#ad-driven ecosystem

[stakeholders-sgv]

Stuck on Big Tech vs. Big China, America Overlooks the Real Social Media Revolution Happening Elsewhere

— Why the U.S. is Falling Behind as the Fediverse & Open-Source Take Over Europe & Canada The Fediverse and open-source social media are gaining momentum worldwide, and especially in Europe and Canada — while the U.S. lags behind. What is this all about? Why are we so disconnected in the way we connect on the web? In America, traditional platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter),…

[reasonsforhope]

Ancient redwoods recover from fire by sprouting 1000-year-old buds

Article | Paywall free

When lightning ignited fires around California’s Big Basin Redwoods State Park north of Santa Cruz in August 2020, the blaze spread quickly. Redwoods naturally resist burning, but this time flames shot through the canopies of 100-meter-tall trees, incinerating the needles. “It was shocking,” says Drew Peltier, a tree ecophysiologist at Northern Arizona University. “It really seemed like most of the trees were going to die.”

Yet many of them lived. In a paper published yesterday in Nature Plants, Peltier and his colleagues help explain why: The charred survivors, despite being defoliated [aka losing all their needles], mobilized long-held energy reserves—sugars that had been made from sunlight decades earlier—and poured them into buds that had been lying dormant under the bark for centuries.

“This is one of those papers that challenges our previous knowledge on tree growth,” says Adrian Rocha, an ecosystem ecologist at the University of Notre Dame. “It is amazing to learn that carbon taken up decades ago can be used to sustain its growth into the future.” The findings suggest redwoods have the tools to cope with catastrophic fires driven by climate change, Rocha says. Still, it’s unclear whether the trees could withstand the regular infernos that might occur under a warmer climate regime.

Mild fires strike coastal redwood forests about every decade. The giant trees resist burning thanks to the bark, up to about 30 centimeters thick at the base, which contains tannic acids that retard flames. Their branches and needles are normally beyond the reach of flames that consume vegetation on the ground. But the fire in 2020 was so intense that even the uppermost branches of many trees burned and their ability to photosynthesize went up in smoke along with their pine needles.

Trees photosynthesize to create sugars and other carbohydrates, which provide the energy they need to grow and repair tissue. Trees do store some of this energy, which they can call on during a drought or after a fire. Still, scientists weren’t sure these reserves would prove enough for the burned trees of Big Basin.

Visiting the forest a few months after the fire, Peltier and his colleagues found fresh growth emerging from blackened trunks. They knew that shorter lived trees can store sugars for several years. Because redwoods can live for more than 2000 years, the researchers wondered whether the trees were drawing on much older energy reserves to grow the sprouts.

Average age is only part of the story. The mix of carbohydrates also contained some carbon that was much older. The way trees store their sugar is like refueling a car, Peltier says. Most of the gasoline was added recently, but the tank never runs completely dry and so a few molecules from the very first fill-up remain. Based on the age and mass of the trees and their normal rate of photosynthesis, Peltier calculated that the redwoods were calling on carbohydrates photosynthesized nearly 6 decades ago—several hundred kilograms’ worth—to help the sprouts grow. “They allow these trees to be really fire-resilient because they have this big pool of old reserves to draw on,” Peltier says.

It's not just the energy reserves that are old. The sprouts were emerging from buds that began forming centuries ago. Redwoods and other tree species create budlike tissue that remains under the bark. Scientists can trace the paths of these buds, like a worm burrowing outward. In samples taken from a large redwood that had fallen after the fire, Peltier and colleagues found that many of the buds, some of which had sprouted, extended back as much as 1000 years. “That was really surprising for me,” Peltier says. “As far as I know, these are the oldest ones that have been documented.”

... “The fact that the reserves used are so old indicates that they took a long time to build up,” says Susan Trumbore, a radiocarbon expert at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. “Redwoods are majestic organisms. One cannot help rooting for those resprouts to keep them alive in decades to come.”

-via Science, December 1, 2023

[jjmcquade-misc]

How Obama Transformed the U.S. Intelligence System into an Untouchable Force

The sprawling U.S. intelligence apparatus wasn’t Barack Obama’s invention, it emerged in the wake of 9/11 under George W. Bush, who laid the groundwork with the Patriot Act and a retooled security state. But Obama didn’t just inherit this system; he refined it, expanded it, and entrenched it so deeply into the fabric of American governance that it became nearly impossible for anyone, even a president, to rein it in. His tenure marked a pivotal shift, normalizing a decentralized, privatized, and largely unaccountable intelligence leviathan. Here’s how it unfolded.

The story begins in the early 2000s, when the Bush administration responded to the September 11 attacks with sweeping surveillance powers and a new security architecture. The Patriot Act of 2001 granted agencies like the NSA and FBI unprecedented authority to monitor communications, often sidestepping traditional oversight. By the time Obama took office in 2009, this framework was already in place, but it was still raw, controversial, and subject to scrutiny. Obama’s task wasn’t to build it from scratch; it was to polish it, protect it, and make it permanent.

One of his earliest moves came in 2011, when he signed a renewal of the Patriot Act with a Democratic-controlled Congress. Rather than scaling back Bush-era policies, he leaned into them, signaling that the post-9/11 security state wasn’t a temporary overreach but a new baseline. That same year, he authorized the drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, without judicial review—a decision rooted in a secretive “Disposition Matrix,” a kill-list system driven by CIA intelligence and insulated from external oversight. Over his presidency, Obama would greenlight over 500 drone strikes, far surpassing Bush’s tally, establishing a precedent for extrajudicial action that relied heavily on intelligence feeds.

Surveillance took a leap forward under Executive Order 12333, which Obama expanded to allow warrantless collection and sharing of raw signals intelligence (SIGINT) across federal agencies. What had once been concentrated in the NSA and FBI now seeped into every corner of the government, from the Department of Homeland Security to the Treasury. This decentralization diluted accountability, as data flowed freely between departments with little public scrutiny.

The 2013 Snowden leaks threw a spotlight on this system. Edward Snowden, a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton working with the NSA, exposed illegal mass surveillance programs like PRISM and bulk metadata collection, revealing how deeply the government had tapped into private tech giants, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple. Obama’s response was telling: he defended the programs, prosecuted whistleblowers like Snowden, and declined to hold the architects accountable. PRISM became a blueprint for a public-private surveillance partnership, unregulated by Congress, immune to FOIA requests, and beyond democratic reach. Meanwhile, the reliance on contractors like Booz Allen ballooned, by the end of his tenure, 70–80% of the intelligence budget flowed through private firms, funneling billions into an opaque ecosystem.

Obama also shielded the intelligence community from legal consequences. In 2014, the Senate’s Torture Report laid bare CIA abuses, black sites, waterboarding, and even spying on the Senate investigators themselves. Yet Obama refused to prosecute, famously urging the nation to “look forward, not backward.” This stance didn’t just protect individuals; it cemented a culture of impunity, signaling that the intelligence apparatus operated above the law.

Beyond surveillance and legal protections, Obama supercharged the bureaucracy. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), created under Bush, gained sweeping coordination powers under his watch, but rather than centralizing control, it added layers of insulation between the president and field operations. He also empowered hybrid units like Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and CIA task forces, which blended military and intelligence functions. These shadowy outfits operated in dozens of countries with lethal authority, secretive chains of command, and minimal oversight from Congress or even their own headquarters.

By 2017, as his presidency wound down, Obama made a final play: he authorized a rule change allowing the NSA to share raw, unfiltered data with 16 other intelligence agencies, stripping away privacy safeguards. This move ensured that the system he’d built could hum along without presidential intervention, its reach embedded in local “fusion centers,” secret courts, and corporate data pipelines.

The outcome was staggering. By the time Obama left office, the intelligence network spanned 17 agencies, leaned heavily on unaccountable contractors, and fused with private tech infrastructure. It wasn’t just bigger, it was untouchable, legalized through executive loopholes and shielded from reform. Obama became the first president to weave intelligence into every layer of government, from foreign policy to law enforcement, but in doing so, he relinquished control. The republic did too. No future leader would easily dismantle this machine, not because it was too strong, but because it had become too diffuse, too ingrained, too essential to the modern state. Obama's Intelligence Policy

[ms-demeanor]

got a question I was hoping you could answer!

why do all apps have to go through an app store? why doesn't anywhere have their app downloadable from the internet or something?

was wondering this because lots of issues with apps seem to stem from having to comply with app store guidelines and whatnot. So why not avoid that problem and make the app available off the appstore? And if part of it is because they're easier to find in the appstore, why not do both? why not also offer the download on a website or something?

there's gotta be some reason why there's afaik no one who offers a download for their app without the appstore right?

There are absolutely other ways to get apps, and the one that springs immediately to mind is the F-Droid App Repository.

Sideloading is the process of loading an app that doesn't come from your phone's OS-approved app store. It's really easy on Android (basically just a couple of clicks) but requires jailbreaking on an iphone.

The reason more USERS don't sideload apps is risk: app stores put apps through at least nominal security checks to ensure that they aren't hosting malware. If you get an app from the app store that is malware, you can report it and it will get taken down, but nobody is forcing some random developer who developed his own app to remove it from his site if it installs malware on your phone unless you get law enforcement involved.

The reason more developers don't go outside of the app store or don't WANT to go outside of the app store is money. The number of users who are going to sideload apps is *tiny* compared to the number of users who will go through the app store; that makes a HUGE difference in terms of income, so most developers try to keep it app-store friendly. Like, if tumblr were to say "fuck the app store" and just release their own app that you could download from the sidebar a few things would happen:

Downloads would drop to a fraction of their prior numbers instantly

iOS users would largely be locked out of using tumblr unless they fuck with their phones in a way that violates Apple's TOS and could get them booted out of their iOS ecosystem if they piss off the wrong people.

Ad revenue would collapse because not a lot of advertisers want to work with companies that are app-store unfriendly

They'd be kicked off of the main app marketplaces

So most people who develop apps don't want to put the time and effort and money into developing an app that people might not pay for that then also can't carry ads.

Which leads into another issue: the kind of people who generally make and use sideloaded app aren't the kind of people who generally like profit-driven models. Indie apps are often slow to update and have minimal support because you're usually dealing with a tiny team of creators with a userbase of people who can almost certainly name ten flavors of Linux and are thus expected to troubleshoot and solve their own problems.

If this is the kind of thing you want to try, have at it. I'd recommend sticking to apps from the F-Droid Repository linked up above and being judicious about what you install. If you're using apple and would have to jailbreak your phone to get a non-approved app on it, I'd recommend switching to another type of phone.

(For the record, you also aren't limited to android or ios as the operating system of your phone; there are linux-based OSs out there and weird mutations of android and such - I am not really a phone person so I can't tell you much about them, but they are out there!)

[sexymemecoin]

Meme Coins: The Fusion of Humor and Cryptocurrency

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, a new and exciting trend has emerged: meme coins. These digital assets, inspired by internet memes and cultural phenomena, have captured the imagination of investors and enthusiasts alike. Meme coins represent a unique fusion of humor, community engagement, and financial innovation. Among the rising stars in this vibrant ecosystem is Sexy Meme Coin, a project that exemplifies the potential of meme coins to revolutionize both the crypto world and internet culture. You can learn more about this exciting project at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Origins of Meme Coins

The concept of meme coins began with Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started as a joke but quickly gained a dedicated following. Launched in 2013, Dogecoin features the Shiba Inu dog from the "Doge" meme as its mascot. Despite its humorous beginnings, Dogecoin has become a serious player in the crypto market, demonstrating the power of community and social media in driving value.

Inspired by Dogecoin's success, a wave of new meme coins has emerged, each with its unique twist on the concept. These coins leverage the viral nature of memes to build communities and create value, often with a playful and irreverent approach.

What Sets Meme Coins Apart?

Community-Driven: Meme coins are built on the strength of their communities. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, which often focus on technological innovation, meme coins thrive on community engagement and social media presence. This grassroots approach fosters a sense of belonging and enthusiasm among users.

Humor and Culture: By incorporating elements of internet culture and humor, meme coins appeal to a broad audience. They are not just financial instruments but also cultural phenomena, reflecting the zeitgeist of the digital age.

Accessibility: Meme coins are often more accessible to the average person than other cryptocurrencies. Their playful nature and low entry barriers make them attractive to newcomers to the crypto space.

Potential for Rapid Growth: The viral nature of memes means that meme coins can experience explosive growth in a short period. While this can lead to significant gains for early adopters, it also comes with high volatility and risk.

Sexy Meme Coin: A Case Study

One of the most promising new entrants in the meme coin arena is Sexy Meme Coin. This project exemplifies the innovative spirit of meme coins, combining humor, community engagement, and cutting-edge technology to create a unique platform for meme enthusiasts and crypto investors.

Key Features of Sexy Meme Coin:

Decentralized Meme Marketplace: Sexy Meme Coin offers a decentralized marketplace where users can buy, sell, and trade memes as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). This platform ensures that creators are rewarded for their originality and creativity, turning viral content into valuable digital assets.

Community Engagement: The platform places a strong emphasis on community involvement. Users can participate in meme contests, vote on their favorite memes, and interact with fellow meme lovers. This active participation not only enhances the user experience but also strengthens the sense of community within the platform.

Reward System: Sexy Meme Coin's unique reward system allows users to earn Sexy Meme tokens ($SXYM) through various activities. Whether it's creating popular memes, participating in community events, or staking tokens, users are incentivized to contribute to the ecosystem and are rewarded for their creativity and engagement.

Exclusive Content: The platform offers access to exclusive meme content and special editions for token holders, providing added value and a unique experience for the community.

Charitable Initiatives: Beyond creating a fun and engaging platform, Sexy Meme Coin is committed to making a positive impact. A portion of the platform’s profits is dedicated to charitable causes, demonstrating the project’s dedication to social responsibility and community support.

You can explore more about this exciting project at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of Meme Coins

The rise of meme coins like Sexy Meme Coin signals a shift in the cryptocurrency landscape. These projects are not just about financial speculation; they represent a new way of thinking about digital assets and community engagement. As meme coins continue to evolve, they have the potential to influence mainstream culture and finance in unprecedented ways.

However, it's essential to approach meme coins with a level of caution. Their high volatility and reliance on social media trends mean that they can be unpredictable. Investors should do their due diligence and be prepared for the inherent risks.

Conclusion

Meme coins are more than a passing fad; they are a testament to the power of community, culture, and creativity in the digital age. Projects like Sexy Meme Coin are at the forefront of this movement, demonstrating that humor and blockchain technology can coexist to create something truly unique. As the meme coin ecosystem continues to grow, it will be fascinating to see how these projects shape the future of cryptocurrency and internet culture.

For more information on Sexy Meme Coin and to join the community, visit Sexy Meme Coin and become part of the revolution in the world of meme coins.

[wachinyeya]

Kudzu is infamous in the Southeast, where it covers an estimated 7.4 million acres. The invasive species has a reputation of being aggressively damaging to biodiversity, economies, and ecosystems. After decades of being a thorn in the side of U.S. cities, rural towns, as well as the agriculture, lumber and forest product industries, kudzu’s uses are expanding — now including building materials, cooking, healing, climate action, and even cultural advocacy.

Kudzu was initially introduced to the U.S. at the 1876 World Fair in Philadelphia. Native to Japan, it was heralded as a decorative vine that could be used to shade a home. That positive perception carried on through 1935, when it was first widely planted in the U.S. as a way to mitigate natural soil erosion. The “Big Kudzu Push” meant that millions of kudzu seedlings were planted and grown across the nation over decades; the Kudzu Club of America concentrated its efforts in the South, setting lofty goals that included planting eight million acres. As people moved from rural to urban areas and abandoned farmland, the vine grew unchecked. 

“‘Now it’s, ‘The vine that ate the South.’ But if you look at what people were saying [about kudzu] in the 30s, and the 40s, they called it the ‘Savior of the South,”’ said Justin Holt, co-founder of Kudzu Culture, an organization that hosts workshops on how to harvest and use kudzu in art, cooking, textiles and holistic medicine.  

The USDA removed the vine from its list of plants permissible under the Agricultural Conservation Program in 1953, and named it a common weed in 1970. With the ability to grow anywhere, up to a foot per day and sixty feet during the growing season, kudzu uses its vines to choke out trees and other plants. It can impact not just the soil where it invades, but the nitrogen cycle of air around it. Studies have shown that it affects atmospheric chemistry on a larger scale, too — even contributing to surface ozone pollution. Rising temperatures driven by climate change mean longer growing seasons, a warming climate, and plenty of rainfall — all ripe conditions for its spread.

It’s also harmful to local economies: Paulina Harron, an environmental scientist at engineering firm AECOM, led a 2020 study with Oklahoma State University showing that over the next five years, kudzu’s spread in Oklahoma could result in a loss of $167.9 million and impact up to 780 jobs in the forest product industry. Kudzu is already costing the forest product industry $500 per hectare per year to control the infestation. 

“I think these economic impacts definitely serve as an incentive for governments, at different levels, to look into control strategies,” Harron said. The key to managing kudzu is early detection and rapid response, she added. It can be done by eradicating small kudzu populations and aggressive management procedures used on larger infestations.

In lieu of policies to control the spread of the invasive plant, artists, chefs, and designers are finding creative ways to harvest and repurpose the plant. When Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann were associate professors at the University of Tennessee in 2020, the leafy vine was everywhere. “It’s hard to avoid it, and you see it blanketing just about everything. It becomes a real presence in the landscape,” MacDonald said. “Kudzu is kind of the poster child of invasive plant species.” 

As designers, they saw this overabundance as a possibility. “To us there seems to be an opportunity space where we might be able to incentivize something that’s good for the environment, like remediation, by making it a useful act of building material,” MacDonald said. 

The two founded design firm After Architecture in 2012 and started building a supply chain of building materials from invasive plants like kudzu.The stems of kudzu are a hard fibrous material, which they say makes it tough, flexible, and easy to build with. MacDonald and Schumann hope the building industry can one day replace carbon-intensive building materials such as concrete, steel, and aluminum, with materials like invasive species. 

“In specifically targeting kudzu as one of the species to use, we’re trying to question preconceptions about what architecture is or what architectural materials could be,” said Schumann. 

Building and construction make up nearly 40% of global carbon emissions and one third of global energy use have been attributed to building and construction. “We’re interested in how the materials we work with engage the efforts to mitigate climate change,” said MacDonald. “Proving out a productive use for kudzu in the built environment could transform it into a resource and incentivize its harvesting and the subsequent restoration of native ecosystems.” 

Another quickly expanding market for kudzu is in restaurants: Fried kudzu chips, kudzu sorbet, kudzu tea, and kudzu chicken soup are on the menu. Conservation biologist Joe Roman is the founder of Eat the Invaders, a website that shares kudzu recipes, among others, encouraging readers to take the fight to reduce invasive species to the kitchen. His interest in eating invasive species was born out of a conservation biologist’s desire to protect and preserve the planet.

“Kudzu actually lends flavor. It’s the flavor enhancer,” said Roman. The root is reminiscent of a grape-scented flower, he said, and is used to make jams, syrups and the like, especially in countries like Japan, where the vine is native. In the U.S., however, you’re a lot less likely to come across it on a menu. 

Some restaurants are starting to experiment, though. The chips are a staple at a coastal-themed Macon, Georgia restaurant called Kudzu Seafood Company, founded by Lee Clack and Kelley Wrigley six years ago. The collection of plants, berries, and nuts has been around as a source of survival since as long as humans have. But a 2017 John Hopkins study found that foraging in urban cities is becoming more popular because of the human need to connect with nature. 

“I think it’s because people are more aware that they can go out and eat all these incredible products made from these incredible species, whether it’s plants or animals out there, and that has really changed in the past five years,” said Roman. 

Roman has a go-to kudzu sorbet recipe — shared with him by Tennessee chef Jose Gutierrez — which mixes kudzu blossoms with white wine, licorice root, cayenne pepper, sugar and water to produce the dish. Of course, cooking kudzu and other invasive plants can’t solve the problem. “Eating a couple of kudzu blossoms is fun, and it tastes good,” Roman said. “And I hope it will expand awareness.” 

Harron, the researcher who led the study on the plant’s economic impact, said that these are important steps towards the bigger goal of increasing the public’s knowledge of and participation in invasive species management. “Alone, eating kudzu is not going to solve the infestation problem or halt their spread — there is simply way too much kudzu already established in many ecosystems,” she said. “But I do think that using a combination of management methods is useful in controlling their populations.”

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Adventurer's Bible World Part 6

The Glossary

This is only about the glossary in the first edition. If anything was added in the Complete Edition, I'm going to miss it. There's also a lot of things talked about in these four pages so I will skip over some sections if I can't think of anything to say.

Dungeons

Local rumors about the Golden Kingdom say it was destroyed because the king could turn anything he touched to gold or had a goblet that yielded endless liquor and he angered the gods. These rumors probably materialized after the kingdom dungeon was discovered and the initial explorers saw a castle covered in gold.

I know the touch of gold references Midas, but I don't know if the infinite liquor goblet is a reference to anything.

I can understand why "gold-peeler" is a bit derogatory. The walls were literally paved with gold so you could make money pretty easily in the early days. You'd think the giant influx of gold would cause economic issues though.

There was a real-world emperor Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire who some sources claimed to be the richest man to ever live. He once went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and he brought and spent so much gold along the way that it depreciated the value of gold in every city he passed along the way. I feel like the same thing could easily happen in the Island as well. Maybe that would explain the price of some things.

Early in the series, I talked a lot about how the guild is just an extortion racket to steal all the money that adventurers make and I still believe that. The corpse retrievers are a perfect example. They get a commission equal to a percent of the adventurer's possessions in thanks and this is enforced by the guild. This incentivizes corpse retrievers to engage in some very crooked dealings.

Admittedly, I don't know what would be the best way to reform the system. If corpse retrievers are paid a salary, they might not bother to do a proper job since they get paid the same. At the very least, the Adventurer's Guild should act more like a union where adventurer's pay monthly dues and corpse retrieval and resurrection are just part of the general service paid for by those dues.

I'm surprised we don't see people protesting the underground graveyard into a shopping plaza. Funeral rites was probably a major part of Island's culture prior to discovering the dungeon when you consider how extensive the crypts are. And the dungeon was likely discovered because workers were trying to expand the graveyard.

I bet there was a lot of conflict between locals and the early adventurers over this when the dungeon was first discovered. In a best case scenario, some general consideration to the living relatives has been given. Like, those shopkeepers in chapter 1 have to pay the Claust family to use that space.

But in a worst-case scenario, many of the locals probably got driven off the island as the sudden economic boom priced them out of their homes.

The immortality spell is active on most dungeons with a lot of adventurer traffic. The next section explains the difference between manmade and natural dungeons and says you can't be resurrected in a natural dungeon. So maybe the immortality spell is placed by the dungeon lord out of necessity.

We know Thistle placed it because he wanted to keep the Kingdom residents alive. For other dungeon lords, maybe making adventurers immortal is an easy way for them to manage the ecosystem of their dungeon. Rather than trying to make a properly balanced and self-contained ecosystem, the dungeon lords make it safe for adventurers to come in and exterminate all the excess monsters that are growing in their dungeons. The Golden Kingdom dungeon having a thriving ecosystem seems to be a general exception to how most of the dungeons end up.

Both manmade and natural dungeons are defined by containing a portal to another dimension. The difference is a manmade dungeon has a purposely made portal while natural dungeons have portals that formed on their own.

The portal the mana dust came out of in chapter 87 was in the sky. So prior to demons being contained to dungeons (and probably before the concept of dungeons existed) portals could open anywhere. I personally think mana just naturally leaks into the world from the infinite dimension and the portals appear wherever large amounts of mana are needed in a sort of vacuum-filling way. The world was probably more mana-rich before the demon was forced into the dungeons since portals could appear anywhere mana was needed rather than only opening in dungeons and created concentrated pockets.

The strangest maturity level for the dungeon is level 3. Level 1 is when the dungeon is too small to properly draw people into it, level 2 is its initial growth phase, level 3 is a bizarre dormancy phase, level 4 is a second growth phase to full maturity, and level 5 is when it rampages.

I think level 3 is related to what Mithrun said about how demons prefer complex desires. The level 2 phase would only attract people who desire wealth which isn't very nourishing to the dungeon. But it can provide the quick and abundant fuel to get the dungeon set up before it starts seeking out stronger desires.

When the series began, the dungeon was at level 3 maturity. Over the course of the series, we've seen only six parties with named members exploring the dungeon: The Touden party, Kabru's party, Tansu's party, Shuro's party, the Canaries, and Doni's party. These parties were driven by many desires - saving a loved one, uncovering the secrets of the dungeon, understanding the creatures in it, broadening their horizons, duty, surviving, stopping a calamity, etc. These are the stronger desires that the dungeon truly wants to feed on.

So when the dungeon reaches level 3, it's now interested in attracting people with more complex desires that cannot be as easily satisfied. It wants them to explore deeper because it ripens those desires in a way that desires for wealth cannot grow. It might also be secretly screening for new dungeon lord candidates.

Nothing mentions if a natural dungeon has a dungeon lord. Probably not, unless strong monsters like dragons can become lords. The dungeon lord has absolute rule over the design of a dungeon and the dungeon will slowly collapse after the lord's death. The demon only responds to its master's will so it's understandable it would stop maintaining the dungeon if there's no one to tell it to do so.

Magic

Requiring a certificate to handle dangerous magic makes sense. But I wonder how universal that policy is and what counts as dangerous magic. Exploding magic is explicitly stated and I think teleportation magic also falls into the category. Holm's control of elemental spirits might also require a certificate since it's needed to summon familiars and his spirits might count as one. Rin uses lightning magic but there's no information about when or how she learned magic.

I bet people from the Eastern Archipelago follow different policies about magic since they're generally more isolated from the greater world.

Using illusion magic on people is illegal. That would explain why Pattadol was annoyed when she let Cithis use hypnosis on Laios. Pattadol is very black-and-white with morality and she had to veer into grey territory to get an important job done.

The kodoku is an odd section to include here. I'd read about it from some other manga or game though I don't remember what. I think the general idea was that by putting various poisonous creatures in a container and forcing them to eat each other, the last survivor would become super toxic because it had eaten the toxins of all the other creatures.

The bible says the fight against all the dragons was similar but I'd say that's more like a battle royale. I wouldn't be surprised if some dungeon lords would engage in a kodoku ritual to make a powerful monster though.

The section about summoning spells brings up the three types Marcille told Laios about and then ends by saying Maizuru also uses a type of summoning spell to summon the hag and bull spider. But it doesn't categorize them as anything; it just says they are a type of summoning spell.

The Eastern Archipelago is a fascinating place in the world because the long-lived races don't interfere there and it's been able to develop magic independently from the rest of the world. It really shows that there's so many ways to use and develop magic.

Water walk doesn't work well on the surface because mana isn't as dense as it is in dungeons. Well, there goes my idea about using water walk to salvage sunken ships.

The spell that stuns monsters with a sudden flash of light and the spell that lights up dark areas is the same spell. So when casting it, you have to set the brightness and intensity.

Marcille's healing is noted to be fast but painful. The fast bit is probably because she doesn't use additional magic to dampen a person's sense of pain and she probably just forces the injuries back into place instead of being slow and careful. Overall, her method works if you just need an emergency patch up in the middle of a fight or you need to move soon, but Falin's healing approach is preferable if you're able to rest.

Mithrun and Falin's teleportation spells are stated to be two different types of spells and those are both different from the type Tansu used to leave the dungeon.

Falin's is a dungeon escape spell and I guess the concept is if you cast it inside something, it will teleport you outside it. We don't see where the party teleported in relation to the dungeon's entrance though so "outside" might mean anywhere on the surface.

Tansu's teleport links two locations together. It's sort of like making a doorway between two rooms that aren't adjacent to each other. Maizuru's teleportation spell is probably the same type. The thing I still want to know is why Maizuru told Mikbell that opening the window would disrupt the spell.

Mithrun's teleportation spell is the most basic application of "moves things around". He can be as precise as he wants ranging from "move this object to this exact spot" to "move this object up".

Necromancy's description refers only to human corpses, but it works on different corpses since Marcille also reanimated dungeon rabbits. And she killed the rabbits by breaking their necks so that means the puppeteering aspect to necromancy is pretty literal; you are controlling the corpse as if it were a puppet.

The dungeon rabbits also moved in the same way Marcille's body would move even though they shouldn't be able to physically do that. I'd like to see what it would look like if you used necromancy on other creatures. Like, how would a reanimated unicorn, doppelganger, or slime move when synced to a human caster?

A magic mirror only appears in Mithrun's flashback, but they are a thing that gets brought up every so often. What if Magic Mirrors are actually portals in disguise? They show you what you want and then steal your heart. That sounds similar to how demons give the lords what they desire and eventually eat their desires and leave them an empty husk.

When Mithrun destroyed the magic mirror, the goat appeared out of a black void behind it. And when the goat ate his desires and left, the placement of Mithrun's body in front of a broken mirror implies the goat fled back into the mirror.

Mana sickness is the result from someone abruptly using magic when they don't normally do so. Laios got mana sickness when he started learning healing magic, and Marcille got mana sickness when she used explosion magic as a half-foot.

It's stated that dwarfs and half-foots have lower mana reserves than Tall-men, elves, and gnomes; but I wonder if they could still train to use magic. I think mana sickness happens when the total mana in your body is below a certain amount and it's not related to the actual percent of mana you can store. So an elf is a better mage than an equally skilled Tall-man purely on the basis that an elf can potentially cast the same spell more times before getting sick. So unless a dwarf and Half-foot's ability to store mana only barely exceed their bodily needs, they should still be able to cast some magic.

I bet the ghost-repelling spell uses the same general principles as water walking. You protect yourself from ghosts by putting a layer of mana around you that keeps the ghost from being able to touch you. Marcille using her hair for the spell probably makes it last longer.

Monsters

Whatever happened to GIGA HEPTA-HEAD MARCILLE?

Pipi was around from before Marcille was born and it lived to be 62. It died before Marcille's father died and Marcille would have been 35 at most when her father died.

"Monster" is a taxonomic nightmare in the same way that "fish" is. Everyone knows what a monster is but there's no way to properly define one that ensures monsters and only monsters fit in that definition. "Creatures that need mana in order to be active" is a good starting point, but there's also the matter that areas with dense mana cause creatures to become more aggressive.

The leviathan wasn't in the chapter about monsters but it shows up here. Why? Was Kui just not able to fit it into the monsters page?

I think the Impaled Prey section is reference to how the hippogriff was storing Senshi in its nest. The translation notes at the end of volume 7 also mention shrikes. One speculation is they impale their prey as part of a courtship ritual. Now I'm imagining that hippogriff-turned-griffon trying to attract a mate by showing off Senshi as a house decoration.

Food

The orc medicine is a secret recipe. Senshi lived with the orcs for several years but doesn't know it, so the recipe is either a closely-guarded secret or it doesn't use a particular list of ingredients.

The text concludes by speculating that the medicine might not actually be effective and what actually happens is the shock of the taste and receiving it through mouth-to-mouth causes the recipient to forget the pain they're suffering. It definitely wasn't some magic healing medicine since Laios and Marcille were still injured and exhausted several days later. At most, it was a temporary pain reliever.

The island used to be an olive production area and it apparently made so much of it that excess oil was used for hot oil traps. Well actually, it's possible that olive production was a thing in the ancient kingdom as well so olive oil was what Thistle would be familiar with when making the traps.

But still, this is an interesting detail about the island's history. Now the economy is entirely dependent around the dungeon. And it could be another aspect to what I said earlier about the initial issues when the dungeon was discovered. Once the dungeon became more profitable, the town would naturally expand so it could include all the necessities to support the dungeon - apartments, taverns, utilities, shops - and expanding the town meant olive groves would have to be cut down to make space. And this would also have meant a lot of conflict between the locals and the people coming in since this was destroying their livelihoods.

There's so much more that could be talked about travel rations. The only decent set we see are the rations Kabru's party took from the corpse retrievers, and those rations are probably only decent because the corpse retrievers might only spend a week at most within the dungeon at any given time and they make a lot of money fleecing adventurers of whatever they find.

For everyone else, travel rations are things like dried bread and flour pellets. And the deeper you travel, the more expensive it is to make a trip, the more you have to bulk up beforehand, and the more weight you need to carry. And carrying more weight means getting tired faster, which means having to take more breaks and eat, which means you'll have to bring more supplies to compensate.

In other words, the logistics behind travel rations becomes exponentially harder and more expensive the deeper in the dungeon you go. And everyone says Laios is insane for suggesting and going with the obvious solution of foraging the dungeon for food.

In chapter 1, Senshi killed a slime and brought up how dried slime is a delicacy. He used a different slime he'd already dried up as part of the hot pot he made and he showed off a patent-pending portable slime-dryer. Slime is a periodically recurring ingredient in several recipes through the series implying Senshi was gradually using pieces of that slime during the journey. And chapter 73 confirms he'd been carrying it the whole time and he finally used it to make bavarois.

Grilled meat would be easy to make even in a dungeon IF you're hunting for food in the dungeon. I don't think meat would make for a good ration three weeks into an expedition.

Culture

The Walking Mushroom Association is just a recurring joke about how walking mushrooms are on par with dragons in both popularity and knowledge. It's another aspect of the world-building being deep instead of wide that we know they exist, but we never actually see any members in action. Laios knows monsters in general, but imagine a character with the same in-depth knowledge as Laios but they tie everything back to walking mushrooms. Like, they explain how a monster operates and then bring up how one species of walking mushroom can also do that but better.

In Pursuit of the Walking Mushroom ~One Man's 365-Day Journey~ is actually a horror story when you think about it. First of all, it was found in a dungeon. So this was not published by the actual author. And you'd start by questioning what happened to the author. And the final entry in the journal is the author saying they ate a strange walking mushroom they called "matango", which is a reference to a 1963 Japanese horror film about people turning into mushrooms.

There's a stereotype that male party leaders will fall in love with female magic users in the party. I can think of several reasons.

First, if the party leader is typically a front-line fighter, they need to draw a monster's attention and keep the mage units safe. The mage units similarly need to look out for the fighter and save them when they are about to be overwhelmed. So a bond can grow because they tend to look out for each other more.

Second, the mage typically knows some amount of healing magic and tends to the party's injuries. If the leader is a front-line fighter, they will typically take the most damage in a fight and the mage will have to help them the most. So a bond can grow because of the Florence Nightingale effect.

Finally, some adventurers know the stereotype and play into it to find a spouse. Laios's party had such a person before Marcille joined. She probably was a mage specifically to nab a husband by playing into the stereotype.

It makes sense that Chilchuck was so opposed to Marcille replacing their old mage at first. He's against interparty romance and Marcille hits too many of the red flags that could cause one. Not only would she be a female mage in a party led by a male fighter, but she's also an elf. And short-lived races sometimes romanticize being with a long-lived race.

The Dungeon Gourmet Guide is "Never meet your heroes" as a book. Laios was inspired by the book and then realized that much of its contents in made up. Obviously, the solution is to write his own dungeon gourmet guide with Senshi. Senshi can write the recipes and give commentary on how best to use each part while Laios explains how to identify and hunt the monsters.

And there could be segments authored by Chilchuck where he explains how to discover traps and secret passages, how to disarm them, and how to use them to kill monsters or prepare ingredients. And Marcille could have sections where she talks about how to use certain monsters to restore mana or create additional items like soaps. Izusumi wouldn't author anything but there would be a part of the book where she stepped in some ink and walked on the paper.

back

[plounce]

WIP whenever!

thanks @anneapocalypse for the tag :~) your little snippet was extremely sweet and seasonal heheh

scraping through my memory and tagging @ostentenacity , @transgenderlestat , @faelithurgy , @nongunktional , @peepooworld , aaaaaaaand @lesbianmarrow . but only if you want to. AND @ecosystem-administrator i KNEW i was forgetting someone

i do have something that i'm finishing up that will be posted very soon, but this isn't that. it's an ancestor to jerkwol, but instead with generic meteor man being a more masc jerk than the mviera i eventually created for that line of thought. still bad news for thancred though. i wrote this in june 2023 and have not worked on it since. be free, abandoned wip!

(CWs for some drinking and a general sense of uneasiness and discomfort about a man. this was meant to be the start of a downhill slide to realizing your godkilling hero is actually a total douchebag)

It had started after Operation Archon. Perhaps not started - begun. It had begun then, even though he didn't know it yet.

There had been parties all over the place to celebrate the Garleans being driven from Eorzea, and the Waking Sands was no exception. The halls were bright and loud, ringing with drinking songs, excited conversation, and cheers for the man of the hour. Meteor had made his rounds through the crowd, handsome grin on his face as he received compliment after compliment. He shook hands, gave hugs, and was overall the very picture of a hero.

Thancred was doing his best to sketch a picture of who he usually was, but he knew he was failing. He just didn't have it in him. The joy pervading the room was only so infectious when one was recovering from being puppeted around by a villainous madman, and he had been nursing his first drink of the night - maybe the alcohol would soothe him and allow him to enjoy the festivities, but every time he went to down it, he remembered that night in that inn in east Thanalan, and he found himself nauseous.

For the majority of the evening, he'd stationed himself next to Urianger, the elezen's notoriously reclusive personality and unfashionable appearance enough to ward off most of those who sought to approach Thancred in an attempt to comfort him ("glad you're doing alright" he's not; "it's not your fault" it is). Urianger hated drinking with strangers, and could easily be prodded into rambling about any given book on the surrounding shelves. His low, steady voice was soothing, and trying to keep up with his vocabulary kept Thancred's mind occupied enough.

Minfilia was the center of the crowd, radiating warmth, light, and joy like the sun. He couldn't bear to speak with her. Not after he'd failed her yet again. She'd told him that she didn't blame him, that she was simply glad they'd managed to get him back, but her forgiveness (as ever) was too much for him to comprehend, much less accept.

The evening wore on. Urianger excused himself to take Louisoix's grandson to bed, and predictably took that as a way to escape the party himself. Thancred wished he could do the same, but his exhaustion was outweighed by the bone-deep need to keep Minfilia in sight when there was drink flowing in a packed room, and she didn't look like she was going to leave anytime soon.

"Quite a looker, isn't she?"

Thancred didn't jump (that had been trained out of him long ago), but he did tense. Meteor had somehow teleported from the other side of the room, holding two drinks.

At Thancred's silence, he added, "Minfilia, I mean." He nodded towards her.

Thancred swirled his own drink, watching the undoubtedly lukewarm liquid slosh in the mug. "Aye, she's grown up well." He'd dealt with this conversation before - other men who took his own philandering as permission to bawdily discuss Minfilia's looks with him. It ranged from uncomfortable to infuriating, and a few broken noses had come of it. He didn't know Meteor as well as some of the others did, and this had the potential to be a poor start to their working relationship, especially since Thancred already owed him an unpayable debt for saving him from Lahabrea.

Meteor looked at him consideringly for a long moment. Thancred shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. He lifted his drink to his mouth, and actually drained the mug. Old habits die hard.

As soon as he set the mug down on Urianger's worktable, he found another being crowded into his hand. "Er, sorry, but I–"

"I actually got this for you," Meteor said, nudging it into his palm until he gave up and took it. "You looked lonely over here, and having Urianger as company couldn't have made for the best party experience."

Thancred's eyes narrowed, but he made himself chuckle. "Well, when you've known him for as long as I have, you get used to him."

"If you say so," Meteor laughed, and took a swig of his drink. Thancred copied him. Maybe he would drink a little. Anything to make this conversation with his savior less awkward.

They continued to talk and drink – well, Meteor did most of the talking, sharing anecdotes from his journey up to this point, and chatting with people who stopped by to congratulate and thank him. Thancred mostly nodded and hummed, working on his drink. He'd planned to have that be his last one, but Meteor grabbed him another one, and it was decent ale tonight, and Thancred couldn't stand it when the others came by and joined them because he had nothing to add but his poor mood, so he drank to cover it up. It was fine. He knew his limits. He did. Maybe they weren't as good as he thought they were before all this, but he'd learned his lesson.

[probablyasocialecologist]

To bring about its hypothetical future, OpenAI must build a new digital ecosystem, pushing users toward the ChatGPT app or toward preëxisting products that integrate its technology such as Bing, the search engine run by OpenAI’s major investor, Microsoft. Google, by contrast, already controls the technology that undergirds many of our online experiences, from search and e-mail to Android smartphone-operating systems. At its conference, the company showed how it plans to make A.I. central to all of the above. Some Google searches now yield A.I.-generated “Overview” summaries, which appear in tinted boxes above any links to external Web sites. Liz Reid, Google’s head of search, described the generated results with the ominously tautological tagline “Google will do the Googling for you.” (The company envisions that you will rely on the same search mechanism to trawl your own digital archive, using its Gemini assistant to, say, pull up photos of your child swimming over the years or summarize e-mail threads in your in-box.) Nilay Patel, the editor-in-chief of the tech publication the Verge, has been using the phrase “Google Zero” to describe the point at which Google will stop driving any traffic to external Web sites and answer every query on its own with A.I. The recent presentations made clear that such a point is rapidly approaching. One of Google’s demonstrations showed a user asking the A.I. a question about a YouTube video on pickleball: “What is the two-bounce rule?” The A.I. then extracted the answer from the footage and displayed the answer in writing, thus allowing the user to avoid watching either the video or any advertising that would have provided revenue to its creator. When I Google “how to decorate a bathroom with no windows” (my personal litmus test for A.I. creativity), I am now presented with an Overview that looks a lot like an authoritative blog post, theoretically obviating my need to interact directly with any content authored by a human being. Google Search was once seen as the best path for getting to what’s on the Web. Now, ironically, its goal is to avoid sending us anywhere. The only way to use the search function without seeing A.I.-generated content is to click a small “More” tab and select “Web” search. Then Google will do what it was always supposed to do: crawl the Internet looking for URLs that are relevant to your queries, and then display them to you. The Internet is still out there, it’s just increasingly hard to find. If A.I. is to be our primary guide to the world’s information, if it is to be our 24/7 assistant-librarian-companion as the tech companies propose, then it must constantly be adding new information to its data sets. That information cannot be generated by A.I., because A.I. tools are not capable of even one iota of original thought or analysis, nor can they report live from the field. (An information model that is continuously updated, using human labor, to inform us about what’s going on right now—we might call it a newspaper.) For a decade or more, social media was a great way to motivate billions of human beings to constantly upload new information to the Internet. Users were driven by the possibilities of fame and profit and mundane connection. Many media companies were motivated by the possibility of selling digital ads, often with Google itself as a middle man. In the A.I. era, in which Google can simply digest a segment of your post or video and serve it up to a viewer, perhaps not even acknowledging you as the original author, those incentives for creating and sharing disappear. In other words, Google and OpenAI seem poised to cause the erosion of the very ecosystem their tools depend on.

[alwritey-aphrodite]

Take the Moment

Chapter Two of There’s Nothing Like This

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Jamie Tartt x fem!footballer!reader

Warnings: cursing

Word Count: 2.3k

Author’s Note: guys seriously there’s more Jamie coming up I swear

The dressing room was a thriving ecosystem. It was always buzzing with energy and conversations, about weekend plans and workout routines and families and fears and new purchases. By the end of the second week, you knew who kept the best snacks in their locker, who had emergency toiletries, and who’s locker seemed void of anything remarkable, whether it was driven by fear or lack of desire you weren’t sure.

Walking into the dressing room was like passing through a wall of noise, like being enveloped in the warmth of your teammates. Stepping inside the dressing room was like coming inside after spending all day out in the cold, like nothing bad could ever happen to you.

Despite how early it was, despite the fact that you still felt half-asleep, your teammates were chattering away, loud enough for you to be able to hear bits and pieces of what everyone was saying.

“It was the grossest thing I’ve ever experienced,” you can hear someone saying, causing whoever was next to them to erupt into giggles. You couldn’t help but to smile to yourself, the love you have for your teammates doing wonders to relieve the built-up stress from the press conference last night. You’d gone home and replayed every moment over and over again, tormenting yourself until your brain couldn’t take it and you finally fell asleep.

Practice was the perfect remedy to your stress, giving you something else you needed to focus on completely so you couldn’t worry about anything else. That had always been one of your favorite aspects of the sport, the fact that while you were playing you weren’t able to think about anything but the game was what had made you stick with soccer out of all the activities you did as a young kid.

Now, though, because you were a professional there was an added layer of stress to every practice, every extra second you spent training. Still, a long day of training was the perfect thing to make you forget all about the disastrous press conference. After the rest of your team had gone home to rest before your first match, you stayed behind to work on your stamina on a treadmill as the men’s team took the field.

Sometimes you worried you were working yourself into the ground, but there was a part of your brain that wouldn’t stop pushing you to do more work, to push yourself even farther so you could prove yourself to everyone who had ever doubted you. Even though your muscles were screaming and you could feel your ankle start to swell and pulse, you increased the speed and the incline on the treadmill, telling yourself that you’d go home when the men’s team ended practice.

By the time they’re finished and you finally allow yourself to clean up and go home, you’re dripping in sweat and you were a little worried you wouldn’t be able to walk. You knew some of the girls were getting together to hype themselves up before your first match, but your evening would be spent recovering, alternating between an ice bath and heating pads in the hopes that you’d be in top shape for your first match and your debut as captain.

As you’re leaving the dressing room, dreaming about a large dinner and elevating your foot, you find Jamie waiting for you, leaning against the wall across from the door to the dressing room.

“Hey, Jamie,” you greet him with a wave and a quick smile before you’re continuing on your way, only able to think about how wonderful it’ll feel to finally lay down.

“Oh, hey,” he responds, and you miss the way he fumbles to put his phone in his pocket and catch up with you, walking in step as you exit the building. “I was just thinking how you haven’t been in Richmond long, and you’ve been so busy here with practice and all and maybe I could show you around, if you wanted?”

He’s cute, in an awkward, fumbling kind of way. Never in a million years would you have thought to describe Jamie Tartt as awkward, fumbling, or cute, but you suppose there’s a first time for everything. You wonder just how much he’s changed in the past few years, because the Jamie standing before you, fiddling with his hands, is not the Jamie you remember seeing in pictures and articles and in reality television shows.

“That’s really sweet, Jamie,” and you can see how he tries to hide a smile and it makes your heart melt a little, though you’d never admit that to anyone, “but I have plans with my bed and an ice bath tonight.”

“Oh, shit, you guys have a game tomorrow,” he looks beyond embarrassed that he hadn’t remembered or that no one had told him, “well, have fun with your ice bath.”

He turns to go, and your heart breaks the way it would seeing a puppy dumped on the side of the road, so you can’t help but shout out after him, “Maybe another time?” and you’re rewarded with the brightest smile you’ve ever seen and your chest feels warm in a way that makes you concerned for your health.

Spending your evening alone, soaking in an ice bath and eating dinner by yourself, was as exciting as it sounded. Even though it was a little boring, it was the perfect way to get you in the headspace you needed to be in for your very first match for Richmond. By the time you crawled into bed, your belly was full, your muscles felt as relaxed as possible, and you fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

The only interesting part of your night was the dream you had where you’d thought you were getting married to Mackie and you made it all the way down the aisle before you realized you were actually marrying Jamie.

It rattled you, probably more than it should have, but you tried your best to just brush it off and go about your pre-match routine. Nerves always made it difficult for you to eat, so you settle for a light breakfast and pack plenty of snacks into your bag. Mackie comes to pick you up the way she always does, and you decide not to tell her about your dream, knowing she’d tease you relentlessly and that was the last thing you needed before a match.

Your morning only got weirder when you and Mackie entered the dressing room and it was practically silent, all of the girls huddled around something in the middle of the room. Pushing yourself into the center of the group, you noticed Elena holding a newspaper, a bold Richmond’s Women’s Team on the cover with Trent Crimm’s name on the by-line.

…a fierce group of players…

… champions in the making…

… led by a determined, slightly dangerous captain…

… all they need is belief.

It was impossible not to feel like you’re walking on air after reading that article, especially with the way Trent had picked you out of the group to mention you by name. That article was the perfect little boost you needed to head into your first match after how incredibly strange your morning was, wiping all thoughts of your weird dream away from your mind.

Walking out onto the pitch, you’re determined you can beat West Ham.

By half-time, you’re down 1-0, and you can feel the bleakness radiating off everyone in the dressing room. Roy’s trying to make an inspirational speech, trying to get you guys ready to go for the second half, but he’s floundering and everyone can tell he’s uncomfortable. As much as he believes in the team, he’s not known for being gentle with his support.

“Can I…” you ask, starting to stand from where you’d slumped yourself onto the bench by your locker. Roy nods, looking beyond relieved, so you make your way to the front of the room and take a deep breath. Despite your hatred for public speaking, you know this is something you need to do, not for yourself but for your team.

“We’re losing,” you start, and you can tell by everyone’s expressions that this isn’t what they want to hear so you go on, “we gave up an easy goal in the last five minutes, and I know we can do better. I know we can fucking win this, if we beat the boys, we can beat fucking West Ham.”

The energy’s starting to increase, you can see some of your teammates start to smile for the first time since you stepped foot onto the pitch at the beginning of the match, but you’re not done yet.

“Amelia, I’m only saying this because I love you and I think you’re amazing, but you’re playing like shit. I’m saying this because I know you can do better, I’ve seen you do better.”

You hate the way her face falls, looking like she’s hoping the floor opens up and swallows her but you need to say this, need her to believe in herself the way you believe in her, so you keep talking despite the pit in your chest.

“And I know this is your first professional match ever and that this shit is scary,” you go on, “but none of us expect perfection. We just want you to leave it all on the pitch and be the monster we know you can be.”

Despite her look of despair when you’d called her out, she’s smiling at you now and you can’t help but to smile back at her. “I believe in you, Baby,” you finish, and just mentioning her nickname seemed to make everyone perk up even more, reminding them of how great of a team you make.

“Let’s go out there and win this fucking thing,” Roy adds, and the team screams like you’re heading into battle as you head back onto the pitch to finish out the match. As you pass, you give Amelia’s shoulder a squeeze just so she knows everything you said came from a place of love and deep respect for her. The energy heading back onto the pitch is ten times more intense than when you’d headed out for the first half, and you’re more than confident in your team.

After the match, heading back to the dressing room was a goddamn party.

You’d won 2-1, with Elena scoring a goal in extra time to secure your first win by the skin of your teeth. Back in the dressing room, there’s champagne and laughter and Keeley and Rebecca screaming their faces off. You all join in, jumping up and down as if your joy is too strong to be contained inside your body. You feel sore all over and you know you'll have plenty of new bruises tomorrow, but all of that is overshadowed by how giddy, how light you feel.

You’re on the top of the world and there’s nothing that could bring you down.

The celebration is starting to get a little too rambunctious when there’s a knock on the door, revealing the entire men’s team. They’re wearing Richmond merch, but it’s your merch, shirts and hats and kits and scarves they’ve bought to support you at your first match. Really, you’re surprised you’re not sobbing with how emotional you feel, leaving the pitch to the roaring of the fans and seeing everyone as excited for your win as you are.

The boys file in, most of them heading for the alcohol while a few go find certain players, like the way Colin makes a beeline for Mackie. Jamie, though, heads straight for you and it makes you feel floaty, lightheaded in a way you weren’t before so you just chalk it up to the alcohol that’s now coursing through your veins.

When you notice your last name plastered on the back of Jamie’s kit, you can’t help the flood of laughter that bursts out of you. Seeing your reaction, a smile blooms on Jamie's face and his cheeks look a little redder than before, but you assume it’s due to the heat of the dressing room and the champagne, ignoring the fact that Jamie hasn’t drunk any.

“You just can’t let go of the number nine, can you?” You tease, grinning back at him as he shrugs with a shy sort of smile that seems so out of place with his typically confident personality. Your little moment is cut short, though, as Sam comes over to you with a beaming smile.

“You were fantastic, truly,” he says, already knowing you were going to try and downplay your skills, “I wasn’t even on the pitch and I was a little scared of you.” You laugh, unable to contain yourself in the way you’d normally try to because it really did feel amazing starting the season on a high note, starting the team on a win.

“Ah, I interrupted something,” Sam says with a knowing smile as his eyes dart between you and Jamie, “I’ll go congratulate the rest of the team.” He sends you a wink before he disappears off into the chaos of the celebration and you’re left reeling. You turn to Jamie to make a comment about how strange that was only to find him staring intently at his shoes.

So, it was back to being the strangest day of your life.

“Maybe, if you’re free tomorrow, I can take you up on your offer to show me around Richmond?” You ask, trying to break the awkwardness that had settled over your little corner of the room.

“Yeah? Perfect. Great. Cool,” Jamie says, and before you can say anything else Mackie and Elena are coming over to drag you to the middle of the party, and as much as you’d like to keep talking with Jamie, it feels good to be celebrated.

Hopefully it’s a feeling you get used to at Richmond.

Tags: @andr0medafallen @buckychristwrites @benedictscanvas @whimsical-roasting @sokkigarden @scaramou @guccilongboard @onceuponaoneshot @presidential-facts @yepyeahuhhuh @loveslide @allthefandomtherapy @gibby31 @buddyjuststop @ellietartt @cancvr @rae4725 @brianandthemays @sonyume @aiyaiy @captainfrisbee @dalebo3 @theloud-yet-quietone @imsoluckyeverythingworksoutforme @rockchickrebel @legobatmans9thab @curlypeter @lostinwonderland314 @yokolesbianism @jamietarttdodo @kno-way-home @nicklet94 @fan-goddess @innocentbi-stander

[animehouse-moe]

Delicious In Dungeon Episode 4: The Balance of Things

While a far more reserved and plain episode than the last, today's installment of Delicious In Dungeon really provides the first look at the depth of Ryoko Kui's storytelling, and how deeply passionate and interested in this content they are. Because of that, I'd love to explain how Kui expresses balance within the content of this episode.

Obviously, the easiest answer is the fact that Senshi and co are "living off the land". There's an implicit balance between them and the food they eat up until this point, but the episode makes that relationship very explicit today with the golems.

While Senshi uses the golems to grow his vegetables, he also cares for the golems by providing them with water and even fertilizer.

He even argues the point that the vegetables create a symbiotic relationship with the golems, making their soil stronger.

Similarly, he further argues that keeping the golems alive is important within the balance of the dungeon, otherwise monsters will start to pour into the floor that the golems exist on.

Kui's awareness of ecosystems and the balance of things in that sense is really really great. They understand what it takes to build a habitat and even further what's required to maintain it, and how it even might begin to fall apart.

But the icing on the cake is the introduction of the orcs. What a great decision.

You might think them as a boorish race because they killed that entire tavern, but I think that if viewers take a moment to digest the entire interaction with that group of humans, you'll get a better grasp of how that happens.

The owner of the tavern essentially said that the only thing that matters to him is money, obviously. With added imagery the point driven home is the fact that this group of people only take from the dungeon, and are entirely unaware of the delicate balance of it.

Though if that wasn't enough, the leader of the orcs (Zon) conversation with Marcille is perfect at driving that point home.

While it does paint a more hypocritical image of the orcs than what the tavern might say, it forces a deeper conversation in regards to balance.

Kui effectively states that it is the nature of intelligent life to disrupt, and because of that it requires conscious effort to reinstate balance or to suffer the consequences.

For example, the balance that existed while the orcs was above ground was essentially "don't pillage and kill the other races", and they were unable to adhere to that, thereby upsetting the balance, and were forced out of the ecosystem.

Conversely, the dungeon doesn't have a strong or active presence like humans or elves to enforce that balance. Because of that, they suffer different consequences. Namely the fact that the Red Dragon is uncharacteristically roaming, and upsetting the lower levels of the dungeon.

It's a very cyclical narrative that starts from the moment that we open up this series and won't stop until it ends, but it's really incredible how well Kui distills it into each and every aspect, and how she paints Laios and his party as the people to break that cycle of human destruction. I really could talk about it for ages and how it arises within the series, there's so much that Kui does as an incredible author that remains lurking beneath the surface.

But, I refuse to spoil the fun of experiencing the series, so I'll leave things where they stand- Kui's awareness of ecosystems and the role of "humans" (in this case all intelligent life) within them is really outstanding, and they're able to express both implicit and explicit balance between humans and nature in so many different ways.

[graphypixllc]

Describe the Visual Identity: Making Your Brand Visually Memorable

The visual identity of your brand is the thing most people will notice first. Now, let’s go into detail about each element and explore what should be included in brand guidelines:

Brand Guidelines Logo

Your logo is the face of your brand. Outline when and how to deploy it. Include variations in format, such as horizontal or stacked. Mention minimum size and spacing requirements.

Example: Apple’s logo is iconic because it’s simple yet versatile.

It works equally well on product packaging, digital ads, and storefronts. A good mark helps people recognize your brand right away.

Color Palette

Choose primary and secondary colors that reflect your brand personality. Use tools like Pantone or HEX codes to ensure accuracy.

Example: Coca-Cola’s red evokes excitement and energy, while Tiffany & Co.’s Robin’s egg blue conveys elegance and exclusivity.

Colors evoke emotions and associations. Choosing the right palette strengthens your brand’s emotional impact.

Typography

Specify the selection of font types that match your brand’s personality. Include rules on headings, subheadings, body text, and other typographic elements.

Example: Google utilizes clean, sans-serif fonts to convey simplicity and approachability.

Typography informs both readability and perception. The wrong font undermines credibility.

Photography

Establish rules for imagery styles. Include candid shots and staged shots. Also specify filters or image treatment to utilize.

Example: Airbnb photography is about homes and actual experiences, therefore reinforcing their community-driven ethos.

Imagers tell stories, and continuing photography styles reinforce the brand narrative.

Iconography

If applicable, provide examples of approved icons and explain their role within your brand ecosystem.

Example: Microsoft’s Fluent Design System includes standardized icons that enhance the device user experience.

Icons simplify communication and improve usability, especially in digital interfaces.

By detailing these elements, you create a framework ensuring every piece of content aligns seamlessly with your overall aesthetic.

GraphyPix LLC offers multiple brand guidelines for your design. Investing in strong brand guideline templates is not just about looks. It’s about giving your audience a smooth experience. When done well, these documents are valuable tools. They empower teams, please customers, and boost growth.

[reasonsforhope]

"One of the least respected but most important ecosystems on Earth are seagrass meadows, and a pioneering robotic solution is helping marine scientists restore these underwater gardens.

The ReefGen Grasshopper can plant dozens of seagrass seeds per minute. Not only is this faster than a human diver, but much safer as well.

It works by injecting a tiny slurry of sediment wrapped around the seagrass seed into the seafloor. After covering a growing plot of four seeds, the robot ‘hops’ about 30 centimeters away and starts again.

Despite covering a minuscule portion of the seafloor, seagrass meadows are estimated to hold 35-times more carbon than terrestrial forests—amounting to around 18% of the total carbon stock of the world’s oceans.

ReefGen’s founder Tom Chi dreamed up the idea after watching the degradation of coral reefs on his home island in Hawaii. The first iteration of the robot set coral ‘plugs’ onto existing reefs to help regrow them, but the technology was prohibitively expensive for wide-scale use.

Now however, broader selections of off-the-shelf parts have driven down the costs of manufacturing and maintaining underwater robots, according to Chris Oakes, CEO of ReefGen.

“Manual planting works, but robots are really good when things are dull, dirty, dangerous, or distant—the four Ds,” Oakes told CNN, adding that at the moment, Grasshopper is piloted with a controller by a human on the surface.

“Right now, we’re focused on the planting, the biology, and the mechanical aspects, once we’re confident that that’s all designed the right way, we will overlay more semi-autonomous features like navigation, so you don’t actually have to pilot it,” he said.

ReefGen has been able to not only expand into restoration of seagrass meadows, but also see its robots used in oceans around the world. This July, Grasshopper planted 25,000 seeds in Wales. In October, ReefGen teamed up with the University of North Carolina (UNC) Institute of Marine Sciences to test various seed replanting methods out on the state’s declining seagrass meadows.

Oakes says that as cool and “flashy” as a robotic solution might seem, the most important factor in its success will be the long-term monitoring of the fields it’s replanting. Are they growing to maturity, are the seedlings dying off before then, will they live long enough to seed and germinate fields of their own, how do fields it plants compare to fields planted by hand??"

-via Good News Network, December 24, 2024

[ausetkmt]

Expanding the framework for reparations to include present and future compensation for the disproportionate effects of the climate crisis on Black people is an idea gaining in popularity among climate justice advocates. 

No estimates have been proposed for climate reparations in the U.S., but in 2023, researchers calculated a global projection of $192 trillion owed by wealthy nations to poor ones—with the U.S. as the major emitter of greenhouse gases responsible for $80 trillion.

Asked at a congressional hearing whether the U.S. would ever contribute to global climate reparations, Climate Envoy John Kerry said “No, not under any circumstances!”

In his testimony, he jokingly added the exclamation point. 

Tragically, there’s nothing funny about climate reparations either in the U.S. or abroad. Here’s why. 

What are global climate reparations?

University of Hawaii law professor Maxine Burkett coined the term climate reparations in a 2009 landmark law review. By it, she is referring to the moral obligation of industrialized countries to finance the reconstruction of towns and cities after climatic events in the Global South and to pay for future climate mitigation and adaptation. 

She points out that rich countries, which pollute the global atmospheric commons with carbon emissions to grow their economies, “disproportionately and unfairly” harm the climate vulnerable in Global South countries. They should pay them to address grievances—both in the present and the future.

Burkett writes: “I use reparations to describe a process, instigated and propelled by the moral challenge of a massive wrong, to construct methods to

improve the lives of current victims into the future. Climate reparations is the effort to assess the harm caused by the past emissions of the major polluters and to improve the lives of the climate-vulnerable through direct programs, policies and/or mechanisms for significant resource transfers, to assure the ability of the climate-vulnerable to contemplate a better livelihood in light of future climate challenges.”  

Since many of the poor countries Burkett has in mind are (or were) colonies of the rich perpetrators of these climate injustices, the idea of climate colonialism helps bring into focus the imperialist roots of the problem. 

From this point, it’s easy to see how slavery also is intertwined with climate injustice, and, more broadly, environmental racism in the United States. Black people living in colonial America were treated first as indentured servants by their masters before slavery became customary. So, calls for climate reparations to be made to Black individuals and to Black communities in the U.S. are justified, based on the same reasoning Burkett advanced for global BIPOC.

The need for climate reparations in the U.S.

Demands by climate justice groups for climate reparations in the U.S. intensified when the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) acknowledged for the first time in 2022 that colonialism was a driving force of human-caused climate change. 

AR6 states: “Vulnerability of ecosystems and people to climate change differs substantially among and within regions (very high confidence), driven by patterns of intersecting socioeconomic development, unsustainable ocean and land use, inequity, marginalization, historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism, and governance (high confidence).” 

In previous articles, such as on climate gentrification in Charleston, South Carolina, and on environmental racism in Los Angeles and Louisiana, the current and future climate harms disproportionately felt by Black people are glaringly evident. Climate reparations in the U.S. are desperately needed to compensate for these and similar climate harms endured by Black people in recent decades and are predicted to intensify in the future.

Climate impacts on Black people in the U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) detailed six climate impacts on Black people and other marginalized groups in a 2021 report. These are:

Air pollution and health. Higher asthma rates

Extreme temperature and health. Premature death

Extreme temperature and labor. Lost work hours

Coastal flooding and traffic. Traffic delays 

Coastal flooding and property. Inundation from rising sea levels

Inland flooding and property. Property damage and loss

The report included these statistics on how bad the climate crisis affects Black people:

Black people are 40% more likely than whites to reside in neighborhoods with the highest projected increases in premature death due to extreme temperatures. 

Black people are 34% more likely than whites to live in areas with the greatest estimated rates of childhood asthma due to particulate air pollution (from fossil fuel power plants).

Here are other statistics compiled by the NAACP:

More than one million Black people live within a half-mile of methane (fracked) gas facilities.

Over 6.7 million Black people reside in the 91 U.S. counties with oil refineries.

One million or more Black people face a cancer risk above EPA’s “level of concern” due to unclean air. They live in what experts refer to as “sacrifice zones.”

Approximately 13.4% of Black children have asthma, compared to only 7.3% of white children.

According to the recent National Climate Assessment, marginalized communities will face more flooding than any other group: “For socially and economically marginalized and low-income groups, climate change and current and future sea level rise could exacerbate many long-standing inequities that precede any climate-related impacts.”

The EPA report acknowledged that the most serious climatic events disproportionately affect marginalized communities who have the fewest resources to prepare for and recover from such incidences. 

When climate catastrophes occur, Black communities receive less help than white communities to rebuild. As a result, Black communities see a decrease in wealth (lowering of property values) while whites benefit from increases.

Proposals for climate reparations by U.S. government 

To address and resolve the climate harms disproportionately affecting Black people both now and in the future, climate reparations are appropriate. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has done little more than offer lip service to this national crisis.

Although both Clinton and Biden Administrations issued executive orders “to focus federal attention on the environmental and human health effects of federal actions on minority and low-income populations with the goal of achieving environmental protection for all communities,” no significant improvements resulted.

Biden’s Justice40 (J40) Initiative designates substantial funds to address climate justice problems, but progress is slow, as discussed in a previous article. Incidentally, race is not given as a criterion for eligibility in over 500 federal programs across 16 agencies.

State programs to address climate-related inequities

Although they are not meant as climate reparations, there are two programs in U.S. states that serve to remedy climate-related problems faced by marginalized communities. 

Racial Equity Impact Statements (REIS)

Chicago’s Department of Housing views its work to create affordable and safe housing through a racial equity lens. Since 2021, they issue Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to developers as incentives to the private sector to

create affordable rental housing. Their Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) is a streamlined set of instructions to guide LIHTC developers through the process.

Whole-Home Repairs Program (WHRP)

Pennsylvania’s Department of Community & Economic Development administers WHRP. This program grants funding for county agencies to enhance the habitability and safety of buildings for low-income homeowners and for landlords renting affordable units. Funding for improvements for energy or water efficiency is also available. Additionally, WHRP allocates funding to counties for construction-related workforce development.

Federal officials could develop programs like these specifically for Black communities, adding urban green spaces, raising and enforcing clean air and water standards, and upgrading local infrastructure. Such programs would represent the first meaningful steps toward instituting climate reparations in the U.S.

[leggerefiore]

Back in your inbox to discuss Cyrus bullshit again lmfao. I am normal. Totally normal.

So media literacy decline aside (no really, the reports are scary, less people can interpret nuance and hints), I blame 1) how young most of us were when we first played the games, 2) the OG Diamond and Pearl characterization (because it was a little different than Platinum's) and 3) the Pokemon Anime.

Largely skipping over the age thing because it speaks for itself. A good number of players were probably too young to catch all of the hints or grasp how irrational and emotionally driven Cyrus really was. Like, a legit Trauma Meter for our age group (20s) would be to ask if Cyrus freaked them out, or if they thought he had a point. Whatever the collective's first impression was would've colored YEARS of discussion and content. And I'm pretty sure I remember his reception being negative. Of course, the theory that he wrote the old notebook and that the old man was his Grandpa (meaning Cyrus was an abuse/neglect survivor) always existed. But before USUM and PokeMas added more implications, they were treated as "Just Theories" or after Platinum, retcons. Likewise, I think a good number of the older players WANTED Cyrus to be evil, so they kinda ignored it. Though there was an equal faction WISHING for a well written Sympathetic Villian. They missed Giovanni and had little hope GameFreak could write a worthwhile sympathetic villian because while Maxie and Archie weren't evil, their plan was just so stupid? Maybe it's because I grew up in a rural area at the start of the Going Green era, but I can remember being taught basic ecosystems in like 3rd or 4th Grade Science and learning that major changes to the environment were bad? And they were supposed to be super smart scientists?

On to game characterization, D/P Cyrus and Platinum Cyrus were portrayed slightly differently and I don't know if it was intentional or not, given how subtle the changes in the overall story were. But it boils down to a matter of A Means to an End, where D/P Cyrus seemed like he was changing the world to become a God, while Platinum Cyrus wanted to change the world and has to become a God to do so. Likewise, I don't think the implications that Cyrus was the abused/neglected grandson of that Old Man and the author of the old notebook were as strong. Also every scene with Cyrus in the Distortion World didn't exist in D/P so you didn't witness his breakdown or him admitting to his own faults. Charon/Pluto also wasn't in D/P, nor was the Rotom Room which was the first thing to give the "Cyrus wrote the Old Notebook Theory" any credibility.

My last reason was the Poke Anime and I talked a bit about it in a comment the other day. I have since looked it up and the D/P Anime aired the same day as the D/P Game Release, in Japan at least. So the 2nd most prevalent and remembered version of Cyrus is an ASS. The Anime did a great job of showing us the double life he was living, smiling and dressing/acting normal, albiet hammy, in front of Cynthia and that one old lady. But for a cold, stoic villian, he was super agressive, loud, short-tempered and dismissive in the anime. In that clip you shared, he wasn't calmly explaining why fighting was useless, he was about to snap on his admins. He yelled at someone else to (Ash I think). So it didn't even do a good job of portraying him as the kind of villian he was supposed to be, though this may have been because the series ended in 2011, so it may have been affected by the Platinum retcons.

But yeah, I'm also kinda sad about how people see Cyrus, but it isn't surprising. For everyone who "grew out of" pokemon or just never played Platinum, USUM, PokeMas or BDSP, they have to go back and relearn everything and not everyone does that. Nor will everyone want to because again, some people wanted Cyrus to be genuinely evil. And even if they do want to learn what changed and are open to it, they have to sift through years of content saying he was actually that bad.

It was a nightmare explaining to two of my homies why I was suddenly trying to write fanfic and draw fanart of him because they didn't get the memo.

Quick correction - It is not a theory that the old man is Cyrus's grandpa. It's confirmed from my understanding. Which it means Cyrus is likely an abuse victim (though, what Cyrus was going through was never entirely specified. Just that it was bad enough to concern his grandfather.)

I will note that his characterisation did change between Diamond-Pearl and Platinum (and now BDSP has introduced younger people to the pre-Platinum story), so I will give them that. But specifically, I was on the USUM battle theme still seeing it. (Interestingly, not at all on the BDSP rendition, though. Maybe because it's just Sinnoh fans who already know everything.) One of the top comments was ironically a joke about him seeing the Rotom Dex and wanting to kill everyone.

I think his character is really just generally misunderstood because of how subtle everything was is what I was originally trying to say. Like you said, some of it is general literacy issues. It just makes me sad to see him so misunderstood... I think Game Freak did a really good job writing him. Though, he does clearly read as emotional in both Diamond-Pearl and Platinum. At least, seeing his little chibi march up to you in BDSP after you ruin his plans really shows how emotional he truly is. While the Rotom Room journal is clearly only a theory, I do truly think he is the only logical character who fills that role so well. (Charon 100% would use Cyrus's childhood trauma journal for its precious Rotom research without a doubt seeing how quick he was to try to take over Team Galactic.)

I am glad that they gave him depth rather than just making him a generic bad guy... Actually, considering that Platinum was just before BW (well, a few years but development wise, I mean), I think it might have been their first steps into more character driven plots. I do hope people end up looking more into Cyrus, but I know he isn't the most popular villain at all. (I believe that crown goes to either Archie or Guzma. Or. Well. Lusamine, actually, probably.)

I convinced my friend by telling her about the Rotom Room stuff, actually. She already liked Cyrus since she is super into Sinnoh, but apparently, learning that he was besties with Rotom when he was a child sold her. Now she bravely helps me write for him sometimes lmao. My other friend, however... She still doesn't believe that he's actually 27.

Granted. Youtube comment section opinions should probably always be discarded.

Except maybe... This one. This is the only good and acceptable one lmao

[mariacallous]

It no longer makes sense to speak of free speech in traditional terms. The internet has so transformed the nature of the speaker that the definition of speech itself has changed.

The new speech is governed by the allocation of virality. People cannot simply speak for themselves, for there is always a mysterious algorithm in the room that has independently set the volume of the speaker’s voice. If one is to be heard, one must speak in part to one’s human audience, in part to the algorithm. It is as if the US Constitution had required citizens to speak through actors or lawyers who answered to the Dutch East India Company, or some other large remote entity. What power should these intermediaries have? When the very logic of speech must shift in order for people to be heard, is that still free speech? This was not a problem foreseen in the law.

The time may be right for a legal and policy reset. US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are questioning Section 230, the liability shield that enshrined the ad-driven internet. The self-reinforcing ramifications of a mere 26 words—“no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”—has produced a social media ecosystem that is widely held to have had deleterious effects on both democracy and mental health.

Abraham Lincoln is credited with the famous quip about how you cannot fool all the people all the time. Perhaps you cannot, but perhaps the internet can. Imperfect speech has always existed, but the means and scale of amplification have not. The old situation cannot be the guide for the new.

Section 230 was created during a period when policy was being designed to unleash internet innovation, thereby maintaining America’s competitive edge in cyberspace. The early internet was supported by a variety of friendly policies, not just Section 230. For instance, sales arranged over the internet were often not taxed in early years. Furthermore, the internet was knowingly inaugurated in an incomplete state, lacking personal accounts, authentication mechanisms, commercial transaction standards, and many other needed elements. The thinking was not only that it was easier to get a minimal design started when computing power was still nascent, but also that the missing elements would be addressed by entrepreneurs. In effect, we were giving trillion-dollar gifts to parties unknown who would be the inevitable network-effect winners.

Section 230 was enacted as part of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, a larger legislative effort within the umbrella 1996 Telecommunications Act. Section 230(c)(1) provides immunity for online services regarding user-generated content, ensuring the companies hosting content are not treated as publishers of this information. Section 230(c)(2) offers Good Samaritan protection from civil liability when the companies—or platforms, as we call them today—in good faith remove or moderate objectionable content.

After President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Telecommunications Act into law, it was unclear how the courts might interpret it. When the dust cleared, Section 230 emerged as something of a double-edged sword. It could be used to justify censorship, and at the same time be deployed as a corporate liability shield. Most importantly, it provided the runway for the takeoff of Google, Twitter, and Facebook. (And now TikTok—which, being a Chinese company, proves that Section 230 no longer serves American interests.)

The impact on the public sphere has been, to say the least, substantial. In removing so much liability, Section 230 forced a certain sort of business plan into prominence, one based not on uniquely available information from a given service, but on the paid arbitration of access and influence. Thus, we ended up with the deceptively named “advertising” business model—and a whole society thrust into a 24/7 competition for attention. A polarized social media ecosystem. Recommender algorithms that mediate content and optimize for engagement. We have learned that humans are most engaged, at least from an algorithm’s point of view, by rapid-fire emotions related to fight-or-flight responses and other high-stakes interactions. In enabling the privatization of the public square, Section 230 has inadvertently rendered impossible deliberation between citizens who are supposed to be equal before the law. Perverse incentives promote cranky speech, which effectively suppresses thoughtful speech.

And then there is the economic imbalance. Internet platforms that rely on Section 230 tend to harvest personal data for their business goals without appropriate compensation. Even when data ought to be protected or prohibited by copyright or some other method, Section 230 often effectively places the onus on the violated party through the requirement of takedown notices. That switch in the order of events related to liability is comparable to the difference between opt-in and opt-out in privacy. It might seem like a technicality, but it is actually a massive difference that produces substantial harms. For example, workers in information-related industries such as local news have seen stark declines in economic success and prestige. Section 230 makes a world of data dignity functionally impossible.

To date, content moderation has too often been beholden to the quest for attention and engagement, regularly disregarding the stated corporate terms of service. Rules are often bent to maximize engagement through inflammation, which can mean doing harm to personal and societal well-being. The excuse is that this is not censorship, but is it really not? Arbitrary rules, doxing practices, and cancel culture have led to something hard to distinguish from censorship for the sober and well-meaning. At the same time, the amplification of incendiary free speech for bad actors encourages mob rule. All of this takes place under Section 230’s liability shield, which effectively gives tech companies carte blanche for a short-sighted version of self-serving behavior. Disdain for these companies—which found a way to be more than carriers, and yet not publishers—is the only thing everyone in America seems to agree on now.

Trading a known for an unknown is always terrifying, especially for those with the most to lose. Since at least some of Section 230’s network effects were anticipated at its inception, it should have had a sunset clause. It did not. Rather than focusing exclusively on the disruption that axing 26 words would spawn, it is useful to consider potential positive effects. When we imagine a post-230 world, we discover something surprising: a world of hope and renewal worth inhabiting.

In one sense, it’s already happening. Certain companies are taking steps on their own, right now, toward a post-230 future. YouTube, for instance, is diligently building alternative income streams to advertising, and top creators are getting more options for earning. Together, these voluntary moves suggest a different, more publisher-like self-concept. YouTube is ready for the post-230 era, it would seem. (On the other hand, a company like X, which leans hard into 230, has been destroying its value with astonishing velocity.) Plus, there have always been exceptions to Section 230. For instance, if someone enters private information, there are laws to protect it in some cases. That means dating websites, say, have the option of charging fees instead of relying on a 230-style business model. The existence of these exceptions suggests that more examples would appear in a post-230 world.

Let’s return to speech. One difference between speech before and after the internet was that the scale of the internet “weaponized” some instances of speech that would not have been as significant before. An individual yelling threats at someone in passing, for instance, is quite different from a million people yelling threats. This type of amplified, stochastic harassment has become a constant feature of our times—chilling speech—and it is possible that in a post-230 world, platforms would be compelled to prevent it. It is sometimes imagined that there are only two choices: a world of viral harassment or a world of top-down smothering of speech. But there is a third option: a world of speech in which viral harassment is tamped down but ideas are not. Defining this middle option will require some time to sort out, but it is doable without 230, just as it is possible to define the limits of viral financial transactions to make Ponzi schemes illegal.

With this accomplished, content moderation for companies would be a vastly simpler proposition. Companies need only uphold the First Amendment, and the courts would finally develop the precedents and tests to help them do that, rather than the onus of moderation being entirely on companies alone. The United States has more than 200 years of First Amendment jurisprudence that establishes categories of less protected speech—obscenity, defamation, incitement, fighting words—to build upon, and Section 230 has effectively impeded its development for online expression. The perverse result has been the elevation of algorithms over constitutional law, effectively ceding judicial power.

When the jurisprudential dust has cleared, the United States would be exporting the democracy-promoting First Amendment to other countries rather than Section 230’s authoritarian-friendly liability shield and the sewer of least-common-denominator content that holds human attention but does not bring out the best in us. In a functional democracy, after all, the virtual public square should belong to everyone, so it is important that its conversations are those in which all voices can be heard. This can only happen with dignity for all, not in a brawl.

Section 230 perpetuates an illusion that today’s social media companies are common carriers like the phone companies that preceded them, but they are not. Unlike Ma Bell, they curate the content they transmit to users. We need a robust public conversation about what we, the people, want this space to look like, and what practices and guardrails are likely to strengthen the ties that bind us in common purpose as a democracy. Virality might come to be understood as an enemy of reason and human values. We can have culture and conversations without a mad race for total attention.

While Section 230 might have been considered more a target for reform rather than repeal prior to the advent of generative AI, it can no longer be so. Social media could be a business success even if its content was nonsense. AI cannot.

There have been suggestions that AI needs Section 230 because large language models train on data and will be better if that data is freely usable with no liabilities or encumbrances. This notion is incorrect. People want more from AI than entertainment. It is widely considered an important tool for productivity and scientific progress. An AI model is only as good as the data it is trained on; indeed, general data improves specialist results. The best AI will come out of a society that prioritizes quality communication. By quality communication, we do not mean deepfakes. We mean open and honest dialog that fosters understanding rather than vitriol, collaboration rather than polarization, and the pursuit of knowledge and human excellence rather than a race to the bottom of the brain stem.

The attention-grooming model fostered by Section 230 leads to stupendous quantities of poor-quality data. While an AI model can tolerate a significant amount of poor-quality data, there is a limit. It is unrealistic to imagine a society mediated by mostly terrible communication where that same society enjoys unmolested, high-quality AI. A society must seek quality as a whole, as a shared cultural value, in order to maximize the benefits of AI. Now is the best time for the tech business to mature and develop business models based on quality.

All of this might sound daunting, but we’ve been here before. When the US government said the American public owned the airwaves so that television broadcasting could be regulated, it put in place regulations that supported the common good. The internet affects everyone, so we must devise measures to ensure that our digital-age public discourse is of high quality and includes everyone. In the television era, the fairness doctrine laid that groundwork. A similar lens needs to be developed for the internet age.

Without Section 230, recommender algorithms and the virality they spark would be less likely to distort speech. It is sadly ironic that the very statute that delivered unfathomable success is today serving the interests of our enemies by compromising America’s superpower: our multinational, immigrant-powered constitutional democracy. The time has come to unleash the power of the First Amendment to promote human free speech by giving Section 230 the respectful burial it deserves.