#online File Hosting

[opendrive134]

OpenDrive   https://www.opendrive.com/ takes the headache out of the cloud by allowing you to easily share, manage, collaborate, and access all of your content online. Stay in sync with all of your data and never be without an important file again.

[thunderlina]

In the wake of the TikTok ban and revival as a mouthpiece for fascist propaganda, as well as the downfall of Twitter and Facebook/Facebook-owned platforms to the same evils, I think now is a better time than ever to say LEARN HTML!!! FREE YOURSELVES FROM THE SHACKLES OF MAJOR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND EMBRACE THE INDIE WEB!!!

You can host a website on Neocities for free as long as it's under 1GB (which is a LOT more than it sounds like let me tell you) but if that's not enough you can get 50GB of space (and a variety of other perks) for only $5 a month.

And if you can't/don't want to pay for the extra space, sites like File Garden and Catbox let you host files for free that you can easily link into NeoCities pages (I do this to host videos on mine!) (It also lets you share files NeoCities wouldn't let you upload for free anyways, this is how I upload the .zip files for my 3DS themes on my site.)

Don't know how to write HTML/CSS? No problem. W3schools is an invaluable resource with free lessons on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and a whole slew of other programming languages, both for web development and otherwise.

Want a more traditional social media experience? SpaceHey is a platform that mimics the experience of 2000s MySpace

Struggling to find independent web pages that cater to your interests via major search engines? I've got you covered. Marginalia and Wiby are search engines that specifically prioritize non-commercial content. Marginalia also has filters that let you search for more specific categories of website, like wikis, blogs, academia, forums, and vintage sites.

Maybe you wanna log off the modern internet landscape altogether and step back into the pre-social media web altogether, well, Protoweb lets you do just that. It's a proxy service for older browsers (or really just any browser that supports HTTP, but that's mostly old browsers now anyways) that lets you visit restored snapshots of vintage websites.

Protoweb has a lot of Geocities content archived, but if you're interested in that you can find even more old Geocities sites over on the Geocities Gallery

And really this is just general tip-of-the-iceberg stuff. If you dig a little deeper you can find loads more interesting stuff out there. The internet doesn't have to be a miserable place full of nothing but doomposting and targeted ads. The first step to making it less miserable is for YOU, yes YOU, to quit spending all your time on it looking at the handful of miserable websites big tech wants you to spend all your time on.

[crazy-hazy-sims]

Hey everyone it seems there a malicious individual trying to hack the sims cc community again and fill it with malware you need to stay vigilant as a creator and a downloader so

i have some tips for both to stay safe while downloading:

1- sims cc file extension is always .Package never download anything that is .exe

2- do not auto unpack zip files and rar files into your mods folder directly, open each zip or rar individually check the file extensions and drag them to your mods folder one by one

3- the only mods that have a .ts4script extension are ones that affect gameplay or how the game works, understand that if you are downloading cas or bb items you shouldn't have a .ts4script file

4- if you are downloading gameplay mods that do have .ts4script make sure that A) the creator hasn't announced on their pages that its infected B) you are downloading from a link provided by the creator of the mods themselves not something off of google or a link you got sent and make sure dates of upload match dated of announcements

5- if the mod or cc creator has retired and hasn't posted for a while LOOK AT THE DATES OF THE UPLOAD if it has been "updated recently" after the creator has left the community its most likely re-uploaded by a hacker and infected

6- download mod gaurd by Twisted mexi and keep it updated and keep your windows defender or malware detector Program up to date and always running do not disable it

7- make sure everything you download comes from a direct link from the cc creator, in this day and age do not trust link shortners, adfly, linkverse, etc get the universal bypass extension and ublock extension to stay safe but genuinely NEVER CLICK ON THOSE no matter how much the creator reassures you its safe it. is. NOT.

8- this is more of a general saftey precaution but, create a system restore point weekly before you run the game with new mods that way if anything happens you could have a chance to restore your windows to an earlier date before you downloaded anything.

9- BACK UP YOUR SHIT im serious right now either weekly or monthly put your files somewhere safe like a usb a storage card a hard drive even an online cloud if you dont have any of the previous.

10- files you should back up are your media from games and media everything else, any mods, games saves, work files, passwords, saved bookmarks, any documents txt files word files pdfs, links you saved, brushes or actions for Photoshop if you have any, any digital bills or certificates if you have any, and keep a physical list of all programs you have installed and where you installed them from

11- turn on any 2 factor authentication and security measures for any account you have

12- google and firefox have the option to check your paswords and emails against any data leaks USE THIS FEATURE and change any leaked passwords

13- regularly check your logged in sessions to make sure all the logged in devices or computers are yours and log out any that aren't and any old devices or unused sessions do this for every website and app you have an account on if available

14- change your passwords often. I know this is a hassle i know its hard to come up with new passwords but changing your passwords every few months will help you against anything mention previously that wasn't detected.

15- and as a cc creator check your cc and the accounts you host cc on and its uplaod and update dates make sure nothing has been changed without your permission :(

16- generally try not to get swept up in the "i must get it" fever you do not need to "shop" for mods weekly or monthly you do not need to download everything by that one creator you do not need to download new cc everytime you want to make a sim, im guilty of this so i know how hard it is to resist but take a breath and think "do i want this or do i need it" before downloading.

These are prevention methods i cant claim they are 100% will prevent any hacking but its better to be safe than sorry and these do keep you safe so

Brought to you by someone who has had their laptop ruined and data leaked from downloading cc once upon a time

[paper-mario-wiki]

The opposite of wiki isn’t discord, it’s encyclopedia dramatica.

incorrect.

encyclopedia dramatica is publicly available through a web browser without an account, and not locked behind a proprietary piece of software to access.

Discord, on the other hand, is the hand that pulls the suffocating rag of inaccessibility over the face of anyone trying to learn anything regarding any niche online phenomenon.

JUST MAKE A FORUM FOR YOUR FIGHTING GAME COMMUNITY!!! JUST PUT YOUR PROGRAMS AND SCRIPTS ON GITHUB!!! JUST HOST YOUR FILES ON MEDIAFIRE OR MEGAUPLOAD OR SOMETHING!!

i shouldnt have to announce my presence to everyone any time i join a server for a second to download one file! i dont like that i have to insert my digital footprint somewhere just because the information there isn't available anywhere else!

STOP MAKING DISCORD SERVERS WHEN YOU SHOULD BE MAKING WEBSITES!!! STOP USING A CHAT CLIENT THAT'S GETTING WORSE WITH EVERY UPDATE AS A LESS HELPFUL AND LESS ACCESSIBLE INTERNET BROWSER!!!

[midnitetech]

🚀 Clean Launcher Beta – Try It Early!

Hey Simmers! I’m excited to share the very first beta version of my new Clean Launcher—a one-stop, user-friendly tool for managing your Sims 4 mods, cleaning cache and error logs, scanning for duplicates, and even backing up your important files. All the essentials in a single, easy-to-use app built for Windows!

What’s in the Clean Launcher?

🧹 Clean & Launch: Wipes cache and error logs, then starts The Sims 4 with a single click.

🗂️ Scan Mods Folder: Detects duplicates, hidden scripts, and missing files. Fix them in a click or two!

📦 Backup: Instantly zip up your Mods, Saves, and Tray folders.

📥 Drag & Drop Installer: Drop ZIPs and mod files right in—they’ll be sorted automatically.

📁 Mod Folder Organizer: Organize a chaotic mods folder into preset categories, Undo changes.

Check for Updates: See if your installed mods have newer versions, and download them! (Currently covers all of my mods and the biggies like MCCC, UI Cheats etc. but I've hosted the library the app reads online, so as long as you have an internet connection, you're covered for updates I make.)

...and more! I'm still working on the exception helper, as I haven't gotten it quite to where I want it to be. However, the Scan Mods Folder feature includes a Create Full Report function, which you can send to me if you have an error you're struggling with.

Important: This is a BETA release, so you may run into bugs or rough edges. I’d love your feedback—every report helps make it smoother for everyone! The Help & Online menu includes a bug report form, and a User Guide, which I've also attached to the post.

📝 Submit Bug Reports

Thank you for helping shape the future of Sims 4 mod management! —midnitetech

P.S. Don’t be shy about reporting anything odd—even if you think it’s small! And as always, I never judge anyone based on their mod folder. You do you!

Windows only (currently)

PATREON (in beta testing for a week or so, then will be public. Anyone who's not a Patron and would like to test it, just message me!)

Download to your regular Downloads folder - this is NOT a mod, it's an app for Windows, and install it. I recommend you disable your antivirus as unsigned apps can give a false positive. I've scanned it with VirusTotal, and none of the major AVs are flagging it. You can also check your antivirus' quarantine section if it's already snagged it, and restore it from there.

[ellipsus-writes]

Each week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression. (Find it on the blog too!) This week:

Censorship watch: Somehow, KOSA returned

It’s official: The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back from the dead. After failing to pass last year, the bipartisan bill has returned with fresh momentum and the same old baggage—namely, vague language that could endanger hosting platforms, transformative work, and implicitly target LGBTQ+ content under the guise of “protecting kids.”

… But wait, it gets better (worse). Republican Senator Mike Lee has introduced a new bill that makes other attempts to censor the internet look tame: the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA)—basically KOSA on bath salts. Lee’s third attempt since 2022, the bill would redefine what counts as “obscene” content on the internet, and ban it nationwide—with “its peddlers prosecuted.”

Whether IODA gains traction in Congress is still up in the air. But free speech advocates are already raising alarm bells over its implications.

The bill aims to gut the long-standing legal definition of “obscenity” established by the 1973 Miller v. California ruling, which currently protects most speech under the First Amendment unless it fails a three-part test. Under the Miller test, content is only considered legally obscene if it 1: appeals to prurient interests, 2: violates “contemporary community standards,” and 3: is patently offensive in how it depicts sexual acts.

IODA would throw out key parts of that test—specifically the bits about “community standards”—making it vastly easier to prosecute anything with sexual content, from films and photos, to novels and fanfic.

Under Lee’s definition (which—omg shocking can you believe this coincidence—mirrors that of the Heritage Foundation), even the most mild content with the affect of possible “titillation” could be included. (According to the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the proposed definition is so broad it could rope in media on the level of Game of Thrones—or, generally, anything that depicts or describes human sexuality.) And while obscenity prosecutions are quite rare these days, that could change if IODA passes—and the collateral damage and criminalization (especially applied to creative freedoms and LGBT+ content creators) could be massive.

And while Lee’s last two obscenity reboots failed, the current political climate is... let’s say, cloudy with a chance of fascism.

Sound a little like Project 2025? Ding ding ding! In fact, Russell Vought, P2025’s architect, was just quietly appointed to take over DOGE from Elon Musk (the agency on a chainsaw crusade against federal programs, culture, and reality in general).

So. One bill revives vague moral panic, another wants to legally redefine it and prosecute creators, and the man who helped write the authoritarian playbook—with, surprise, the intent to criminalize LGBT+ content and individuals—just gained control of the purse strings.

Cool cool cool.

AO3 works targeted in latest (massive) AI scraping

Rewind to last month—In the latest “wait, they did what now?” moment for AI, a Hugging Face user going by nyuuzyou uploaded a massive dataset made up of roughly 12.6 million fanworks scraped from AO3—full text, metadata, tags, and all. (Info from r/AO3: If your works’ ID numbers between 1 and 63,200,000, and has public access, the work has been scraped.)

And it didn’t stop at AO3. Art and writing communities like PaperDemon and Artfol, among others, also found their content had been quietly scraped and posted to machine learning hubs without consent.

This is yet another attempt in a long line of more “official” scraping of creative work, and the complete disregard shown by the purveyors of GenAI for copyright law and basic consent. (Even the Pope agrees.)

AO3 filed a DMCA takedown, and Hugging Face initially complied—temporarily. But nyuuzyou responded with a counterclaim and re-uploaded the dataset to their personal website and other platforms, including ModelScope and DataFish—sites based in China and Russia, the same locations reportedly linked to Meta’s own AI training dataset, LibGen.

Some writers are locking their works. Others are filing individual DMCAs. But as long as bad actors and platforms like Hugging Face allow users to upload massive datasets scraped from creative communities with minimal oversight, it’s a circuitous game of whack-a-mole. (As others have recommended, we also suggest locking your works for registered users only.)

After disavowing AI copyright, leadership purge hits U.S. cultural institutions

In news that should give us all a brief flicker of hope, the U.S. Copyright Office officially confirmed: if your “creative” work was generated entirely by AI, it’s not eligible for copyright.

A recently released report laid it out plainly—human authorship is non-negotiable under current U.S. law, a stance meant to protect the concept of authorship itself from getting swallowed by generative sludge. The report is explicit in noting that generative AI draws “on massive troves of data, including copyrighted works,” and asks: “Do any of the acts involved require the copyright owners’ consent or compensation?” (Spoiler: yes.) It’s a “straight ticket loss for the AI companies” no matter how many techbros’ pitch decks claim otherwise (sorry, Inkitt).

“The Copyright Office (with a few exceptions) doesn’t have the power to issue binding interpretations of copyright law, but courts often cite to its expertise as persuasive,” tech law professor Blake. E Reid wrote on Bluesky.As the push to normalize AI-generated content continues (followed by lawsuits), without meaningful human contribution—actual creative labor—the output is not entitled to protection.

… And then there’s the timing.

The report dropped just before the abrupt firing of Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter, who has been vocally skeptical of AI’s entitlement to creative work.

It's yet another culture war firing—one that also conveniently clears the way for fewer barriers to AI exploitation of creative work. And given that Elon Musk’s pals have their hands all over current federal leadership and GenAI tulip fever… the overlap of censorship politics and AI deregulation is looking less like coincidence and more like strategy.

Also ousted (via email)—Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. According to White House press secretary and general ghoul Karoline Leavitt, Dr. Hayden was dismissed for “quite concerning things that she had done… in the pursuit of DEI, and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.” (Translation: books featuring queer people and POC.)

Dr. Hayden, who made history as the first Black woman to hold the position, spent the last eight years modernizing the Library of Congress, expanding digital access, and turning the institution into something more inclusive, accessible, and, well, public. So of course, she had to go. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The American Library Association condemned the firing immediately, calling it an “unjust dismissal” and praising Dr. Hayden for her visionary leadership. And who, oh who might be the White House’s answer to the LoC’s demanding and (historically) independent role?

The White House named Todd Blanche—AKA Trump’s personal lawyer turned Deputy Attorney General—as acting Librarian of Congress.

That’s not just sus, it’s likely illegal—the Library is part of the legislative branch, and its leadership is supposed to be confirmed by Congress. (You know, separation of powers and all that.)

But, plot twist: In a bold stand, Library of Congress staff are resisting the administration's attempts to install new leadership without congressional approval.

If this is part of the broader Project 2025 playbook, it’s pretty clear: Gut cultural institutions, replace leadership with stunningly unqualified loyalists, and quietly centralize control over everything from copyright to the nation’s archives.

Because when you can’t ban the books fast enough, you just take over the library.

Rebellions are built on hope

Over the past few years (read: eternity), a whole ecosystem of reactionary grifters has sprung up around Star Wars—with self-styled CoNtEnT CrEaTorS turning outrage to revenue by endlessly trashing the fandom. It’s all part of the same cynical playbook that radicalized the fallout of Gamergate, with more lightsabers and worse thumbnails. Even the worst people you know weighed in on May the Fourth (while Prequel reassessment is totally valid—we’re not giving J.D. Vance a win).

But one thing that shouldn't be up for debate is this: Andor, which wrapped its phenomenal two-season run this week, is probably the best Star Wars project of our time—maybe any time. It’s a masterclass in what it means to work within a beloved mythos and transform it, deepen it, and make it feel urgent again. (Sound familiar? Fanfic knows.)

Radicalization, revolution, resistance. The banality of evil. The power of propaganda. Colonialism, occupation, genocide—and still, in the midst of it all, the stubborn, defiant belief in a better world (or Galaxy).

Even if you’re not a lifelong SW nerd (couldn’t be us), you should give it a watch. It’s a nice reminder that amidst all the scraping, deregulation, censorship, enshittification—stories matter. Hope matters.

And we’re still writing.

Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, or join our Discord and share it there!

- The Ellipsus Team xo

[ghost-in-a-cup]

hey guys, maybe before you pirate LEARN SOME ETIQUETTE

why are these important? well, if you openly share the sites, they wil get shut down. corporations are willing to copyright strike anything. you are only going to make accessing these resources harder.

remember: LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS

if you want to share resources, don't post them on public forums like tumblr, twitter,instagram or any popular site. remember how zlibrary shut down? yall want that to happen to more sites? do you?

also like if they get shut down, people who can't access these otherwise because they don't have the means for it or its banned in their country are losing access.

Don't post links online. Only share in private conversations.

try and avoid linking the sites directly. a workaround is sharing the downloaded files via other file hosting sites similar to google drive and drop box

DON'T SHARE ON PUBLIC FORUMS. EVER. PLEASE

Use a VPN. i personally like proton vpn, it is a freemium model but the free version works fine.

These are just the basics, there are others but please keep these in mind.

[nitro-nova]

Hey, so I kinda want to talk about Brickshelf.

For context, Brickshelf is an old website, I'm talking 1998, that early fans of Lego (including Bionicle) used to host images, specifically for their creations. A ton of fanart is on this website, too.

In late June, it was reported by a journalist that the founder of this website, Kevin Loch, passed away last year (additional Facebook source). I am not clear who is running the website at this point.

According to LUGNET, Kevin's estate is currently paying to keep Brickshelf online. I don't know how much time we have, but my estimate is two months, because one of his websites (https://bsrender.io/) has a public notice that it will be disabled this March.

Brickshelf is host to 4,942,783 image files organized into 431,130 folders. That's a lot of early Internet history potentially being lost.

If you individually want to preserve your files, there is a python script for downloading a user's files here.

Is anyone here interested in helping archive this website? I'd like to make an archive, I just have no prior experience. Thank you.

Edit: The Bio-Media team sent me a reply that they're one of the groups who are willing to volunteer to help with archiving. More info in reblogs.

[newarcana]

dashingdon

Thank you to @whereisnanda, @mrsstavizzi, @featherdusterbelphie, and @andallgoodthings for the heads-up that Dashingdon's site, which currently hosts Guenevere, will be shutting down soon. Dashingdon has been a pillar of the CoG community for as long as I've been there, and he's been incredibly generous to provide free demo hosting for as long as he has.

I will do my best to get the Guenevere WIP moved elsewhere and will post a new link when that happens. And yes, I still have every intention of coming back to Guenevere, and I'm still counting down to the day when I can retire from my awful job and just write.

As always, thank you to everyone who still sends nice messages about the game after all this time. I do read them, and I wish I had enough spoons to reply to everyone, but every single one makes me happy!

EDIT: I've heard that some well-intentioned readers are archiving games from dashingdon. I appreciate the love for these games, but please let me take care of Guenevere. Please do not archive, publish, or otherwise share the Guenevere game file. I will keep the WIP available, and I don't want it to be online anywhere I didn't give permission for. Thank you!

ANOTHER EDIT: I managed to get the game to work, sort of, on the CoGDemos site. https://cogdemos.ink/play/jean-townsend/guenevere/mygame/scenes/Guenevere.txt Not sure yet if this is the long-term solution, but it's there for now. :)

[opendrive134]

OpenDrive   https://www.opendrive.com/file-linking-with-opendrive   has also taken File hotlinking one step further by creating the ability to set a ‘per download price’. This allows owners of original content to distribute their work or services across the web through direct links, all while using a PayPal account to receive funds paid.

[stellophiliac]

you should make a website!

"my favorite social media site is shutting down!"

"the CEO of the site i use just committed another atrocity!"

"i want a webspace that's all my own!"

if any of these sound like you (and if you're on tumblr, i know at least one applies) you should make your own website!

why make a website?

incredibly customizable

you can put whatever you want on it

it's, well, your own! like a house you build with your own hands

things you'll need

a computer. you can maybe get away with doing this on a mobile device, but i have zero experience there

a code editor. i like VScodium, which is a de-microsoft-ed version of VScode.

a will to learn ;)

site hosting

neocities. everyone knows neocities. at this point i do feel like it's become a bit too centralized, but it's a good option nonetheless. do note that there are filetype restrictions for free users, but that shouldn't be a huge issue for most. what may be an issue, though, is that there's a content security policy that prevents sites made after jan 1st, 2024 to use outside scripts. also, you have to pay to use your own domain

nekoweb. similar to neocities, but there's no filetype restrictions or a content security policy. some differences are outlined in the FAQ (thinking about moving here... i am a traitor...) i'm not sure if domain support is free or paid.

github pages or codeberg pages. you'll need an understanding of git for this

pages.gay: run by besties.house, uses git

teacake: free hosting is currently closed, but paid hosting starts at 2 bucks a month.

leprd.space: i know next to nothing about this.

a web server. don't recommend this if you don't know computer stuff but it is an option (you'll likely have to provide your own domain though)

gripes & solutions (?)

i'm not comfortable maintaining pages in pure HTML / templating with JS sucks!

with a static site generator, you can write pages in markdown and they'll be converted into HTML and (if you'd like) be put into a template of your choosing. my personal choice is 11ty but there are tons of options!

static site generators can be a bit of a learning curve (and you will have to write some html for templating) but if you're making a lot of pages or blogging regularly it's something to consider

there are starters for 11ty online but i might make a more beginner-proofed starter and/or guide in the future? don't count on it

i don't want to write/maintain CSS

simpleCSS is a tiny CSS file you can use to make semantic HTML ("naked" HTML) look nice. it's got decent customization options too. it's not particularly fancy or opinionated, but it's a good starting point if you need something

i don't know what to put on my website!

small list of ideas:

weblog

art/writing/music gallery

movie/show/book tracker

place to store bookmarks/links

scary! i'm scared!

my askbox/messages/e-mail inbox/etc. are open to anyone who'd like to ask for help!

[kenyatta]

Quick long story based on my last reblog:

I used to work in the compliance department for public access television in Manhattan in the 90s. If you're not familiar with public access, it was basically YouTube and TikTok before the web existed -- local tv channels that anyone could broadcast on. and it was everything -- dance shows, kids shows, educational programs, queer programming, labor rights shows, wannabe stars, porn stars, amateur wrestlers, bus and train spotters, therapy help lines, psychics, spoken word shows, punk rock shows, and a ton of experimental tv.

A lot of famous people got their start on public access way back when and especially on MNN. They weren't called 'Creators' or 'Influencers' back then -- they were 'Producers'.

My job was to make sure that all of the shows were in FCC and local station compliance -- nothing lewd or graphic out of the safe harbor hours, no "Seven Dirty Words", etc. Every morning, I'd come into office, read through the complaints sent in via mail (actual letters) or left as voice messages overnight on the hotline. Once someone complained, I'd have to go down to the tape library, pull the (video) tape in question, watch it, and fill out a form to say whether it was a real violation or not.

Sometimes it was. The edgelords of the 90s were guys who'd submit shows about something mundane and then slip a few minutes of scat, mutilation porn, gore, or maybe a beheading or war footage into a mundane show about birdwatching or whatever. (By the time shock sites like rotten dot com came online, I was fully inoculated.) Those were easy calls.

Most of the time the producers were chill about it. Robin Byrd -- pornstar, and host of a call in show about all things sex was always super sweet about it. So were the producers who filmed the local drag balls when I had to tell them that they forgot to edit out a random peen popping out of a thong.

My favorite complaints were for a show I think was called 'Mustafa' (but I can't be sure). It was just a young guy with dreads and dark sunglasses, sitting motionless in his apartment window for 30 minutes, in a single shot. That was it. That was the show.

It drove one viewer into a state of rage.

He'd call the complaint line screaming: "I want to file a complaint about this show! Why is this shit on my television -- he's just sitting there doing nothing!!! This is a waste of money!!! I'm not paying for this!!!"

And then a second message: "I just watched this entire show until the end and HE NEVER MOVED!!!"

This man called nearly every week for half a year. It was beautiful.

[ahappydnp]

I wanted to ask you who Jimmy Hill was because I see his name in fanfic pretty regularly so I assumed he was Phil’s old friend and maybe someone they count as “friends up north” but then I searched him on yt and there’s just one video where he says he went to uni with phil but doesn’t know dnp that well lol. Fancasted as a friend, then.

this is a heartbreaking ask to answer anon because jimmy0010 is proof the internet isn't actually forever 😭

basically he was an og youtuber and was making videos since 2006 so that's how phil knew him. HOWEVER jimmy went to school at york the same time as phil (but 2 years younger) and did the same masters in post production after phil had graduated. they weren't irl friends at york but did have a little flirty online thing as jimmy is also gay and thus #phimmy is born

years later jimmy gets a job in broadcasting (he's still a host on capital fm) and takes some random youtube gigs (he had a morning show with charlotte coollike for a bit!) ANYWAY in 2014 he ends up interviewing dnp for a youtube channel (x) which you'll know because it's the source for the "that's so cute" jealous!dan moment (4:52) that was in every compilation ever (also shoutout to quizface which was a short lived segment he did for capital that was SO FUN)

jimmy made a lot of really chill early youtube style vloggy videos but he was most known for his house files series where he renovated his flat and they were. so fun and delightful. he eventually stopped posting videos once the radio stuff really took off

and then in 2019 he deleted every single video from his channel. all of them. without any notice ;____; he's still on instagram and the boys still like his pictures (they both liked the photo from his engagement <33)

anyway you can browse the jimmy0010 tag to learn more or go bother @alittledizzy who is the president of the phimmy fanclub

[peachdeluxe]

I have this in my pinned, but i'd just like to formally ask.. please don't upload my art to pinterest!

I absolutely don't mind my art being saved for reference, the issue is with pinterest itself. People don't generally attach credit on there, and users tend to think of anything on pinterest as totally sourceless and free to use/copy. It's disheartening seeing my original work floating around and being used with no credit, or credited to the wrong person, or having people tell me they've seen my art all over but had no idea I made it.

(It'd be one thing if it were just hobbyists, but unfortunately this extends to the professional sphere as well-- I have been given moodboards with totally uncredited art to reference off of even doing professional design work.)

And besides, with pinterest you have to deal with low quality uploads, things being randomly removed, obnoxious ads everywhere... aside from the convenience of it being online, it really just isn't great for art archiving anyways! I think it's very worthwhile to have an offline art reference folder, and if you don't have one you should get into the habit of actually saving things. You can always save my art to your computer, or print it out to have it physically (as long as you aren't using it for-profit). Under the cut I have some image organizing software recommendations.

Tagstudio - free image and document organizer with tagging functions.

Hydrus network - another free media organizer with tagging functions. works like a locally-hosted booru. Has a little bit more of a learning curve and has the option to set up a server to share files over a server, but you can use it purely offline. (also yeah it's geared towards imageboard users but you don't have to use any of that to work with it)

Notion - freemium (free for one user), can be used online/cross platform and shared more like Pinterest. more of a general notetaking/organizational app, but you can create moodboard sites using templates.

may update the post with more if I find more!

[sirfrogsworth]

I'm not upset that blu-rays are being phased out. Formats all become obsolete and then die out.

My worry is there is not an adequate replacement for physical media. If you stream a 4K movie, it is usually over compressed and has a lossy audio track. Usually the quality *improves* when you move on to the next thing. But in this case, only the convenience is improved.

And there is no way to truly own the media you buy online. Even on Amazon when you "buy" something, that just means you have indefinite access to the file on their server. But if they lose the rights to that content or decide to delete it for tax purposes, you lose it too.

There is a service called Kaleidescape. It allows you to download blu-ray quality movie files onto local storage. Unfortunately the service has way too many caveats. You can only play the movies on their proprietary equipment. If they go out of business you will lose all of your movie purchases. And while they have a lot of mainstream, big budget movies, their selection is far from vast.

Oh, and their hardware starts at $8,000 and each movie is between $10 and $30 to purchase. And if you want to save more than 125 movies, the cost balloons to nearly $20K for the hardware.

The quality issue will eventually solve itself. New codecs like AV1 and H.266 will allow files to be compressed without losing any quality.

But I have no idea what to do about being unable to truly own your media. No studio will agree to DRM-free downloads that you can store anywhere and play with any device.

Maybe they can create a system where you can register any device you own and be allowed to play the file on those registered devices. So you get a file you can download, but the DRM requires verification you own the device it is being played on.

Perhaps they could designate a few cloud storage services as approved download platforms. You are free to shift your media from cloud to cloud, but it must always stay on the cloud and be registered to you. That way if a cloud storage company bites the dust, you still have the option to move your media to another place.

It's not as good as DRM-free local storage, but I don't see studios agreeing to anything else.

In truth, people are probably never going to buy movies in the future. If you have the option to rent for $3 or buy for $20, people probably aren't going to see the value in spending that much to own a movie.

Maybe the solution lies in some kind of law. If a platform no longer wishes to host a show or movie and they can't sell it to another streaming service, then they must give up the rights and allow the Library of Congress to save and distribute it.

[olderthannetfic]

I get that old internet style websites are expensive but are they more expensive now than they used to be? I guess I’m confused why old internet can’t come back. I know heavy traffic is expensive but back then there wasn’t that many people online. I’d rather most normies and trumple types STAY on app based social media and the old internet remakes itself with the same people who grew up online before apps? Is it less likely because it costs more now than it did then or are there just less companies willing to try? Is neocities the answer?

sorry if i’m being redundant i’m not intending to be annoying if so

--

The barrier to entry for random users is way higher on the old internet.

The earliest fic archives required you to use FTP to download files where all you had was the file name and size. Tiny, personal fic archives were hand-coded. Most of these things are self-hosted to some degree.

Your average modern fandom person wants a site where they can make an account for free and use a WYSIWYG editor to post content quickly.

In 1992, the internet was a bunch of tech people, the staff at US universities, some people in the Netherlands,... It wasn't everybody from everywhere, and it wasn't most people who are bad at tech. The divide isn't really normies vs. weird subculture people or even people with the money to host their own shit vs. not: it's tech people vs. non tech people.