#email syncing problems

[ambersky0319]

I saw a class that I really wanted to take open up and IMMEDIATELY changed my schedule

Thing is the first class is literally today. It is a morning class. And I just enrolled in it 5 minutes ago (about 5:20 am)

So

I'll probably have to make sure I get into the classroom early and have a little chat with the professor because I don't have access to the site yet and with how quick the enrollment happened idk if I'd even be on the roster yet

[ms-demeanor]

I'm not the most security savvy but two-factor authentication makes me deeply suspicious. Is it actually more secure or is it just annoying? Especially the ones that send a code to your phone that pops up in your notifications.

It is genuinely, massively, TREMENDOUSLY more secure to use 2FA/MFA than to not use it.

One of our clients is currently under attack by a group that appears to be using credential stuffing; they are making educated guesses about the accounts they're trying to lot into based on common factors showing up in the credentials in years of pastes and breaches and leaks. Like, let's say it's a professional arborist's guild and their domain is arborist.tree and they've had three hundred members who have had their credentials compromised in the last ten years and the people looking at all the passwords associated with arborist.tree noticed that the words "arboreal" and "conifer" and "leaf" and "branch" show up over and over and over again in the passwords for the members of the professional arborist's guild.

So they can make an educated guess for how to log in to accounts belonging to the tree-loving tree lover's club, combine that with the list of legitimate emails, and go to town.

And they are in fact going to town. We're getting between 1000 and 4000 login attempts per hour. It's been happening for a couple weeks.

And every single one of those attempts is failing - in spite of some pretty poor password practices that believe me, I have been doing some talking about - as a result of having MFA enforced for the entire group. They all use an app that is synced to their individual accounts with a mobile device, except that sometimes you have trouble getting a code when you're up in a tree so some of them have physical MFA tokens.

People try to sign into my tumblr sometimes. To those people I say: lol, good luck, I couldn't guess my own password with a gun to my head. But if I *did* have some password that was, like "tiny-bastard-is#1" they would also need access to my email address because I've got MFA set up on tumblr. And to THAT I say: lol, good luck, it's complex passwords and MFA all the way down.

Of the types of MFA that most people will run across, the most secure to least secure hierarchy goes physical token>app based one-time-passwords>tie between email and SMS. Email and SMS are less preferred because email is relatively easy to capture and open in transit and cellphone SIMs can be cloned to capture your text messages. But if you are using email or SMS for your authentication you are still miles and miles and miles ahead of people who are not using any kind of authentication.

MFA is, in fact, so effective that I only advise people to turn it on if they are 100% sure that they will be able to access the account if they lose access to the device that had the authenticator on it. You usually can do this by saving a collection of recovery codes someplace safe (I recommend doing this in the secure notes section of your password manager on the entry for the site in question - if this is not a feature that your password manager has, I recommend that you get a better password manager, and the password manager I recommend is bitwarden).

A couple weeks ago I needed to get into a work account that I had created in 2019. In 2022, my boss had completely taken me off of managing that service and had his own account, so I deleted it from my authenticator. Then in 2024 my boss sold the business but didn't provide MFA for a ton of the accounts we've got. I was able to get back into my account because five years earlier I had taken a photo of the ten security codes from the company and saved them in a folder on my desktop called "work recovery codes." If you are going to use MFA, it is VITALLY IMPORTANT that you save recovery codes for the accounts you're authenticating someplace that you'll be able to find them, because MFA is so secure that the biggest problem with it is locking people out of their accounts.

In any kind of business context, I think MFA should be mandatory. No question.

For personal accounts, I think you should be pointed and cautious where you apply it, and always leave yourself another way in. There are SO MANY stories about people having their phones wiped or stolen or destroyed and losing MFA with the device because they didn't have a backup of the app or hadn't properly transferred it to a new device.

But it's also important to note that MFA is not a "fix all security forever" thing - I've talked about session hijacking here and the way you most often see MFA defeated is by tricking someone into logging in to a portal that gives them access to your cookies. This is usually done by phishing and sending someone a link to a fake portal.

That is YET ANOTHER reason that you should be using a good password manager that allows you to set the base domain for the password you're using so that you can be sure you're not logging in to a faked portal. If your password manager doesn't have that feature (setting the domain where you can log in to the base domain) then I recommend that you get a better password manager (get bitwarden.)

In 2020 my terrible boss wanted me to write him a book about tech that he could have run off at a vanity press and could give to prospect customers as a business card. That was a terrible idea, but I worked on the book anyway and started writing it as a book about security for nontechnical people. I started out with a very simple statement:

If every one of our customers did what we recommend in the first four chapters of this book (make good backups, use a password manager and complex unique passwords, enable MFA, and learn how to avoid phishing), we would go out of business, because supporting problems that come from those four things is about 90-95% of our work.

So yes, absolutely, please use MFA. BUT! Save your recovery codes.

[genericpuff]

alright so this is a post I've been wanting to write up for a little while now, but I was waiting on permission from a third party to post DM's (censored, of course). That permission has since returned with a yes, soooo

LET'S TALK ABOUT RACHEL'S HIRING PROCESSES-

okay this isn't gonna be as comprehensive as I'm making it sound BUT I've mentioned before on this page (albeit briefly and it's long since been buried) that I actually applied to be a background artist for Rachel a couple years ago, I think it was around the midpoint of S2, and it was (obviously) before I turned to the dark side of crit-n-shit-posting. I never got an email back, so that was that. I'd like to think there's a parallel universe out there where instead of joining the antiLO/ULO community, I became an assistant for Rachel and remained a fan. Enjoy that fridge horror thought.

That said, while I didn't get a response, someone on reddit mentioned that they did:

And they were kind enough to share further details with me in DM's.

Right off the bat, I'm fairly certain they were applying to the same ad I was (as it was a posting that Rachel had made on Twiter and the approximate years line up).

All that aside, considering what Rachel's process is like with her assistants (from what we've discussed here in GREAT detail), it's not shocking in the slightest that the vibe of working with Rachel from the very beginning was "IDK what I'm looking for".

Buuut that's not the end of the exchange because it gets better.

Mind you, this was back in 2019 and it was the experience of one user, so it doesn't necessarily reflect every assistant on the team or how Rachel does things down to the last detail. But it's pretty damning enough that you can still see the evidence of this kind of workflow in current LO 4 years later. If anything she's continued to operate with a rapidly declining pipeline because the art just keeps getting worse and worse.

Part me of wants to say that this could be on Webtoons, as they don't offer support to creators to have assistants. Creators have to pay for their assistants completely out of pocket, split from the income they make from Webtoons. This is why so many creators often don't have assistants or their 'assistants' are also their co-creators (see: Nevermore, which is drawn and written by two people working together).

But Rachel has an average of four assistants per episode, sometimes as many as eight in some cases (though it's been a while since that's happened so I won't really count it for this post).

That means Rachel's team is typically made up of five people, including herself, and that's not including the recent addition of copy editors (but that balances out with the times when Amy Kim isn't contributing , she tends to pop in and out).

Now, she's not the only person on WT with a team of this size, there are others with comparable teams if not bigger ones, but NONE of them seem to operate with as much inconsistency as LO does, and that's not on the assistants, that's on Rachel. She's said in interviews that she always wanted to be a director and that making LO on Webtoons was her way of achieving that, but she doesn't seem to have the integrity or leadership skills necessary to take charge when the team isn't working in sync. You don't see any of these insane art art inconsistencies in webtoons like The Kiss Bet or Tower of God (though they have their own problems, the art isn't one of them), and there are webtoons operating without a team at all that are drawing circles around LO right now, like Nevermore (which is, by the way, also edited by Bre Boswell, same as LO).

Now, that's not to say there isn't struggling underneath the surface, the creators of Nevermore have stated how difficult it is to work for Webtoons as it is, especially as creators who don't have assistants. But how is the #1 comic on the platform failing to meet the standards that come with its labels and awards? Why are the exceptionally better comics being drawn by 1-2 people not getting the attention or opportunities they deserve from the platform? And why does Rachel Smythe, one of the highest paid creators on the platform, still seem to struggle with managing a team of artists after five years of publication on Webtoons? Why does she choose to have a large team if she can't pay them adequately? Why have a large team at all if she's not going to utilize their skills properly? To further lighten the load of work onto others?

Really, it just goes to show the lack of care and respect all around - for the self, for the work, and for those who are pushing out the work and meeting the deadlines, whose reputations and potential are being dragged down with the comic itself.

[chicago-geniza]

Tasks in order:

Order more antibacterial soap ✅

Finish energy drink ✅

Brush teeth ✅

POTS is REALLY bad today but we have to shower anyway. So: Liquid IV, pre-shower propranolol, CBD edible, naproxen ✅

Refill pill case

Pick out clean clothes, hang in bathroom

Shower

Psoriasis treatment, eczema treatment

Put dirty clothes in washing machine

Run dryer again

Lie down, post-shower propranolol if needed, hydroxyzine if needed for post-shower hives

Do you ever just zoom out from your life for a second and realize how stupid sick you are lol

Go downstairs, check mail

GO TO COMPUTER

OPEN EMAIL

FOLLOW STEPS IN EMAIL FIRST

THEN YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE BROKEN SPREADSHEET PROBLEM

While on computer download to calibre all the titles you have flagged in Books 2 Download note (Soviet nationalities, Bataille, etc.)

Sync calibre to Kindle (Kindle is on edge of table next to charging dock in Main Room)

[mari-beau]

Hi! Is ellipsus worth using and is it free? I keep seeing it pop up from time to time and I’m curious

I've been using it instead of Google Docs for like six months I think. And I always have it open in my browser, or use it on my phone, daily tbh.

It's built by people who are anti-AI and pro-fandom, with fan writing in mind, actually. It's very much focused on features for collaborative writing, but I don't cowrite and still find that it does everything I need.

Notable features:

Syncing across multiple devices. I had been using Google Docs for years because a major feature I need is to be able to access my writing from multiple different devices and locations. Ellipsus does this. And has gotten better (sometimes had problem of it not syncing on my phone and then when I opened on my laptop, it wouldn't update until I opened on my phone and forced a sync; but this has happened less frequently and it mostly autosyncs)

Drafts feature. My style of writing, I just don't do drafts that need to be separated out (I don't ever change large chunks of a work that I need to save the original). I think this is helpful for collaborative work. I actually use the drafts for my Outlines and Notes, so I have a quick link right there to access them, and they're kept within the document.

Writing Interface. It's pretty simple in style, which is actually good for writing. They do have a tool bar that you can leave up or hidden, with various formatting options, and an "outline" like Google Docs does (just put a header font in there and shows up on the outline and you have a quick link to jump around)

Cafe Mode I think they officially call it "focus mode" or something but it's a little coffee cup symbol so I think of it as that. This will make just the writing interface take up your whole screen for "distraction-free" writing. I don't use this, as I've been writing in word processors forever and it doesn't bother me to have the features/menus visible.

Timer I think it has a timer you can set. Again, I don't use this.

Collaborative Writing. I don't use this feature, but it looks very similar to how Google Docs sharing works with inviting/giving access to others.

Log-In. It will remember and keep you logged in on a device, but apparently only for set amount of time (unsure how long, as it seems to have random variation). But it is annoying that you can't just log-in with a password; it sends a code to your email. (I won't get into how I am so sick of "multi-factor" verification bs).

Reliability. So far it has never been "down". I do download a backup sometimes (they have several options for quickdownload of a document and are working on more) just out of paranoia.

It's free. But I can't say whether the creators will eventually go to a subscription model or something to cover the expense of the servers and other work (could probably check the "Support" section for any discussion of it - which is also pretty active as they look to develop features users are requesting, etc.)

TL;DR It's free and I do recommend it.

[agenderhyde]

The Doctor opened his email with a sigh.

Summers at St. Luke’s were often quiet—his course list consisted of one seminar, the topic of which changed from year to year, though he had struggled to garner enough interest this semester, having to shift gears by covering an undergraduate physics course.

One of his students had written to ask for an extension on her assignment.

Sure—no problem, he sent back.

The small cafe he sat outside of was one from the 51st century – a frequent date spot for himself and River. Sometimes timelines became out of sync. The 15th of July here may well be the 7th of July back in the 21st century.

His student blinked, her email still half-written.

[stuarttechnologybob]

What types of issues does technical support handle?

Technical Support Services

Technical Supporting services serve a vital role and prospect, by keeping businesses and organizations running efficiently & active by resolving their IT-related problems and issues. From minor glitches to major disruptions errors, technical support teams and professional experts help to ensure that systems remain up and running while in use, allowing the users to stay productive and alert. But what exactly do they handle? Let's take a closer look at what to look for and they assist with.

Hardware and Device Issues:

Technical supporting teams and professional experts assist with problems related to desktops, laptops, printers, scanners, and other hardware. As this includes and consists of deliverables fixing hardware failures, replacing parts, configuring devices, and troubleshooting connectivity or performance issues. Whether it's a malfunctioning keyboard or a slow-loading workstation, Technical Support is there to help.

Software Installation and Troubleshooting:

From installing and implementing the applications to resolving and assisting the software errors and glitches, technical Support guides various software-related and applications concerns and points at a time. They help and assist with updating programs, fixing bugs, assuring the overall compatibility within the operating systems, and restoring the performance if an app crashes or freezes.

Network and Connectivity Problems:

A strong network and support is the backbone of modern businesses and companies. Technical Supporting officials handle and maintain the internet issues, router configuration, VPN access, slow connection speeds, and network outages. Whether it's a minor or impactful Wi-Fi issue or a more significant server connectivity problem, the support team works to restore communication quickly.

Email and Communication Tools:

Email downtime can affect the business continuity and its proceedings. The technical supporting team manages email configuration, syncing errors, spam filters, and login issues and errors across multiple devices and platforms, including Outlook and Gmail. They also handle collaboration tools like Teams, Slack, or Zoom when they don't function as expected.

Security & Access Management:

Working professionals play an essential role in managing the IT security measures and operating parameters. While they also assist to reset passwords settings, also help to manage the user accounts, set up two-factor authentication, and address down the ongoing suspicious activity.

Personalized Help and Guidance:

From onboarding and completing setup for the new users to answering tech-related questions, technical Support assures that employees use systems efficiently. Their goal is to minimize downtime and boost productivity. Companies like Suma Soft, IBM, Cyntexa, and Cignex offer dependable technical support services tailored to your specific business needs. Their expertise helps resolve issues faster and keeps your systems up and running at all times.

[puer-aurea]

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Hurt w/ Comfort for Flower Husbands "It's not bad to cry. In fact, I think it makes a person stronger." College Life AU (again)

Jimmy's day had started out bad, got worse, and managed to get even worse. He woke up to an email from one of his professors about an upcoming test, then his parents messaged him that his grandma was having health issues, and to top it all off, Tango broke up with him! This day was a catastrophe. All he wanted was to lay in his bed and let his feelings consume him. But his roommate Scott seemed to have other ideas. They rarely talk, so Jimmy doesn't understand how Scott could tell he was upset. He was so sure he did a good job of hiding it considering Grian, his own brother, didn't notice. Or, maybe he did notice, and chose not to say anything. It doesn't matter now, does it? Now, he was sitting on him and Scott's shared couch venting (and miraculously, not crying. yet at least). "And of course he said- he had to pull the 'it's not you, it's me' thing! He thought we wanted too different of things for our future and said we wouldn't last." Jimmy pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes to try and suppress the tears. "That does sound like a lot. I can see why you're stressed." Scott rubbed his back. Jimmy didn't understand how Scott could be so comforting to someone he barely knew. Yeah, they were roommates, but they barely interacted. They even labeled the cupboards so separate their stuff. "It's just all too much today." He sighed and wiped at invisible tears. "Hey, you know it's not bad to cry." Scott gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, I just. I don't know." "I think it makes a person stronger." Jimmy couldn't help it after the first tear fell. It didn't take long for him to turn into a sobbing mess in Scott's lap. Scott, the angel that he is, just let him cry while he ran his fingers through his hair. He hummed quietly, hoping to help Jimmy feel a little better. They stayed like that for a while, with Jimmy laying his head in Scott's lap. At some point, Jimmy had quieted down. His sobs slowed down until they became nothing and all Scott could hear was both of their breathing, almost in sync. "Jimmy?" Scott spoke quietly. When he received no response, he carefully leaned over Jimmy to see him sleeping. Scott smiled and chuckled. He held Jimmy's head up for a moment and readjusted himself to be comfortable before laying him back down in his lap. He held his breath while Jimmy shifted and let out a noise, worried he woke him up. But, he quieted back down with no problem, and Scott let himself breathe again.

[myalit]

Blog Post #9

What is antisemitism and what does it mean for our society? 

Antisemitism is hostility or discrimination against Jewish people just because they are Jewish and no other reason. It could be any form such as hate speech, stereotypes, vandalism, violence, or exclusion. for our society, this means that there is a normalization for hate, historical repercussions, and a huge impact on future generations. It is showing our society that these things are okay and there’s no harm in any of them which is so not true. We need to not stand around and ignore these things. they are unjust and hurtful to society.

How is pegasus being used in society?

Pegasus is a very powerful and controversial spyware that has been developed in Israel to tap into our phones and our devices. It is mostly used by governments or law-enforcement to keep surveillance on our smart phones, but has been secretly getting our messages photos emails audios, and all the rest of our data. This is very scary because we did not sign up for this when we decided to get smart phones. Us as a society have had no idea that these things have been happening and it is very scary to know that other people are gaining your information. I personally feel that it is an attack on a rights and needs to be taken care of immediately.

How is the TPM policy being used?

The TPM policy stands for time, place and movement. We talked about in class how there was an incident where someone had used a megaphone inside and was punished under this policy because of time and place. We also talked about in class how if a teacher decided that they wanted to teach their lesson outside for the day and someone overheard their teaching and felt that it was offensive in any sort of way they could report it and get in trouble. I do not see an issue in the TMP policy, but I do see an issue in the way that it is being used. It is used very selectively and isn’t fair. If it was used in a fairway across-the-board, I would not see a problem, but unfortunately, they are twisting it to there advantage.

How is our privacy being taken advantage of on social media?

Our societies privacy is being taken advantage of by social media in so many ways. for instance, one of the ways would be having a private account does not mean that everything is private. People can still screenshot or share these articles to other people. Not only that but iCloud is a huge thing that takes part of this. If you take a picture, it automatically goes to your iCloud so it’s not just in your photos. It’s in your iCloud with once it’s in your iCloud it’s basically not private anymore. all of our photos, videos, and things on her phone get synced to our iCloud, which is bigger than just the app itself and is now on the inter-web forever.

Work Cited

Class Conversations

Lee, L. A. (2015). Virtual homeplace: (Re)constructing the body through social media. In K. E. Tassie & S. M. B. Givens (Eds.), Women of color and social media multitasking: Blogs, timelines, feeds, and community (pp. 93–107). Lexington Books.

Romano, A. (2014, October 10). What is Gamergate, and why? An explainer for non-geeks. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2014/10/10/11619456/gamergate

[pancakeke]

does anyone have experience confronting their employer about your responsibilities getting wildly out of sync with your job title? my title is supply chain analyst but more than 50% of my work is not supply chain related at all anymore. I'm being treated mostly as a data analyst. data analyst salaries are 10% higher than supply chain analysts salaries in my area plus there are many more job opportunities for data analysts. I want a title change.

also does anyone have experience writing a resume when your responsibilities are not related to your title? should I just say I'm a data analyst because that's the work I'm doing or is there some special section I can add noting secondary work as an unofficial data analyst. there is other shit I do very often too that is barely related to either role.

anyone who has been following me for a while is gonna think I'm sooo late to this realization but it's getting pretty clear to me that my workplace is not going to stop pushing me into roles that I'm not appropriately compensated for, and because these roles are not official I will never receive any support, even when I explicitly request it. I have already been denied support multiple times.

this isn't just random people asking me to do one-time odd jobs either. our COO, CFO, and multiple directors ask me directly to do shit like investigate errors in our website and its tools to uncover what is causing data to display incorrectly. this is to shift labor off our web dev team and onto me, why us paid way less than a developer. I do NOT know ANY programming, I just know the database. this has happened five or six times now.

I also manage customer issues directly with the customers because our sales team does not appropriately train anyone in their department. I create orders for them too because they can not be trusted to enter them (not because they're untrained, but because they were not entering these intentionally). I provide records and reporting for accounting audits. I build weird calculators and generators in Excel for every department except two (IT and web dev) because those two can't justify devoting time to those projects and integrating them into our site. I create extremely weird queries to trace information that out database does not track appropriately (and this will never be fixed).

there are zero docs for anything I do except the ones I personally wrote, and only very limited notes scattered around. I was never trained and only picked sql and stuff up cause when I was a buyer digging into data helped me solve problems more efficiently. I have been begging web dev to tell me when they update anything because they keep breaking extremely serious tools but they have been ghosting me entirely. literally all they have to do is CC me on update emails but they won't do it.

also there isn't anyone else in the company who is proficient in sql and stuff (outside dev, and they're miles above me) to back me up so if I'm overloaded or need other help I'm shit out of luck. this makes taking PTO a fucking nightmare too because I'm always in the middle of helping someone out of a fucking fire and everyone does that shit where they say I can take PTO any time I want without worrying but then constantly assign me with critical tasks and demand results asap.

It is beyond time for me to be realistic about this job and what I want to do with myself 40 hours a week until I die, so I need to start working toward either making my current situation more tolerable or going elsewhere.

[itsbenedict]

at work: put in logging to diagnose this LMS sync issue

at work: look into the email redirecting error

exercise

guitar practice

TJS up through uhhhhhs

girl, why not?

tomorrow will not be the day i get a moment's peace from work bullshit, unfortunately. Only More Problems emerged from today's trials. sigh sigh sigh sigh.

[b-blushes]

the kind of math question type shenanigans I’ve been on today (hospital stuff)

Dr A from hospital A asked me to schedule tests at hospital B, but hospital B can only schedule me with specific paperwork that Dr A hadn’t sent me or hospital B. Dr A’s office is also taking a week to respond to my emails each time (totally fine, just annoying when I know what tests I need and am held up by such mountains of admin).

Dr A also would like me to have tests with my GP because it’s like 2 hours travel for me to get to his hospitals, but Dr A and my gp can’t communicate directly so I asked my gp to schedule the tests. You have to submit forms to request stuff like this instead of getting to have a conversation explaining the specifics of things, so you send request -> outcome happens to you via message -> it works or it doesn’t -> return to step one. Instead of scheduling me for testing in either of their sites, I’ve been scheduled for site C. Site C doesn’t open until 30 minutes after I’m meant to have a time-sensitive test. This will have to be nbd unless it is and I get it rescheduled once I somehow send Dr A the results (because he has no access to my gp records). Also at site C you need paperwork which needs to be collected from the gp site beforehand which I was told at lunchtime to pick up this afternoon <- guy who is disabled and can only really leave the house once a week. (Luckily my parents could go and collect it for me!!!)

Dr A also would be potentially helped by data from hospital D, but my gp only has data sharing with my other hospital E so I can’t access these records via my GP and would need to deal directly with hospital D.

I also got referred to specialists at clinic F, but clinic F scheduled me for an appointment type I can’t attend due to disability (the flags on the system with hospital E or my GP telling them my access needs don’t carry over to other clinics or hospitals). They also aren’t set up to have the accommodations I need so they need to figure out how I can attend an appointment.

AND ITS CHRISTMAS

Extremely thinking looking at this that while i was drowning in it all today, at least I will be able to get all the tests as long as i can sync everything up correctly. I am so grateful for this. Even though it’s ‘slow’ or complicated it is happening and it’ll be months rather than years.

However things should be easier :P BUT I’ve approached each of these issues with the best solution I can and now everyone else is working on their parts of the problem. SOMEDAY I WILL BE SORTED!!!! :P will I be able to fall asleep tonight after getting in such a state about this remains to be seen. But I literally did steps to deal with everything here and also did all the things I planned to do housework/responsibility wise sooooooo preddy good. Even if I was Not graceful about it 👍

Feeling like I should not be complaining about this because I get to have tests and drs. But ‘dealing with this is extremely testing for me, especially as a multiply disabled person’ and ‘I’m extremely fortunate to have access to this care even if the process isn’t optimal’ can coexist me @ myself. Adding a layer of self-flagellation helps no one <3

[disregardcanon]

hey guys! i have a phone that has a VERY large amount of storage because i like to keep lots of stuff on it. (downloaded music, photos, notes, etc) and i ALSO have a habit of... having said phone completely breakdown on me so i can't access the photos. i don't do the icloud stuff because money, so i ended up setting up my photos to sync to GOOGLE photos.

this is apparently causing a new problem. apparently when i delete photos from my photo roll directly on my phone, it does not delete them from google photos as well. this makes it so that every single photo i have taken on my phone, including those that i periodically purge like screenshots, tiktoks i make, reminders etc are all getting saved to google photos where they've now bloated my storage to a point where i can't 1. save additional photos or 2. continue using that storage for things like fic documents and PROFESSIONAL EMAILS!

does anyone have a suggestion for how to deal with this problem? feeling kind of overwhelmed

[cindylouwho-2]

ETSY REMOVING SOME LISTINGS THAT WERE SYNCED WITH CERTAIN SHOPIFY APPS

Not sure what to make of these reports, so I have been investigating them for almost a week now.

Several Etsy sellers report they have had multiple listings deactivated on Etsy, and cannot get the corporation to reinstate them. The items cannot be reactivated or even copied; some of them had been available on Etsy for years before this occurred. See the Etsy forum thread here: https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/Etsy-to-Shopify-Migration-and-Integration/td-p/143741960

Etsy sent an email to most, informing some of the shops that the apps they were using to sync their Shopify sites with their Etsy shops were breaking Etsy Terms of Use and "violated our Intellectual Property Policy". This link was included for the API Terms of Use: https://www.etsy.com/legal/api/#:~:text=You%20grant%20Etsy%20a%20non,you%2C%20including%20but%20not%20limited

It highlights the following incomplete passage: "You grant Etsy a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of any information you provide in connection with the API to enable the API to Etsy members and you, including but not limited..." - so, not very informative.

There are multiple points in the API Terms of Use that may have triggered this, but the app owners themselves aren't publicly identifying any possible issues, except again the mention of intellectual property. Some of the apps may have been using Etsy's marks and other material inappropriately, or possibly even the text and images belonging to the small business owners who used the apps. We just don't know.

At least some of the affected shops are clearly handmade, and appear to be using their own images. It is possible that some of them had their photos stolen and used elsewhere, triggering an image bot on Etsy, but it seems odd to hold the app responsible for the shops being accused of copyright infringement if the shops are being told they can just make new listings.

Another problem is, Etsy doesn't identify which apps (some shops tried more than one). In a few examples, it appears the app was disconnected before Etsy deactivated the listings.

Etsy Offers No Suitable Solutions

Etsy Support staff have provided no help to the affected shops. Business owners who have complained have been told they can just "create a new listing" to replace any that were deactivated in this sweep. Of course, this means the entire listing history is lost, harming the shop's search ranking, removing the reviews on that product, and making bookmarks or favourites for that page useless. Right at the beginning of the holiday shopping season! For older listings, the seller might not have the images available any more, and there is no way to copy them on Etsy.

This is an extraordinary punishment for people who don't seem to have knowingly done anything wrong. There simply doesn't seem to be any reason to permanently remove certain product listings from Etsy just because they were syncing inventory with another site. Removing temporarily, yes, but not permanently. This might make sense if the apps were adding things to Etsy listings that shouldn't be there, but we have no evidence that was the case, and the deactivation could be reversed if the listing were fixed. Letting shops off with a warning seems like more than enough action, especially since there is no way to know which apps are approved by Etsy and following Etsy's rules at any given time.

Not surprisingly, some of these business owners feel that Etsy is punishing them for trying to run their own websites instead of just selling on Etsy. While that is far from the most obvious answer to the puzzle - most known inventory apps were not involved in this set of takedowns - it's understandable that sellers might feel this is retaliation instead of rule enforcement. Any reputable site enforcing rules so harshly would need to be transparent about that risk beforehand, right?

Please contact me if you have more information on this situation, so I can update the seller community.

[monosync]

The Overload of AI Tools: A Modern Dilemma

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized our world, offering tools that simplify tasks, enhance productivity, and bring innovation to various fields. However, with this boom in AI technology comes a new challenge: the overwhelming number of AI tools available. Let's dive into why having too many AI tools can be a problem and how we can manage this digital overload.

Too Many Choices

Have you ever walked into a supermarket and felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices? The same thing is happening with AI tools. From chatbots to image recognition software, there are countless options for every possible need. This abundance can lead to decision fatigue, making it harder to choose the right tool for your needs.

Learning New Tools

Every AI tool comes with its own set of features and interfaces. Learning how to use each new tool effectively takes time and effort. When you have to juggle multiple tools, the time spent learning and switching between them can outweigh the benefits they provide.

Lack of Integration

Many AI tools are designed to work in isolation. This means they often don't integrate well with each other, creating silos of information. For instance, your AI-powered calendar might not sync with your AI email assistant, leading to missed appointments and miscommunications. This lack of integration can cause inefficiencies and frustrations.

Cost Concerns

Using multiple AI tools can be expensive. Each tool may come with its own subscription fee, and the costs can add up quickly. This can be particularly burdensome for small businesses or individuals who need to manage their budgets carefully.

Data Privacy Issues

With each AI tool, you are sharing your data with yet another company. This increases the risk of data breaches and privacy concerns. It's crucial to trust each provider to handle your data securely, but more tools mean more potential points of vulnerability.

Simplifying Your AI Toolset

To manage the overload of AI tools, here are some tips:

Opt for Unified Platforms: Choose platforms that offer multiple AI functionalities in one place. This reduces the need to switch between different tools and simplifies your workflow.

Prioritize Ease of Use: Select tools that are user-friendly and have a gentle learning curve. This way, you spend less time figuring out how the tool works and more time getting things done.

Ensure Interoperability: Support tools that are designed to work well with others. Interoperability ensures that different tools can communicate and share data seamlessly.

Consider Cost-Effective Solutions: Look for tools that provide good value for money. Sometimes, free or cheaper alternatives can do the job just as well as expensive ones.

Focus on Privacy: Choose tools that take data privacy seriously. Look for those with strong security measures and transparent privacy policies.

By taking these steps, you can make the most of what AI has to offer without getting overwhelmed by too many choices. The key is to find the right balance and choose tools that genuinely add value to your work and life.

[skeetlebeetle]

j spent the last 2 n a half hours trying 2 redownload the sims cuz it had an update??, realizing its a problem w my storage, trying 2 un-sync my icloud w my mac, realizing that doesnt work so then creating a new account on my mac n trying 2 download it there, still doesnt work cuz of storage so i delete my old account n move evrything 2 my new 1, logging in w a million different emails, finally get it 2 work, then realize i lost my mods 4 stardew valley cuz i deleted my old account, fixing that issue, forgetting how 2 find the mod folder...... man i j wanted 2 do wrightworth sims this is getting out of hand