#off my soapbox

[mama-qwerty]

I greatly dislike the term 'content creator'. It is a dehumanizing term, as though those of us who write or draw or animate or create music or whatever creative pursuit we happen to focus on are nothing more than faceless machines, whose only purpose is to constantly create nothing more than a THING to be consumed en masse, and, once consumed, forgotten until the next THING we create is released.

Yes, in posting THING to the internet, we do want people to read/view/listen to our creations. We want them to be liked, to be enjoyed, to be shared and reblogged (PLEASE REBLOG) and passed around to friends to like and enjoy and share and reblog.

But these are not THINGS created to an algorithm. These are works of love, of passion, of self-indulgent happiness that we want to show others. We LOVE when people interact with us, when they ask us about our ocs, gush over something we created, accuse us of inflicting horrible sadness or pain over our latest update. That's what we LIVE FOR.

We are NOT 'content creators'. We are writers. Artists. Musicians. Animators. Creative individuals who like to share our imagination and talent with the world. Please remember we're human and enjoy our creations with that mindset.

#off my soapbox

[kenzie-ann27]

a psa for everyone whose first experience of the last of us is the hbo series

#the last of us #the last of us hbo #and stop comparing him to hopper please #although i do dislike hopper he is meant to be a likable character #joel is not a good person guys #i understand you're not getting that impression yet but in the game he was never meant to be a good person #he was always written as an asshole #anyway #off my soapbox

[platinumaspiration]

not to get into the TS4 drama but having a Sikh family myself, it's a real shame people would whitewash one of the coolest sims ever.

In Punjab (and really all of India, in my experience) the gurdwara (temple) will feed everyone for free. Yes, literally everyone who comes is fed and given water. Volunteers help to cook and feed and clean. It doesn't stop at the doors of the gurdwara, either. Every Sikh I've met has been kind and generous. They will give you everything you need and then some. They love fully and treat you as one of their own. The history of the religion is just as impressive as their gurdwaras.

Like others have said, this whitewashing doesn't have to do with Raj's religion. This has to do with his turban and Kakars, his skin and overall appearance. I won't say anything negative towards those who have changed his identity because it doesn't serve any purpose and I don't have it in me. I will say please consider looking into the history of Sikhism and broaden your horizons a bit. Go to a gurdwara, if you can, and just enjoy the surrounding beauty and music. Don't be afraid of a turban, learn about it. Don't erase the Kakars, learn about them. Hopefully by doing so, you can see beyond skin color too.

#off my soapbox #i'm in a funk today #don't reblog #and don't be rude

[featuresofinterest]

god i hope the cpsc takes the shot. i think this would dramatically change their entire business model. amazon makes so much money by selling defective or mislabeled or just plain dangerous products and then faces little liability because this stuff is actually being sold by random third-party sellers that don't get vetted at all and can be hard to prosecute because they're in china or wherever. this is a big part of what makes amazon so powerful and it would be good for everyone if they were forced to bear more responsibility for the damages caused by the crap available on their website

#anyway. i'll get off my soapbox now

[meaningtotellyou]

BUT ANYWAY

#off my soapbox

[azuremist]

TME and TMA as intersexist terms: as written by an intersex transfem

I’ve had a few different people in my inbox asking me why I view these terms the way I do. In particular, why I claim it’s intersexist. So, I thought I’d lay out a few examples, so everyone can understand where I’m coming from.

Imagine an intersex woman. She was assigned female at birth by her doctors, and was able to go about her childhood as a woman with no inclination that anything was amiss. Sure, she didn’t experience certain parts of puberty, but puberty was different for everyone, right?

But, later in life, she learns she has Turner syndrome. This is an intersex condition where a woman has only one X chromosome, rather than the usual two.

Soon after she learns this, she finds that laws are being made to attempt to keep trans women out of women’s spaces (often specifically sports) which use chromosomes as a defining factor of womanhood.

Would this intersex person be considered “transmisogyny affected”? She has been raised as a cisgender woman with no problems regarding being ‘clocked’, but she is also a direct target of transmisogynistic laws. She lies in a gray area.

Now, let’s go to another intersex person. Imagine an intersex man with PAIS. AIS is an intersex condition where babies are born with testes and XY chromosomes, but their body is immune to or can’t respond to androgens (which includes testosterone). Intersex people with partial AIS (PAIS) often develop a vulva and clitoris during puberty.

This intersex person identifies as a man, and he was assigned male at birth. However, his body does not produce testosterone, and he went through a feminizing puberty. To the average eye, he appears to be a woman now because of this.

Would this intersex person be considered “transmisogyny affected?” He was assigned male at birth, and now appears to be a woman, much like many transfems. However, if many saw how he looks now, stating that he is a male, they would probably clock him as transmasc. He was raised as a boy until puberty, and then faced astrozcization from his peers when he began a puberty that feminized him. What he was facing was a form of intersexism where transmisogyny was playing a huge part. Does his childhood matter? Can one become TME over time, when they were TMA as a child? Again, he lies in a gray area, where the answer is not quite so simple.

What about the “opposite”, per se — an intersex woman who had a masculinizing puberty? She has aromatase deficiency, which means that many ‘male’ hormones (which would usually be converted to ‘female’ hormones) would remain unconverted. She identifies as a woman, and was identified as a female at birth and was raised, until puberty, as a female. But now, she would be clocked as a trans woman upon looking at her. What does that make her? Is it different from the previous example? How and why? This intersex person also lies in a gray area. How she should be described with these terms is not clear.

And keep in mind, these are all relatively simple examples. All of the examples I listed self-identify as cisgender. But there are intersex people who are trans in any direction you can imagine.

If that last example identified as a trans woman, because she is now clocked as one, would you be able to say she’s wrong for that? What about if she identified as transmasculine, because of her experience with puberty? What if she’s multigender, bigender or genderfluid, and says she’s both transmasc and transfem because of her complicated experiences? Would that make her a TMA transmasculine person? But I thought that transmascs were all TME? That’s how it’s so often framed, anyway.

The reason why these questions are so difficult to answer is because these terms were not made with intersex people in mind. Very real intersex transfems were pushed to the wayside in favor of centering the perisex view of transgenderism. Intersex people are nothing but an inconvenient little afterthought, annoying perisex people with their demand for “inclusion” and “consideration”. (As per usual.)

You cannot simply make a new gender binary and say, “No, really, this time everyone fits into these two categories! Forcing people to confine themselves to these two rigid labels which are shown as opposites, and as never interacting, will definitely include everyone this time!!” No matter what the contents of the new binary is, it’s not going to work, because sex and gender alike are too complicated for that. There will always be people in the gray area.

This isn’t even getting into the fact that these terms, for all intents and purposes, seem to have been popularized by and associated with the Baeddelism movement around 2017, which was essentially “Radical Feminism 2: We’re Trans Women, So It’s Fine!” This movement is known for chronic villainization of trans men and non-binary people who aren’t transfem. (They act like this with cis people too, but noticeably less so than they do with non-transfem trans people. How curious.) Think along the lines of how regular radfems treat all men (and who they deem to be men) as inherently morally disgusting scum who deserve to be attacked.

Methinks that maybe these terms aren’t the neutral, fact-based descriptors of oppression that many people nowadays tout them to be, considering that.

So, yeah. “Transmisogyny exempt” and “transmisogyny affected” as terms: not even once. Listen to intersex people, stop trying to make sex and gender into binaries, and for the love of God, stop drinking the queer seperationist koolaid!

#intersex #intersexism #lgbt #transgender #actually intersex #long post #azure does a thing #i’ll get off my soapbox now #btw if you’re gonna argue with me on whether or not it’s intersexist you’d Better be intersex #or so help me god i will (REDACTED BECAUSE TRANSFEMS CANT JOKINGLY THREATEN VIOLENCE APPARENTLY)

[fourraccoonsinacoat]

Not sure if this is a hot take or not, but I'm going to say it. Astarion is more than his trauma and he doesn't need to be treated with kid gloves.

I say this as someone who relates hard with his backstory, and as someone who has heaps of C-PTSD from years of abuse.

I love his soft moments and absolutely think he deserves to be with someone who makes him feel safe, physically and emotionally. But, I also love that he's an asshole, is flippant, is egotistical, is rash and that he is flawed. It makes him into a fully realized person.

A person who, rather than being fixed, needs someone who will accept him and be patient with him. A person who, rather than needing a protector, needs someone who will give him a safe space to figure shit out and make mistakes.

As someone who struggles with sexual trauma and body autonomy issues, the way the fandom treats his character sometimes really makes me cringe. People with sexual trauma are still allowed to want and enjoy sex, whether it's with a longterm partner or a one-night stand. That's okay, just as long as it's their decision and they feel safe. People with sexual trauma are also allowed to be hot, and people shouldn't be made to feel guilty for thinking so.

Unless someone is being a creep, I'm always flattered when I'm complimented on my looks. It makes me feel good about myself and I'm not ashamed of that.

People with trauma are allowed to be strong, capable, successful and powerful. They are not damsels in constant need of soothing and saving. They are also allowed to be flawed, ignorant, rude and capable of making really dumb decisions. I've made plenty.

They are also allowed to be motivated by more than just their trauma.

Let's not take Astarion's autonomy away once again by making him into this fragile little lamb who is in constant need of hugs and soothing.

Let him be a sassy asshole who is capable of protecting himself and the people he cares about. Let him be more than just a damsel in distress and actually listen to him when he says he wants his autonomy.

Autonomy also means being seen as something more than a fragile babygirl in constant need of protecting.

#thank you for coming to my ted talk #i'll get off my soapbox now #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur’s gate iii #baldur’s gate 3 #astarion #astarion bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion romance #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 spoilers #astarion x dark urge #astarion x tav #trigger words

[bluegiragi]

konig smiling because he is happy (: vs ghost n soap losing it a little bc augh he’s PRETTY….

konig tends to loosen up whenever he gets tipsy. it's a pleasant novelty for johnny and simon.

#looking for someone who'll look at me the way johnny and si look at him fr #also oh my god i cannot stop drawing simon with his mask off #his face is so satisfying to drawwww #askbox #anon #konig #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #soapbox

[fortheloveofexy]

it's a pet peeve of mine when ppl frame Andrew as hating Aaron and being needlessly cruel to him... bc while yes, their relationship is fractured and strained, Andrew genuinely cares about his brother and wants the best for him, he just doesn't know how to show that in a normal way.

like he might not know how to express it in a healthy manner but Andrew LOVES Aaron, like he truly just wants Aaron to be healthy and safe. It's like, his whole Thing. Aaron is one of the most important people in his life. Andrew wants him around. He'd do anything to protect him.

I guarantee Andrew wants to be emotionally close to Aaron too, he just doesn't have the tools to do that and the thought of letting someone in terrifies him. He also has no concept of what a healthy sibling relationship looks like, so he has no frame of reference to work from.

#i love bickering twinyards as much as the next guy but sometimes ppl write andrew has if he thinks aaron is a waste of space #and that just isn't true #andrew values his brother #he wouldn't insist on keeping aaron close if he didn't #when ppl do this is just so obvious to me that they're using andrew as a mouthpiece for their own dislike of aaron #and like ok yeah you're entitled to not like a character i guess #but it's just so wildly out of character to me for andrew to treat aaron like shit for no reason beyond Being Cruel #like yeah andrew can be mean when he's feeling defensive or trying to make a point #and yeah he can treat people like shit if he's got a reason to justify it like Keeping People Safe #but he's not needlessly cruel to the people closest to him without cause #like neil says #everything andrew does #he does For A Reason #even neil isn't needlessly mean to aaron tbh #like he doesn't like aaron much at certain points but if he picks a fight with aaron it's never without cause #and he's genuinely happy for aaron when things work out with katelyn in the end #and he wants aaron to have a relationship with andrew as well! like it's important to neil that the twins have a healthy bond!! #anyway im getting off my soapbox now this is just something i was thinking about today a Lot #aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court

[too-fond-to-be-fearful]

Been thinking recently about the goings-on with Duolingo & AI, and I do want to throw my two cents in, actually.

There are ways in which computers can help us with languages, certainly. They absolutely should not be the be-all and end-all, and particularly for any sort of professional work I am wholly in favour of actually employing qualified translators & interpreters, because there's a lot of important nuances to language and translation (e.g. context, ambiguity, implied meaning, authorial intent, target audience, etc.) that a computer generally does not handle well. But translation software has made casual communication across language barriers accessible to the average person, and that's something that is incredibly valuable to have, I think.

Duolingo, however, is not translation software. Duolingo's purpose is to teach languages. And I do not think you can be effectively taught a language by something that does not understand it itself; or rather, that does not go about comprehending and producing language in the way that a person would.

Whilst a language model might be able to use probability & statistics to put together an output that is grammatically correct and contextually appropriate, it lacks an understanding of why, beyond "statistically speaking, this element is likely to come next". There is no communicative intent behind the output it produces; its only goal is mimicking the input it has been trained on. And whilst that can produce some very natural-seeming output, it does not capture the reality of language use in the real world.

Because language is not just a set of probabilities - there are an infinite array of other factors at play. And we do not set out only to mimic what we have seen or heard; we intend to communicate with the wider world, using the tools we have available, and that might require deviating from the realm of the expected.

Often, the most probable output is not actually what you're likely to encounter in practice. Ungrammatical or contextually inappropriate utterances can be used for dramatic or humorous effect, for example; or nonstandard linguistic styles may be used to indicate one's relationship to the community those styles are associated with. Social and cultural context might be needed to understand a reference, or a linguistic feature might seem extraneous or confusing when removed from its original environment.

To put it briefly, even without knowing exactly how the human brain processes and produces language (which we certainly don't), it's readily apparent that boiling it down to a statistical model is entirely misrepresentative of the reality of language.

And thus a statistical model is unlikely to be able to comprehend and assist with many of the difficulties of learning a language.

A statistical model might identify that a learner misuses some vocabulary more often than others; what it may not notice is that the vocabulary in question are similar in form, or in their meaning in translation. It might register that you consistently struggle with a particular grammar form; but not identify that the root cause of the struggle is that a comparable grammatical structure in your native language is either radically different or nonexistent. It might note that you have trouble recalling a common saying, but not that you lack the cultural background needed to understand why it has that meaning. And so it can identify points of weakness; but it is incapable of addressing them effectively, because it does not understand how people think.

This is all without considering the consequences of only having a singular source of very formal, very rigid input to learn from, unable to account for linguistic variation due to social factors. Without considering the errors still apparent in the output of most language models, and the biases they are prone to reproducing. Without considering the source of their data, and the ethical considerations regarding where and how such a substantial sample was collected.

I understand that Duolingo wants to introduce more interactivity and adaptability to their courses (and, I suspect, to improve their bottom line). But I genuinely think that going about it in this way is more likely to hinder than to help, and wrongfully prioritises the convenience of AI over the quality and expertise that their existing translators and course designers bring.

#alright getting off my soapbox now #apologies if this is not particularly coherent - i was very much working through my thoughts as I was writing #but yeah tl;dr i am not huge on LLMs especially for language education and am deeply disappointed by the way things are trending #anyways if anyone knows any learning tools that are similarly structured i'd appreciate the recommendation #being able to easily do a little bit of study on a regular basis helped me a lot and i've yet to find anything similar #duolingo #language #language learning

[theeclecticrainbowwitch]

So, I really like Bacchus/Dionysus. I don't work with him or anything, I just like his queerness and feminist agenda. But there is something that has been annoying me... His staff is not a pine cone.

Here are some examples of said staff(held by him, some maenads, and his wife):

The staff is described as a pine cone with oak leaves around it, he is also said to be wearing an oak leaf crown.

Here's the thing, why would the god of wine and drunken parties have a pine cone with oak leaves?

The answer is that he wouldn't.

So what is this plant? You may ask, well as a gardener and plant enthusiast as well as a study of Greek art and myth, I give you:

HOPS!!!!!!!!!

This is literally what they make beer with, wheat and hops.... And Dionysus is the god of alcohol. So the reasonable assumption should be that this is the plant that he is holding!!!

But I can't find a single article about this! Not even any speculation!! Why!! It's driving me crazy so I thought I'd share it with you all.

(Now I can understand a little why no one has ever realized this, hops are like two inches long a piece so it is a giant hop, but he's a god!!! He could totally create giant hops!!)

#alright im done now #ill get off my soapbox #i just needed to get this out in to the world #Dionysus has nothing to do with pine cones #hes a god of alcohol!!! #witch community #witchcraft #witchblr #witches of tumblr #greek mythology #greek gods #dionysus #greek pantheon #hellenic polytheism

[mama-qwerty]

Okay, at the risk of being controversial, I have to address the discourse I'm seeing regarding the 'fat jokes' in the trailer description for the third movie. Because honestly, I really think it's being blown WAY out of proportion, mostly by people who are already on the fence/don't like the live action movies anyway.

First of all, we're hearing this third hand. Very few people have actually seen this footage, and what people are latching onto is the description of what happened that's floating around in Tumblr-land. We have no idea the connotation, or how it's actually being portrayed.

Secondly, one little line about Robotnik 'binging carbohydrates' (or whatever the actual line is) doesn't mean the whole film is going to be fatphobic and tossing out 'fat jokes' right and left. Claiming that Robotnik 'let himself go' refers more to his entire mindset, as I believe he's also let his hair and moustache grow long and unkempt as well. Dude's depressed, likely dealing with holdover injuries from his last battle with the boys, and is not all there in the sanity department. It's a fair line and doesn't necessarily have to mean "Wow, he got fat, what a loser."

Last, this line, as I understand it, was said by Robotnik himself. He and Stone are not exactly the pinnacle of sensitivity and understanding. So even if he/they say some things that may not be the most kind, consider the source. It's on par with their characters.

Honestly, I've seen so much shit being tossed around about 3 since this came out, and the announcement of Keanu as Shadow, it's really getting annoying. People seem to be ready to condemn the film before we even get a real trailer for it, and are making all sorts of connections and assumptions based on very flimsy 'evidence.'

How about we hold judgment until we have more to go on than some transcription of the very preliminary footage shown at Cinemacon? How about we wait to see if Keanu actually is the voice of Shadow? (The release of this information seemed so sudden and strange, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't true, especially since Keanu doesn't have social media to confirm or deny.)

I get that the movies aren't everyone's cup of tea. I respect that. But the low-grade panic and outrage I'm seeing because of these things is, in my humble opinion, misplaced. Let's not jump the gun and assume the worst based on a few things that may or may not be true, or may be taken out of context.

Everyone just calm the hell down, and we'll deal with things once we get more solid confirmation.

#off my soapbox #sonic 3

[melandrops]

whispers softly Come here. No, come closer. A bit closer. Perfect.

I know neoliberal is just code for dumb stupidhead if you're a leftist who doesn't read theory, but I need all of you to know that Adjudicator Shrue isn't a neoliberal.

Neoliberalism specifically advocates for deregulation, for a free market with very little government interference and for privatization of various (traditionally government owned/regulated) industries. It's often associated with trickle down economics is a largely conservative ideology.

Where does Shrue give any indication that they align with these principles? Shrue is anti-war, pro government, and a highly principled person that is not driven by money.

I'd say that in season two, during the reelection campaign, Shrue presents more as a liberal identity. They're concerned with optics, with PR and with making the right move in order to get reelected. However they also stand by their principles and remain relatively honest. They want progress, but the progress they're searching for is far from radical and they're not particularly fussed about how soon it happens.

By the time we first see them in season 3, it's clear the war has radicalized Shrue a bit. They're jaded, tired and they never wanted the war to begin with but now they have to contend with it along with all the other remaining pieces on the board. They're moving more left on the scale. They stand out among the crowd as an "alternative voice" but they aren't too different, they still largely adhere to the same beliefs about sacrifice and religion.

At the point in the series that I'm making this post (post episode 39), it's safe to say that Shrue has been fully radicalized by the exposure to the full evil that encapsulates their government. It's unclear what policies Shrue will take from here on out in public, but in private we know Shrue does not hold any of the same conservative beliefs that the other politicians do. They hate the corporatism, they hate the money talk, and they hate the manipulation and the lies. This is no neoliberal.

I'm not just saying all this to sound like a nerd or like I'm smart. Shrue's political beliefs have genuine impact on the choices they'll make in the future and on the narrative. It's important to understand the media you're engaging in and the full weight behind it. You might think Shrue is an idiot, but they're not a neoliberal.

#okay i'm stepping off my soapbox now #you know youre a political junkie when seeing the words neoliberal and shrue right next to each other sends you flying into essay mode #but seriously #stop calling them a neoliberal #tsv #the silt verses #adjudicator shrue

[endlydraws]

Lettuce family have a picnic ✨💖🐉

Inspiration taken from the painting “Holyday” by James Tissot

#fe3h #my art #fire emblem three houses #fe3h seteth #seteth #flayn #fe3h flayn #saint indech #saint macuil #Indech #macuil #nabateans #Fe3h Nabateans #I care a lot about these specific dragon people #Rhea is somewhere else taking a much needed chill pill probably #saint cichol #saint cethleann #digital painting #I’ll never be off my Seteth defense soapbox

[guildwuff2]

sorry it's late but i'm a night owl and i'm still thinkin' about the screenshots people have posted, like

...the fact that these people were wanting to use large language models to write their RP posts, or generate rps in general. it's genuinely kinda heartbreaking to think about, rp is a collaborative effort with multiple people to make really fun and personal stories in settings you enjoy with characters you relate to, or just a concept you want to explore. i've met so many amazing people that i talk to every day through rp, i've had friends i met through rp or rp platforms online that i've gone on to meet in person, multiple times in some cases.

what do you gain from rping with an LLM? all it's doing is predictive text. i want to connect with people, through characters connecting or characters in conflict, and grow as a creative! and, hell, grow as a person. the trajectories i've written characters in have gone in ways i've not expected before and it becomes an opportunity for introspection, and there's absolutely no way i'd ever get that from having a machine write the post for me.

writing is hard! art is hard! it takes years of practice, trial and error, mistakes, and taking inspiration from the media you love. the only answer is to connect with those artists and authors, connect with people in the same boat as you and want to improve as creators. using LLMs just takes the humanity out of the whole process.

#sayeth the wuff #ok stepping off my soapbox #the rping with llms thing was stewing #i can only speak for US culture but the degree of isolating individualism on display genuinely depresses me #community is SO important! we are social creatures! #ok i gotta go to bed good night

[waitineedaname]

"Amestris is an allegory for nazi Germany" you fool. Amestris is not an allegory for just nazi Germany -- it's an allegory for genocidal, fascist, militaristic governments as a whole. Yes, it has parallels to fascist Europe, but it also has parallels to xenophobic militaristic US and imperialist Japan. The point is not "look at this outlier of a country committing atrocities," the point is that the country committing atrocities might be your country and you might be complicit in it no matter how morally upstanding you might think you are. To act like only one government is capable of committing genocide blinds you to the potential that any other government might commit genocide too.

#fma #im writing this at 11pm bc i was thinking about it so hard i couldnt sleep #i havent seen 03 but the nazi germany thing bugs me and i think this is why #like yes the parallels to germany are VERY clear #but also the bit where ishvalan soldiers were being rounded up immediately reminded me of the japanese internment camps in the us #and the oppression of the ishvalans is at least somewhat inspired by the oppression of the ainu in japan #the point is that it's COMPLICATED #this series is basically You Are Not Immune To Propaganda #anyway. stepping off my soapbox now. #im putting this in my drafts and i'll give it another read tomorrow to see if i should post it #<- it's been almost a week now and I'm finally releasing this from my drafts #it's a hot take but I'm gonna say it anyway #fma posting