protium's recent activity
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Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech
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Comment on Netflix is reportedly exploring adding in-game ads to its gaming service in ~games
protium (edited )Link ParentI feel like for the less technologically literate there's not much they can do to respond to these policy changes. The whole point of these companies burning money for the sake of growth was to...I feel like for the less technologically literate there's not much they can do to respond to these policy changes. The whole point of these companies burning money for the sake of growth was to eliminate the competition and capture their consumer.
Now that these products are integrated into peoples their only option is to either pay for these degrading services or stop using them all together, and these companies know that breaking a habit is hard. Until there's a popular and convenient alternative to a service most people are going to be trapped using the products they've already learned about.
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Comment on What are your favorite aesthetics? in ~misc
protium (edited )LinkI'm a big fan of Art Deco. Something about it is very grandiose and reminds me of a time where the American dream was more tangible. The symmetry and geometric shapes are just soothing.I'm a big fan of Art Deco. Something about it is very grandiose and reminds me of a time where the American dream was more tangible. The symmetry and geometric shapes are just soothing.
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How do you journal?
Apple recently released a journal app in their latest iOS update. I used to journal when I was younger and thought it would be a good opportunity to get back into it. I usually use it as a...
Apple recently released a journal app in their latest iOS update. I used to journal when I was younger and thought it would be a good opportunity to get back into it. I usually use it as a reflection of my day, but some days nothing happens and I feel like there's probably a plethora of things I could be writing about.
So for those of you who journal what do you like to write in it?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
protium Link ParentThe movement in RoboQuest is such a joy. When I first got into I thought it felt a bit floaty like borderlands, but after learning all the mechanics and discovering rocket jump it's become so much...The movement in RoboQuest is such a joy. When I first got into I thought it felt a bit floaty like borderlands, but after learning all the mechanics and discovering rocket jump it's become so much fun to just zip through levels.
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Comment on Ask Anime Recommendation thread in ~anime
protium Link ParentThe first show I though of after your first paragraph was Horimiya. It is so wholesome. If you haven't checked out Toradora! yet, it meets your criteria perfectly. Clannad is also a classic...The first show I though of after your first paragraph was Horimiya. It is so wholesome.
If you haven't checked out Toradora! yet, it meets your criteria perfectly.
Clannad is also a classic wholesome romcom, though if you have any interest in visual novels that's probably the better option.
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Comment on Instagram’s Twitter competitor, Threads, is available now in ~tech
protium Link ParentIt's interesting how they're advertising as a Instagram app, instead of a Meta or Facebook product. While I do think this more appealing to non-tech users compared to the fediverse options, I...It's interesting how they're advertising as a Instagram app, instead of a Meta or Facebook product. While I do think this more appealing to non-tech users compared to the fediverse options, I still see this going the way of Lasso.
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Comment on What consumeristic and somewhat pointless hobby do you have? in ~hobbies
protium Link ParentI've falled out of love with fountain pens, but I attribute a big part of my success in university to collecting them. I loved trying out fancy shimmer inks, color coding my notes, and playing...I've falled out of love with fountain pens, but I attribute a big part of my success in university to collecting them. I loved trying out fancy shimmer inks, color coding my notes, and playing around with flex nibs.
Even though the Pilot VP was my holy grail pen, I found myself mostly using various colors of Twisbi Ecos since they were so easy to fill and hold.
I think the real danger with fountain pens is with all the adjacent supplies. Special inks, bleed-proof paper, and all the unique nibs really do add up especially when you want to try out everything the hobby has to offer.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
protium (edited )Link ParentMy all time favorite single player game would be Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The story is really intriguing and if you like strategy the gameplay is very fun and challenging. I'm the type who plays...My all time favorite single player game would be Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The story is really intriguing and if you like strategy the gameplay is very fun and challenging. I'm the type who plays through 90% of a game and then gets bored, but with Three Houses I've played through all the endings at least twice.
If you want a story game with mechanics as clean as OW I'd definitely recommend trying the Titanfall 2 campaign, It has one of the greatest action set pieces I've experienced in a single player game. Another shooter game I'd recommend is Control, there's some horror elements, but by the end of the game you become such a badass it stops being scary.
Risk of Rain 2 is a rouge-like TPS with similar cooldown management to OW, you can even get a mod to add in Tracer. If you like cool movement Get to the Orange Door is rouge-like FPS with wall riding and a unique art style. These don't really have a story but if you're looking for gameplay elements similar to OW I'd recommend them.
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Comment on Is there another reliable site to ask questions about consumer items? in ~talk
protium Link ParentBasically yeah. People have become a lot better at disclosing sponsorships, but Youtubers may still have the incentive to give a positive review so they can get keep getting early and free access...Basically yeah. People have become a lot better at disclosing sponsorships, but Youtubers may still have the incentive to give a positive review so they can get keep getting early and free access to products. I also find that big Youtubers overhype products for engagement, but that depends more on their personality I guess.
Marques Brownlee isn't someone I wouldn't trust for headphone reviews, but from what I've seen he doesn't seem too biased with phones and such.
The biggest thing I look for in a reviewer is that their rating scale matches my own. For me 5 is average, and products should have to do something exceptionally good/bad to score higher/lower than that.
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Comment on Is there another reliable site to ask questions about consumer items? in ~talk
protium Link ParentYoutube is defintely the way to go if you are willing to spend a while going through different people's opinions. The hard part about Youtube is finding someone who is knowledge about the related...Youtube is defintely the way to go if you are willing to spend a while going through different people's opinions.
The hard part about Youtube is finding someone who is knowledge about the related industry. Most Youtube videos on products I tend to find are from people who make general review content, which usually mean they lack insights on the specific advantages of one product vs another.
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Comment on What is "that part" for you in any game? in ~games
protium LinkFor me it's the early game for every building sim. In uni I logged hundreds of hours in Oxygen Not Included. Now whenever I try to start a new file with hopes of creating a cool, complex base...For me it's the early game for every building sim. In uni I logged hundreds of hours in Oxygen Not Included. Now whenever I try to start a new file with hopes of creating a cool, complex base designs, I just get bogged down by the painstakingly slow start of the game. I have the same problem with Factorio and Satisfactory too. Using mods to cheat / override the progression tree would probably help, but I find that kills a lot of the fun of the game too.
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Comment on How you use YouTube in desktop and mobile devices. YouTube to limit usage of ad blockers soon. in ~tech
protium LinkThis number seems really low considering the size of Youtube. These changes, coupled with the cable-esque ad break length, are probably aiming to draw more people to their premium service. I'm...Last year, YouTube said that it has more than 80 million subscribers across Music and Premium offerings.
This number seems really low considering the size of Youtube. These changes, coupled with the cable-esque ad break length, are probably aiming to draw more people to their premium service. I'm sure the profit margins on Youtube Premium are way larger than anything they get from ad revenue. Services like Twitch are doing similar things trying to drive more profits that come directly from the user.
I genuinely that the age of free content on the internet is slowly coming to a close.
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Comment on Competitive Overwatch players of Tildes: What's a tip you'd love to share? in ~games
protium (edited )Link ParentHeya, I have lots of thoughts on dupe, I think one of the smartest ultimates in the game. The first thing to know about dupe is that it’s extremely cheap on current patch, so it’s better to use it...Heya, I have lots of thoughts on dupe, I think one of the smartest ultimates in the game.
The first thing to know about dupe is that it’s extremely cheap on current patch, so it’s better to use it to gain an advantage in a fight rather then to waiting for the perfect time to use it. As long as it gains your team an advantage it’s a good copy, excluding into last fight / OT scenarios.
My experience with Duplicate is about 50% of the time I'm insta-killed
Being insta-killed in dupe is pretty common, usually when that happens your timing or positioning is off. If you’re duping and your team isn’t drawing aggro, then the enemy team can focus and just burn you. Often when you copy someone a sniper will delete you mid-animation, so it’s important to track who has sightlines on you and to try to dupe around some cover.
There's also some niche tech where you can move your camera to hide your critbox after casting dupe so you can't just get one-tapped, but that's only saved me like once.
probably only build an ult with it about 1 in every 5 copies
The ult charge rate nerf did hurt coping for ultimates quite a bit. I now find myself trying to copy for powerful abilities, or as a get out of jail free card after investing all of my cooldowns. The most consistent way I’ve found to build ults while in copy is by copying supports and spamming their cooldowns.
I try and use it as a fight engagement tool via copying the tank but in my experience this leads to a quick death.
Two things here
First thing I’d say is that duping at the start of a fight isn’t usually the best option since the enemy team is likely to have all their cooldowns and their attention is going to be focused on the first threat available. When I do use dupe aggressively, I usually wait for the early mid-fight where my team has force out some cooldowns. I also like to have had invested my cooldowns trying to get a pick or force a key cooldown (suzu, lamp, etc.) before duping aggressively.
The second thing I’d say is that duping tanks aggressively usually isn’t that good due to the 300hp cap. There are exceptions like Ram, Zarya or JQ, but tank copies are just really easy to burn if your trying to engage with them.
DPS heroes to tilt a 1v1 heavily in my favor
This is definitely the best way to use it aggressively imo, just make sure to force a cooldown advantage before copying.
The next piece of advice I’d give for dupe is to not always use it aggressively. This requires good situational awareness, but looking at what cooldowns you have available to you via dupe opens up a plethora of ways to use the ult.
While I do think copying tanks is bad for engaging, copying a tank to sustain the enemy teams powerspike, like copying Zarya for nano blade, can let you win fights that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
In addition support abilities tend to be very strong, and if you use dupe for cooldowns like anti-nade or rez you can change the tempo of a fight to be in for favor even if you get deleted right after using them.Overall the biggest tip I'd have to improve your dupe usage is to VOD every fight where you have dupe available and do some theory crafting. Look at the space you have available to you, and play what-if with each copy target. Think about the impact of X ability, where your enemies attention is at, or what cover you could have played. Just thinking about how you can use it will cause you to subconsciously make better decisions when you're distracted during a match.
Natter is a great coach, I used to watch him for a bit when he made content. I'd also recommend egoistcat if you want macro tips and spilo for general hero advice.
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Comment on Competitive Overwatch players of Tildes: What's a tip you'd love to share? in ~games
protium LinkOmg, finally a tildes thread perfect for me to geek out on! I don't think Overwatch is a great game to play competitively because of its balance, but it's the only multiplayer game that satisfies...Omg, finally a tildes thread perfect for me to geek out on! I don't think Overwatch is a great game to play competitively because of its balance, but it's the only multiplayer game that satisfies my ADHD brain, so I've spent a ton of time learning it.
Here's a list of notes I developed while learning to play Echo at a GM level.
One tip I think that everyone should know is to learn how to take angles. A lot of players, myself included, fell into the trap of stacking with their team in Overwatch 1. In Overwatch 2 splitting the enemies team's attention is crucial for success since there's one less tank to soak up damage and deny off-angles.
Ideally you want to create a situation where the enemy team spending resources on you will result in your team being able to push them, or where the other team focusing your teammates opens up opportunities for you to make a play.
You don't want to isolate yourself so much that the enemy can just turn on you and kill you, but learning to control angles is a fundamental part of how Overwatch plays.
This is slightly off topic, there are two books that I would like to recommend to anyone looking to improve. Reading books to get good at video games is pretty tryhard, but I believe the process of becoming good at video games can teach skills that apply to many aspects of life.
The first book is called "The Inner Game of Tennis" by Timothy Gallwey. This book was probably one of the biggest factors in my mechanical improvement in Overwatch. It uses the medium of tennis to teach you about how to achieve a state of relaxed concentration, what athletes call "in the zone", and gives really good insights on how we can often impede our own success in life. It primarily applies to learning motor skills, but it does touch on psychological factors.
The second book I'd recommend is called "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin. It follows the life of the author, a GM chess player, and the experiences that lead him to his success. The biggest takeaway I got from this book was the value of a growth mindset. Whenever I'm able to focus on the learning and improving at the game, rather than the results of it, I find my experience with Overwatch to be incredibly fun and rewarding regardless of my teammates or whatever cheesy things I encounter.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
protium Link ParentI've been playing Mass Effect LE too. I finished 1 and just got started on 2. I used to think that 2 was the best in the series but after replay 1 I do really appreciate the rpg elements of the...I've been playing Mass Effect LE too. I finished 1 and just got started on 2. I used to think that 2 was the best in the series but after replay 1 I do really appreciate the rpg elements of the first game, minus the inventory bloat of course. The number of powers and bonuses you were given made leveling up feel much more rewarding. It made the latter half a bit too easy, but it was cool to not die every other action sequence, like I am in the second game.
Unfortunately, FemShep's armor doesn't get much more risque, execpt for the causal dress. I haven't got a chance to try them, but people have already made mods for LE to fix the FOV and sprinting which should make things less tedious. Also I don't think anyone is good at driving the mako. The giant jagged mountains make it a pain to drive on most planets.
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Comment on 96% of US users opt out of app tracking in iOS 14.5 in ~tech
protium Link ParentHmm, interesting. Good to know, thanks. I have noticed a difference between cookie prompts when browsing from the US and when using a VPN on a European server. That might explain what I think I've...Hmm, interesting. Good to know, thanks. I have noticed a difference between cookie prompts when browsing from the US and when using a VPN on a European server. That might explain what I think I've experienced.
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Comment on Looking for suggestions of investigation-based games in ~games
protium LinkNot sure if they're strictly considered games but a lot of visual novels have detective elements. If you're okay with point and click style games the ace attorney games can be pretty fun. If you...Not sure if they're strictly considered games but a lot of visual novels have detective elements. If you're okay with point and click style games the ace attorney games can be pretty fun. If you want something that leans more heavily on the story I found the life is strange series pretty enjoyable. The first game seems to be the most well received.
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Comment on They told their therapists everything. Hackers leaked it all. in ~tech
protium LinkWith how pretty much everything in the world is becoming digitized, it's hard to imagine this becoming a one off instance. I find that the levels of trust you need to engage in these systems is...With how pretty much everything in the world is becoming digitized, it's hard to imagine this becoming a one off instance. I find that the levels of trust you need to engage in these systems is ever increasing, especially with the rise in popularity of teletherapy. Fortunately this instance doesn't seem to have as much of an impact as say the Ashley-Madison data breach, but still to be involved in something like this must be terrifying.
With that being said, how is encryption not bog standard for these kinds of databases? I can't imagine the time constraints could really justify a lack of security, so to me it just comes off as negligence.
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Comment on Armed doesn't mean dangerous: Black gun owners are often portrayed negatively. One photographer set out to change that. in ~arts
protium Link ParentI kind of agree? I think regardless of race it's understandable to associate a firearm with 'danger'. Part of that is the judgements I make of someone photographing themselves with a firearm....I kind of agree? I think regardless of race it's understandable to associate a firearm with 'danger'. Part of that is the judgements I make of someone photographing themselves with a firearm. Generally, I assume people who take these kinds of pictures are compensating for some insecurity. Obviously not true for everyone, just something I don't really understand being proud of.
That being said, there is evidence* that many Americans implicitly associate young black men with violence more than with white men. Maybe humanizing images of black people with firearms might help break this association?
* Source, though the validity might be iffy since it's a implicit association test.
I used to have really bad posting anxiety, I would always think "why would anyone care what I have to say?" Nowadays I'm much better about it, except on platforms like discord where I kinda always worry if I'm butting in on a group of friends as an outsider.
The biggest change in my anxiety was to just actually start posting things. As bad as reddit is now, there are still some communities I feel attached to so most of my commenting is done there. I limit my posting to topics I think I know about and have something insightful to add, but I feel much more confident in sharing my ideas on things. I try to keep emotions out of arguments as much as possible, since in my experience on the internet being emotional is the best way to have what you're saying be dismissed. I use alt accounts for posts that I feel are very negative since I find people on the internet are very quick to associate you with your worst moments.
I think part of my anxiety was just due to rejection sensitivity, like the idea people disagreeing with me made me terrified that I would develop a bad reputation among that community. The way I got over that was to just inevitably post bad or controversial takes and receive flack for them. Now when I receive a lot of negative feedback on something I'm confident I'm right in I just remind myself that the average person isn't very smart. It's very elitist and arrogant, but learning to value my opinion over others was a huge lesson I learned way too late in life.
Another factor my anxiety is just my spelling and grammar. I tend to repeat words, use a lot of filler, and spend a lot of time rephrasing things so I often end up accidentally posting something that's poorly worded. I usually read my post before and after posting them so I usually catch my mistakes, but I am embarrassed having to edit a post because of my poor writing. (Edit: the irony...)
I'm relatively careful not to doxx myself or link one screen name I own to another, and I make sure to scrub some accounts every now and then. Obviously this makes it harder to make friends in those communities so I try to use my best judgement when I feel like sharing personal information can deepen a connection. I grew up with a somewhat narcissistic parent, so I am very careful on what information I disclose, but I'm not actually super worried about posting something that someone will be offended enough to harass me for. I (hopefully) have things setup in a way where I can just nuke that account and move on with my life.