Hey just for the record, that post about temu is largely overblown, and the second screenshot (from usatoday) is talking about a different app altogether that is mentioned in the article. Temu is definitely dodgy in that it's a quality-unassured knockoff brand website, but as far as I can tell it's basically on par with Wish. I personally will never use it, and if I did it would be through the website not the app (and if that wasn't an option the app would have SO many permissions turned off) but I don't think it's a threat on the large scale.

I always appreciate some level headed reason in a convo, anon, but here's the thing: this shit is insidious and dangerous and getting worse all the time. Who cares if the violation of privacy, blatant theft, and disregard for personal rights and property isn't as bad as it could have been? Twenty years ago, half of what apps like Temu actually pull now would have had protest groups screaming in rage. Now, the response is...well, it's not that bad. No need to get worked up. At least it's vaguely convenient.

This is not a knock on you, anon, but this response is exactly the kind of response that app makers and ad agencies and corporations in general have spent years conditioning us to make. It's fine. It's all overblown. Look, that app over there is worse, and we're not them (yet).

This post is about considering the risks of certain apps on your phone, especially apps whose entire business design is based on knowing how, when, and what to sell you, always at all times,what they might be willing to do to get that information, and how willing you are to let them.

people being mean on these polls feels alot more mean than other polls wtf. i know people can get excited and i also do like playful joke fighting with tournament polls when im rooting for my faves but like everyone....remember the creators of these ocs are probably reading the tags... literally whats your problem....

if it's playful fighting in tags getting out of hand that's one issue and you are so right abt it

but if you specifically go into someone's inbox to tell them shit abt their blorbo... literally what the fuck

Guys I got a poll for you (courtesy of my mom)

Good news, fellow artists! Nightshade has finally been released by the UChicago team! If you aren't aware of what Nightshade is, it's a tool that helps poison AI datasets so that the model "sees" something different from what an image actually depicts. It's the same team that released Glaze, which helps protect art against style mimicry (aka those finetuned models that try to rip off a specific artist). As they show in their paper, even a hundred poisoned concepts make a huge difference.

(Reminder that glazing your art is more important than nighshading it, as they mention in their tweets above, so when you're uploading your art, try to glaze it at the very least.)

"The Don't Say Gay Law has been cut down to size in more ways than this.

- LGBTQ+ students and staff may now be protected by anti-bullying and anti-discrimination measures

- Libraries are free to restock LGBTQ+ books

- LGBTQ+ topics may be discussed freely

GO CRY IN A CORNER RON

Florida teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender ID under ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill settlement

idk what traumatized or mentally ill person needs to hear this but dreams (especially the really disturbing ones you dont want to talk about to anybody) arent some deep peek into your psyche or a sign of your True Desires or whatever theyre quite literally your brain making fruit salad with whatever it can find on the shelf. just putting all that shit in a blender and hitting obliterate. its fine, youre fine, youre not a weirdo for it

I could get over anything as long as I have something new to be obsessed with

i say i like tragedies and everyone’s all like ‘why do you like sad stories? are you depressed?’ and never ‘how was the catharsis? was the catharsis fun?’

sometimes you just have to let yourself be a bit neurodivergent.

i hate going out, it gives me a lot of anxiety and sensory input that i dont like, and i am often forced to talk to people.

so i do this thing on more difficult days, or sometimes just for fun, where i "bring a fictional character with me". i walk and imagine Fictional Character walking next to me. they talk to me, reassure me, hype me up, whatever i need them to do.

today dean winchester came christmas shopping with me. he went over the list with me of stuff i needed to get, told me i was doing a good job every time i finished in a certain shop, reminded me to take a deep breath when i got a little overwhelmed.

and yea. its kinda silly. and i know its just me talking to myself in a different voice, but it Works! especially since all of my special interests/hyperfixations tend to be tv/movie related.

so do what you gotta do to Get Shit Done. stop holding yourself to neurotypical standards. if you need Fictional Character to tell you you're doing a good job, do it! if you need Favourite Singer to walk you to school, do it! yea it might feel silly but you're literally fighting against your own brain to get stuff done every single day. you can have a little self indulgent daydream, as a treat.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this post changed my life. Seeing this as a terrified self hating 17 year old was like finding a fresh water lake in the middle of the Sahara.

Happy ASAW 2024, here's something about community !

the confetti for a not guilty verdict is actually the funniest fucking thing about ace attorney

it’s like they inherently know their system is fucked to the to the extent that they’ve got the celebration confetti at the ready when they don’t wrongfully incarcerate someone

edgeworth never lost a trial until he faced phoenix wright so the confetti goes off and he’s probably like what the fuck ppfthh pffth phhh that last bit is him spitting the confetti out of his mouth

this autism month, Say No to Autism Speaks, Say Yes to Autism FREAKS

horror is always like oh no they're possessed by a demon well what about possessed by an angel? angelic possession is also horror.