#how to access someones gmail

[joetastic2739]

Someone accessed my Gmail 2 days ago, compromising my linked accounts like Twitter and YouTube. Here's how it happened, why I fell for it, and what you can learn to avoid making the same mistake:

The scam I fell victim to was a cookie hijack. The hacker used malicious software to steal my browser cookies (stuff like autofill, auto sign in, etc), allowing them to sign in to my Gmail and other accounts, completely bypassing my 2FA and other security protocols.

A few days ago, I received a DM from @Rachael_Borrows, who claimed to be a manager at @Duolingo. The account seemed legitimate. It was verified, created in 2019, and had over 1k followers, consistent with other managers I’d seen at the time n I even did a Google search of this person and didnt find anything suspicious.

She claimed that @Duolingo wanted me to create a promo video, which got me excited and managed to get my guard down. After discussing I was asked to sign a contract and at app(.)fastsigndocu(.)com. If you see this link, ITS A SCAM! Do NOT download ANY files from this site.

Unfortunately, I downloaded a file from the website, and it downloaded without triggering any firewall or antivirus warnings. Thinking it was just a PDF, I opened it. The moment I did, my console and Google Chrome flashed. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. I immediately did an antivirus scan and these were some of the programs it found that were added to my PC without me knowing:

The thing about cookie hijacking is that it completely bypasses 2FA which should have been my strongest line of defense. I was immediately signed out of all my accounts and within a minute, they changed everything: passwords, 2FA, phone, recovery emails, backup codes, etc.

I tried all methods but hit dead ends trying to recover them. Thankfully, my Discord wasn’t connected, so I alerted everyone I knew there. I also had an alternate account, @JLCmapping, managed by a friend, which I used to immediately inform @/TeamYouTube about the situation

Meanwhile, the hackers turned my YouTube channel into a crypto channel and used my Twitter account to spam hundreds of messages, trying to use my image and reputation to scam more victims

Thankfully, YouTube responded quickly and terminated the channel. Within 48 hours, they locked the hacker out of my Gmail and restored my access. They also helped me recover my channel, which has been renamed to JoetasticOfficial since Joetastic_ was no longer available.

Since then, I’ve taken several steps to secure my accounts and prevent this from happening again. This has been a wake-up call to me, and now I am more cautious around people online. I hope sharing it helps others avoid falling victim to similar attacks. (End)

(side note) Around this time, people also started to impersonate me on TikTok and YouTube. With my accounts terminated, anyone searching for "Joetastic" would only find the imposter's profiles. I’m unsure whether they are connected or if it’s just an unfortunate coincidence, but it made the situation even more stressful.

[asktheritochampion]

FOR THE PERSON BEHIND THIS ACCOUNT:

how'd you get started doing this account? also do you have any advice for someone who's thinking of doing a similar account? /genq

As someone who has run many an ask blog in different fandoms over the years, people asking me for advice in starting their own is something that happens pretty frequently.

Making an ask blog for your favourite character is a great way to explore that character in more depth without needing the narrative of writing a fanfiction, not to mention a super fun way to interact with the fandom community!

Ther's no right or wrong way to run an ask blog; but I'm happy to share some of the things I've learned over the years from trial and error for those just dipping their talon into this creative format for the first time.

There's two different ways you can start your ask blog; by creating a side-blog off of your main blog, or by creating a whole new blog. Either works fine, but I personally favour having a full blog - you can make a gmail in two minutes then bash out a full blog just like that. The drawback is that sometimes I forget to log back onto my main blog; but a side blog cannot send asks to other blogs and you have to remember to set everything you post to the correct blog, which can get confusing at times.

While decorating your new blog; make a rules page and write out a list of things you're not okay with people asking. Maybe you're uncomfortable with rude or violent asks - with topics of sexual harassment or racism or homophobia. Maybe you don't want to roleplay, or you only want to interact with people that follow your specific ship. You can put whatever you want on your rules page - but pin that post so that newcomers can read it and know what is and isn't okay to send in.

When you first start your blog, it can be a little tricky to get the ball rolling. I recomend following other ask blogs and active blogs in the fandom and interacting with their posts to connect with other people. Even then however, you might need to either get a friend to send you a couple of asks or send a few anonymous asks to yourself to get started.

Don't be discouraged if it takes a few days or weeks for people to starts sending in asks. It takes a long time to foster people's interest and engagement no matter how popular or interesting the character is.

A big question people often have is; should I post art with my asks?

From my experience, you could be the greatest writer in the world - but posts you make which have a visual aspect will always grab more attention on a social media platform designed for scrolling than just normal text posts. People have short attention spans. Keep text responses short, and add something sparkly to grab peoples attention.

Not everyone is an artist or has time to draw, but that doesn't mean you can't still make your posts visually interesting. You could use gifs or screenshots of your character, you could handwrite your replies to make them look like letters or diary entries (although if you ever do illustrated text, make sure to include it as a caption below for screenreaders to still be able to access), or even just make your reply fonts colourful or large or play around with different fonts to make them stand out from other posts.

If you do want to draw replies I encourage it because it's a great way to improve your drawing skills fast. If you're worried about your skill level, you can always make it part of the theme and say it's the character drawing their own responses.

I'd recomend if you're planning on sketching replies to draw out several different pictures of your character with different expressions and poses and to re-use them. However if you want to be a crazy person like me and try to draw unique responses most of the time; I'd highly recomend choosing a very simplified style of drawing.

Response pieces should take you less than fifteen minutes or you'll burn yourself out pretty fast. I sketch Revali in a simplified way and just do a flood-fill wash of tone so that my drawings are as fast and simple as possible to do - no colour or shading. If I was spending an hour on every response piece, I'd run out of spoons for this by the end of the week.

If you want to run a popular or highly interacted with blog, the most important thing is posting frequently. If you post a few times a day - or even just a few times a week, people will seek out your blog because it will keep appearing at the top of the tags. The key is churning out a lot of asks all the time.

Get into a habit of doin' your posts fast and rough, and don't worry too much about perfecting things. Nobody will notice if your art or writing is a little unfinished or sketchy. On social media, especially in this style of creating, people only look at your posts for a few seconds - so especially when you're first starting out and trying to get noticed, it's okay to choose quantity over quality.

Something I know a lot of people worry about when they first start out is lore and storytelling in their ask responses.

My best advice is to not take anything too seriously. On this blog, sometimes Revali is around before the Calamity, sometimes he's around in Totk times. Sometimes I draw him wearing modern clothes and using an ipad and other times he has no idea what a microwave is. Sometimes I answer an ask one way, then forget about it and answer something else with conflicting information a few months later.

Nobody really pays enough attention to everything you post to notice continuousy errors. These blogs are just a bit of fun and a way for you to play around with your character like a barbie doll. You can do whatever you want with them, and change it day by day. You don't have to stick to one timeline or ensure that every single thing you post is lore accurate.

Saying that; let's talk about something I like to call 'arcs'.

Every once in a while when things are feeling a little dry or someone sends in something interesting, I'll throw in an 'arc' for Revali. Maybe he gets turned into a chick or a Hylian or joins the Yiga Clan - and for a few days all of my ask posts will revolve around this.

While it's a lot of fun to play with arcs, I'd recomend keeping them short and sweet - lasting no more than a week at longest before returning back to a comfortable norm. Newcomers are always drifting into fandom, as are more casual fans, and if newbies or people who aren't as deep into this character's life as you stumble upon your posts while you're doing a crazy arc, they're likely not really going to understand what's going on. Returning to a more 'canon typical' version of your character between arcs is important for coaxing in newer fans and keeping people from getting too lost.

Another thing people often wonder about is roleplay.

I don't really make my ask blogs with roleplay in mind, but the format itself is kind of built for it if the concept interests you. Playing as your favourite character and enacting little scenes with other blogs can be super fun - great escapism and an interesting way to tell a narrative.

There are however some unspoken rules to roleplay; things you pick up over time that aren't always obvious.

First off - not every ask blog wants to roleplay. Some people just aren't comfortable with it - and that's okay. Check out someone's rules page or just pop them a DM to ask, and respect their decision if they don't want to.

When you do roleplay with somebody; it's common courtasy to keep your roleplay to under ten posts. While this isn't as big of a deal as it used to be (truely Hylia bless Tumblr's newly enforced read-more feature when a post reaches a certain length), it's still polite not to clog up people's dashes with tons of long replies. If the roleplay starts to get too long, try to wrap it up and start a new one.

Another important unspoken rule is something I like to call the 'ask blog universe'.

Every ask blog is their own little universe bubble, where you come up with your own ideas and headcanons for your character and others. Sometimes you'll roleplay with another ask blog - and those ideas will clash.

You cannnot force your headcanons onto another blogs universe, so try to keep your headcanons out of roleplay and leave them just for asks and posts. If I'm roleplaying as Revali with another blog, I'm not going to mention within that roleplay that he's transgender or that he's infatuated with Link - because that might not be the canon for that other blog's universe, and it would be rude to make them have to bend their established canon to accomodate me.

You should always have fun acting out your favourite ships and headcanons - but just try to be considerate when roleplaying with other blogs that not everyone will share your opinions, and maybe just avoid topics of debate within the play.

Another thing people often ask; Can I start an ask blog for a character if someone else is already running an ask blog for them.

The answer is yes, of course you can. That person does not own the character - if you want to start a Revali blog like me, go for it! You can bring something new to the table that I cannot - we will inevitably play very different versions of this character and explore things the other has not even thought of. The more fun writing and art for our favourite character in the world - the better.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Which brings me onto my most important piece of advice.

No matter how you run your blog, inevitably at some point, some sad person with nothing better to do is going to come into your ask box and send something unplesent. Maybe it will be something gross and sexual - maybe it will be a rant about how they disagree with a headcanon you've made and why it's all wrong - maybe they'll just send you vauge death threats because they don't like the character (Revali gets a LOT of those...). This is unfortunatly an inescapable part of being online and creating.

The BEST thing you can do - and I cannot express enough how important this is - block them and delete the asks. Turn off anonymous asks if it starts to really bother you - even if it's just for a little bit.

Do not post them. Do not respond to them. Do not post ABOUT them.

These people are purely here for your attention, they want a reaction from you; and the second you give them that even if it's the most levelheaded response in the world, they will keep harassing you nonstop.

Whereas if you never acknowledge them; they will vanish so fast it will make your head spin.

Now, it's HARD not to post the scary, mean, or ranty asks that people send you for the validation of your kind followers telling you how wrong their harassment is. I get that. What I would recomend is befriending other ask blogs and sharing the woes with them instead. We even have a Legend of Zelda ask blogs discord group that anyone making an ask blog can join - go in there and screenshot post the garbage people send so we can all rant about it and validate you together.

Just never post it publically - it only feeds the wee beasts.

Ask blogs can be really fun to run!

They can also be hard work sometimes - whether it's because you're stuck on difficult asks, overwhelmed or underwhelmed with the amount of people interacting with you, getting mean anons, or burning out from trying to draw every response.

If you ever need a listening ear or a little advice or support, ol' Rahlin is always happy to share what I know. Don't be nervous to shoot over any questions or worries you have and we can talk them out.

I'm no expert in this genre by any means, but I have had a lot of experience with a lot of different issues over the years, and I'm always here to help anyone who is new to the scene and wants to join in the fun!

[haveyoutriedrebootingit]

Friendly neighborhood tech support cryptid here with today's advice:

Do not use your school or work email to sign up for things, unless they are specifically school or work related.

This is not a "they are watching you" thing, although with your work email there's an element of that, it's a "you might not have access to this email later" thing.

Your best bet is to open two gmail (or any other long-standing free email) accounts. One, you use to sign up for stuff. The other you use to talk to people. You may occasionally use the first to talk to companies, but it's going to fill up with spam soooo goddamn fast-- even just from the people you signed up for.

But the point is that this email address will be available if you drop out/quit, get kicked out/fired, or graduate. Yes, I know a lot of colleges give free email for life to alumni. That can change, especially as most of those colleges haven't thought about the server/storage costs of such a promise in perpetuity. If you do have such an email, you'll want to sign into it regularly, if only too see if the school has sent you a notice explaining what you need to do to keep this email, and what date you need to do it by, and how apathetic they're going to be if you didn't read it and lost the email.

You can't reset the password for an email you can't access, so don't provide an email that can be taken away from you with little or no notice. (When I got laid off from my job at a fortune 500 company, I had twenty minutes before they shut off my email.)

I would say 5% of the calls I take are people who desperately need access to an email that no longer exists, because they signed up for something important with it, and now they can't reset their password.

(And don't use your phone number if someone else is paying for the phone. Maaaaybe if it's your parents, and you're really cool with them, and you know they're going to let you take the number if you get your own plan.)

[tealin]

McMurdo Internet

Internet service is supplied to Antarctica via a geostationary satellite. This far south, the satellite is only a few degrees above the horizon, and unfortunately for McMurdo, it's behind Mt Erebus. So the signal is beamed to a receiver on Black Island, about 20 miles away to the southwest, and bounced over to the sheltered alcove at the end of the Hut Point Peninsula where McMurdo sits.

The Chalet, administrative hub, with Black Island in the distance

The Black Island telecommunications infrastructure was installed in the 1980s, long before the internet we know and love today. It was upgraded in 2010 to allow more data transfer, mainly realtime weather data to feed into global forecast models. For this reason, it's probably the only place I've ever been where upload speed is remarkably faster than download speed – 60Mbps for outbound traffic, but only 20Mbps for inbound. Most regular internet use is receiving, not sending, so that's an entire base running on a connection that's only marginally faster than the average American smartphone. As you can imagine, this is somewhat limiting.

The limits to one's internet access actually begin before one even reaches the Ice. At the orientation in Christchurch, one is directed to a URL from which one must download and install a security programme from the U.S. government. It may feel like a hippie commune full of nerds, but McMurdo is an installation of the American state, and as such its computer network is a target of whatever disgruntled conspiracy theorist decides to hack The Man on any given day. Computers that are allowed onto this network (such as the one on which I am typing right now) have to have an approved firewall and antivirus service installed, then this extra programme on top of them. I am not sure what it does. For all I know the CIA is spying on me even now. (Hi, guys!) But you need to install it to get on the McMurdo Internet, such as it is, so I did.

To be honest, I was rather looking forward to a month cut off entirely from the hyperconnected world, so I was a tiny bit disappointed that quite a lot of day-to-day communication is done by email, and I would need to be on my computer a fair bit to get it. Had I known just how important email would be, I'd have installed an email client that actually downloads one's messages instead of just fetching them; as it was, the cycle of loading an email and sending the reply, even in Gmail's "HTML for slow connections" mode, took about five minutes, not counting the time it took to write. Tending one's email was a serious time commitment; sometimes I felt like I was spending more time on the computer in Antarctica than I did at home.

Crary scientists waiting, and waiting, and waiting

In a way, though, I was lucky, because I was technically a scientist and therefore had access to the one building on base with WiFi, the Crary Lab. And don't think you can just waltz into Crary with your laptop and poach the WiFi – in order to access it at all, you have to get set up by Crary IT with your own personal WiFi login. If you do not have Crary access, your portal to the Internet is one of a handful of ethernet cables in each of the dorm common rooms, or some public terminals in the main building. You can hop on, download your emails, maybe check the news or Google something you needed to look up, and then leave it for someone else. When most online time sinks are either blocked or too heavy to load, it’s amazing how little internet time you actually turn out to need.

Things that we have come to take for granted in The World are not a part of McMurdo life. Social media is pretty much out – the main platforms are bandwidth hogs even before you try to load a video or an animated GIF. There is no sharing of YouTube links, and no Netflix and chill. Someone was once sent home mid-season for trying to download a movie. Video calls with family and friends? Forget it. People do occasionally do video calls from Antarctica, often to media outlets or schools, but these have to be booked in advance so as to have the requisite bandwidth reserved. Jumping on FaceTime does not happen – not least because handheld devices have to be in airplane mode at all times for security reasons. Your phone might be secure enough for your internet banking, but not for US government internet!

It is, unavoidably, still a digital environment, it just gets by largely without internet access. Nearly everyone has an external hard drive, mostly for media that they've brought down to fill their off hours. If you want to share files you just swap hard drives, or hand over a memory stick. When the Antarctic Heritage Trust wanted some book material from me, I dropped it onto an SD card and ran it over to Scott Base on foot – a droll juxtaposition of high- and low-tech, not to mention a good excuse for a hike over The Gap on a beautiful day. It took half an hour, but was still faster than emailing it.

There is also a McMurdo Intranet, which includes a server for file sharing. Emailing someone your photos will take ages, but popping them into a folder on the I: drive and sending them a note to say you've done so (or, better yet, phoning them, or poking your head into their office) is much more efficient. To conserve space, this informal server partition is wiped every week, so you have to be quick about it, but it's an effective workaround, and also a good way to get relatively heavy resources to a large number of people in one go.

The telecommunications centre on Black Island is mostly automated, but like anything – perhaps more than some things, given the conditions – it needs to be maintained. There is a small hut out there for an equally small team of electricians and IT engineers; Black Island duty attracts the sort of person who might have been a lighthouse keeper back in the day.

Towards the end of my time on the Ice there was a spell where they needed to shut off the connection overnight, to do some necessary work. Given that most people's workdays extended at least to the shutoff time at 5:30 p.m., this meant essentially no internet for a large portion of the population, and some amusing flyers were posted up to notify everyone of the impending hardship.

Someday, faster, more accessible internet will come to Antarctica.  It's more or less unavoidable, as communications technology improves, and everyone's work – especially the scientists' – depends more and more on having a broadband connection at all times.  It will make a lot of things more convenient, and will make the long separation from friends and family much easier.  But I'm pretty sure that many more people will mourn the upgrade than celebrate it.  One can, theoretically, curtail one's internet use whenever one likes, but even before the pandemic it was almost impossible to live this way with the demands of modern life: I know from personal experience that opting out of Facebook alone can have a real detrimental effect on relationships, even with people one sees in the flesh fairly regularly, simply because everyone assumes that is how everyone else communicates.  Being in a community where no one has access to assumed channels, and is more or less cut off from the rest of the world in a pocket universe of its own, levels the playing field and brings a certain unity.  The planned (and, unarguably, necessary) updating of the physical infrastructure of McMurdo will wipe out a lot of the improvised, make-do-and-mend character of the place; how much would free and easy access to the online world change it in a less tangible way?

I'm sure the genuine Antarctic old-timers would shake their heads at the phone and email connections we have now, and say that no, this has already ruined Antarctica.  It's not Antarctica unless your only link to the outside world is a dodgy radio.  It's not Antarctica unless you only get mail once a year when the relief ship arrives.  Doubtless the shiny new McMurdo will be seen as 'the good old days' by someone, someday, too.  Change may happen slower there than elsewhere, but just like the rust on the tins at Cape Evans, it comes eventually, regardless. 

For my own part, I'm glad I got to see 'old' McMurdo, such as it was, all plywood and cheap '90s prefab.  The update will be much more efficient, and tidy, but yet another generation removed from the raw experience of the old explorers.  My generation is probably the last to remember clearly what life was like before ubiquitous broadband; to some extent, Antarctica is a sort of time capsule of that world, just as the huts are a time capsule of Edwardian frontier life.  I hope they'll find a way to hang on to the positive aspects of that. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to waste an hour mindlessly refreshing Twitter ...

If you'd like to learn more about the Black Island facility, there's a lot of good information (and some photos!) here: https://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/90s/blackisland.html

And this Antarctic Sunarticle goes into greater depth on the 2010 upgrade: https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/features/2114/

[balkanradfem]

So, my laptop has decided to leave this world, in the way of the motherboard no longer functioning. It was a long time coming, I've been taping it together like a bunch of scraps for a year now. 

I've said goodbye to it in a ritual where I hugged it and sang to it while crying, after trying to fix it for an hour and a half. It was kinda nice! I wish all of my past friendships had ended this way - hours of ernest attempts of fixing, followed by singing, hugging and crying as we part ways. I would have felt better about it all. 

I am having some withdrawal because I've been unwisely coping with my mental illness by playing stardew valley every availabile moment. And now I can't, so I am doing the only thing my phone is capable of - reading wikipedia. Which you're finding out about because I can't learn a new piece of infomation without instantly broadcasting it with a deep analysis of what I think it means.

So how am I still endlessly posting on tumblr when my phone can't even access it? Well. It's a process.

I noticed the woman I care for has a tablet, connected to internet. But it has a password. I've sneakily elicited the password (asked her if I can have it). But to seem polite and normal, I'm borrowing the tablet in 5-minute intervals. Which isn't enough to look trough messages, reply to asks, check notes and type a sensible paragraph and click post.

So I am typing this on my phone, which can somehow still open my gmail account. I'm writing emails to myself. Then I send it to my regular email account, which my phone can't open, but tablet can. Hours later, I open it on tablet, copy-paste the entire text on tumblr and click post. Tumblrinas will do anything to get her posts out there. 

On the other hand, I've been finger typing this for half an hour, I am on samsung galaxy android phone using one finger to type. It is rough out here. This method will work while I'm borrowing a tablet, and afterwards, I might be able to procure another laptop, we'll see! Someone is helping me figure it out.

Sorry everyone in my DM's that I got silent! I will write back to you when the gods of electronics smile upon me.

[remidyal]

Game Changer Season 6 episodes, ranked by my personal enjoyment

Because I also enjoy arbitrarily ranking things! If you disagree... I mean, that's fine? I liked every episode this season, just.. I liked some episodes better than others. I'm grouping the Ratfish episodes together, so we've got eight entries. Spoilers for, um, every game changer episode this season, obviously.

#8 Pencils Down:

I'm not as into drawings and all as I am a lot of the other stuff, though this was probably the most wholesome episode of this season. I'm, naturally, opposed to wholesomeness too.

Favorite bit:

The proposed tattoos were a lot of fun.

#7 Ratfish (parts 1 and 2):

I think this one got hurt for me by a couple things - I know absolutely nothing about the show they're mimicking, unlike Survivor or the Bachelor, and I did not particularly enjoy anything directly to do with the Ratfish or understand why I should care about his opinions and arbitrary decisions. I assumed that the cast would recognize who this person was and we'd get some kind of payoff there, but nope. Everything just between the cast was great, though.

Favorite bit:

Honestly there's a ton of quick moments to choose from here, but I think my favorite is Brennan incorrectly going for the seat marked Brennan Lee Mulligan at the end.

#6 The Newlyweb Game:

This one was gentle good fun, I enjoyed everyone involved, there were just more standout moments in some of the later episodes on this list. This is fighting with Pencils Down for the most wholesome episode, or at least the one that would least fit into a saw trap. In spite of that this would be the episode all time of Game Changer I would least be willing to be on, even in the world where I'm not firmly aroace and have a partner - I think I would sooner light myself on fire than let someone I know have full access to my phone.

Favorite bit:

Revealing how many unread emails people had and the shock and judgement at totally reasonable numbers, as someone with around forty thousand unread emails in my primary gmail account dating back to 2004.

#5 Bingo

We're really into tough competition now! I loved this episode, and that it somehow turned into a tormenting Brennan episode even though he wasn't even supposed to be there. This was obviously slightly rigged so that the players in the third set of Bingo were most likely to win (and it was actually impossible for the people on stage) but honestly pulling it off was so good.

Favorite Bit:

I mean, it's the reveal to Trapp and everyone of the existence of the third group of course.

#4 Second Place

First, I know that for meta reasons this should be second, but it's not. Oh well. Sam alleges that this episode wasn't intentionally meant to torment Brennan; I do not believe Sam's lies. Everyone in the world saw the twist at the end coming and it's still funny.

Favorite bit:

Ally declaring that Brennan can ring the gong the loudest and Brennan's brain breaking harder than anything that Sam had actually planned.

#3 Sam Says 3

I can't believe this one's only third. If this is how Sam Says ends - and I have a hard time seeing how a fourth edition can escalate, even outside of the BTS claiming that they see three times as the limit for the same premise most of the time - then what an ending. I'm not sure any other game concept has managed to make the players so consistently tricked. My only critique of it is that I think I like the first couple times at this well just a little bit more, with nothing in this quite matching Ally flying to New York or the Something We'll Have To Bleep energy for me.

Favorite Bit:

It's hard to top the fake Sam body dropping from the ceiling.

#2 Beat the Buzzer

Every episode with the Seven cast is always incredible, and production-wise this seems like the craziest thing they've ever pulled off. Any episode where they break out of just the stage is always good, and I think this is the most extensive use of that they've ever done. Incredible variety, great cameos from Aabria and Persephone, complete manic energy from all three contestants. A+ episode.

Favorite Bit:

There's so much here, but I think mine as someone who worked as a pizza delivery driver was the entire exchange where Rehka just ends up getting the bag with the buzzer and a bunch of loose oreos. Was production prepared with everything that was on that menu or would they have actually ordered breadsticks somewhere to use as a prop?

#1 Deja Vu

Time loop stuff is always a favorite of mine, and pulling one off as an episode is ALREADY a great premise before you even get into all of the other cast and the editing. (Shout out to Siobhan Thompson for being in exactly two Game Changer episodes and them being this one and Escape the Green Room; guess we know what pepper rating she puts down.) Great chemistry between the cast, a truly deranged display from Sam, and of course the Wenis. Genuinely the WEIRDEST episode of the season, too, always a good sign.

It's a shame they already repeated the premise too much to do a follow up to this one...

Favorite Bit(s):

I'm doing two for this one because it's my list and I can.

"This isn't fucking Um, Actually!" with sincere righteous anger.

Everything to do with Zac as Grant, most of all how easy it would have been to just make that Zac as Zac.

[wolvsaalt]

Hello people! It's Dynamite here, I'm posting to provide clarification and more in depth explanation on what happened.

First off, I must sincerely thank the post owner for not bring other people's names in. My friends had nothing to do with what happened, and I'm glad to see they haven't been dragged into this.

Second off, I would like to apologize for taking so long to clarify things. The original post happened when I just got to school, so I haven't been able to respond until I got home.

A break down on everything:

The conversation started up because I asked what fanfics and recs were. I got my answer and I wanted to move on from the topic, but hatter posts a comment I barely skimmed through. I barely remember exactly what led to the argument, but I must state that Bucket never said its okay to post about sexual things, but that if people messaged them I'd be their delicision to do so, and that Hatter would most likely get in trouble for saying that.

They start arguing and I tell them to move on from the subject, which we do. I'm not at all surprised that mods came in and deleted the posts and gave us a lecture.

I don't appreciate people saying that I had a mental breakdown and went on a rant about how much I hated the rules. I did NOT have a mental breakdown, nor did I rant about hating the rules.i simply stated that I was frustrated with continuously getting in trouble, despite constantly rereading the rules and trying to abide by them.

That was only part of the reason why I decided to move the group chat somewhere more private. I know people were stalking the forum (mainly to watch Hatter), and I felt uncomfortable knowing that

And how are we being disgusting? I can provide screenshots of our group messages, where we're sharing the pups we've had, saying hi as new people join in, and some people offering some cheap wolves up for us. I'm confused on how that's considered being disgusting?

Yes, while I would've liked to include everyone, some people can't access Discord. Which led to everything blowing up at once, with Cool Guy saying we shouldn't run and that the rules are easy to follow. Cool Guy goes on to telling me that I should use a different app, including giving out my Gmail (my PERSONAL contact info), and some apps I've never heard of.

And while I'm deeply sorry some people have been cut off, it was a needed move to take things off a public place.

Crya was blocked for calling a friend a bitch because I sold a wolf she wanted to someone else. I unblocked her after a few days and invited her back, choosing to ignore the fact that after that everything she did seemed to grate on my nerves.

A few days back, Crya promised she could get me something. So I sent her the money, and she sent it back saying she didn't have it. Myself and another friend provided proof that she did indeed say she had it, and instead of owning up and taking it. She decides to post in Greek, saying she hated us and had no reason to prove her wrong.

I took her to private messages and ended up blocking her for good. Her sister, Heather, messages me, saying that me blocking her was making her depression worse and she was going to commit suicide because of me. So I blocked her as well.

Everything after that seems normal, until the fight and being moved to discord. I told everyone that if they messaged me their username on Discord, I'll invite them to the chat. Vix starts going on about Crya, and says she did nothing wrong. How crya has on her profile, stating that she has a temper and if she gets back then she's sorry. Vix proceeds to keep talking about crya, saying I should give her a chance to apologize, and that she doesn't care and I could go ahead and block her. So I proceeded to block Vix as well.

Now, I feel the need to say that I never asked anyone to spy on me. I was ready to leave those people in the past and forget about it. But I get messaged that Crya openly admitted on a public forum that Vix was a 2nd account created by Heather to spy on us. I unblocked them to see this forum, took screenshots of the post and them threatening my friend if they told me about it. And proceeded to report it to mods before reblocking them.

I have just been informed by one of my friends, that Crya, Vix, and Heather have all been banned from WD. Showing proof that I wasn't in the wrong, and neither were my friends.

I must also say, I know Cool Guy will see this. Know that I've received proof that you've been disgustingly sexual across several different websites. So how can you accuse my friend of saying something sexual on the forum (which they no way did), when you've done much worse?

- Dyna

.

[argentangelhelps]

ARGENTANGELHELPS ICON CREDIT SPREADSHEET !

if you struggle to keep track of where you sourced your base icons or gifs, look no further than this handy dandy spreadsheet. credit is generally required to be given when someone makes and posts icons or gifs to be used by the rpc, and i've been noticing more and more recently people are getting allergic to being honest about where they've sourced their icons. luckily, you have me to help you out !

this spreadsheet isn't rocket science to edit nor was it rocket science to make thus ironically no credit is required to use this spreadsheet. (although if you like or reblog this i will not deny that i made the world's simplest spreadsheet for you)

how to use it! - open the link below, and go to file -> make a copy -> copy the file and save it to your drive - once you have your copy, input the information into the cells i included a second tab in the spreadsheet with examples of how i pictured this being used. you can edit it/change the colors/ect as much as you like. - to make it public go to share -> general access (make it accessible so anyone with the link can view it) -> copy the link and link the spreadsheet somewhere accessible on your blog (such as a pinned post or in your rules)

*note, it's highly recommended you use a burner gmail account for rp purposes as when you use drive, anyone who accesses your doc/sheet can see information about your google account such as the name and email address attached.

to access the spreadsheet go . . . HERE !

[need-him-pregnant-poll]

Just so ya know, you can't click links from the Google doc, I don't think.

The links work just fine for me. I don't know how to help you. I tried it in three different browsers (Google, FireFox, & Microsoft Edge), both from a Gmail account and anonymously, on desktop and mobile, and was able to click the links, so it's probably an issue on your end... could be an issue with a VPN, or other browser settings, or maybe if you're using WiFi over data while trying to access them? I'm not sure what the exact problem is, so maybe someone more tech savvy here can offer some advice.

[utdcrim43962025]

MR 12 - Many formerly incarcerated individuals face technological barriers upon release. How might correctional facilities better prepare them for digital reintegration, and why is this important for success in the modern world?

When someone gets out of prison after years inside, they’re returning to a world that’s changed—especially when it comes to technology. We do everything online now: job applications, banking, even setting up doctor’s appointments. But for someone who’s been cut off from all of that, it can be incredibly overwhelming. The digital world moves fast, and without guidance, it can feel impossible to catch up.

Correctional facilities could be doing a lot more to help people prepare for this shift. First off, they should be offering actual digital literacy training—basic computer use, internet navigation, how to avoid scams, how to fill out online forms, and how to use tools like Zoom, Gmail, or even job boards. These aren’t luxury skills anymore—they’re essential.

It would also help if facilities gave incarcerated individuals hands-on access to tech. It’s not enough to just watch a video about how to use a computer; people need to actually practice. Think of it like teaching someone to drive. You wouldn’t just hand them a manual and expect them to be road-ready. Same thing here.

Reentry programs should continue that support post-release—community centers or halfway houses could have “digital resource rooms” where people can get one-on-one help. And this isn’t just a feel-good idea. Being digitally literate can literally determine whether someone can get a job, access public benefits, or stay out of trouble.

If we want people to succeed after incarceration, we can’t ignore the world they’re reentering. Preparing them to navigate it—especially online—is one of the most practical and impactful things we can do.

References:

Latessa, E. J., & Lovins, B. (2019). Corrections in the 21st Century. McGraw-Hill Education.

Pew Charitable Trusts. (2021). How Technology Can Help Justice-Involved Individuals Reenter Society. https://www.pewtrusts.org U.S. Department of Justice. (2020). Roadmap to Reentry. https://www.justice.gov

[th3-c0ll3ct3r]

1. Tubbo confirm himself in the clip that he only kissed her, to which she later confirmed it too. As pre the video

Tubbo made the video and She would confirm it AFTER the hacker had allegedly made the post.

Let me help you, hacker did their job -> Tubbo made the video -> She confirmed it. Then how did the hacker make such a lucky guess about what happened that night in Tubbo's house?

I didn't have to go past the first point for it. Didn't even use my two degrees on Physics. Can't believe what they are feeding these IT students these days ....

"HoW dId The HaCkEr MaKe SuCh A LuCky GuEsS?"

THE VIDEO IN QUESTION WAS FILMED WAS FILMED A YEAR AGO OF HIM AT A PARTY WITH HER, AND ALL HER FRIENDS AS THEY DRANK

My goodness it would take a genius to be like "Hey I'm making allegations that they both got drunk (as shown in he video from a year ago) and Tubbo S/A her while drunk"

To which they allegations never specified WHERE THEY WERE it only specified part they were at

So Tubbo, confused as fuck Tubbo, said they came to there place, kissed and then talked about Jazz

Them going back to Tubbo's place wasn't even in the original allegations

Bitch if I went to a party, got drunk, PUBLICLY POSTED ABOUT IT ONLINE, and then someone was like "(me) was harassed by xyz", I'D BE SO FUCKING DUMB BECAUSE THEIR EVIDENCE WOULD BE THE VIDEO FROM A YEAR AGO. WHY THE FUCK WOULD SOMEONE INCRIMINATE THEMSELVES

Now dear clear idiot. I shall explain how 2-step verification works and how it didn't work in this case. AhEm

1. 2-Step Verification is as it sounds, in which after attempting to log on to a platform, the platform holders will either send a text message (through phone number) , email/gmail/AOL (if your old), notification or another form of communication to ensure the person login in is actually, ya know, you.

2. 2-Step Verification became a thing on TikTok, official and refined, on February 2025 (very late tbh)

3. Your young people don't know that back in my day TikTok didn't exist. OMG HOW COULD THIS BEEE??? Because it was called Musicly before it rebranded to tiktok

And since Musicly was primarily a kids/teens/young adults app, who tf is hacking a child's account?? Ya know?

So up until before that point Musicly also didn't have 2-Step Verification. Which is important because that means this security measures didn't transfer over because they didn't exist

4. Listen Leandra is by no means old. But I will rest a hand on your shoulders when I say, Gmail was created in 2004

And if you were a kid/teen around that time, you were young enough to get a Gmail with your actual name, like full legal, government, on yo birth certificate name

Why this important? Because if your primary Gmail/email/AOL, if your full legal name or part legal name, then people have a higher chance of just guess your email or, putting down "forgot password", then linking it to their email address, getting the rights to change the password and then bam.

The only way this cannot happen is if you manual lock your Gmail to only known devices (but fr that takes to long ngl and plus you won't be able to work on something if you can't access the device that has the rights to your email and additionally if you lose that device then it's game over, try again, pack it tf up)

So if she made her Tiktok account via any of the emails, then it's done, sorted, etc...

4.1. Now let's say she made it with her phone number like Tubbo suggested.

You could gain access further:

Having the email/gmail/AOL be linked with your phone number as a contact/emergency contact (idk in what case Google would hit you up but they can ig)

Phising. Look it up. It's spelt with a PH but pronounced fishing. And it's much more common then you think

The most popular phone plan providers in the UK are EE and Vodafone, inwhich if you get a new SIM card in a new phone, you can call them to change the new SIM phone number back to your older on as I'd be more convenient. The thing is, literally anyone could call. Like anyone, all you really need is the either the email/gmail/AOL, or the make and model of the phone, to answer some relatively personal questions (which you can lowkey guess ngl), or live in the same area or they just say screw it and change the number. It's often very useful but THE MOST ANNOYING THING when someone tries to access your account, and depending on WHEN and WHERE you get the card they don't even send you a confirmation text because they assumed your the one calling.

But anyways, you'd only need to realistically find out the first few numbers of her phone number, if you went with this method, trial and error'd it till you got on that's active and you can at minimum text, then just straight up try to login in or call them.

This is a great time to mentioned that Snapchat is lowkey, unintentionally screwing people over with this, because you can check if someone has a Snapchat by their contact or trying to sign in with that phone number cause it'll say the numbers is already in use.

BUT ANYWAYS, it takes about 2-6 weeks to gain access to someone's phone number or Gmail/AOL/Email if they're born pre-2000s to early 2000s

My point being, you could just guesstimate her really name by putting it through bots, checking old posts, being in personal contact with them or like reallllyyyyy putting the effort into guessing

And this is why people are often told to regularly update or change both passwords, email/gmail /AOL password and even update their names to avoid this.

5. Leandra made her social media around 2023, for her official Lovejoy shenanigans, idk what they do tbh

And I'm in no way calling her old... But she's gotta be like minimum 2-6 years older then me putting her in the bracket of people who can get a G/E/AOL (I'm getting tired of writing I tbh) with their actual names

And since 2-Step Verification was a 2025 update on TikTok, it's likely that some people just don't have it because they're too lazy to update or set it up. But even then their are many ways to get around it.

I recommend looking at the BBC guide/explanation of multi-factor verification/ two step verification/ multi-factor verification: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5VbNf6z14LS7bZ02L1NXcjG/how-to-set-up-two-factor-authentication

And to Look at this BBC bitesize link if you want to know more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zf3bcj6/revision/6

And 6. To follow up on some misconception that I know you're probably gonna throw at me because let's be real here you just hate Tubbo and that's okay. You don't need to justify it, just dislike him and be done.

Misconception 1. For some reason people are saying that her Instagram and Snapchat were also hacked. I don't know if she has a Snapchat because I don't use it, but as for Instagram it has been confirm by many update accounts, people who know irl etc... That the insta is fine!

Misconception 2. Tubbo kissed her. Hahahahhahashhsshshslolklolol. Tubbo is gay, and it's been confirmed by both parties that she kissed him first, and apparently he freaked tf out. Because he's gay. And has been openly gay for like 1-3 years. Bit weird to call him not gay for getting a kiss from one women. Like girl do you not kiss your mom? Tf? No kissing the homies? Terrible friend you are.

Misconception 3. Tubbo cleared the allegations as well as her after the allegations were out... Because how tf are you meant to clear something that's didn't exist?

Misconception 4. The hacker got a lucky guess. Now. Stay with me here. Go find an AI prompter and type 'man and women get drunk at part, write something criminal' OR just use your imagination because you know they're at the same party from a video a year ago. And I literally peeped into my older siblings room and asked them "real talk, a man and women get drunk at a party and leave together, they get to his place and something criminal happens, what is that criminal thing?" LITERALLY the first thing they suggested. Murder was second and tax evasion strats were 3rd.

And finally 7. This is too you. Yeah anonymous asker. You.

Just like DM me because as funny as it is to post about this on twitter and laugh with moots, your cluttering up my page with unnecessary discourse. But your not gonna see this, are you?

Because you, yourself said you didn't read past my first previous point. Sooooooooooooooooooooo

But also also ALSO, if she's confirmed it didn't happen and he confirmed it didn't happen, and she confirmed she was hacked, as shown in screenshots above and previously, then why is this still a talking issue?

SHE LITERALLY SAID SHE WAS HACKED. IT WASN'T HER POSTING??

Like if you gonna be mad at Tubbo be mad that he's idk fight Sapnap or something

But you seem more upset that I'm suggesting the hacker could POTENTIALLY be a gnf fan or Wilbur fan by the way they're uproaring on Twitter. Need I remind you, humbly and respectfully, IT'S FUCKING TWITTER??!

I keep people on the loop, I ain't asking for your what ifs ngl. questions? Welcome. Petty insults and challenge stupidity? Nope.

As you can see with MUCH of my covering discourse and discussion content on both Twitter and Tumblr, I put allegedly on thing that are not 90% to 100% accurate, I stick it on rumours and provide both links and screenshot to back up point because I want to be as honest as possible.

Bro if my favourite mcyt was an asshole I'd hold them too it. If my favourite vtuber was a bitch I'd hold them too it.

But I've provided ample evidence both in my first post and this post with detailed explanation, links and breaking it down into sections, I EVEN LINKED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND EXPLAINED EMAIL LORE AND WHY MILLENNIALS ARE ACTUALLY QUITE OLD

Like it's done. It's over. You ignorance, lack of real world perception, common sense, and critical thinking skills has lead you to a pre-made conclusion that please you and not the actual one. So congrats. Wish I could be that stupid.

And for the record, I got a 100% in both GCSE coursework units on Information Technology, covering a range of different topics including cyber security, and scored a 90% on the test (trust it hurts your hand writing that much)

Furthermore, I backed it up with links, educational links and screenshots reinforcing literally what I said/how it applies.

Don't doubt my intelligence. Doubt your own suckerrrr

[valenshawke]

Just rambling about how being online is these days...

For as long as I can remember, I've always been rather fatalistic about online privacy, security, etc.

At the end of the day, if governments (US, Russia, North Korea, etc.), big tech (Google, Facebook, Amazon), or a really determined hacker wanted in on my computer or online accounts, they're getting in eventually. This isn't to say I have anything useful other than the normal stuff people would have.

But seriously, something like 1/3 of the online world STILL uses Windows XP. Trying being online with XP these days and see how long it takes before you get something accessing your computer without authorization (it'll be like 10 minutes at most).

But that usually didn't stop me from taking basic security measures.

I never realized I had actually had a line in the sand with all of this.

Until Microsoft Copilot.

That was the final straw. Like, that broke something in me where I now spend many hours and days since early February essentially de-Googling and de-Big-Teching.

I've moved to Linux (Linux Mint on my daily driver, Kubuntu on my gaming rig, and Debian 12 for my home network) from Windows.

Moved away from Gmail to two different email services.

Switched so many apps on my phone from Google to FOSS apps. And when my phone finally stops getting any kind of security updates, I'll try to flash it with a custom ROM. If it bricks the phone, oh well, I'd have to get a new one eventually. But it buys me some more time with my phone AND isn't connected to Google, all the better.

Been using Collabora over Microsoft Office (trying to find a Google Workspace alternative has been an absolute chore and is still ongoing).

Installed Container extensions in Firefox for Google, Facebook, Amazon, & Reddit.

In the process of moving from Google Drive to two services with servers not in the US.

And the process continues.

I know some of this is a reaction to the lack of control I have in my life right now especially, given whom my employer is. And this is something I can at least exert a modicum of control, even if it is futile in the end.

But if it makes it harder for someone to track me for five more fucking seconds... WORTH IT.

Spite's a powerful motivator.

[plasteredwalls]

Rant incoming

WHY IS TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SO GODDAMM DIFFICULT I SWEAR TO GOD.

So. I want to play minecraft online. I don't really use my Microsoft account often but I figure it should be fine. I get signed up for PS Plus, I pay my £6.99, and now I just have to link my Microsoft.

I do the link. I submit the code, then the email, then the password...then the code again then the email then the password and so on so forth until the link expires.

I make a new Microsoft account, as suggested, and it actually seems to be getting somewhere. Until the game is like "Oh you have to sign into the account linked with your game. Yknow, Jyan, which we can remember the name of but not your freaking details".

So I try that. Get in a loop again because it's that outlook email. I sign into Gmail outlook, everything looks fine. I have a string of very recent emails from Amazon about a refund so I know my email *works* at least.

But log in still won't work. So I look on the Microsoft question thing for answers and someone has had the loop issue. There's a link about account recovery. I'm desperate, I mean what the hell nothing else is working, so I use that link. They ask for an alternative email to send me a confirmation where they explain that I did not give them enough details and, as a really really kind courtesy (BECAUSE THATS HOW THEY PHRASED THIS, LIKE IT WAS A COURTESY) they've locked me out of my account :). Yay :). Because they take security reallllly seriously. Except they haven't Because I can still access my emails on the Gmail app but still can't do anything else.

By the way, did you know once you link a Microsoft account to a ps4 account you can NEVER UNLINK AND RELINK A NEW ONE?! Why. What do you GAIN Microsoft. Oh also because ps plus is a paid service they really hate you using it on other accounts of the same ps4 device or really any online features on any account other than the main one. Because what.

So clearly my issue is too complicated for online articles. I've tried and got no where, in any case worse. Let's try reddit - SYKE ALL THE BOTS RUINED REDDIT AND I CANT ACCESS ANY TECH SUPPORT GROUPS TO ASK QUESTIONS MYSELF UNLESS I GET SO MUCH KARMA. GREAT.

So. Microsoft tech support. Please be a good - OH OF COURSE ITS NOT

To summarise this amazinggggg service

1 - CAN'T FIND A RELIABLE NUMBER BECAUSE OF THE SCAMS

1.5 - Google AI summarise RECOMMENDED ME A SCAM NUMBER AS THE OFFICIAL ONE

2 - I can't find anywhere where I can submit a text complaint.

3 - All the search bars just take me to pre written articles as if I haven't read enougj

4 - THEY THEN OFFER ME A PAIDDDDD SERVICE TO "GET FIRST IN LINE FOR GPT TO SOLVE MY ISSUE"

What. The actual. Fuck.

I just want to talk to a human who knows something PLEASE. No none of the articles have helped. No I don't want AI to tell me, it has PROVEN its USELESSNESS. I just wanna talk yo a freaking human, preferably over the phone, who can tell me what to do or initiate some stiff themself because clearly the design has self imploded and IM JUST SO FREAKING FRUSTRATED IM SAT HERE WITH £7 OF A WORTHLESS SUBSCRIPTION AND NO RELIABLE TECH SUPPORT TO FIX IT ALL BECAUSE EMAIL BROKE BUT NOT REALLY.

And that doesn't even BEGIN to worry about whether I'm gonna be able to get my money back on this completely useless service.

So I'm turning to Tumblr. What's tumblrs tech support like??? I don't know, maybe there's a genius out there SOMEWHERE. Because clearly I can't use reddit, thanks barrier to entry :/ and I can't just ring up a human who can actually listen to my words with the nuances that don't fit into the fucking booklet.

If anyone knows anything that could help, please leave your wisdom here I'm frustrated and desperate and don't wanna lose £7 on something I can't even use.

[innb33tween]

Homeless. Disconnected. Broke. Hungry. Cold. Tired. Alone(except the pooch). Lost. Confused. Suicidal. Angry. Dirty. In Pain - jaw(need medical care. ER discharged me BC there's no one to watch the pup {SD(NES), but lately IDK what to call her because she's had to stop people from trying to sneak up on me(I've had stalkers), in the dark, or try to get into my "tent" at night), foot, neck, sternum(fractured in July), upper back, legs, chest, head. I'm always in pain. I'm on meds that are slowly dwindling. 10 yrs on a narcotic for my pain, and I have a few days left. Oh well. I'll figure it out. I've heard withdrawal sucks. I'm just scared of the pain. I carry the essentials around everywhere I go. I leave my sleeping gear where I'm staying the night, but in constant fear of it being stolen. I mean, I'll "survive" without it, but it'll be hell. The nights are cold. But I can't carry everything all day. I'm not strong enough, and it hurts. We're both hungry. We've been surviving off a 24-hr food cupboard at the church where I can sometimes get a shower. I got one today after a week. Then, there were crackers and PB&J, so I ate. And I felt SO much better. We've both lost weight. The skin on my belly is saggy. Is that what getting old is, or will it go away with time? I've heard it's from dropping weight too quickly. Whoops. We average 10 miles a day, sometimes with only a can of veggies to eat. Even when we have more, it's not enough. I'm always hungry. But there's a big difference between being so hungry that you're not sure if you're legs will make it any further, and you're going to drop or just being grumpy because you want a chinese buffet, taco bell, a triple berry frosty from Wendy's, a reg chicken sandwich from BK, a vanilla and a strawberry shake from Mcd's(both large) and an ice cream cone, PLUS - to dine in a NICE restaurant with melt-in-your-mouth steak, home fries, free refills and frozen margarita, and dessert(S)! Before getting a shower and food, I wanted to stab my pocket knife into my wrist and stain the ground red with anger. Now, I'm still hungry, but not suicidal. The night before, I walked around praying someone would look at me and just offer me food. I wish people saw what I needed when they looked at me. I'm just "that homeless girl with the "vicious" dog." Also, I was sweaty, and I smelled. That's what I hated. I felt like everyone who looked at me could see how filthy I felt. I hate that my self-worth depends on these things. That's probably because most of the constant adults in my life never wanted me to have any. It makes it easier to control, manipulate, and abuse you. You don't fight back as much. You don't tell because you think that no one else cares. But I told. And told and told and told and told and told and told and told.... And now, I'm "missing". I left. I packed up what I could carry and started walking. I made it a little ways south, to another town I'm sort of familiar with and learning quickly. A map and a heavy bag teach quickly. I cannot access my FB, Gmail, I have no phone, no money, no bank account, no resources, no one to lean on. I have a pair of jeans, leggings, capris, shorts, a shirt, a tank top, an under shirt, 3 pairs of socks, 3 bras, flip-flops, and shoes that have a hole(and stink). The blister sucks. I have 3 hoodies. And all of it is filthy. I have a blanket, a tarp, and a shower curtain to try to keep warm. I use a poncho, too. I have a towel and wash cloth and soap, conditioner, tooth paste, tooth brush, and some misc hygiene products. I have a small propane tank, can opener, spoon, fork, knife, cup, and aluminum can. I have a bat. I have a few other things, too. I still have a working Fitbit. That's life. I have a power bank. Headphones for music at the library because music is life for me, and I miss it so much. But, I've dropped a lot. Carry your shit around for a while, and you'll learn what's important or essential. But I'm on a mission.....

[mcytblrholidayexchange]

for the holiday exchange, do you have to join the discord? as someone who isn't a legal adult yet my parents have full control over my device and have heavy restrictions on communications. would an email be okay? if not i totally understand

We've historically had quite a bit of issues with alternate communication methods being picked up by anti-spam measures, so yes we do need people to join the discord unfortunately.

However, if your guardians have concerns about discord content, we have an anti-spam measure in the discord where you have to click to get server access. If you just join and don't click that, you'll be in the waiting room where you have access to the announcements channel, but none of the discussion channels. That will still allow us to message you if necessary, which is all we need to be able to do as the mods, so possibly that is an option?

I will mention that you also need an Ao3 account to sign up this year, as that's how we're doing the matching.

With that said, if you do have an Ao3 account but discord is not an option for you, email me at antimony . medusa@gmail . com (no spaces), and we'll see if we can work something out.

[meretrifles]

Public Library of Ruina - Yesod

I still dither a little about Yesod. He's either Information Technology, Information Services, or both. Both feels a little self-indulgent, but it's kind of what I want.

Information Technology is basically regular IT-- have you tried turning it off and back on again. The library doesn't add a huge amount to that-- more databases, a website, shitty civic budget, unpredictable public users. You're gonna replace a lot of keyboards. (You should probably take the ones where people rearranged the keys into swear words out of service. Or at least fix them first.)

Information Services is, at this point, extroverted IT. Back in the day, this was the department that specialized in "reference" questions-- the weird stuff. People would ask librarians for all sorts of weird facts in the pre-google days. It does still happen, but less and less every year as search engines become ubiquitous and the people who remember that was a thing slowly die off. Still, reference will never completely die. People are always going to come to libraries with weird questions; that's kind of the point.

So why am I calling it extroverted IT? Because that's the primary function. There's the fairly obvious part-- people sometimes need help searching the catalogue or reading e-books. But here's the less obvious part. Myrtle has a new laptop, but she's not sure how to do anything with it and her kids all live hours away. Who's she going to call? Who can help people learn how to use technology? Without many other options, the answer frequently is-- the library.

Think everyone has a cell phone? Ask a public librarian. We know there are still plenty of people without a phone or with a secondhand POS with no sim card. Curious what happens if someone can't remember their gmail password? If you're prepared to deal with a post-traumatic response, ask a public librarian. Have you ever tried to help someone with no available cell phone recover their google account? It would probably save a lot of time if we could just tell them at the start they're SOL. But maybe they can remember the password, and technically there's a reset function that might work in a few days if you're approved.... Fun times when you're dealing with an upset person who can barely type on a good day and has just lost a ton of personally valuable and literally valuable information, probably forever. Think 2-factor authentication is great? It sure is, if you have a second factor. We have a list of free email sites that don't require you to already have an email address or a cell phone. It's hella short. And we took one off cause it was too Russian. Protonmail is a good bet if you can remember passwords. Which is a significant if. Some people just can't. Which is OK if you can save them on your computer. Oh, you don't have one and you have to use public devices all the time? Well, write it down and hope it doesn't get stolen and that you can remember which one is which. (Have you already guessed that sometimes people ask librarians to remember their passwords for them?)

In short, the library also serves as a public IT department, for services and devices it has zero control over.

Whether he's internal or public IT support, Yesod is also going to snap. Though, he will also have access to an abnormality that can affect people outside the library, which is a nontrivial perk. He will use it exclusively on vendors. I am hoping some of his bullets bend space and time to successfully hit whatever asshats decided it was OK to build the entire backbone of library ebook lending on Adobe Fucking Digital Editions, an old ass program with literally zero support. It would seem impossible for them to still be shackled to it in the City, but it also seems impossible that we're still shackled to it now, so I'm pretty sure the ultimate capitalist dystopia couldn't let it die.

Hmm? My specialty? I'm a reference librarian. Why do you ask?