#than most things in the last decade

[shouldprobablybereading]

I think obi wan caring about padme and grieving her is so much more touching to me than anakin simply because it gives more depth to the characters

Everyone knows how much anakin and obi wan meant to each other. But showing that it isn’t just anakin that he lost, but everyone. The idea that padme deserves to be remembered and missed not only on behalf of what she meant to anakin, but for who she was and her impact on others as well

It hits harder, it makes you want to fill in all of these little holes of interaction that we never got to see. It shows that while anakin is at the center of if there was so much else that was lost. Deepens the tragedy of the entire situation

#now I’m just imagining them having a drink and talking shit about anakin #while padme makes snide comments about satine #people forget they where friends #in big part because of their mutual love for anakin #but they also literally met before he was even introduced #star wars #padme amidala #obi wan kenobi #kenobi spoilers #kenobi series #this is not a diss against anakin or his importance btw #they are the heart of the prequels #I’m just emotional over padme #you can tell a character is forgotten about when 3 lines that don’t even mention her by name do more for her legacy #than most things in the last decade

[louderfade]

what we need mental health services to offer is an anger room. where you can go to just scream and break things. like stock it with 20 bucks worth of cheap plates and let patients smash the shit out of them. howl and pound on the walls until they're relieved/satisfied. maybe THEN when my mind is cleared of negative electricity we can discuss the sources of the suffering. like when i did equine therapy (which is the only therapy that ever helped me) they leave you all alone with the horses for an hour and then at the end you verbally process for five minutes. when you're at peace and thinking clearly. smashing objects is a great way to achieve clarity of thought. i speak from years of experience. just ask the holes in my walls.

#i'm not going back to therapy until they offer a rage room treatment option #the last time i drank liquor i scared some children by sobbing in public and went to the ER only #to walk out before the mental health team arrived i am tired of mental health teams #then there's shit like betterhelp shoving ads in your face and betterhelp might be the most evil thing to come out #of the last decade preying on desperate vulnerable people is so gross it's like when the cops cut holes in the tents of #the homeless like what is actually wrong with you people are you even human or did the modern world kill the #soul-like lifeforce deep inside you what happens in your head when you fall asleep at night i swear too many people #have been gutted of their humanity and are just zombies following orders they are so dangerous they keep us all sick #on campus someone wrote 'it's ok to be angry' on a public wall with a sharpie and i love this stranger bc #it's more than ok. it makes sense. rage is the proper response to the current reality. #rage and substance abuse

[ryanxross]

i dont use this word lightly but my roommate is the biggest narcissist ive ever fucking met and that is fucking saying something

#shes MAD at me that im sick because i guess im not paying her enough fucking attention since im on ordered bed rest. #like are you fucking kidding me #and then shes gaslighting and manipulating me into feeling bad about it because i was like ‘i am on medical orders to stay in bed and not #talk what do you want from me’ #and her response? ‘well i wish you wouldve told me! were friends i wish you would tell me things!’ #and literally the only words I’ve exchanged with her in the psy week have been her asking if somethings wrong and me telling her i dont feel #well and her being like oh what is it and me saying its my lungs being shitty again #like i have said that to her so many fucking times #and shes STILL upset that im not giving her attention and acting like i owe it to her?????? #im not your fucking mom or your babysitter!!!!!! #you are 33 and nearly a decade fucking older than me. act like it for fucks sake #like literally just fuck all the way off #personal #its also like i dont owe you information about my provate medical problems??? #what finally prompted me to message her was he going in the most bitchy fucking voice #‘well if you dont feel well then you need to call a doctor And not just stay in your room’ #like a voice CLEARLY fucking implying she didnt believe i didnt feel well #so I finally was like i HAVE seen a doctor so fuck off #like this is the last thing i should be dealing with when i dont fucking feel well!!!! #and also SHES bwen sick and hacking up a fucking lung without covering her mouth #so YES ive been avoiding her too bc i dont want to get sick!!!! I literally cannot afford to get sick rn id end up in the hospital #and shes offended by that bc ‘its not covid i tested’ and its like okay thats freat but 1) i dont trust your ability to take a covid test #properly since you literally dont know how to do anything #and 2) i domt want whatever the fuck else you have???????? #its just all so fucking infuriating

[keeps-ache]

mm i Neeed to go the beach

#just me hi #wauhuhh ! #something about just drifting around in water that i am slightly scared of that really makes my brain whir happily lol :> #i am slightly scared of it for two major reasons: 1) fish. lord the fish why are they so scary 2) sometimes i think i'll drown and they jus #won't find the body. which is less rational than the fish so that's why fish is my number 1 fear at all times lmao #/i think out of all the animals on the planet i am the most scared of ordinary fish. not even the deep sea stuff hfbshv #cuz look they're so far down there you Have to assume they look funked. and also they prolly don't like human meat. so it's cool #but regular fish?? some of them eat birds. they eat birds dude. what would they do to me if they knew how to use harpoons?? #also they for SURE eat corpses so we loop back to fear no. 2 really just being fear no. 1 hbfhs #/see i'm not even that scared of the animals my parents are determined on exploding. like man if i get eaten that was prolly bound #to happen anyway. i Know how that goes. i know what mauling is lol #i am the only person in this house who will walk around outside on a moonless light w/ no flashlight because if i was sposed to be dead i #can guaranteE there are much better opportunities. funnier ones�� too #/just looked it up bobcats are SHY little guys. they are just shy babies. except for when they have rabies :) #shy rabies babies <3 #/anyway back to the fish. i don't like how there are some that specifically like to eat human skin. mmm no i have never liked that ever not #one little bit. makes my skin crawl hghfsh #i don't care what it does or can do that is NOT cool lil dude ;w; #/hang on i'm googling 'weirdest things fish eat' because i want to scare myself i guess hbfhvbsf :'3 #they're only showing me weird fish!!! no !! tell me about a fish that's living exclusively off of plastics!! or car tires !! come on !!! #these guys are just funky looking. and just Kinda funky looking. though this humphead guy is funny lol :) #he looks scary but with a charm that i can't deny #his forehead. and mouf. this guy is awesome #and of course he's endangered because the world is exploding. but it's so cool he exists :D #//anyway fish are scary. and miss humphead is Huge so goofiness aside he's also scary hhfbvs #also why do some of those motherfunkers swim close to shore and bite at you. those guys suck so bad #that's only happened to me so many times but enough for me to have a fear that has lasted for over half a decade lmao #//and anywho i'm running out of tag space lol :) #we're going ot the park!! i'm going to skate :DD !! #i wanna get good at my old stuff again hfsh - so bye! bye !! toodles !!!

[mintymusings]

One of my favorite genres of train is the home grown oddities made out of necessity like they are just funky fellas!

That one is literally just two cars smashed together!

Literally just swapped the wheels off of the bus

That one was a tender chassis with a boiler and salvaged cylinders!

Literally a rolling dumpster

You need to kill weeds? Use old tenders!

You need an engine? Take a steam powered truck and slap it on a wagon!

I will update this later with more funky fellas because they are just fun and I have a metric boat load of them to share

#steam locomotive #locomotive #fellas #funky fella #funne choo choo #anyways funne train #funky #steam engine #train #railroad #railway #these were just thrown together #and most of them just trucked along for decades! #it’s kinda crazy #also #it’s kinda funny #like these things often seem like they really shouldn’t last for more than 5 seconds before falling apart like a car in a cartoon #the type where the doors and wheels just plop off to the sides

[rogersstevie]

i absolutely get where that “all your fave fics were written by middle aged women” post is coming from wrt how women are treated in fandom as they age but like having followed a lot of the writers i was reading stories by back in the day ik for a fact that at the time most of my faves were written by ppl who were like 25 - 35 at the time lmao

#especially bc maybe not the original post but some of the comments were talking about older fandoms #and a lot of the things i like came into being in the last decade or so #also i do think people are in the habit of assuming only women write fanfiction which is not true #it might be MORE women than not who knows the demographics but like #idk i'm not assuming anything any which way about the things i read now bc most of the ones i used to follow #left fandom or got annoying to me #and now i find it's usually a mistake if i look at something on an author's blog or other account #like i was enjoying this one person's fics and they linked their youtube page and i saw the stupidest take for a video title #and i was like WELL YOU RUINED IT NOW #so it's best to just now know anything about these people for me #like god so many of the popular 1d writers back in like 2013 really got all high and mighty later on #so yeah idt i follow a single author i'm subscribed to on ao3 i just don't wanna see shitty opinions and ruin it #ANYWAY point is like yeah i get it but i think you could just say your faves are more likely to be written by adults #and even so like. y'all think teenagers can't do anything well which is weird and wrong but whatever

[strozzaprete]

not to be morbid on main but my life is so strange every day i'm fighting with my inner suicidal child trying to convince her to stay alive out of spite for our enemies

#this entire year ​i've been forced to relive past trauma -> which i'd been able to finally process but it doesn't involve just me #so basically i processed it but my family hasn't and they keep putting the blame on me for everything and guilting me for it #even though i was a literal child. in short the fact that i ''acted out'' by running away from abusive situations was and still is worse #than the actual abusive situations i was put in. as a child. #so like... i can forgive and understand and empathize with my past self at last (instead of feeling suicidal like i did for years) #but if nobody else in my close family circle does then i have to essentially stay strong and remind myself that they're wrong #point is that when i was 11-12 i would react to the emotional and physical abuse by basically putting myself in dangerous situations #and attempting suicide a couple of times lmao. staring at the train tracks every other day #because the fact that they beat me was NORMAL for me (my mom told me that i was 2 the first time my dad hit me) #and they were acting like i was (i quote) ''bipolar'' and mentally ill and acting out out of nowhere and i couldn't fully understand why #i was doing certain things at the time. so i put the entirety of the ''blame'' on myself. and later on my mom would make me feel guilty #about it for a decade to win arguments -> which almost every time start with her gaslighting me until i start crying and yelling so then she #can call me crazy. and she can make ME feel crazy so i won't take her accountable. so she avoids taking responsibility for her actions (past #and present). i finally realized this when i told her that one of the most traumatic events of my life was when she found some smoking #filters in my drawer (she used to go through my stuff all the time) that i was LITERALLY KEEPING FOR A FRIEND and she dragged me out on the #balcony by my hair and beat me. she would beat me in public places all the time to humiliate me. even my school friends remember this #and she said 1) ''it didn't happen'' and 2) ''i don't remember'' #so that's that. either i'm crazy and i fabricated the memory out of nowhere... or she's not taking responsibility for her actions. #and like... I KNOW it happened. but i'm very sensitive to gaslighting (as she does this all the time about other things as well) #and sometimes i literally have to hug myself and rock back and forth and essentially try to convince myself i'm not crazy #that's the situation i'm in rn :) cool #thank god the therapist moved my appointment to tomorrow because i'm about to implode or perhaps ask for money in advance to purchase drugs

[siena-sevenwits]

.

#Maybe 84 Charing Cross Road had too strong an effect on me. As I turn my head this way and that #trying to figure out what I shall do with myself when the semester is over and ties are cut with the school I've been teaching for this pas #decade #it occurs to me that I might go - hat in hand as it were - to the old bookseller who runs my favourite used bookstore of all time. #The shop has the most wonderfully curated selection. The first time I walked in there #having been used to the used book section in value village #I almost had my breath taken away #I have to be careful not to go there too often because I am weak for spending money on books #but every Christmas I go and buy a ton as presents and usually something for myself #and I ask the owner if I can start a stack on his counter while I shop and he is always happy and comments on my finds as I bring them #He is kind and conversational on those occasions #My mom once struck up a long conversation with him when we were there together #and learned how he has owned that shop forty years or so and does not have an assistant because he's always managed on his own #And last night as I tried to fall asleep I got ridiculously ahead of myself and imagined the possibilities of employment there in #the detail of a novel without much regard for the probable realities - the realities that he has given no sign of wanting to hire and #having gone so far without an assistant probably doesn't want one #that there would be sides to the job which would likely be dreary #and that as with any job there would be all kinds of difficulties #BUT I often need these romantic imaginings to spur me on to take any kind of action. So - this might be silly - but I am thinking of doing #things the old fashioned way - of going round to the shop rather than emailing him - and asking if there is any chance that there might #be opportunities for work. It will likely all come to nothing and I'll keep looking #but I'll at least make a memory of having tried.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

how to ruin jugdral characters and make them into shitty modern tropes: have two teenage girls cat fight over their romantic feelings for a grown ass man and make them aggressive rivals

#DCB Comments #we all knew they'd ruin jugdral as soon as they could but it still hurts to see #i knew they'd add in things that were never there and butcher the characters but... still painful #and ofc it's the females that suffer that treatment when they were actually good characters originally #but modern FE doesn't allow for that anymore alas. can't even say edelgard is free of it #bc she's obsessed and in love with byleth. not even a villain can escape that nonsense #fe12 is the last game i can think of that had decently written women (if boring but not... /this/) #and that was over a decade ago. siiiigh #like yeah lakche is in love with shanan but not as directly as this??? ever??? #she's actually very reserved about it and doesn't behave like a banshee abt it lol #lakche was one of the better female characters overall and ofc since she's one of the most popular #IS uses her as much as possible and puts their little romantic modern spin on her #like they can generally write men just fine but when it comes to women i swear they think all women just #think about nothing but romance and will fight each other over it. worst part might be that i saw this exact issue coming #another reason why i don't want a remake of these games: supports possibly existing #and ruining characters more than they have been already /just from heroes/ #i have a lot of feelings abt this lol i am watching my favorite game of many many years just be #basically ripped to shreds by modern fe bullshit. it's upsetting #and before anyone shouts ''kaga elitist!'' might i remind you that tellius did not have this problem either #hence modern fe and not post kaga fe. micaiah was arguably very bad with her romance for her ''he's my brother!'' love interest #but from memory she was the only rly bad example from tellius #and let's NOT forget that gaiden got a remake and what did they do? #created a brand new female character whose only purpose for existing was to be madly and obsessively in love with a man #like thanks i hate it IS get your nasty modern inability to write women out of jugdral bc i bite and munch #DCB Heroes Stuff

[havesomeballs]

Roger Federer as Religious Experience by David Foster Wallace, 2006

#roger federer #david foster wallace #the number of times i have re-read this over the last decade… #lbr more than a decade #still feels like the most relevant thing ever written about him #roger federer as religious experience #in a fleeting mortal way reconciled

[mycological-mariner]

I’m so mad I just watched the first episode of Hornblower. Only now! After finishing my dissertation! When my dissertation topic was literally the portrayal of epilepsy in film and television

#I’m FUMING #the guy who got cut loose? I think he’s dead (better fucking not be btw but he’s got exposure and dehydration to deal with + a head injury) #that’s a seizure! those were seizures! #and it’s implied he gets them fairly regularly???? #I know what a seizure looks and sounds like THAT was a seizure #I’m so mad. the show NEVER came up when I was looking for seizures on screen (in fiction) #I’m so mad because A- that could have added SO SO much to my paper! epilepsy/seizures in a historical WAR drama?!?? #and it’s NOT the main focus???? #and B- I missed the valid opportunity to watch the show lol #also C - it was a surprisingly GOOD portrayal! like holy fuck?? #I have had to sift through DECADES of film and TV representations of epilepsy/seizures #and most of it is. it’s really bad. they get so much wrong or just straight up dehumanise the character #I’ve seen a lot and there’s soooo many details that are just WRONG. #and yeah were both seizures scenes in Hornblower perfect? nah but they were clearly better than other ones #for example YOU DONT HIT SOMEONE ON THE HEAD WITH A TILLER HANDLE WHEN HES SEIZING #so if he didn’t die from THAT then it’s definitely starvation/exposure #holy shit actually thinking about it that character has got to wake up in a horror story #last thing he’ll remember is being on the launch boat with the crew and the NEXT is waking up in THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN ALONE #that’s scary #I’ve had so many seizures and tha. #that’s scary. even if you’re not loved from where it began it’s TERRIFYING #there was so much there I could have talked about!!!! FUCK #in other news I just started the Hornblower tv show #god I’m so stressed out lol he better not die #(he will I’m sorry but I’ve seen enough epilepsy on tv to KNOW he dies. bury your epileptics lmao) #fucking. hell! #wanna know WHY I watched it AFTER I submitted the diss?? I was saving it as a treat to celebrate submitting the diss with #I was purposely NOT watching the show because I wanted to finish my paper first lmao #FUUUCK #anyways

[skxrbrand]

300+ hours in Warhammer (600+ total between all 3 games), and 80% of that time is just me ogling the models

#*holds up skarbrand* i just think hes neat :3c #morning ya'll! #anyway i had a real tough talk with myself last night and some things are gonna change #not necessarily here but irl #basically most of my health issues can be traced to having a trash sleep schedule. as far as i can remember its been this way for a decade #there was a post a while back. it read something like 'the reason we stay up all night is because we have obligations all day' #which i think is true. i run myself ragged trying to meet peoples expectations of me particularly where they concern academics #well. its about time i start putting myself first. ive dropped most of my classes which will make my maternal side family upset im sure #but the way i see it: i'd rather pass with flying colors later than barely scrape by or even fail because my mental health is in shambles #and when you're a gifted kid like me doing poor academically REALLY sucks because it fucks with your self concept and esteem #I've been in college for almost a decade on and off. It's unusual #but so are my circumstances. idk i guess ive just gotta learn to be kinder to myself #having a mortgage at 26 while your mom and dads side of the family feud with each other and neither of them understand you definitely sucks #lmao thanks for coming to my ted talk

[terpia]

.

#tw torture #I wish fantasy books (although obviously the problem is far from being limited to just them) #especially ones written within the last decade #would stop feeding into this narrative that torture as a method of interrogation is effective #it is not #beyond it being fucking evil #the data we have shows that it's not and that most of the information gathered through torture is unreliable/false #and although obviously fiction is not a moral code of conduct and has no responsibility to be an accurate representation of reality #the thought of even one person (and it is more than just one person) #buying into this widespread depiction of torture as a necessary evil #and that colouring their views of the real attrocities being committed by real governmental organisations such as CIA #makes me sick to my stomach #i'm still enjoying p*ppy war despite this #(censored so that this post doesn't show up in the tag) #i don't have a problem with fiction showing protagonists doing evil shit #this clearly adds to the depiction of war/violence as a corrupting force #it's just the amount of times things like torture are depicted as being effective or even justified that makes me want to scream #personal

[myownprivatcidaho]

oughhh . uhm

#oughhhh ok im just gonna say this bc theres not lots of activity in my notes rn so im ASSUMING lots of ppl are asleep #given most are in the states rn but idk #so ive had like stupid bad ocd symptoms and tendencies for YEARS now yk like theyve been dictating my life to an overwhelming extent #for the the greater part of a decade now #and so i brought this up w my psych last time i saw her and shes setting me on lexapro #this will be my second or third time being on it and its and ssri right #so it treats serotonin #currently im on wellbutrin which treats dopamine and its great and ive been on this dosage + lamictal for over 3 years now #so. since the dosage is low the withdrawal hopefully wont be too bad but. like thats not what im worried about #and im gonna say like. right bow #ask to tag. #thing is wellbutrin KILLS my appetite like a motherfucker and ive said it before on here one day i need to just admit to myself that #i. have ed ..... Tendencies #lol #but yeah uhhhh. so its off and on but generally i dont eat as much on wellbutrin as i have on other meds esp on ssris #and as a result like. ive lost weight and look different yk #and now like. im worried because im gonna be switching back onto an ssri and iirc this one had me weighing like 15 more than i do now #and on TOP of that im gonna move out so ill be handling my own food. so i wont be in the house i was malnourished in growing up #and all my other siblings had a hard time adjusting too moving out since they had so many OPTIONS to just eat to a satisfactory extent #rather than going hungry and. moderation is Not my biggest virtue #so ill have an increased appetite AND nothing to stop me from fulfilling it ... #jesus man #im sorry i know this isnt healthy and tbc im NOT at all aining to encourage eds. ive dealt with these. Tendencies for years and i know #its bad #im just. saying words here yk #but idk maybe this medication will also keep my appetite down idk #idk #sia vents #ed mention // #sorry man lmk if theres anything else i need to tag. im not saying any of this like its good or glamorous im just. worrying about here

[reasonsforhope]

No paywall version here.

"Two and a half years ago, when I was asked to help write the most authoritative report on climate change in the United States, I hesitated...

In the end, I said yes, but reluctantly. Frankly, I was sick of admonishing people about how bad things could get. Scientists have raised the alarm over and over again, and still the temperature rises. Extreme events like heat waves, floods and droughts are becoming more severe and frequent, exactly as we predicted they would. We were proved right. It didn’t seem to matter.

Our report, which was released on Tuesday, contains more dire warnings. There are plenty of new reasons for despair. Thanks to recent scientific advances, we can now link climate change to specific extreme weather disasters, and we have a better understanding of how the feedback loops in the climate system can make warming even worse. We can also now more confidently forecast catastrophic outcomes if global emissions continue on their current trajectory.

But to me, the most surprising new finding in the Fifth National Climate Assessment is this: There has been genuine progress, too.

I’m used to mind-boggling numbers, and there are many of them in this report. Human beings have put about 1.6 trillion tons of carbon in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution — more than the weight of every living thing on Earth combined. But as we wrote the report, I learned other, even more mind-boggling numbers. In the last decade, the cost of wind energy has declined by 70 percent and solar has declined 90 percent. Renewables now make up 80 percent of new electricity generation capacity. Our country’s greenhouse gas emissions are falling, even as our G.D.P. and population grow.

In the report, we were tasked with projecting future climate change. We showed what the United States would look like if the world warms by 2 degrees Celsius. It wasn’t a pretty picture: more heat waves, more uncomfortably hot nights, more downpours, more droughts. If greenhouse emissions continue to rise, we could reach that point in the next couple of decades. If they fall a little, maybe we can stave it off until the middle of the century. But our findings also offered a glimmer of hope: If emissions fall dramatically, as the report suggested they could, we may never reach 2 degrees Celsius at all.

For the first time in my career, I felt something strange: optimism.

And that simple realization was enough to convince me that releasing yet another climate report was worthwhile.

Something has changed in the United States, and not just the climate. State, local and tribal governments all around the country have begun to take action. Some politicians now actually campaign on climate change, instead of ignoring or lying about it. Congress passed federal climate legislation — something I’d long regarded as impossible — in 2022 as we turned in the first draft.

[Note: She's talking about the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Act, which despite the names were the two biggest climate packages passed in US history. And their passage in mid 2022 was a big turning point: that's when, for the first time in decades, a lot of scientists started looking at the numbers - esp the ones that would come from the IRA's funding - and said "Wait, holy shit, we have an actual chance."]

And while the report stresses the urgency of limiting warming to prevent terrible risks, it has a new message, too: We can do this. We now know how to make the dramatic emissions cuts we’d need to limit warming, and it’s very possible to do this in a way that’s sustainable, healthy and fair.

The conversation has moved on, and the role of scientists has changed. We’re not just warning of danger anymore. We’re showing the way to safety.

I was wrong about those previous reports: They did matter, after all. While climate scientists were warning the world of disaster, a small army of scientists, engineers, policymakers and others were getting to work. These first responders have helped move us toward our climate goals. Our warnings did their job.

To limit global warming, we need many more people to get on board... We need to reach those who haven’t yet been moved by our warnings. I’m not talking about the fossil fuel industry here; nor do I particularly care about winning over the small but noisy group of committed climate deniers. But I believe we can reach the many people whose eyes glaze over when they hear yet another dire warning or see another report like the one we just published.

The reason is that now, we have a better story to tell. The evidence is clear: Responding to climate change will not only create a better world for our children and grandchildren, but it will also make the world better for us right now.

Eliminating the sources of greenhouse gas emissions will make our air and water cleaner, our economy stronger and our quality of life better. It could save hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives across the country through air quality benefits alone. Using land more wisely can both limit climate change and protect biodiversity. Climate change most strongly affects communities that get a raw deal in our society: people with low incomes, people of color, children and the elderly. And climate action can be an opportunity to redress legacies of racism, neglect and injustice.

I could still tell you scary stories about a future ravaged by climate change, and they’d be true, at least on the trajectory we’re currently on. But it’s also true that we have a once-in-human-history chance not only to prevent the worst effects but also to make the world better right now. It would be a shame to squander this opportunity. So I don’t just want to talk about the problems anymore. I want to talk about the solutions. Consider this your last warning from me."

-via New York Times. Opinion essay by leading climate scientist Kate Marvel. November 18, 2023.

#WE CAN DO THIS #I SO TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO THIS #WE CAN SAVE OURSELVES AND THE WORLD ALONG WITH US #climate crisis #united states #climate change #conservation #hope posting #sustainability #climate news #climate action #climate emergency #fossil fuels #global warming #environmentalism #climate hope #solarpunk #climate optimism #climate policy #earth #science #climate science #meteorology #extreme weather #renewable energy #solar power #wind power #renewables #carbon emissions #climate justice

[getvalentined]

An open letter to @staff

I already submitted this to Support under "Feedback," but I'm sharing it here too as I don't expect it to get a response, and I feel like putting in out in public may be more effective than sending it off into the void.

The recent post on the Staff blog about changing tumblr to an algorithmic feed features a large amount of misinformation that I feel staff needs to address, openly and honestly, with information on where this data was sourced at the very least.

Claim 1: Algorithms help small creators.

This is false, as algorithms are designed to push content that gets engagement in order to get it more engagement, thereby assuring that the popular remain popular and the small remain small except in instances of extreme luck.

This can already be seen on the tumblr radar, which is a combination of staff picks (usually the same half-dozen fandoms or niche special interests like Lego photography) which already have a ton of engagement, or posts that are getting enough engagement to hit the radar organically. Tumblr has an algorithm that runs like every other socmed algorithm on the planet, and it will decimate the reach of small creators just like every other platform before it.

Claim 2: Only a small portion of users utilize the chronological feed.

You can find a poll by user @darkwood-sleddog here that at the time of writing this, sits at over 40 THOUSAND responses showing that over 96 percent of them use the chronological feed*. Claiming otherwise isn't just a misstatement, it's a lie. You are lying to your core userbase and expecting them to accept it as fact. It's not just unethical, it's insulting to people who have been supporting your platform for over a decade.

Claim 3: Tumblr is not easy to use.

This is also 100% false and you ABSOLUTELY know it. Tumblr is EXTREMELY easy to use, the issue is that the documentation, the explanations of features, and often even the stability of the service is subpar. All of this would be very easy for staff to fix, if they would invest in the creation of walkthroughs and clear explanations of how various site features work, as well as finally fixing the search function. Your inability to explain how your service works should not result in completely ignoring the needs and wants of your core long-term userbase. The fact that you're more willing to invest in the very systems that have made every other form of social media so horrifically toxic than in trying to make it easier for people to use the service AS IT WORKS NOW and fixing the parts that don't work as well speaks volumes toward what tumblr staff actually cares about.

You will not get a paycheck if your platform becomes defunct, and the thing that makes it special right now is that it is the ONLY large-scale socmed platform on THE ENTIRE INTERNET with a true chronological feed and no aggressive algorithmic content serving. The recent post from staff indicates that you are going to kill that, and are insisting that it's what we want. It is not. I'd hazard to guess that most of the dev team knows it isn't what we want, but I assume the money people don't care. The user base isn't relevant, just how much money they can bring in.

The CEO stated he wanted this to remain as sort of the last bastion of the Old Internet, and yet here we are, watching you declare you intend to burn it to the ground.

You can do so much better than this.

Response to the Update

Under the cut for readability, because everything said above still applies.

I already said this in a reblog on the post itself, but I'm adding it to this one for easy access: people read it that way because that's what you said.

Staff considers the main feed as it exists to be "outdated," to the point that you literally used that word to describe it, and the main goals expressed in this announcement is to figure out what makes "high-quality content" and serve that to users moving forward.

People read it that way because that is what you said.

*The final results of the poll, after 24 hours:

136,635 votes breaks down thusly:

An algorithm based feed where I get "the best of tumblr." @ 1.3% (roughly 1,776 votes)

Chronological feed that only features blogs I follow. @ 95.2% (roughly 130,077 votes)

This doesn't affect me personally. @ 3.5% (roughly 4,782 votes)

#tumblr dot com #tumblr staff