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    1. What have you been listening to this week?

      What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as...

      What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)

      Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.

      You can make a chart if you use last.fm:

      http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/

      Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.

      5 votes
    2. What does emotionally mature comedy look like to you?

      I've given this some thought and I'm still not sure if I'm expressing it the right way. I generally don't like "dumb" entertainment. Having said that, I don't think I'm particularly highbrow or...

      I've given this some thought and I'm still not sure if I'm expressing it the right way.

      I generally don't like "dumb" entertainment. Having said that, I don't think I'm particularly highbrow or pretentious. A quote I refer to often was made in regard to videogames and it aligns very neatly with my philosophy: “If every movie were a porn movie, most people wouldn’t see movies. The majority of games are basically porn—the onus is on [designers] to make more things that are worth a reasonable person’s time.” That's equally applicable to other forms of media as well. You can even argue that various popular mainstream movies/franchises are essentially porn of another type (gun porn, trauma porn, etc.). All of that is to say that I try to look for a level of emotional maturity or sophistication that's beyond cheap gratification.

      In practice, that usually means that my plan-to-watch list has a lot of stuff on the more serious side of the spectrum. However, I enjoy comedy just as much as anyone else. Generally, I like clever, witty comedy and I find that I get that mostly from standup comics, sketch shows, and the rare sitcom - not so much movies. But am I limited by my sense of humor? Does emotionally mature comedy necessarily mean "intellectual"/smart comedy? What comedic films would you present as emotionally mature?

      24 votes
    3. Looking for a low-profile desktop gaming PC

      Main constraint: The space it needs to fit in is 7¾ in (19.7 cm) high. Width and length aren't a concern. Primary use: Gaming. Doesn't need to be top of the line or cutting edge. Most of what I...

      Main constraint: The space it needs to fit in is 7¾ in (19.7 cm) high. Width and length aren't a concern.

      Primary use: Gaming. Doesn't need to be top of the line or cutting edge. Most of what I play isn't very demanding, though I would like the option to play newer stuff if I find something that interests me.

      Budget: Ideally less than $1500, but I do realize that I might have to pay out a bit more because I want something both pre-built and compact. $2000 is the hard limit.

      Important: I am NOT interested in building my own PC. (Yes, I have done it before, including one that was in a compact case that was HELL to get right.)

      Me being uninformed: This might be a silly question, but can I lay desktop towers down on their side? Any traditional tower isn't going to fit, but some of them are thin enough that, if put in landscape instead of portrait, they would. I've read conflicting things about this online, particularly regarding liquid cooling and airflow.

      If anyone has any recommendations, I'd appreciate it!

      19 votes
    4. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like us senate, viktor orban and knowledge management. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like us senate, viktor orban and knowledge management. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was mystified.

      But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

      11 votes
    5. Repairing an LG OLED TV and alternative courses of action

      My parents are about to get a new TV because theirs is faulty and they don't seem interested in repairing it. I'm going to be taking the faulty one from them and, because it's ridiculous that the...

      My parents are about to get a new TV because theirs is faulty and they don't seem interested in repairing it. I'm going to be taking the faulty one from them and, because it's ridiculous that the TV only worked normally for 3.5 years, am very tempted to try a repair. It's an LG CX OLED from 2021, here's a description of the issue:

      • When plugged into the mains, the standby light will come on and the TV can be powered on and used as normal. However, if too much time elapses after plugging-in without fully powering on (I don't actually know how long, somewhere between 5-10 minutes), the standby light will switch off and the TV will become unresponsive.
      • When the TV is in this "unresponsive" state, the only thing that will bring it back to life is to unplug it from the mains and wait a bit (again, somewhere between 5-10 minutes), then plug it back in and turn it on. This happens every time the TV is plugged in, with no variation.
      • The TV is fully functional when it's turned on, and there's no other issues with it at all.
      • If the TV is turned back off (back to standby mode), the clock starts again until it becomes unresponsive.

      So clearly there's some problem with standby mode. Some searching has indicated that other customers are frequently having this issue, and that replacing either the PSU or Motherboard of the TV will solve the issue. It's out of warranty, so I'm going to be spending money if I want to fix it. Replacement PSUs are about $250, and replacement Motherboards are about $350. I can only really afford one of these parts right now, so it's a gamble if I can't figure out a way to isolate the issue to one of the boards. I don't own a multimeter to test power, nor do I know anything about electronics, so I'm slightly fumbling around in the dark on this one.

      There's always the alternative of getting up and switching the power on and off every time, which is significantly more convenient for me than it is for my parents because of room size and outlet placement, but I'd like to be able to use the remote as intended (and, as I mentioned before, it's ridiculous that the thing is falling apart after only a few years, it's a very expensive TV!). I could also... find an IR controlled outlet or something? I don't know if that's a thing, but you know what I mean.

      I will end up using this TV regardless of whether or not I can get it fixed, because OLED is unbeatable, and it's not every day that my parents will replace something that isn't outright destroyed, but if you have electronics experience, or have had this problem (it seems like it's super common) any recommendations or help would be appreciated!

      Vaguely Related Tangent This TV is something like 2mm thick. Sure, there's a huge base for the electronics but it's mostly this super thin sheet. Who the hell asked for this? It makes the thing wobble and feel like it's gonna break at any second!
      15 votes
    6. How can I organize and store my cables?

      I have two giant drawers right now that are complete rats’ nests. Cables of every kind and type, all mixed together. You can’t tell where one cable ends and another begins. It is at the point...

      I have two giant drawers right now that are complete rats’ nests. Cables of every kind and type, all mixed together. You can’t tell where one cable ends and another begins.

      It is at the point where I recently needed a cable that I know that I have, but it was easier and less stressful to just order a new one than try to find it in the mess.

      Ideally, I’d have cables that are neatly organized, not tangled together, easily identifiable, and space efficient, but I honestly have no idea how to make this happen.

      Anyone have any tips?

      20 votes
    7. Humble Choice - July 2025

      July 2025's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games. Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader 78 87 /...

      July 2025's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games.

      Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB
      Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader 78 87 / 85 Win, Mac ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
      Cat Quest III 82 96 / 94 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
      Death's Door 88 90 / 93 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
      DAEMON X MACHINA 70 63 / 86 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum
      Wizard With a Gun 76 79 / 80 Win ✅ Verified 🟨 Gold
      Neo Cab 75 -- / 81 Win, Mac 🟨 Playable 🟨 Gold
      Everafter Falls -- -- / 86 Win, Mac, Linux ✅ Verified ✅ Native
      Blanc 68 -- / 75 Win ✅ Verified 🟨 Gold

      Does anyone have experience with any of the games and, if so, would you recommend them? Is there anything in here that you're particularly excited to play?

      12 votes
    8. Fitness Weekly Discussion

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?

      4 votes
    9. Share the contents of an old file you've got lying around

      Share some digital clutter from one of your hard drives -- something from a LONG time ago. For example: a to-do list, poetry, a script you wrote, a PowerPoint presentation, etc. Give us the date...

      Share some digital clutter from one of your hard drives -- something from a LONG time ago. For example: a to-do list, poetry, a script you wrote, a PowerPoint presentation, etc.

      Give us the date the file was created/modified.

      And, if you so choose, give us context on the file (but if you'd rather let it speak for itself, feel free!).

      41 votes
    10. I've always found the common approach that websites take to changing the email associated with an account iffy but I am not sure if I am wrong

      I have changed my email more than once, just as part of customizing my online identity and all that. and that obviously required me to login into any accounts I had and updating the email...

      I have changed my email more than once, just as part of customizing my online identity and all that.

      and that obviously required me to login into any accounts I had and updating the email associated with them.

      the most common workflow I have found is
      login -> navigate to settings page -> edit the email field to the new email -> go to the inbox for the new email -> click confirm on confirmation email

      then you can go to that website and do the forgot password, provide your email and change the password and get complete control.

      I have always found that workflow weird cause it's the most prevalent one I have come across and seems so susceptible to tampering.

      if someone leaves their laptop unattended for 3-4 minutes in public while visiting a bathroom (which happened often in the library of my university), there was nothing preventing me from going to their Facebook or whatever account they had open on their computer, changing the email to my own email and then clicking confirm on my inbox once I am back at my desk.

      and most people don't have 2FA so that would effectively give me control of their account.
      Hell, my university once had a potential data breach and they were 99.999% sure the data was not actually accessed by a malicious actor but still sent a mass email saying that they were advising everyone to change their passwords. a classmate of mine in the software systems program's attitude was basically "oh well, who cares?" and I just facepalmed internally.

      there are maybe 3 websites I have come across that instead first send a confirmation email to your current inbox and after you confirm on that, then you get a confirmation email on the new email inbox. which isn't perfect but I feel like it's a bit more sensical and the best you can do without involving 2FA.

      even then, that's also susceptible to the situation I described above if the user is always logged into their email.

      I find it odd that websites don't prompt for a password as part of the email update process (or better yet 2FA with an app as even prompting for a password isn't a guarantee if the user has the password manager as an extension in their browser and they recently unlocked it before leaving their session unattended) to ensure that email changes are always done by the account owner.

      15 votes
    11. Why is Cloudflare trusted with encryption?

      I am a big fan of Cloudflare Tunnels, it's let me muck about with quite a few low risk apps and it's been fun. one thing that's always bothered me though is the SSL setup. According to their...

      I am a big fan of Cloudflare Tunnels, it's let me muck about with quite a few low risk apps and it's been fun.

      one thing that's always bothered me though is the SSL setup.

      According to their website, only enterprise users are allowed to manage their own TLS private keys.

      I can kinda understand the logic behind free accounts not having that perk.

      But if you are someone who really doesn't like cloudflare reading your traffic or you are a business, it seems odd to me that it's not being demanded of cloudflare that they make it more available for paid users to not expose their TLS private keys to cloudflare.

      Why are so many folks OK with cloudflare essentially being able to read all their traffic?

      or am I overestimating how many people are using the Pro and Business account? is the majority of their users just Free or Enterprise?

      24 votes
    12. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was...

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

      If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

      13 votes
    13. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like lego.island, 2025 iran israel war and the onion. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like lego.island, 2025 iran israel war and the onion. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was puzzled.

      But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

      9 votes
    14. Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of June 29

      Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week! Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle...

      Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week!

      Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle are most worth my attention?”

      Rules:

      • No grey market sales
      • No affiliate links

      If posting a sale, it is strongly encouraged that you share why you think the available game/games are worthwhile.


      All previous Save Point topics

      If you don’t want to see threads in this series, add save point to your personal tag filters.

      13 votes
    15. Question about REST APIS and encryption

      So I am finally starting the process of designing a personal website that can help manage and organize my finances for me. So obviously, the security of such data is paramount and for the heck of...

      So I am finally starting the process of designing a personal website that can help manage and organize my finances for me.

      So obviously, the security of such data is paramount and for the heck of it, I want to design a webapp where it doesn't operate by the rules of "trust me bro" even though I will be the one designing it and most likely will be the only one ever to use it. Just want that experience of proper encryption setup.

      Also, even if I am the one operating it, I'd like to set it up so that even if the database is compromised, none of my information is.

      skip to bottom if you want to just see my 2 question

      Did some reading online, between reading when StandardNotes does encryption as well as how it does it and some basic reading into encryption

      and the importance of not having a local unencrypted database like Joplin does

      So all that got me curious how Google encrypts the user data it has and would up reading

      and the basic take-aways seem to be:

      • utilize encryption on a field before storing it in a database so that even if the machine gets compromised, the data won't be
      • if you want to go even further, take the approach of StandardNotes, where it seems even the web server itself never touched unencrypted data it seems? Looks like all the encrypting and decrypting happens locally and only encrypted data is sent to the server
      1. But that got me curious. It can't be argued that Google is not secure. they have the best minds working there to ensure just that. and yet its also well known that their respect for user privacy is non-existent. Which means that they've made sure to protect the data [email, google searches, google docs, google maps history] from hackers but they can themselves decrypt at least some user data for the purpose of data collection and selling ads.
        But if Google can decrypt the data and that implies they store the keys on a server from what I can tell from my reading, how it is protected if someone malicious gains access to the database? If that person got access to the database and the keys that Google uses to decrypt the data, wouldn't that compromise the data?

      2. if I decide to design my webapp so that all the encrypting and decrypting happens locally, that means that if I were to decide to create a REST API for my application, that would also have to be taking in data in encrypted format, no? Cause if that takes it in plaintext, that means that my webserver would have to be responsible for encryption, which it needs the keys to do that with and if it can encrypt with keys it has access to, then it can decrypt too, no? or are websites that deal with encrypted databases and have REST APIs that can take in plain text information generally coded to be using asymmetric encryption? meaning its different keys being used for encryption and decryption? Or is API Token the key in an encrypted format? or have I misunderstood the whole thing?

      16 votes