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    1. What companies do you feel comfortable with supporting?

      Lately, I've been reviewing companies I interact with a lot, and thinking about whether I feel comfortable supporting them as a business. This is mostly based on whether they are a good, ethical...

      Lately, I've been reviewing companies I interact with a lot, and thinking about whether I feel comfortable supporting them as a business. This is mostly based on whether they are a good, ethical company who cares about the consumer. I'm interested what companies you think fit this criteria. I'm not going to lie, I originally intended this question to be about Valve, but decided to make it more open ended. So to start the conversation, do you think Valve fits this?

      23 votes
    2. Casting reveal for Wheel of Time: The Two Rivers Folk

      Josha Stradowski is Rand al'Thor Barney Harris is Mat Cauthon Marcus Rutherford is Perrin Aybara Zoë Robins is Nynaeve al'Meara Madeleine Madden is Egwene al'Vere There's a fair amount of...

      Josha Stradowski is Rand al'Thor

      Barney Harris is Mat Cauthon

      Marcus Rutherford is Perrin Aybara

      Zoë Robins is Nynaeve al'Meara

      Madeleine Madden is Egwene al'Vere

      There's a fair amount of excitement and discussion around the choices on Reddit.

      Previously, Rosamund Pike was announced as Moiraine Damodred.

      10 votes
    3. 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!

      6 votes
    4. What are some lifehacks you would recommend?

      Given the ambiguity of the term "lifehack", feel free to contribute anything that you feel fits the label. It can be a specific technique, a novel way of using an item, or even a mindset. It can...

      Given the ambiguity of the term "lifehack", feel free to contribute anything that you feel fits the label. It can be a specific technique, a novel way of using an item, or even a mindset. It can be a little-known product or a recommendation--whatever you deem fit, as long as it improves quality of life, productivity, or satisfaction.

      26 votes
    5. What are your long term savings goals? Are you saving towards a purchase of anything in particular?

      For me, saving money has been pretty tough but my goal is to maintain a minimum of 4 months pay in the bank in case of hard times. My fiance started her MBA and we have been fortunate that we can...

      For me, saving money has been pretty tough but my goal is to maintain a minimum of 4 months pay in the bank in case of hard times. My fiance started her MBA and we have been fortunate that we can pay for it outright instead of adding on top of our loans. In the past year I have gotten a bit into churning and using the rewards to help partially pay for vacations throughout the year which has helped a bunch.

      I'm interested to read about any goals we are working towards and also talk about different savings strategies!

      14 votes
    6. Unofficial Weekly Discussion #2 - Topic tag system brainstorming session

      Inspired by @Lawrencium265's suggestion from a few days ago on advanced topic tag filtering: After the discussion the other day on expanding groups into sub groups I had an idea about topic tags,...

      Inspired by @Lawrencium265's suggestion from a few days ago on advanced topic tag filtering:

      After the discussion the other day on expanding groups into sub groups I had an idea about topic tags, advanced tag filtering rules. The main argument against sub groups is that it would sequester people away from each other. By allowing more advanced tag rules you could subscribe to topics that you're interested in, but further filter those if they include topics you don't like or allow certain threads that would get filtered out unless they contain a tag you are interested in or are within a certain group. I think this would attract different people to threads that wouldn't normally be and allow more diverse discussion and insight. So instead of having gaming.tabletop you would use the tabletop tag under gaming and those who are not interested in it can filter it out and those who are solely interested in it can subscribe to it, and then if a topic gets tagged in an unrelated group that you otherwise wouldn't be interested inyou will know about. This also has the side benefit if preventing cross posting or duplicates.

      I have decided that the topic of this week's unofficial discussion is going to be on the Tildes topic tag system. But rather than make it specifically on topic tag filtering and that idea in particular, I figured we could open the discussion up a bit more and have a community brainstorming session on the topic tag system in general. I.e. Anything related to tag browsing, tag filtering, tag organization/standardization, etc.

      Feel free to comment on any of the open "topic tag" related issues on Tildes Gitlab that pique your interest and you would like to discuss more in depth, propose your own new ideas related to topic tags, or even just spitball.

      The point here is to open up the conversation and get ideas flowing freely, so with that in mind, let's please try to keep things positive, and keep any criticism purely constructive and friendly so as not to discourage people from participating.


      Previous Unofficial Weekly Discussions:

      Week - #1


      Other relevant links:
      Donate to Tildes - Tildes Gitlab : Issues Board - Tildes Official Docs

      18 votes
    7. What are you reading these days? #25

      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. Notes First of all, I'm again having to post the topic...

      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.

      Notes

      First of all, I'm again having to post the topic earlier b/c travel. Sorry.

      Seconly, big news! It's already been almost a year that we do these threads! It's been a beautiful time for me, but I've decided that the time has come that I pass the torch on to another Tildista to post and manage these threads. I posted a topic on ~tildes declaring my decision; we held a vote and elected @acdw as the new maintainer of these threads. This is the last one of these topics that I'll post; from the next thread on @acdw will be taking over. FWIW, I'll stay around and comment on these threads when I can.

      Hey @acdw, hope you'll have a great time doing this! Good luck!

      Previous topics

      Previous topics are listed in the wiki.

      16 votes
    8. Living off grid? Can you share your living situation?

      I've written about my living situation previously but am curious as to whether there are any other tilderinos living off grid. What sort of accommodation do you live in? What do you do for a...

      I've written about my living situation previously but am curious as to whether there are any other tilderinos living off grid. What sort of accommodation do you live in? What do you do for a living (if anything)? Are you self sufficient to done extent? How do you use technology to improve your lifestyle?

      17 votes
    9. Who are your favourite female YouTubers?

      It occurred to me a few days ago that my YouTube subscriptions are heavily weighted in favour of men. I follow a lot of video essayists and educational YouTubers, and when the algorithm surfaces...

      It occurred to me a few days ago that my YouTube subscriptions are heavily weighted in favour of men. I follow a lot of video essayists and educational YouTubers, and when the algorithm surfaces new ones to check out, 99 times out of 100 it's a man talking. Same with musicians, gamers, and tech heads...
      I feel like I'm missing out on some valuable perspectives, insights, and just all around good content. So please hit me up with some recommendations!

      35 votes
    10. What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them?

      A few of the other groups have been doing recurring topics like this, and I think we should really do it more regularly in ~games too. So, what have you been playing lately? (Please don't just...

      A few of the other groups have been doing recurring topics like this, and I think we should really do it more regularly in ~games too.

      So, what have you been playing lately? (Please don't just make a list of titles, give some thoughts about the game as well.)

      31 votes
    11. Is anyone actually happy they were born?

      I just feel like I've been thrown into an up to 80 year long game where I have to manage various hardships and difficulties in the hopes of getting the highest score possible when the real outcome...

      I just feel like I've been thrown into an up to 80 year long game where I have to manage various hardships and difficulties in the hopes of getting the highest score possible when the real outcome is the same no matter what I do. Sure, there are some fun times too, but nothing really matters in the end.

      27 votes
    12. What are your favorite short games?

      I don't have nearly as much time to game as I used to, and as such, I tend to prioritize games that are quick to finish over those that want my attention for a long time. Thus, I'm curious to...

      I don't have nearly as much time to game as I used to, and as such, I tend to prioritize games that are quick to finish over those that want my attention for a long time. Thus, I'm curious to know: what are the best short games you've played?

      I'm going to arbitrarily set "short" at a threshhold of 3 hours or less.

      Furthermore, I'm referring to games that have a defined start and end, rather than potentially infinite play sessions. That means a game like The Binding of Isaac wouldn't count despite the average play session being much less than 3 hours, but a game like Gone Home would.

      If you're not sure about a game's length, check HowLongToBeat for crowdsourced runtime data.


      Here's a table of recommendations mentioned in the thread, and their approximate time to complete from HowLongToBeat (using the "Main Story" category).

      Game Length (hours)
      140 1
      1979 Revolution: Black Friday 2
      A Dark Room 3.5
      ABZÛ 2
      Another World 2.5
      The Beginner's Guide 1.5
      Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons 3
      Cave Story 7
      Digital: A Love Story (1) 2
      Analogue: A Hate Story (2) 3
      Distance 2
      Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist 0.5
      Firewatch 4
      Flower 2
      Gone Home 2
      Gunpoint 3
      Her Story 2.5
      Hexcells 2
      High Hell 1
      INSIDE 3.5
      Into the Breach 5
      Jazzpunk 2
      Journey 2
      Kamiko 1
      LOVE (1) 0.5
      kuso (2) 0.75
      Membrane 3.5
      Moss 4
      My Friend Pedro 4
      NaissancE 4
      A Normal Lost Phone 1.5
      Papers, Please 4.5
      Portal 3
      Refunct 0.5
      Rez 2
      The Room 2.5
      The Room 2 3
      Rumu 3
      Sagebrush 2
      Samorost 0.25
      SEPTEMBER 1999 0.09167
      Spirits of Xanadu 3
      The Stanley Parable 1.5
      Stories Untold 2.5
      A Story About My Uncle 3
      Subsurface Circular (1) 2
      SUPERHOT 2
      Quarantine Circular (2) 2
      To the Moon 4
      The Unfinished Swan 2.5
      What Remains of Edith Finch 2
      Xeodrifter 3
      22 votes
    13. 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.

      12 votes
    14. Ahoy vegans; do you make yourself breakfast every morning? If so, what is it?

      Lately I've been trying to be better about cooking a decent breakfast for myself every morning instead of grabbing sugary stuff at a coffee shop, blowing money for something fancier, or wolfing...

      Lately I've been trying to be better about cooking a decent breakfast for myself every morning instead of grabbing sugary stuff at a coffee shop, blowing money for something fancier, or wolfing down a breakfast bar.

      I'm also trying to be a boring adult and limit my sugar intake, avoid gluten on account I'm apparently at risk for celiac disease, and would like to try and be vegan whenever possible.... couple this with me being incredibly lazy and us not having a dishwasher in our apartment, and I've got what feels like very few options.

      For the past two months, every weekday I've been crumbling firm tofu over a heated pan set to medium, throwing in some paprika, turmeric, salt, garlic & onion powder, nutritional yeast, stirring that up a bit for five minutes, and then ripping up a cup of pre-packaged kale/spinach leaves over it before taking it off the heat and tossing in a tablespoon of oat milk. I'll then eat half and leave the other for my wife.

      It's been OK, but I'm trying to look into other options just to add some variety, and was curious if someone else has found something that works for them that I might be able to piggyback off of for inspiration.

      10 votes
    15. I have college coming up and one thing I have always dreaded was group projects/peer reviews.

      I've made a lot of life changing decisions recently and am going to give school a try again. I'm actually going to take a legitimate shot this time. One thing that always held me back in the past...

      I've made a lot of life changing decisions recently and am going to give school a try again. I'm actually going to take a legitimate shot this time. One thing that always held me back in the past were group projects and peer reviewing of the work. Could anyone give me some anecdotes on how I should tackle this anxiety? I started seeing a therapist *:but I was wondering if there would be something supplemental I could do also.

      Thanks

      *: I just want to say thanks again for all the feedback

      16 votes
    16. For those that have been the target of online harassment, what was it like for you?

      I'm interested in the stories of anyone willing to speak about their experiences, whether it was cyberbullying, stalking, doxing, hate mobs, or anything else. Given the sensitive nature of the...

      I'm interested in the stories of anyone willing to speak about their experiences, whether it was cyberbullying, stalking, doxing, hate mobs, or anything else.

      Given the sensitive nature of the question, only share what you're comfortable with, if at all. The following questions are not a list to be answered but more just jumping off points for consideration.

      • What was the harassment like for you?
      • What platform(s) did it take place on?
      • Was there a specific inciting incident?
      • Was it related to any larger cultural factors?
      • What was your response like?
      • What impact did it have on you and/or others?
      • How long did it last?
      • What takeaways do you have from the experience?
      18 votes
    17. What old game would you most want to see remastered/remade?

      It can be a remaster (like Resident Evil HD), a faithful recreation (like Spyro Reignited Trilogy), or a complete reboot (like the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake). Which old game do you choose,...

      It can be a remaster (like Resident Evil HD), a faithful recreation (like Spyro Reignited Trilogy), or a complete reboot (like the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake).

      • Which old game do you choose, and why?
      • What should they change to make the game more palatable for modern audiences?
      • What shouldn't they change so that they can remain true to the original?
      27 votes
    18. Python challenges or projects with just the standard library?

      I've been slowly learning python for some months already. I used the Python Crash Course book from No Starch Press, it teaches the basics and then goes on with some projects with pygame,...

      I've been slowly learning python for some months already. I used the Python Crash Course book from No Starch Press, it teaches the basics and then goes on with some projects with pygame, matplotlib, etc.

      However, I feel that my Python skills aren't very good yet, and before learning to use libraries I would like to have a better command of the standard library.

      I have been looking for some book with projects or, even better, challenges using just the standard library, but haven't found any good ones. Most of them either are for absolute beginners, or use additional libraries, or are very technical and without focus on practice.

      Do you know of any good book or resource with challenges or projects that don't depend on additional libraries? Or, do you have any idea for a project or challenge using just the standard library?

      Thanks in advance!

      14 votes
    19. Feature a band/artist in three tracks.

      Here's the idea: feature any artist you love, especially those you think deserve more attention (though that's not a requirement--anyone is fair game!). Give the artist/band, their genre(s), and...

      Here's the idea: feature any artist you love, especially those you think deserve more attention (though that's not a requirement--anyone is fair game!).

      • Give the artist/band, their genre(s), and three songs that give a good introduction/overview to their sound and style. Think appetizer, entree, and dessert. (Or just three appetizers--it's good to get us wanting more!)

      • Include a brief description of the artist and each of the tracks. Include any other information you feel is relevant.

      Feel free to feature more than one band/artist, but in the interest of organization, make each its own separate top-level comment.

      (See my example comment below to get a better idea of what I'm going for.)

      19 votes
    20. What are some activities that put you in a state of 'flow'?

      For those of you who may be unaware of 'flow', here is how it is described in Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow: Fortunately, cognitive work is not always aversive, and people sometimes...

      For those of you who may be unaware of 'flow', here is how it is described in Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow:

      Fortunately, cognitive work is not always aversive, and people sometimes expend considerable effort for long periods of time without having to exert willpower. The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has done more than anyone else to study this state of effortless attending, and the name he proposed for it, flow, has become part of the language. People who experience flow describe it as "a state of effortless concentration so deep that they lose their sense of time, of themselves, of their problems," and their descriptions of the job of that state are so compelling that Csikszentmihalyi has called it an "optimal experience." Many activities can induce a sense of flow, from painting to racing motorcycles - and for some fortunate authors I know, even writing a book is often an optimal experience. Flow neatly separates the two forms of effort: concentration on the task and the deliverate control of attention. Riding a motorcycle at 150 miles an hour and playing a competitive game of chess are certainly very effortful. In a state of flow, however, maintaining focused attention on these absorbing activities requires no exertion of self-control, thereby freeing resources to be directed to the task at hand.

      For me, I would say getting into a just difficult enough programming problem or working on a data analysis can put me in this state where hours can slip away in the blink of an eye. The same thing for a game of Civilization V can do the same thing for me.

      22 votes
    21. Mental health support & discussion thread (August 2019 edition)

      after a month sabbatical, we're back. this is pretty straightforward, i think: vent your experiences or things you need to get off your chest/share whatever you've found helps you mentally/etc....

      after a month sabbatical, we're back. this is pretty straightforward, i think: vent your experiences or things you need to get off your chest/share whatever you've found helps you mentally/etc.


      resources that might also be of some benefit to people:


      and here is the june thread if you'd like to reference/update us on something you mentioned there.

      15 votes
    22. Tildĩstas, what is your guilty pleasure food?

      we need more casual questions in here (there are 4 topics specifically tagged casual on the first page rn), so let me cast the first stone to that lot. bonus style points if you link to what the...

      we need more casual questions in here (there are 4 topics specifically tagged casual on the first page rn), so let me cast the first stone to that lot. bonus style points if you link to what the food is if it's country specific/kinda esoteric/something most people wouldn't know

      21 votes
    23. What games have you enjoyed for the "wrong" reasons?

      So, I just finished playing Sleeping Dogs. It's a kung fu action game with a heavy emphasis on the hand to hand combat. It feels like it's the Arkham games roided up with some hack and slash...

      So, I just finished playing Sleeping Dogs. It's a kung fu action game with a heavy emphasis on the hand to hand combat. It feels like it's the Arkham games roided up with some hack and slash juice. Almost all the upgrades are hand combat based, the vast majority of combat encounters are hand to hand. It's how the game was advertised, it's what all the reviews talk about, it's why I was interested in it, and why it was recommended to me. And you know what? I was way more into the shooting than the hand to hand combat.
      The game does not seem all that proud of its gunplay, there's not a place to buy or customize guns, you just have to pick them up when a firefight starts and drop them after, and there's only like 3 guns total in the game. But it's some of the most fun gunplay I've played in years in a third person shooter. It heavily utilizes slow motion when you jump over cover or kick an enemy and leap into the air, incentivizing you to not just stay in cover the whole game. It really reminds me of Vanquish, which is one of my favorites in the third person shooter genre of all time.
      So this got me curious, what are some games that others have enjoyed for "wrong" reasons? Wrong is in quotes, because, well, it is still something meant to be enjoyed if it's in the game, but it clearly wasn't the focus of either dev time, or marketing, or general hype around the game, or all of the above. Although if you want to share something that wasn't something meant to be enjoyed at all, like something left in totally unintentionally by the developers, feel free to share that too.

      21 votes
    24. 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.

      10 votes
    25. 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!

      6 votes
    26. Weight loss for older people?

      My mom is almost 65 and she's pretty heavy. It has got to the point where it's affecting her life quality - she often has joint pain, heart problems, clogged arteries... She has to lose weight,...

      My mom is almost 65 and she's pretty heavy. It has got to the point where it's affecting her life quality - she often has joint pain, heart problems, clogged arteries... She has to lose weight, basically. Problem is, I feel like she has no motivation to do so. She never even tried doing it. I researched a bit online, and it seems like older people have it harder to lose weight, not just mentally, but also physically because they have less muscle mass and stuff. Is there anyone more knowledgeable on this topic?

      9 votes
    27. Must-have browser extensions?

      What are some of your must have browser extensions? I recently made an effort to switch to Firefox, and now I'm looking for some good browser extensions to make my web browsing experience better....

      What are some of your must have browser extensions?

      I recently made an effort to switch to Firefox, and now I'm looking for some good browser extensions to make my web browsing experience better. Here are the ones I currently use:

      19 votes
    28. What advice or wisdom would you give to someone 10 years younger than you?

      It can be specific or broad, and it can be aimed at a particular type of person based on your experiences (e.g. people in my city, people with fibromyalgia, etc.) or just people at large. Also,...

      It can be specific or broad, and it can be aimed at a particular type of person based on your experiences (e.g. people in my city, people with fibromyalgia, etc.) or just people at large.

      Also, given that age is a very identifying piece of information, feel free to give a range if you're not comfortable sharing your exact age (e.g. "I'm in my 40s" rather than "I'm 42").

      • What advice or wisdom would you give to someone 10 years younger than you?
      • What would you have wanted to know 10 years ago that someone older could have shared with you?
      • If you'd heard the kind of advice you're giving, would you have listened to it 10 years ago?
      29 votes
    29. What are you reading these days? #24

      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. Notes Sorry for posting late this time round. I had an...

      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.

      Notes

      • Sorry for posting late this time round. I had an intense week, and was basically too lazy to post yesterday.

      • I will not include a list of past topics in the topic text anymore, given it is redundant with the listing in the wiki. Below you'll find a link to the relevant section in the relevant wiki page instead. If you think this is a bad change, PM me about it; if a lot of you don't like it I might end up reverting this.

      • Have a nice weekend!

      Previous topics

      Previous topics are listed in the wiki.

      17 votes
    30. Unofficial Weekly Discussion #1 - Suggestions/ideas/concerns for future unofficial weekly discussions

      Since @Deimos has stated he will likely not be restarting the tradition of the Official Daily Tildes Discussions, which is something I and a number of other users greatly enjoyed and miss, I have...

      Since @Deimos has stated he will likely not be restarting the tradition of the Official Daily Tildes Discussions, which is something I and a number of other users greatly enjoyed and miss, I have decided to attempt to take on the responsibility of continuing them unofficially (with his blessing). And since these are not official (so won't be in ~tildes.official, which everyone is subscribed to and probably shouldn't unsubscribe from), I will only be doing them weekly instead of daily, and we now have topic tag filtering (so unofficial weekly discussion can be filtered out), hopefully the people who found the official daily discussions annoying can more easily ignore/hide these unofficial ones.

      With the explanation out of the way, on to the topic for this week:


      Suggestions/ideas/concerns for future unofficial weekly discussions

      I thought it would be appropriate to have the first one of these be a bit of an open-ended, meta-meta discussion on the future of these topics. And to kick things off:

      • What would everyone here like to see discussed in these topics in the future? Are there any particular site features (planned, suggested or theoretical), policies (tagging, moderation, etc), or other meta issues/subjects you would like to be the topic in future discussions?

      • What would you like us to try to achieve with these discussions? Should we have any specific goals in mind, or should they just be fun brainstorming/theory-crafting/naval-gazing sessions?

      • Does anyone have any suggestions for me with regards to how I should handle these discussions? Is there anyone out there who would like to help me with these in some capacity going forwards?

      • Does anyone have any concerns regarding these unofficial discussions, and if so, can you think of any ways we can try to address them?

      The floor is open, and I am all ears. :)


      Tildes Official Docs : Donate to Tildes | Tildes Gitlab : Issues Board

      22 votes
    31. Budget smartphones - apparently there are good options. Opinions and recommendations?

      I just picked up a Nokia 3.1 for $120 in a bit of an emergency and I really like it. It's very light, Android One, very nice styling and again it's $120! I was shocked by this experience at this...

      I just picked up a Nokia 3.1 for $120 in a bit of an emergency and I really like it. It's very light, Android One, very nice styling and again it's $120!

      I was shocked by this experience at this price point. This thing is excellent for my use case, as a pre-paid EU phone as my lovely iPhone 6s Plus has only one Sim slot. Are there any other great budget phones out there?

      27 votes
    32. Do you live in a media bubble? Do you use Google News? I recommend using it signed-out at least 50% of the time

      I recently started jumping around various browsers and machines. I sometimes keep instinctually going to Google News in all of these environments. I am often signed-out in these other browsers....

      I recently started jumping around various browsers and machines. I sometimes keep instinctually going to Google News in all of these environments. I am often signed-out in these other browsers. This has been an eye-opening experience for me.

      Many years ago I had blocked Fox, RT, and other crap out of my GNews feed. I was living in a bubble of my own making. I actually prefer that bubble, as there is more factual information in it, but it comes at a cost. I had lost a lot of my situational awareness of the political and media climate.

      I am not trying to be centrist here, I just think that one should know the entire battlefield, not just the news given from their comfortable sources. For one thing, I had no idea of the dominance which Fox News had in Google News, also that RT was so prevalent, also that there was so many other sources of utter right-wing propaganda that had been normalized. How can I fight disinformation if I am unaware of its origins?

      What do you think about this? Would you take me up on my challenge of reading the uncustomised news? Do you ever try to get out of your comfort zone in the news? Does it help inform you?

      edit: Just FYI, to easily use Google News, or any other news site signed-out, first open a "private window" in your browser.

      14 votes
    33. Advice for starting a Wiki project

      I am considering starting a wiki project for an academic niche. I've already started prototyping using Gitit, I've written a bit easy pages to get a feel for the software and am planning to start...

      I am considering starting a wiki project for an academic niche. I've already started prototyping using Gitit, I've written a bit easy pages to get a feel for the software and am planning to start working on the most important page that summarises the topic itself, which I believe will help guide me to which pages to create first.

      Now, here I'm asking for general advice to a newcomer n00bie wiki admin like me: what to expect, what software, etc. Any advice welcome, but I'll list a few questions below:

      • What wiki software? I am liking Gitit, it is nice and easy to set up, and comes with its own server which I run with a systemctl user unit in the background. I tried Oddmuse but couldn't get it to work with a simple server; Ikiwiki setup is too clumsy for my liking (it friggin put stuff on my $HOME by default!); I want to avoid PHP stuff in general; I want a simple wiki that serves simple HTML pages.

      • How to defend against spam? My plan is to keep it invite-only for as long as I can. IDK how to do that with Gitit yet.

      • How to serve it securely and for cheap, once I decide to publish? It probably won't ever grow beyond a few dozens of megabytes in file size.

      • How do you go about promoting a wiki?

      • What peripheral services (issue tracker, mailing list, IRC/Discord/etc channels) go well with a wiki?

      • What tools are available to ensure content quality (no plagiarism, enforce conventions, monitor changes, ...)?

      13 votes
    34. Suggestion: a method for anonymous appreciation at the user level

      One thing I really like about Tildes is the exemplary tags for comments. I love being able to let someone know I thought they had a great post, and I especially like that it's anonymous (though I...

      One thing I really like about Tildes is the exemplary tags for comments. I love being able to let someone know I thought they had a great post, and I especially like that it's anonymous (though I realize some people like signing theirs, which I'm fine with too).

      One thing I've found myself wanting to be able to do is give someone an exemplary label not for any one individual comment but for their contributions to the community at large. Maybe they're consistently thoughtful and insightful; maybe they go out of their way to post a lot of content for the community; maybe they're contributing code to the platform. It's less that any one particular thing they've done is amazing (though they often have individually great contributions too) and more that they've demonstrated a noteworthy and consistent pattern of good behavior.

      As such, I think having something similar to the exemplary tag but applicable to a particular user could be very beneficial. I realize privately PMing a given user can currently accomplish this, but those are not anonymous, and I really like the idea of supporting others without revealing who I am, since I don't want my praise of others to influence their opinion of me. Furthermore, for the community at large, I think there's a benefit to praise of that type coming from "a voice in the crowd" rather than specific identifiable users, as it promotes community goodwill rather than person-to-person cheer.

      Of course, with any type of anonymous feedback the thing to consider will be the potential for misuse. Someone could easily target/harass someone using an exemplary user feature by writing a nasty message, but this is also currently possible with exemplary tags and I don't know if it's been a problem? Nevertheless, it's something to consider. Perhaps a built-in report feature should something cross a line?

      Furthermore, if such an appreciation mechanism were to be implemented, I would strongly advocate against any sort of publicly visual indicator on the site (like the blue stripe on comments). I think applying differences to that at the user level can create an appearance of user hierarchy, which is undesirable for a variety of reasons. Instead, I feel like it should be invisible to everyone except the recipient--basically an anonymous PM that they can't respond to, letting them know that they're awesome and why. I also think a similar "cooldown" system would benefit it. In fact, I'd probably advocate that it be longer than the one for comment tags.

      Thoughts?

      13 votes
    35. What is your least favourite window manager or desktop environment and why?

      Can be something current or ancient, and if you've really got an axe to grind feel free to drag in Windows or macOS or other proprietary operating systems. Personally after using i3 for around...

      Can be something current or ancient, and if you've really got an axe to grind feel free to drag in Windows or macOS or other proprietary operating systems.

      Personally after using i3 for around half a decade now (though I switched to sway about a year ago) everything else I try just seems to add friction.

      25 votes
    36. Opinions on “grammar nazis”?

      What are Tilderinoes' opinions on people who correct other people's grammar? Should it be done publicly, as a reply, or privately, in a PM, if at all?

      16 votes
    37. 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.

      8 votes
    38. What's the best horror game you've played?

      I'm not necessarily asking for the scariest one you've played but for your personal favorite/best, based on whatever criteria you choose. Games that are more horror-lite/spooky still count as...

      I'm not necessarily asking for the scariest one you've played but for your personal favorite/best, based on whatever criteria you choose. Games that are more horror-lite/spooky still count as well, so feel free to consider and include those.

      With regards to your pick: what made it so good? In what ways did its use of horror add to your experience?

      Given that a lot of horror relies on surprise, subverting expectations, or the unknown, please give spoiler warnings if you plan to discuss important aspects/plot points that might ruin the game for others.

      13 votes
    39. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about humanity's future prospects?

      I thought it would be fun to take Tildes's temperature on humanity's future prospects. If you respond, can you include your approximate age, your opinion, and maybe a brief explanation of why you...

      I thought it would be fun to take Tildes's temperature on humanity's future prospects. If you respond, can you include your approximate age, your opinion, and maybe a brief explanation of why you think/feel the way you do.

      I'm in my early 30s. I'm cautiously optimistic. I think it's an interesting time to be alive, as its the first time humanity is facing a problem of this scale. I think it'll pull through in one way or another. It may get bad for a bit, but nobody will let it stay bad for very long. I also think humanity has more control over the current situation than it realizes, it seems like the last two generations and maybe the current gen were content to let tunnel-visioned, big business interests do the metaphorical driving. Hopefully that'll stop soon, and we'll put people without a profit motive in the driver's seat.

      Thanks for participating!

      17 votes
    40. What do y'all think about the new Twitter design?

      It's obviously unfamiliar, but I have to say that I don't think it's that much worse than the one we had before. It does obviously follow the trend of making everything look so much more mobile-y,...

      It's obviously unfamiliar, but I have to say that I don't think it's that much worse than the one we had before. It does obviously follow the trend of making everything look so much more mobile-y, but unlike Reddit they haven't really messed with the core display of content - in fact, I'd say the tweets themselves have gotten a bit larger. I've heard that the timeline gets reset to algorithmic sorting every 24h, which is an absolute no-go for me, but I haven't experienced that aspect myself.

      Related: I've recently started using Tweetdeck and honestly have no idea why I should ever switch back to the main Twitter feed, redesign or not. Columns, lists, the customisation - it's pretty much everything I've ever wanted. Any tips or opinions on that?

      14 votes
    41. 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!

      7 votes
    42. What's your "must have" software for a MacBook Pro, especially for programming?

      Just got my first MacBook Pro, and I've been setting things up. Wondering what people's "must have" software on MacOS is and what programming tools you might recommend. I've heard that I should...

      Just got my first MacBook Pro, and I've been setting things up. Wondering what people's "must have" software on MacOS is and what programming tools you might recommend. I've heard that I should definitely install homebrew so that I can have a real package manager like I've got on Linux.

      19 votes
    43. In your opinion, what sort of effects has the rise of social media had upon society?

      It's no secret that social media is used by a large amount of people. The Pew Research Center has a social media fact sheet if you'd like to see the numbers. They claim that 72% of the American...

      It's no secret that social media is used by a large amount of people. The Pew Research Center has a social media fact sheet if you'd like to see the numbers.

      With no signs of slowing down, social media is certainly going to be part of our lives for the foreseeable future. What sort of impact do you think it has had upon our society? Has it connected the people of the world, or disconnected them? Do the positive aspects outweigh the negative? If you believe social media's impact has been negative, do you think it can be fixed? How do you see social media evolving?

      29 votes
    44. Home brew! Who's brewing up what?

      The home brew community is one of those groups I just love. Everyone's enthusiastic, helpful, and excited. So... what are you working on? Got something in the fermentor? Something planned for the...

      The home brew community is one of those groups I just love. Everyone's enthusiastic, helpful, and excited. So... what are you working on? Got something in the fermentor? Something planned for the weekend?

      19 votes
    45. How do you keep track of all the projects you're interested in?

      If you're like me, you have tons of various projects/companies/organizations that you like to keep up with. I have a few different methods I use to keep track of everything, but they all seem...

      If you're like me, you have tons of various projects/companies/organizations that you like to keep up with. I have a few different methods I use to keep track of everything, but they all seem fragmented. Here are the methods I use:

      • An RSS reader with the blogs of projects I follow
      • Following the project on social media
        • Mastodon
        • Twitter
        • Reddit

      The RSS feeds work, but I almost always miss the social media posts. Is there a better way to do this? What do you Tildians do?

      10 votes
    46. Do you have a personal website/blog?

      I've been thinking for a while about making my own little personal website/blog, and I was wondering what other people here on Tildes might have set up. I feel like having one could be a cool...

      I've been thinking for a while about making my own little personal website/blog, and I was wondering what other people here on Tildes might have set up. I feel like having one could be a cool little way to get myself to write more often and hopefully improve my writing, especially when it comes to technical subjects.

      34 votes