#remove negative links from google | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

scribe-of-elysium · 6 months ago

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Quietus on Ao3

Hello, it's been a hot minute.

If you follow Quietus on Ao3, you may have noticed that it hasn't been available to read on that platform for a while.

I've received many messages asking about this over the last few months and apologise for the delay in responding. Life's been hectic and I also needed to distance myself from the fic and anything to do with it, because honestly it was causing me a fair deal of stress and anxiety, which was having a negative impact not only on my ability to create anything new, but also on my general mental health, which I will always prioritise over anything else.

To answer everyone who has reached out to question why Quietus was hidden under 'Collections' on Ao3, it was due to plagiarism. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened with my story over the years; I have come across it being uploaded and shared in all kinds of places that I haven't given my consent for it to be shared on, including google drives, translated versions on websites that the translators never even bothered to ever link me to, or plagiarising my writing on Discord/X/Twitter/other story sharing websites. Then there are the people who steal the artwork that talented artists created specifically for my story, who use it as promotional art for their stories, which is upsetting not only for me, but even more so for those artists who poured their time, love and effort into creating the pieces.

As you can imagine, this is all pretty off-putting for creators, but it is also the unfortunate reality of sharing content online. It's difficult to track and control, and I am not the first, nor the last, person to face these issues. I just wish people would be more mindful of the negative impact this has on writers and artists.

The case of plagiarism has now been fully resolved. I was angry enough at the time it went down that I was honestly ready to remove Quietus and everything related to it completely. But after taking time out, I realise that it really isn't fair to the majority of respectful readers, to deny them the chance to read the full version of the story. After all, that was why I began posting it to begin with, to share it with the world in the hopes that it would spread a little slice of positivity and happiness.

So in light of that, it's now available to read on Ao3 again, but I would ask my readers to please remain vigilant in case they spot my work being posted/shared/plagiarised anywhere again in the future, and to please notify me right away and report it if you do come across that.

I have a lot of messages to catch up with and will be trying to do this over the coming weeks when I find time to do so. Thank you for your patience.

#quietus #Ao3 #writing

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tenpintsofsundrop · 2 years ago

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Fanfiction Etiquette 101

(Things You Didn't Know You Need To Know)

So, I have seen some discussions about these things on my dashboard, and I know some people are new to tumblr and new to fanfiction in general, so I decided to put this list together in case it might help people. And this stuff goes for all fandoms, no matter what type of fanfiction to write and post.

Also fyi, this post is mostly for people who write and post fanfiction.

1: Putting A Readmore/Cut On Fanfiction

So a 'readmore' (also known as a 'cut') is the ability to put the body of your fanfiction under a cut off link so that people's dashboards are not clogged up by long sprawling paragraphs of text. This is also helpful if your fic contains smut and people don't want to be subjected to smut - people have to click through to keep reading sensitive topics.

The button for it looks like this on desktop:

And this bar of options comes up on desktop when you hit 'enter' on a blank line.

And it looks like this on mobile:

Tumblr put it permanently into the hotbar of options so that it's easier for people to put a readmore on their posts on mobile.

Once you have inputted it, it comes up as a light grey jagged line, showing you where your text cuts off in the main post aka what text is visible before the cut and what's not.

And generally, I think it's a good idea to put the readmore after the first paragraph of your fic, or after the description/summary.

I have noticed that some people put it in after several paragraphs for a longer fic, but I think to make fics easier to reblog, you could put it closer to the top. And even if you're writing smut blurbs, you should put it close to the top to keep smut concealed in case people don't want to read or see smut.

If you don't use a readmore, people are less likely to reblog your fic because they don't want to put a long text wall on other people's dashboards.

2: Using (Stolen) Gifs As Fanfiction Covers

I have seen some discussion about using gifs from google, and people putting a gif that they have downloaded and simply writing under it 'this gif is not mine, please DM me if it's your and I will give you credit'.

It's generally established among gif makers that downloading random gifs and putting them on your fanfiction is bad etiquette. Those are considered stolen gifs.

Even if you say it's not yours and offer to give credit, any gif you repost that is not yours is considered a stolen gif.

Fanfiction writers and gif makers need to work together, not against each other. Reblog gif sets you like, and don't download random gifs, no matter what the source is.

The best way to use gifs as fanfiction covers is to make them yourself or to use the tumblr integrated gif search system.

The gif search system is in the same hot bar as the readmore, labelled under 'gif'.

When you pull it up and click on it, you type in the name of the character you are looking for, and then you can scroll through the results. You can click on a gif to add it to your post, and remove it if you don't like it. So you can try out different gifs to find the right fit of what you're looking for.

And when you find what you're looking for and put it on your post, it automatically credits the gifmaker.

And the credit appears like this. And the name of the gifmaker can be clicked and then it takes you to their blog, so you can see who made the gif. This is a much better way to use gifs, because if someone likes a gif they see on your fic post, they can click through to the original gifmaker and reblog it.

Alternatively, using stills from the show/piece of media you're fanfic is about is a great way to avoid using stolen gifs.

2.5: Using Flashing Gifs On Fanfiction

I have noticed that a lot of people use flashing dividers for their fics, and they don't tag it with a flashing warning (#flashing gif or something similar) and they don't see this as a problem.

Using a flashing gif in fanfiction without a warning can negatively affect disabled readers. Not just people with photosensitive seizures, but people with migraines and different types of eye issues.

3: Using Coloured Text For Fanfiction

Speaking of accessibility issues, I have noticed that many people (especially people new to tumblr/new to fanfiction) use Tumblr's coloured text option to differentiate characters in fanfiction - assigning one colour per character with dialogue.

Some people also just use coloured text for the whole body of their fics, just making it straight up unreadable for disabled people.

Using coloured text in fanfiction makes it inaccessible because certain types of colour blindness makes it unreliable to see on a white background, and bright colours can cause eye strain for different types of disabilities.

It is kinder to use the traditional black text for the body of your fic, and any important information (like the content warnings, DNI criteria, etc).

4: Putting Thorough Content Warnings On Fanfiction

Speaking of content warnings - I could (and probably should) make an entire post about this topic alone, because many writers (both new and old) are severely lacking in this department.

Content warnings are supposed to be more for just smut - and if you do have smut in your fic, you should put warnings for that, instead of just releasing for fic into the wild with no warnings at all. Content warnings are supposed to be for anything that could be potentially triggering for a reader - phobias and fears, sensitive topics, uncomfortable or fear-inducing situations, and kinks and nsfw topics.

Tbh I think not enough people put warnings for alcohol and alcohol consumption in their fics, because alcohol is far too normalized to most people, but again - I could probably make a whole post just about content warnings in fanfiction. Basically: if you think your post could be triggering to someone with an addiction or in addiction recovery (or triggering to a sober person who doesn't want to read about drugs or alcohol) - then include those things in the content warnings.

Fanfiction is about informed consent.

People need to be better informed about what the content of your fic is before they consent to reading it. Also, if you're worried about the warnings being too detailed and giving away 'spoilers' for your fic, then you're probably worried about the wrong thing. And you can just put a warning at the very top that says "the content warnings of this fic contain spoilers for the plot of the fic" and let people make their choice if they want to skip the content warnings or not.

Please, write about all the dark or sensitive topics that you want, but just put detailed warnings on your fic so people can be informed about it before reading your fic.

People always appreciate thorough warnings, and they are more likely to read your fic if they are fully informed before clicking into the body of it.

4.5: (Not) Censoring Content Warnings

Tumblr is not tiktok. (Same goes for posting fics on AO3, but this post is mostly about Tumblr fics.) On Tumblr you can say/spell out any word you want without your post being suppressed or taken down - suicide, kill, murder, fuck, abortion, hell, porn, tits, cumshot, etc.

So that means that when you're writing out the content warnings of a fic, you should write them out fully, rather than putting slang or alluding to the topics in a fic. (Again, informed consent.) Rather than saying 'this fic contains SA', say: 'this fic contains sexual assault' or 'this fic contains rape'.

I saw someone using the term 'unalive' in the content warnings of their fic, and tbh, that's what inspired me to make this whole post.

If you're not mature enough to spell out all the topics in the content warnings of the post, you're not mature enough to be writing and posting about those topics.

Also, try not to use terms that need to be looked up/implicit terms. Certain terms for kinks (like dacryphilia or somnophilia) might lead a person to google those terms and find things they don't want to see. So instead of using those terms, just say 'crying kink' or 'sleeping kink' instead, so that everything is spelled out plainly.

...

This is all I can think of for now. Basically, just be kind to others when posting fics. Be kind to gif makers, disabled readers, and anyone from your fandom who might have an interest in your fic! Be safe and have fun writing! <3

#sundrop speaks #fanfiction #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x you

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scottysystembuster · 3 months ago

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How to run a smear campaign that works!

1. Spreading Misinformation via Social Media

1.a: Example: A fake X account posing as a "concerned citizen" posts a viral thread claiming that a local politician, Jane Doe, was caught embezzling funds from a charity. The thread includes doctored screenshots of bank transactions and a blurry photo of Jane at a charity event, implying guilt. The post is shared thousands of times before Jane’s team can respond. 1.b: Tactic Explained: This leverages misinformation and forged evidence to exploit the speed of social media. The goal is to damage reputation before the target can fact-check or counter the narrative, relying on emotional outrage to drive shares.

2: Anonymous Leaks to Media Outlets

2.a: Example: An anonymous source emails a major news outlet, alleging that tech CEO John Smith has been secretly selling customer data to foreign companies. The email includes a vague, unverified document labeled "Internal Memo" that seems incriminating. The outlet publishes a story with a sensational headline, prompting public backlash, even though the document lacks context and proof. 2.b: Tactic Explained: Anonymous leaks create plausible deniability for the campaign’s orchestrators while exploiting media’s appetite for scoops. The lack of verifiable evidence is overshadowed by the story’s initial impact, tainting the target’s image.

3. Coordinated Online Harassment

3.a: Example: A small business owner, Sarah Lee, is targeted by a competitor. Overnight, her bakery’s Yelp and Google reviews are flooded with one-star ratings from newly created accounts, accusing her of rude behavior and unsanitary conditions. Simultaneously, X posts from burner accounts amplify these claims, using hashtags like #BoycottSarahsBakery to trend locally. 3:b: Tactic Explained: This tactic uses coordinated bots or hired trolls to create an illusion of widespread dissatisfaction. The volume of negative feedback overwhelms legitimate reviews, discouraging customers and harming the business’s reputation.

4: Character Assassination Through Out-of-Context Quotes

4.a: Example: During a podcast, author Michael Chen jokingly says, “I’d rather burn my books than let them be censored.” A rival clips the quote, removing the context, and shares it on X with a caption claiming Michael is “encouraging violence against publishers.” The clip spreads, leading to calls for his books to be banned. 4.b: Tactic Explained: Taking quotes out of context distorts the target’s intent, painting them as extreme or unethical. This tactic relies on audiences not checking the original source, amplifying outrage through selective editing.

5. Fabricated Personal Scandals

5.a: Example: A community leader, Aisha Khan, is running for city council. A blog post from an obscure website claims Aisha had an affair, citing “insider sources” and a grainy photo of her dining with a colleague. The story is shared across X by seemingly unrelated accounts, sparking gossip and undermining her campaign. 5.b: Tactic Explained: Personal scandals, even if unproven, distract from the target’s professional qualifications. The campaign aims to erode trust and shift focus to salacious rumors, often using vague or fabricated “evidence.”

6. Guilt by Association

6.a: Example: A nonprofit director, David Patel, is smeared by an X campaign linking him to a controversial figure he once met at a conference. Posts claim David “collaborates” with this figure, using a single photo of them shaking hands as proof. The posts ignore that the meeting was brief and professional, but the association damages David’s credibility. 6.b: Tactic Explained: This tactic exploits loose connections to tarnish the target’s reputation by associating them with someone already viewed negatively. It relies on the audience’s tendency to assume guilt without verifying the relationship.

note: these are the behind scenes activities of the #smirksRus board room meetings.

#smirksRus #smear campaign #social media #influencer #social media conditioning #fake news

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desertdollranch · 8 months ago

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Opening my Amy Elise doll

Meet Haley!

So I'm sure you all know I love rare and discontinued 18 inch dolls. It's a lot of fun finding out that they exist, hunting them down on the secondary market, receiving them in the mail, introducing them into my collection, seeing my collection become more diverse, and knowing that I'm one of the very few people who owns them. I also think it's fascinating to observe the individual differences between brands. While my 18 inch doll collection started with American Girl dolls, it certainly won't end there.

Haley was no exception to that. I first noticed her while searching for another brand of rare dolls. I stumbled across her listing, tried to research but couldn't find much about her, and so decided to think about it for a few weeks. She was so inexpensive (less than the price of a new Our Generation dolls) and yet looked like she was lovingly made with high quality materials. The mystery around her was so intriguing that I went ahead and bought her.

When I received her, the box gave me the URL of the now-defunct Amy Elise brand, and so I was able to plug it into the Wayback machine and see the site as it appeared when it was active. I also noticed the box refers to Amy Elise as "books and dolls with a purpose". What purpose could that be? I wondered if, based on Haley's lab coat and clipboard, that maybe these dolls encouraged young girls to consider careers in science. I didn't receive a book with my doll, so I could only speculate.

The lab coat was featured on Hayley's profile on the Amy Elise website, which was archived by the Wayback machine from 2007 to 2009.

The other available doll, Marissa, is a young detective who likes to solve mysteries. A good start to a later career in forensics, I guess?

But if you read the introductions closely, each mentions learning lessons about faith. And if you look closely at the pictures of the two dolls, you can see the golden cross necklace each of them is wearing.

I was way off in my assumption. Rather than being science-focused, Amy Elise was one of the many Christian alternatives to American Girl that began popping up in the 1990s. That's still happening today, although it's becoming less common as smaller brands realize how hard it is to compete with American Girl's massive advertising budget, as well as more budget-friendly alternatives like Our Generation. For that reason they tend to quietly go defunct within a few short years.

I think this calls for a deep dive into this small, obscure brand.

The Wayback machine doesn't always archive the complete sites, and especially not the pictures, but it seems to have gotten a pretty comprehensive shot of the site.

Here is the mission statement and letter from the CEO of Amy Elise.

Fortunately this statement manages to convey their purpose without insulting American Girl, or referring negatively to non-Christian girls. I also did Google the CEO's name to see if she's still involved in doll production of any kind, and I can't find evidence that she is.

Elsewhere on the site, there are a few other faith-related products sold separately from the dolls.

The images here are broken because they were not archived.

There are a few other outfits and accessories for Haley and Marissa as well. Larger images weren't archived. None of the outfit descriptions give any sort of link to the characters' stories.

That's about all that's interesting about the site. The author's blog is more of a journal of her life and thoughts. Only the first page was archived and nothing in it is related to the dolls or their stories.

So let's open the doll. (You might have already spotted her a few weeks ago when I made a post about my dolls visiting a pumpkin patch--Haley was there. I actually got her in October and just haven't gotten around to posting this until now, mid-December.)

Haley was never removed from her box, so she's in flawless condition. She came with a pretend clipboard, pretend pen, and a cross necklace.

Her outfit underneath the lab coat is very cute.

Everything fastens with snaps instead of Velcro.

Her shirt has buttons on the left shoulder.

Her jeans have snaps and a zipper.

Her wig is one of the nicest I've ever encountered! It's soft but not slippery, and feels very realistic.

It did come off pretty easily when I tugged on it, so I moved it over to give her a side part, which I think makes her look a bit younger than she does. To me she doesn't look ten years old like her book says. She definitely has a more mature look to her face.

Overall I'm really impressed at her high quality materials. She's made of vinyl, but it does look like porcelain. She has a cloth torso and the standard articulation at the hips, shoulders, and neck.

She fits nicely into American Girl clothes, despite being just a little bit slimmer.

She fits into Maplelea clothes too, and this robotics club outfit looks perfect on her. I like the pink and purple hair on her but I don't think this wig change will be permanent.

Her feet are slightly bigger than AG doll feet, as seen on the left. I tried Haley's shoes on my Maplelea doll Léonie, and they were a much better match!

#amy elise dolls #doll reviews #18 inch dolls #haley

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littleredstory · 1 year ago

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Beta Read my Story???

Little Red is red-y to be consumed as a draft, and I would appreciate it SOOO much if anybody out there would give it a read and tell me their thoughts! I know a couple people have already expressed interest, so please send me a message or email me @ [email protected] if you're willing to do it!!

*EDIT: SHORT SUMMARY: Russel and his older brother Stan are living on their own and working through a lot of issues from their shared past, but things are good. What isn't good is the stray, injured fairy that finds its way to their porch- fairies are a species of intelligent feline evolved to walk upright. They're a designer pet for rich people, and not a lot is known about them because of their small numbers. What's worse is that this one seems capable of understanding and speaking English just fine, so now the two brothers have to figure out what the hell is going on.

The story is 225 pages and 106,000 words long. It's a hefty beast! Because of that and the commitment it takes to beta read something so lengthy, anybody that does it and gives me their thoughts gets 1) a million of my homegrown organic kisses if they so choose and 2, more importantly) a drawing! A single character lined/shaded drawing, which you can see examples of here. One of the few ways I have to thank people for doing this for me!

I'd ideally like for 5 to 10 people to read and give me thoughts, but the more the merrier!

If you message/email to get in on this mundane once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (who else wrote a story called Little Red that they're asking to get beta-read in 2024?) I'll send you the story in whatever format works best, a downloadable file or link to a google doc, and when you're all done just tell me what you think! There's no "time limit" but within a couple of months would be great :]

I would like some detail in the thoughts, and please- be critical! Not mean, but critical! You could read it all and then do a little summary or do small thoughts chapter by chapter, whatever works. I'd say I would like at least hmmm 500 words of thought? More is better, but reading the story just to say "it was good" is not the most helpful feedback.

I'm looking for things like: did you like the characters? Which character was your favorite, and were any significantly weaker than the others? How was the pacing, did it feel too fast or too slow at any point? Did anything stand out to you as really well done or really NOT well done? These are just suggestions and not an exhaustive list of things I'd like to know, and if you have different things to comment on, chat away! It's just an example of some.

Once you do that, I'll reply with a handful of questions about potential changes to the story and if you, the reader, think they'd be positive or negative, and also ask what you'd like drawn.

Does this sound fair? Does this sound okay? I've never written a novel before! I'm going to ask people completely removed from the sphere to read it, too, because I want lots of diverse insight so I can make the story as good as it can be :]

(PS- if you beta read and are qualified to comment on things like how I, whitemen, have written the two black main characters, PLEASE share thoughts and feedback!! I want to write diverse characters, obviously, but I am fallible and human and research can only get me so far. Critique and thoughts on stuff like that, or handling mental illness, or a character with a lot of scars, or a mute character, don't hesitate to share!!)

#i'll be reblogging this post a good bit sorry in advanceeee #genuinely so excited to hear people's thoughts even if they are critical ones!!#its so hard to read the same 100k words a few times and not just accept them as they are #outside input is greatly appreciated in all forms #open up my eyes my friends #sorry this post is so long LOL I have a lot to say and wanted it in one place

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fuck-your-chickenstrips-hoe · 6 months ago

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Guys.... not to be Ms. negative Nancy, but we are so very screwed. like so-so very screwed rn. because what do you MEAN my silly little dance app is a NATIONAL SECURITY RISk? Granted it's been able to link historically marginalized and systemically oppressed groups, and allowed a relatively safe and self-paced platform for learning and deconstructing personal and cultural biases. Or gave the ability to information about HEALTH CARE and bodily needs. Oh and let's not forget its one of the few places where information was not bought out, canned, or twisted for a third parties benefit. But NO, mY DaTa....SHUT UP!! oh my lord. I feel like we forgot that MILLIONS of United Citizens SOCIAL SECURITIES were leaked? or that META and GOOGLE, and TWITTER are either selling, manipulating, stockpiling our respective data for individuals from GODS NOWS WHERE, FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT. But like i said, my silly little clock app is an issue. So now its gone, and despite my lose of yummy edits, political commentary, hot men, and recipes, the people have lose the right to FREE PRESS and the FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Because what do you mean as long as YoU the UnItEd ( which is laughable) sTaTeS gOvErnMeNt does not enjoy the momentam a foreign platform source is it can under false bases REMOVE ACCESS to it just for fucks? That's actually so very sad, its embarrassing. Im actually so embarrassed being associated with the government. Im even more disappointed in the people that are so HELLBENT on the lose of other's privileges to understand that they have DOOMED not only themselves, but literally everyone else. I hope someone with hot stink breath spits in your mouth, and everytime you swallow with morning breath you get war flashbacks because fuck you. eat a dick and die.

#tik tok #united states government #supreme court #fuck this shit #tik tok ban #us politics

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4dkellysworld · 1 year ago

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Can you explain what you mean by dropping ego concept? Is it like basically knowing "I wasn't born" " I don't have a family", like just things related to the character? And you drop them by knowing those things to not be true?

Yes but not those concepts in particular because if you knew those to be true, you wouldn't have identified with the body to begin with. If you could actually accept those, then you could accept "I am not the body" quite easily already. The understanding that those things are false "I was born" or "I have a family" naturally happen when you realize you are not the character. There's no need to try convince your ego that it is unreal. I recommend just being aware and open to the idea that those things could be false and detaching from your character in general.

I meant dropping your attachments, aversions, desires, habits, beliefs, tendencies, predispositions, things you're holding onto that are holding you down such as things from the past (yes the past doesn't exist but unless you really *know* that to be so, simply telling yourself it isn't real isn't going to give you peace. There may be things in the past that you are still holding onto, even if it is just subconsciously and letting go of those things is freeing and removing more ego that covers the Self).

Read Lester's book The Keys to the Ultimate Freedom, it talks in detail on the how of all this. Especially Session 9: Mind over Matter, Session 16: Take Full Responsibility and Session 32: Realization by Dropping the Unconscious, you can get the book from Ada's google drive. Link is in the pinned post of @4dbarbie-archive

The methods, to be effective, must be in a direction of first quieting our thoughts; then actually getting rid of our thoughts. Make a conscious effort to bring up subconscious thoughts and when they are brought to the conscious plane, drop them. When they do come up, because they are very limiting and very negative as a whole, you want to drop them and you do. After you have dropped an appreciable number of them, then you can drop thoughts in large amounts. To drop thoughts in large amounts requires dropping the tendency or predisposition* that has evolved from the accumulated thoughts on that one particular thing. Dropping the tendency or predisposition, one drops all the thoughts that caused that tendency or predisposition. In this way you may, at one time, drop a large accumulation of thoughts. from Session 32: Realization by Dropping the Unconscious of Keys to the Ultimate Freedom by Lester Levenson

*or attachments, aversions, desires, habits, beliefs etc

#asks #mind purification

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shubham987 · 10 days ago

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reputematters2 · 3 months ago

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renushekhawat804 · 3 months ago

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fred-the-dinosaur · 2 years ago

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It seems to me that the trouble with digital is it's all still physical objects. Maybe there can be copies of things and they can travel very fast and be in multiple places and be compressed down and stored in unthinkably tinier places and accessed cleverly and take forms we could barely conceive of before we met computers.

But it's still an SSD card, a big server, a powerplant, physical equipment to read a bunch of information inscribed into a very high tech substrate (stuff!)

Old film negatives or plates aren't nearly as useful until you use a bunch of old processes, materials and skills to pull prints from them. Even digitisation requires both image capture tools (objects) and software (runs on objects) to replicate a process that was originally made with objects, and which is therefore modelled on data from having those objects.

Lots of people say 'oh get rid of manuals and physical books and photo albums and go digital' and sure. Tactility aside it's great option for space. Fold your two hundred book library into a flash drive the size of a postage stamp like an old man folding the broadsheet down to a postcard. Saves on a lot of dusting and apartments are pretty small. (First person to use this as an excuse to pile on konmari is getting hit with a saucepan btw)

But putting it all in the digital space is treated like using a magic hammerspace where it's safe, retrievable and doesn't rely on the physical world at all. Just your passwords which are now tied to you specific phone, your accounts which run on servers which are just computers you don't own. Your evergreen file formats. Your hard drives which will not fail of course, and will always be backed up to other infallible hard drives and other people's computers and Google searches which definitely find that blog (dead) which had a link (dead) to a file on a Google drive (deleted) that one time. Electricity which will always be on and legacy software that will definitely still run on the new hardware because the old ones long gone, and WiFi which is a basic utility so will always be flowing and so so much water in the big server farms run by the monopolies bigger than nations.

It just seems. Like a grown-up, acceptable equivalent to stuffing a bunch of stuff under your bed so you don't have to think about it. Because even if you ignore the monopolies and the exploitation for water and minerals, and the planned obsolescence. Isn't it all still depending on stuff? Physical, very dense stuff. That needs to be kept dry and cool and powered on and connected and very Not Near big magnets? But it's still objects to look after.

It feels like when we're selling each other the idea of keeping everything 'digital' there's an undercurrent of 'because it loopholes having to think about the inherent ephemerality, storage requirements and maintenance needs of physical objects'. But just as computing can transcend the forms of the physical, so is it dependent on it. I'm worried what's happening given that as a broader culture we pretend that it removes thinking about objects, rather than adding a whole new bunch of objects to look after.

And at some point that file in that file format on that cloud server or storage device will be as inaccessible to you as an undeveloped glass plate negative is now. That day is coming sooner than we think. And pretending it's not still made of physical stuff is contributing to the narratives that let it get pushed here faster.

(Also my computer harddrive died last week. Pah.)

#talking freds #sorry i said flash drive im old. ehat do they even call them now. thumb drives?#sorry i said 200 book library I'm dyscalculic not saying ANYTHING in particular about your big or small library i dont even know which it i #better peiple than me have said this already #but im insomniac and i saw an article about glass negatives and got thinking #long post #my entire teenage music libary is on a semi corrupted ipod classic and jalf of it disappeared from the itunes Library at some point #i just. dont listen to lot of music now. i do listen. but not close. its not the same.

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mariacallous · 1 year ago

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This June, approximately 150 motorcycles will thunder down Route 9W in Saugerties, New York, for Ryan’s Ride for Recovery. Organized by Vince Kelder and his family, the barbecue and raffle will raise money to support their sober-living facility and honor their son who tragically died from a heroin overdose in 2015 after a years-long drug addiction.

The Kelders established Raising Your Awareness about Narcotics (RYAN) to help others struggling with substance-use disorder. For years, the organization has relied on Eventbrite, an event management and ticketing website, to arrange its events. This year, however, alongside listings for Ryan’s Ride and other addiction recovery events, Eventbrite surfaced listings peddling illegal sales of prescription drugs like Xanax, Valium, and oxycodone.

“It’s criminal,” Vince Kelder says. “They’re preying on people trying to get their lives back together.”

Eventbrite prohibits listings dedicated to selling illegal substances on its platform. It’s one of the 16 categories of content the company’s policies restrict its users from posting. But a WIRED investigation found more than 7,400 events published on the platform that appeared to violate one or more of these terms.

Among these listings were pages claiming to sell fentanyl powder “without a prescription,” accounts pushing the sale of Social Security numbers, and pages offering a “wild night with independent escorts” in India. Some linked to sites offering such wares as Gmail accounts, Google reviews (positive and negative), and TikTok and Instagram likes and followers, among other services.

At least 64 of the event listings advertising drugs included links to online pharmacies that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy have flagged as untrustworthy or unsafe. Amanda Hils, a spokesperson for the US Food and Drug Administration, says the agency does not comment on individual cases without a thorough review, but broadly some online pharmacies that appear to look legitimate may be “operating illegally and selling medicines that can be dangerous or even deadly.”

Eventbrite didn’t just publish these user-generated event listings; its algorithms appeared to actively recommend them to people through simple search queries or in “related events”—a section at the bottom of an event’s page showing users similar events they might be interested in. As well as posts selling illegal prescription drugs in search results appearing next to the RYAN event, a search for “opioid” in the United States showed Eventbrite’s recommendation algorithm suggesting a conference for opioid treatment practitioners between two listings for ordering oxycodone.

Robin Pugh, the executive director of nonprofit cybercrime fighting organization Intelligence for Good, which first alerted WIRED to some of the listings, says it is quick and easy to identify the illicit posts on Eventbrite and that other websites that allow “user-generated content” are also plagued by scammers uploading posts in similar ways.

“I’m confident Eventbrite does not want to be hosting this on their platform—I’m pretty sure that that is not what they had in mind,” Pugh says. “It shows that a lot of the platforms that haven’t traditionally thought of themselves as being part of the threatscape have no idea how to monitor the content on their platform.”

“Listings like these do not have a home on Eventbrite,” Chris Adams, the company’s head of platform product, tells WIRED in a statement. “This is a spam attack, coordinated by a few bad actors attempting to draw audiences to third-party sites.” Adams says Eventbrite is taking the issue “very seriously” and the “identified illegal and illicit activity has been removed.”

Eventbrite’s help center says it uses a “combination of tools and processes” to detect content that goes against its rules. These include, its pages say, using machine learning to proactively detect content, a “rules-based” system, responding to reports from users, and human reviews.

“Our investigation determined this is abnormal activity, a misuse of the Eventbrite platform, and based on our findings, Eventbrite did not profit from these listings, and there have been no finalized ticket purchases identified,” Adams says.

Eventbrite appears to have removed most, if not all, of the illicit listings that WIRED identified after we alerted the company to the issue. Because of the way WIRED collected the data, however, the thousands of listings found on Eventbrite are likely the tip of the iceberg. WIRED obtained the data used for its analysis by collecting listings Eventbrite deemed were “related” to hundreds of events found through simple keyword searches. These keyword searches and their related events likely do not capture the entirety of illicit events published on the platform.

Even within this limited dataset, our analysis found that, on average, 169 illicit events have been published daily.

The vast majority of the listings WIRED found used common tactics, whether they pushed drugs, escort services, or online account details. The spammy pages were often listed as online “events.” The events do not actually happen but rather act as a way for those posting them to publish their activities online. Most of them were free; however, some tried to charge people to “attend” through Eventbrite. It is not clear whether anyone has paid for any of the events.

Searching for various controlled substances, such as brand-name opioids, brought up results on Eventbrite. These “events” mostly pushed people away from the platform to online pharmacy websites, which say people can buy medicines without prescriptions.

John Hertig, an associate professor at Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, says there are thousands of online pharmacies operating at any time and that the vast majority of them are illegal—with websites often selling drugs not approved by the FDA or failing to be licensed in the country where they are selling into.

“The other major issue that we see in terms of illegality is not requiring a prescription,” Hertig says. “You see a lot of this: ‘easy, hassle free, simple process, no doctor needed.’ That's illegal.” Typically accounts claiming to sell medicines through non-official platforms, such as those on Eventbrite, will not be doing so legitimately, Hertig says, and that brings risks around whether what they are selling is safe.

As well as websites, those claiming to sell illicit services on Eventbrite pushed people to chat privately on WhatsApp or Telegram. Our analysis identified as many as 60 unique Telegram accounts and 65 WhatsApp numbers in the dataset. WhatsApp spokesperson Joshua Breckman says the platform encourages users to report suspicious activity and that it will respond to valid law enforcement requests. Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

“I use Eventbrite to show people what services I sell,” the person behind one account, going by the username Usa Best Vcc, tells WIRED in a Telegram chat. “Eventbrite helps 100% in getting my services to people.” The account, which claims to sell social media accounts and banking accounts and lists more than a dozen apps, has had its Telegram handle listed on more than 200 Eventbrite pages, according to search engine results. It also has its own website, Gmail address, Skype, and WhatsApp accounts.

Similarly, one Indian WhatsApp number appeared on 123 almost identical listings on Eventbrite. The telephone number is linked to two other numbers and a website that appears to offer escort services. All three numbers replied to messages and asked what “area” or “location” a WIRED reporter was in. One number sent a series of photographs of women and a proposed list of prices for their services.

Those behind the accounts posting to Eventbrite likely have not just singled out the platform; many also have presences across other websites and services where people can upload their own content. They often include short summaries, which are filled with keywords that could help them appear higher in search results.

For instance, the Usa Best Vcc seller also has posts on Pinterest, Medium, Deviant Art, and more. The Indian WhatsApp number also appears on hiking website AllTrails, an open data website from Public Health Scotland, Medium, and others. Pinterest spokesperson Ivy Choi says the company deleted the account and works quickly to remove content that violates its policies when it detects them. AllTrails declined to comment, and other organizations did not respond to a request for comment.

“Any site that allows a user to upload their own content will find these cyber criminals advertising, scamming, or using the site for their personal gain,” says Rachel Tobac, the cofounder and CEO of SocialProof security. “Cybercriminals leverage the power of user-generated content (their own drug advertisement) to sell to folks who are searching for what they have to sell.”

Pugh, from Intelligence for Good, says those uploading the posts to multiple platforms may be using automated tools to do so, and they are not manually entering all their details time and time again. “You definitely can see a difference in some of the more sophisticated actors who have clearly used some SEO-manipulation tools,” Pugh says. Some, she says, will use emoji or slang terms to avoid automatic content moderation that platforms put in place.

“Any platform that is inviting their user community to host freely has to be aware that their platform can be used for reasons that were never intended,” Pugh adds. “If you're putting a platform out there and inviting the community to participate, you have a responsibility to keep it safe.”

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