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    1. Daily Tildes discussion - why should we allow (or not allow) fluff content?

      Alright, unfortunately I'm going to have to be a grumpy old guy, but it looks like we're going to need to make this decision already. There have been a few "cute animal" images posted over the...

      Alright, unfortunately I'm going to have to be a grumpy old guy, but it looks like we're going to need to make this decision already. There have been a few "cute animal" images posted over the last couple of days, and yesterday we had a request for a devoted group for it.

      So today, I think we need to decide if we want a devoted group, or if we should just disallow this type of content entirely. My personal inclination is that it shouldn't be allowed at all, but I'm open to discussing it. Unfortunately I need to go out for a while shortly so I can't write up too much right now, but here are some quick thoughts on why I feel like we shouldn't allow it:

      • One of the main objectives of Tildes was to prioritize high-quality content. By the very nature of this, it means we're going to have to take a stand against some things that don't represent what we want the site to become.
      • Cute animal content is pretty much the definition of "lowest common denominator". Almost everybody enjoys seeing a cute photo/gif, and that's why it tends to dominate almost every platform it's on. It appeals to a very wide range of people, so it attracts more votes/attention. This is also why we can't really trust "a lot of people want fluff content"—of course they do. We need to make the decision based on whether allowing it is good for Tildes overall, not whether it has wide appeal.
      • It has practically zero discussion value. About the only comments people can make on those sorts of posts are "aww cute", or "lol, goofy dog". Yes, there's a very, very slim possibility that you might get something like "this type of bird has an interesting migration pattern", but if that's the case, a better original post would have been that information in the first place.
      • Being harsh about what we want to allow is probably most important while the site is in this sort of small/invite-only phase. One of the main important aspects of this phase is that we need to build up a strong base culture. That way, when the site starts to grow, people will be coming into a place with an established culture and norms, not a complete free-for-all. So if we want to have a high-quality site, I think it's important to establish that very early.
      • If we're not certain what the right answer is, it's much better to disallow it now and eventually relent later, than to allow it now and have to ban established communities in the future.

      Let me know what you think, but I think it's important that we decide this very soon so we can be more clear about how we're going forward with this and similar types of content.

      147 votes
    2. Merge ~tech and ~comp and create a separate ~privacy

      The whole suggestion is in the title. I find the split between ~tech and ~comp to be very overlapping. Such a vast proportion of the content both places is ~privacy -material anyway. Content...

      The whole suggestion is in the title.

      I find the split between ~tech and ~comp to be very overlapping. Such a vast proportion of the content both places is ~privacy -material anyway. Content tagged privacy is effectively rendering ~tech a semi-privacy board as it is now anyway.

      I think the suggested categorization makes more sense than the current organization based on the content actually submitted to tildes now.


      Here's the ~comp privacy tag overview: comp

      Here's the ~tech privacy tag overview: tech

      9 votes
    3. Should Tildes, or its users, try to make "official discussion/review" threads?

      Similar to how other forums go about making review or discussion thread on newly released forms of entertainment. I think tildes would be a pretty neat platform to try and host some of these. More...

      Similar to how other forums go about making review or discussion thread on newly released forms of entertainment.

      I think tildes would be a pretty neat platform to try and host some of these. More so with the discussion nature of tildes. Seems like they would work really well here but I often don't see any pop up. Would anyone like to see them here?

      8 votes
    4. Looking for Eagles-style rock recommendations

      Hey all. I've been listening to the Eagles for a while and love their stuff (born a couple of decades too late to really appreciate them though). I do enjoy the newer styles of rock (ethereal(?)),...

      Hey all. I've been listening to the Eagles for a while and love their stuff (born a couple of decades too late to really appreciate them though). I do enjoy the newer styles of rock (ethereal(?)), but I'm looking for a new-ish band that sticks to the old guitar/drums/etc of classic/country rock. Any recommendations for me?

      7 votes
    5. How do you summon the muse?

      I used to work as an artist full-time, and I've learned a few tricks over the years to help me create consistently, even when I don't feel very creative. I recently read a book called "The War of...

      I used to work as an artist full-time, and I've learned a few tricks over the years to help me create consistently, even when I don't feel very creative.
      I recently read a book called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield that hit on a lot of what I've discovered and presented a lot more insight on the subject of creating and overcoming blocks.

      So I'd love to hear what helps all of you out there stay creative and spark the muse. Are you willing to share your process and approach?

      14 votes
    6. Any other amateur bakers here with a favorite bread recipe?

      Does anyone have any good recipes for bread? My wife and I have been doing a lot of baking lately and I absolutely love making bread. It's easy (most of the work is sitting around waiting for it...

      Does anyone have any good recipes for bread?

      My wife and I have been doing a lot of baking lately and I absolutely love making bread. It's easy (most of the work is sitting around waiting for it to rise/proof) and we've been making fresh sandwich bread to use in our lunches for the past few months.

      I've found two recipes that I really like:

      17 votes
    7. On deciding whether to use a pseudonym or not

      I have writing, prose and in verses, that I want to start submitting to magazines. I can't decide if I should use a pseudonym or not. My reasons for using one: I have problems with my name: it is...

      I have writing, prose and in verses, that I want to start submitting to magazines. I can't decide if I should use a pseudonym or not. My reasons for using one:

      • I have problems with my name: it is ideologically loaded, people can tell my dad was a nationalist, which is an ideology I reject and oppose

      • I feel like it would somehow good for me to distance myself a bit from my work, don't know why really

      • I guess I am intimidated by potential failure a bit, so maybe "getting my feet wet" with a pseudonym could help me get over it.

      But I also want to own my work, and feel like using a pseudonym with complete secrecy is a bit... cowardly, if I am totally honest. I consider using a pseudonym which I will publicly own later, but then, is there a point to it?

      What do you think about it?

      19 votes
    8. Posting original links (own content)

      What is our policy about posting original contents (e.g. me submitting a blog post I wrote, which I just did a few minutes ago)? IMO, if it is a personal blog, it should be okay, and not really...

      What is our policy about posting original contents (e.g. me submitting a blog post I wrote, which I just did a few minutes ago)?

      IMO, if it is a personal blog, it should be okay, and not really different from submitting a text topic here. Especially if the blog is not tracking you.

      15 votes
    9. what creative projects are you working on?

      this seems like a good time to bring back this question and maybe make it more consistent and recurring since there's just been an influx of new people. i last asked this about three months ago...

      this seems like a good time to bring back this question and maybe make it more consistent and recurring since there's just been an influx of new people. i last asked this about three months ago and i'm sure there are both new people to answer this question and new ideas that people who already answered or would answer have come up with since.


      for my part, i did this post just now as a short little thing. on the larger scale, i've been intending to get back into editing my personal worldbuilding wiki because there's a bunch of shit i want to do with that, but college isn't exactly leaving a lot of time for it and every time i try to start on stuff gets tedious so i've been holding off on it for a little bit. i've also been chipping away at the fun that will be one of several religious books, but i don't really know how i want to structure it yet so the verses pictured and others are liable to get shuffled around at this point.

      33 votes
    10. A case for why labels should be removed

      EDIT: I'm only talking about the Exemplary tag Greetings. I'm Alexis, and I signed up for this site back on May 30th, when it was just beginning. However, I have returned and I see something that...

      EDIT: I'm only talking about the Exemplary tag

      Greetings. I'm Alexis, and I signed up for this site back on May 30th, when it was just beginning. However, I have returned and I see something that doesn't seem like that big an issue, but I fear it will lead to the same sort of 'circlejerk' that Reddit has.

      The issue is with this comment. At first, it doesn't really seem that bad - it is a person (we'll call them Adam) replying to someone else (Barbara) who says the subject matter (Charlie) is using white nationalism as a means to cause chaos. Adam takes this to mean Barbara supports Neo-Nazis, as Barbara states the following:

      Hate to say it, but neo-Nazism is better than this, if by a small margin: at least its followers have an ideology.

      Adam asks what "lofty ideology do you think Neo-Nazis" have, including a long rebuttal of this miscommunication.

      The real problem with this is the labels. On the top of Adam's comment: "2x Exemplary". I have not seen any labels whatsoever anywhere else on this forum when I have been browsing it. On a miscommunicative post. Adam seems to claim Barbara is downplaying the issue, despite the miscommunication.

      To see why this is an issue, let's take a second post discussing a network of paedophiles on Youtube. As on 1:14 PM EST, Feb 21, 2019, not a single label is there. This is in spite of communication being just as civil and developed.

      My theory is that the Exemplary labels were not used as a "Well done" to Adam's post, but rather as a "We hate Neo-Nazis as well", or "super-vote". What I fear is that this will lead to an echo chamber where Devil's advocates, such as Barbara, are shunned for things from a simple miscommunication to having 'wrongthink' and defending ideas that people think should not be.

      Let me be clear: I am not conservative or a Nazi. If anything, I am a socialist - but it shouldn't matter. You should be allowed to discuss the pros and cons of relevant political views as long as it is in a civil manner.

      35 votes