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  • Showing only topics in ~talk with the tag "ask". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      4 votes
    2. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      5 votes
    3. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      9 votes
    4. What are you no longer a fan of?

      As the title of the post asked, is there anything that you are no longer a fan of/support? Feel free to share any experiences you have that made you change your mind on something. These could...

      As the title of the post asked, is there anything that you are no longer a fan of/support?

      Feel free to share any experiences you have that made you change your mind on something. These could something smaller such as deciding to no longer support or engage with a brand due to store clerk being a bit rude to you in one interaction, to you disliking the actions or direction taken by a corporation/creator/franchise.

      I did want to note that while this thread can obviously veer in to the negative based on the question, it doesn't have to be. You could no longer being a fan of something could be due to your tastes changing over the years, or a life experience making you decide you want to change your habits.

      64 votes
    5. Good News Everyone! - your semi regular good news thread

      Welcome back to the good news thread where we share the news that makes us happy, brings us joy, or is maybe just super cool. Personal news is also welcome! Note:For this thread, even if something...

      Welcome back to the good news thread where we share the news that makes us happy, brings us joy, or is maybe just super cool. Personal news is also welcome!

      Note:For this thread, even if something happy also reveals the sadness at the heart of the world, we're going to focus on the joy here.

      37 votes
    6. What would you do with a video game style inventory?

      The rules are as follows: If you can lift an object above your head unassisted, you can put it into your inventory. There is no limit in the total quantity, volume or weight of objects in your...

      The rules are as follows:

      • If you can lift an object above your head unassisted, you can put it into your inventory.
      • There is no limit in the total quantity, volume or weight of objects in your inventory.
      • You can immediately store or produce a stored item to and from your inventory at will.
      • Objects will remain in their original state when stored in an inventory. From their perspective, no time has passed.
      35 votes
    7. Magical stones from the mall!

      On Monday I was in my local mall and there was one of those gem / crystal shops. I have no idea how these people make rent and salaries, so I figured I'd take a little look around. I ask the dude...

      On Monday I was in my local mall and there was one of those gem / crystal shops. I have no idea how these people make rent and salaries, so I figured I'd take a little look around.

      I ask the dude for a stone to make me happy and he gives me a few options then suggests this other luck / wealth one; $3! Well, me, being a genius, bought both and immediately bought a lottery ticket.

      Wednesday rolls around and I just checked the numbers. After nearly 20 years of never winning anything more than a buck or a free ticket, I won $108 (4 8 15 16 23 42 oh my!)

      If we ever do a meet up, I'm gonna be 30lbs heavier with all the rocks in my pocket. I really need a stone for tagging this nonsense post...

      40 votes
    8. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      4 votes
    9. What's a culture shock that you experienced?

      Could be from a place you visited or moved to. Could be from a community or group you joined. Whatever it was, there was something new or unfamiliar to you, and you had to wrap your head around...

      Could be from a place you visited or moved to. Could be from a community or group you joined.

      Whatever it was, there was something new or unfamiliar to you, and you had to wrap your head around that something that you weren't used to.

      What was the culture shock, how did you respond to it, and how do you feel about it now?

      45 votes
    10. Slop and guilt

      1 A few days ago I started watching "Hirogaru Sky! Precure", after seeing someone post a clip from it and being like "its funny how when they say the word white they instead say hwhite". I looked...

      1

      A few days ago I started watching "Hirogaru Sky! Precure", after seeing someone post a clip from it and being like "its funny how when they say the word white they instead say hwhite". I looked at the clip and was like yeah they do say "hwhite", after which I thought, "hey isn't this the magical girl anime where they have a magical boy?" I got curious, and after confirming that with some random wiki I found, I went and decided to watch a bit of it.

      I pretty quickly learned how the show works, it's extremely formulaic. Each episode is 24 minutes long, but out of those 24 minutes probably at least maybe like 6 minutes, or one quarter, is spent on fully copy pasted scenes which are basically fully the same between episodes. The obvious ones are the intro and outro (which is pretty normal for anime), but there are also minutes long transformation sequences where the heroes transform from ordinary people into magical girl heroes by doing a dance while saying some random fancy words while a lot of flashy effects happen in the background. Each* episode also has a monster, that even has the same name every time even though its a different monster every time. Oh also the villain creating the monster has a copy pasted effect. And each of the main heroes has a spell that has a copy pasted effect when they use their special "move".

      None of this is actually very important, I am just trying to say that the creators might be trying to go more for quantity over quality. Which is probably pretty obvious also because they are making literally one episode each week? And I do mean each week, I am looking this up right now and apparently the show has been running from 2004 and there have been 1067 episodes during that time, which according to my vibes based calculations means they missed maybe like 3 weeks on average each year. It might also be obvious from the fact that it's target demographics is basically preschool children.

      Anyways what I am trying to say that this is slop right? Its kinda mindless, its the same over and over. Oh, but that first day I did watch 9 episodes of it in a row. From a big part it was because I really wanted to see the magical boy show up. But I also can't deny that I enjoy it. I continued watching it the next day, even after I saw the magical boy show up, after all. I think I saw like 15 episodes now (so no spoilers please, haha), and I want to see more. I've been feeling kind of down, hopeless, and without motivation for quite a long time, and the sort of naive positivity in the show at least sort of makes me a bit optimistic, at least very temporarily. And it also makes me almost (or not almost) cry.

      At the same time I feel very guilty of liking it. And I've been thinking really hard about why.

      The fact that it's kinda dumb is definitely a part of it, but it can't really bother me that much considering how many hours of my life I have wasted playing videogames mindlessly, or watching/listening to Youtube videos which might be even dumber, as an example I probably watched more than 1000 episodes of Northernlion playing the Binding of Isaac. It's kinda just inevitable that people waste a lot of their time, and there's nothing wrong with that really right. Well, when I was trying to fall asleep but instead kept on pondering my thoughts about this I did decide to go talk with my room-mate, which resulted in us talking about this topic, and life in general until like 2 am, I am really thankful that he's the kind of person who I can do that with. Our discussion didn't really come up with a concrete conclusion, we just kinda were like, "yeah life kinda sucks but it's better to not dwell on that, and oh yeah you probably actually kind of need to consume some lower quality media for the higher quality more thinky media to actually hit more" and then I went to sleep.

      The second and I think bigger part is that it's literally made for like 8 year old girls. Uhhh, and there's kind of no way around that I think? Like that just feels embarrassing to watch for me. For context, I am kinda basically a guy even tho I am also probably more feminine than most (maybe it'd be fairer to myself to say that I am nonbinary, but you know, if you are nonbinary in a forest where no one can see you are you really nonbinary? yes? yes. but also I am just perceived as just a guy by most people so lets keep it simple.), it still feels basically illegal to like something like this as an adult guy. When I examine this more I do think it definitely shouldn't feel like that. If someone tells me they like Pokemon I don't really find it weird at all, even though it's theoretically made for preschool boys. Or maybe more similar is what I am guessing is My Little Pony, which I never watched, but which a lot of guys on the internet liked pretty visibly. I even met someone who I really respected who told me that he liked the show. And I did feel a bit iffy about that, but also when actually thinking at least somewhat critically I saw no problem with. I guess the same is for Precure. If I think about it, I just feel it's sort of weird, but also just kinda fine. I thought about how cool it'd be to make a cosplay of Cure Wing (the magical boy in the show), I've been getting into sewing, and I do think it might not be that difficult to make. And then I think how I could like be silly and try do some of those dances from the show in that cosplay. But then I immediately think how it's too much. And how embarrassing is that I am even thinking about that. I just don't really know.

      2

      Just a few hours before writing this post I saw a video by Jeffiot called Peak Art, Peak Slop. I'd recommend watching it, it's sort of related to what I wrote about here, but not really. Very, very, oversimplified it tries to somehow explain why something like Twin Peaks might be better than a Mr Beast video. It basically says that all the edges of Mr Beast videos are perfectly sanded off to make it as easy to digest as possible, which they succeed at very well, but it to really enjoy given closer examination, and so when you watch one you don't even really remember what you watched. While something like Twin Peaks breaks a lot of conventions that make things easy to watch, but which also makes it quite memorable. I do take some slight issue with that -- for example, because I can kind of think of what happens in some Mr Beast videos, for example I think in one he recreates Squid Game, though thinking about it I am not really sure if I even actually saw that video. And for example because I did watch all of Twin Peaks, but also can't really remember all that much that happens in it, though again when in the video Jeffiot mentions some of the things I did think to myself yeah I sort of remember that.

      I am definitely taking this a bit too literally and sort of just wanted to try be a bit funny here. In reality I think it's just true that something like Twin Peaks makes you think more, and even though it's made in a way that isn't the easiest to watch, thinking about it is really interesting and makes it memorable. There definitely are parts I can think of immediately since they were so so so memorable -- for example episode 8 of season 3 -- even if I don't fully remember the specifics.

      Which finally gets me to my point. Precure made me think a lot too. And I sort of remember what's happening in it, and even if I forget the specifics, I don't really think I am ever completely forgetting that I watched it. So I think after all this it might not really be slop, even though it definitely is a bit low quality, and a bit stupid, and made in a way to be easy to watch. It's sort of in a weird way where the context of me not really being the target audience (I think? like maybe I am being unfair here considering they did decide to have a magical boy after making the 900 episodes or whatever before it so maybe they wanted to expand the audience? I have no idea honestly) makes it be more interesting then it otherwise might be? I think? Like while it's definitely made to be easy to watch I did also describe why watching it makes me feel pretty guilty, so that kind of makes it not that easy to watch, right? Or maybe I am just making stuff up to make myself feel better about watching it.

      Ok, this is besides the point but I do want to defend Precure (or at least the 15 episodes I watched, I guess I can't vouch for the 1050 others or however many there are) a bit more. I do still think it's better than something like Mr Beast, since it at least has a genuinely positive message and tries to make people be kind and think about what other people feel, which has to be worth at least something right? Meanwhile Mr Beast instead does basically the most parasocial things imaginable, I guess on the very surface he's giving out money, but like he's using the money that to bribe people to embarrass themselves, or even sometimes harm themselves. So I am trying to say that while both are probably slop, some slop is still better than other slop. Shrug.

      I am not really sure which group to put this in? Maybe this should be somewhere else instead? Probably ~anime? Or ~tv? ~life? ~lgbt? Feel free to move this elsewhere, I don't really know.

      29 votes
    11. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    12. Joy of sharing a creation replaced by a longing sadness

      So I recently put out a custom map for Beat Saber that I had started work on when the internet was cut for 14 days 20 days in Iran to pass the time. Gameplay video of the map, Odysseus from Epic...

      So I recently put out a custom map for Beat Saber that I had started work on when the internet was cut for 14 days 20 days in Iran to pass the time.

      Gameplay video of the map, Odysseus from Epic The Musical

      Everyone I sent it to enjoyed it a lot and I got the happiness that I needed.
      One of them recommended to send it over to some twitch streamers as well because some of them have a bot that lets you recommend maps.

      I've never used twitch, I found a steamer, made an account, sent it in the chat and had my chat at messages tts'd in the stream. It was absolutely lovely seeing their reaction and it had made my night.

      Then I noticed that my 'thank you!' messages didn't tts, huh weird. After watching them for a bit longer I thought maybe I'll send some other stuff I've made their way too. Aaand it didn't send, the chat message sent but the bot response didn't come, a bunch of testing later I found i was shadow banned.

      A bit more searching and I found that VPNs are the cause. So changed from TOR to Express and tried again, no dice.
      Made a new account with Express and tried and success! But only for 4 messages total, then shadow banned again.

      I got a friend's dedicated v2ray server and tried with a new account and my messages were sent again. So I went to a bigger streamer who was also doing the map requests and sent my map... Only to see I'm shadow banned again.

      At this point the joy I had felt from seeing others enjoy what I made was gone, replaced by a familiar sadness, the same type of sadness I had gotten when the internet was cut and essentially a one way communication not too long ago.

      It's a pain. these sites don't load without VPNs, I had already spent a whole hour trying different VPNs to get the 7mb map to upload to the site (and experienced like 30 errors in the process), then had to try out a bunch more to get the file to upload in Discord (with a bunch of VPNs I can only send messages, files don't upload), and then I experienced the happiness that came from seeing a live reaction and wanting to experience it more, only to have it wiped away.

      I want to start work on the next project, i have so much in my mind that i want to put out into the world, but it takes time to switch back to the mentality of "I'm making this for myself and others may never see it" that I had to adopt to get back to creating.

      Edit: seems a whole week has been removed from my memory, the outage wasn't two weeks

      49 votes
    13. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      6 votes
    14. Hair loss open discussion

      Experiences, past or present? Age, medical, genetic, no reason? Anything worked for you or a waste of time / money ? What works, what doesnt, or just acceptance? Intended for open discussion for...

      Experiences, past or present? Age, medical, genetic, no reason? Anything worked for you or a waste of time / money ? What works, what doesnt, or just acceptance?

      Intended for open discussion for everyone interested

      34 votes
    15. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      5 votes
    16. I'm back

      I just remembered this site from a few years back, maybe during Covid times? Clearly at some point the decision to delete my account history was made... The state of the internet now makes me so...

      I just remembered this site from a few years back, maybe during Covid times? Clearly at some point the decision to delete my account history was made...

      The state of the internet now makes me so deeply anxious. Scrolling Instagram makes my head feel like sludge. I stopped using reddit about 7 years ago. Never really found my crowd on IRC. So back here I am, hoping to find some signal in the noise and to calm my mind.

      Has anything changed much here? What should I check out?

      53 votes
    17. What's something you've moved on from?

      What's something you grew out of/moved on from/phased out? How do you feel about it now? Fondness? Embarassment? A nostalgic ache? Why did you end up moving on from it? Was it a conscious...

      What's something you grew out of/moved on from/phased out?

      How do you feel about it now? Fondness? Embarassment? A nostalgic ache?

      Why did you end up moving on from it?

      Was it a conscious decision, or was it something that happened over time?

      45 votes
    18. What are some of your recent "little" failures?

      What have you tried lately that hasn't quite worked out? Small things like hobbies gone wrong, or social experiences that were slightly awkward. Sometimes it can be cathartic to both get these...

      What have you tried lately that hasn't quite worked out? Small things like hobbies gone wrong, or social experiences that were slightly awkward.

      Sometimes it can be cathartic to both get these things off your chest and to hear what others have struggled with as a reminder that no one is perfect.

      23 votes
    19. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      2 votes
    20. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      8 votes
    21. I am kinda curious about the demographics of Tildes

      not sure if this is the appropriate sub group for this question or if its even allowed but figured I'd try. I am curious the demographics of tildes users. You can be as specific as you feel...

      not sure if this is the appropriate sub group for this question or if its even allowed but figured I'd try.

      I am curious the demographics of tildes users. You can be as specific as you feel comfortable.

      I am in a dude in my 30s in Canada who works in software development.

      48 votes
    22. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    23. Good News Everyone! - the coping with everything edition

      In this edition of the Good News thread, I'd love it if folks shared not just a positive news story, but perhaps a video, article, story, something that can function as a happy moment, a chill...

      In this edition of the Good News thread, I'd love it if folks shared not just a positive news story, but perhaps a video, article, story, something that can function as a happy moment, a chill vibe, a memory that makes you smile. We're all just trying to deal with the world, so if you cannot find joy in current events, consider sharing something else joyful.

      For this thread, even if something happy also reveals the sadness at the heart of the world, we're going to focus on the joy here. (Posting in misc due to the extended ask this time)

      44 votes
    24. What’s a point that you think many people missed?

      The point can be a common phrase or lesson, the message of a work of media, something directly stated, etc. It doesn’t have to be “universal” and can be a story from your life/school/workplace...

      The point can be a common phrase or lesson, the message of a work of media, something directly stated, etc.

      It doesn’t have to be “universal” and can be a story from your life/school/workplace where, say, a lot of people missed the point of a meeting or directive or whatnot.

      Whatever its source and impact, it’s something where you think that a lot of people really missed the point and went with a different and more incorrect understanding/interpretation.

      What point did people miss? Why do you think they missed it? And why do you think your interpretation is the more correct one?

      43 votes
    25. What private companies are you happy doing business with?

      I'm increasingly of the opinion that most publicly owned companies either have lower quality services and products or eventually will. It may not matter in the end for most people as long as they...

      I'm increasingly of the opinion that most publicly owned companies either have lower quality services and products or eventually will. It may not matter in the end for most people as long as they can get what they need but personally if I have a choice I'd rather do business with companies not being traded with the hope that they can still operate without feeling like they need to go public to survive. There must still be a lot of privately owned companies that do prioritize customers instead of shareholders but with the constant churn of selloffs and takeovers it can be hard to keep track of.

      The only popular one I can think of right now that I do regular business with is Valve Software. What are some other private companies that you are happy to support?

      63 votes
    26. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      5 votes
    27. What's something you're "in too deep" on?

      A little white lie that got bigger than you anticipated. A hobby you got a little too into. The sunk costs of something irreversible in your life. Whatever it is, you're "in to deep" on it and...

      A little white lie that got bigger than you anticipated.
      A hobby you got a little too into.
      The sunk costs of something irreversible in your life.

      Whatever it is, you're "in to deep" on it and think fondly of surfacing (whether that's possible for your situation or not).

      Share what it is, how it came to be that way, and what's next for you.

      59 votes
    28. What are your predictions for 2026?

      Thought I'd post the thread this year as I haven't seen it pop up yet. It's been an eventful 2025, and we certainly live in some interesting times. If you made predictions for this year, how did...

      Thought I'd post the thread this year as I haven't seen it pop up yet.

      It's been an eventful 2025, and we certainly live in some interesting times. If you made predictions for this year, how did they turn out? What are your predictions for the next year?

      2019 thread

      2022 thread

      2023 thread

      2024 thread

      2025 thread

      37 votes
    29. On 2016 nostalgia

      I’ll try to keep this post as brief as possible. I spend a lot of time on the internet. Twitter and TikTok mainly. And I’ve been extremely online since I gained unlimited access to it in the early...

      I’ll try to keep this post as brief as possible.

      I spend a lot of time on the internet. Twitter and TikTok mainly. And I’ve been extremely online since I gained unlimited access to it in the early 2010s. I would say that the biggest shifts in attitudes and styles on the internet occurred throughout the 2010s, with 2016 marking a clear-cut turning point.

      We transitioned from the hipster aestheticisms and YOLO branding of 2010-2012 to the more “baddie” Instagram aesthetic popularized by celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Ariana Grande.

      Now, some people have confused that early 2010s aesthetic for what we actually saw during 2016. Which was a cleaner, less quirky idea of what “style” was. Music also showed this as we went from Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO being a chart topper to One Dance by Drake and Sorry by Justin Bieber being the club-friendly radio hits. Things were less ironic; in order to be cool, you had to be calm (if you listen to the 2016 songs, they don’t feel as aggressive as LMFAO’s songs).

      I was 16 during most of 2016. Old enough to remember everything and young enough to still be “hip” with the culture (although I’ve always been kind of an old man mentally). Most of my internet use around this time was on Reddit. Specifically, the meme subreddits such as dank_memes and me_irl. The tone back then was super depressing. Saying you were gonna kill yourself was a common punchline. Everyone circle jerked about how sad they were. These are common on the internet now, but were relatively new for the mainstream back then. The running joke was that 2016 was the worst year in history. Many high-profile celebrities died during this year (Prince, David Bowie, George Michael, Carrie Fisher), which led to people saying “DAMN YOU 2016!” every single time. That saying “damn you [year]” became normal for every subsequent year.

      Reflecting on this period, I will say, I do not recall much nostalgia for say 2006 back then on the internet. I saw more nostalgia for the 00s from Zillennials and older Zoomers throughout these past four years than I ever did back then.

      So what is it? Why have we been seeing so many people longing for the days of 2016? I’ve seen videos like this for the past two years, and they’ve only accelerated now that we’re exactly 10 years removed. Videos, such as this, are making the rounds, glorifying the aesthetics of the time.

      My first instinct has always been: these are people around my age who miss being a teenager. This is still the likeliest explanation. A time before you worried about bills or felt like you were behind in life. I also miss that time period for that reason, and I also wish I could wake up exactly that year and do everything over and better this time.

      But, this general analysis of the human condition doesn’t explain why this specifically. Why 2016, why not 2010, why didn’t this happen ten years ago for 2006? In which case, I don’t really know.

      I suppose 2016 felt less cringe. The aforementioned millennialisms of the early 2010s weren’t as prevalent, so the time period doesn’t feel as dated. Speaking of things feeling “dated,” many of the interfaces we use now are not so far off from what we were using in 2016. I remember watching the 2014 film Whiplash and being shocked at how old the cell phones looked there, but if you put on Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) the technology doesn’t really stand out that much. Many of the social media apps we use are the same as they were in 2016. You could realistically have had the same Instagram and Twitter accounts for nearly 20 years now. With the exception of TikTok, the way in which we use the internet today is about the same as we used it then.

      Which is why 2016 is this comforting year. Where everything is the same, except you’re younger. It was right before politics got really weird. It was before we lived through a global pandemic. Clubbing still felt like a thing that people did. Youth had a defined image that we currently lack. It felt like a party compared to the way we experience life now.

      16 votes
    30. Share weird crossovers, cameos and in-universe references to help map out ridiculous shared universes!

      This is one of those posts that make me wish we could tag multiple tildes. Because this would apply to ~tv, ~movies, ~comics, ~games, ~books, and ~anime, with possibly even more. A long time ago I...

      This is one of those posts that make me wish we could tag multiple tildes. Because this would apply to ~tv, ~movies, ~comics, ~games, ~books, and ~anime, with possibly even more.

      A long time ago I read an article about weird crossovers, and it made the point that thanks to unrelated crossovers and six degrees of separation, the Archie comics Sonic technically existed in the same universe as... Some popular live action shows, because that show had a crossover with some other show that crossed over with Sonic. Obviously not really, but it was a funny thought.

      I failed to find the article I remember, but my brief search did bring up the Tommy Westphall Shared Universe, which comprises 400+ shows thanks to various crossovers, cameos and in-universe references. There is a whole fandom wiki dedicated to it. There's also this site that lets you search for connections between TV shows. The site's description from DuckDuckGo is "Easily search and find the relationship between shows in the Tommy Westphall Universe and beyond." It's silly, but fun!

      Thing is, most of my cursory searching into it has people focus on live-action TV and movies. And... Well, like I said at the start: the article I remember reading made a connection between Archie comics Sonic and some live-action show thanks to some crossover.

      Since that first article, I've wondered off and on about the weirdest crossovers out there, and just how weird of a shared universe could exist. I don't want to limit it to one or two mediums, I want to find crossovers that can transcend mediums! Comics, TV, games and more!

      So: what are the weirdest crossovers, cameos and in-universe connections you know of? What are the wildest connections we can make? And, for bonus fun, what are the ramifications of shoving all these wildly different series into one ridiculous universe?? how many different apocalypses can we shove into it

      16 votes
    31. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      7 votes
    32. Not-so-humble brag: What are you proud of that you don't normally get to talk about?

      As we finish out 2025, it's been a minute since we had a question like this and with apologies to @kfwyre for stealing their MO. What's something you're proud of? Maybe from this year, maybe not,...

      As we finish out 2025, it's been a minute since we had a question like this and with apologies to @kfwyre for stealing their MO.

      What's something you're proud of? Maybe from this year, maybe not, but especially something you don't get to talk about a lot, for whatever reason.

      58 votes
    33. I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path

      Disclaimer: I'm dismissive of religious beliefs Just for the record. I'm was raised and am an atheist. I use to have a period where I was ostensibly against religion. I have soften my stand the...
      Disclaimer: I'm dismissive of religious beliefs Just for the record. I'm was raised and am an atheist. I use to have a period where I was ostensibly against religion. I have soften my stand the last ~10 years, I believe I'm more tolerant and don't care what people believe in if it makes them feel better, from religion to homoeopathy. However, I still vehemently oppose any pseudo-science or religion being brought up when discussing real science.

      I don't know if you know Destin Sandlin. He has a youtube channel named "SmarterEveryDay." I believe he would self-describe his channel as "a red-neck doing sciencey stuff."

      The guy has everything, from the southern accent to videos about seemingly-dumb red-neck things that involve a significant amount of engineering and the opportunity to teach about science. If you don't know him, some (not all) of what I consider his best videos are:

      The large part of his content is like this. Maybe not of this quality, but the theme is often some, what he calls, "redneck" thing turned into an engineering challenge. And overall, the quality of his videos is quite high.

      Sometimes he will just tag along with some expert explaining their fields. These are also entertaining and IMHO educational pieces of content. If you want examples, there are:

      And more rarely, he will post weird, life advice or motivational content. Usually this is wholesome or harmless, but it feels disconnected from the rest. Examples are:

      I've always like Destin. This is not a university class, and in the past he has taken some shortcuts with safety. But overall, I think he is an honest content creator, and he is entertaining and educational. He also has increase the safety of his experiments, and been educational about (see the video linked above about bullets hitting bullets) I feel that he has kept the clickbait as low as he could get away with Youtube's algorithm, and that's rare in this day and age, therefore I respect him for that. Overall his content is, IMHO, humble and wholesome.

      I think this contrasts with Veritasium which has become way too clickbaity, and Mark Rober who reminds you every 5 minutes that he quit his job at NASA to do Youtube. By the way, did you know Mark Rober used to work at NASA?

      Of course, Destin is not perfect. He has taken, what I consider to be, bad sponsorship in the past, such as NordVPN which is just a shady VPN (just use Mullvad or Mozilla VPN if you want to circumvent geoblocking), HelloFresh which is overpriced food delivered by a Roach Motel company, or Casper Mattress which AFAIK is a dropshipping company selling products with some health concerns. But many other Youtubers took these sponsorship, so I won't criticise him too much for that. Also his quest to make something 100% in the USA is very laudable, at least to me.

      There are some weird stuff though. I'm trying to not be too much parasocial, but most of his content that is not science related feels... weird. It's often about family, helping the poor, being a good member of the community, which I think are good values to have, but it has this weird religious semi-conservative undertone that I can't really pinpoint, it's more like an uncomfortable feeling.

      Most of his videos used to finishes with a reference to a bible verse in gray over a black screen. This has disappeared most likely as the Youtube algorithm started asking him to link to his other videos at the end of his videos. I also always find weird the videos with his kids because they address him as "sir". I don't know if it's cultural, but in France (where I'm from and where I live) this is usually associated with radical Catholics (aka "traditionalists")

      I've pro-actively tried to avoid judging him on the last part, because I believe people can live their life as they wish as long as they don't hurt anybody.

      But now, I'm torn... He has recently made more and more references to the bible for historical and biological facts. The two videos, I have in mind are:

      And this is starting to bother me. I don't mind the past "I have some belief I want you to know, but unrelated to that, I put it aside, here is some engineering/science video." However, I do mind the recent "I'm talking about science, and let me tell you how it matches my made up beliefs based on a book made up by people 1000s of years ago."

      I know that Destin owes me nothing. And the counter point should be "hey... if you're not happy just stop watching him." But I just feel that I'm watching a guy who spend more than a decades building his brand and audience just tearing it appart, and it was a good brand and audience. I'm just sad about it, but maybe I'm overreacting.

      What's your opinion?

      52 votes
    34. How do you want to define 2026 for yourself?

      I was never one to subscribe to new year's resolutions, but I do believe in using the new year to set a mindset for defining the past year and a goal for the new year's theme. How do you want to...

      I was never one to subscribe to new year's resolutions, but I do believe in using the new year to set a mindset for defining the past year and a goal for the new year's theme. How do you want to describe your 2026 this time next year?

      I want mine to be a year of sowing. I want to make roots in a new job which I love and extend myself out to new people to create relationships I'm proud to have.

      Another big focus this year for me will be physical change. I'm the heaviest I've ever been and last time I was close to this weight, I dropped 70lbs in under 6 months. It's time for me to find a sustainable way to reach and maintain that target weight again.

      29 votes
    35. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      7 votes
    36. How do you keep your life organized? What tools & systems do you use?

      Hi, Tilderites! I'm looking for a system and/or tool to better manage my tasks and to-do's. I'd like to become more productive & responsive. My current system is a mix of "mark as unread" for...

      Hi, Tilderites! I'm looking for a system and/or tool to better manage my tasks and to-do's. I'd like to become more productive & responsive.

      My current system is a mix of "mark as unread" for emails, physical "to-do" scribbles on post-it notes, reminders in my phone, and other digital notes. My problem is that once I add something to a task list, I inconsistently follow up on it. My other problem is that most of these tasks are unrelated, so mixing them together is confusing. My ultimate goal is to lighten my mental overhead without reducing productivity.

      I need a clear, centralized place to commit to keeping all my atomic tasks outside my 9–5: my social life, family, volunteering, any freelance work, housekeeping, personal projects, and so on.

      What tools do you use to stay organized? Do you have any advice for time management?

      Extra preferences:

      • I'd like to try tools designed for mobile and desktop.
      • I love visual tools and benefit from something visually intuitive (but customizable). I love colors.
      • Happy to pay for a productivity tool if it's effective.
      • I'd like a "one-stop shop" because maintaining different task lists in different tools seems messy. I encapsulate all 9–5 work tasks in a ticket tracking system. That's fine for work, but I only want 2 task apps, not 5. And I'm not sure if an Agile-like system works so well for me in real life.
      • I'm looking for something that can capture all my different categories or "tracks" of tasks without burying anything. I prefer to minimize context-switching, so I don't want everything to be visually mixed together; it'll distract me. But I want to make sure I don't forget a whole area of tasks. So this is partially a UI/UX question: what tools have the depth to do this?
      • My calendar is neatly organized and color-coded. I rely on it to remember daily obligations. Perhaps I could tie a task management tool into my calendar better.

      Maybe you can also offer advice on systems to maintain discipline and follow-up. My highly structured calendar is great and I mostly adhere to it. However, I haven't figured out how to utilize the calendar for oceans of teeny-tiny tasks, so I need something to complement it. In addition to a tool, I'm sure I could benefit from a new philosophical perspective or mental approach to staying tidy.

      Thanks in advance! :)

      38 votes
    37. Merry Christmas!

      Like the title says! For some reason I have actually woken up before my kids and I’m the only person stirring in the house — I have nothing to do but browse Tildes while I wait for the day to get...

      Like the title says! For some reason I have actually woken up before my kids and I’m the only person stirring in the house — I have nothing to do but browse Tildes while I wait for the day to get started. What’s everyone’s plan today?

      81 votes
    38. What do you leave out for Father Christmas?

      My partner and I were talking about how buzzed Santa must get from his light-speed jaunt around the world, drinking up everyone's booze, but it didn't occur to me that maybe leaving him alcohol is...

      My partner and I were talking about how buzzed Santa must get from his light-speed jaunt around the world, drinking up everyone's booze, but it didn't occur to me that maybe leaving him alcohol is not a typical tradition outside of the UK!

      If you celebrate Christmas, and leave (or have left) a drink and/or snack for Father Christmas, where are you from, and what do you leave?

      27 votes
    39. What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly?

      These could be active skills or techniques you've found helpful, things you've built or bought that have changed an area of your life, or just something that brings you more joy than you had...

      These could be active skills or techniques you've found helpful, things you've built or bought that have changed an area of your life, or just something that brings you more joy than you had before.

      A few subject areas that could spark ideas (but please share things outside of these if you have them!):

      • Work / Professional Life / Networking
      • Cooking / Baking / Food Prep
      • Cleaning
      • DIY
      • Crafts / Hobbies
      • Home Automation / Security
      • Beauty / Grooming / Personal Hygiene
      • Travel
      • Planning / Scheduling / Memory Aids
      • Fitness
      • Relaxation
      • Mental Health
      49 votes
    40. Fun winter holiday decorations?

      So I asked this in the game giveaway thread and got some fun answers, and figured I'd ask the greater site at large! So, what are the gaudiest, funniest winter yard decorations you can find or...

      So I asked this in the game giveaway thread and got some fun answers, and figured I'd ask the greater site at large!

      So, what are the gaudiest, funniest winter yard decorations you can find or have seen? I'm talking giant inflatable leg lamps, Chewbacca's family dressed up for Life Day and other heartwarming scenes from the beloved classic Star Wars Christmas Special, Calvin-approved snowmen decorations, a crime scene around where Santa ran over grandma, a Calvin-approved snowman crime scene starring Olaf from Frozen as the victim.

      If you have pictures, all the better! If not, we can still get a laugh out of hearing descriptions. And who knows? Maybe you can get some ideas for next year...

      18 votes
    41. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      10 votes
    42. Good News Everyone!

      Welcome back to another edition of the good news thread. Where I challenge folks to find and post good news. Don't just link to a source of good news, pick one out and share it. Personal good news...

      Welcome back to another edition of the good news thread. Where I challenge folks to find and post good news. Don't just link to a source of good news, pick one out and share it. Personal good news stories are also welcome!

      Even if it's good in the face of bad, even if it's the sort of good that can also remind you that shit's fucked up. For this thread, we focus on the good and we don't let the fact there's still also bad in the world drag us down.

      65 votes
    43. Whatever happened to _____?

      News items come and go fast these days, which means we often see something as its happening, in the thick of things. So much of what we see stops there, and we don't get the full story later, once...

      News items come and go fast these days, which means we often see something as its happening, in the thick of things. So much of what we see stops there, and we don't get the full story later, once the dust has settled, because resolution is a lot less newsworthy.

      This is a chance to ask about old news items (or other events) and get updates on how things have panned out from people in the know. Also, interpret "news" very loosely here. This topic is open to, well, ANYTHING people want updates about. It could be about headline stuff, or something in, I don't know, the Stardew Valley modding scene, for example.

      For organization's sake, please limit each top-level comment to ONE topic. If you'd like to ask about multiple things, feel free! Just please make them as separate comments so that individual threads aren't a mix of different answers to different prompts.

      60 votes