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    1. Future of personal security and privacy, upcoming trends.

      A few years ago I got into improving my knowledgebase of personal security - theory and tools - but it didn't go much farther than reinforcing everything with 2FA and setting up a password...

      A few years ago I got into improving my knowledgebase of personal security - theory and tools - but it didn't go much farther than reinforcing everything with 2FA and setting up a password manager, plus setting up a VPN and full disk encryption.

      It seems like we're amidst a rising tide of data breaches due to, IMHO, laziness and cheapness on the part of many companies storing personal data.

      So, recently I've embarked on my second journey to improve my own security via habits and software and teaching myself. Privacytools has been a super helpful resource. My main lesson this time is to take ownership/responsibility for my own data. To that end, I have switched to KeyPass with yubikey 2FA (still trying to figure out how to get 2FA with yubi on my android without NFC), moved over to Joplin for my note taking (away from Google and Evernote) and also switched to NextCloud for all of my data storage and synchronization. I'm also de-Googling myself, current due-date is end of March when Inbox is shut down.

      So my question / discussion topic here, is, what are everyone's thoughts on the future of practical personal security and privacy? More decentralization and self-hosting? That's what it looks like to me. Blockchain tech would be cool for public objects like news articles, images etc. but from what I understand that has zero implication for anything personal. The other newish tech is PGP signatures, which I'm still having trouble implementing/finding use for, but surely that will change.

      There is this topic but that ended up just being about encryption which I think is a no-brainer at this point. I'm more so looking for the leading edge trends.

      17 votes
    2. I'm downsizing my digital life. Do you listen to a lot of music? How do you archive it?

      I'm downsizing my digital life. I deleted my account on reddit, on another phpbb forum and i don't have instagram/facebook apps anymore. This subject got me thinking about my music. I grab/buy...

      I'm downsizing my digital life. I deleted my account on reddit, on another phpbb forum and i don't have instagram/facebook apps anymore.

      This subject got me thinking about my music.

      I grab/buy albums in mp3 and i have so many that it's impossible to listen to everything. I don't pay for any service like spotify because i don't like. I prefer to download and/or buy in places like bandcamp where i can download the album.

      I started reading about other codecs like flac and opus. The availability of albums in flac are way less than mp3 and it's a lossless format. If i focus on it i will be forced to downsize my music library.

      The problem is disk space in my smartphone. I'm not an audiophile so i'm not able to hear the difference between flac and 320kpbs mp3. This is where opus enters. This codec gives half the size with better quality than mp3. Soundcloud uses it. A 96kbps opus is the same quality as 320kbps mp3.

      Now that Android can play opus i don't see a reason to keep using mp3. The downside is converting flac files every time i want to put on my phone.

      I could just convert flac to opus and just live with opus everywhere, freeing a lot of space. But i think keeping flac files is better for archiving because it's lossless. If opus for some reason disappears, i'll have a lossy format and would have convert to another one losing more quality.

      How do you deal with music?

      26 votes
    3. What DE and distro do you use and why?

      I'm curious as to what the Tildes Linux/BSD community (and I suppose other answers like Windows or MacOS would be acceptable, though they may feel a bit more dry) use for their desktop. I imagine...

      I'm curious as to what the Tildes Linux/BSD community (and I suppose other answers like Windows or MacOS would be acceptable, though they may feel a bit more dry) use for their desktop. I imagine that Ubuntu and Gnome will dominate the answers as you would expect, but maybe you'll surprise me. Personally, I'm on Arch Linux with i3-gaps. I use Arch because I enjoy the DIY aspect of Linux as well as the aur and slim nature of Arch. I'd also be lying if I didn't say I use it partially just because I like the "pacman" pun.

      As for i3-gaps, I think that WMs are generally more customizable and good for 'ricing', plus they go with my workflow and are convenient in that they load faster and the likes, though I have to admit I have only ever used i3 (I've been considering trying out bspwm). So, what do you guys use? You can also of course share more information such as your shell or DM if you wanted, though I highly doubt anyone cares what display manager you us or anything.

      24 votes
    4. What are the most influential books to you?

      I'm young, I'm looking to understand more ways of looking at the world. What books do you recommend people to read that had profound impacts on your world outlook, character, or anything else like...

      I'm young, I'm looking to understand more ways of looking at the world. What books do you recommend people to read that had profound impacts on your world outlook, character, or anything else like that. Future me says thank you.

      Edit List (Books listed so far by Title):
      "Accelerando" by Charles Stross
      "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess
      "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn
      "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
      "Bardo Thödol" by Padmasambhava
      "Brave New World" by Huxley
      "Book of the Dead" by ?
      "Cain" by José Saramago
      "Capital vol.1" by Karl Marx
      "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" by Charles Petzold
      "Collected Fictions" by Jorge Luis Borges
      "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky
      "Die Grundlage der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie" by Einstein
      "Divine Comedy" by Dante
      "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
      "Don Quixote" by Cervantes
      "Daughters of the Dragons" by William Andrews
      "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
      "Ethics" by Spinoza
      "Fables" by Aesop
      "Fahrenheit 451" by Bradbury
      "Faust" by Goethe
      "Flowers for Algernon" By Daniel Keyes
      "Fragile Things" by Neil Gaiman
      "God and the State" by Mikhail Bakunin
      "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R. Hofstadter
      "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
      "Great Books" by David Denby
      "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling
      "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
      "History of Violence" By Édouard Louis
      "Homo Deus" by Yuval Noah Harari
      "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie
      "Illiad" by Homer
      "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn
      "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami
      "Le contrat social" by Rousseau
      "Les fleurs du mal" by Baudelaire
      "Leviathan" by Hobbes
      "Maus" by Art Spiegelman
      "Naked Economics" by Charles Wheelan
      "Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
      "Neuromancer" by William Gibson
      "Odyssey" Homer
      "On the Origin of Species" by Darwin
      "Paid Attention" by Faris Yakob
      "Personality-Shaping Through Positive Disintegration Processes" by Kazimierz Dąbrowski
      "Player Piano" by Vonnegut
      "Poetics" by Aristotle
      "Republic" by Plato
      "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
      "Shogun" by James Clavell
      "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
      "Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu
      "Tales of Power" by Carlos Castaneda
      "Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science" by Peter Godfrey-Smith
      "The Ancestor's Tale" by Richard Dawkins
      "The Bible" by :contentious_topic_here:
      "The End of Eddy" By Édouard Louis
      "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
      "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
      "The Lucifer Effect" by Philip Zimbardo
      "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Julian Jaynes
      "The Prince" by Machiavelli
      "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins
      "The Singularity Is Near" by Ray Kurzweill
      "The Stranger" by Camus
      "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff
      "The Three-Body Problem Trilogy" by Cixin Liu
      "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" by Wittgenstein
      "Traité d'atheologie" by Onfray
      "Treatise of the Three Imposters" by ?
      "Where Mathematics Comes From" by Lakoff and Nunez
      "Where I'm Calling From" by Raymond Carver
      "1984" by George Orwell

      20 votes
    5. Gardeners in da house?

      I've enjoyed the challenges of gardening in zone 5 -6 and zone 10 - 11, and am wondering about others' experience. Climate change, with migrating pests/diseases and more erratic weather, are...

      I've enjoyed the challenges of gardening in zone 5 -6 and zone 10 - 11, and am wondering about others' experience.

      Climate change, with migrating pests/diseases and more erratic weather, are definitely noticeable trends.

      While it's interesting to grow ornamentals and food crops that wouldn't ordinarily be available, it's also disturbing to find falling yields and utter collapses of formerly successful "easy" plants like basil and temperate climate tomato varieties.

      There are limits on how much can be accomplished with purely "organic" controls - I've had to experiment with soil ecology (MycoStop for fungal infections, etc.). Allergenic plants are an increasing problem. There are brand new animal pests where I live as well - iguanas, pythons, and other hot-climate reptiles.

      I'm curious about others' gardening results, and suggestions for improving adaptability.

      12 votes
    6. How do you get your news?

      With so many news organizations spreading false information and relying on clickbaity titles to get views, it is getting harder to find quality journalism. So what are some of the resources which...

      With so many news organizations spreading false information and relying on clickbaity titles to get views, it is getting harder to find quality journalism.
      So what are some of the resources which you use to get your news without having to wade through a sea of pointless headlines.

      22 votes
    7. What are some good Spanish books?

      I'm learning Spanish and feel like reading is really helping me get to the next level. I've read 1984 and one part of Harry Potter in Spanish but now I'm thinking of trying some original,...

      I'm learning Spanish and feel like reading is really helping me get to the next level. I've read 1984 and one part of Harry Potter in Spanish but now I'm thinking of trying some original, non-translated literature.

      What Spanish-language books would you recommend (that are not too difficult to read)?

      6 votes
    8. Does the Oracle v. Google court case mean that Wine/DXVK is illegal?

      I've been thinking about this but based on the current rulings in the Oracle v. Google court case, it would seem that APIs are indeed copyrightable. This would mean that Wine would be infringing...

      I've been thinking about this but based on the current rulings in the Oracle v. Google court case, it would seem that APIs are indeed copyrightable.

      This would mean that Wine would be infringing on Microsoft's copyright of the Windows API and system calls. Of course it wouldn't matter until Microsoft actually does something about it. But as Wine gets better and better and its market share higher and higher, I worry that Microsoft might set their sights on Wine now that they have the law on their side.

      15 votes
    9. What have you been watching/reading this week?

      I'm gonna move this to Fridays from now on, it's easier for me to remember to post. Anyway, what have you been watching/reading this week? Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool,...

      I'm gonna move this to Fridays from now on, it's easier for me to remember to post.

      Anyway, what have you been watching/reading this week?

      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 Anilist, MAL, or any other anime/manga database you use!

      10 votes
    10. Suggestions for manga/anime focused on hand-to-hand combat primarily?

      Recently I've started getting really into manga/anime that focuses pretty heavily on brawling. I binged Kengan Asura, which primarily focuses on a fighter named Ohma and his coach as they fight in...

      Recently I've started getting really into manga/anime that focuses pretty heavily on brawling.

      I binged Kengan Asura, which primarily focuses on a fighter named Ohma and his coach as they fight in an underground fighting ring.

      Baki was very similar, but probably a bit more silly, and a bit more focused on the conflict with his father.

      Part of my problem is I don't really know what to look for after this. Does anyone have any suggestions for either manga or anime that is focused on fighters / fighting like Kengan or Baki?

      9 votes
    11. What tea are yall drinking today?

      For my daily tea-drinkers: What are you drinking today? Where'd you get it? How would you rate it? For my non-tea drinkers: Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the most widely...

      For my daily tea-drinkers: What are you drinking today? Where'd you get it? How would you rate it?

      For my non-tea drinkers: Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the most widely consumed beverage in the world (next to water). Share a time you had a good experience or a bad experience.

      35 votes
    12. Synthwave

      In a bit of a synthwave haze at the moment and craving some more, does anyone have any good artists? Current list: Fm84 Gunship Freeweights September87 Timecop1983 Dance with the dead Lebrock...

      In a bit of a synthwave haze at the moment and craving some more, does anyone have any good artists?

      Current list:

      Fm84
      Gunship
      Freeweights
      September87
      Timecop1983
      Dance with the dead
      Lebrock
      Scandroid
      Droid Bishop
      Turbo Knight
      Neon nox
      GOST
      Pertubator
      0edit
      Dav Dralleon
      Dynatron
      Power Glove
      Lazerhawk
      Magic Sword
      Starcadian

      14 votes
    13. Home/remote workers, any advice or tips?

      I've recently accepted a new developer role for a small tech company where everyone works remotely. I've had experience of working from home as a freelancer in the past and slightly more recently...

      I've recently accepted a new developer role for a small tech company where everyone works remotely. I've had experience of working from home as a freelancer in the past and slightly more recently working for a distributed company, although there I was working in a small shared office with one other colleague.

      I wondered if anyone has any tips or advice on how best to remain productive as well as avoid distractions and try to keep a work/life balance?

      I do intend to eventually find a co-working space but immediately I plan to work from home for at least the first few months.

      Thanks!

      16 votes
    14. Where do you get your music from?

      What is your preferred source for music? Streaming, CD, vinyl, web dl, something else? My preferred source is web flac usually from bandcamp but I sometimes buy cds and copy them to my computer. I...

      What is your preferred source for music? Streaming, CD, vinyl, web dl, something else?

      My preferred source is web flac usually from bandcamp but I sometimes buy cds and copy them to my computer. I currently don't have a vinyl player so stuff that was only released on vinyl I have to find someone else who has copied it.

      I tried streaming for a while but didn't like it. There was a bunch of older stuff missing and I kept getting told things were not available in my country as well as some songs only having a shitty remaster available.

      14 votes
    15. Is filtering working properly?

      Are we able to filter things like music and anime by simply adding those keywords to the filter? I tried adding the tilde in front and that didn’t work either. Is this operator error or perhaps a...

      Are we able to filter things like music and anime by simply adding those keywords to the filter?

      I tried adding the tilde in front and that didn’t work either.

      Is this operator error or perhaps a good place for me to learn some pyramid and make a PR?

      11 votes
    16. Should we limit meta-discussion in non-~tildes posts as we near public visibility?

      I've seen a number of topics that have had unrelated comments regarding Tildes as a whole and the direction in which we'd like to steer it toward. While I realize much of these sidebar...

      I've seen a number of topics that have had unrelated comments regarding Tildes as a whole and the direction in which we'd like to steer it toward. While I realize much of these sidebar conversations have been occurring naturally and very frequently in well-nested comments, I wonder if it isn't going to become distracting to some going forward.

      On one hand, I have enjoyed passively gaining insight into the vision of Tildes. On the other, I can see how we might want to start setting examples on the type of organization and behavior we'd want from users as the site grows. If new users who are joining after Tildes goes public see a regular occurrence of off-topic conversation, they might fall into bad habits and it may take root and grow.

      What are your thoughts? Maybe start creating new topics in ~tildes and tag users along with quotes from outside threads so that there's still a reference point to start discussion from?

      10 votes
    17. How do you unwind?

      We all have stressful days and we all wish we didn't. What is your go-to strategy for calming yourself down after an all too eventful day?

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

      Picking these threads up from @Cleb after talking to her about it :) 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...

      Picking these threads up from @Cleb after talking to her about it :)

      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!

      20 votes
    19. What are some good short novels?

      I've read a few novels, I think an excellent short novel is Elevation by Stephen King. It's not what you'd expect from a Stephen King novel (no horror elements), but it's a great read. I can't say...

      I've read a few novels, I think an excellent short novel is Elevation by Stephen King. It's not what you'd expect from a Stephen King novel (no horror elements), but it's a great read. I can't say too much without spoiling it, but here's the blurb:

      The latest from legendary master storyteller Stephen King, a riveting, extraordinarily eerie, and moving story about a man whose mysterious affliction brings a small town together—a timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences.

      It starts off a little slow, but give it a little bit of time. It's readable in an afternoon, I think I spent 5 or so hours reading it.

      7 votes
    20. What non-fiction books have had lasting explanatory power?

      I was telling someone about a psychology book I'm reading at the moment. Intending to read it themselves they messaged me later to ask for the title. And I felt a bit unsettled at sharing it!...

      I was telling someone about a psychology book I'm reading at the moment. Intending to read it themselves they messaged me later to ask for the title. And I felt a bit unsettled at sharing it!

      Whilst it's interesting and I'm enjoying it, I doubt I'll remember its lessons or claims in a year or two. Which got me thinking about books that I read years ago which still help me understand the world.

      So I thought I'd make a post asking which books other users still found helpful year(s) later.

      tldr; share books that are:

      • Non-fiction (or at least serious fiction).
      • First read over a year ago.
      • Have been helpful to you multiple times since.
      18 votes
    21. Why are so many websites (and CDNs) IPv4 only?

      One of the people in an IRC channel I frequent pointed out a site I've been building uses CDNs that are IPv4 only. I never realized this, I just assumed every major provider had deployed IPv6. Oh,...

      One of the people in an IRC channel I frequent pointed out a site I've been building uses CDNs that are IPv4 only. I never realized this, I just assumed every major provider had deployed IPv6. Oh, how very wrong I was. A quick check of some major (to me) sites shows a shocking lack of IPv6, including:

      • Bootstrap (stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com)
      • Discord
      • FontAwesome (use.fontawesome.com)
      • GitHub/GitHub pages
      • GitLab/GitLab pages (self-hosted supports IPv6, but officially hosted GitLab only supports IPv4 due to Azure limitations)
      • jQuery, IF you use code.jquery.com (some tutorials use ajax.googleapis.com, which does have IPv6, but an unfortunate amount use code.jquery.com, including the getting started page for Bootstrap)
      • Parts of Amazon/AWS (Amazon is IPv4 only, some of AWS is IPv4 only, including S3)
      • Reddit
      • Stack Overflow/Exchange/etc
      • Twitter

      An honorable mention goes to Angular's websites because the websites themselves are IPv4 only but the libraries are hosted on ajax.googleapis.com, which is IPv6 accessible. I checked npm, PyPI, RubyGems, and Tildes, and they all support IPv6.

      I can understand why companies like Amazon have partial support (upgrading can be a PITA if you're a cloud service provider with uptime requirements), but then you have services like Discord (launched in 2015 with no obligation to maintain service) that only support IPv4. At the very least, I'd expect CDNs referenced by thousands (if not millions) of webpages to be on IPv6 by now.

      Am I missing something? CDNs are pretty static, it's just a matter of choosing one that supports IPv6, you don't even need to update your application if you just change the DNS entries.

      13 votes
    22. 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.

      17 votes
    23. What are you reading these days? #12

      What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk a bit about it. Edit 2019-01-16: Add the link for Week #11 below. Past weeks:...

      What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk a bit about it.

      Edit 2019-01-16: Add the link for Week #11 below.

      Past weeks: Week #1 · Week #2 · Week #3 · Week #4 · Week #5 · Week #6 · Week #7 · Week #8 · Week #9 · Week #10 · Week #11

      11 votes
    24. Wood desktop finishing question

      I built a basic panel out of some boards left over from another project. I'd like to use this as a desktop surface just laid on top of some filing cabinets. I'm wondering what the best way to...

      I built a basic panel out of some boards left over from another project. I'd like to use this as a desktop surface just laid on top of some filing cabinets. I'm wondering what the best way to finish this would be? I don't think I want to paint and I'm ok with some light staining but I don't have any experience with sealing or whatever I would want to do to help preserve the surface. It would have typical office items on it (keyboard, mouse, monitor, paper, pens, etc.).

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

      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...

      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 Anilist, MAL, or any other anime/manga database you use!

      11 votes
    26. Isn't the number of groups too restrictive?

      I know that tildes is still a small community (sub 9k) but I find the number of groups too restrictive. I am mainly a redditor so I am used to subscribing to many subs, most of which are not...

      I know that tildes is still a small community (sub 9k) but I find the number of groups too restrictive. I am mainly a redditor so I am used to subscribing to many subs, most of which are not "main" subs.

      For example, shouldn't there be a group for "countries", so one could post in countries.germany or countries.finland in the future? Also, how come there is no videos? I can understand the reasoning that a video is (almost) always about a given subject but where should I post, for example, a video of "ASMR"? Should it go to health? Should chess posts go to "games" or "sports"?

      I find this idea of groups a bit too comfusing, perhaps because I am used to subreddits..

      Maybe it is not a bad idea to create some kind of map, with an handy link in the site, so one knows in which group one should post a certain something.

      27 votes
    27. List of motion-control games for Nintendo Switch

      Just as with the Wii, I think the motion controls are a big and fun feature of the Switch. I have already searched online, but could not find a list of games that have motion controls (and in what...

      Just as with the Wii, I think the motion controls are a big and fun feature of the Switch.

      I have already searched online, but could not find a list of games that have motion controls (and in what way). I did see some attempt to put it on Wikipedia, but it was removed due to being too specific to be on Wikipedia itself.

      If anyone found anything or is willing to help out, we could collaboratively write one up. What the best place for it would be, I do not know yet, but WikiData pops to mind.

      I see votes, but I see no comments ...no idea how to interpret that.

      7 votes
    28. Should legal decisions take into account only the nature and circumstances of a crime, or also the conditions of its victims?

      I've had part of this discussion today with a work colleague: under our country's laws a judge (there's no jury) may take into consideration the condition and general being of a victim of a crime...

      I've had part of this discussion today with a work colleague: under our country's laws a judge (there's no jury) may take into consideration the condition and general being of a victim of a crime when judging the perpetrator. For example an conviction of assault and battery may be higher of the victim was disabled/had a fragile constitution compared to a more "normative" able-bodied person.

      My colleague maintained that this was unfair if there is no way the perpetrator realizes the victim's fragility, as it means unequal punishment for equal actions. Specifically he takes issue with the Eggshell Skull rule. In effect his argument seemed to be that what should be judged is the action and intent of the crime itself.

      I maintained that is was fair because the judgement should be proportional to the effect caused on the world.

      What do other users think?

      12 votes
    29. Switching from Linux to BSD: What do you miss?

      There seems to be a trend lately of people switching over to BSD operating systems. Having read some blog posts on the matter and now given the recent system-d controversy, I'm genuinely curious...

      There seems to be a trend lately of people switching over to BSD operating systems. Having read some blog posts on the matter and now given the recent system-d controversy, I'm genuinely curious to give FreeBSD or OpenBSD a go as my main OS.

      For those who have switched over to BSD, what are some problems you've encountered and/or what are some things you miss?

      31 votes
    30. Did you watch the State of the Union? Or the Democratic response? What did you think?

      First let me say that I long considered myself an independent until I realized I always voted Democrat a number of years ago because I find they best represent my interests, so that's my POV...

      First let me say that I long considered myself an independent until I realized I always voted Democrat a number of years ago because I find they best represent my interests, so that's my POV coming into this. I consider myself generally liberal on most issues with a few exceptions (gun rights, against college for all, etc)

      Some observations:

      • There was much there to please Republicans regarding the economy, etc
      • There was much there that I'm not sure will play well with Trump's base: economic programs for women in other countries (Ivanka's influence?), criminal justice reform, lots of praise and visuals of black Americans including several guests, seeming to waffle a bit on the "wall" - I think he reduced it to fencing, did I get that right?, he stated several times he was in favor of legal immigration (something his actions have indicated otherwise and his base seems to be against)
      • We're going to make peace with the Taliban - that was a jaw-dropping moment for me and I could tell from the reaction of the Rs in the crowd that it didn't play well with them
      • Democratic women wearing white - smart political move and I didn't catch they did it during his first speech
      • Pelosi was great to watch. Calm as a cucumber. She had several little subversive moments where instead of immediately sitting down after clapping she shuffled some papers or pretended to read something, sending a clear message of what she thought of POTUS' remarks
      • Trump's anti-immigration push still isn't focusing on any facts...sigh.
      • Russia investigation was only mentioned once or twice so he didn't succumb to temptation there
      • I thought this was by far his best and most presidential speech
      • The Rs at work were not impressed so I thought that was interesting

      Regarding Stacy Abrams' response:

      • I was totally disappointed
      • She completely lacked energy and I had a hard time following along because of it
      • Kennedy was 100x better in his response (even with the excessive lip balm)
      • I don't have much else to say...it was bland

      What did you think?

      EDIT: Forgot he announced we're back in a nuclear arms race with Russia and China. And what was up with bringing in all of the Holocaust survivors and WWII vets? Was that a blatant appeal to the oldest members of his base or simply to recall the last "good" war the US fought?

      19 votes
    31. I've been trying to learn more about inequality. How should I go about it in a proper, structured way?

      This is my 2019 project, to gain some understanding of the subjects of income and wealth inequality. I've prepared a reading list but was just wondering if there is a proper way to go about it....

      This is my 2019 project, to gain some understanding of the subjects of income and wealth inequality. I've prepared a reading list but was just wondering if there is a proper way to go about it. I'm from a third world country and didn't go to college, if that's of any help.

      18 votes
    32. In need of streaming advice!

      Hey! Lately I've decided that after years of wanting to do stuff on the internet, I'm gonna try my best to start streaming video games. I'm rather excited to start trying to form a lil community...

      Hey! Lately I've decided that after years of wanting to do stuff on the internet, I'm gonna try my best to start streaming video games. I'm rather excited to start trying to form a lil community and I wanted to know if anyone here has tips/experience they would like to share. Any and all advice is welcomed and appreciated! I did a little test stream of Bioshock (using OBS) for some friends, but I'm currently using a wireless adapter so it didn't go very well for very long. I'm definitely picking up an ethernet cable before I try again. But in the meantime, I thought I'd ask for some wisdom.

      10 votes
    33. JavaScript toy that demonstrated a model of how demographics cluster

      A while back I saw a cool link on Tildes, I think it was before the save feature was implemented, which is why I've lost it. It was an article with an accompanying JavaScript toy to demonstrate...

      A while back I saw a cool link on Tildes, I think it was before the save feature was implemented, which is why I've lost it. It was an article with an accompanying JavaScript toy to demonstrate the point: if a system starts clustered, equality alone won't bring the system to equilibrium because the system has momentum. You have to swing hard in the other direction to get to actual equilibrium. (i.e. it was a defense of affirmative action.)

      Basically, you set some conditions meant to represent demographics. The people were represented by little squares in the simulation. The conditions were things like "start X% concentrated" and "squares must have 2/3/4 different colored neighbor squares."

      I think it was on Medium, but I'm not sure, and I can't for the life of me find it again even after scouring Tildes, Reddit, and Google. Anyone know what I'm talking about and where I can find it again?

      4 votes
    34. Looking for a third pal to play Apex Legends with on Xbox

      Hi, so my SO and I are looking for a third person to play Apex with. We're pretty casual and not the best skill wise but just playing it for fun. Having a third person to talk to would be cool. We...

      Hi, so my SO and I are looking for a third person to play Apex with. We're pretty casual and not the best skill wise but just playing it for fun. Having a third person to talk to would be cool. We typically play around 9pm EST for about an hour or two. If you're down you can add us on xbox and shoot us a message at Rocket Man and Bubblegum KMA

      7 votes
    35. What's the userbase of Tildes like? (+ some misc. Tildes questions)

      Hi, I just joined an hour ago or so. So far so good, site seems a welcome change as opposed to other certain content aggregators. I'm just wondering what the userbase is like: what's your age...

      Hi, I just joined an hour ago or so.
      So far so good, site seems a welcome change as opposed to other certain content aggregators.

      I'm just wondering what the userbase is like: what's your age group(not too specific if you want), occupation(again, vague is okay), continent of origin and gender? What draws you to this website as opposed to other social media? Do you expect Tildes to gain traction and grow to become a worthy Reddit(or other aggregator) competitor/successor?
      Just to get a taste of the crowd and what kind of people we'll find here.

      I'm in my 20's, currently studying engineering and living in western Europe. Applied to this website following a comment I saw that described the Tildes system compared to Reddit; seemed like a nice change on the clickbaity and sometimes not as fun-content on that website. Hoping this ends up a good place for discussion / quality content / fun chats, and also hope it can help me detox from social media by purposefully using a less active site(for now, of course).

      Small note: while the site is closed right now, it might be opened up later, which means this post might be visible to the internet whole. Please keep your personal info in mind and only share what you want others(including crawlers/scrapers) to know.

      35 votes
    36. today is a good day. how ya doin?

      emotionally abusive ex-girlfriend tried to reach out. blocked her number. started looking for therapists. i started following through FreeCodeCamp (more tech talk (MERN) at the bottom - i gots...

      emotionally abusive ex-girlfriend tried to reach out.

      blocked her number.

      started looking for therapists.

      i started following through FreeCodeCamp (more tech talk (MERN) at the bottom - i gots questions)

      i started flossing two weeks ago.

      i've been consistent this past week with learning japanese

      and right now i got one of my comfy outfits on, chilling at the house, and i just made a french press with some beans from a roaster i used to always buy from back when i lived downtown.

      i'm feelin' alright today. it's gonna be a few more months until i get where i want, but for now, i'm good.

      how bout you - how you doin?


      (if you stuck around for the tech stuff - here's that)

      1. what's a good book to follow up EloquentJS? i'm reading through that now, and i really want to get a good feel for the language itself. i know how to get something built, but i don't know how my tools work - and that's an issue for me.

      2. on a similar note - what are the best books on React? i've got a 2017 copy of Fullstack React, but someone told me that's outdated by this point, and i can't exactly afford the 2018 copy right now. anything else i should keep an eye out/save up for?

      3. and lastly, best reading on CSS3? i know (again) a good enough amount of Bootstrap to be able to get something up and running, but i want to get better at vanillaCSS, css animations, and making sure that my site is responsive and supported across across all browsers.

      18 votes
    37. Queer 101 - Ask your questions here

      We're Here, We're Queer, Ask Your Questions Without Fear I noticed that there was a lot of QUILTBAG/LGBT related education being requested in threads where it wasn't really on topic. Clearly...

      We're Here, We're Queer, Ask Your Questions Without Fear

      I noticed that there was a lot of QUILTBAG/LGBT related education being requested in threads where it wasn't really on topic. Clearly there's a lot of curiosity. So I thought: why not make a thread specifically for that? Whee!

      Please note that it's a lot of labor to ask of someone in a minority to explain themselves, as it's often the case that they feel like they have to justify existing on a daily basis anyway. Hopefully this provides more of an opt-in experience where curious folks can learn about queer issues in a respectful manner. ** Also: No one is required to answer your questions or engage with questions they don't feel comfortable with. **

      I am decidedly not an authority on the subject (I don't think anyone really is) but I do fall under the umbrella- NB (nonbinary) and bi. This means that I am attracted to either gender and I do not identify as having a binary gender myself. I actually would more precisely be described as pansexual as I would date a nonbinary person BUT for identity politic reasons I prefer the term bi. As for the acronyms above, LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans. I prefer QUILTBAG: Queer, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual, Asexual, and Gay. It's more fun to say and it expands the acronym to include concepts that folks might not have heard of.

      A brief list of definitions:

      • Queer: To my understanding this is sort of a catchall term for anyone that is not straight up cisgender/heterosexual. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some QUILTBAG people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the QUILTBAG community.

      • Undecided: Folks who just don't know what they identify with.

      • Intersex: Folks born with anatomy that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. This can be a wide range of natural bodily variations.

      • Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to women exclusively.

      • Transgender: A term to describe folks who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

      • Bisexual: Folks who are attracted to both binary genders.

      • Asexual: Also known as "ace". An adjective to describe folks who do not experience sexual attraction.

      • Gay: A term to describe people who are attracted to the gender they identify as. This is often used to refer specifically to men who are attracted to men but can be used to refer to women who are attracted to women too.

      This list is by no means exhaustive! Here's a (more) comprehensive list of terms and labels: http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/glossary-sexual-orientationgender-terminology

      There are many terms and labels out there! I encourage you to research to your heart's content.

      Also just to give some perspective, cisgender is an adjective for folks who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

      So, what nagging questions do you have about being queer? Have you been questioning your own identity and would like to hear the thoughts of people who have been in the same situation? Post here and let's see if we can't find some answers.

      28 votes
    38. Would anyone like a free website?

      I do web and graphic design professionally, but currently have some free time. You can see some of my work here. You would still need to pay for the domain registration (15$/year), but I could...

      I do web and graphic design professionally, but currently have some free time.

      You can see some of my work here.

      You would still need to pay for the domain registration (15$/year), but I could provide hosting.

      Bonus if you’re a starving artist, non-profit, or doing something humanitarian. I’d prefer not to do one for a business, since they should be able afford to pay someone, but feel free to make a case.

      I would build it with Wordpress and incorporate Divi so you wouldn’t be entirely dependent on me to make future edits yourself.

      I’m far from an expert and mostly do front-end, but like helping people and love the community here.

      38 votes