Facebook has targeted politicians around the world – including the former UK chancellor, George Osborne – promising investments and incentives while seeking to pressure them into lobbying on Facebook’s behalf against data privacy legislation, an explosive new leak of internal Facebook documents has revealed.
Alt-text tips you probably don't know
Mar. 2nd, 2019 12:23 pmI happened on a couple of articles about writing better image alt-text on my reading page, so I'd like to share the links and list some of the things I didn't know and you might not, either.
Alt-texts: The Ultimate Guide (via ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alisx)
Alternative Text (via jesse_the_k)
Even before Tumblr's adult content ban, Pillowfort (PF) had touted itself as an alternative to Tumblr that has the sharing and exposure features of Tumblr but gives users greater control, such as post privacy settings, threaded comments, and user-created communities. Pillowfort was a beneficiary of Tumblr's decision much like Dreamwidth, but with far less ability than the mature and established Dreamwidth to capitalize on the windfall, being a site in beta testing and still working on scaleability and stability issues.
Taking the time and care necessary to get ready for prime time is anything but a discredit to the PF team, of course. Yet the site suffers from other issues that speak to a lack of professional skill and experience in web development, including basic backend failures (the 2,600-character username, anyone?). It remains to be seen whether these issues will be chalked up to growing pains or ultimately hold the platform back. ETA 2/24/2019: There are also reports that Pillowfort has had e-mail leaks and other security breaches as well.
Posts in this social media review series:
- Mastodon and its instances
- Tumblr trouble
- Living the Dreamwidth
- Snoozing on Pillowfort
Summary of Platform: Ever wished Tumblr and LiveJournal/Dreamwidth would have a love child with reblogs, post privacy settings, and a comment view that makes sense? Pillowfort is it, at least in larval stage.
Platform Usage: Tumblr mirror, joining communities and discussions
Signal Boost: Managing Twitter
Feb. 21st, 2019 05:30 pmjesse_the_k posted: Managing TwitterThree tools that help me interact with Twitter manageably.
Thread Reader App
Tchat.io
Tweetlogix
In case it's helpful for people on Twitter!
Oscar Wilde of YouTube fights the alt-right with decadence and seduction - The Verge
(viaalisx)
ContraPoints, whose real name is Natalie Wynn, is known for slick, moodily lit YouTube videos that draw hundreds of thousands of views, where she brings a leftist perspective to a variety of hot-button issues — things like structural racism, Marxism, transgender politics, and the alt-right. With a wink, she calls herself “one of YouTube’s leading B-List transsexuals.”
(via
alisx)
The second post in my series reviewing my experience and usage of social media platforms focuses on Tumblr, which was Fandom Central for a decade and arguably left indelible marks on fandom and online culture. A full rundown of Tumblr's history, fandom significance, and recent developments is beyond the scope of this post, which is about my personal experiences of the platform. Tumblr is well known enough that I won't be explaining some of its basics as I did with Mastodon, so if you need more information please refer to the links in this paragraph.
Current and future posts in this series are:
Summary of platform: Multi-format blogging site with nearly limitless image hosting and unique--and problematic--reblog functions.
Platform usage: Image-heavy fan posts and meta, "collecting" content I like, discussions and discourse
( Tumblr, a personal history )
Current and future posts in this series are:
Summary of platform: Multi-format blogging site with nearly limitless image hosting and unique--and problematic--reblog functions.
Platform usage: Image-heavy fan posts and meta, "collecting" content I like, discussions and discourse
( Tumblr, a personal history )
It occurred to me that I'm on four different platforms since Nipplegate and interpersonal drama led me to cut back on Tumblr use, six if you count different Mastodon instances as different platforms (and I think they do in some senses, for reasons that I'll explain). I've seen people discussing platform fatigue post-Tumblr and confusion about which platform to use for what purposes, so I thought it might be useful to discuss my usage of and experiences with these platforms. I'm not providing definitive answers for anyone else, obviously. I'm not even giving definitive answers for me because my usage patterns will no doubt change in the future, but it may serve as a reference point and snapshot.
Current and future posts in this series are:
The first post is about Mastodon, the open-source Twitter analogue.
Summary of platform: Open-source and decentralized microblogging codebase
Platform usage: Short updates and impressions; discussions and conversations with people I'm connected to
Instance directories: Scroll to the bottom of the official site, or try this instance finder (updated 1/29/2019, thanksenchantedsleeper for the question)
( How I use it, how I feel about it )
Current and future posts in this series are:
- Mastodon and its instances
- Tumblr trouble
- Living the Dreamwidth
- Snoozing on Pillowfort
The first post is about Mastodon, the open-source Twitter analogue.
Summary of platform: Open-source and decentralized microblogging codebase
Platform usage: Short updates and impressions; discussions and conversations with people I'm connected to
Instance directories: Scroll to the bottom of the official site, or try this instance finder (updated 1/29/2019, thanks
enchantedsleeper for the question)( How I use it, how I feel about it )
I found Oh brave new internet, / that has such Nazis and MRAs in't! by DW contributor deborah interesting and informative. It's been filtering into the public consciousness for a while that the ways the major social media sites are structured are not good for us, individually or societally. Rather these design choices are good for the bottom lines of companies who want to keep users "engaged," i.e. spending as much time as possible on their platforms, and to mine their data for targeted ads. Can DW be an alternative? Is it just this platform's relative lack of popularity that keeps it relatively safe from bad actors? I know as part of my own Tumblr detox I've found DW and Mastodon to be calmer, saner places with better conversations overall and better organization in DW's case. Is that a viable way, or one of the ways, more people could go online? Deborah, I think wisely, left that question open while implying a partial conclusion. At the very least I think there's value in the internet becoming more diversified and people having more alternatives.
deborah interesting and informative. It's been filtering into the public consciousness for a while that the ways the major social media sites are structured are not good for us, individually or societally. Rather these design choices are good for the bottom lines of companies who want to keep users "engaged," i.e. spending as much time as possible on their platforms, and to mine their data for targeted ads. Can DW be an alternative? Is it just this platform's relative lack of popularity that keeps it relatively safe from bad actors? I know as part of my own Tumblr detox I've found DW and Mastodon to be calmer, saner places with better conversations overall and better organization in DW's case. Is that a viable way, or one of the ways, more people could go online? Deborah, I think wisely, left that question open while implying a partial conclusion. At the very least I think there's value in the internet becoming more diversified and people having more alternatives.Notes of a Tumblr Refugee
Dec. 10th, 2018 03:22 pmYou can say "I told you so" XD
I'm not going to delete my Tumblr, nor do I think the site is going anywhere soon. I think it's more of a pile-on effect? It wears on you, after a while, that the site so transparently does not care about its userbase and absolutely refuses/is unable to implement the most commonsense moderations to make the community safer and more inclusive. The whole thing has burned me out on the whole model of for-profit social media.
So I've been backing things up and am looking for alternatives. Pillowfort sounds promising, though it's still a baby and will take a while to be anything like Tumblr if it ever does. I look forward to trying it out, made a donation and am waiting for a key--they're getting an influx of people like me so it'll take a little time. Update 12/11/2018: I got my key and it looks nice so far, a bit slow but that's to be expected and the staff warned me about that. I'm lj-writes there if anyone's on PF.
I made a fandom account plus a more general account on a couple of Mastodon servers. Mark took one look at my screen and said, "That's Twitter!" and in a way he's right--this is the Twitter I wanted, microblogging without the bustle and drama. In fact it's purposefully designed to cut down on that kind of thing, which I like. This also exposes just how much Twitter has been lying about being unable to cut down on harassment and abuse. It wasn't the harassment they couldn't stop, it was the engagement--and therefore profits--they didn't want to cut down on. I've already had a couple of nice conversations, which isn't bad when I've just started out. I find it useful for posting short updates and random thoughts, more than DW or Tumblr.
And of course, another place I'm looking forward to being more active on is right here back on DreamWidth. I've actually been reading DW tutorials for people moving from Tumblr, and I unexpectedly learned some things especially on how to find new people. I've been hearing reports of DW becoming more active in the wake of the Tumblr news, too, so while it'll never have Tumblr's frenetic pace--which is a good thing, it's a different platform after all--I may be able to look forward to more activity, especially if I take the effort to populate my feed. It'll be nice to make more thoughtful posts in a format that's actually conducive to commenting. I may bring some of my Tumblr essays over here, too, though some of them are rather dependent on images and image hosting still a thorny issue I have to iron out.
Disappointment and uncertainty about Tumblr have forced me to branch out and explore other options, and it's surprisingly fun. Not having my online time so super-concentrated on Tumblr may result in my content being spread out over different platforms, which is fine because they have different strengths and weaknesses. Or maybe I'll start finding one place more comfortable than the others and start concentrating there instead. We'll see.
I'm not going to delete my Tumblr, nor do I think the site is going anywhere soon. I think it's more of a pile-on effect? It wears on you, after a while, that the site so transparently does not care about its userbase and absolutely refuses/is unable to implement the most commonsense moderations to make the community safer and more inclusive. The whole thing has burned me out on the whole model of for-profit social media.
So I've been backing things up and am looking for alternatives. Pillowfort sounds promising, though it's still a baby and will take a while to be anything like Tumblr if it ever does. I look forward to trying it out, made a donation and am waiting for a key--they're getting an influx of people like me so it'll take a little time. Update 12/11/2018: I got my key and it looks nice so far, a bit slow but that's to be expected and the staff warned me about that. I'm lj-writes there if anyone's on PF.
I made a fandom account plus a more general account on a couple of Mastodon servers. Mark took one look at my screen and said, "That's Twitter!" and in a way he's right--this is the Twitter I wanted, microblogging without the bustle and drama. In fact it's purposefully designed to cut down on that kind of thing, which I like. This also exposes just how much Twitter has been lying about being unable to cut down on harassment and abuse. It wasn't the harassment they couldn't stop, it was the engagement--and therefore profits--they didn't want to cut down on. I've already had a couple of nice conversations, which isn't bad when I've just started out. I find it useful for posting short updates and random thoughts, more than DW or Tumblr.
And of course, another place I'm looking forward to being more active on is right here back on DreamWidth. I've actually been reading DW tutorials for people moving from Tumblr, and I unexpectedly learned some things especially on how to find new people. I've been hearing reports of DW becoming more active in the wake of the Tumblr news, too, so while it'll never have Tumblr's frenetic pace--which is a good thing, it's a different platform after all--I may be able to look forward to more activity, especially if I take the effort to populate my feed. It'll be nice to make more thoughtful posts in a format that's actually conducive to commenting. I may bring some of my Tumblr essays over here, too, though some of them are rather dependent on images and image hosting still a thorny issue I have to iron out.
Disappointment and uncertainty about Tumblr have forced me to branch out and explore other options, and it's surprisingly fun. Not having my online time so super-concentrated on Tumblr may result in my content being spread out over different platforms, which is fine because they have different strengths and weaknesses. Or maybe I'll start finding one place more comfortable than the others and start concentrating there instead. We'll see.
Updates of a Tumblr refugee
Dec. 10th, 2017 06:00 pmWell, it's been a while. I've been spending way too much time on Tumblr and obsessing over Star Wars, and decided to take a break during the last week before the release of the next movie. (Idk if I'll be seeing it, I'm getting restricted spoilers from a friend first.) Tumblr is a fun place, addictive by design, and the fact that it has a somewhat functional mobile app meant it was suited to my new schedule of watching a baby for large swathes of time. Between the notes coming in, the asks--I answered like 10 in a row to clear my inbox before taking this break--and the chat messages, it fulfills the craving for constant feedback and stimulus. Add to that Discord for multiperson chatting, and it really does become a 24/7 thing.
It got to be a little too much in the end. The anxieties about the upcoming movie, the constant exposure, the outrages, the arguments... maybe it's because I didn't grow up on the internet, but I don't think I'm up to being "on" to any social media platform on a constant basis. I found myself missing the more sedate pace of LJ/DW, even though back when I went over to Tumblr I didn't like how quiet it was here. Now that quiet comes as a relief.
Real life stuff:
- The babby is doing well at a very rambunctious 15 months of age. Pictures upcoming.
- The husband and i are well, too, and we celebrated our five-year anniversary in October.
- I'm still plugging away at my job, but the program I'm working for expires in October and I'm looking for a new job. It's a nervous time.
- Not much writing going on the past few months. Between the baby and having my brain sucked up by Tumblr and Star Wars I wasn't making enough time for it. This is something I hope to remedy during my Tumblr break and beyond.
- Two of my friends are going through the dissertation grindstone and I feel for them. I can't believe I did all that last year. It is one of the toughest things I did in my life and I think I'm still recovering on some level. Another of my friends who got a Ph.D. before I did is now on a career path that's completely unrelated to academics and I completely understand why someone would be burned out by the whole process. The two friends going through it, by the way, also swear they won't go near academics again for the rest of their lives.
Fannish stuff:
- I made fan videos for ATLA and SW! It was fun to learn to use Premiere Pro and After Effect.- Shows I've been watching: Elementary, BBC's Luther, The Get Down. I got a few seasons into the first two and tired of them for reasons I'll get into later on. I finished the first season of TGD and it was great, looking forward to Season 2. (I can't believe that's the last season, it's such a great show...)
- Shows I tried and didn't like: Breaking Bad, House of Cards. I gave up both a few episodes in. Considering that these are both highly acclaimed shows I guess I just don't have the requisite Taste. I'd like to pretend I sensed something wrong with Kevin Spacey's vibe or something, but I just didn't like his show.
- Show I got one season into and probably won't be continuing: The Expanse. I wanted to like this one better because there just aren't enough hard science fiction shows, but the twist of the first season was a letdown for me and I hated the way they treated a major female character. My husband is on Season 2 now and I've been catching snippets of it. The Korean dubbing is quite good.
- Yes I am terrible about sticking with shows. Even when I like them I get tired of them eventually. DS9 was one of the few live-action shows I watched from beginning to end, and I like it enough to be watching for a second time. I'm very much looking forward to watching Star Trek: Discovery when I'm done with my DS9 watch-through. A new Trek that isn't JJ Abrams' reboot, wow!
It's good to be here. It's nice to go through the feed and see familiar faces, old stalwarts unlike my fickle self.
It got to be a little too much in the end. The anxieties about the upcoming movie, the constant exposure, the outrages, the arguments... maybe it's because I didn't grow up on the internet, but I don't think I'm up to being "on" to any social media platform on a constant basis. I found myself missing the more sedate pace of LJ/DW, even though back when I went over to Tumblr I didn't like how quiet it was here. Now that quiet comes as a relief.
Real life stuff:
- The babby is doing well at a very rambunctious 15 months of age. Pictures upcoming.
- The husband and i are well, too, and we celebrated our five-year anniversary in October.
- I'm still plugging away at my job, but the program I'm working for expires in October and I'm looking for a new job. It's a nervous time.
- Not much writing going on the past few months. Between the baby and having my brain sucked up by Tumblr and Star Wars I wasn't making enough time for it. This is something I hope to remedy during my Tumblr break and beyond.
- Two of my friends are going through the dissertation grindstone and I feel for them. I can't believe I did all that last year. It is one of the toughest things I did in my life and I think I'm still recovering on some level. Another of my friends who got a Ph.D. before I did is now on a career path that's completely unrelated to academics and I completely understand why someone would be burned out by the whole process. The two friends going through it, by the way, also swear they won't go near academics again for the rest of their lives.
Fannish stuff:
- I made fan videos for ATLA and SW! It was fun to learn to use Premiere Pro and After Effect.- Shows I've been watching: Elementary, BBC's Luther, The Get Down. I got a few seasons into the first two and tired of them for reasons I'll get into later on. I finished the first season of TGD and it was great, looking forward to Season 2. (I can't believe that's the last season, it's such a great show...)
- Shows I tried and didn't like: Breaking Bad, House of Cards. I gave up both a few episodes in. Considering that these are both highly acclaimed shows I guess I just don't have the requisite Taste. I'd like to pretend I sensed something wrong with Kevin Spacey's vibe or something, but I just didn't like his show.
- Show I got one season into and probably won't be continuing: The Expanse. I wanted to like this one better because there just aren't enough hard science fiction shows, but the twist of the first season was a letdown for me and I hated the way they treated a major female character. My husband is on Season 2 now and I've been catching snippets of it. The Korean dubbing is quite good.
- Yes I am terrible about sticking with shows. Even when I like them I get tired of them eventually. DS9 was one of the few live-action shows I watched from beginning to end, and I like it enough to be watching for a second time. I'm very much looking forward to watching Star Trek: Discovery when I'm done with my DS9 watch-through. A new Trek that isn't JJ Abrams' reboot, wow!
It's good to be here. It's nice to go through the feed and see familiar faces, old stalwarts unlike my fickle self.
