#image library software

[brandkitapp]

The Importance of Image Library Software in Brand Management

In today’s fast-paced digital world, managing media assets and brand content is more important than ever. Brands need a streamlined process to handle their visual assets, whether they’re product images, logos, or promotional materials. This is where image library software comes into play. With the right media asset management system, companies can efficiently organize, store, and retrieve their image files to enhance brand consistency. Coupled with a brand management platform, these tools can elevate your branding efforts, ensuring a seamless customer experience and a stronger brand identity.

What Is Image Library Software?

Image library software is a specialized tool designed to help businesses organize, manage, and retrieve digital images. As brands accumulate more and more visual content over time, keeping track of everything can become overwhelming. This software provides a central hub where all image files are stored, categorized, and indexed for easy access.

An image library software isn’t just about storing images. It also integrates a variety of features like metadata tagging, image search functionality, version control, and access management. All of these features are crucial in maintaining an efficient workflow, especially for large teams working with multiple assets across various platforms.

Benefits of Using Image Library Software

Centralized Asset Management: With image library software, all your images are stored in one place, making it easier to organize and retrieve them. This centralized approach eliminates confusion and reduces the chances of losing or misplacing files.

Improved Collaboration: A well-structured media asset management system allows multiple users to collaborate on the same files without conflicts. Teams can access images from different locations and devices, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Time Efficiency: Searching for images manually can be a time-consuming process, especially if you have thousands of files. Image library software offers powerful search functions, allowing you to find the right asset in a fraction of the time.

Consistent Branding: The right tool integrates seamlessly with a brand management platform, ensuring that all media assets align with your brand guidelines. This ensures consistency across all marketing channels.

The Role of Media Asset Management System in Image Management

A media asset management system (MAMS) goes beyond just organizing images. It’s a robust solution designed to manage all kinds of digital content, including videos, audio files, and documents. When you use a media asset management system, it helps you handle a wide range of media files in a structured and scalable way.

In the context of image library software, a media asset management system ensures that all your visual content is properly tagged, cataloged, and easily accessible for future use. It allows businesses to quickly deploy their media assets across various marketing and communication channels, whether it’s for a website, social media, or advertising campaigns.

Key Features of a Media Asset Management System

Advanced Search and Tagging: A MAMS allows you to assign metadata to each image, such as keywords, descriptions, and categories. This makes searching for specific assets much more efficient. For instance, if you're looking for a specific product image with a red background, you can use the search filters to locate it quickly.

Version Control: With a media asset management system, version control ensures that the most up-to-date version of each image is used. If an image is updated or modified, the system will track those changes, ensuring you always have the latest version.

Permissions and Access Control: A well-structured MAMS allows administrators to set permissions, ensuring only authorized users have access to certain assets. This reduces the risk of unauthorized usage or accidental deletions.

Seamless Integration: A media asset management system integrates with various other tools such as content management systems (CMS) and digital marketing platforms. This ensures smooth content sharing and distribution across your marketing ecosystem.

How a Brand Management Platform Enhances Image Library Management

A brand management platform is a comprehensive solution that helps businesses maintain a consistent brand image across all touchpoints. From logos to color schemes, it ensures that all aspects of your brand are aligned, both visually and strategically.

When combined with image library software, a brand management platform can help you store, organize, and use your media assets more efficiently. The platform can link visual assets to specific brand guidelines, ensuring that your team always has access to the right images that align with your brand's standards.

Why Brand Consistency Matters

Brand consistency is crucial in building trust with your audience. Whether a customer is browsing your website, seeing a social media post, or viewing an advertisement, your brand’s visuals need to be cohesive and easily recognizable. If your brand’s assets are scattered or inconsistent, it can confuse potential customers and damage your brand’s reputation.

With the integration of a brand management platform, your team can easily access the correct visual assets, ensuring that every piece of content produced reflects the essence of your brand.

Choosing the Right Image Library Software

There are many image library software solutions on the market, each offering a variety of features tailored to different business needs. When evaluating your options, consider the following factors:

1. Ease of Use

Choose software that is user-friendly and intuitive. The easier it is to navigate and use, the more efficient your team will be in managing assets. Look for software with a clean interface, clear instructions, and minimal training required.

2. Scalability

As your business grows, so will the number of digital assets you need to manage. Choose an image library software that can scale with your needs. Whether you’re adding thousands of images or creating a large media repository, scalability is key.

3. Collaboration Tools

Collaboration is essential for teams that work with digital media. Choose software that supports multiple users, allows for file sharing, and includes version control. This will ensure that everyone in your organization can work together seamlessly.

4. Integration Capabilities

Make sure your image library software integrates with other systems, such as your brand management platform or media asset management system. This ensures that all your tools work together, providing you with a comprehensive solution for managing assets.

5. Security Features

Your images are valuable assets that need protection. Ensure the software you choose provides strong security measures, such as user authentication and encryption, to keep your assets safe from unauthorized access.

Integrating Image Library Software with Other Business Tools

The power of image library software is significantly enhanced when integrated with other tools, such as a brand management platform or a media asset management system. Here are some ways these integrations can streamline your processes:

Seamless Workflow

By connecting your image library software with other tools, you can create a more seamless workflow. For example, images stored in your library can automatically be made available to your website’s CMS, social media platforms, or email marketing tools. This reduces manual work and ensures that the latest images are always accessible.

Consistent Branding Across All Channels

With a brand management platform, you can easily ensure that all the images used across your marketing channels comply with your brand’s standards. Whether it’s your website, advertisements, or social media, your brand’s visual identity will remain consistent, enhancing recognition and trust.

Enhanced Reporting and Analytics

A media asset management system often comes with built-in analytics and reporting features. By integrating your image library software with these tools, you can gain insights into how images are performing across various channels. You can track which images are most popular or which ones need updating or replacement.

Conclusion: Why You Need Image Library Software for Your Business

In the ever-evolving digital world, image library software is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity for businesses looking to streamline their image management, improve collaboration, and maintain brand consistency. Whether you're dealing with a handful of images or thousands, the right software can save you time, reduce errors, and boost the efficiency of your team.

When paired with a media asset management system and a brand management platform, you create an ecosystem that not only organizes your visual assets but ensures that they are always in line with your brand’s identity. If you're ready to take your brand management to the next level, investing in the right image library software will help you do just that.

[video-editing36]

Transform Your Video Management with Vidine

If you’ve ever worked with video content, you know the struggle of keeping track of countless clips, finding the right footage when you need it, and maintaining an organized library. Enter Vidine, the video clip manager that promises to simplify and streamline your video management process. Let's talk about how Vidine can transform the way you handle your video content.

What is Vidine?

Vidine is a powerful tool designed to help you manage your video clips efficiently. Whether you're a content creator, video editor, or just someone who loves working with videos, Vidine provides an intuitive platform to organize, search, and manage your video library. Imagine having all your clips at your fingertips, ready to use whenever inspiration strikes.

Key Features of Vidine

Vidine is packed with features that make it an indispensable tool for anyone dealing with video content. Here are some of the standout features that make Vidine a game-changer:

1. User-Friendly Interface

Vidine boasts a clean, user-friendly interface that makes navigating through your video library a joy. With its intuitive design, you don’t need to be a tech wizard to get the most out of it. Everything is laid out clearly, allowing you to focus on what matters most—your videos.

2. Powerful Search Capabilities

One of the biggest challenges of managing a large video library is finding the right clip when you need it. Vidine’s powerful search functionality allows you to locate clips quickly and efficiently. You can search by keywords, tags, or even specific criteria like resolution or duration. It’s like having a personal assistant for your video library.

3. Seamless Organization

Keeping your video clips organized can be a daunting task, especially as your library grows. Vidine makes organization a breeze with its robust tagging and categorization system. You can create custom tags and categories that fit your workflow, ensuring that every clip is easy to find and use.

4. Preview and Playback

Vidine includes built-in preview and playback features, so you can watch your clips directly within the application. This saves you the hassle of opening external players or software just to check the content of a clip. You can quickly scrub through footage, mark in and out points, and even make simple edits.

5. Integration with Editing Software

For those who use professional editing software, Vidine offers seamless integration with popular programs like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. This means you can easily import clips from Vidine directly into your editing timeline, saving you time and effort.

6. Cloud Sync and Backup

Vidine supports cloud sync and backup, ensuring that your video library is always safe and accessible from anywhere. This feature is particularly useful for collaborative projects, allowing team members to access and manage the same library of clips from different locations.

How Vidine Can Enhance Your Workflow

Vidine isn’t just about storing and organizing your video clips—it’s about enhancing your entire workflow. Here’s how Vidine can make a difference:

1. Time Efficiency

By using Vidine, you can drastically cut down the time spent searching for and organizing clips. With its powerful search and tagging capabilities, you can find what you need in seconds, allowing you to focus more on the creative aspects of your projects.

2. Improved Collaboration

For teams working on video projects, Vidine provides a centralized platform where everyone can access and manage the same library of clips. This improves collaboration, as team members can easily share and find the necessary footage without endless back-and-forth communication.

3. Streamlined Editing Process

With Vidine’s integration with major editing software, you can streamline your editing process. Importing clips directly from Vidine into your editing timeline saves you from the tedious task of manually importing files, ensuring a smoother, more efficient workflow.

Personal Experience with Vidine

Let me share a personal experience to illustrate the impact of Vidine. A few months ago, I was working on a video project that involved hundreds of clips from various sources. Before discovering Vidine, managing these clips was a nightmare. I spent hours sifting through folders, trying to locate specific footage, and often ended up frustrated.

A colleague recommended Vidine, and it was a game-changer. The first thing I noticed was the ease of importing and organizing my clips. I could tag each clip with relevant keywords and categorize them by project. The search function allowed me to find exactly what I needed in seconds. What used to take me hours now took minutes.

The integration with Adobe Premiere Pro was seamless. I could drag and drop clips directly from Vidine into my editing timeline, making the whole process incredibly efficient. Vidine not only saved me time but also significantly reduced my stress levels during the project.

Getting Started with Vidine

Ready to give Vidine a try? Here’s how you can get started:

1. Download and Install

Head over to Vidine’s official website and download the application. Follow the installation instructions, and you’ll be up and running in no time.

2. Import Your Clips

Once installed, start importing your video clips into Vidine. You can import clips from your local storage, external drives, or even directly from cloud storage services.

3. Organize Your Library

Take advantage of Vidine’s tagging and categorization features to organize your clips. Create custom tags and categories that fit your workflow, making it easy to find and manage your footage.

4. Explore and Customize

Spend some time exploring Vidine’s features. Customize the interface to suit your preferences, set up cloud sync if needed, and integrate with your preferred editing software.

5. Start Creating

With your clips organized and easily accessible, you’re ready to start creating. Use Vidine to streamline your workflow, improve collaboration, and enhance your overall video editing process.

Frequently Asked Questions about Vidine

1. Is Vidine suitable for beginners?

Absolutely! Vidine’s user-friendly interface makes it accessible for beginners, while its advanced features cater to the needs of professionals. Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience, Vidine can enhance your video management process.

2. Can I use Vidine for free?

Vidine offers a range of pricing plans, including a free tier with basic features. For more advanced features and larger storage capacities, you can choose from various paid plans that suit your needs and budget.

3. How secure is Vidine’s cloud storage?

Vidine prioritizes security, ensuring that your video clips are stored safely. With robust encryption and regular backups, you can trust that your footage is secure and accessible only to you and your authorized team members.

4. Can Vidine handle high-resolution footage?

Yes, Vidine is designed to handle video clips of all resolutions, including 4K and higher. Its powerful engine ensures smooth playback and management, regardless of the file size or resolution.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced world of video content creation, having an efficient and reliable video clip manager is essential.Vidine offers a comprehensive solution that simplifies the management of your video library, enhances collaboration, and streamlines your editing process. Whether you’re a solo creator or part of a larger team, Vidine can help you take your video projects to the next level.

So why wait? Give Vidine a try and experience the difference it can make in your workflow. Happy editing!

[ava-joe]

Digital Asset Library: Organize & Access Your Content

Simplify content management with a digital asset library. Effortlessly store, search, and share files. Unlock seamless collaboration and efficiency.

[thegalleonsnest]

OK since I haven't seen too many people talk about this since twitter news usually strikes pretty fast over here whenever e'usk does anything ever, let me give ya'll the run down on two things that will go live on NOVEMBER 15TH and why people are mass migrating to Blue Sky once more; and provide resources to help protect your art and make the transition to Blue Sky easier if you so choose:

The Block function no longer blocks people as intended. It now basically acts as a glorified Mute button. Even when you block someone, they can still see your posts, but they can't engage in them. If your account is a Public one and not a Private one, people you blocked will see your posts.

They say because people can easily "share and hide harmful or private information about those they've blocked," they changed it this way for "greater transparency." When in reality, this is an extremely dangerous change, as the whole point of blocking is to cease interaction with people entirely for a plethora of reasons, i.e. stalking, harassment, spam, endangerment, or just plainly annoying and not wanting to see said tweets/accounts. or you know, for 18+ accounts who do not want minors interacting with them or their material at all (There is speculation saying these changes are specifically for Elon himself so he can do his own kind of stalking, and honestly, with the private likes change, it lowkey checks out in my opinion)

Also, this straight up goes against and may violate Apple and Google's app store policies and also is straight up illegal in Canada and probably other countries as well.

If this ACTUALLY goes through, twitter will only be available in select countries, probably exclusively in the US, which would collapse the site with the lost of users and stock, and probably be the last push it needs to kill the site. And if not, will be a very sad and exclusive platform made for specific kinds of people who line up with musk's line of thinking.

2. New policies regarding Grok AI and basically removing the option to opt out of Grok's information gathering to improve their software.

And anything you upload/post on the site is considered "fair game" with "royalty-free licenses" and they can do whatever they please with it. Primarily using any and all posts on twitter to train their Grok AI. A few months ago, there was a setting you can opt out of so they couldn't take anything you post to "improve" Grok, but I guess because so many people were opting out, they decided to make it mandatory as part of the policy change (This is mainly speculation from what I hear).

So this is considered the final straw for a LOT of people, especially artists who have been gripping on to twitter for as long as they can, but the AI nonsense is too much for people now, including myself. Lot's of people are moving to Blue Sky for good reason, and from personal experience, it is literally 10x better than twitter ever was, even before elon took over. There is no algorithm on there, and you can save "feeds" to your timeline to have a catered timelines to hop between if your looking for something specific like furry art or game dev stuff. It's taken them a bit to get off the ground and add much needed features, but it's genuinely so much better now

RESOURCES

Project Glaze & Cara

If you're an artist who's still on twitter or trying to ride it out for as long as you can for whatever reason you have, do yourself a favor and Glaze and/or Nightshade your work. Project Glaze is a free program designed to protect your art work from getting scrapped by AI machines. Glazing basically makes it harder to adapt and copy artwork that AI programs try to scan, while Nightshade basically "poisons" works to make AI libraries much more unstable and generate images completely off the mark. (These are layman's terms I'm using here, but follow the link to get more information)

The only problem with these programs is that they can be resource intensive for computers, and not every pc can run glaze. It's basically like rendering a frame/animation, you gotta let your pc sit there to get it glazed/nightshade, and depending on the intensity and power of your pc, this may take minutes to hours depending on how much you wanna protect your work.

HOWEVER, there are two alternatives, WebGlaze and Cara

WebGlaze is an in browser version of the program, so your pc doesn't have to do the heavy lifting. You do need to have an account with Glaze and be invited to use the program (I have not done so personally so I don't know much about the process.)

Cara is an artist focused site that doubles as both a portfolio site and a general social media platform. They've partnered with Glaze and have their own browser glazing called "Cara Glaze," and highly encourage users to post their work Glazed and are extremely anti-ai. You do get limited uses per day to glaze your work, so if you plan on doing a huge backlog uploading of your art, it may take awhile if your using just Cara Glaze.

Some twitter users have suggested glazing your art, cropping it, and overlaying it with a frame telling people to follow them elsewhere like on Bluesky. Here's a template someone provided if you wanna use this one or make your own.

Blue Sky Resources and Tips

So if your a twitter user and your about to realize the hellish task of refollowing a massive chunk of people you follow, have no fear, there's an extension called Sky Follower Bridge (Firefox & Chrome links). This is a very basic extension that makes it really easy to find people on Bluesky

It sorts them out by trying to find matching usernames, usernames in descriptions, or by screen name. It's not 100% perfect, there's a couple people I already follow on Blue Sky but the extension could not find them on twitter correctly, but I still found a huge chunk of people. Also if your worried that this extension is "iffy," they do have a github open with the source publicly available and the Blue Sky Team themselves have promoted the extension in their recent posts while welcoming new users to the platform.

FEEDS and LABELS

OK SO THE COOLEST PART ABOUT BLUESKY IS THE FEEDS SYSTEM. Basically if you've made a twitter list before, it's like that, but way more customizable and caters to specific types of posts/topics. Consolidating them into a timeline/feed that exclusively filled about those particular topics, or just people in general. There's thousands to pick and choose from!

Here's a couple of mine that I have saved and ready (down below). Some feeds I have saved so I can jump to seeing what my friends and mutuals are up to, and see their posts specifically so it doesn't get lost in reposts or other accounts, and also specialized feeds for browsing artists within the furry community.

The Furry Community feeds I have here were created by people who've built an algorithm to place any #furry or #furryart or other special tags like #Furrystreamer or #furrydev. They even have one for commissions, and yes you can say commissions on a post and not have it destroyed or shadow banned. You are safe.

If you want, and I highly recommend it to get visibility and check out a neat community, follow furryli.st to get added to their list and feeds. Once your on the list, even without a hashtag, you'll still pop up in their specialized feeds as just a member of the community there. There are plenty of other feeds out there besides this one, but I feel like a lot of people could use one like this. They even got ones for OC specific too I remember seeing somewhere.

And in terms of labels, they can be either ways to help label yourself with specific things or have user created accessibility settings to help better control your experience on Blue Sky.

And my personal favorite: Ai Imagery Labeler. Removes any AI stuff or hides it to the best of it's abilities, and it does a pretty good job, I have not seen anything AI related since subscribing to it.

Finally, HASHTAGS WORK & No need to censor yourself!

This is NOT like twitter or any other big named social media site AT ALL, so you don't have to work around words to get your stuff out there and be seen. There are literally feeds built around having commissions getting and art seen! Some people worry about bots and that has been a recent issue since a lot of people are migrating to Blue Sky, but it comes with any social media territory.

ALSO COOL PART,

you can search a hashtag on someone's profile and search exclusively on that profile as well! You can even put the hashtag in bio for easy access if you have a specialize tag like here on tumblr. OR EVEN BUILD YOUR OWN ART FEED FOR YOUR STUFF SPECIFICALLY!

So yeah, there's your quick run down about twitter's current burning building, how to protect your art, and what to do when you move to Blue Sky! Have fun!

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hi, this is a really specific situation, but I'm at a loss. I had an accident that left me with lasting brain issues, and my writing has taken a hit. I went from being able to churn out a 3k word chapter in a day to needing an hour to write 50 words. I have so many ideas but can't express them, and I hate writing as a result. I know practice and just pushing through are going to be the main pieces of advice, but do you have any other suggestions or resources for someone who is having to re-learn how to be a writer?

Hey there! First off, I’m so sorry this response took me so long. Your Ask really stuck with me, and I wanted to give it the thought and care it deserves.

I can’t imagine how frustrating and heartbreaking it must be to go through such a big shift in your writing process. Losing that ease and flow—especially when you have so many ideas—is a huge adjustment. It’s a testament to your creativity and drive that you’re still thinking about how to keep writing despite the challenges.

You’re absolutely right that practice and pushing through are often the go-to advice, but I think it’s equally important to give yourself permission to grieve what’s changed. Writing can feel like such a core part of who we are, and when it’s harder than it used to be, it’s natural to feel a sense of loss.

Here are a few suggestions that might help as you navigate this:

1. Try Different Mediums: If typing feels like slogging through mud, maybe experiment with dictation software or voice-to-text tools. Speaking your ideas aloud could help you capture more words without the same strain.

2. Focus on Smaller Goals: Instead of trying to write full chapters, set tiny, manageable goals—like jotting down a single image or one sentence that excites you. Those little wins can add up and feel more achievable.

3. Explore New Ways of Outlining: If you’re struggling to get the words out, focus on the ideas instead. Create bullet points, mind maps, or even doodles to capture the essence of your story without the pressure of fully fleshed-out prose.

4. Be Kind to Yourself: This is the hardest one, but it’s so important. Writing isn’t just about the final product; it’s about the joy of creating. Even if the words come slower, every step you take is progress.

And don't forget to give yourself a ton of credit! Re-learning how to write in a way that works for you now is an incredible act of resilience. You’re still a writer, and your stories are still worth telling, even if the path looks different.

Hope this helps!

Bucket

/ / / / / / / / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Why is this Canadian university scared of you seeing its Privacy Impact Assessment?

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

Barbra Streisand is famous for many things: her exciting performances on the big screen, the small screen, and the stage; her Grammy-winning career as a musician (she's a certified EGOT!); and for all the times she's had to correct people who've added an extra vowel to the spelling of her first name (I can relate!).

But a thousand years from now, her legacy is likely to be linguistic, rather than artistic. The "Streisand Effect" – coined by Mike Masnick – describes what happens when someone tries to suppress a piece of information, only to have that act of attempted suppression backfire by inciting vastly more interest in the subject:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

The term dates to 2003, when Streisand sued the website Pictopia and its proprietors for $50m for reproducing an image from the publicly available California Coastal Records Project (which produces a timeseries of photos of the California coastline in order to track coastal erosion). The image ("Image 3850") incidentally captured the roofs of Streisand's rather amazing coastal compound, which upset Streisand.

But here's the thing: before Streisand's lawsuit, Image 3850 had only been viewed six times. After she filed the case, another 420,000 people downloaded that image. Not only did Streisand lose her suit (disastrously so – she was ordered to pay the defendants' lawyers $177,000 in fees), but she catastrophically failed in her goal of keeping this boring, obscure photo from being seen:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

Streisand has since called the suit "a mistake." On the one hand, that is very obviously true, but on the other hand, it's still admirable, given how many other failed litigants went to their graves insisting that their foolish and expensive legal gambit was, in fact, very smart and we are all very stupid for failing to understand that.

Which brings me to Ian Linkletter and the Canadian Privacy Library. Linkletter is the librarian and founder of the nonprofit Canadian Privacy Library, a newish online library that collects and organizes privacy-related documents from Canadian public institutions. Linkletter kicked off the project with the goal of collecting the Privacy Impact Assessments from every public university in Canada, starting in his home province of BC.

These PIAs are a legal requirement whenever a public university procures a piece of software, and they're no joke. Ed-tech vendors are pretty goddamned cavalier when it comes to student privacy, as Linkletter knows well. Back in 2020, Linkletter was an ed-tech specialist for the University of British Columbia, where he was called upon to assess Proctorio, a "remote invigilation" tool that monitored remote students while they sat exams.

This is a nightmare category of software, a mix of high-tech phrenology (vendors claim that they can tell when students are cheating by using "AI" to analyze their faces); arrogant techno-sadism (vendors requires students – including those sharing one-room apartments with "essential worker" parents on night shifts who sleep during the day – to pan their cameras around to prove that they are alone); digital racism (products are so bad at recognizing Black faces that some students have had to sit exams with multiple task-lights shining directly onto their faces); and bullshit (vendors routinely lie about their tools' capabilities and efficacy).

Worst: remote invigilation is grounded in the pedagogically bankrupt idea that learning is best (or even plausibly) assessed through high-stakes testing. The kind of person who wants to use these tools generally has no idea how learning works and thinks of students as presumptively guilty cheats. They monitor test-taking students in realtime, and have been known to jiggle test-takers' cursors impatiently when students think too long about their answers. Remote invigilation also captures the eye-movements of test-takers, flagging people who look away from the screen while thinking for potential cheating. No wonder that many students who sit exams under these conditions find themselves so anxious that they vomit or experience diarrhea, carefully staring directly into the camera as they shit themselves or vomit down their shirts, lest they be penalized for looking away or visiting the toilet.

Linkletter quickly realized that Proctorio is a worst-in-class example of a dreadful category. The public-facing materials the company provided about its products were flatly contradicted by the materials they provided to educators, where all the really nasty stuff was buried. The company – whose business exploded during the covid lockdowns – is helmed by CEO Mike Olsen, a nasty piece of work who once doxed a child who criticized him in an online forum:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/01/bossware/#moral-exemplar

Proctorio's products are shrouded in secrecy. In 2020, for reasons never explained, all the (terrible, outraged) reviews of its browser plugin disappeared from the Chrome store:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/04/hypervigilance/#radical-transparency

Linkletter tweeted his alarming findings, publishing links to the unlisted, but publicly available Youtube videos where Proctorio explained how its products really worked. Proctorio then sued Linkletter, for copyright infringement.

Proctorio's argument is that by linking to materials that they published on Youtube with permissions that let anyone with the link see them, Linkletter infringed upon their copyright. When Linkletter discovered that these videos already had publicly available links, indexed by Google, in the documentation produced by other Proctorio customers for students and teachers, Proctorio doubled down and argued that by collecting these publicly available links to publicly available videos, Linkletter had still somehow infringed on their copyright.

Luckily for Linkletter, BC has an anti-SLAPP law that is supposed to protect whistleblowers facing legal retaliation for publishing protected speech related to matters of public interest (like whether BC's flagship university has bought a defective and harmful product that its students will be forced to use). Unluckily for Linkletter, the law is brand new, lacks jurisprudence, and the courts have decided that he can't use a SLAPP defense and his case must go to trial:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/20/links-arent-performances/#free-ian-linkletter

Linkletter could have let that experience frighten him away from the kind of principled advocacy that riles up deep-pocketed, thin-skinned bullies. Instead, he doubled down, founding the Canadian Privacy Library, with the goal of using Freedom of Information requests to catalog all of Canada's post-secondary institutions' privacy assessments. Given how many bodies he found buried in Proctorio's back yard, this feels like the kind of thing that should be made more visible to Canadians.

There are 25 public universities in BC, and Linkletter FOI'ed them all. Eleven provided their PIAs. Eight sent him an estimate of what it would cost them (and thus what they would charge) to assemble these docs for him. Six requested extensions.

One of them threatened to sue.

Langara College is a 19,000-student spinout of Vancouver Community College whose motto is Eruditio Libertas Est ("Knowledge is Freedom"). Linkletter got their 2019 PIA for Microsoft's Office 365 when he FOI'ed the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (universities often recycle one another's privacy impact assessments, which is fine).

That's where the trouble started. In June, Langara sent Linkletter a letter demanding that he remove their Office 365 PIA; the letter CC'ed two partners in a law firm, and accused Linkletter of copyright infringement. But that's not how copyright – or public records – work. As Linkletter writes, the PIA is "a public record lawfully obtained through an FOI request" – it is neither exempted from disclosure, nor is it confidential:

https://www.privacylibrary.ca/legal-threat/

Langara claims that in making their mandatory Privacy Impact Assessment for Office 365 available, Linkletter has exposed them to "heightened risks of data breaches and privacy incidents," they provided no evidence to support this assertion.

I think they're full of shit, but you don't have to take my word for it. After initially removing the PIA, Linkletter restored it, and you can read it for yourself:

https://www.privacylibrary.ca/langara-college-privacy-impact-assessments/

I read it. It is pretty goddamned anodyne – about as exciting as looking at the roof of Barbra Streisand's mansion.

Sometimes, where there's smoke, there's only Streisand – a person who has foolishly decided to use the law to bully a weaker stranger out of disclosing some innocuous and publicly available fact about themselves. But sometimes, where there's smoke, there's fire. A lot of people who read my work are much more familiar with ed-tech, privacy, and pedagogy than I am. If that's you, maybe you want to peruse the Langara PIA to see if they are hiding something because they're exposing their students to privacy risks and don't want that fact to get out.

There are plenty of potential privacy risks in Office 365! The cloud version of Microsoft Office contains a "bossware" mode that allows bosses to monitor their workers' keystrokes for spelling, content, and accuracy, and produce neat charts of which employees are least "productive." The joke's on the boss, though: Office 365 also has a tool that lets you compare your department's usage of Office 365 to your competitors, which is another way of saying that Microsoft is gathering your trade secrets and handing it out to your direct competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

So, yeah, there are lots of "features" in Office 365 that could give rise to privacy threats when it is used at a university. One hopes that Langara correctly assessed these risks and accounted for them in its PIA, which would mean that they are bullying Linkletter out of reflex, rather than to cover up wrongdoing. But there's only one way to find out: go through the doc that Linkletter has restored to public view.

Linkletter has excellent pro bono representation from Norton Rose Fulbright, a large and powerful law-firm that is handling his Proctorio case. Linkletter writes, "they have put this public college on notice that any proceeding is liable to be dismissed pursuant to the Protection of Public Participation Act, BC’s anti-SLAPP legislation."

Langara has now found themselves at the bottom of a hole, and if they're smart, they'll stop digging.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/01/eruditio-libertas-est/#streisand-v-linkletter

Image: Copyright (C) 2002 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, www.californiacoastline.org (modified) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Streisand_Estate.jpgbr>

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

--

Langara College (modified) https://langara.ca/

Fair use (parody) https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104

Fair dealing (parody) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1468015

[lyssasdrafts]

★ 𓈒 ݁ STAR—CROSSED (rhysand x reader) ⊹

chapter six: (written) ✧

𓈒 ݁ ✫ masterlist previous next

“guess who!”

morrigan’s voice wakes you, causing you to jolt up from your table at the library. you had come here in the afternoon and it was already evening, meaning the sunlight from the library’s large windows had faded and it was starting to become dimly lit. the bright light from your laptop screen only further causes your eyes to strain.

“what are you doing here?” you say after letting out a yawn and stretching out your arms. you move slightly, patting down a seat for mor.

“just wanted to check up on you,” she shrugs. her attention shifts to the papers scattered around the desk, confirming that you had been reviewing your notes all afternoon. mor frowns when she notices the dark circles under your eyes and quietly fixes your hair while you talk about what you were studying for.

your laptop, however, was for a different task. you had been touching up some of the photos you took at rhysand’s photoshoot on your editing software, meaning his face was plastered across your screen. you cringe at the image and at the sight of the man who caused you so much irritation, no matter how good the photoshoot had turned out.

“are you making a fan edit of me now?” rhysand peers over your shoulder.

once again, you’re taken by suprise, almost jumping out of your seat when he appears next to you. perhaps it runs in their family.

“where did you come from?” morrigan almost yells at him. rhysand had been standing behind the both of you, hands in his pockets as he leans over to look at your screen.

“don’t get the wrong idea,” you retort. “i’m editing your photos from our photoshoot.” rhysand gives you a satisfied smile. perhaps it was even genuine.

“i came here to study,” he says, pulling up a chair and moving to sit across from you. “mind if i sit here?”

“actually, yes,” mor says irreverently. her cousin gives her an annoyed look and she crosses her arms. “no wonder my roommate can’t stand you.”

“i can definitely confirm he’s difficult to work with,” you give her a smirk while the both of you hold in your laugh at rhysand’s dismay.

“i will admit, the photoshoot did look good though,” you say hesitantly. “and thank you for crediting me,” you add, “it really helped me as a photographer.”

rhysand feigns shock, “is y/n being genuine for once?”

you immediately take back your words, “i liked you better when you were picking an argument with me.” you could recall the moments since that photoshoot where rhysand had acted normal in class despite knowing about your passion: when you got your exams back, or last week when you scored one point higher than him, or today in class when you started a debate about the formation of the universe. the entire class had witnessed your argument and you could’ve sworn your teacher sighed that you two were bickering again.

“you know that i was right today,” rhysand says, “as i typically am.”

you try not to roll your eyes at him, instead sorting through your notebooks and papers to find the reading you did earlier. “i know i’m right because i actually study the material. it says here that—”

morrigan had already mentally tuned out of your conversation with rhysand, rolling her eyes when you start shoving notes into her cousin’s face. “can the two of you please argue another time?” she almost yawns.

in the corner of your eye, you can see that familiar golden-brown hair peeking out from behind a bookshelf. you want to roll your eyes as you realize she’s watching how rhysand acts with you. nesta would definitely be teasing you about this later. you notice a second person’s hand covering her face as she giggles, spotting her brighter hair between the gaps in the books, and realize elain was spying on you too.

maybe going to the library was a bad idea today.

rhysand, the oblivious fool that he was, did not see the sisters behind him watching you. you wondered if he was even aware people did this to him, considering how your friends were definitely not the only people on campus to be interested in him like this. you nearly cringed as he continued rambling about how his argument was right, never dropping that satisfied look on his face. he hadn’t realized that you weren’t focused on the conversation anymore.

“do you always have to challenge me, rhysand?” you finally ask.

“do you always have to be right, y/n?” he quickly counters, further proving your point.

“well maybe, it’s because—”

you’re interrupted by the sound of loud footsteps and two large figures walking up to you, causing a few heads to turn in the library, including nesta and elain. you don’t recognize cassian and azriel, who you only knew as rhysand’s friends, until they come up behind rhysand and cassian starts to talk.

azriel pulls up a chair to sit with the both of you while cassian stands behind rhysand, hugging his friend from the back. rhysand seems amused, exchanging greetings with his friends before they finally noticed your presence.

“sorry, y/n, i hope you don’t mind us stealing away your boyfriend for a minute,” cassian gives you a smug look. “we just need rhys for a moment.”

you stare blankly at cassian, blinking. is that what they’ve been thinking? maybe rhysand had become more tolerable to you, but you still had every right to be annoyed with his friends. cassian looked like he was about to start laughing at rhysand before you look him straight in the eyes.

you lean back into your chair, crossing your arms and glaring at cassian, “he’s not my boyfriend.”

“he talks about you all the time,” azriel chimes in. this was perhaps your first time hearing his voice properly. in the few classes you had with him, azriel rarely spoke and brushed off anyone who tried to start a conversation with him. even a few more heads turned towards him when he spoke in front of you.

a look of panic flashed in rhysand’s eyes and he gave azriel a nudge with his arm, causing the dark haired boy to chuckle. morrigan makes a disgusted face, giving cassian and azriel a look that would’ve made you shut up instantly. but instead, they both continued.

“well then, i can’t really blame you for not wanting to date rhysand,” cassian is now standing over your table, placing his hands in his pockets as he leans down towards you. “he’s insufferable.”

“he is,” the cold tone remains in your voice, though an amused smile begins to tug on your lips.

“don’t say that, y/n. he’ll be so heartbroken later,” azriel speaks, a similar reluctant smirk appearing on his face too.

“that’s enough!” rhysand snaps, “stop embarassing me.”

you’re about to burst out laughing with cassian when rhysand suddenly slams his hands on the table, insisting that his friends leave with him. you don’t object to rhysand cutting his visit to the library short, watching how mor chuckles as rhysand drags azriel away and bids cassian to follow behind them. it’s like the four of them have a secret that you’re not in on. cassian gives you a playful wave goodbye that you hesitantly return before the three of them quickly disappear from your peripheral vision.

“that was… interesting,” you say to morrigan, only moments before nesta and elain confront you. you were still trying to process the fact that cassian and azriel had even looked in your direction, let alone without any disgust. some of the rudest people you knew on campus had just started a conversation with you, all because you happened to know rhysand.

nesta pretends to dust off the books on the shelves as she walks towards you, tracing the patterns on your wooden desk once she reaches you, her eyes almost bulging when she glances at all your papers. “y/n,” she says in a sing-song voice, it’s the first time you’ve ever seen her smile like that, “what was that about?”

elain doesn’t even bother to be discrete, simply trailing behind nesta and appearing behind her. although she obviously isn’t as curious, her eyes are also widened like she has questions about that interaction too.

morrigan nearly scoffs, “you mean rhysand?”

“i already know about him,” nesta’s smile almost drops completly as her face twists, “who was that big, strong friend he brought?”

“you mean cassian?” you say, mor nearly starts laughing again.

“he seems cute,” nesta shrugs, then continues teasing you. “does our y/n now have men fawning over you?” she gives you a look with a smirk.

“absolutely not.”

elain suddenly joins, her voice remains quiet and hesitant when she asks, “what about the taller one?”

she receives a look from both you and nesta, and you’re suddenly reminded of just how coldly azriel treats people. perhaps nesta would get along with him, but your other friends would definitely dislike him if they saw him in class the way you did.

“he seems kind,” elain softly says.

“something tells me you’ll be seeing a lot more from the three of them,” morrigan playfully hits your arm, your three friends officially ganging up on you to your dismay.

— NOTES

cassian and azriel teasing rhysand 🤭

almost got the whole gang in one place 🫶 cassian and azriel finally make their first appearance

nesta noticing cassian 👀 my nessian self just had to add it

— TAGLIST

@thelov3lybookworm @starsand @lilah-asteria @therealmoonstone @just-a-social-casualty-1 @ashjade19 @girlontheblock @cherry-cin @daughterofthemoons-stuff @starswholistenanddreamsanswered @sweet-chai-amore @kierramofficial @noelli-smv @c-dizzle99 @littlestw01f @marina468 @dragneel-brothers

[frameacloud]

Some ways to avoid generative AI in web searches

Our web searches are being filled with more and more AI-generated slop. GenAI creates misinformation that can be difficult to tell apart from the correct answer to whatever question you're looking up. GenAI mixes things up that have similar names. In one example that is especially easy to recognize, genAI has thought that a baseball team and the bird that it was named after must both be the same creature, with a bizarre combination of their eating habits and behaviors. This mistake still happens with specialized topics that could be harder for you to recognize unless if you're already very familiar with the topic in question. GenAI also makes up fake sources and facts out of thin air, and you can't tell until you try to find them somewhere else. The tech is more like advanced predictive text than something capable of research or reasoning, even though it can look enough like it that it can fool you if you don't know how to spot its mistakes.

Not only are the results of genAI unreliable, the source texts and images that they’re based on were used without permission. Sometimes they aren't modified enough to avoid plagiarism, but it's worse than that. Source images have turned out to be private medical photos and intimate personal photos that hackers had stolen and leaked to harass the people in the photos. Another reason why this technology is unethical is that each genAI query has such a high energy cost that it's significantly harmful to the environment, contributing to the climate crisis.

Here are some things that you can do when you use Google, DuckDuckGo, or other conventional general web search engines:

To turn off Google's AI Overview, set "web" as default. Here's how to do that on your devices and web browsers.

Add this string to any web search to only show results from before the genAI fad. Before:2021

Install the web browser extension uBlacklist. You give it a list of web addresses to not show you in your web searches anymore. Other people maintain lists for it that you can subscribe to so that you won’t see certain types of results in your web searches. Follow the instructions in Laylavish’s Huge AI Blocklist to subscribe to that list which will rid your web search results of AI-generated pages or images.

Since genAI slop is getting to be such a big problem on them, use alternatives to conventional general web search engines some of the time:

Use a specialized search engine instead of a general one. For example, if you only wanted to find a particular science article, there are specialized search engines that only look for those. The blog post "Skip Google for Research" has a list of specialized search engines for academics.

GenAI is notoriously bad at math because that’s too far outside the scope it was designed for: advanced predictive text. In any case, genAI is overpowered for math that is easy for computers to do. If you want to use a very advanced calculator, or even ask a math question in natural language, use Wolfram Alpha.

For questions about how to do things, look them up in WikiHow, the Youtube channel Dad, How Do I? or The Ultimate Manuals Library.

You can search within Wikipedia, but unfortunately vandals have been putting machine-generated falsehoods into it, as well as genAI images. To avoid this, use the article history to view versions of the article from before 2022.

Ask yourself if there are some topics that you often do a web search for just because you keep forgetting an answer to something. Start saving those answers in a book or file that you can refer to offline. This is called a commonplace book. For an example of one, Beth and Angel made theirs into a zine, Stuff I Often Google.

How about a completely different sort of web search than present-day Google or DuckDuckGo? Marginalia Search only brings up results that are text-heavy and similar to the web of the 1990s and 2000s. Its software is independent and open-source.

Have you been using a web search engine to take you to the websites that you visit on a regular basis? Switch to saving them in your web browser's bookmarks folder. Your web browser, Firefox, can sync your bookmarks to your other devices. If you often need to refer to a large number of static web pages (ones that don't change what is on them every day), then you can save and organize them in your Zotero, a bibliography management program. You can sort them with folders and tags so you can find them again.

[fiddles-ifs]

[ID: a banner-style image with smudged, grungy text. The banner says "blog update" in bold, capital letters. The background is textured green and white with a film border around it. The upper left corner says "official photograph not to be released for publication." /end ID]

Happy update day!

Greenwarden, Eryinys, and TKP's chapter 1 updates are all coming along very smoothly. (Except for Greenwarden. Firstborn problem indeed. I ended up losing a ton of work -- including the whole library update -- and I got so mad I started working on a whole other route. Coming back to the library route soon, though. I have enough salvageable material, I just need to be Not Mad about it.) Here's some snippets!

CONTENT WARNING: Gore

GREENWARDEN

Adrenaline is a hell of a drug. Sprinting down the street doesn't even hurt, even if you do leave a long blood trail behind you. Your one hope is that the coyote is too preoccupied tearing chunks out of Eddie to pay attention to you. Hope is dangerous -- makes you cocky. Makes you make mistakes. You keep running toward what you think is safety, and you end up right at the edge of Warden Forest. Definitely not safety. You stop just before the mouth of the woods, breathing so hard you gag, your stomach half-open like a yawning mouth. Deep breaths hurt too much -- you can't bring yourself back to baseline. You risk losing your adrenaline rush if you do that anyway. Looking around looks the same. Woods and parking lot, woods and parking lot. There's a trail right ahead of you, tempting you inside. The click of nails against asphalt makes you whirl around. The damn coyote is right behind you, still licking gristle from its teeth.

ERINYS

Marik leads you to a corner covered in paper thin monitors. Cords feed into the biggest computer you may have ever seen, protected from the water and soap by thick rubber casing and a raised platform surrounded by guardrails painted yellow and black. The ramp vibrates under heel. You realize, with a start, that the computer and monitors are much lower to the floor than you'd expect, just as the engineer wheels around to face you both. "Sorenson," Marik says. The engineer grins with a mouthful of pearly white teeth and leans back in his chair, arms folded over his stomach. He's all hard planes. Built with lean muscle, broad-shouldered like DANIEL is, but with a shock of curly red hair and a mess of dark freckles. He has a dimple on his nose. "Marik," Sorenson says, wheeling his chair back to make room for you both. "All systems good. I'm running tune-up software now, just to make sure. Everything is brand new, but still. Can't be too careful." He glances at you. Nothing escapes Marik's notice, even bent across the desk to glare into screens running codes and diagnostics and other things that make you dizzy. Absently, he introduces you to each other. The engineer's name is Doctor Matthew Sorenson. He looks awfully young to be a doctor. "Fury, huh?" Dr. Sorenson raises his eyebrows. You flex your hands. "Whatever keeps you alive, I guess."

THE KING'S PHYSICIAN

The Maw is a jagged white chalkscape. You have to march in single file, careful to avoid the razor sharp juts of rock. The horses are nervous -- the wolf packs and cave lions living in the Teeth have perfected the art of the ambush. Not just that -- the endless bone white expanse can cause the distracted to become easily lost. You keep close count of everyone -- you, Sibir, and Leniza -- their aunt. She gives the whole company water blessings on the way in. Salt water from the Archipelago, to fine their ways home. -> Not that you believe in blessings. You are a person of science. -> You give your own blessings when you can. You can never have too many gods at your disposal. -> You don't have an opinion on religion -- it's something that exists. Annoyingly prevalent, but what can you do?

I'm hoping at least one of these guys will be ready to publish by next month -- but I'm also writing another book! Because I'm crazy. So we'll see!

[whetstonefires]

After seeing your weatherbugapp reblog i installed duckduckgo and tried it.

I don't know much about technology tbh but i downloaded this app less than 30 mins ago and in that time google tried to track me 112 times?? And they tried to collect finger prints? And my first and last name? And my gender? And my country, state and city? My gps coordinates? My postal code? My network carrier? My fricking battery level for whatever reason? Can you please tell me if this is normal at all, because i'm freaking out right now. I just turned 18 and started using mobile banking and stuff and this shit scares me

Why tf does it need to know my screen density???my system volume????my charging status????? What tf are they cooking

Now it's at 476 tracking attempts bro???? barely 5 mins passed.....

I condensed your three asks into one for readability!

And yeah, I'm very far from an expert about any of this, but as far as I know that's just. Normal. That's the normal amount of spying they're doing on your phone. I assume the numbers we see are to some extent because having been foiled, a lot of these scripts try repeatedly, since I can't imagine what use thousands of trackers per phone would be even to the great aggregators.

Tracking the phone stuff like screen resolution and battery level is because (apart from that definitely not being considered remotely 'private' so it's Free Real Estate) in aggregate that data can be used to track what phone use patterns are like on a demographic scale and therefore. Where the smart money is.

Almost all of this is getting sold in bulk for ad targeting and market analysis. This does presumably make it very hard to notice when like. Actually important stuff is being spied on, which is why I feel better about Having Apps with the duckduckgo app blocker thing.

My bank's app reportedly sells data to a couple aggregators including Google. Not like, my banking info, but it's still so offensive on principle that I avoid using the app unless I have to, and force stop it afterward.

The patterns that show up on the weekly duckduckgo blocker report are interesting. Hoopla attempts about two orders of magnitude more tracking than Libby, which makes sense because they're a commercial streaming service libraries pay by the unit for access, while Libby is a content management software run by a corporation that values its certification as a 'B' company--that is, one invested in the public good that can be trusted. The cleanness of their brand is a great deal of its value, so they have to care about their image and be a little more scrupulous.

Which doesn't mean not being a little bit spyware, because everything is spyware now. Something else I've noticed is that in terms of free game apps, the polished professional stuff is now much more invasive than the random kinda janky thing someone just threw together.

Back in the day you tended to expect the opposite, because spyware was a marginal shifty profit-margin with too narrow a revenue stream to be worth more to an established brand than their reputation, but now that everyone does it there's not a lot of reputation cost and refraining would be sacrificing a potential revenue stream, which is Irresponsible Conduct for a corporation.

While meanwhile 'developing a free game app to put on the game store' is something a person can do for free with the hardware they already have for home use, as a hobby or practice or to put on their coding resume. So while such apps absolutely can be malicious and more dangerous when they are than The Big Brand, they can also be neutral in a way commercial stuff no longer is. Wild world.

But yeah for the most part as far as I can make out, these are just The Commercial Panopticon, operating as intended. It's gross but it probably doesn't indicate anything dangerous on an individual level.

[r3dcam3llias]

How to Download Our Life: Beginnings and Always Mods

(a step-by-step guide!)

If you've ever wanted to download extra content for OLBA but were unsure how or where to even start, this post will hopefully explain everything you need to know!

What you will need:

Our Life: Beginnings and Always

RPA extractor

Latest version of Python

RPA repack tool

1. Finding mods.

As far as I'm aware, there are very few people who make OLBA mods, but if you do happen to come across someone who makes mods/script edits and would like to download them, you'll likely end up with files with the end extension ".rpy" or ".rpyc" Because the software used to make OLBA is Ren'py, these are ren'py script files that basically contain the script that runs the mod and official script files. (Note: Some mods that don't just simply add onto/edit/add more scenes may also include other important resource files (images, sounds etc...) and might be formatted in a ".zip" file. I'll cover how to unzip and use those as well.)

2. Find your game files.

First of all, before you do anything with your .zip or .rpy/.rpyc file(s) you're going to need to find your copy of your OLBA game's files. For Steam, you should be able to open the Steam app on your computer, navigate to your library, right-click your copy of OLBA, select "properties", navigate to the "Installed Files" tab, and click the "Browse" button.

For a direct download of the game such as from Itch.io, you should just be able to navigate to wherever you downloaded your game and find the same results. You should see your game files now like the picture below.

3. Finding/extracting the RPA file.

Now, you are going to want to navigate to the "game" folder inside the OLBA folder. Here you should find these files:

(Note: depending on whether you have the DLC or not, you may or may not have the DLC files. I do not have the Baxter or Derek DLC so I don't have those files here.) These files are basically all the .rpy/rpyc files, along with images, sounds and all other resources for the game, compressed into single files. So, in order to add our modded files, we will need to extract whichever RPA file pertains to the mod. For example, archive.rpa contains all the scripts, etc from the main game. The rest should just be DLC, so if you have a mod that only affects the main game, you will only need to extract that file. The same works if it is a mod that only affects a DLC; you will only need to extract that respective DLC file.

To do this, you can either download this RPA extractor or find your own and follow its steps. For this tutorial, we will be following the steps of the RPA extractor provided. Once you have downloaded the RPA extractor, drag the .RPA file you want to extract out of the OLBA folder, into a new folder, then drag and drop it onto the RPA extractor icon (shown below)

This should open a new Command window where the .rpa file will be extracted. You should end with something like this:

(for this example I extracted the step 3 DLC RPA file)

Now you should have a new folder containing all the .rpy and resource files you need.

4. What to do with modded .rpy/.rpyc and/or .zip files?

If the mod you downloaded just came with the files not zipped, you can skip this first part. Otherwise, you will need to unzip this zipped folder. To do this, you can either just right-click the zipped file and click "Extract All" and "Extract" when a new window pops up.

Alternatively, you can use a program such as 7-zip, which may help extract speeds for large files. Now, you should have, or already have your modded .rpa files on hand (finally!) Normally, if these files are editing preexisting material from the game or adding new scenes, at least one file, if not all of them will have the SAME EXACT file name as an already existing file. In this case, BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING go into the folder(s) you got earlier by extracting the .rpa file(s) and look for the file(s) with the same name(s) as your modded .rpy/.rpyc file(s) and either make a copy or move them somewhere safe in case something is wrong with your modded files/you no longer want the modded files, you can put the original files back in. Once you have done this, you are going to drag the modded files directly into the folder(s) you got earlier by extracting the .rpa file(s). MAKE SURE YOU PUT THEM IN THE CORRECT FOLDERS AND EITHER OVERWRITE THE ORIGINAL FILES OR MAKE SURE THEY HAVE BEEN REMOVED.

If there are any other files, such as sounds or images or .rpy/rpyc files, feel free to just make another folder to put these in.

5. Repacking the RPA file.

Now these next steps can get really complicated, so I'll break them down into smaller steps. 1.) Download the RPA repack tool (make sure to unzip it) and the latest version of Python if you haven't already.

2.) Inside the unzipped "rpa-master" folder you'll find another folder of the same name. Inside this folder all you need is the "rpatool" file. Take this file and move it into a new folder completely outside of the "rpa-master" folder, name this folder whatever you want, it doesn't matter. (EXAMPLE BELOW)

3.) Now take the folder(s) you got from extracting the .rpa file earlier or created and put them in this new folder. (EXAMPLE BELOW)

4.) Type "cmd" into the path while in the folder with both of these.

5.) Now, a command prompt window should pop up, type in this:

 py rpatool -c

followed by the name of the .rpa file you want to make and the name of the folder(s) you are repacking separated by a space for each. (EXAMPLE BELOW)

6.) Depending on the size of your file it might take some time, but once you see the .rpa file appear in the folder, you're all done! It should look something like this:

Now, all that's left to do is put that .rpa file into the game folder with the rest of the .rpa files !! After that you can test it out and your mods should now work!

As always if you have any questions or need help doing this yourself, feel free to contact me or submit an ask!

[thecutestgrotto]

question! im considering doing dividers as gifts for my friends and I was wondering if you had any tips? is it a better idea to hand draw the designs to avoid any potential copyright issues or is using free to distribute clip resources okay?

I know how to draw and do edits just fine I’m just not sure what other graphic artists do in this regard

Hi anon! Okay, so this is going to be a little long winded and maybe stuff you might know about the process, but I hope it’ll be helpful as a guide for others too maybe? Tips under the cut otherwise everyone’s gonna have to scroll through it.

So, for everyone needing some help, I present:

The Official™️ Dividers & Graphics Guide

->For tips on how to use dividers on your posts click here

1. Personally, I LOVE Canva because it has a library of pre-uploaded elements and it’s super easy to use. Like if I search stars hundreds of individual elements come up as results.

(I know some people also use Visme, which I don’t have any real experience with, but it’s an alternative with good reviews.)

As long as you are not claiming each individual element is your own creation, you’re in the clear. People making graphics like these almost always use premade elements and combine or edit them into a unique piece. That being said, if you claim that an individual element is your own, you’ll probably be called out. I don’t know how familiar you are with the community so forgive me if I sound condescending: the graphics/digital art community is a wild place when it comes to plagiarism but it’s good that artists look out for each other.

Anyway. Creators that upload designs/elements/templates to Canva are aware that they can be changed/edited. If you have Canva pro (which I recommend because you can do transparent PNGs so easily) some elements are only available via pro subscription and you’re compensating the creator for the use of the element and however you change it.

Basically, the divider/graphic is yours, but the individual elements are theirs. You don’t need to give credit because it’s like using stamps or stickers. For example: You wouldn’t typically use Lisa frank stickers on a coloring page and then credit Lisa frank in the corner of the paper. ⚠️I strongly urge you to stay away from AI art. Generators steal from artists to create what the user searches for!⚠️

For tips about finding more images click here

2. Hand drawing can get a little tricky. You have to be careful with your dimensions and even file size sometimes. In my personal experience, if you’re new to this type of graphic art you should wait until you’re comfortable with it. It can get confusing. I’ve had MANY graphics come out a blurry, frustrating mess and I’m by no means the best divider maker/graphic artist on the planet.

An extra example: my Cute Coquette set vs my Dark Siren set. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with the coquette ones, but they look fuzzy/blurry. I made them when I was first starting out and I struggled with how to line up the right dimensions. I keep them up because as much as I don’t like how blurry they are, it shows my progress and I’m rather fond of them. It’s not even close to what I do now, like the Dark Sirens, which even zoomed out have a lot of detail but are clear and defined. 🤷🏻‍♀️

3. To avoid said blurring, I recommend using these canvas sizes:

Banners and headers: 1055px x 500px, I’ve also done 3000px x 500px.

Standard Size Dividers: 3000px x 240px

Thicker/Thinner Dividers: Basically you can go as thin or thick as you want as long as that first number is 3000px. I added a screenshot of ones I’ve used recently that might help.

I think if you’re using software like procreate, the canvas sizes are the same but you’ll have to go through some extra steps if you want to get it into canva or whatever graphic editing software you’re using.

4. Lastly and most importantly, just have fun. Play around with the settings and figure out what works best for you!! You of course can DM me with more questions, but I hope this at least helped a little bit.

🩵🌸

*Edited 2 hours after posting to add personal examples, and this little guide can now be found in my navigation post!*

[atlinmerrick]

If your library is shutting down, if your downloaded ebooks have vanished from your device, you can get books for free and you can fight back three FREE ways:

Libgen

Calibre

Gutenberg

Libgen allows you to download ebooks for free. The site moves regularly, last time I knew it was libgen.rs but it's here now:

Is that link now dead? Go to your search engine and enter the term LibGen. You'll find where it's moved to. Go there and download books. Save them to a backup. Burn a disk with them on it. Whatever you have to do to keep knowledge accessible to you and others.

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, books were banned but people assigned themselves a book and memorized it. Then shared the knowledge. We aren't there nor will we be because in Bradbury's time there wasn't the ability to download and save ebooks.

SO DOWNLOAD AND SAVE EBOOKS EXTERNALLY PLEASE.

Libgen helps you do that. So does Calibre, which is a free open-source ebook creator and an ebook reverser. You can take an epub or mobi and turn it into a PDF or a .docx.

Please do this if you fear knowledge will be lost. Or even if you don't. Just…save save save what you can because Amazon and all the other multi-nationals do not care nor will they care if knowledge goes away.

Finally Gutenberg.org is your one stop free source for books out of copyright. Download, download, download. They also have audiobooks.

Happy library building my friends.

(Library image: Wikimedia Commons)

[pastel-charm-14]

aesthetic ideas + tips for your phone

step 1: update your phone

make sure your phone is up to date and charged at least 80% before you begin! oh yeah and i should mention that this tutorial is for apple phones :)

settings >> general >> software updates >> install

step 2: declutter

clutter literally scares me, so i always try and keep everything (including my phone) clutter free!

remove ever single app that you can, not delete, remove. you can do this by:

hold down any random app button >> click edit home screen >> click the little minus sign at the top left of the app button you want to remove >> click move to app library >> you can now only view it in your app library if you scroll all the way to the right from your home screen

step 3: find inspiration

pinterest and yt are great places to look! i got these off of pinterest

you could also go on google and just type in the theme/color/whatever you're looking for.

step 4: home screen formatting

this part is a lil overwhelming but that's why i'm here! this is about customizing and decorating your home screen.

first off, look for design formats. you want it to be functional AND aesthetic. take out a sheet of paper or a digital whiteboard or whatever and sketch out what you want your home screen to look like. i find it really helpful to just go "okay, i want a small widget there there and there, my most used apps there, my social media here," etc. remember, it can't just be pretty, it also has to be functional.

step 5: add widgets

now you might be thinking, "how the heck do i do that?" don't worry i'll tell you right now :)

app store >> download widgetsmith >> choose from small, medium, or large widget >> click add widget >> tap it to see all the optiona and pick the one that best fits you (in this case i'm doing photo) >> select the picture you want >> go back to main screen, leave the app >> hold home screen >> press + >> scroll all the way down to widgetsmith >> hold down small >> place it >> hit done >> edit widget >> select the new small widget you created >> untap

don't worry, it's a lot easier once you start doing it!

step 6: customize your app icons

open shortcut app >> click create shortcut >> click add action >> type in open app (multi-colored little squares) >> click choose, look up the app you want and click the 3 dots at the top right >> title the new shortcut >> click add to home screen, rename again >> change image/picture >> click add

[dailypolyhedra]

Polyhedron of the Day #188: Small dodecahemidodecahedron

The small dodecahemidodecahedron is a uniform star polyhedron. It has 18 faces, 60 edges, and 30 vertices. Its Bowers-style acronym is sidhid. It is a hemipolyhedron with the same edge arrangement as the icosidodecahedron, which it is a faceting of, and the small icosihemidodecahedron. It can also be derived as a rectified petrial icosahedron. Its vertex figure is a crossed quadrilateral. Its dual is the small dodecahemidodecacron.

Image created using Robert Webb's Stella software, found at http://www.software3d.com/Stella.php.

GIF taken from a 3D model created by Dzmitry Lysiankou, https://grabcad.com/library/small-dodecahemidodecahedron-1.