#class formation

[mostlysignssomeportents]

To save the news, ban surveillance ads

Tonight (May 31) at 6:30PM, I’m at the MANCHESTER Waterstones with my novel Red Team Blues, hosted by Ian Forrester.

Tomorrow (Jun 1), I’m giving the Peter Kirstein Lecture for UCL Computer Science in LONDON.

Then it’s Edinburgh, London, and Berlin!

Big Tech steals from the news, but what it steals isn’t content — it steals money. That matters, because if we create pseudo-copyrights over the facts of the news, or headlines, or snippets to help news companies bargain with tech companies, we make the news partners with the tech companies, rather than watchdogs.

How does tech steal money from the news? Lots of ways! One important one: tech steals ad revenue. 51% of every ad dollar gets gobbled up by tech companies — primarily the cozy, collusive ad-tech duopoly of Google/Facebook (AKA Googbook). If we can shatter the market power of the concentrated ad-tech industry, news companies would go back to getting 80–90% of the ad revenue their reporting generated, which would pay for more reporting.

There’s lots to like about fixing ads. For one thing, a fair ad marketplace would benefit all news reporting, not just the largest news companies — which are dominated by private equity-backed chains and right-wing billionaires who have repeatedly shown that any additional revenues will go to pay shareholders, not more reporters. Fair ads would also provide an income for reporters who strike out on their own, covering local politics or specific beats, without making themselves sharecroppers for Big Media.

One way to fix ads would be to break up the ad-tech “stacks.” Googbook both operate impossibly conflicted ad-placement businesses in which they bargain with themselves on behalf of both advertisers and publishers, with the winners always being the tech companies. The AMERICA Act from Senator Mike Lee would force ad giants to divest themselves of business units that create conflicts of interest. It’s popular, bipartisan legislation — and I do mean bipartisan; its backers include Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz! I wrote about the AMERICA Act and the role it will play in saving news from tech for EFF’s Deeplinks Blog last week:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-shatter-ad-tech

This week, I’ve got a followup on Deeplinks about another important way to unrig the ad market: banning surveillance ads:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising

Even if we break up the ad-tech stacks, ads will still be bad for the news — and for the public. That’s because the dominant form of digital ads is “behavioral advertising” — the ad-tech sector’s polite euphemism for ads based on spying. You know these ads: you search for shoes and then every website you land on is plastered in shoe ads.

Surveillance ads require a massive, multi-billion-dollar surveillance dragnet, one that tracks you as you physically move through the world, and digitally, as you move through the web. Your apps, your phone and your browser are constantly gathering data on your activities to feed the ad-tech industry.

This data is incredibly dangerous. There’s so much of it, and it’s so loosely regulated, that every spy, cop, griefer, stalker, harasser, and identity thief can get it for pennies and use it however they see fit. The ad-tech industry poses a risk to protesters, to people seeking reproductive care, to union organizers, and to vulnerable people targeted by scammers.

Ad-tech maintains the laughable pretense that all this spying is consensual, because you clicked “I agree” on some garbage-novella of impenatrable legalese that no one — not even the ad-tech companies’ lawyers — has ever read from start to finish. But when people are given a real choice to opt out of digital spying, they do. Apple gave Ios users a one-click opt-out of in-app tracking and 96% of users clicked it (the other 4% must have been confused — or on Facebook’s payroll). The decision cost Facebook $10b in the first year. You love to see it:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/facebook-says-apple-ios-privacy-change-will-cost-10-billion-this-year.html

But here’s the real punchline: Apple blocked Facebook from spying on its customers, but Apple kept spying on them, just as invasively as Facebook had, in order to target them with Apple’s own ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

The thing that stops companies from spying on us isn’t the strength of their character, it’s the discipline imposed by regulation and competition — the fear that they’ll get fined more than they make from spying, and the fear that they’ll lose so much business from spying that they’ll end up in the red.

Which is why we need a legal ban on ads, not mere platitudes on billboards advertising companies’ “respect” for our privacy. The US is way overdue for a federal privacy law with a private right of action, which would let you and me sue the companies who violated it, even if no public prosecutor was willing to go to bat for us:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/01/you-should-have-right-sue-companies-violate-your-privacy

A privacy law that required companies to get your affirmative, enthusiastic, ongoing, specific, informed consent to gather and process your personal data would end surveillance ads forever. Despite the self-serving nonsense the ad-tech industry serves up about people “liking relevant ads,” no one wants to be spied on. 96% of Ios users don’t lie.

A ban on surveillance ads wouldn’t just serve the public, it would also save the news. The alternative to surveillance ads is context ads: ads based on what a reader is reading, rather than what that reader was doing. Context-based ad marketplaces ask, “What am I bid for this Pixel 6 user in Boise who is reading about banana farming?” instead of “What am I bid for this 22 year old man who recently searched for information about suicidal ideation and bankruptcy protection?”

Context ads perform a little worse than surveillance ads — by about 5%:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/29/taken-in-context/#creep-me-not

So presumably advertisers won’t pay as much for context ads as they do for behavioral targeting. But that doesn’t mean that the news will lose money. Because context ads favor publishers over ad-tech platforms — no publisher will ever know as much about internet users as spying ad-tech giants do, but no tech company will ever know as much about a publisher’s content as the publisher does.

Behavioral ad marketplaces have high barriers to entry, requiring troves of surveillance data on billions of internet users. They are naturally anticompetitive and able to command a much higher share of each ad dollar than a contextual ad service (which would have much more competiition) could.

On top of that: if behavioral advertising was limited to people who truly consented to it, 96% of users would never see an ad!

So contextual ads will show up for more users, and more of the money they generate will land in news publishers’ pockets. If context ads fetch less money per ad, the losses will be felt by ad-tech companies, not publishers.

Finally: publishers who join the fight against surveillance ads won’t be alone — they’ll be joining with a massive, popular movement against commercial surveillance. The news business is — and always has been — a niche subject, of burning interest to publishers, reporters, and a small minority of news junkies. The news on its own is a small fry in policy debates. But when it comes to killing surveillance ads, the news has a class alliance with the mass movement for privacy, and together, they’re a force to reckon with.

My article on killing surveillance ads is part three of an ongoing, five-part series for EFF on how we save the news from tech. The introduction, which sets out the whole series, is here:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

The final two parts will come out over the next two weeks, and then we’re going to publish the whole thing as a PDF that suitable for sharing. Watch this space!

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Manchester, Edinburgh, London, and Berlin!

[Image ID: EFF's banner for the save news series; the word 'NEWS' appears in pixelated, gothic script in the style of a newspaper masthead. Beneath it in four entwined circles are logos for breaking up ad-tech, ending surveillance ads, opening app stores, and end-to-end delivery. All the icons except for 'ending surveillance ads' are greyed out.]

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/31/context-ads/#class-formation

Image: EFF https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising

CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #class formation #ad-tech #context ads #news #gdpr #big tech #eff #monopoly #how to save the news #link taxes

[thats-why-i-gave-up-on-music]

the kohane fanclub (teammates)

in case my handwriting is hard to read:

[1] in classroom 2A

an: AKITOOO come onnn we're gonna be late...

akito calm down we're fine, jeez.

[2] walking through the halls in kamiyama

an: we should pick up toya on our way!

akito: we already do that every day.

an: from his classroom, idiot.

akito: well say that next time...

[3] at class 2B

an: TOYAAAAAAAAA

akito: hey, toya. let's go, we're going to be late.

toya: oh, okay.

mizuki: pfft

an: OFF TO MYAJO-!!

[4] at miyajo... class 2A

ichika: psst- kohane- outside the window... is that-

akito, toya, an, outside in the courtyard: kohaneeeeeeer

kohane, to herself: why are they here so early..?

based on this tweet!

#project sekai #prsk #pjsk fanart #project sekai colorful stage #pjsk #vbs #vivid bad squad #an shiraishi #kohane azusawa #akito shinonome #toya aoyagi #fixed the formatting bc i made this post on the tumblr app while i was in class #tumblr app is my worst enemy #kiibic

[arithmonym]

my first exposure to the locked tomb was an excellent wolf 359 fic set in its universe (Signal Decay by fathomfive), so i decided to write the reverse!

i hope to post the first chapter of Dominicus 359 within the next few days. here’s a little snippet:

#this project comes with the caveat that i’m an engineering major and i’m taking too many classes so updates will be slow but i’m excited!!! #honestly the biggest issue is deciding how to do the formatting!! there’s a script/screenplay workskin on ao3 but it’s janky on mobile #i might create a custom workskin of my own #the locked tomb #tlt #gideon nav #wolf 359 #w359 #dominicus 359 #m speaks

[yuu-kumeii]

Thinking about best friend and menace Suna who always finds a way to sit next to you in class, pushing your desks together so he can just look at your book and not get his own

The guy who hides your water bottle in hard to reach places just to see your reaction, he could hide it on top of the lockers, under the bleachers, inside the twin’s bag, somehow put it right outside the window, there are endless possibilities 

…You ended up forgetting about it during a field trip and Suna called the place back to ask if they can hold on to it while both of you try to get it back

Your best friend who twisted his ankle once and still went to school but couldn’t get up the stairs on his own so you laugh at him from the top before trying to help

The same guy who once tried to drink straight out of the water dispenser because he forgot his water bottle one day and decided there was no other option

“SUNA KEEP YOUR MOUTH AWAY FROM THE DISPENSER”

“But I’m thirsty”

“OTHER PEOPLE DRINK FROM THAT”

“But I need water”

“SUNA THERE WAS A MOSQUITO CHILD IN THERE JUST YESTERDAY”

“A new friend”

You had to restrain him because he kept running back to it, both of you on the floor from pushing each other so much that a teacher saw it and thought you were throwing hands at each other

Your best friend who can’t help but draw little immature doodles on your books with a straight face, always redrawing them whenever you dared to erase them

“Wow very mature of you Suna” You say with a deadpan, eyes following the pencil move along the corner of your textbook

“I know right?” 

Menace Suna who made a deez nutz joke you didn’t know and took the opportunity

“Do you like E girls or I ladies?”

“What’s I ladies?

You poor thing.

Best menace friend Suna, what’s not to like?

#「★ It's showtime! ★」 #「♠︎ Eureka! ♠︎」 #haikyuu fluff #suna rintaro x reader #haikyu x female reader #suna fluff #haikyu x reader #I have an important scholarship test today (technically) #Just some stuff that happens in my class #And my best friend you know who you are #Trying out different formats because I'm drabbleless #Idk if he's ooc if he is then you saw nothing #My class is chaos

[unreadpoppy]

Hi darling. Can I ask for soft Raphael? To help you a little I am giving you few prompts. You can use only one and if you are brave enough all of them :) *pearl necklace *bow - tie *swan

Hi anon, thanks for the request! I ended up only doing one of the prompts kkkk. This fic was very much inspired by @reallyhatethiswebsite fic, ‘Creature Comforts’ (go read it, it’s amazing!) and I took the concept of a Tav who’s a sex worker at Sharess Caress and Raphael’s favorite. Warning for the usage of the word “whore”. Hope you liked it!

…

Pearls - Raphael x Fem!Tav

…

That peacefulness was cut short when Tav felt someone shaking her awake. Still with her eyes closed, she turned around, ignoring whoever it was. Then, the sheets which she covered herself with were ripped off of her, prompting Tav to finally open her eyes, being met with Nym’s gray ones. Sitting on the bed, she asked “What do you want?”

The drow crossed her arms. “There’s a client waiting for you.”

Her eyes widened. “But it’s my day off! Can’t you attend to whoever it is?”

Nym shook her head. “He asked specifically for you. Mamzell tried to change his mind but he paid good coin.”

“Ugh.” Tav rolled her eyes, stretching her arms and putting her feet on the floor. Before getting up, she asked “Do you at least know who’s the bastard that ruined my sleep?”

The drow raised a brow. “Who else but that devil.” She smirked. “He seems quite smitten with you.” She teased as Tav quickly put on a simple, beige dress. “Considering how often he comes here, one might even say it’s love.”

Tav stood in front of the mirror, trying to make her hair look presentable. Her eyes met Nym’s in the mirror, and she raised one brow, skeptically. “He’s a devil. I doubt he even knows what love is.” She turned to look at the drow. “And if he was in love, he’d be a fool.”

“And what about you?” Nym asked, walking closer to Tav. “How do you feel about him?”

She contemplated her answer for a moment, gathering her thoughts. In truth, she quite liked him, as he was one of the few clients who treated her with respect. He would converse with her, long after her services were done, asking her about things beyond her work. He’d gift her with books and then discuss with her about it, complimenting Tav on her mind, saying ‘You are far more than just a body or a pretty face, dear. If none else can see to that, they are not worthy of your presence.’

It also helped that the devil was quite easy on the eye. Tav smiled. Maybe, if he wasn’t who he was and she didn’t have the work she had, there could be a chance to pursue those feelings, let them bloom.

Alas, Tav was still a whore and Raphael was still a devil, and so, she told Nym “He pays me well. That’s all I need to care about.” Grabbing a nearby shawl, she wrapped it around her shoulders, and left the room.

She remembered her mother’s words, uttered once when she was a child but that haunted her since.

There is no such a thing as love for people like us.

With that in mind, she made her way to the Devil’s Den, knocking on it twice before the doors were opened. Raphael stood in the middle of the room, hands behind his back, a smirk forming on his face as she walked in.

“My, my, finally you decide to arrive. Any longer and my feet would become rooted to the ground.”

Tav raised a brow, holding her shawl closer. “Well, it’s what you get for bothering me on my day off.”

“Ah yes, that. Mamzell tried to tell me off, but as you well know -“ He took a step towards her “I always get what I want. One way or another.”

Tav took in a deep breath. Raphael was close enough that she could smell his cologne - cherries with a hint of musk, overwhelming the smell of sulphur that fiends were known for. She looked at him, into his deep brown eyes, trying to take a read on him. He didn’t look like he was there for carnal pleasures, but Tav couldn’t tell his true intentions.

“And what do you want, Raphael? What was so important that you demanded I come see you?”

The devil smiled, taking a step back. “Do not worry, my appearance here is only momentary. In an instant, you shall be free to enjoy the rest of your day off.”

Tav huffed, crossing her arms, as Raphael walked around, giving a little speech.

“I have grown fond of you, you know? In my own way. And I kept thinking, how can I express my gratitude for all the time you have so graciously spent in my presence?”

With a flick of his wrist, a small, wooden, rectangular box appeared in his hand. Tav stepped closer, noticing carved inscriptions along the sides and on the lid, recognizing the language as infernal. She traced the words with her fingers, impressed by the fine work.

“Open it.” Raphael demanded in a soft tone. She did and inside, there was a pearl necklace.

“Raphael, I-“ Tav gasped at the sight, almost scared to touch it. The necklace seemed expensive, probably worth more than what Tav had ever earned.

“Do you like it?”

“I-it- it’s lovely.” ‘But I don’t think I should have it’ she finished the sentence in her mind. Tav had only ever seen the ladies of the Upper City wearing this sort of jewelry, doubting that a whore such as herself, who bedded devils, would be worthy of wearing it. However, she knew better than refuse such a gift. “Thank you.”

Raphael smiled. “I want to see it on you.” He grabbed the necklace, leaving the box on a nearby table. He moved behind Tav, his hands appearing in front of her, holding the adornment against her neck and clasping it on the back.

The pearls were snug against her neck and collarbone, not a tight fit but not too loose. She walked towards the pool, looking at her reflection.

“It’s beautiful.” Tav said, admiring the way the necklace looked on her.

Raphael appeared behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You’re beautiful.” He whispered, and Tav almost didn’t catch it. She felt his lips on her shoulder blade, and she could feel the blood rushing towards her cheeks.

Inhaling, Tav turned to look at him. “Thank you, again. It is a most precious gift.”

Raphael nodded. “I do not know when will we see each other again, as I have business to attend elsewhere and it might take long.” He sighed. “I hope you’ll see this token of my affection and remember me.”

“I will.” Tav moved forward and pressed a small kiss to his cheek, before walking towards the door.

Raphael smirked. “Tav.”

She turned to look at him. “Yes?”

“I want to see you wearing it when I return.” She smiled, nodded and Raphael snapped his fingers, leaving in a circle of smoke and fire.

Tav left the Devil’s Den, trying to contain a smile from forming on her face.

‘Maybe I’m the fool.’

#this fic was finished in the notes app while my teacher was explaining class #also sorry for the dog shit formatting again I’m posting this in college #raphael bg3 #Raphael x Tav #raphael baldur's gate 3 #raphael the cambion #baldur’s gate 3 #fem!tav #nym orlith #my writing #ask answered #baldur's gate 3 #fanfic #anon

[delladuck]

yay my hand slipped and i drew more from @justaboot’s fic

also bonus human donald and della screenshot redraw:

#ducktales #my art #bleg hopefully the comic is in an adequate enough format so it can be read somewhat smoothly #2am posting on a thursday <3 #idc about class i only care about ducktales

[iamjackstylerdurden]

ok but dennis’s hands shaking late at night while texting mac as johnny and he tells himself its bc the room is cold or hes stressed but its actually bc its getting more and more difficult to know where dennis ends and johnny begins. when johnnys texting mac all the things he loves about him but its really everything dennis loves about mac. and when mac texts all the things he loves about johnny its all the things he loves about dennis. because dennis made johnny just like him. he wants to be caught by mac because he cant catch himself. he knew from the start it wasnt sustainable. that wasnt the flaw in his plan, it was the climax

when he sees mac texted “gn ily” and for a second he prays mac sent it to his number and not johnnys. but he knows mac didnt bc mac already confessed and dennis said no. so macs trying to move on. when mac texts that and for a brief second dennis debates texting mac “i love u too” from his real number. he knows mac is in his bedroom. he wonders, if he did, how long it would be before he hears footsteps making their way to his door. what would be the first thing mac says as he makes eye contact with johnny for the first time

or when he sends mac to the motel and he sits outside of what he knows for a fact to be macs room. johnny texting excuses as to why hes not there while dennis is just feet away from the door. maybe once or twice he gets his hand on the handle before pulling back. the cold metal burning his skin like holy water hitting a demon (despite nothing about this being holy). sitting in his car in front of the window begging mac to look out the window. to see him. to recognize him. to make the first move bc dennis sure as hell cant

but he never texts “i love you” from his real number and mac never looks out the window and dennis never opens the door. so hes left there knowing exactly where mac is and a pretty good idea of what hes doing but never getting to be as happy as mac. bc mac is texting a fake man hes convinced hes going to have while dennis is texting the very real man hes convinced hes never going to have

always telling himself tomorrow. tomorrow he’ll go to macs bedroom or motel room and confess. lay out his soul and affection. but he can never make tomorrow happen. then mac has to go and tell everyone about johnny. and suddenly its real. mac is in schrodingers box and unknowingly blows it open and the universes collide. text mac and irl mac are one and dennis cant handle it so he doesnt get his grand confession. he gets his exasperated “i am him” but theres people around. he could maybe get his soul out in front of one person (one specific person) but not here at the bar in front of an audience (even if that audience is only one or two people)

so it ends. johnny doesnt exist (at least physically) and now mac knows. everyone pushes it behind them as some scheme abruptly ended as usual. no one pokes or prods at it too much bc why would they. so now that johnnys gone mac isnt tethered to anyone anymore and dennis has to sit through as mac uses his own system against him. so he has to make another elaborate private tactic because being another person is the closest dennis has ever got to being true to himself and mac. dear god he couldnt get anyones help with this because again, his soul only has room for one person. if he doesnt start something else this feeling with sit and sit and fester then die. he already has enough dead things inside of him and one more might start having consequences. he wonders if this is how mac felt all those years. if macs feelings festered and died. maybe he’ll never know

#iasip #macdennis #macden #wow this got a lot angstier than i expected #sorry abt formatting this is my brain throwing out words #mightve gotten too abstract idk i think i have adhd and just wrote whatever i thought #frank vs russia #frank vs russia changed my brain chemistry #help im doing character analysis outside of class #at least i stopped before i started making hannibal and succession references #stream of consciousness

[chaoticsorceress]

A wizard Tav convinced they just don't get love. Got heavily into studying magic because magic they could understand if they just studied it more. Romance? Yea that's something they've never had a grasp on. They've had crushes and tried in the past but it just never worked out. It always either ended in humiliation or heartbreak. Magic however was always there for them!

And then they pulled Gale out of a rock.

I've been relistening to the Mean Girls musical and Stupid With Love made me think of this scenario.

Gale: Do you have a magical artifact?

Tav being lovestruck: I would love to.

...

Tav: He's like someone from those romance books! He's like that guy who gives out roses to those women!

Lae'zel: Yes I get it. You've been talking about him incessantly. Prattling on and on.

Karlach: Oh don't be so sour over it. They're in love!

#i have brainrot for musicals AND bg3 AND gale so you get this lol #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #tav x gale #wizard!tav #wizard tav #bg3 tav #im starting to love all different classes of tavs with gale #also sorry if i formatted this weirdly #lae'zel #karlach

[villainihavedonethymotheronao3]

Obviously, DnD characters are wish fulfillment and lots of people don’t want to address the slow senescence of the vulnerable human form in their fun games. That being said, narratively, I do think that levels should probably fluctuate over the course of a lifetime. The level twenty world-saver is going not going to stay level twenty into their old age—that’s not how athletes and retirement work! Wisdom and Charisma casters maybe, but your STR/CON/DEX builds are going to soften with age. They might still be the spryest bastards in the old people tai chi group, but “terrifyingly in shape 70 year old” is not the same as “deadliest man on the planet”. Drop those old folks a few levels, give them some creaky bones and presbyopia. It’s good for them, promise.

#slamming a stick into the ground like the pope ‘MORE WIZARDS WITH MINOR COGNITIVE DECLINE’ #old washed up bards and barbarians who had to get a hip replaced #the only classes that are probably immune to it are druids and clerics #based solely on the power of very old gardeners and priests #they’re probably good until they start losing 3x oriented #but even monks I I think have the right to take an arrow to the knee #the other aspect of this is differing lifespans which mean that when parties do get back together for a reunion tour #there are incentives to keep them apace with their peers #and the format of dnd means that the only other time most people see their old characters is in little cameos when friends gm #and no one wants to nerf their friend’s baby #but with in the era of more experimental actual play and game design #I think we can move past these hang ups and give the people what they deserve #old rogues with arthritis who are still really good but won’t stop complaining about their glory days

[alexxuun]

TerraMyriad is basically a world I’ve been creating throughout the courses of this year. This is my boy, Triffid :)

#you will probably see more of him and this world stuff #I basically started this for a animation course and then it kind of expand to a visual narrative course which established the world building #and now i’m using it to make a game for my course as well #so just trying out a bunch of different format haha #oc #terramyriad #triffid #for class

[tracle0]

look upon ye mighty and despair

hey did you know I've never done a comic sans intro for any version of this story? That's insane

#prophet wip #prophet story #writing #am writing #writerblr #comic sans intro #comic sans powerpoint #I truly do not know how to introduce a story that isn't in this format haha? #here's this though! you've likely seen me post about theo or cain before cause I am in love with them both #they're almost as old as sonder is actually that's fucking wild??? #'s being slowly written which is very good and nice and I am happy about that yea #have this now. enjoy it now. munch it now. I have class in an hour

[fuckingwhateverdude]

@nosebleedclub // nov. #9

#formatting is making me angry but i cant fix her rn #im in class *gunshot sounds* #my writing #my writing tag #poetry #original poem #nosebleed club #nosebleedclub #spilled ink #anger #anger issues #dog motif

[okayto]

I'm in a reference class right now and I just get so irrationally angry about the requirements.

Like, obviously, the purpose of the class is to make sure all the theoretically-future (or sometimes current) librarians know how to actually look things up AND verify sources AND in a wide variety of subjects and topics. Yes, good, valuable, important.

BUT I hate it so much. I hate questions that sound like they came from an alien whose best human impression comes from old chatbots: "Who is Zora Neale Hurston? What is she known for? Does Sparkle Library have any of her books?" why are you asking the first two questions if you clearly know them enough to ask the third "What's this geologic feature I saw in town? What's its history? Where is it?" can I point you to Google Maps please "What is the meaning of the word fandom?" why am I required to find you four verified resources on a dictionary definition "Can you help me find articles about this topic" yes but our professor hasn't actually given us examples of how they'd 'verify' articles so IDK if this will work even though it's literally exactly how I'd do this in my actual library job where I provide reference services to college students.

#maybe it's that the prof wants things formatted in what feels like an unnatural way to me #like sorry if I cite Best Ref Websites 2003 to someone IRL I think that'd sound Dubious even if the site is still good 21 yrs later y'know? #I don't even know if I think there's a better way to teach this--I just hate the formality of it all #it feels so unnatural even though it's a valuable skill/knowledge #I'm currently signed up for the advanced reference class next and I think I'm gonna get my advisor to change my plan #because I will explode with another semester of this #library school #grad school #I am trying very hard not to assume I know things just because I already provide reference services #(especially since my job usually keeps to a fairly narrow type of reference) #but it's difficult when it feels like the alternative is 'Reference Provided by Exactly Zero Real Life People Ever'

[komashkathesilly]

have a cat

#im kinda fucked cause profs wanted a pack of 10 sketches like this for 8 mins max each #of ppl n pets last week #while we r studying in an online format🚶 like man i havent left house for 3 months n havent seen more than 2 ppl n 2 cats #n i thought ok. ill do it somehow whatever. didnt actually. n then the day of deadline #bro said he wants 40 sketches #i have now. 3 ☜☆☞ #but also we have a week left of online classes n then well have to umm go to the uni. n itll kill me. yeah🚶 #komashkart #n the rest of those sketches end up ugly as fuck or too detailed for the assignment. ripping the hair out of my bald head gritting teeth

[transsongtaewon]

do u have any gen sctir fic recs? ;0

I have tried my best for you, anon. While compiling these I realised I am maybe just a little into angst (so check the tags etc.). I'm only doing one fic per author so if you like any of these it may be worth checking their profile. Recs in no particular order:

cry aloud for your mistakes, but by fikatt, one-shot. Set during chapter 145 of the webnovel where Yoojin tries to cope with his dead brother and his living brother tries to help him. (1.1k words)

the ghost of you (will never leave me) by sorbus, one-shot. Yoojin has a skill that lets him exchange all memories of a person in return for a temporary buff. It goes about as well as you'd expect. (1.4k words)

Scorched Clothes and Wish Stones by kkomaism, one-shot. Yoohyun is just a little too late to save his brother but manages to get his hands on a wish stone. (970 words)

your shadows leaving by corvidaes, one-shot. Pre-regression Yoojin contemplating whether owning a winter coat is worth the consequences and also if he's, like, lovable and such. (2.2k words)

the mind remembers by armed_teddy_bear, one-shot. Yoojin feels pain from injuries he never had in this life which is deeply annoying a mildly concerning. (1.6k words)

Fics I've mentioned before:

This series is all unrelated gen sctir fics and they are all so good. If I have to pick one I would recommend try, try (just one more time) because it is finished and stw gets a smoothie thrown at him (I've mentioned this before.) It's an au where Yoojin's wish is slightly different and he gets stuck in a timeloop and it's bad for his mental health. Physical too, but that resets with the timeloop. (28k words)

snip snip by yersina is something I've also recommended before but in my defense I went a little insane over it when it was published. It's a one-shot about Yoojin working out his gender feelings by getting a hair cut and Yoohyun trying his best to be supportive of his sibling while being slightly awkward. Almost made me cry (in a good way). (1.3k words)

Also if you want something written by me, may I direct you toward Grown out of Bounds, a gender swap thing where time and change are shown through hair which has fluff in it! But watch out. (2k words)

If anyone else has a fic rec please tell me I also always need more!

#fic rec #sctir #the s ranks that i raised #the s classes that i raised #s classes that i raised #tsctir #I haven't kept up with the tag for the last little while because I was Unwell (no screens) and since then I've been procastinating #so no insanely recent recs but I think that's probably fine #I also didn't put anything with more than 1k kudos because I at least want to pretend I'm giving somewhat niche recs #also by the time I realised this would be almost exclusively one-shots I was already committed to my formatting #ask #anon #it speaks!

[remus-poopin]

Question for the brit’sh folks: I was thinking about hogwart houses and their value systems and about how JK shows her bias towards these value systems. She holds Gryffindor values in very high regard but seems to look down on Slytherin. One of her biggest issues seems to be that of the ambition trait. Ambition is almost always portrayed as a negative quality to the point that those who aren’t even in Slytherin with this trait are treated quite poorly by the narrative (Percy you deserve better).

I’ll admit right now that I don’t truly understand the class system in the UK. (I’ve found myself asking “wait what jobs do the Malfoys and Blacks even have? Where is this money coming from” And then I have to remind myself that they’re old money aristocrats types). I’ve made attempts to get it but I’m still a bit perplexed. So as an American reader some things in the series completely went over my head and I’ve had to have them be pointed out for me to even notice them (thank you Snape meta writers!).

As an American reader it is a little strange that ambition is held in such contempt in this series. The whole thing about America is to try to do better than your parents did, to move up in life, to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and achieve that American dream! So when you start analyzing the series with that perspective it is a bit puzzling.

So I guess my questions are: Is JKR’s aversion to ambition a “her problem” or is this a general view that the British class structure encourages. Or to put it a different way, does British society look down upon upwards economic mobility? And if so what are other ways this is reflected in the series?

For a more general question: Is the idea of the American dream in contrast with traditional British values? If so, what do these culture clashes look like?

(Also I’m not asking if you personally as a British citizen have a problem with ambition but more trying to understand UK culture and society)

#this is giving sophomore English class #im expecting a 5 paragraph essay in MLA format on my desk by Tuesday or else we’re not watching great gatsby (2013) on Friday! #guys I’m sorry #someone let me know if I sound stupid #I’m trying! #I just feel like as an American it’s kinda hard to really understand british classism because it seems pretty different than the classism - #we have over here #hp meta #harry potter fandom #harry potter meta #hp #harry potter #gryffindor #slytherin #wizarding world #britain #british culture #uk #percy weasley #snapedom #pro snape #hogwarts houses