#and to format it properly and cite

[purplepink-blueberry]

is my school hard or am i just leaving everything to the end of the semester which is now?

[lettuce-tv]

reaching the point of the essay where I would rather do any goddamn thing other than write the essay

[libelelle]

I'm gonna cite more articles in this tumblr post than i have in any of my lab assignments

[snakeinateapot]

How would you cite fanfiction?

[formerheroeswhoquittoolate]

Batman. Written by Chip Zdarsky, pencils and inks by Jorge Jimenez, colors by Tomeu Morey, letters by Clayton Cowles, no. 138. DC Comics, 2023.

^ actual citation on the essay I just submitted. woo! finished my essay!

[arom-antix]

Hey, just wanted to reach out to say that I found you pointing out and calling this person was really great and you shouldn't have apologized. It was incredibly true what you said, and to be honest it seems out of touch with the reality of a great deal of the japanese fandom, the nuances and their culture. Also, it was as you pointed out, extreme and may I say rude. I want to mention too that the way it was written, as if entitled of the knowledge and the 'explanation' made it all worse in context of the 'fucked up'. The original poster always gets away by using the 'well-written academic'' statement of their 'metas' as an excuse to do or say and make everyone else agree and if not, uses victim narrative and discourses exactly selecting wording for people to agree on it or feel bad.

I don't know if they tagging you in the way they did made you reblog and apologizing/backing up, but no one thought bad about you pointing it out. On the contrary, a lot of people had been bullied and discriminated by this person when they called them out/disagreed going onto lenghts of sending their friends to harass people, and the other persons can't even defend themselves because they are effectively blocked. To quite a few people in the fandom has been done, even accusing them as 'acephobes' (when they're not) or even Nazis by spreading lies. So yeah, I just wanted to say that. I think you were right to call them out publicly.

Thank you very much for this ask. To be completely honest I agree with everything you said here and don't actually feel bad about pointing anything out. I mainly apologised because I didn't want any potentially poor phrasing from my side to cause unnecessary hostility and because I myself have gripes with this person's behaviour but didn't want to cause a scene.

My honest opinion is that they have a serious issue with taking accountability for their own mistakes and highly overestimate their own intellect. If you're reading this, @thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai, sorry if I seem harsh, but it's true. I saw your post lamenting how you're the only academic meta writer / fan in the fandom and I didn't interact then because I honestly do not care enough to start that drama but with the information Blonndiec has just given me, I think it's necessary that someone calls you out.

You're not an academic. You're not beyond the mental capabilities of other fans. You're actually incredibly childish in your metas and analyses and I am not kidding when I say that I was halfheartedly writing essays more academic than every analysis I've seen from you when I was barely a teenager. I don't know how old you are and I frankly don't care. You're not as clever as you think you are.

Also, don't think I didn't notice that you didn't reblog my correction (link here to my correction and here to their "response" for those who didn't see that exchange) of your post so that you could control what your followers saw of the exchange. You're the opposite of an academic. You control information to tailor the narrative, you don't cite your sources properly if at all, you don't format your posts in anything close to how an academic analysis would be, you make unbased claims, you reference posts and canon material without in any way indicating where that information is from, you reference your own (equally unacademic) metas and your conclusions from them without indicating what post it's from or that it's your own theory this new one is based on and instead present it as a common fact, and I could go on and on and on. Your posts are also riddled with logical fallacies and you talk in absolutes and opinions when there's no canon basis to claim such things. I'm sorry, but that's not academic in the slightest.

To be clear, you don't have to be an academic to post on the Internet. You don't have to be anything at all. You could up front be a genuine idiot with no remorse and that's fine. But when you claim to be an academic and also put down the rest of the fandom for not being on your level, you have to be able to back that up. It'd still make you sound like a prick but at least your arrogance would have a basis. It currently does not.

I haven't personally seen the discussions that Blonndiec is referencing and I'm not going to claim anything definitive (because that would be unacademic of me, take notes) but if what they're saying is true and did happen as described, which I have empirical, if anecdotal, evidence to believe could very well be (a friend of mine has personally been blocked by you after they criticised you without actually mentioning your name which I of course can't prove is the reason for the block but the timing is awfully convenient), you should know that you should be ashamed of yourself.

If there's context missing, feel free to enlighten me and call out any incorrect accusations. You have every right to defend yourself. However, I encourage you to cite your sources since you're such an academic. If you don't, then it's just your word against Blonndiec and anyone else who might comment's word and that doesn't prove anything. Don't misunderstand, acephobia and nazi rhetoric should absolutely be called out but only if it's actually happening. False accusations can ruin lives. I hope you know that.

I'm not a fan of calling people out publicly and, again, thank you for this ask, Blonndiec. But considering many of the issues I've personally seen and those I've been informed of by second hand sources were posted publically, I don't really feel bad about calling this out. I could do a full breakdown of just the insulting "academic" comments alone and how there's no academia to be found in said academic metas and, Samurai, if you give me reason to, I will show exactly what I mean point by point (and academically just to give you an example of even low level academia).

If you respond to this, do it in a reblog. That's what a real academic would do. If I'm wrong and you can prove it, you'd have no reason to not show my post in your rebuttal. If I'm right, you'd have every reason to be upfront about your mistakes and how you intend to rectify them. There's nothing wrong with being wrong but there's a lot wrong with refusing to admit to it in a way that lets others peer review you (academic thing, look it up) and come to their own conclusions about the situation. That's what you did when you just @'ed me instead of reblogging my response. A true academic wouldn't hide a peer review. You'd know that if you were one.

I swing in many academic spaces and yet that doesn't make me any kind of expert and I don't claim to be one because I'm not. But since you want to be one so badly, reblog this with a response and show us all how smart you are. I'm dying to know what your academic take on this is.

[quads004]

Please Start Archiving in the US

With current events, I think it is prudent that everyone, that is able to, needs start archiving shit. I am a former library worker but I do not know much about cybersecurity. If you do want to go down that route please research and keep you and your archive safe :). The more copies that are preserved, then the more likely it is that the media will survive. Even if you save only 2 files that is still important!

First, I will list how to create an computer archive and best practices, then I will provide a list of known targets and suggested materials to add.

You need somewhere to store your data most people will use their computer's storage drive but you need to have backups! Do not rely on cloud storage solutions, they require internet connection are vulnerable to data breaches, and the companies that store that data must follow any laws that the government may decide to pass. USBs or external hardrives are best options. CDs can be used in a pinch, but are more likely to degrade as well as having lower storage capacity then the previous options. Use whatever you have lying around, you do not need to spend money if you don't want to.

When saving data use file formats that are common and able to be read without use of a special software. (that means no .docx) PDF/A is the gold standard for archiving. It is a subtype of pdf that contains metadata, such as typefaces and graphical info, that ensure the files are read properly in the future. Adobe Acrobat is able to save and convert documents into PDF/A. PDFTron, DocuPub, and Ghostscript are all free or have free versions that create pdf/a files. PNG, JPEG2000, .txt, MP3, wav, are other common file types that the Smithsonian recommends for data storage. For a full list of types to use and avoid, see the sources cited at the bottom.

What are we archiving?

Please gather both fiction and nonfiction resources. Nonfiction collection ideas: Current news clips, local history of marginalized communities, interviews, biographies, memoirs, zines, and art pieces. Saving scientific research is incredibly important! In 1933, one of the first places they targeted was the Institute of Sexual Science. Lots of what was stored there was never recovered. Environmental science, trans and intersex health, and minority history will likely be targeted first. For fiction, the most commonly challenged books last year were: 1) GenderQueer by Maia Kobabe 2) All Boys Aren't Blue by George Johnson 3) This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson 4) The of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 5) Flamer by Mike Curato 6) The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison 7) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 8) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins 9) Let's Talk about it (Teen guide to sex, relationships, and being a human) by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan 10) Sold by Patricia McCormick I present this list so you have an idea of what is normally targeted. Books that describe racism and queer identities are most common, but other targets include any depictions of violence, drugs, sex. Use your personal archive to accumulate data that you personally are passionate about. The more niche a topic the more likely it is that other people will not have it in their storage.

Lastly, please remember as an archivist you are not there to determine if a piece is worthy of being saved. Just because you do not like or agree with the message does not mean it will be saved from being banned. All artworks amateur or professional are worthy of being archived.

Sources: ALA 2023 Banned Books https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

How to create a PDF/A file https://www.research.gov/common/attachment/Desktop/How_do_I_create_a_PDF-A_file.pdf

Smithsonian Data Management Best Practices and File Formats https://siarchives.si.edu/what-we-do/digital-curation/recommended-preservation-formats-electronic-records https://library.si.edu/research/best-practices-storing-archiving-and-preserving-data

[skylathescholarly]

ATTENTION NEWSIES FANS, OR ANYONE WHO'S EVEN HEARD OF NEWSIES:

I am writing a research paper about Newsies, the real newsboy strike of 1899, and fandom!! I DESPERATELY need input from fans of Newsies!!

This is a Google Form, since that was the easiest way. It will NOT collect your email address, it will NOT require any personal information (only a nickname) and it is super fast and easy to do!

If you could fill this out to help me out, I would really really appreciate it, and if you reblogged for reach, I would love you forever. I will be making a copy of the finished paper (scrubbed of any of my personal info lol) public if you'd like to see the finished project.

This poll and its responses will be cited properly according to APA format, because that's what my university requires.

(tagging @apairofnewshoeswithmatchinglaces bc I know you won't want to miss this lol)

Form:

[evidence-based-activism]

Hi! I'm rather sceptical of this article which claims that more porn = less rape and lists several studies (at the bottom of the page) as the author doesn't really bother to explain them properly, so I was hoping you could.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/all-about-sex/201601/evidence-mounts-more-porn-less-sexual-assault

@nznnm I re-sent your submission as an ask, due to formatting issues!

You were correct to be skeptical! Porn does not result in less rape.

The linked article cites seven sources [1-7].

Five of the seven studies [2-6] were all conducted prior to 2000, so, even if they did support the supposition that pornography leads to less rape (and they don't), they would not be representative of the effects of modern, mainstream, free, internet pornography.

These studies by Diamond [1, 2, 3] and Kutchinsky [5, 6] all rely on the same methodological paradigm: aggregate-level national analysis. They essentially examine how changes in pornography use rates (e.g., as a result of a legal change) is related to reported rape rates for a nation (i.e., in aggregate) over a period of time. There are several issues with this type of analysis, highlighted by this article [8]. For example, they indicate "one of the more serious problems with aggregate data used in pornography research results from the inappropriate transfer of aggregate results toward individualistic explanations", but I also want to highlight the issue with relying on reported sex crimes (e.g., did the rate of rape really decrease/not change or did misogynistic beliefs become more prevalent - as a cause or effect of the aforementioned legal change - resulting in a lower reporting rate). The mentioned paper [8] explicitly addresses studies [1, 3, 5, 6] and study [2] is just review of those four. In addition, YourBrainOnPorn has an article addressing this same point, which may be more accessible for laymen [9]. In short, this methodology cannot reliably determine a relationship between rape and pornography.

Goldstein's 1971 study [4] was a retrospective study examining pornography use between "deviants" (a group that included homosexual men) and non-"deviants", concluding non-"deviants" used more pornography. However, this was a single, small study conducted prior to the internet. More importantly, the retrospective design presents significant possible problems, particularly for "sensitive" topics [10]. For example, did the pedophiles really never see pornography, or are they less likely to remember or report having seen it? Many more recent studies have disputed this result; I mention some of them in this post and this post and there are many more in a link below.

The final source [7] doesn't address rape rates at all; it concerns "closeness with others". I'm a lot less concerned with pornography use’s effects on male users, and more a lot more concerned with its effects on the female performers and women in society. That being said, YourBrainOnPorn has collected a resource pages with studies linking porn use to "sexual dysfunctions and poorer sexual and relationship satisfaction" (currently with more than 130 studies) [11] and "poorer mental-emotional health & poorer cognitive outcomes" (currently with more than 100 studies) [12].

In addition to all of this, YourBrainOnPorn has collected a resource page "linking porn use to sexual offending, sexual aggression, and sexual coercion" (currently with more than 110 studies) [13].

I want to highlight the following:

This review [14] found "reliable associations between frequent pornography use and sexually aggressive behaviors, particularly for violent pornography and/or for men at high risk for sexual aggression"

This meta-analysis [15] on 46 studies with over 12,000 people found (pre-internet) found moderate to strong effect sizes of pornography on aggression, violent behavior, and misogynistic beliefs.

This 2010 meta-analysis [16] found an "overall significant positive association between pornography use and attitudes supporting violence against women in nonexperimental studies". This was done to accompany their meta-analysis on experimental (laboratory) studies [17] that showed "consumption of material depicting nonviolent sexual activity increases aggressive behavior, and that media depictions of violent sexual activity generates more aggression than those of nonviolent sexual activity".

This 2015 meta-analysis [18] examined "2 studies from 7 different countries" of more than 20,000 people and found pornography use was "associated with sexual aggression in the United States and internationally, among males and females, and in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies".

This 2017 review [19] found pornography is associated with more adolescent dating and sexual violence perpetration and victimization.

All in all, the linked article cherry picked (i.e., they picked the few studies that supported their view while ignoring the many more than did not) studies using an unreliable and controversial methodology.

Given the highly politicized and contentions nature of this topic, we are never going to have a consensus in research; instead we need to rely on a "preponderance of evidence" approach, noting that pornography use is linked to sexual aggression in the majority (and in more high quality) studies.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

References under the cut:

Diamond, M. et al. “Pornography and Sex Crimes in the Czech Republic,” Archives of Sexual Behavior (2011) 40:1037

Diamond, M. “The Effects of Pornography: An International Perspective,” in Pornography 101: Eroticism, Sexuality, and the First Amendment, edited by J. Elias et al. Prometheus Press, Amherst, NY, 1999.

Diamond, M. and A. Uchiyama. “Pornography, Rape, and Sex Crimes in Japan,” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry (1999) 22:1.

Goldstein, M. et al. “Experience with Pornography: Rapists, Pedophiles, Homosexuals, Transsexuals, and Controls,” Archives of Sexual Behavior (1971) 1:1.

Kutchinsky, B. Pornography and Rape: Theory and Practice? Evidence from crime Data in Four Countries, Where Pornography is Easily Available,” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry (1991) 14:47.

Kutchinsky, B. “The Effect of Easy Availability of Pornography on the Incidence of Sex Crimes: The Danish Experience,” Journal of Social Issues (1973) 29:163.

Poipovic, M. “Pornography Use and Closeness with Others in Men,” Archives of Sexual Behavior (2011) 40:449

Kingston, Drew A., and Neil M. Malamuth. "Problems with aggregate data and the importance of individual differences in the study of pornography and sexual aggression: Comment on Diamond, Jozifkova, and Weiss (2010)." Archives of sexual behavior 40 (2011): 1045-1048.

“Debunking the Realyourbrainonporn (Scienceofarousal.Com) ‘Sex Offender Section’: The Actual State of the Research on Porn Use and Sexual Aggression, Coercion & Violence.” Your Brain On Porn, https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/debunking-realyourbrainonporn-pornographyresearch-com-sex-offender-section/.

Tofthagen C. Threats to validity in retrospective studies. J Adv Pract Oncol. 2012 May;3(3):181-3. PMID: 25031944; PMCID: PMC4093311.

“Studies Linking Porn Use or Porn/Sex Addiction to Sexual Dysfunctions and Poorer Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction.” Your Brain On Porn, https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/porn-use-sex-addiction-studies/studies-linking-porn-use-or-porn-sex-addiction-to-sexual-dysfunctions-and-poorer-sexual-and-relationship-satisfaction/.

“Studies Linking Porn Use to Poorer Mental-Emotional Health & Poorer Cognitive Outcomes.” Your Brain On Porn, https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/porn-use-sex-addiction-studies/studies-linking-porn-use-to-poorer-mental-emotional-health-poorer-cognitive-outcomes/.

“Studies Linking Porn Use to Sexual Offending, Sexual Aggression, and Sexual Coercion.” Your Brain On Porn, https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/studies-linking-porn-use-to-sexual-offending-sexual-aggression-and-sexual-coercion/.

Malamuth NM, Addison T, Koss M. Pornography and sexual aggression: are there reliable effects and can we understand them? Annu Rev Sex Res. 2000;11:26-91. PMID: 11351835.

Oddone-Paolucci, Elizabeth, Mark Genuis, and Claudio Violato. "A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of pornography." The changing family and child development. Routledge, 2017. 48-59.

Hald GM, Malamuth NM, Yuen C. Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women: revisiting the relationship in nonexperimental studies. Aggress Behav. 2010 Jan-Feb;36(1):14-20. doi: 10.1002/ab.20328. PMID: 19862768.

Allen, Mike, D. A. V. E. D'alessio, and Keri Brezgel. "A meta‐analysis summarizing the effects of pornography II aggression after exposure." Human communication research 22.2 (1995): 258-283.

Wright, Paul J., Robert S. Tokunaga, and Ashley Kraus. "A meta-analysis of pornography consumption and actual acts of sexual aggression in general population studies." Journal of Communication 66.1 (2016): 183-205.

Rodenhizer KAE, Edwards KM. The Impacts of Sexual Media Exposure on Adolescent and Emerging Adults' Dating and Sexual Violence Attitudes and Behaviors: A Critical Review of the Literature. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2019 Oct;20(4):439-452. doi: 10.1177/1524838017717745. Epub 2017 Jul 13. PMID: 29333966.

[somekindofsentience]

Foreshadowing in Omori and its manga: a critique

I'm back again, although it's been a while since I've written anything. I'm waiting on more Dreamscape chapters to formulate an analysis on Mari.

Omori Spoilers and Omori Manga Spoilers under the cut

Omori has poor foreshadowing, in the manga and the game, but for different reasons. And I can tell from one chapter.

Firstly, a rundown on the narrative device itself - foreshadowing provides an advance hint toward the events of the story. It's a very common device, but it's actually relatively difficult to do well. There's a very fine line between too obvious and too subtle, especially with the expectation of twists.

Foreshadowing in these types of psychological horror games tends to be very subtle, take Doki Doki as an example, and further foreshadowing in games like Yume Nikki is so subtle that the reality of the world isn't even evident at all. While this can be frustrating for the players, it's actually incredibly important, allowing you to theorise and discuss.

In the original Omori game, foreshadowing was often too abstract and subtle to be properly understood by a player - and this was fundamentally because there foreshadowing was so widespread, it overwhelms the player as they attempt to discover the truth.

Let me cite an example. Daddy Long-Legs belongs to a group I'll call the "Truth creatures" - characters like Stranger, the various Somethings, Hellmari, Phobias etc. He exists in a portion of Pyrefly Forest which foreshadows the truth of Headspace. But he's purposeless as a character otherwise, he only appears in a corner of Black Space 2 that is practically inaccessible to those on the Truth route. Why would you introduce a new character, one who becomes irrelevant, to foreshadow a part of the game that would be far better foreshadowed by Stranger? Someone who is actually relevant? This convoluted choice feels unnecessary, adding characters for the sake of subtlety.

In a similar way, the Somethings, Phobia bosses and Hellmari are loosely linked, and it's not quite explicit where each comes from and the relevance of each to the truth. Where's the distinction between the Mari Something and the others? Where does the game show me an explicit difference between the formation of Something and the formation of the Phobias? Why aren't Hellmari and Something more related, considering the events that formed them? A better foreshadower would be able to accurately make these distinctions, leading to overall better contrast between the recital day and the formation of the Phobias.

This is also incredibly obvious in Black Space, where the foreshadowing and symbolism ramps up. I will say it here, there is no way anyone will ever understand the purpose and analysis of every single area, object and NPC in Black Space. As a result, while it feels magnificent, there's so much that feels pointless, as well. This worked in Yume Nikki because it is very focused on this premise of "no real truth", but since Omori has a real truth and a real reason for Black Space's existence, it makes so many objects and areas feel pointless to analyse and overthink. Again, it's this insistence on adding things upon things to make foreshadowing far too abstract and impossible to understand.

Music and its importance to the truth was also very poorly foreshadowed. While I can understand, from a repression perspective, why Mari playing the piano or Sunny playing the violin was only very very subtly foreshadowed in the music itself, there is a point where you do need to make it obvious to the players, otherwise it feels like this idea of Sunny playing the violin is just thrown onto the players with no real interrelation. Similarly, Mari's character was far too hidden, where it isn't evident at all that Mari is a human with emotions - she's portrayed as a God the entire game. Again, too much subtlety has led to story beats feeling out-of-place and underrepresented.

However, in the manga, foreshadowing makes events very obvious to the reader, making me question the goals of this manga at all - are you really going to introduce Omori to new audiences in such a rushed and evident way? Making everything obvious and clear, when foreshadowing was such a key element to the original game? The whole point of the twist was it was completely unexpected!!

Immediately as we get into the manga, it's already obvious that Mari and violins are relevant to the truth. I wouldn't be surprised if the dialogue that Mari speaks during the Hellmari sequence is related to the argument between Mari and Sunny on the recital day, and I would be so disappointed if they chose to immediately out key dialogue that was not present in the original game.

Furthermore, why on Earth would you immediately reveal the hidden part of Mari's character in the first chapter? Mari is supposed to be perfect, at least in Sunny's mind. The game absolutely goes too far with this - it was a fundamental failure to have no dialogue in the Truth segment, as it led to so many misinterpretations of Mari as a character - but you choose to reveal her anger and humanity now???? NOT LATER??? NOT LIKE A BIT LATER?? SO WE CAN PERCIEVE HER AS PERFECT??

I'm not even going to get into the mischaracterisation of Aubrey, portraying her as evil and horrible without the very necessary exploration of how her relationship with Kel influences her actions.

I want to have faith in the manga. I want to enjoy it, but, just, the pacing and foreshadowing is already off. I'm worried. At least the horror art is gorgeous.

a summary of this analysis. HOW THE FUCK DID YOU MESS UP FORESHADOWING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS??

song i listened to while writing

i've been obsessed with the beef recently, it's so funny.

[ellestra]

Farming content James Somerton style

Edited: I cleaned up sentences, removed typos and added some links

You've probably seen the latest hbomberguy video that highlights plagiarism problem on youtube. He gives several examples many I never heard about but I've been recommended iilluminaughtii before and watched some of her stuff before getting tired of seemingly endless volume (now I know why). But then he gets to the real subject of the video and I did watch a lot of James Somerton videos. And I liked many of them. I liked them a lot.

I didn't give him any money and, as much as it came as relief, I kept thinking how this must feel so much worse for people who did. I thought about supporting him for a moment when he posted (in April this year!) how his videos are getting less views because youtube algorithm and demonetisation of gay creators (it's a real thing so it was easy to believe) and he will be forced to stop creating if people don't sign up to his patreon. But I was casual viewer and he seemed big enough so I didn't. It must feel like such a betrayal to those who created a real community around him. Just like his film production company it's clear now it was another of his scams. It's infuriating how well it worked.

Somerton deleted his patreon now (along with his twitter and discord server) so there is probably no recourse for those affected. The only good thing is that someone big enough highlighted what he did (and brought receipts) so he had to stop. When smaller creators called him out it either went unnoticed or he managed to make himself a victim (and send his fans after them). He actually did what Anita Sarkeesian was accused of and gaslighted his followers about it. His misogyny just adds an extra bitter taste to this.

At the end hbomberguy talks about how if Somerton was open about what he was doing this could've been his niche. He said it just as I was thinking basically the same thing. I'm sure there is a market for field review type of videos. Not review like movie or book review but in academic sense when you take other people articles on the subject and compare to show the state of research on the subject on at the moment.

This kind of reviews doesn't need any original research. The value is in giving people overview of where the field is at and pointing them to the actual research so they can read more in depth about the results. If you already did the search for all the sources this is a perfect format to use them. Most people don't have time or resources to comb through all the resources themselves but they like to learn about it and this is why videos like that are popular. That's why iilluminaughtii, Somerton and al. were able to cash in on it.

But of course this kind of things have to properly cited. And they cannot be just all quotes. You have to make coherent points not just make stuff up for the transitions (lies that actually made Todd in the Shadows make a video not about music). I suppose that's too much work. Too much effort when you need to crank out content to satisfy all the sponsors.

I was glad to find out I already watch most of the queer creators recommended in the hbomberguy's video (and put on this watch list) as an alternative (I would add Caelan Conrad to it - funnily enough I found them through their video about antivax movement). I trained my youtube recommendations well in which way it skews but it's easier to kick out all the obviously awful when you know what talking points to avoid. It's much harder to spot grift when it pretends to care about the same things you care about. Somerton was saying all the right things. It just wasn't his words.

Did he even believe any of it? I bet he'll insist on yes but the laziness says otherwise. It seems like it was all just for the money and fans this angle gave him. That he enjoyed being cool to the audience he built and the stuff it bought him. Be gay do crime for real. Only he didn't write that one either.

[onesaltyerik]

I am now at the WORST part of essay work.

CITATION EDITING!

Yeah I've got a whole separate page open full of all the links I used to research, but I had to organise them all into "Cited" and "Un-Cited" and that took ages cause I legit forgot what each of the links led to and had re-open them, confirm that I did indeed cite them in my paper, and then not lose them amongst the sea of links as I transferred them to the final paper.

And now, I gotta go through all of them, and put them into MLA format.

And after that, I gotta do the same for all the footnotes I've included. And then edit the footnotes to not look so horrendous. And then! I've gotta make sure the whole paper reads properly and is in the standard format (I have the spacing and font size turned way up so I don't strain my eyes, I would wear glasses but my glasses make my laptop screen look like rainbows? so kinda can't.)

AND THEN!

I can call it done and hand it in two days early so I can get the annotations for the lectures done.

I hate it all so damn much. And yet, when I'm not doing any of this, I wish that I was. I don't know why! All I ever do is complain about how annoying essays are and then when I'm done it's all "Well that was horrendous! .....I wanna do it again lolololol :)"

What the fuck is wrong with my brain.

[leiflitter]

Has Professor Quick ever dealt with students using ChatGPT to write essays?

I've saved this for a lil bit but here we go-

Yes. And he fucking hates it. The main thing about Oxford is that it's prestigious. It's hard to get in. The classes are small, the tutorials are smaller, and Oliver takes great pride in knowing his students... But there's always one, maybe two, who think... Shit, I'm hungover, what if I just ask the computer to do it?

Now, the main thing that Ollie knows- that he intrinsically understands- is that students (especially the freshers) are young. They're striking out into a whole new world of independence and self-sufficiency, and far too many of them are... Coddled. Or Spoilt, but Oliver prefers Coddled because that- at least- implies that it isn't a permanent rot.

So the first time he gets some AI dross that cites sources that don't exist, and is perfectly formatted despite that student maybe struggling a little with citations, and has that bland tone he recognises from all the other times students have tried to be sneaky... There'll be a nice little one to one meeting where he'll take it seriously. He'll ask the student about their essay, how they came to their conclusion, why did they pick the quotes used, et cetera- and he'll let them stumble and panic and try to remember the prompt before asking them, "why do you think I asked you to write this?"

And generally that gets a blank stare, or an I dunno, as some fresher slowly eats themselves alive with the cringe of being caught cheating...

"This is a university. You're paying to come here and learn. Every assignment I set you is me making sure you're getting your money's worth- I'm making sure you understand what I'm teaching you, and if you don't... I'll be able to help you." Then he smiles, which is a lot easier now he has a ring on his finger and Felix at home. "I'm giving you a chance to do this work properly. I'll give you two weeks, so it shouldn't be too hard to schedule around your other work. But if this happens again, that essay is going straight into the AI detection software, and then you'll be in serious trouble. Is that clear?"

Only one student has ever done it twice.

[britt-kageryuu]

Donnie is messing with something off screen, they haven't said anything since the waiting screen switched over.

The background switches to an animated library scene, their model switches to be wearing a graphic tshirt that has a science pun, a purple zip up hoodie, a black beanie over braided hair colored multiple different shades of purple.

They hold up their hand in a 'give me a minute' type gesture, as they mess with the settings. When they finally starts talking the tone of their voice is a bit different, but quite pleasing to hear.

"Annoyed huff, good you're here. Now remember we're here to work on our parts of the group project, and pray those dum dums actually do their part. Hmm, why are you looking at me like that?" They tilt their head with a confused look, "Were you expecting something else to happen? Because rest assured this is in no way, shape, or form, a date. Let alone any kind of romantic situation. Now do you have your notes, and research findings? Good."

They stop to take a quick drink of water, and look at some notes.

"Now let me look over your work, and you may look over mine. Then we can find how to more seamlessly transition from part A into part B." They make some paper rustling noice, and picks up a note book with 'Group Project' written on the cover. "Okay, looks like you have found a good amount of information we need. Oh and you cited your sources! You are amazing! If the other members of our group pull their weight, there is no way this won't be a perfect project!" They pretend to read over the notes, with slightly exaggerated sounds of interest, including them actually saying 'sound of interest'. "Now that I've looked over your notes, I have a good idea of how we can write out your part so that it flows perfectly with mine. Puts book on table..."

They pause, reread what is apparently a script and realize they verbalized an action written in the script. They shrug and continue. Shelldon pops in from below like a curious pet wondering what is going on. Donnie subconsciously starts to scratch his head.

"So if you read over my part properly, you will find that we can just take these parts from the research and combine it with these Notes, and we can finish both our parts fairly quickly, and just need to account for using these points here and here so that it makes much more sense when transitioning between our parts."

Before they continue, his phone rings loudly, startling Shelldon who leaves the area. In their frustration about someone calling, they forgot to mute the mic.

"What do you want K? I'm in the middle of something! What? No! Why in the Pizza Supreme would I let you have my notes for your project?!... As wonderful of an idea as that is. He says with much sarcasm. No, I will still not let you have access to those particular notes. Let alone let you, air quotes 'take inspiration from' my work! Now don't bother me. I have to get back to work... shut up you pathetic excuse for a dragon." They hang up with a verbalized 'Annoyed Huff', clears their throat and turn back to the camera.

"Sorry for the Interruption, just an annoying person from a different department. Now where were we?"

The chat would half believe that was staged if it weren't for the fact that Donnie was visibly annoyed with whoever 'K' was. They went a bit nuts with emojis, but many just sat and listened to Donnie apparently do an attempt at ASMR.

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

Masterpost

I have no idea what asmr story videos sound like, let alone how they are formatted. So this is just me winging it.

The colored parts are the 'scripted' parts if it isn't obvious.

[lakesbian]

One of the things Worm really suffers from (IMO) is how each Arc is bang, right after the other, to the point where time blurs together and like two thirds of the story by arc count happens over the course of 4 months or something. Though obviously the big 2 year timeskip will be a thing I'm closing in on as I read. You've commented (and cited as something you didn't much like) that Twig treats each arc as episodic, with lots of time in between. Do you think Wildbow doing that was in part a response to that critique of Worm (because I've seen others express similar views) or is there no connection?

hmm that's an interesting question. i can't meaningfully speculate but i could see it as at the very least coming off as an intentional change from the prior format of worm & pact where everything was One Long Story. i will say it's kind of haphazard in that there Are arcs that are continuous/without timeskips, especially starting more towards the halfway point and after, so it doesn't really feel properly committed to an episodic format. i feel like maybe it started out experimenting with an episodic format and then he just kinda lost the plot on the fact that he was doing that in the first place and did whatever instead

[gotoppr]

How do I avoid plagiarism during writing an literature review during research work?

Avoiding plagiarism in a literature review is essential to maintain academic integrity and to show respect for the original authors' ideas.

Here are some strategies to ensure your writing is original and properly sourced:

Understand the Source Material

Paraphrase Effectively

Use Quotations When Necessary

Cite Every Source of Information

Use a Citation Tool

Keep Track of Your Sources

Run a Plagiarism Check

Engage with the Content

Understand the Source Material:

Before writing, make sure you deeply understand the arguments, concepts, and findings in each source. This will make it easier to summarize and analyze in your own words, rather than copying verbatim.

Paraphrase Effectively:

Paraphrasing means expressing the author’s ideas in your own words. Change both the structure and language while preserving the meaning. Avoid relying too heavily on the original phrasing, as minor tweaks can still lead to accidental plagiarism.

Use Quotations When Necessary:

For key phrases, definitions, or unique expressions that are challenging to paraphrase, use direct quotes with quotation marks, followed by a proper citation. However, use quotes sparingly, as too many can disrupt the flow of your review.

Cite Every Source of Information:

Cite all the sources you reference, whether you’re directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. Consistently attribute ideas to their original authors, even if they are rephrased.

Use a Citation Tool:

Reference management tools like Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote can help manage citations accurately. These tools also make it easy to format citations according to specific academic style guides (APA, MLA, etc.).

Keep Track of Your Sources:

When taking notes, include citation information with every piece of information. This helps avoid confusion about what is your own thought and what came from a source.

Run a Plagiarism Check:

After drafting, use a plagiarism detection tool to check for unintentional similarities. Tools like Turnitin, Grammarly, or even free options can identify areas that might need rephrasing or additional citation.

Engage with the Content:

Focus on synthesizing the material by identifying patterns, contrasts, and key themes across multiple sources. This higher-level analysis adds originality, as it demonstrates your interpretation of the research rather than simple descriptions.