#how tos

[miles-edgewords]

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how much I wish we were taught in school how to interact with people online (and just how to use the internet in general) and then I remembered that I can type.

So, without further ado, I present…

How to Argue with People on the Internet

A (sort of) comprehensive guide on discussing everything from world peace to your blorbos

Forewordwarning: This is a long (but hopefully useful and entertaining) post. You have been warned.

SECTION I: The Decision

I have read SO many posts that essentially say “want to stop getting annoyed and fighting strangers? Just don’t! Simply do not!” and if that works for you? Fantastic! That is commendable and I salute you for it and I’m only a little bit jealous. (Okay, maybe more than a little bit jealous.) But if you’re like me—an absolute yapper, that is— you will likely find yourself in quite a few situations where you simply must yap. The urge is too strong. The stupidity of this collection of pixels on your screen that may or may not be the vessel for another human somewhere in the world is too much and you just have to tell them so. I understand. I will not tell you to hold back. I will, however, advise that before engaging with any individuals, you follow a few simple steps that I like to call “RAT”— otherwise known as Rest, Analyze, and Type.

Let’s say, for a moment, that you’ve just run into a comment hating on your favorite character in your favorite TV show. Yes, that one. You want to reply—but wait—you’ve just remembered to use RAT first! You intelligent human, you.

First, you REST. You take a moment to bookmark the comment (whether mentally or literally is up to you) and you step away from your phone (or you do what I do and look at that one youtube video of a parrot asking Alexa to fart 939472 times, you know the one) and you wait. Is this comment something you’re willing to take time out of your day to handle? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with deciding that it is, in fact, worth it— but it’s important to consider it first. You won’t ever have time to talk about the things you’re actually passionate about if you reply to every comment that bothers you. (Trust me— I’ve been there.)

Now, if you’ve decided to continue, reopen the comment and ANALYZE. This can mean many different things depending on the situation: is this comment generated by an AI? Is this person expressing a genuine opinion, or are they a troll? Have other people argued with them? If so, how did they respond? These are all important questions to ask, but it’s okay if you don’t know the answers to all of them. Just get the best information you can; you can always come back to this step later.

Finally, it’s time to TYPE. Let those words fly, friend! You tell ‘em!

SECTION II: Debating vs Fighting

So, you’ve RATted it up, and now you’ve decided it’s time to yap. But how to go about this? Should you be aggressive? Appeal to the enemy? What to do? Don’t worry, I’ve got another acronym for you! It’s time to take MOUSE into account: Motive, Openness, Understanding, Success, and Education.

First, think about your own MOTIVE. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to change the other person’s mind? Are you unconcerned with changing their mind, instead going in with the intention to change the minds of others who might be reading through the conversation? Do you not care about changing anyone’s mind and simply want to discuss the topic at hand? All of these are valid, but they’re all very different. Deciding what your goal is prior to replying is one of the most important things about debating, whether it’s over the internet or face-to-face.

Once you’ve got that cleared up, it’s time to consider your OPENNESS and UNDERSTANDING. How open are you to potentially having your mind changed? Can you see a piece of truth in the other side of the argument? Do you understand where the commenter is coming from, or are they just being ridiculous? It’s okay to have opinions you aren’t open to changing on a whim— everyone has core beliefs that shape who they are as people. But sometimes looking at the other side through a lens of open-mindedness and a desire to understand is the most effective thing you can do. Give it a try— the worst thing that happens is the other person being just as bad as you thought they were.

Next, it’s time to address SUCCESS. What would succeeding look like here? This is similar to MOTIVE, but now we’re looking at the potential completion of the debate. What is the outcome you’re striving for?

Finally, EDUCATION. Is this a fact-based topic you want to educate people about, or is it purely opinion-driven? Either is fine, but if it’s fact-based, you should brush up on the facts of the situation— you don’t want to be caught in a lie and potentially humiliated, I hope. Also, misinformation on the internet is a huge issue. But mostly the humiliation thing.

Section III: Tips and Tricks

My last acronym contains an assortment of tips and tricks for internet usage and communication: Consent, Anonymity, Privacy, Yapping, Blocking, Apps, Reason, and Ability (CAPYBARA).

One of the most important things in life and on the internet is CONSENT. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to ask permission to voice your opinions— just that you should take into consideration the actual, living person on the other side of the screen. (Unless you’re arguing with an AI, in which case I suppose it probably doesn’t care much one way or the other). Ask before you DM people unless they state that their DMs are open. If someone blocks you, DO NOT make another account to harass them (yes, even if they’re really terrible). Consent online may look different than it does in real life, but it still follows the same ground rule: when in doubt, ASK.

ANONYMITY is another important thing to consider when you’re surfing among the virtual tides. Remember that even if someone displays their real name and picture on a website, you still don’t know them. They could be someone entirely different from the persona they’ve put up on the internet, and that’s okay. We all act differently depending on the situations and settings we’re in, and that’s dialed waaaay up when social media allows us to literally customize ourselves into what we want other people to see. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat people as if they’re real, but it does mean that you should take everything with a grain of salt— especially if someone is being an absolute jerk.

Okay, PRIVACY is the one section in here that anyone under a certain age probably did learn in class— along with its annoying younger cousin, PIRACY (you wouldn’t steal a CAR, would you?) You probably know by now that you shouldn’t share personal data online, so I won’t go into this one too much in this post. There are a billion textbooks about it, and as important as it is, it’s not something I’m really qualified to cover. Just don’t do anything stupid and you should be fine.

YAPPING— everyone’s favorite thing to do on the internet! For the most part, this is a reminder that you should have fun. If you feel like you can’t yap about your interests in the space you’re in, maybe you should relocate— whether that’s to a different app, a different blog, or even just to a different comment section is up to you. You should feel free to voice your opinions and talk about the things you love (within reason—don’t get yourself on an FBI watchlist—but you get the idea).

BLOCKING is one of the most underrated features on many social media apps. There is absolutely nothing wrong with blocking someone and moving on. It doesn’t make you a coward; it makes you someone who values your own time and safety. You are never obligated to argue with someone just because they said so. And—this is one of my favorite internet secrets—you can block people you agree with. If someone’s posts are well-meaning and useful, but they upset you or make you uncomfortable? You can still block them, or mute/restrict them if the app you’re using allows it. You are not a bad person for not wanting to see things that upset you in your day-to-day life. You can support good causes without reading about tragedies every morning. Digging yourself into a depressive hole isn’t going to help anything. Please, please use the block button. It’s there for a reason.

APPS are another variable you should consider when catering your online experience. For instance, you can make a nuanced post on Tumblr and more realistically expect reasonable replies because you aren’t confined to a tiny amount of characters. Trying to express the same point on Twitter, however, likely risks people getting extremely angry at you due to the nature of the app not allowing nuanced conversations. That’s not to say Tumblr is necessarily superior— just that they’re different areas with different setups. The reason Twitter is so no-nuance a lot of the time isn’t just due to the people— the app is deliberately set up so that users can’t make multiple points in one post. This also attracts people who don’t want to have nuanced conversations, which feeds the cycle. This is an (extremely oversimplified) explanation of why most social media apps feel so separate from each other, even if you follow all the same people. You should know your audience—but you should also know your stage.

It’s important to have a certain amount of REASON and common sense when you’re talking to someone about the skrunkly little guys in your favorite movie. It’s not that you can’t be passionate—I once essentially made an entire powerpoint presentation about why I think my opinion about a fictional cat person is the correct one—but you need to remember that not everything is the same level of seriousness. Expressing an opinion about whether Team Rocket are actually villains is not the same thing as expressing an opinion about the upcoming US election. (Though I think Team Rocket could potentially do an okay job, to be honest. Meowth 2024?) You can 100% have intense, long discussions about fictional characters, but it’s never worth genuinely harming your own mental health or attacking someone else because of an opinion that ultimately doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s okay to agree to disagree.

Lastly, remember that a lot of this is not intuitive. Your ABILITY to make smart decisions online is a skill that takes time to develop (as is evidenced by 99% of past me’s Twitter posts) and it’s important to give yourself grace. As much as the internet hates to admit it, we all make mistakes. Just own up to those mistakes and move on. It’s okay to delete a post you made because you don’t agree with it anymore. It’s okay to come back to an argument and apologize for going too far. It’s okay to not be perfect. Accept the consequences of your own actions and move forward.

#i hope this is helpful #advice #internet #media literacy #yapping #professional yapper #controversy #internet drama #arguing #tips and tricks #tips and advice #tips and strategies #how tos #social media #debate #online safety #internet safety #education #safety #guidance #fyi #text post #yapyapyap #communities #fandom #online privacy #data privacy #pro tip #*demon noises* P R O T I P 👹👻💀😈 #milesrambles

[sadsoftserve]

just quick question...

WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU KEEP GETTING YOUR VA'S

I have not been able to find one tryout post on this page.

And I really (and I mean EXTREMELY wanna) try out for any future oc's you might make.

-confused anon

I use a couple of methods actually!

One- I go to yt and I look up voice reels/ voice actors/ ECT. And a lot of the time, some videos such as

Or

Videos like "the many voices of [VA NAME]" are super helpful. Videos (like the ones done by the Ytber RainyCat) are complications of characters voiced by one person, so I take those and go from there.

Another way is I take a character I really like, like Skipper from Barbie life in the Dream house and I find her VA, who is Kristin Day. I then take that and apply it to my characters, her voice being the one for Parker.

I hope this helped you confused anon!

#asks #anon asks #voice claims #voice actors #how tos

[mckitterick]

Changing headlight bulbs on a 2011-2019 Jaguar XJ

Jaguars have a reputation (from the bad old days) of being unreliable and difficult to repair. I'm here to tell you that conventional wisdom is wrong about the first part. But there's no reason it should be this difficult to change a lightbulb.

I mean, you have to completely remove the front fascia and bumper, and unfasten the wheelwell linings, to reach the bolts that hold the headlight assembly in place (circled in this photo after removal). And there's no way to access the sealed box where the headlight lives without removing the entire assembly.

But gosh did this need replacing - check out the difference between burned-out and new bulb.

The most challenging part is reaching behind the loosened wheelwell cover (with the grille, behind the headlight assembly power-supply) to remove some impossible-to-reach bolts without removing strips of skin (gloves are too bulky for the fiddly task).

Thar she blows: Success!

As big a job as this appears, the project only took about three hours (including studying a couple of how-to YouTube videos). Even so, that's about two and a half hours longer than it should take to change a lightbulb.

But it's worth it!

Not only is this the most beautiful and well-engineered vehicle I've ever driven, and an indescribable pleasure to be wrapped inside (can you say heated and cooled massaging seats and gorgeous burlwood all around?), its lightweight all-aluminum construction, 8-speed transmission, and direct-injection V-6 make it the most fuel-efficient, as well.

This is going to be our wedding and honeymoon trip carriage!

Perhaps the best part is that we got this delightful machine (used) for less than the original buyer paid in taxes. Ten years of depreciation and an unflattering reliability history from prior generations mean you can pick up one of these kitties for about the price of a Toyota of comparable age.

Would I recommend other non-rich folks get a modern Jaguar? Dealer prices for parts and labor make these best for do-it-yourselfers. I mean, three hours to change a lightbulb, amirite?

But if you're comfortable working on your own vehicle and have the tools to do the task (it requires some funky driver heads and a bendy ratchet), wholeheartedly yes! Replacement parts are no more expensive than for any other car if you order from Rock Auto or such.

Rich people shouldn't have all the fun.

#vehicle repair #how tos #Jaguar XJ #home mechanics #my life #my photos

[athenacodes]

hello! so another tutorial - this time on grid and auto resizing images inside it with an emphasis on responsiveness and making that easier on you. basically, this tutorial should be named team no math, but we're call this the grid images tutorial.

here is the codepen you can work off of for this one. here is a link to the generator i was playing with. here is credit for the images i grabbed to show this with.

i did have someone message that i don't speak very eloquently and i want to apologize. i try to explain in a way that anyone can understand and i also speak in a train of consciousness, unprepared way so please don't think i am uncaring in that, i'm just trying to show some small tips and tricks in a straightforward, won't take up much time way. i will try to speak with a little more thought and less filler words, but i can't promise to be perfect in that since this is over video versus text.

anyway, the template i'm using as an example is free to use as a base, without credit, same with all the others in my tutorials so far, so long as you are using it to actually make your own. i would like to say with this one please don't use it with no significant changes and try to claim it as your own. throw some credit in your guidebook or something, i don't mind, just throw a bone on that one because at that point it is solely my template. but even then, you're free to use it with credit.

anyway, go wild, i hope this helps you learn, adds a new trick to your repertoire, or just overall helps alleviate some of the pressures of coding off of someone. have a great day, rpc!

#coding #how to #how tos #guide #guides #tutorials #tutorial #jcink coding #jcink rp #grid #image resizing #mine

[bibi-likes-to-draw]

Ok, so my cousin’s boyfriend sent me this photo and I believe more artists on tumblr need to know about this setting. If you haven’t already, do it! It may not be fool proof but I would still recommend you do it. Any protection is from AI is valuable!

and just in case you are a new artist on here or just do not know how, I have intrusions and on how to turn this setting on both desktop and mobile below the cut!

First, go to the blog you want to change this setting for

Then, go to blog settings. On mobile, you’ll see the gear icon on the top right corner of your screen. For desktop, click the blog settings text on the right side of the screen.

After this, you will go to the visibility section of your settings and turn on prevent third-party sharing for [your blog]. For desktop just scroll down and you’ll see it as the last setting you see under visibility. For mobile, just tap visibility and you will see it as the last setting.

That’s it! Go protect your art!

#art #ai #ai art #ai artwork #anti ai #blog stuff #how tos #anti ai art #suck we gotta do things like this #but the more you know #right? #instructions #idk what else to tag

[stone-cold-groove]

If you are caught outdoors in a sudden attack, a hat will give you at least some protection from the “heat flash.”

#vintage illustration #how tos #how-tos #nuclear war #survival techniques #atomic bomb #civil defense #the 50s #the 60s #the cold war #cold war america #cold war

[chordsykat]

https://at.tumblr.com/chordsykat/what-do-you-think-of-the-idea-if-doomstar-reversed/r4w7rf91vm08

To continue on this, what do you think Magnus's reason, other than "Fuck Dethklok", would he take Skwisgaar?

I mean, I dunno, but if the anon who posed the scenario is still out there, I'm open to hearing their take if they have one.

One could make an argument that Skwisgaar made Magnus feel inferior in the musicality department. Or maybe he figured it'd make a bigger impact on Dethklok to take a key member (no offense, Toki).

And then there's the whole thing of Skwisgaar not being terribly threatening on a physical level, so... maybe path of least resistance???

#sounds legit #he has a PhD in revengeance #mtl #metalocalypse #dethklok #how tos #answered #magnus hammersmith

[porblegames]

tutorial on how i paint my warmaster bases

you gotta paint the strips separate from the base. its just a fact of life!

glue the first strip in. fill any large gaps, but hopefully its a snug fit

apply a base coat around the first strip. you can use unthinned paint to fill very small gaps between the strip and the base

attach the second strip

base coat around the second strip

finish the top of the base. im using stippling, mostly, not drybrushing (drybrushing will bring out any gaps between the strip and the base that still remain)

leave a dark spot beneath the miniatures for a shadow effect which makes them stand out more

get yer black paint and cover the sides of the base almost all the way to the top, but leave just a sliver of the top color

start applying the base coat around the edge. leave a sliver of black between the two colors!

begin layering up. we're pretending that black line is an actual crease in the base and highlighting below it as tho it were an edge

just keep layering up. if you mess up your black line, fix it!

finish with a nice bright highlight

#miniaturepainting #miniatures #warmaster #painting #tabletop games #warhammer #paintingwarhammer #wargaming #tutorial #how tos

[lacewise]

Today, I’d really like to make a post about why best practice needle lace setup is recommended for modern lacemakers because I also want to make a series of videos experimenting with different setups (but it will take a long, long time to get all the materials). I always find instructions easier to understand and follow when people tell me *why* it’s important I follow them, so let me know if that’s interesting or helpful to anyone.

#idk how to tag this #how tos #I guess??? #needle lace #needle lace discussion

[dreadpirateroe]

does anybody have any recommendations for videos on yt on how to draw more like alive hair ? or more like vibrant and interesting hair ? but not photo realistic

#ty #art recs #artists on tumblr #how tos

[notwiselybuttoowell]

For Stephen Northey, an environmental advocate in Melbourne, tree planting and urban revegetation has allowed him to help restore degraded local ecosystems and foster a much-needed connection with his local area.

The community leader spearheaded a campaign to save Edgars Creek, a tributary that runs through the basalt plains linking Epping, Thomastown and Reservoir to Merri Creek in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

“Seventeen years ago, the Edgar’s Creek corridor was a wasteland of noxious weeds,” he says.

“Yet hiding there was a beautiful watercourse flowing along a natural rocky course with pockets of remnant vegetation still surviving. I thought the place deserved better so I organised a meeting in the neighbourhood house to garner interest and a community group was formed.”

From an initial meeting, locals undertook thousands of hours of volunteer work using only indigenous plants grown from seeds collected from the catchment. Indigenous bushland and a wetland habitat was successfully reintroduced over the industrial wasteland, preventing the area from being sold to developers after a concerted community campaign.

“Care, vision and inclusion were key success factors, as was access to knowledge about how healthy ecosystems function at a local scale,” he says. Aside from the deep satisfaction of restoring a natural environment, the project transformed the lives of those who participated, says Northey, especially during Covid lockdowns.

"People want to be custodians for their local environment. Friends groups can help facilitate and encourage that desire; that need. In fact, more than ever we need opportunities to connect with our planet and each other,” he says.

#Australia #trees #rewilding #kind of #urban nature #how tos

[vultania]

Hot tip for praying the rosary!

I find myself short on time very often because I wake up late and do the things that I'm not supposed to do (looking at my phone immediately on waking up) so I decided to start writing my intentions in a journal before going about my day, while also separating the decades into bite-sized chunks I can pray in hourly-ish increments.

Writing them down helps so much, I find, because I can say to Mamma Mary, "The intentions I give you are in the journal I have at home. Please pray for them."

This also helps my ADD brain to focus more on the prayers and the Mysteries than berating myself for not remembering to pray for so-and-so's issues — because they're already written down.

The way I do it is

Date — ____ Mysteries

1-24, gratitude for 8, pleading for 9 and 10

25. For today's event to go well

Etc.

Hope this helps!

#catholic #rosary #Roman Catholic #roman catholic #christian #how tos #pray #prayers

[mckitterick]

Fixed our water heater!

Fixed our dead water heater! This post is a little PSA if you're ever in the same position and want to save a few hundred bucks (or if you're a renter and don't want to wait for the landlord to get around to fixing it).

The pilot light was out, and the indicator panel showed nothing, so I was at a loss. First (after turning off gas and power) I cleaned and vacuumed the air intake, but that changed nothing. I tested the ignitor, and it produced spark when pressed, but the pilot light remained out. That meant something else was preventing gas from flowing. Could be many things!

Apparently the most common issue is the thermocouple, which creates a tiny flow of electricity to the control panel when heated with a pilot light, and allows that to open the gas valve to heat your water. Testing could reveal the issue to be one of many other things, so I went to the interwebs looking for answers.

This video provided them! Turns out our problem was a clogged pilot tube, which I cleared with compressed air, then scrubbed clean with a toothbrush soaked in carburetor cleaner, and blasted with air again to dislodge gunk.

After reassembling everything and doing the pilot-lighting procedure, voila - a little fire lit up! After replacing the cover, I reset the control panel and switched to regular operation. Full-on water-heating levels of fire!

Soon we'll have hot water again, thanks to this kind person: X

#water heaters #DIY #how tos #home ownership #my life #my screencaps

[athenacodes]

here's another for my little tutorial section, this time sans video. basically, there's some simple coding tips you can use to set a default photo. for the main uploaded avatar, use the default avatar macro for jcink, but anywhere else you can use one of these.

for background images, make a default by putting it literally right behind the one you want. you can see an example of this in the css section of the naked codepen i'm linking below. (btw this was kept naked so it would be easier to just get to coding, instead of sorting through me making it 'pretty' so to speak. i only put the length of this text there so there was something that populated.)

for img src, i use a pretty simple script. now, the caveat here is there are two versions, depending on if you're in an area where jcink auto puts "no information" or not. these are below. these scripts are in the js section of the codepen. there are two, so make sure you scroll down for the not no information version.

anyway! this is just a really easy way to do things. there are others, but it's a simple way to get your default image to show up where you want them replaced with a custom profile field.

as always, this is a tutorial, so be wild and free, do what you like with them. you don't have to credit me. i'm just trying to help us all learn a few neat tricks that make the editing and creation process of jcink skins a little easier, and replenish some of the resources we've lost lately.

i hope it helps! if you use it, i'd love a like just because i love seeing that people actually utilize these, but it's not a requirement by any means. have a great day, rpc!

codepen

#coding #how tos #how to #guides #guide #tutorial #jcink coding #jcink rp #default images #mine #tutorials

[twitchytremor]

It’s bin a while since I’ve bin on here but now I’m trying it for my art and animations. Deviantart seems kinda dead to me and I don’t have a place for non pony stuff. Their may be some but I’ll try to resist.😉

So what one looks right to you?

#animation #dogs #pants #fabolous #silly #original art #jokes #lol #cute #cute animals #cartoon #hotdog #oc #choose #memes #funny #funny stuff #denim pants #how tos

[jinxthejubilee]

Okay, this might seem like a stupid question, but do the polls just not work on certain phones or something? Cuz I don't have the option to make one, and I have a few questions to ask.

#tumblr polls #how to make polls #polls #how tos #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me! #obey me! shall we date? #obey me! one master to rule them all #disney villain recruiters #villain recruiters #disney villain recruiters personalities #disney tokyo #disney villains #disney movies