(I really liked the weekly /r/games stickies, would be nice to have similar discussions here)

Prey (2017) - Spiritual successor to System Shock 2. An FPS-Survival Horror game with RPG elements. As a huge fan of the original system shock series, this was quite a treat. I've kept reading that this was the underrated game of that year, and after playing it for a dozen hours, I agree. Bioshock games didn't quite scratch that itch for me: exploration felt very 2-D and linear, environments didn't feel like the spaces they represented (living quarters, public squares, etc.), sometimes too much exposition, and it eschewed the detailed interface for a simpler menu. It's a blast to explore all the hidden nooks and crannies in Prey, sometimes getting more story bits, or just extra ammo; it's tense and and rewarding. Story so far is compelling and the twist at the start was 10/10. Here's hoping the rest of the game holds up.

I feel so cheated- I went into college with no clue what my interests are and got a degree in something irrelevant that doesn't interest me ( BBA in digital marketing).
I was too young when I made the decision to get this degree and in the years since, I have discovered my passions are art and the environment- I can't see myself feeling fulfilled working in any other field.
But now I don't have the qualifications or skills to get into either, and it seems like a bit of a stretch to go back to college and do another four years!

I just don't know where to go from here, I feel demotivated and I wish that college was something that happened to us later in life. I would do things so differently!

I'm taking some time off to figure out what to do next, but honestly...I don't have a clue.

I'm hoping for serious, honest responses - i.e. don't make up stuff just to troll or try to trick people, nor to just exercise your creative writing skills for entertainment. I am optimistic that people can be respectful to those sharing stories that may be difficult to believe, or which might have mundane explanations.

I've had an interest in the paranormal and unusual for a long time, but haven't delved as deeply as might be warranted. I do my best to keep an open mind, have had a few experiences that are on the fringe, and have met and known people who have recounted much stranger things and i always love hearing about them. Since Tildes is at a point presently where there aren't easy throwaways, and where reputation matters to an extent, I would suspect that tales shared here might have a bit more credibility than those shared pseudo-anonymously on reddit.

So, any experiences you've had which just didn't have a completely satisfying explanation? Any spooks or strange places or times or sights? I invite you to share your experiences here. :)

My husband and I moved to Japan from America in March due to a job opportunity. There are several things that we've noticed that we miss, mostly food items! I was curious if 1) there are other ex-pats on the site and 2) what do you miss the most? Also, what is the best thing about your new home?

I've been trying to understand Docker and while also learning Python it occurred to me that virtual environments seem to be the same thing. They're probably not, but can anyone shed some light on this?

Hey everyone. I keep a pretty rigorous watch on my calories and I am a vegetarian, so a lot of my meals consist of just vegetables. I am mostly healthy, but I have the hardest time kicking my only real vice: soda. I love it, and I may even be addicted. I gave it up last year for lent, but after my 40 days I immediately started drinking it again. I'm trying to cut back my sugar intake, and I keep finding ways to rationalize drinking it. Anyone out there with tips on how I can kick it for good?

I'm trying to decide what option I prefer here in terms of privacy. I'm curious of other's opinions on the issue, and if anyone has a better solution to offer more privacy.

Option 1: Hosting a local recursive DNS

I currently have a device running Pi-hole on my local network. I recently set it up as a recursive DNS server using unbound. This allows me to no longer rely on a public DNS such as GoogleDNS, OpenDNS, Cloudflare, etc. for my queries, and just point straight to the root servers.

Pro: I removed a "pair of eyes" (Public DNS) out of the equation

Con: All my queries are not encrypted so my ISP (and potentially others) can still see my DNS queries

Option 2: Using DNS over HTTPS (DoH) using Cloudflare's client

With this option I would use Cloudflare's cloudflared daemon they provide on their website. This would allow all my queries to be encrypted when sending them to Cloudflare.

Pro: Encrypted DNS queries from my local network -> Cloudflare's servers. My ISP can no longer see my DNS queries

Security Pro: Helps prevent MitM attacks

Con: I now have a Public DNS back in the equation, which I have to put some trust into. Also, my queries are most likely only encrypted from my local network -> Cloudflare's network. When Cloudflare has to do the recursion, those queries may be not encrypted (my assumption is they will most likely be not encrypted)

Possible Con: Does Server Name Indication (SNI) "leaking" apply to DNS queries at all? If so, then my query is revealed anyways right?

As a note, I am nowhere near an expert on the specifics of DNS, so some of my assumptions on how things work may be super wrong!

Tags [noise, troll, flame, off-topic] got abused and used as an "I disagree" function. What if Tildes requires an explaination/argument for why the comment/post is either noise, off-topic, trolling/flaming. This way we can hold taggers responsible and accountable for the tags and to some degree see if the tag is reasonable or misused. All the reasons for the tags can be gathered on a "discussion" page for the thread, a bit like Wikipedia's talk pages for each entry.

If you've made it this far I'd love to hear your thoughs, reactions and critiques.
And for those who've made it this far: Enjoy this photogenic cat

Hey there! Thought it would be nice for some ~creative silliness!

This particular jam is for everyone, not just orginal poets. Although we will need some original poetry to kick things off.

People posting original works post to the main thread! People who would like to respond with their own poems, snippets of lyrics, excerpts from famous poems, or an artful piece of prose, please respond to the original work or comment that set you off.

Jam's considered done when we hit a week or a hundred posts, whichever comes first!

I've been consuming a ton of media about the world wars lately. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of historical fiction, records, memoires, and documentaries. But so far, very few things have come close to painting a cohesive picture.

Most of it focuses on hot spots like Verdun, Pearl Harbor, Dunkirk, Normandy, the haulocaust, the atomic bomb, enigma, u-boats, the luftwaffe, Stalingrad... And I can see why. Even on a microcosm level, the conditions of the stories are unimaginable.

The issue I'm having is that I feel like our cultural memory of these events his been eroded over time. We have these impressions of what we think it was like, but not an overarching understanding of the complex series of events throughout the 20th century. We have an overabundance of records, photographs, film, and documentation in general, but maybe it's the overabundance that makes the digestion such an insurmountable undertaking.

What are your experiences with studying this time period? How do you feel about the quality of your understanding? And finally, do you have any recommendations for myself and others?

I had this full submission typed out before I accidentally closed the tab, so if this seems a bit rushed I apologize :)

The current problem with ~ is, in my mind, a lack of shared understanding between the "older" and "newer" users, about what the main focus of the site should be. I was lucky enough to join the site fairly early on, and with the exponential growth of the site, I've noticed a few changes.

There seems to be a "struggle" between link/article submissions and discussion posts. While each have their benefits, in ~'s current state, I do not think it's possible for both to work in harmony with the site.

The benefits of discussion posts are that they encourage community, and well, discussion. Discussion posts are great for the generally serious nature of the site as well. One of my main reasons for leaving reddit was the lack of genuine, interesting conversation that didn't dissolve into meta memes within two comments. On tildes, I've commented more than in my past few years on reddit because of this.

Link submissions don't encourage community or discussion, usually. Not always, but in most cases the user will post the article and move on. The same goes for users coming across it, they will just "upvote and move on", which doesn't seem to be very beneficial to ~ or its community.

The second problem with link submissions is the voting system. Right now on ~, you cannot downvote something. This was fine earlier when most posts were discussion based, but downvotes can be useful for link/article submissions. It can help cut out noise or blatantly clickbait/advertising articles.

I think there needs to be a way to distinguish between these two types of posts, or simply decide what the main focus of the site should be, and stick with that. What are your thoughts on this?

I recently had the pleasure of spending some time in a Bed and Breakfast that had a full Sonos system throughout the house. Ever since then, I've been a bit underwhelmed with my poor man's equivalent (a Google Home Mini in every room).

Right around the time Sonos announced the Beam soundbar, I came to the realization that the issues I've had with my Vizio soundbar aren't a one-time defect, and are instead a fundamental incompatibility with my TV. (Basically, my soundbar will randomly power off when connected to my TV, even when sound is playing). I'm hoping that the Beam doesn't have the same issue, so I'm considering getting the Beam and two Play:1s to replace my current 5.1 system.

I'm curious: for those of you with Sonos speakers (both in the home theater and outside!), what are your experiences? What are some of the things you love, and what are some of the things you wish Sonos would improve?