#What are Progressive Web Apps

[aphonicsolutions]

The Rise of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): A Developer’s Guide

In this blog, we discuss about what are Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) & shares Step-by-step Guide to Progressive Web App Development. If Want to get the best of mobile and web technologies leveraging PWA? Aphonic Solutions is the best web development company in Rajkot. Call us!

[changes]

Tuesday, April 1st, 2025

🌟 New

We have refined post headers and footers in the iOS app. On the web, only the headers have been refined so far, with footer changes on the way. And, in the Android app, both changes are still on the way.

To reduce tech debt, we made the difficult decision to remove the fast queue feature. We know this was beloved by a small cohort of active users, but usage is too low for us to justify continued development. To be clear: queuing still exists and will be maintained; this only affects the fast queue feature.

We have revamped the filters of the Activity column in Patio to help you stay on top of what matters to you.

🛠 Fixed

We fixed an issue where the “not interested” items under a post’s meatballs menu might not have been working for some folks.

We fixed an issue that prevented joining a community via an invite link.

We fixed a missing background when Activity is loaded as a column in Patio.

🚧 Ongoing

No ongoing incidents to speak of right now.

🌱 Upcoming

No upcoming launches to announce today.

Experiencing an issue? Check for Known Issues and file a Support Request if you have something new. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

Want to share your feedback about something? Check out our Work in Progress blog and start a discussion with other users.

Wanna support Tumblr directly with some money? Check out Premium and the Supporter badge in TumblrMart!

[empty-movement]

Welcome to Something Eternal: A Website Forum in 2023 wtf lmao

It's 2023, and a single belligerent rich guy destroyed one of the primary focal points of uh...global communication. Tumblr is, shockingly, kinda thriving despite the abuse it gets from its owners, but that I will call the iconic refusal of Tumblr users to let Tumblr get in the way of their using Tumblr. Reddit killed its API, removing the functionality of mobile apps that made it remotely readable (rip rif.) Discord, our current primary hangout, has made countless strange choices lately that indicate it has reached the summit of its usability and functionality, and can only decline from here as changes get made to prepare for shareholders. (NOTE: WROTE THIS POST BEFORE THEIR MOBILE "REDESIGN" LMAO)

The enshittification is intense, and it's coming from every direction. Social media platforms that felt like permanent institutions are instead slowly going to let fall fallow incredible amounts of history, works of art, thought, and fandoms. It kinda sucks!

A couple years ago, I posted about a new plan with a new domain, to focus on the archiving of media content, as I saw that to be the fatal weakness of the current ways the internet and fandoms work. Much has happened since to convince me to alter the direction of those efforts, though not abandon them entirely.

Long story short? We are launching a fucking website forum. In 2023.

If you remember In the Rose Garden, much about Something Eternal will be familiar. But this has been a year in the making, and in many ways it's far more ambitious than IRG was. We have put money on this. The forum is running on the same software major IT and technology businesses use, because I don't want the software to age out of usability within five years. It has an attached gallery system for me to post content to, including the Chiho Saito art collection. It has a profile post system that everyone already on the forum has decided is kinda like mini Twitter? But it is, fundamentally, a website forum, owned and run and moderated by us. We are not web devs. But we have run a website on pure spite and headbutting code for over twenty years, and we have over a decade of experience maintaining social spaces online, both on the OG forum, and on our Discord. Better skilled people with far more time than we have can and will build incredible alternatives to what is collapsing around us. But they're not in the room right now. We are. And you know what? Maybe it's time to return to a clunkier, slower moving, more conversation focused platform.

You're not joining a social media platform with the full polish of dozens of devs and automated moderation. Things might break, and I might need time to fix them. The emojis and such are still a work in progress. Because e-mails no longer route in reasonable normal ways, the sign-up process instead happens within the software, and has to be approved by mods. Design and structure elements may change. Etc. The point being, that the forum isn't finished, but it is at a place where I feel like I can present it to people, and it's people I need to help direct what functions and things will be in this space. You all will shape its norms, its traditions, its options...choices I could try to make now, but really...they're for us to create as a group! But the important stuff? That's there. Now let's drive this baby off the damn lot already!

Come! Join us!!

PS. As always, TERFs and Nazis need not apply.

[labs]

Introducing Collections

Hello again, Tumblr. Labs division here!

A while back, we announced our comeback as a new team that would imagine big ideas for Tumblr—and would build them in public (aka with you). We recently announced our first failure, and today we're very excited to announce our first possible success!

A bit of context

As we've said before, an essential part of how we're working in Labs is speaking to people who use Tumblr pretty much on a daily basis and those who don’t use it at all.

In those interviews and focus groups, we learned that curating the Tumblr experience around different interests and fandoms is a big part of making Tumblr feel like your own space — and one of the main ways you do that is through blogs and tags (be it following or creating them).

So here at Labs we're working on ideas to help you curate the content you care about, and to help share what makes your experience fun with other people, even if they are not on Tumblr already.

Ok, but what's the idea?

Have you ever put together a song playlist to listen to when you're in a certain mood, or share with a specific friend? Or sent them books you know they'll love? Now imagine if you could do that with blogs and tags on Tumblr…

Maybe you're a veteran in a fandom and have the best recommendations of who to follow for your followers. Or your best friend won't join Tumblr because they don't know that their favorite TV show is actually really popular here. Or maybe you want to curate and browse content from a specific fandom, or a group of your mutuals, your own way.

That's the idea behind Collections!

You can check out that example collection on the web here!

We want your help

The first way we're testing Collections is by inviting some of you to create your own and share with followers and friends—they'll be able to follow all the blogs and tags in your collections. So we're looking for volunteers!

You want to help? Great! Here's what you need to do:

Come up with your own Collections of blogs and tags, write it down somewhere. Focus on introducing people to Tumblr or recommending stuff to your followers. What would you want them to first see on your version of Tumblr?

Come up with a name, cover image, and description for it. Also try to think of who you would send your collection to, and where you might post about it.

Write out that idea as a reply or reblog on this post!

We’ll give it a few days, and pick a handful of people to play with Collections. We'll let you know. Then we’re off to the races!

If you decide to participate (and get selected), please note that this early release won’t work on the apps yet, only in your web browser. 

What happens next?

Our goal is to keep working on improving and adding Collection functionalities while you test what we've built (and share your feedback with us).

Next we’re exploring making a collection something you can follow on Tumblr, as a way to curate Tumblr around your many interests and moods, and to give you more freedom to curate content on your dashboard.

And if this idea is not for you, remember we have many more experiments in progress, so stay tuned!

With love,

Labs division

[hexthesystem]

From a comrade:

Since a mass exodus is occurring of people leaving FB & related apps, I'd like to prematurely and imperfectly announce the project I'm working on with help from my partner. Proudly announcing, as a work in progress, The Little Punk Library!

"The Little Punk Library is a project devoted to making information accessible and available pending the obsolescence of the internet (especially social media) and continued censorship online.

We aim to collect books, printed articles, magazines/zines, and more, in order to help our community access information. With the help of our trusty printer/scanner, the postal system, and our own creative brains, we hope with the resources we provide we can be an asset to our community both near and far. Some of the resources we’d like to provide include an index of informational and instructional articles, information packets and learning resources, a collection of fiction and nonfiction books for potential lending (still figuring the mechanics out of how this will go), magazines/zines and chapbooks, and more.

We are also interested in potentially creating a lending library for DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and other physical media, but it is not our current focus.

Please join us on Bluesky @LittlePunkLibrary (our only social media currently, link is below) for updates."

https://bsky.app/profile/littlepunklibrary.bsky.social

I'm working on putting out more information available through Bluesky and a web page that I'm having technological issues with but am hoping to get up and running soon. Ultimately my goal is to create a zine or even just a page of information about how to access The Little Punk Library so that it will be put on paper and not just online and can be exchanged via snail mail. Currently it is not yet accessible but with what resources I have available I'm hoping it will be soon.

[icamefromadream]

◦•◦Want to Challenge your Writing? {OR STOP PROCRASTINATING WHILE WRITING?}◦•◦ (ALL apps are FREE)

What better way to challenge your speed, skills and strengths in writing then with these writing apps that will definitely get you writing in no time!

╭•❥• The most Dangerous Writing App

Web: https://www.squibler.io/dangerous-writing-prompt-app

Description: Don't stop writing for a second or your progress will reset!

╭•❥• Write or Die

Web: https://writeordie.com/

Description: An app that allows you to punish yourself if you were to slow down or stop writing. YOU CAN CHANGE THE SETTINGS TO DISABLE BACKSPACE OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU DESIRE.

╭•❥• Self Control

Web: https://selfcontrolapp.com/

Description: Blocks specific websites so you don't have to procrastinate🤩🤧

Follow @paranoia-art for more!

[bloomzone]

how did you get into studying chinese?? also any tips for beginners?

How I Got Into Studying Chinese + A Beginner's Guide!

So, a lot of you have asked me about how I started studying Chinese and tips for beginners. I thought I’d share my story and a little guide for anyone wanting to dive into this (Piàoliang ! 漂亮 - beautiful ) language! +++ I will put a link of a PDF document and free webs that will help uuu at the end !

First things first, why Chinese? For me, it’s because I’ve always been drawn to the culture—everything from the festivals, history, and even Chinese dramas. But most importantly, my dream is to get into a good college in China! 🏫Just thinking about living there, speaking the language fluently, and experiencing everything firsthand keeps me motivated.

Starting Out:

When I first started, I was overwhelmed (it’s Chinese, after all!). But once I broke it into smaller steps, things became manageable and even fun! Here’s what helped me:

Step 1: Master the Basics

Learn Pinyin: Pinyin is the Romanized system for pronouncing Chinese words. It’s like the training wheels for speaking Chinese. Apps like HelloChinese, or Duolingo (for pinyin .. it HELP TRUST ME) !

Practice Tones Daily: Chinese is a tonal language, meaning the tone you use changes the meaning of the word. Start with the four basic tones and practice them with simple words like 妈 (mā - mom), 马 (mǎ - horse), or 吗 (ma - question particle). Don’t stress if it feels awkward at first—it gets easier!

Step 2: Build Vocabulary Slowly

Focus on high-frequency words like numbers, greetings, or common verbs. Think of words you’d use every day.

Try flashcards! Apps like Anki or Quizlet are amazing for memorizing characters and words.

Step 3: Start Learning Characters

Characters might seem scary at first, but they’re not impossible! I recommend starting with basic ones like 人 (rén, person) or 好 (hǎo, good).

Practice writing them—it helps you remember better. Plus, it’s oddly relaxing!

Step 4: Immerse Yourself

Watch Chinese shows or movies (C-dramas are SO good). Even if you don’t understand, you’ll start picking up tones and common phrases.

Listen to Chinese music or podcasts. [My playlist here!] while reading lyrics to learn new words.

Step 5: Practice Speaking

Speak out loud as much as possible, even if you’re just talking to yourself.

My Top Tips for Beginners:

1. Set small goals. Start with something achievable, like learning 5 words a day.

2. Be consistent. Even just 15 minutes a day is better than cramming once a week.

3. Get a notebook. Writing down characters and vocab feels more fun

4. Celebrate your wins. Did you recognize a word while watching a show? Did you finally pronounce something right? That’s progress!

5. Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone learns at their own pace.

PDF DOCUMENTS + SITE WEB (FOR MANDARIN LEARNING)

document n¹ if the link didn't work write down on Google ( nihao textbook 1 pdf)

document n² if the link didn't work write down on Google ( Chinese text a pdf )

site num ¹

site num²

Why You Should Keep Going:

I know learning Chinese can feel overwhelming, but trust me, every step you take gets you closer to your goal. For me, imagining myself walking around a college campus in China, speaking fluently, and making friends there keeps me inspired. If you have a big dream like mine, hold onto it—it’ll carry you through the tough days!

Remember: 加油 (jiā yóu - "keep going"). You've got this!

@bloomzone ✒️

[evidenceof]

your wips sound so interesting 👀👀 what's reasons for aggression about ?

cw for violence! this is born out of the insane number of times i rewatched fight club in march. bear with bc this is also a Very Fresh webgott wip in my notes app. premise in my head was, "Guarnere asked for it. Winters deserves it. This was different. He hit Webster because he wanted to feel those prep boy soft hands on the skin above his ribs, see if they could bruise." so far it's chunks of dialogue and disjointed paragraphs so very much Work In Progress. thank you for the ask caoimhe!!! <3

reasons for aggression wip snippet

“Hit me.” “What?” “You heard me the first time,” Joe doesn’t move, only cocks his head to the side and hooks a thumb into his snow-damp belt loops. “Hit me.” “I don’t want to.” “Sure about that, Web? You been looking at me like you want to.” “I haven’t been looking at you at all.” The clenched bone of his jaw betrays the blankness on his face. “Yeah, okay. You sound real stupid when you lie.” It barely comes out of him before Web’s hands push him over. Joe swallows a gasp when he feels the force of it in his lungs. So he was strong, Joe knew that. Those arms are indication enough. The back of his head slams against the wall, torn wallpaper brushing against his cheek, gentle and quivering like a fingertip, and Web’s palms press over his chest like a fever. It’s almost too much to feel. But he can take a lot more. “Hey, do that good enough and I might get to experience that replacement depot you’re so hot about.”

[personality-pokedex]

COME ONE, COME ALL!

IT'S THE PROJECT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!

Have you ever wondered if anyone had a comprehensive typing quiz? Ever wondered what pokemon, exactly, you would be? Ever gotten disappointed by the quizzes that do exist?

I know I have!

And instead of taking it, I've tried to solve the issue!!

BEHOLD: THE COMPLETE POKEMON ASSIGNMENT QUIZ!

We got EVERYTHING in here!

Including:

A personality centric typing quiz, which focuses on specific combinations and orientations as opposed to just a single type!

An extension with a calculator to show you whether or not your typing exists in any form, in that specific order!

Inclusion of Regionals, Megas, and even Forms that switch up a 'mon's typing!

.... a laundry list of subquizzes I still have to do.

Yeah, it's a heavy work in progress. But the base is done, and that's what counts!! With the subquizzes being linked, I consider the whole thing fit for release!

Now, of course, a few notes on usage:

You'll need to make a copy to be able to take the quiz! The base copy can't be edited, for obvious reasons.

Personally, I've had poor results on mobile web. Unless you have the sheets app, I'd reccomend using a computer!

If you get a work-in-progress, feel free to shoot an ask!! I'll priorotize requests, and update when subquizzes are added!

Feel free to also send in suggestions, and modify as you'd please! I want this to be able to be improved upon, even if I end up lacking on updates as time progresses! Take this as my contribution to the community, and if this stops being updated after a while, feel free to carry it on!! Sorry about the extensive mess inside, though, haha...

[acafe-official]

A-Café (Update #25) - Community Discussion

Good morning everyone! I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I'm finally back with another community update. In the first part, I'll be giving a brief overview of where we're at in terms of project progress. Then, in the second half, we'll discuss a new development in app accessibility.

Without further ado, let's begin!

1) Where are we at in the project currently?

A similar question was asked in the A-Café discord recently, so I figured I'd include my response here as well:

Right now we’re reworking the design of A-Café, both visually and architecturally. The initial planning and design phase of the project wasn’t done very thoroughly due to my inexperience, so now that I’m jumping back into things I want to ensure we have a solid prototype for usability testing. For us that means we’ve recently done/are doing a few things:

analyzing results from the old 2022 user survey (done)

discussing new ideas for features A-Café users might want, based on the 2022 user survey

reevaluating old ideas from the previous app design

making a new mock-up for usability testing

Once the mock-up is finished, I plan on doing internal testing first before asking for volunteer testers publicly (the process for which will be detailed in an upcoming community update).

2) Will A-Café be available for iOS and Android devices?

Yes! In fact, the first downloadable version of A-Café may no longer be so device-specific.

What do I mean by that? Well, in the beginning, the plan for A-Café was to make two different versions of the same app (iOS and Android). I initially chose to do this because device-specific apps are made with that device's unique hardware/software in mind--thus, they have the potential to provide a fully optimized user experience.

However, I've since realized that focusing on device-specific development too soon may not be the right choice for our project.

Yes, top-notch app performance would be a big bonus. But by purely focusing on iOS and Android devices for the initial launch, we'd be limiting our audience testing to specific mobile-users only. Laptop and desktop users for example, would have to wait until a different version of the app was released (which is not ideal in terms of accessibility).

Therefore, I've recently decided to explore Progressive Web App development instead.

[What is a Progressive Web App?]

A Progressive Web App (or PWA) is "a type of web app that can operate both as a web page and mobile app on any device" (alokai.com)

Much like a regular mobile app, a PWA can be found through the internet and added to your phone's home screen as a clickable icon. They can also have the ability to work offline and use device-specific features such as push-notifications.

Additionally, due to being web-based applications, PWAs can be accessed by nearly any device with a web browser. That means regardless of whether you have an iOS or Android device, you'd be able to access the same app from the same codebase.

In the end, a PWA version of A-Café should look and act similarly to an iOS/Android app, while also being accessible to various devices. And, due to having only one codebase, development of PWAs tends to be faster and be more cost-effective than making different versions of the same app.

To be clear, I haven't abandoned the idea of device-specific development entirely. We could launch iOS/Android versions of A-Café in the future if demand or revenue end up being high enough. But as of right now, I don't believe doing so is wise.

[What Does this Mean for me as a User?]

In terms of app installation and user experience, not much should hopefully change. I'd like to have A-Café available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

There will also be the option of searching for A-Café via your device's web browser, and then installing it on your home screen (iOS devices can only do so using Safari). We will likely rely on this method until we can comfortably ensure user access to A-Café on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

-------------

And that's it for now! Thank you for reading this latest community update. For more insight into the development process, consider joining the A-Café discord. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this post, we would love to hear your input in the comments below. See you later!

[changes]

Tuesday, March 25th, 2025

🌟 New

On the web, we have revamped the filters on the Activity page to help you stay on top of what matters to you.

In the iOS app, you can now double-tap to Like videos and unmute them by hitting the volume up button.

🛠 Fixed

We identified an issue preventing password reset emails from being delivered to Yahoo, Hotmail/Outlook, and AOL/AIM email addresses. If you’re still not receiving password reset emails, please check your spam folder, and contact support if it’s not there either.

Adding tags should now be more intuitive in the Android app.

We also fixed a rare crash when adding photos in the iOS app. Please keep your apps up to date!

🚧 Ongoing

As you may have heard, we are currently working on migrating Tumblr’s backend to WordPress. In fact, this blog has been running under WordPress since last week. If you’ve noticed any problems with it, please let us know!

🌱 Upcoming

No upcoming launches to announce today.

Experiencing an issue? Check for Known Issues and file a Support Request if you have something new. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

Want to share your feedback about something? Check out our Work in Progress blog and start a discussion with other users.

Wanna support Tumblr directly with some money? Check out Premium and the Supporter badge in TumblrMart!

[souptastical]

Small shoutout/promo to the app i now use for writing✨️ ✒️Lite Writer

Monthly: $3 (CAD)

One-time purchase: $15 (CAD)

*most of these features are premium, but you can still use the free version*

((Ignoring the fact you get a rare glimpse of one of my drafts before the x3 editing rounds, there's quite a few features I'm loving here- mainly in premium, but I appreciated the allowance of a time-senstive trial so I could get a sense of what the app offers. This is the only app I've found that is similar to one I used to rely on in my early days of digital writing.)

👏🏼My favourite features so far (in order of photos):

•The ability for a background/theme- what makes it better is every book can have a different one (a godsend)

•The ability to add book covers

•In "side panel" there's a web shortcut which allows you to browse the web without leaving the app- which I find handy & am loving it for using my main thesaurus!! I was surprised at the fact they offered this lol, really going the extra mile it seems

•Web server- havent tweaked it yet, but to my understanding it's for transferring.

•Continuing the point above, I find it cool that it allows for transfer in txt or PDF if you dont wanna use the web server

•It allows backups- I'm not fully versed in how it works and it seems a little finicky, but its there along with the web server. It offers it by Google drive and a couple other accounts.

•Fonts✨️✨️- a BLESSING. Just upload whatever ones you want.

•Quite a basic feature, but the book allows chapter separation.

•It has TTS and is very basic, definitely not ElevenLabs quality, but they offer it + allow you to export the audio file, which is really cool.

There are so many other features I'm yet to learn & this app is definitely a work in progress, but I personally am getting my $15 worth. Their development team seems very involved from what I've seen, which is good. The last update was March of this year, and they offer tutorials in certain aspects. The only thing I can't figure out is fucking markdown lol- i literally can't find it. But that's my only issue, everything else is great & im so glad I found this!!!!

[indigostudies]

What are those apps you usually post in your productivity updates?

hi! here's a breakdown of apps i use, as well as websites and other resources i've used/use for my learning (mainly chinese, though some of these resources can be used for other languages as well).

apps i use every day:

dot languages: this is a chinese-specific app where you select your hsk level, and then read articles at that level. there's a pop-up dictionary, an option to show pinyin, post-article vocab practice (audio, matching, translation, and writing), and the option to have your articles either in simplified or traditional.

TOFU learn: a blend between flashcards and writing, you can find decks for various things, including hsk level-specific decks, and you learn new vocab with the stroke order and then write each new term three times—once with an overlay (so the term is visible), and then two times from memory. there's also a review function, which helps you practice terms you've already learnt, and each term has audio that goes with it. i use it for chinese, but there's decks for esperanto, french, german, italian, japanese, korean, norweigian, portuguese, russian, spanish, swedish, and turkish.

the pleco dictionary app: my favourite chinese dictionary app; allows you to translate from english to chinese or chinese to english, has options for writing, radical, vocal, and keyboard entry, and has both traditional and simplified characters.

ankiapp: this one's not particularly complicated; it's a flashcard app, where you can make your own decks or download decks other people have made. it uses a spaced repetition system to help you remember terms—you rate yourself from worst to best on how well you remembered the term, and that determines how many times it'll pop up afterwards. it also gives you an overall grade for each deck, which is a nice way to measure your progress.

duolingo: probably my least favourite of all of the apps i use; the chinese course isn't the best, and now that they've removed the notes/grammar information option, there's no way for people who aren't already fairly familiar with the language and its inner workings to learn them if they exclusively use duolingo. it's okay for maintenance practice, though, but i'm already almost finished with the entire course and i would say it barely reaches to lower hsk 4, so i wouldn't say it's a good tool if you're more advanced.

apps i have but use less often:

readibu: this is sort of like dot in that it's an app for reading in chinese with a pop-up dictionary. however, that's where the similarities end; readibu has novels, short stories, and articles aimed at children, and each of those are further split into genres. readibu also lets you add your own web-pages and read them on the app, so you can use its pop-up dictionary with them. it's aimed more to intermediate and upper intermediate learners, with hsk levels ranging from hsk 4 to hsk 6. the only reason i rate dot above readibu is because dot has a larger range of levels (hsk 1 through hsk 6 i believe? but it may go higher) and exercises built in to help you learn the vocab.

the chairman's bao: also a chinese reading app, though if you use the free version, you only get one sample article per hsk level (hsk 1 - hsk 6). i believe that every so often you get a new sample article for each level, but i'm not sure what the interval on that is. it also has a pop-up dictionary and a flashcard option for saved vocab.

du chinese: another chinese reading app; it has articles divided into newbie through master (six levels in total, though they don't line up perfectly with the hsk in my experience), and new articles are free for a certain period of time before becoming locked behind a paywall. there's a pop-up dictionary and a vocab review/test option for vocab you save.

memrise: flashcards with audio, depending on whether you're using an official course or a user-generated deck. decent, but it can get repetitive.

hellotalk: not exclusively chinese, but i believe it started off mainly aimed that way. you set your language, and then your target language, and then you can talk to native speakers who have your language as their target language. potentially incredibly useful, but if you're like me and extremely introverted you may have a hard time using this app, since it requires a lot of one-on-one interaction.

slowly: i haven't actually gotten around to using this, but it's sort of like a digital penpal app, as i understand it. you can learn more about it here.

websites and other miscellanea:

this massive mega drive by @salvadorbonaparte (languages, linguistics, translation studies, and more).

this masterpost by @loveletter2you (linguistics, languages, and language learning books/textbooks).

this masterpost on chinese minority literature by @zaobitouguang

the integrated chinese textbooks by cheng and tsui, which are the textbooks i use for self-study—there's textbooks and workbooks, as well as character workbooks (though these can easily be cut out without suffering from the loss).

mandarinbean: graded readers, hsk 1 - hsk 6, with a pop-up dictionary and the option to read in traditional or simplified

chinese reading practice: reading, beginner through advanced (three levels), with a pop-up dictionary and some additional notes included on vocab and language-specific things non-native speakers might struggle with or not know.

hsk reading: graded readers, hsk 1 - hsk 6, divided into three sections (beginner, intermediate, advanced). does not have a pop-up dictionary, but does have an option to translate the text, post-reading quizzes, and notes on important vocab with example sentences.

my chinese reading: reading from beginner to advanced (four levels); has a pop-up dictionary, the option to play an audio recording of the passage you're reading, notes on key words, things that are difficult to translate, grammar, and post-reading comprehension questions.

the heavenly path notion website, which i would say is one of the best resources i've ever found, with a massive number of guides, lists of chinese media in a variety of forms, and general resources.

chinese character stroke order dictionary: what it says on the tin; will show you the stroke order for a given character.

hanzigrids: allows you to generate your own character worksheets. i use this very frequently, and can recommend it. the only downside is if you want to create multiple pages at once, you have to pay; however this can easily be circumnavigated by creating only one sheet at a time. you can download the sheet as a pdf and print it out for personal use.

21st century chinese poety: a resource i only came across recently; has a massive collection of contemporary chinese poetry, including translations; much more approachable than classical poetry, which can often be incredibly dense and hard to parse due to the writing style.

zhongwen pop-up dictionary: if you're reading something in chinese on a website that doesn't have a pop-up dictionary, this is a must. i've never encountered any words that it doesn't have a translation for so far, including colloquialisms/slang. i use it to read webnovels, and it's been a fantastic tool. you can also save vocab by hitting the r key when you're hovering over a word/phrase, making it easy to go back and add terms to your flashcard deck(s).

chinese reading world: a website put together by the university of iowa; split into three levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), with thirty units per level, and ten modules per unit, as well as multiple proficiency tests per level. each module is split into three parts: a pre-reading vocab quiz, the reading with a number of comprehension questions based on it, and a post-vocab reading quiz. it also rates you in relation to someone with a native proficiency based on how quickly you read and answer the comprehension questions, and how many vocab questions you get right.

jiaoyu baike: an extensive chinese-to-chinese dictionary, put out by the taiwanese ministry of education. you can find an extensive write-up on it here, by @linghxr.

social media etc: see this post by @rongzhi.

qianpian: another chinese-to-chinese dictionary; @ruhua-langblr has a write-up on it here.

this writeup on zero to hero by @meichenxi; initially aimed at chinese learning, but now has expanded greatly.

music rec's: this masterpost by @linghxr.

tv/film: youtube is a great place to find chinese tv shows and films, and they often have english subtitles. if you can't find something on there, though, you can probably find it either on iqiyi or asianvote, which have both chinese and other asian shows and films (though you'll want an adblock if you're going to use the latter). i use these a lot to watch things, and have discovered a lot of media through these, and then novels through those when i went searching to see what they were adapted from.

polylogger: a website for logging the amount of time/type of language study you do. has a wide variety of languages, and the option to follow other people. still, it's a fairly basic site.

[wasongo]

I think I got a lot of new followers recently because twitter keeps going to shit. However, as you probably know I can't and don't post nsfw art here.

You can find my NSFW socials on my pinned post. I think a lot of people are hesitant to join platforms which aren't fully available to the public yet but if you'd like to keep up with my nsfw art I'd like to:

Urge you to visit my website and subscribe to my RSS feed for gallery updates!

Suggest you follow me on either Pillowfort or Cohost (18+).

In the last year I have started using PF and Cohost more than Mastodon, as they've implemented new features and their posting system is more in line with what I enjoy: robust tagging and filtering, ability to post MANY images, and readmores for long posts.

If you've been hesitant to join either of those platforms since you don't know what to expect here's a small-ish review of both purely from my experience as someone who: a) enjoys profile customization b) likes to have an organized art gallery that is filterable by tags.

This review is aimed at artists looking for NSFW spaces to post! UI screenshots might have suggestive terms and images. Proceed with caution.

Edit: Good grief tunglr, if you open this on the web dash the images aren't shown in the neat galleries I put them in to make the post shorter. Head on over to the permalink if you'd like a better looking post!

Let me just say that if you're looking for a review on more technical aspects of these platforms, like security and moderation policies. I'm not your guy. You'll have to look elsewhere for that. I'm focusing on QoL UI and community aspects.

Though both these platforms allow nsfw, please make sure to read their ToS/Community Guidelines for rules on what is and isn't allowed. Though as far as I'm aware they have pretty similar rules.

Pillowfort

Overview::

Pillowfort has more years under its belt being available to users than Cohost does, as such I THINK the artist/fandom userbase atm is larger, which means you might see more activity there. UI as of right now is very comfortable and the site runs pretty smoothly. Loading times are very decent. Posting is easy, though the image uploader is a little wonky (they are working on fixing this). You are able to create and manage communities based on interests or themes, which people can follow or join and all post in the same space. You can personalize your profile by adding images, links, and formatted text to your sidebar, as well as customize your own profile colors. Tag searches in my experience yield results of both art and aesthetic irl porn and gifs. If that's something you miss from ye olden tumblr days it might be worth a look.

Pros:

Posts have privacy options (everyone, logged in, followers, mutuals, only me)

Has a DM system

Posts have Commentable, Rebloggable, NSFW toggle

Can post MANY images on a single post

Readmore feature for long posts

Robust tagging system

Robust filtering system: hide or click-through warning (by installing Tassel userscript only)

Customizable profile colors, Light/Dark mode for whole website

Communities you can follow/join for shared interests

You can filter posts on profile by tag

You can filter posts on profile by "original poster" or "reblog"

Cons:

wonky image uploader, cannot upload multiple images at once

Cannot search for multiple tags at once

Search for terms with periods in them is currently broken (ex. "D.Gray-man" will not yield any search results)

Communities have few moderation features atm

Without Tassel installed the filtering system is pretty garbage atm (you can either show or hide nsfw or filtered tags completely, with no click-through warnings)

No multiple account/side blog feature yet

Some inline image formatting options are broken atm

Default endless scrolling

No progressive web app for mobile atm

For a more in depth explanation of PF's UI and features you can check out this official post.

Here are some images of the UI.

---

Cohost

Overview::

Cohost feels like it has a small artist/fandom userbase at the moment. However, to make up for that it has a pretty slick UI, it works great as a progressive web app on mobile, and it recently implemented an ASK system similar to tumblr's! Everything loads pretty quickly, and you can switch between your "latest posts" feed and your "bookmarked tags" feed. You can access your likes as a bookmark system, but as a whole "notes" and engagement numbers except for comments are not visible anywhere (this is wonderful for my personal mental health). It has a simple post editor and though the image uploader only allows 4 images that will load with lightbox, there's a workaround to upload MANY inline images if you want. The catch is you'll need to use a bit of markdown or html to do that. (more on that below) Though you can't personalize your profile colors, you can add personality to your page by making very cool pinned posts and adding images to your sidebar.

Pros:

Animated avatars! (listen i like having my animated komui icon)

You can make multiple "pages" (blogs) which function independently for comments/asks. switching between pages is effortless

Ask system, with anon toggle (you cannot reply privately atm tho)

2 Factor Authentication

Progressive web app for mobile works like a charm

You can preview your post before you post it

Posts have a NSFW toggle and you can save drafts

Can post MANY images in a single post (bit of a workaround as you'll need to upload your images to a draft first and then add them to a new post with some markdown or html code)

Readmore feature for long posts

Robust tagging AND filtering system (show, click-through, hide completely), plus CW system to give your posts additional click through warnings you deem necessary

You can do incredibly cool things with HTML and inline CSS on your posts

You can filter posts on profile by tag, and you can have pinned tags

Toggles for hiding reblogs, replies, and asks on profiles

Paginated browsing instead of endless scrolling (things load faster)

No engagement numbers visible ANYWHERE

Cons:

Image uploader does not let you upload multiple images at once. Limit to 4 images (can upload more as inline images with code)

Advanced post formatting (ex. bold, italics, bullet list, inline images etc.) has to be done through markdown or html + css which is not the friendliest for those who don't know any code (there's a button for a markdown cheatsheet when you post tho!)

No dark mode, or customizing profile colors atm (however there are workarounds to changing site colors with Stylus extension)

Cannot search for multiple tags at once

Cool things you can do with CSS on your posts might look very bad on mobile

Since you can do some crazy things with CSS on posts, you might come across eye straining visuals and movement on some posts. There are settings to tone this down, and people are pretty good about tagging things, so with some good filtering you should be able to avoid this however.

A little quieter on the artist/fandom front (but we can change that)

Here are some images of the UI.

If you made it to the end of this review thanks for giving it a look! If there's something vital you might want to know that I missed in regards to UI and posting features let me know and I will try to answer. But again, this is not a technical/security issues/bugs review so don't ask me about that.

Lastly, I've been seeing a handful of NSFW artists I follow on twitter hopping on bluesky. I REALLY suggest you do a little research on the owners and platform to see if you think joining is worthwhile, since I have a feeling many artists might not want their alternative to be a site owned by crypto advocates (and also a billionaire). Some basic research will get you there. Just take heed and use your best judgement. On that note Cohost is strictly against crypto (I'm guessing PF might be too but I don't have a link that I can point you to confirming this atm).

I believe community driven and supported platforms are the way to go. If you end up thinking either of these two places are worth your time, do consider getting your friends and favorite artists on board or supporting them! You'll get added perks on both platforms if you become a supporter. PF recently added the ability to have MULTIPLE AVATARS (PFPs I think they're called nowadays) which I think is super cool (i really miss that from LJ days).

Again, thanks for reading and I hope to see some of you there!

[rigelmejo]

Something that always annoys me is the idea only 1 language learning method works. Which is not true. While it may be possible that, for a particular individual, only a few out of many study methods may work well enough for That Individual to make progress and stay motivated... that doesn't mean all the other study methods won't work for anyone else out there, or that those few methods will work for every other given person.

Obviously if you've been studying a while, then you already figured out what kinds of things work for you and don't. If you're a beginner, just wading into studying?

I would suggest you simply look for study methods that: 1. Teach you new things regularly, 2. Review and practice things you've learned, 3. Include studying things you need for your particular goals (for example if your goal is to read X book then the study materials at some point should involve reading practice and some words the book contains, if your goal is to talk about Y then the study materials should include some information about pronunciation and words you'll need to be able to say).

As you can imagine, a TON of study materials will meet these requirements. And you can study a given skill in a LOT of ways.

(Reading is my focus lol so just for reading, a beginner might: do vocabulary study with lists or conversations with native speakers or watching shows and looking words up or listening to dialogues with a transcript like in a textbook or graded readers or a picture book with word labels in the target language or a video game with labelled objects in target language, all of those things as long as your vocabulary is improving or reading practice is happening would help you make progress). So to improve reading skill as a beginner: you could study with a textbook, a podcast with transcript, a classroom or tutor with words written down in target language (like TPRS), a video game, a TV show and a translate app on your phone, a friend you talk with (who either writes words down or you look up words you hear with a translate app), a friend you text with, srs flashcards like anki (provided there's text) etc. As long as there's new words, and/or you're practicing reading, the study method may work. If it works will come down to if you can stay motivated doing it regularly, and make sure you regularly learn some new things and review/practice things you've already studied.

So consider those things when you see people selling a study method as a product (especially when it's costing you money). Consider if it teaches you NEW things, and are those new things related to your goals, and how MUCH new stuff will it teach you before you finish it? Consider if it provides review or practice, or if you can use it's materials to review on your own making up your own method, or if you'll need to do separate review/practice.

So examples:

LingQ. Can it teach you many new words? Yes, thousands, since you can import any texts you want when you get done with their provided material (I have no idea how much their beginner material covers though in terms of words... I would hope 1000-3000 words but that can be researched). Is your goal reading? It's suited to reading, so you will practice and review often with it. Cost? I think it was $12 a month when I last had it, and the price may have increased. Is it worth it? Depends on a learner's needs. I found it was wasting my money, so I chose to use free tools like Pleco and Readibu apps - since those apps are suited for Chinese learners and have better translations, Pleco has better paid graded reader material if I was going to spend money, and both Pleco and Readibu let me import texts so I can learn thousands of new words just like LingQ but free. Now that I'm not a beginner, I often use Microsoft Edge to read chinese... since I can still click-translate words easily (all my web browsers have that tool free), and Edge's TTS voice is helpful for pronunciation and sounds quite good. I read webnovels online so Edge works well. But it's translations aren't as good as Pleco or Readibu, so if I still needed translations more I would use them. So... is LingQ a good study method? Its certainly a study method marketed to buy. Well... the method is suited to improving reading skill, at least. It costs money, which is a negative, but it does offer a lot. However: everything it does regarding reading can be done free with other apps or sites or web browsers on their own. So if paying money motivates you to read... sure. LingQ does have a few word tracking features a learner may find worth the money, keeping in mind the actual read-to-learn method can be done free without lingq. (Also... while LingQ is a valid option for improving reading, if the learners goal is speaking then it would be important to think of what study activities the learner will do OUTSIDE of LingQ to improve speaking... because I've seen how LingQ is marketed as "how to learn a language" but it's only focused on some skills. It has vocabulary and grammar in some sense, since you'll read a lot and encounter new words and structures. But it doesnt have speaking or writing practice at least last time I was on it. Those activities would need to be worked on, on your own).

You can do that kind of cost/benefit contemplating with any study method material you see being sold. Amother example: there's a beginner Mandarin course called Mandarin Blueprint. It teaches like 800 words. Thats all. It may be worthwhile for a beginner... who still needs to learn 800 common words. But if you already know a few hundred words, the benefit of the course is less, you'll need to find a new material to teach you more new stuff soon. And the price was like a few hundred for the course... which for me personally was too much to spend, when I had already learned 800 hanzi from a book that cost me 12 dollars and 2000 words from a free user made memrise deck. The course claimed to get a person speaking, competent, but anyone not a beginner would say speaking basically with 800 words is nowhere near the level of working in Chinese or just doing a lot of daily life stuff, or reading/listening to media. (Although for the motivated beginner if you're learning 800 words on your own like I was, its definitely close to the point of jumping to learn more words and start reading kids and teenager books, and watching easier shows if you're willing to look new words up). So to me... Mandarin Blueprint felt like overselling some basic beginner materials. (Again when I know several other things that teach beginner stuff either more in depth so HSK test prep classes, and college courses, or that teach beginner stuff to the same depth as Mandarin Blueprint but free).

Some study materials aren't going to act like they teach everything. I've seen chinese courses just for learning to speak tones better and general pronunciation - probably worthwhile if your goal is to improve speaking and a teacher could help improve the issues your having. But a learner needs to be aware for that course that they'll need to study vocabulary on their own, its JUST a pronunciation improvement course.

[clownshifting]

do you have any advice for someone new to p-shifting? i want to explore this topic more, i find it very interesting, i’ll take any information

not a huge fan of discourse but if knowing about discourse is important then idm discourse talk thats about all i’ll say

thank you so much! have an absolutely wonderful day ⭐️

heyo,,

I'd say knowing about discourse is actually something you shouldn't do and that I only engage in it to point out general hypocrisy or just sharing my opinions as a shifter affected by how people perceive the community. Though, I'd like everyone to know that my word and work is not final and I have resources linked at the end of everything I do (or at least try), even from places I don't agree with or no longer would consider "truthful".

do you have any advice for someone new to p-shifting?

I've mentioned this in previous anon answers but my overall advice is to "slow down". I think a lot of shifters come into this bloom phase ("phase(...)after Awakening, which is categorized by overuse of abilities, shifting, rushing forms and identity, etc.") and will decide that they need to shift now and that they need to do it quick because it's so "urgent."

Slow down.

I didn't fully shift until I was 19. I'm still having trouble shifting now. Doesn't mean there are age limits, it means that when I was 17 and in/around shifter spaces, i didn't have any shifting experiences outside of pflares and had thought that I'd never be able to shift nor would I shift like other shifters. Turns out, I was looking in the wrong place entirely and that hurt my progress, even for a little short while.

__

If you're new, try looking for resources, experiences, and reading up on shifter history before doing anything else. No methods, no theories, no trying to look into the weeds of discourse. This includes looking at posts that may paint shifters in a bad light as that is still history told from experience, so please read those too to ensure you are willing to take the risk of using and being integrated into the community.

https://spiritshifter.wixsite.com/harloqui/post/the-history-of-the-online-shifter-community-early-internet-2018

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SwWOzemxljbupzH5eHP5sVDN0_HPzLu_/view

https://sites.google.com/view/aphelionalifer/nonhumanity-a-history?authuser=0

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1pfibt8ECchsoEaKhHp9BagrYyNsQcCuarq1J8Z1m_hg/mobilebasic

https://web.archive.org/web/20091023152224/http://geocities.com/LanceFoxx/thesasebopshift.html

https://forum.monstrous.com/index.php?topic=2477.0

https://web.archive.org/web/20210630012615/https://kin-walkers.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/8162897-who-here-can-

__

Know that you are a shifter not because you shapeshift but because you experience consistent/permanent physical changes, urges, and pressure from your senses to morph your body. Shapeshifting is a small facet that is extremely hard to achieve, and depending on how you shapeshift, you could completely become an animal or simply act as one unknowingly.

A shifter experiencing pflares and only pflares but cannot shapeshift is not lesser or incomplete than someone who can, the whole point is that both shifters experience flares, even if one of them triggers a shift from it. Shifting is not the end goal for shifters, it is merely an practice and tool used to alleviate stress and dysphoria.

__

Understand the different types of shifters out there and connect with the wider community before trying to shift. Always turn down those who wish to try and tell you how to shift or try and tell you that you can't exist because of the way you shift.

There are pshifters, which is an umbrella term but also a term for physical shifting, which has subsets such as somatic and reality shifting. So intrasomal shifters (like me!) would shift on the inside with a somatic shift, changing how we physically feel and how our body functions. These experiences are not lesser.

__

Don't rush to find what you shift into. Shifting forms and styles are complex and you will never know if you rush into it. You may be a polyshifter that shifts into multiple forms or you may be a shifter that turns into an object, a concept, a color, or another gender. With the concept of shapeshifting involved, it is hard to pinpoint where the line should be drawn when it comes to shapeshifting, so I don't draw a line. If you shift into another gender, amazing and that's cool, always know it's up to you what that means for you as that is not always the same as gender transition.

__

Know who to tell and who not to tell. People online? As long as you're in a safe space. People offline? As long as you're with other shifters you personally know and possibly, your guardians. If you have friends who are reality shifters, this might be a bit more tricky depending on what they personally believe but most rea-shifters are reasonable and actually agree that reality shifting has physical symptoms and sensorial experiences tied to it.

Also, if you're already shifting or exploring groups but need more help for safety, please check out all these links. yes, all of them, individually;

https://www.tumblr.com/harloqui/739797861008654336/on-your-recent-statements-i-have-two-semi?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/harloqui/738736879066824704/i-see-theres-new-people-in-the-tags-im-kinda?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/harloqui/157254229567/just-a-rule-of-thumb?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/mountain-lion-gremlin/740159168080658432/a-good-reason-to-leave-for-me-i-honestly-think-it?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/harloqui/716528857941983233/shifting-safety-tips?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/clowncaraz-journal/773569728519323648/i-basically-had-introduced-some-basic-rules-to?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/clowncaraz-journal/765645186179137536/made-this-simple-adventuring-code-for?source=share