#...did the tagging system on mobile change again. wtf

[tisfan]

I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently; between the @bannedtogetherbingo2020 kerfluffle and the BLM protests 

(one thing that I’ve been doing recently that seems to annoy the living SHIT out of my fellow White People is correcting “riots” to “protests.” 

“Were you near the riots --” “I did not attend the protests, but I did donate to the medical fund for the man who was injured by removal of the statue on High Street.”

This seems to drive people absolutely batshit, and I will continue to do it. These are not riots and if they have similar characteristics with riots it’s because cops are treating everyone not even like criminals, but like hostile enemy forces.)

Mostly what I’ve been reading about is the difficulty that POC fans have in getting their voices heard in fandom. That the history of fandom is primarily the history of White Fandom. 

(this is long, so there’s more under the cut - I also tell stories A LOT so brace for personal experience asides)

I’ve been thinking about comments I’ve seen by black and brown fans about trying to get away from racist stories on A03. And trying to figure out if there’s a way to give people what they want -- a way to tag posts/topics/writers/ships on a permanent block list. I know I’ve spoken with several fans who have extensive filter scripts when they go looking for a new read and that shit is EXHAUSTING and doesn’t work necessarily on mobile devices.

I, for instance, have QUITE A LOT of stuff blacklisted on tumblr because I find P*nnyW*se the Creepy Teeth Demon to be horrific and I do not want him on my screen. And the movie’s name is IT for fuck’s sake. I can’t blacklist the word “It” and still expect to see any content at all. So, thinking about how much trouble I had keeping PWCTD off my screen gives me some sympathy to how hard it’s got to be to filter out something that people aren’t even tagging! 

I mean, honestly, most of the time that people tag a fic TW: racist, they already KNOW the character is acting in a racist manner and they’re condemning it. When people don’t realize the character is racist, or a word, or a trope is racist (mystical black character, for instance) they don’t tag it as racist because they either don’t know, are unconscious of their own bias, of they don’t care that it’s racist. 

In the same manner, Person A who’s writing fic they know is dub-con will tag it, and Person B who thinks stalking someone and climbing in their window at night is romantic will NOT tag the same scenes as dub-con.

Which doesn’t make it any less jarring when I suddenly run into a fic that I would absolutely count as noncon/dubcon that’s not tagged for it. The intentions of the author don’t matter TO ME at that moment, what matters to me is that I’m trying to breathe while the romantic interest on my eReader is saying “aw, that’s so sweet.”

So, there’s multiple questions that come up for me -- I’m not a computer person, so while the A03 code is available for use, I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I tried. 

Is there a way to tag something from the outside? An overlay or side program (like an Xkit for A03) that would allow people to permanently blacklist certain tags or authors, tropes, etc? I know there are some hosting sites (unfortunately with ads) that basically funnel stuff from A03 to a reader. There was a big kerfluffle about it at the beginning of the year because OMG, someone is making money off my fanfic! protip, no, they weren’t. they were making money off someone else’s desire for a custom skin. The material itself was never leaving A03, it wasn’t stored anywhere else. A03 does not currently have a phone app and they don’t plan to have a phone app.

So, would it be possible for someone to write a phone-app that did a custom filter for the material. Blacklists are certainly possible, right?

Because here’s the thing; a lot of people who are racist don’t know that they are. Or they don’t care that they are. I have personally had a couple of hard conversations about racism (I’m not even going to call it “unconscious racism” because I am a grown-ass adult capable of reading, so if I act in a racist manner, I’m going to fucking own it. And apologize for it. And try to do better.) in my own work -- whitewashing a character at one point, using a quote from a black woman as a title for a story about Wanda. I’m still not entirely convinced that a Jewish/Romani woman is “white” in any sort of traditional sense. That said, I’m not a POC and I’m going to listen to the person who’s upset because of my usage and not my own feeling of “I don’t really think Wanda counts as white.” This may be partially because WANDA is whitewashed as shit in the MCU and a lot of people in the fandom do not read comics.

That further said, I made the changes as requested and apologized for it in the work/notes. And felt very uncomfortable when some of my white friends said “I’m sorry you had to deal with that.” I’m not sorry I had to deal with it. I wish I hadn’t DONE it, but I am glad that people felt comfortable enough with me to call my on my bullshit and I was able to make corrections and amends.

Still-- All of this boils down to: People are not going to, in good faith, tag their own fic as “don’t read this, I am racist.”  

Everything that gets done on A03 -- which is an Archive -- is voluntary by the author. A03′s policies are pretty much “tag to warn” or “tag that you’re NOT tagging to warn.” The only action A03 takes for inappropriate tagging is to ask the author to update the Warning to match, or choose not to warn. If there’s no compliance, A03 will assign the fic “choose not to warn.” But that’s the extend of their policies.

We all know this history; no censorship. Censorship is a slope that leads to fanwork disappearing. Because here’s another fact: it doesn’t matter what the intention is of censoring a story; that censorship is going to be applied badly. 

So, if A03 was going to ban racist fic, how long do you think it would take before the reporting system was flooded? Even legit reports of racism are going to take a while to read through, judge, contact the author, wait for possibly updates or retractions, and then removal.

A03′s staff are volunteers, and I understand there aren’t very many of them. There are six MILLION works on A03. No one could hope to read them all with a careful enough eye to catch all instances of harmful texts.

And we all know what’s going to happen: it’s easier to delete all stories that get complaints, rather than read them.

So, Fan A gets Fan C’s fic taken down for racial stereotyping and Fan C tells all of her friends, who go on a crusade to report every single one of Fan Q’s fics in retaliation (not because Fan Q did anything “wrong” but because they happened to post a blog about racial stereotyping in fandom) And we’re right back to strikethru.

Yet, censorship is one of those things that makes me very, very nervous. Do I think a white boy who writes a self-insert rape fantasy novella about violating and murdering Zoe Quinn should be allowed a platform? No, I don’t. (And neither did Amazon, who took it down fairly quickly once it was brought to their attention. But that’s only one case, where there are probably thousands of books that are personal attacks and are left merrily alone.)

There are a lot of books on the banned book list. If people thought they could get away with it, those books would be unpublished, unpersoned, black bagged. 

We all know that the rules get applied badly, by the people with the biggest mouths and the loudest complaints. So banning content on A03 does not seem to be the solution.

(Personal story time again, just skip this if you want.)

I came into fandom backward; I was a traditionally published erotica / romance writer first and moved into fandom after the collapse of several small publishing houses for various scandals that I won’t bore you with but you can look here if you want more information. 

Several years ago, I was in an anthology that i was Very Proud of, and I really like the editor I worked with, wanted to work with her again. She sent me a premise for submission that left me cold. Which is to say, she wanted to publish cuckolding stories. 

[x] <-- warning, that link is REALLY harsh and filled with some real WTF moments, from someone who’s pointing out the racism inherent in the system.

Especially when you consider the Mandingo aspects of the fantasy, it’s easy to see why just the existence of it is repulsive.

I declined the invitation to participate because I was deeply uncomfortable with the subject matter. 

I’m not saying that to get praise for my behavior. 

Because when the subject came up again about two or three years ago in some fandom discourse, I sided with my friends who were defending “no censorship, no matter what.”

(End of personal aside.)

Despite my personal feelings about the issue (ew, this is icky and racist and horrible and I would never write it) I still believe that I don’t have the right to say what someone else can write, read, or enjoy.

I’m trying to find the path between “this sort of reading material is harmful and I don’t think it should have a platform,” “this should be heavily tagged to avoid upsetting people,” and “there are people who feel that way about gay, non-christian stories as well.” And what’s more, I’m trying to find it in a way that doesn’t stifle authors’ voices.

Even with my idea of an overlay, that’s putting the burden on the people most affected-- someone would have to rate stories as “racist” or “not racist” (and even then, it’s seldom that clear cut. Microaggressions abound.) and the people best capable of doing that would be readers of color. Which hardly seems productive. Or fair. 

“Don’t like; don’t read” is often the calling card of fandom writers. I’ve said it myself. That’s what the fucking back button is for. But when I say it, I mean “I don’t want to hear your wank about Tony Stark in my inbox” not “I don’t want to be called out for racism when I wrote a story.”

https://ggmadeit.com/blog/why-i-cant-just-knit-the-story-of-a-black-knitter-during-civil-unrest/ -- I’m including this link because this piece really made me think. I can’t ever put down being a woman. I can’t read or watch horribly misogynistic work without being upset, and I have trouble sitting in the room with my male friends who insist on watching it and want to say “it’s only a movie.”

Being black is part of someone’s life. It can’t be erased just because it’s not convenient. Just because it interrupts your good time. It shouldn’t be put aside because “it’s just a story.”

As fans, we have to do better.

We all know what it’s like to be pushed out, to be made second best, to be asked when we’re going to get a real hobby, when are you going to grow up, why did you spend money on that merch? So we need to reach further. 

I don’t have answers. And even if I did, I’m not the one who needs to give them. What I need to do is listen to the people who have answers and HELP THEM get what they need.

We need to do better. We need to BE better.

#writing #fandom #racism in fandom

[remotecontrolchuck]

Toonami Night Review: So Long GUNDAM IBO, Stay Gold.

Well last week was the finale of Gundam IBO, and man did it end in true Gundam fashion. Since having seen the first season back in 2016, we we’re introduced to new protagonists and characters that we grew to love and admire. Watch them endure hardships, conquer great obstacles, and come out on top in the end. And in this second season we got to see them do it again, except after going through it all, a lot of them didn’t make it out alive. And such is the lesson from most Gundam shows. There is no glory in war, only hell.

Now like every show that finishes its first run on the block, I like to send them off with a nice overall review of how they did, and this show is no exception. And while this might be a bit lengthy, especially considering this is Gundam we’re talking about, I’ll try to summarize this the best I can.

Right off from the bat, we begin with Tekkadan riding on high after having made a name for themselves after their epic battle against Gjallarhorn at Edmonton. Since then they’ve expanded, gaining new recruits, and defeating rival mercenary forces. But with their success, they also gained consequences. Keeping to their end of the bargain, Orga and Tekkadan aid McGillis in his plans to takeover Gjallarhorn, and with it comes new enemies. 

The new main antagonist being the head of Gjallarhorn’s Arianrhod Fleet and McGillis’s main rival, the pragmatic Rustal Elion, and under him his three subordinates. The ever loyal and determined Julietta Juris, the foolish and yet somehow charismatic among the troops (they must’ve been really stupid) Iok Kujan, and last but not least the mysterious masked ace in the hole Vidar (later revealed to be a still alive Gaelio who gets his revenge on McGillis). 

Of course Tekkadan’s adversaries weren’t just Gjallarhorn, but those working for them, such as the bearded mercenary working for Rustal, Galan Mossa, and the informant and rival to Naze, Jasley Donomikols. And on one occasion, another enemy arose that was to both Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn, the ancient mobile armor (and totally not Metal Gear Ray) Hashmal. And with these new foes, came epic battles and fights. And over time, each battle became more brutal and intense. 

In the beginning Tekkadan won some of them and came out on top, but they nonetheless took casualties and some losses. And as they began to lose the coming battles, their losses increased, and their bright future becoming bleaker. In the end Tekkadan would meet a bittersweet end, with many of its members managing to fake their deaths and keep on surviving. And while Orga, Mikazuki, Akihiro, and many of the protagonists and character didn’t make it out in the end, their sacrifices were not in vain and died fighting to the end. 

But funny enough, despite Tekkadan being brought down by Rustal and his forces, they were the victors in the end. Yep, despite how Orga and the rest of Tekkadan never became Kings of Mars, their conflict with Gjallarhorn caused the organization to reform completely. With many of the Ruling Families lost, as well a lot of troops and mobile suits, as well as the scandal involving Gjallarhorn becoming public, Rustal was forced to change the organization into a more democratic one in order for it to remain in power. 

That, and Gjallarhorn was forced to greatly downsize their Mars branch, leading to Martian Independence becoming reality, and the creation of the Martian Union. And in good faith, and probably to prevent another Tekkadan in the future, Rustal signs a pact with Kudelia, now Chairwoman of the Martian Union, to abolish the Human Debris system that created a lot of child soldiers. 

So yeah. In the end it sucks that Orga, Mika, and many of the protagonists died during this season, but even so they were nonetheless the victors in the end. They never realized their goal, but they certainly made Gjallarhorn pay dearly before going down, and created a better future in the process. Many of the surviving members of Tekkadan are now living happier lives (well except a now older Ride who’s on a revenge spree), and Kudelia and Atra are now a couple raising Mikazuki’s young son, Akatsuki.

Now that I could go on further about the plot in detail, but I don’t this review to be so incredibly lengthy, so I save it when I do a more in depth review in the future. Moving onto the other parts of Gundam IBO, as expected the animation was fantastic, and the music was very well done. But most of all, we had some pretty kick ass Gundams and Mobile Suits, as well as even more kick ass battles in both space and on the ground. 

Overall I recommend Gundam IBO to anyone interested in a good Gundam anime, as well one to those that are new to the franchise that will want a first hand experience of what to expect from a show like it. I give a 10/10, and I look forward to seeing another good Gundam show like it. And since there will be a new one that takes place shortly after Gundam Unicorn, I wouldn’t be surprised if that ends up on Toonami’s lineup in the future. But for now, I wish Gundam IBO a fond farewell, and to forever Stay Gold.

Whew. Okay, now that’s out of the way, onto how last week’s run went! And man oh man, did we have another night of feels and WTF moments! And since I don’t have a lot of time before tonight’s run of Toonami begins, this will also serves as the recap of last week’s shows. Alright, let’s begin! As always we started the night with a power hour of Dragon Ball, with Goku Black/Zamasu and other Zamasu becoming a problem for Goku and the others in DB Super, and Vegeta tagging in and getting his ass kicked by Buu while Goku charges up his final attack in DBZ Kai. We then had a blast as always with FLCL, Noata deals with suddenly having cat ears, as well as being forced into a leading role in a school play with the class president Ninamori, who has a crush on him. Oh, and as usual monsters, mayhem, and hilarity ensues. 

Moving on, we then enter Stardust Crusaders, as JoJo and the others encounter D’Arby, who knows the location of DIO’s lair. The only problem is that they have to beat him in a bet, and unfortunately the crafty gambler has outwitted both Polnareff and Old Man Joseph, winning the bets with elaborate cheating and turning the loser’s soul into a poker chip with his stand. Now it’s up to JoJo to beat him and save his friends, but beating D’Arby at his favorite game, Poker! After an intense session of gambling, we head into the finale of Gundam IBO, as we watch Tekkadan’s final battle, giving our final salutes to those that died valiantly and those that survived and got a happy ending.

After that feels fest, we went into Black Clover, and watched Asta defend Noelle and his friends from a bunch of magic knights that are a bunch of royal snooty assholes. We then moved onto Hunter x Hunter, where we watched Gon go an a date with Palm, which was awkward and nice, but mostly awkward for good reasons. But enough of that. We then head right on into a Five Kage Summit in Naruto Shippuden, before continuing on to more feels in Space Dandy. QT falls in love with a coffee maker, but becomes heartbroken in the end for the sake of love. And while sad, we did get a nice romantic montage with Daft Punk kind of music, as well as an awesome giant robot fight.

After all that, the feels train ends, and we finishes up the night with some monkey business with the Bebop Crew in Cowboy Bebop, and tensions and intrigue escalating in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.

And that’s about it for last week’s run of Toonami, and with time to spare before Toonami starts. Tonight, My Hero Academia will be making its debut on the block after a very long time, and a lot of watchers like myself can’t wait to see it. So until then, see ya later and Stay Gold!

#toonami #DBZ Kai #dragon ball super #FLCL #jojo's bizarre adventure #gundam ibo #hunter x hunter #Naruto Shippuden #space dandy #cowboy bebop #ghost in the shell: stand alone complex #black clover

[healybruce87-blog]

Subway Surfers-powered Subway Surfers hack In Brazil Does The Dual SIM Dancing.

In our third installment of Subway SurfersPIT's" WTF?!" App of the Week, we'll continue to reveal you some of the strangest, weirdest, as well as craziest apps that we manage to discover on the Subway Surfers Market (currently Kiloo Play. man I actually need to get used to saying that!) Believe me when I say that if you THINK you have seen some unusual applications, you ain't seen absolutely nothing yet! Next up: Bird Poop. Currently as foolish as it seems, this is in fact a quite amazing game! Telegram is an outstanding option to WhatsApp that you should attempt right away. The messenger has lots of concepts that are missing from various other messaging clients. It also provides the best compromise between security and availability. Thanks to sticker labels, robots and also several covert features, brand-new individuals will rapidly locate Telegram to be remarkably fun, as well as consequently most likely to uphold it. 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If so, exactly how did you deal with it? All that flashes is not gold. Sony might have provided the Xperia M5 the look of a Z series tool, but the framework is made from plastic, not steel, leaving the M5 feeling noticeably more affordable compared to the Z3+. The real estate is, however, dustproof and also entirely Subway Surfers keys hack -proof to IP65/ 68 qualification. A minute to record, but not a second to lose? You can begin the G2 electronic camera in two fast ways. If your display is lit: slide to the left from the main lock screen. If your display is off: simply press the rear-key button for 2 secs (to reduced volume) as well as the video camera application will certainly introduce. The Honor 6+ has so-called 'Active' dual SIM card slots. This means that you could establish the phone as much as only have an information connection on one SIM card, while accomplishing call with the other, or other intriguing combinations that can wind up conserving you cash. If you're abroad and also have a SIM card for that nation as well as your home country in the phone, the Honor 6 And also will automatically use the SIM card for that provided USA, saving you the hassle. It's a terrific suggestion, and we're expecting seeing it at work. For 99 bucks, you're obtaining a powerful quad core device that could be hacked, rooted, modded, and God knows exactly what else. Does that indicate most of individuals will do it? Most likely not. However also if the console would not be a hit, I'm entrusted a plaything that the Subway Surfers modding community will have a freakin area day with. At least, I will be able to play media as well as terrific games on my TELEVISION, as well as recognizing the power of the dev area, I 'd want to bet cash that they will produce ways that I can sync my tablet as well as phone to this device to make it even more fantastic. 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With Ice Cream Sandwich, we can see additional steps to optimize Subway Surfers for multiple cores as well as enhanced performance.

#Subway Surfers