker, rip it, and post the torrent yourself.
'S what I did back when Underground Gamer still existed; I had a version of Mechwarrior 2 that didn't already have a torrent, so I spent some time making a nice summary and uploaded it myself. Worked a treat; I had enough ratio to get me through my rough early weeks and never looked back. Until the site shut down, of course.
You'd be surprised how many people nowadays just leave random shows or movies on in the background while they're on their phones.
Even my Dad does it, I ask what he's watching on Netflix, etc and half the time he has to check even tho he was the one who clicked on it in the first place...
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SkullXDCC | The most lethal xdcc search engine
the deadliest, most lethal xdcc search engineskullxdcc.com
Somebody put it on Dailymotion.
But it needs fixing. It's split in 2 almost 1 hour parts, the part 2 ends around minute 38, then loops around back to start after credits. The image is mirrored (flipped), but the 2 parts seem continuous (nothing missing).
But I haven't watched all of it.
I don't think I can directly link pirated stuff here, so the titles are "Operation Sandman 2000 TVRip avi Pt 01" and "Operation Sandman 2000 TVRip avi Pt 02" uploaded in 2018.
In case you only want to search partial titles to find multiple movies
Ex: Spider-Man .mkv
Ernest .mkvOr because show titles will usually have episode titles after them
… I guess it’s not a requirement
better value than streaming? yes
better value than free? debatable
pay for prime video or whatever. $2.99 or something i don't know what it costs i don't actually do this30 minutes in and the resolution changes to 480p because my internet is shit and it's streaming
no thanks
Yes. This was what made me stop paying for streaming.
Yes, I guess, as a Linux user I could probably steal their stuff more easily than some others. (?) Or maybe just because I know how my computer works.
But - I have better things to do with my time.
I have indicated this to the streaming providers, using money, which I paid them, each month.
I believe that this is an easy way to tell me apart from pirates, who I understand did not pay for the streaming services each month.
But since the streaming services stopped delivering quality working streams to my devices, I no longer pruchase their streaming services.
Now I am enjoying my ancient DVD and VHS collection until streaming services stop sucking.
I was thinking about trying them. I'm trying to create the best experience for my parents so anything that makes it quicker or easier for them to access content the better.
Any suggestions for add-ons?
So, I don't use Kodi and use stremio instead, but with stremio, the main addon is torrentio. There are others, but idr them off the top of my head and that's the go-to.
As far as premiumizeme vs debrid, it was basically a drop-in replacement. Just had to update the "provider" and the api key in the config.
I know, for some features Plex is better, and for a very few features Plex will always be better because it's centralized. Jellyfin, being self-hosted, doesn't have an easy way to share and combine libraries from multiple users, and no single "login" page like Plex. This may be annoying for users, but we know all the problems that centralization comes with.
But this makes me think about the fediverse. What if Jellyfin servers could federate with each other? I wonder if anybody is working on such a project.
Edit: okay, apparently I found this feature request on the Jellyfin features tracker.
Federated servers · Jellyfin Feature Requests
Originially posted to the Jellyfin GitHub issue tracker by Cmdrd The ability to federate a Jellyfin server with other Jellyfin servers would allow forfeatures.jellyfin.org
Remote viewing in Jellyfin requires significantly more work from me as the server admin, but it is just as easy for the remote viewing clients. I don’t have to do any first-time setup for them. I recommend an app or two for the media type they’re using, and all they need is URL, login, password.
On UX, Plex is more full-featured I’m sure, but the performance is so much better on Jellyfin that it quickly overrode any feature concerns I may have had.
And being FOSS, there’s some nice diversity in client apps. I use Finamp for music and really like it. There’s Plappa for audio books too. And for basic viewing there are multiple choices. I think I use Streamyfin because it supports downloads.
Remote viewing in Jellyfin requires significantly more work from me as the server admin, but it is just as easy for the remote viewing clients. I don’t have to do any first-time setup for them. I recommend an app or two for the media type they’re using, and all they need is URL, login, password.
Thanks for your suggestion. I spent some time investigating this to see how feasible it would be. I have my own domain and static IP, so setup on my end would be pretty straight forward. Users would need to enter my domain:port on first login, but I could walk them through that. I'm going to give it a shot and see how practical it is. If the performance is better, as you say, then it probably trumps those features you mention. With the exception of subtitles for me and the family. We use subs most of the time and need on-demand selection. Automated subs are very hit or miss.
It's also disappointing to hear the Jellyfin app doesn't support downloads but I guess if Streamyfin is available on all the platforms then I could just use that.
I tried Finamp and the UI is very not good on iOS. It also lacks a lot of features compared to Plexamp.
Strongly agreed, from the owner of a dust covered lifetime Plex Pass.
Even if we eliminate all the other reasons you might not want to use Plex or might want to use FOSS, just the performance and UI responsiveness alone makes it worth the switch.
And I do have some non-techy family that watches remotely on smart TVs and uses phone apps.
Jellyfin is literally all I watch not to mention the BEST alternative to all the centralized AD riddled garbage (Now in forced foreign languages) 'Tubi, Pluto, Prime Video'! Crazy cause being a "Prime" member isn't enough nowadays cause they want you to DOUBLE Pay on top of a Membership Subscription to remove ads which is sooo counterintuitive?!
Straight out of that (Black Mirror) episode called (Common People) Season 7 Episode 1... Predictive Programming at it's finest.
Same. I signed up for Netflix when they came to Canadas in 2010. Immediately had to start using proxies/vpn to access US Netflix since Canada's selection was broiled ass.
By 2013 there was news of Netflix talking of blocking non-US users from accessing US Netlix. Immediately cancelled, spun up my Plex server. 30TB later and I got 18 friends off of all their streaming services too lol
I don't understand this.
If I put on something with video I want to absorb it. There's more video content in existence than I could ever watch, I always want to watch something worth watching. If it's something I've seen before them I'm rewatching because it was entertaining enough that I want to watch it again. Even if I try to ignore it, it's good enough that it'll rope me in.
Put something on and not watch it? Is it boring enough that it's not pulling you in? It's just background noise? Then why isn't it a podcast or something?
If you're ignoring it then why turn it on? Do you turn on lights in rooms you're not in? It feels... like something just above brainrot. Like it's not rotting you, but either it's not engaging or it's just background noise (with an unused visual component)
Ubisoft: Microtransactions make games more fun
Ubisoft: Microtransactions make games more fun
In a move that feels straight out of the "Did they really say that?" playbook, Ubisoft now claims that microtransactions don't just boost revenue—they actually make games more fun.Marcus Persson (Gamereactor)
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This is something only an out of touch suit with a buying addiction would say.
I don't care about what people buy for themselves, but implying it enhances the game in any way is extremely stupid. This is why suits ought to stay away from videogames.
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If implemented in a specific way, I actually agree.
Getting thousands of lootbox cosmetics unlockable through MTX or by normal playing is awesome. The MTX funding means the devs can continue to support the game.
Having 10 minor variations on one cosmetic or making unlocks incredibly time consuming is not. Not to mention the millions of other ways they can undermine gamers over greed.
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I agree. That's why I said they need to be earnable. I'm not paying for them.
The MTX option just ensures that the devs put time into making them. At least that's how it's worked in some games that did it right.
It definitely depends. You need to keep people engaged, so a lot of the time there's still development on good content. But the good content that doesn't fit in the MTX scope is cut.
And I mentioned the flood of bad cosmetics. Although I think fluffing the cosmetics is more about artificially extending replay value for grinders and giving deep purchase incentives for whales. In my experience, the purchase incentives are terrible (expensive) compared to just playing. Then again, I don't buy MTX. So if I'm not advancing without paying, I'm likely to just quit.
Quite the opposite in fact. Microtransactions offer the promise of fun, but never deliver, because in order to incentivise users to purchase them, the player must feel like the game is 90% of the way to being fun and that tiny additional purchase will get it there.
It's like the cartoon image of the donkey rider holding a carrot on the end of a rod. The donkey keeps moving to try to get the carrot, but never quite reaches it.
I've felt that the introduction of micro transactions was the beginning of the end of videogames. There is no reason to push boundaries inside of an industry as an artist when it is so heavily commoditized down to your basic attention in seconds.
I think maybe we need a little history to understand how we got here from gaming meaning gambling, to pinball, to "video" gaming, to Electronic Entertainment as a whole to realize where the boundaries are supposed to be.
Deceptive business practices need to be put in check. Consumer protection needs enforcement otherwise there would still be lead in everything you touch.
Who needs artists pushing boundaries when it's legal to sell heroin.
I go back to history of games. My favorites through time...not 1 of them had micro transactions.
Uncharted...none
Eye of the beholder and all early DnD games...none
Civilization (up to about civ 4)...none
And pretty much all pc games before 1989.
Just create and sell me a finished game on media I can keep. Why is this so fucking hard nowadays
I mean they're not technically wrong, if it wasn't fun for people, people wouldn't be buying them. Considering the context and all, I guess it makes sense. There's too many whales enabling them. We get the games we voted with our wallets. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Headline makes it a bit misleading that Ubi thinks it's referring to all their players, but the actual line does say specify that it's for people who choose to buy them.
if it wasn’t fun for people, people wouldn’t be buying them
I am not a psychology major or anything, but isnt it that microtransactions are designed in such a way that they hook players in not by being fun but by being a literal gambling? Or in case no lootboxes, FOMO? Like LoL once done with many skins stating "It is a one time possible to purchase, never comes back like ever!!!1!11" to later sell them once again.
Back in a day you either customize game yourself by downloading mods and models, or you earn your fancy skins by being good at the game. Today it is just a purchase. There is no fun in cosmetics beside bragging about them. There might be fun in pay to win, but not for those who doesn't pay. Neither it is healthy fun.
I mean I get what you mean and I do agree that it plays a factor but your example here only makes a lot of sense for multiplayer games. CoD is a really good example of this in my opinion. The skins there are ridiculous and the amount of effort they spend to show it off is absurd for a full priced triple A game. On the other hand, most of Ubisoft's games are singleplayer so this FOMO effect doesn't really apply for those games.
I also don't think we can deny the agency of the player too if they do choose to make these purchases. If someone does do their research and justifies the micro transactions after looking at it rationally, is it fair to say that they've been completely manipulated? I've personally given money to EA for Titanfall 2's prime titan skins because I felt that it was a good value and wanted to support it. So I think there are somewhat more ethical micro transactions.
Have you ever watched someone play Candy Crush? It's full-on manipulative. "Oh, soo close! You almost managed to beat this level! Don't let this chance escape! Just pay 5 gems and you can continue!"
There are certainly different kinds of players and some are more or less easily manipulated. But somebody who manages to stay rational wouldn't play Candy Crush eitherway. If you tell them beforehand that they have to pay €200 to play this stupid minigame they'd ask you what you are smoking. But with microtransactions it's quite easy to draw money out of somebody's pockets.
People like that have as much agency over their microtransaction spending as a smoker has over their next cigarette or a gambling addict has over playing the next bet. The mechanics of microtransactions are often close to identical to the mechanics of gambling.
Tbh, I don't think that Candy Crush is an extreme example. On mobile this is more the norm than an outlier.
And even on PC, there are far worse examples, like games that allow you to resell lootbox content, which is literal gambling. It's a scratch card with extra steps.
Literally the only point for microtransactions to exist (versus e.g. expansions/DLCs) is to split up the cost into smaller chunks so that players lose track of how much they actually spent.
"I'm not paying €50 for a handful of cosmetic items" becomes "I'm just paying 20 gems for this one cool item, and then I'm going to do it again and again and again."
The very concept of microtransactions is to hide the cost to manipulate and exploit players.
Otherwise they'd just release an expansion or a large DLC with all the content in it for a fair price.
Remember how everyone laughed at the horse armor? Well, that's standard now.
Warframe, Still A Space Ninja Game (Technically), Is Now Drawing Inspiration From World War I
Warframe, Still A Space Ninja Game (Technically), Is Now Drawing Inspiration From World War I - Aftermath
Warframe: The Old Peace's World War I influences are more than skin deep, according to creative director Rebb Ford.aftermath.site
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Warframe is an amazing game in its own right.
You should try it (it's free) just to see how they twisted all the tropes.
It's an mmo where you're alone or with 3 strangers.
You can gain xp from those strangers' kills if you're close enough.
Everything you can buy is also available for free.
Very interesting and fun game, with a truly amazing story/universe.
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Everything you can buy is also available for free.
Iffff you're willing to spend many many hours grinding against artificial RNG and pretending your time has zero value.
But yeah enough patience and persistence can technically get you almost everything (I stopped after 50 warframes).
Everything gameplay related: yes
Additionally you can earn the premium currency by trading with other players.
Warframe.market and riven.market were the places to go...
Sometimes I miss the game but the tenosynovitis knows better...
Still great game, 10 out of 10, Clem, grakata
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Okay but seriously, why are there old trenches on Tau? I can buy that the Orokin, constant assholes that they were, came to Tau along the solar rails to kill the Sentients they created and claim their new solar system. That contradicts a lot of the old lore, but makes some logical sense. They presumably have the Tenno at this point though, and they have the Infestation; why would their tactics involve trench warfare? They could virus bomb a site from orbit and then send Tenno in to annihilate anything that still moved. Trench warfare isn't really efficient, there's a reason we don't really see it anymore, and the Orokin have tech far, far beyond what we have today.
Also if this update doesn't let us finally see The Sounding of the Naga Drums I will be very sad.
Personally, I just can't get back into it. I quit back in 2019 when the chat mods went fully insane and quit/fired and players were getting really toxic about Nyx pre-rework
It doesn't help that I started back when the meta was focussed on crowd control, and witb so many damage-focussed frames they've been made largely irrelevant. Plus the open world stuff and extra equipment grinds that came with them just don't click with me
Vice: Group Behind Steam Censorship Policies Have Powerful Allies — And Targeted Popular Games With Outlandish Claims [update in post text body]
Original link which seems to have been taken down: vice.com/en/article/group-behi…
Update from the author:
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Ah, I thought it was strange for the payment processing companies to come out of nowhere.
Them being pressured by conservative prudish assholes masquerading as concerned feminists makes more sense.
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archive.ph/x5cGQ
The author posted three articles involving Collective Shout. The only one that didn't get removed replaces most of the detailing on Collective Shout with narration of the now-endangered benefits of "we both roleplay as giant women who consume our viewers".
vice.com/en/article/this-vtube…
Moral of the story: To avoid takedown, double down ~~and eat people~~
This VTuber Just Raised Over $780 for the ACLU. After Steam’s New Content Policies? Her Anti-Censorship Message Is Urgent
Steam issued new content guidance to devs due to its payment processors. Here's how one VTuber's ACLU fundraiser shows a way forward.Ana Valens (VICE)
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From Wikipedia about NCOSE
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), previously known as Morality in Media and Operation Yorkville, is an American conservative anti-pornography organization. The group has also campaigned against sex trafficking, same-sex marriage, sex shops and sex toys, decriminalization of sex work, comprehensive sex education, and various works of literature or visual arts the organization has deemed obscene, profane or indecent. [...] The organization describes its goal as "exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation".
Doing the lords work by fucking up (lol) any discourse about sexuality.
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1. You have six shotgun shells.
2. Connect to a random person.
3. If they ask "ASL", they're a Zombie. If you have a shotgun shell left, you shoot them and use up one shell. If not, they bite you and you die.
4. Ask "What is OP?". If they give the correct answer, they're a fellow survivor, and both of you refill your shotgun shells.
comprehensive sex education
Ah yes, because if there is anything that will prevent exploitation it’s not being educated about sex.
Is Detroit: Become Human on the list of removed titles (that's where the screenshot is from).
The game does deal with themes like child and spousal abuse, and has a part with a same sex couple, so it fits these fascists' MO.
If so, ridiculous. However, I kind of hope they do go after some bigger games so people get pissed.
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Honestly valve mishandled this issue. This sounded like a solid opportunity to be like "Okay, AO and NSFW games are no longer able to be sold via third party merchants" and then disabled the ability on the payment page.
Like they already offer an ability to pay directly, just require funding to be from steam wallet, then the transaction records are only "add funds" or "wallet payment" or whatever they use for steam wallet funding. Or if it is just paypal, make it so it has to be a first(wallet) or a second(credit cards) party instead of a third party(paypal)
I was under the understanding that they cared only about their image and the fact that their service was being used to purchase those items. If that's the case, then they shouldn't have an Issue with it existing in the first place, just that people can associate their platform with those type of games. If Steam went out of their way to make it so you can't use third party(or even second party tbh) merchants with adult-only and NSFW style games, then consumers wouldn't be able to relate their service to those type of games.
If what you said is correct there, that's a massive overstep on the payment processors, but I don't think that's the case here.
For example, when visa stopped accepting advertisements on Pornhub, it was because it wasn't able to control whether or not it was being depicted next to CP, which is against its rules. They entire quote was as follows: "It is illegal, and Visa does not permit the use of our network for illegal activity. Our rules explicitly and unequivocally prohibit the use of our products to pay for content that depicts nonconsensual sexual behavior or child sexual abuse.”
If this is the same case, just disabling the payment processor's ability should more than suffice.
Having said my main concern about all this is, currently steam is rolling over, but as people have said previously, steam is a large company. They could just decide full stop that you can only pay for video games with a steam wallet, which will make it so you have to add the funds to your wallet ahead of time. This also will remove quite a bit of protections that consumers have when using a credit card because at that point the service is Steam providing you money for your wallet instead of Steam providing you a functional game which means that any type of argument consumers would do with chargebacks of like this game isn't functioning on my system would be immediately thrown out because steam only charged you to add funds to your wallet instead of buying a game like it currently is.
a few ways to be honest.
They already have steam wallet cards at most electronic retail stores which operate the same as gift cards
but I was thinking more along the line of the payment processor is still there, but the goods being purchased is no longer the game itself, just adding currency on, which more-or-less removes the problem all together. Payment processors are no longer being used to buy NSFW content, its being used to purchase wallet funds. So the association is no longer valid.
Alternatively they could go the Mullvad approach as well, and allow for cash, check and wire transfer over if they really wanted to. Heck honestly like what PC said, with how big they are, they could even make a low transaction fee(seller side) savings card and could probably rival the companies themselves. I know a few people that would happily switch to said card if it meant ease of access buying games.
Additionally, a mix of these could be done, at some point card companies would fold because its threatening their bottom line. I personally think if they went the steam wallet route, the companies wouldn't want to engage big stores such as walmart, as a good portion of their revenue is via the transaction fees those companies provide.
this is all hypotheticals though
Payment processors are no longer being used to buy NSFW content, its being used to purchase wallet funds. So the association is no longer valid.
You can make that argument, sure. You could also make the other argument, that their services are being associated with this content by proxy, at minimum.
I don't agree with them. I'm just pointing out what their argument is.
I also agree Valve should make an alternative. They've got the resources and the reach to do it. They could probably even get other companies to use it and take a percentage of each transaction for another revenue stream. As it is, they're losing a percentage to these companies, and now they're fucking with their business too. They should be doing everything they can to get away from them.
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HuniePop is a comedic masterpiece I will actually be upset about if it's disappeared.
This group is nuts. Wanting to ban Detroit Become Human because it depicts child abuse is completely insane. That's like solving sex trafficking by making it illegal to mention it.
I mean, their leader is literally under fire for saying the Epstein files never existed and people should just stop talking about it. Making it illegal to even mention sex trafficking is the next logical step to protect the Dear Leader, because lord knows tackling the real issues wouldn't end well for him.
It's actually a more ideologically consistent position than most reactionary groups. They want to be able to keep diddling kids while everyone shuts up about it and the queers get shoved in concentration camps. Now that's a Good Traditional Christian Nation babyyyyyy
To be honest, when this story first appeared especially with Valve being the ones to announce the censorship, I thought it was sort of a nothing burger with Valve (Gave Newell having libertarian values) being pissed that someone has control over what they can sell on their store or not.
I also personally believe in the past 5-10 years that there is so much adult content and so much gateways to adult content in non adult content spaces that I personally feel something needs to be done about it.
But after seeing the group behind it, it's basically the opposite extreme. We should be able to talk about sex and sexuality, and have media that dives into these topics without some of the extreme fetishism that is on the internet (e.g. cuckoldry, gooning).
While I feel conflicted about these games being on an extremely popular pc gaming store, the people who are trying to get it removed aren't helping - they are the problem by being so extreme in their views of sex and sexuality themselves.
without some of the extreme fetishism that is on the internet (e.g. cuckoldry, gooning)
What's wrong with those?
Heroes For Hire (in development), an MMO guild management game using an OS like interface for gameplay (the game calls it "GuildOS"), released in early access on Steam.
Save 15% on Heroes For Hire - Guild Micromanagement Simulator on Steam
You've joined a guild before, right? So, where's the trouble in managing a guild of your own, too? Use the GuildOS system to guide your heroes, raid some dungeons, and grow your guild to rise from the bottom of the ranks right up to the top in Heroes…store.steampowered.com
I am not the dev, just sharing.
IANAL, but IMO there is no confusion between an MMO guild management game and a marvel comic book concept. But then again, I would never trust an American court in such situations.
It's "I Am Not A Lawyer". It's usually used when giving advise and suggestions that borders on law, since many countries have provisions against giving law-related advises.
Another one is TINLA, short for "This Is Not Legal Advice".
Supporedly, saying either or both IANAL and TINLA prevents potential problems if what you said ended up damaging someone. I'm not sure, but I think those two are the only court recognized "disclaimers". 🤣
Yeah, no profits means no business! Down with businesses! We don’t need them for paychecks or healthcare! 🤣
Edit: I feel like this comment went over some heads. Socialism is support by higher taxes on businesses. If business doesn’t make money they Will close the business and social programs will not be supported. So basically socialism cannot exist without the business.
Capitalism is not the only mode of production in existence. We can collectivize production and run it in a planned manner. We can't do that all at once, but in socialism we can gradually wrest capital from the capitalists and collectively run and plan the economy.
Edit: responding to your edit, socialism is not "welfare in capitalist systems." Your comment didn't go over anyone's heads, you just don't know what socialism and capitalism are.
Neither system is perfect. Pure capitalism can lead to inequality and under-provided public services, while pure socialism can stifle innovation and create inefficiency. The best-performing countries today typically combine elements of both.
So as anything in life too much of one thing can be bad. It would be nice for everyone to receive free healthcare and higher education in US. I often watch various global news networks. It is odd to see US, Canada, UK all struggling with same issues economically.
UK has 28 million people on assistance out of work. It also has 28 million people employed. So half the UK is paying to support the other half. That is wild to think about.
Canada has a housing crisis currently.
There's no such thing as "pure capitalism" or "pure socialism." Every socialist system has elements of private property, and every capitalist system has elements of public property. A system is capitalist if the large firms and key industries are private, and socialist if the large firms and key industries are public. This is all nonsense on your part, socialist systems have been at the peak of innovation throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
I'm not sure why you brought up a bunch of capitalist countries failing because of issues systemic to capitalism at the end, it didn't really help your point. Moreover, there is no "combining the best of both," the system is determined by what is principle, meaning you can't be both. Furthermore, I think you're alluding to the Nordic Countries, but those are capitalist, deteriorating, and depend on imperialism like the rest of the global north.
I think you should do a bit more reading on what socialism and communism even are to begin with before trying to have discussions about them, same with capitalism.
@Cowbee @salty_chief
#socialism #communism #capitalism #socialdemocracy
Unfortunately, you don't understand what you're talking about. These Social Democracies (really capitalistic states with strong worker protections) still benefit from imperialism on the Global South.
The contradictions inherent to capitalism still exist within these states as well. There are proletarians and there are bourgeoisie. The cost of living within these states is rapidly increasing, and reactionary sentiment is booming because people from the (1)
(2) countries that these states, which you almost call utopian, have been destabilizing, are immigrating to these states en masse.
"[Scandinavian states] have much higher standards of living, better quality universal healthcare, and more economic, political, and social freedoms than Marxist-Leninist states have ever had."
What a ridiculous statement. China and the USSR went from backwater peasant countries to world superpowers in less than a century.
(3) Their citizens pay very little for housing, healthcare, food, transportation, and education, all without the colonization and terrorism that these Scandinavian states do.
When the proletariat is the ruling class of the state, the state will work within the proletariat's self interest, and crush bourgeois oppression.
Bourgeois democracies like these Scandinavian states only work in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and placate the proletariat.
@graythehue @Cowbee @salty_chief
#socialism #communism #capitalism
[END]@graythehue @Cowbee @salty_chief
#socialism #communism #capitalism
The qualities I'm measuring are things like individual freedoms and the quality of healthcare and housing, but apparently, these means of measuring are "baseless" to you, so why don't you tell me what means of measuring you used to conclude that ML states are better than Nordic states
@graythehue @Cowbee @salty_chief
Illegal streaming: police take action against providers from Germany
cross-posted from: sopuli.xyz/post/30655452
Archived (archive.org)
Illegal streaming: police take action against providers from Germany
The criminal investigation department has busted an illegal streaming service – not the first this year. Customers must expect legal proceedings.Marc Hankmann (heise online)
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Yeah, I don't care if you're seeding the entirety of film history for free. If you're also helping distribute child pornography, you deserve to rot.
I do wonder if this is a usenet case though. I know that's a concern for a lot of people.
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It could be a case of intentional word play but the wording of the article makes it seem like it's more than just usenet. Specifically the line: "inciting serious sexual abuse of children via a messenger service and producing child pornography content"
It doesn't read as though it's simply CSAM traffic through his network and if that were the case, I'd imagine the other 2 would be looking at similar charges, but news media notoriously bad a properly representing tech so that's what gives me caution.
Heise is a German specifically tech news outlet, so they are generally quite good with facts about tech.
These arrests are targeted at an illegal IPTV provider which restreams channels from licensed TV providers (Sky, DAZN, RTL+). These illegal IPTV services usually also provide on-demand content like Netflix shows, movies etc.
The CSAM incident is definitely an additional charge for a single individual and not part of the prior investigation about an illegal IPTV service which provides customers with otherwise legal TV.
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What a sloppy way to write this article. Header text to indicate CSAM then just naming people liberating netflix. Does german netflix stream CSAM? Or is this news outlet just kind of implying these people are sex criminals for fun?
On a different note, would love to hear from/about the 15 out of 18 people who were searched in Feb and apparently got away. Either being targeted for harassment by authorities, huge false positive fuckups, or have amazing opsec.
then just naming people liberating netflix.The arrest warrant for a 25-year-old from Hamburg has since been extended because he is now suspected of inciting serious sexual abuse of children via a messenger service and producing child pornography content, among other things.
Those are two very different things...
Fediverse, ActivityPub and the Ethics
Musing out loud some casaul philosophical reflection on fedi and tech ethics, related to this toot:
In our FOSS movement and the social impact movements that favor the fediverse we value a set of principles we think are essential to improve all the things that need fixing, in order to move to a better world.
Fediverse as no other other online space can be considered a "humane technology field lab". People care about the features of their app, and the impact it has on fedizens that use it. This focus on the human side, ethics, and externalities is highly laudible and much needed to become the norm everywhere. The only future of mankind is the one where we find equilibrium of our exploitation with what our planet can provide. Holistic sustainability.
But do we take all the externalities into account fairly? Or are we fooling ourselves that app-centric humane tech focus is enough. We aren't able to collaborate at scale in our grassroots environment, as Big Industry™ under hypercapitalism is able to do. Yet we do work in public and give all our innovation away, also to the bad actors. Is that responsible? Are we really creating "humane technology" then?
Are we able to control what we create, as we introduce it into society in real-time?
Will our work remains commons based, for the people by the people? Or won't we be able to avoid corporate capture of our tech followed by 'business as usual'? Maybe the way we work together now is the best we can muster. But who is pondering if that is the case, and looking into better ways to work ethical and responsible in large-scale grassroots commons that keep sustainable technology ecosystems afloat?
#Ethics-at-scale in #FOSS. Who cares?FOSS: "I made actor identity independent of DNS"
FOSS: "Nice! I bridged all the social web protocols"
FOSS: "And I made service development dead easy, intuitive and productive"
Fedizen: "This is so wonderful. What a cozy place we have"
Meta: "We agree! We embraced the technology and today announce free fediverse access for anyone. Our datacenters are primed and ready for a billion more fedizens. That's not all! With Service Mart you're in full control!"
Libanon är idag en av världens största producenter av hasch för den illegala marknaden. Största producenten är Marocko följt av Afghanistan. Andra stora producenter är Indien och Pakistan. Innan 1991 var odling av cannabis i praktiken tillåtet i Libanon men det förbjöds och stoppades då HIzbollah fick mer makt. Men nu när Hizbollahs makt har minskat kraftigt har en återlegalisering inletts.
blog.zaramis.se/2025/07/20/lib…
Libanon vill legalisera odling av cannabis - Svenssons Nyheter
Libanon vill legalisera odling av cannabis. Libanon är idag en av världens största producenter av hasch för den illegala marknaden.Anders_S (Svenssons Nyheter)
Polisen i Göteborg överdriver antalet gängkriminella. Eller så är det journalisterna på GP som inte begriper cylindermodellen. De personer som tillhör D-gruppen är inte att betrakta som gängkriminella. De är personer som befinner sig i riskzonen. Inte ens alla i C-gruppen kan sägas ingå i nåt kriminellt gäng. Dessutom ingår företagare som används av gängkriminella i A-gruppen. Dessa möjliggörare behöver inte heller ingå i nåt kriminellt nätverk.
We Deserve Better: A New Social Media Bill of Rights
I believe that the time has come for a new Social Media Bill of Digital Rights. Just as the original Bill of Rights protected individual freedoms from government overreach, we need fundamental protections for our digital communities from corporate control and surveillance capitalism.So what could such a Social Media Bill of Rights include?
- The right to privacy & security: The ability to communicate and organize without fear of surveillance or exploitation.
- The right to own and control your identity: People and their communities must own their digital identities, connections and data. And, as the owner of an account, you can exercise the right to be forgotten.
- The right to choose and understand algorithms (transparency): Choosing the algorithms that shape your interactions: no more black box systems optimizing for engagement at the expense of community well-being.
The right to community self-governance: Crucially, communities of users need the right to self govern, setting their own rules for behavior which are contextually relevant to their community. (Note: this does not preclude developer governance.)- The right to full portability – the right to exit: The freedom to port your community in its entirety, to another app without losing your connections and content.
ActivityPub is of course mentioned.
We Deserve Better: A New Social Media Bill of Rights
Earlier this year, I was a part of a CNN documentary, Twitter: Breaking the Bird, which gave me much pause for reflection about the state of social media and how we got here. This year alone weR…Techdirt
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37-year-old
36
male
Last time I checked
working
Yep
in tech or IT.
Ah, driving instructor. Cars are tech, though, right?
Close enough!
Oh nice, I'm bringing the average down
.............just
I came to lie down
Get on the couch don't make a sound
A modern car can have over a hundred different ECUs (electronic control units), all a little computer in itself, controlling the engine, brakes, seat heating and entertainment system etc.
If anything, you are working with MORE tech than a regular IT guy.
I know for some folks it's a barrier, but this always sounds weird to someone whose registration experience was "haha, funni name" ➡️ types in two fields and presses one button ➡️ fediverse citizen.
Edit: it is somewhat more complicated these days, in that there are now three fields and a captcha.
Wait, you mean you're all real???
Brb, I need to apologise to my dealer.
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I, too will be approaching 50 in a couple years...
And a couple years after that.
And a few more years after that.
And maybe several more afterwards, as well.
[Someone polled the ages before.]
(plush.city/@fluffy/11105381591…)
They also made this chart.
[Source](beesbuzz.biz/articles/5821-The…)
fluffy 💜 (@fluffy@plush.city)
#MastoAge extra sample: 95th percentile Select the category which best fits your date of birth! [ ] Born on or after January 1, 2000 [ ] Born before January 1, 2000✨Plush✨City 🏙
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I love you non techies. And am happy you are on Lemmy. A lot of you are probably techie but you just don’t do it for a job.
Today I have read comments from a driving instructor and a high school teacher.
The first sign of Reddit going to shit was around 2015 when a bunch of tweens (and then their soccer mom moms) started posting.
The soccer mom moms were first checking to make sure it was a safe site, since Anderson Cooper had recently at the time said it was a site for pedophiles. Then they liked the site more than the kids and started to become mods. And these communities were way bigger than their Facebook groups, and the mods had way more powerful buttons than on their Facebook group. And then sub banning became the preferred method of disagreement rather than downvoting (which was also originally not supposed to be used to express disagreement.) anyway I digress.
The soccer mom moms were first checking to make sure it was a safe site, since Anderson Cooper had recently at the time said it was a site for pedophiles.
I mean, it literally was at one point, considering that r/jailbait was massive.
I got a new knee brace today, took it for a test walk with the dog. Seemed fine. Knee didn't betray me, which was nice.
How you doin'?
Thanos values balance over all things. So if someone adds one, Thanos subtracts one.
It's a cheeky character related comment to a general character/fanboy comment.
One of the more disappointing things about growing up was when I realized that "adult" is an illusion and that all the adults I had looked up to as a kid, were pretty much just big babies doing their best in life while often not really knowing what the fuck they were doing. Cobble that with unresolved issues from childhood that has manifested in stunted growth in different areas and there you go.
We are all kids. The only thing that changes except out bodies, is that we gradually learn to deal with the challenges life throws at us so what is insane at 20 is not so insane at 30 and what is difficult at 30 is not that hard at 40 etc etc.
In some ways, it is a relief to know that there is no end stage. You are a kid for life and you learn for life.
Then there are topics I refuse to discuss with people because I fall into black and white thinking and I don't want to put that out into the world. We should definitely hold ourselves to a higher standard, but most of us are emotional beings about something and whatever that something is, will result in very silly behavior if we get in our feelings too much.
The number of instances and users I have decided to block for this very reason is probably higher than on any other platform I have ever been on. Sometimes it's because I find them to be the childish ones and other times it's because I feel like I would become the childish one if I engage further.
Lots of good pithy reflections there! Black and white thinking is my absolute top gripe about social media as well, and the reason most discussions just aren't worth participating in. Every issue is filtered into a simplistic comic book or meme frame where there are exactly two diametrically opposed sides, with cackling villains vs noble heroes or underdog victims. Stepping out of the frame to acknowledge real-world subtleties makes you an evil apologist.
I think a disproportionate amount of content comes from people who find social media so much more comfortable than communicating in person, they use it like lab rats wired up to an orgasm button. They're always partly engaging with the subject at hand and partly working out their own issues. Sifting through it all to stay on point (or even find one) can be a challenge.
Black and white thinking is my absolute top gripe about social media as well, and the reason most discussions just aren't worth participating in.
Mm, yeah. This is especially true when communicating between different ideologies, but even within them it can be hard to have a nuanced conversation—like the kind where you might not understand or agree with some point that many in your group don't appear to question.
Like when the TERF thing first started becoming a big deal, I was lucky to have actually feminist friends, trans and otherwise, to walk me through it and suggest some reading. (Not to go all into it, but at the time I was having trouble discriminating which feminist women I should listen to.)
Anyway, that's one of those non black and white convos, which are so hard to have with anyone but actual friends, face-to-face.
Some other things do change. The brain continues to mature into our 20s, and a lot of people 25+ can start to tell the mental difference between themselves and somebody in their late teens. I personally noticed that I had stronger impulse control after about 25. As well, some of the things that bothered me when younger don't bother me at all now.
Another change is, as you get older you may start to seek stability over excitement. For some people, they also become more rigid in their thoughts and beliefs, unable to keep up with new ideas, and the idea of changing becomes scary.
If I could give advice to young folk, I'd say to actively keep your mind open no matter what age you are. Actively seek to learn new concepts and skills throughout your life. Personally, I like to set at least one big goal to learn every year. Last year, I learned to label every country on a map. The year before that, I learned to solve a Rubix cube. One year I taught myself to read the katakana and hiragana scripts.
Pick something you've always wanted to learn, and keep going at it til you get there. Not only will it help keep your mind flexible, but you'll get to grow in ways that make you into a more interesting person than you were before.
Great advice for all ages.
Actually one thing I remember most from being young is older folks (30s to 60s) always giving me all kinds advice, and it did seem smart but also so not, like, meeting me where I was at, at that age (teens, twenties).
It's not until like my mid-thirties that I started to rediscover some of the advice I'd heard, and see it bear fruit.
Anyway, that's all to say that even if it seems like some kid is ignoring your sage advice, they might just have it on the back-burner until they're ready.
qbittorrent has a ton of unofficial search plugins wow
Unofficial search plugins
Search plugins for the search feature. Contribute to qbittorrent/search-plugins development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
like this
metaStatic and Arachnibot like this.
only torrent software I'd recommend
and not just for this reason but also because you can run it headless over a webUI ... self hosting is an addiction
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yessikg likes this.
like this
metaStatic likes this.
like this
metaStatic likes this.
I tried grabbing an episode of a show the day before it came out. Only rarbg had it up, and there was an obscure archive file inside it
Jackett can be run on any computer. It doesn't need a server or any serious hardware. It can probably be run on a $20 Pi. It's just allows you to interact with trackers via API calls.
I use Prowlarr via Docker now a days. It's provides a much better experience to interact with othe instances of ARRs.
Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Handheld/Docked Gaming, Battery Life, Display Comparison + More | Digital Foundry
- YouTube
Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.www.youtube.com
mindbleach
in reply to misk • • •QueenHawlSera
in reply to misk • • •Oh it's a TERF Activist group lying and claiming the games in question were CSAM despite Valve already have policies against depicting even fictional underage individuals in sexual situations.
And they apparently want to continue the crusade until ALL NSFW content is banned from Steam
AND they're campaigning to have NSFW content banned from Twitter
Fuck Collective Shout
Cyberflunk
in reply to misk • • •Collective Shout leadership:
'''
- name: Melinda Tankard Reist
role: Founder, Movement Director
public_socials:
- Twitter: @MelTankardReist
- Instagram: @collective.shout
public_email_address: Not publicly listed
role: Campaigns Manager
public_socials:
public_email_address: Not publicly listed
role: Campaigns Strategy
public_socials:
public_email_address: r******@collectiveshout.org
role: Campaigns Strategy
public_socials:
public_email_address: Not publicly listed
role: Movement Operations Manager
public_socials:
public_email_address: Not publicly listed
year: 2024
revenue: 458043
employee_expenses: 107000
other_expenses: 215488
net_surplus: 135555
employees:
total_fte: 2
full_time: 0
part_time: 1
casual: 4
volunteers: 15
donations_and_bequests: 389800
government_grants: 0
commercial_income: 0
expense_to_revenue_ratio: "70.4%"
average_expense_per_employee: 39400
'''