• Activity
  • Votes
  • Comments
  • New
  • All activity
    1. What's a battle that nobody knows you're fighting?

      The "nobody" in the title doesn't have to be literal -- it can be a battle that very few people know about. The important thing is that it's mostly hidden. What is the struggle? Is it hidden by...

      The "nobody" in the title doesn't have to be literal -- it can be a battle that very few people know about. The important thing is that it's mostly hidden.

      What is the struggle?
      Is it hidden by choice?
      Do you want more people to know about it? Why or why not?

      12 votes
    2. Megathread: April Fools' Day 2026 on the internet

      Over the next day or so, the internet will be filled with jokes, pranks, fake "announcements" from companies, fun interactive activities, games, and so on. A lot of these can be quite clever and...

      Over the next day or so, the internet will be filled with jokes, pranks, fake "announcements" from companies, fun interactive activities, games, and so on. A lot of these can be quite clever and interesting so I think posting about them in general is fine, but in the interest of preventing them from completely taking over Tildes, let's try to keep as many of them restricted to this thread as possible. Ideally, a separate top-level comment for each individual item would be good.

      If something particularly discussion-worthy comes up (like an ARG or activity that a lot of people want to talk about), a separate thread is reasonable, but please make sure it has the "april fools day" tag. That way, if anyone wants to avoid seeing the April Fools' Day threads, they can use the topic tag filters and filter that tag out.

      I'm going to use the "official" styling for this topic (that's usually only for ~tildes.official topics) to make it stand out more to try to encourage people to notice it. If you notice people making individual topics for April Fools' Day things that don't really warrant their own topic, please (nicely) encourage them to delete and post in here instead.

      100 votes
    3. Things that don't suck

      So much of what the algorithms surface is negative. For all of the reasons that mostly everyone's aware of at this point. It's easy to get the general impression that times are dark without...

      So much of what the algorithms surface is negative. For all of the reasons that mostly everyone's aware of at this point.

      It's easy to get the general impression that times are dark without realizing it. I think sometimes it's good to intentionally offset algorithmic (and general human) negativity bias.

      Lets do a positive news thread, I'll start:

      Hungary votes out Orbán after 16 years

      Perovskite solar cells hit 34.85%

      Portugal hits 80.7% renewable electricity

      Hidden drainage system found in human brain

      First lab-grown oesophagus using hosts own cells (fully incorporated with muscles, nerves, arteries within 6 months)

      And of course Artemis II! Why is space exploration somehow more positive than the sum of its parts?

      Please post anything, it doesn't have to be "news". The full range of the humanities works too

      73 votes
    4. I love you all

      I have been gifted a tiny bit of VPN quota from a relative to allow me to upload my beatsaber creations. Its been the most important thing for me to put out, had found a very kind community, was...

      I have been gifted a tiny bit of VPN quota from a relative to allow me to upload my beatsaber creations. Its been the most important thing for me to put out, had found a very kind community, was known-ish in it. I spent multiple weeks working on one of the projects i had planned, it was the only thing do to daily. Since it was finished life's been nothing after nothing after nothing. Fear, stress, depression, power infrastructure might get hit, planning for loss of power, loss of water, loss of food.
      Constant stream of people asking for internet in news website comments. On the verge of crying 80% of the time.
      I'm not gonna buy atrociously prices VPNs, even in this state people are scamming eachother with fake VPNs.
      I miss life, life's been on pause for more than a month. the best describer of life is that it's on pause, that's all.
      I was never at risk for depression, my friends who were now have it and struggle with it.
      I have lost weight and gained a few more white hairs tho.
      I love everyone and everything, i wish to get back to life.

      Will be seeing you hopefully in a better state.
      -Pooya (slabs37)

      edit 2026/4/14:
      got connected via another paid vpn, don't think this one will last long either. i put the wrong url, because ofcourse i did...

      119 votes
    5. Do I not need to use blue light filter on my screens if I already have eyeglasses with Anti-Reflective coating?

      I mean the blue light filter that's built-in in most phones and computers. on Windows, it's called "Night Light" and on most android phones, it's called "Reading mode". so my question is, do I...

      I mean the blue light filter that's built-in in most phones and computers. on Windows, it's called "Night Light" and on most android phones, it's called "Reading mode".

      so my question is, do I need not that at all and if the glasses accomplish the same thing? or if they're completely different things. I don't even know if the Anti-Reflective coating provides any protection from blue light.

      also I read that blue light can disrupt sleep but I don't really have any problems sleeping, even though I don't use the night light/reading mode

      7 votes
    6. How worried should I be about plastic water bottles?

      I'll be brief. I have a collection of plastic water bottles including a large 12 liters container. I am in the process of replacing them with metal, but large metal containers can be expensive...

      I'll be brief.

      I have a collection of plastic water bottles including a large 12 liters container. I am in the process of replacing them with metal, but large metal containers can be expensive (I'm not in the US). How much risk do quality plastic water bottles really poses to my health?

      Thanks!

      22 votes
    7. Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity

      the two examples that I have are Final destination movies and junji ito's manga "Uzumaki". it doesn't have to be a manga or movie of course, I just would like something similar but it can be any...

      the two examples that I have are Final destination movies and junji ito's manga "Uzumaki".

      it doesn't have to be a manga or movie of course, I just would like something similar but it can be any medium. books, movies, games etc

      48 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!

      5 votes
    9. US to Canada package forwarding service?

      Hey Tildes, There's a product that is sold in US Costco, where the Kirkland brand is a fraction of the price of the Canadian Costco brand name version. Without knowing anything about tarrifs or...

      Hey Tildes,

      There's a product that is sold in US Costco, where the Kirkland brand is a fraction of the price of the Canadian Costco brand name version. Without knowing anything about tarrifs or customs clearing, do you guys know of a service that I can ship to in US, that will forward my package to a Canadian address? Or is that all kinds of illegal or was possible but not anymore? Brief search on Reddit turned up AI and astroturfed results sadly

      16 votes
    10. Educational calm content

      Do you know any other playlists list like Absolutely understand guitar or The Secret Life of Machines? Basically any Bob Ross like content of a person calmly teaching a topic. I find some of this...

      Do you know any other playlists list like Absolutely understand guitar or The Secret Life of Machines?

      Basically any Bob Ross like content of a person calmly teaching a topic.
      I find some of this content through archive.org, but their search is not the best.

      25 votes
    11. University at forty

      (This post turned out longer than I planned. TLDR: I’m thinking about going to university at forty and I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with this and would like to share those?) For...

      (This post turned out longer than I planned. TLDR: I’m thinking about going to university at forty and I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with this and would like to share those?)

      For those of you who would like to know more background:

      I grew up in a dangerous household which is why I moved out from my mom’s house at seventeen and immediately started working. I worked as a freelancer and started some small businesses, mostly in advertising and technology.

      About ten years ago (at 30yo) I felt both advertising and technology were not the places I wanted to work in. These were just the places that were accessible for me at the time in order to make a living and survive. But when the survival mode subsided, I found they didn’t fulfil me personally.

      I had a daughter on the way and wanted to find a way to make more of a positive impact on the world. Because I had no idea how, I started interviewing people who I looked up to. People who are very aware of the issues that the world faces but are not paralysed by it. People who try to fix the biggest issues of our time.

      Very unexpectedly, those interviews became a big hit. The response was so overwhelming, that it has now been my full time job for ten years. I’ve interviewed 150 beautiful people, published two books in the process and I’m working on the third.

      In the past 6 months the financial stress of running this whole thing has lowered dramatically and we have found people who are helping us with the whole practical side of running this thing/interview series/podcast/art project/… (I don’t know what to call it). Which made me think about what’s next.

      When I was seventeen, all my friends were at university. I loved having them over and talk about what they learned. At the time, I hoped my business would become so successful I would be able to afford private tutoring in everything that peaks my curiosity. That didn’t happen :).

      The interviewing I do sometimes feel like private tutoring. I have learned an immense amount from these people. Albeit not really in a structured manner.

      On of my favorite YouTubers had similar issues growing up as me, and recently posted a video where he announced he was going to college. It made me think about my own life. Maybe I don’t have to stay ‘a dropout’/“selfmade” (I disagree with that term but many people call me by it anyway).

      My life is safe enough now to go to university. I can afford it, and I believe getting a formal education would very much challenge me, enrich my work and my writing and could maybe even be fun?

      This is a long winded way of asking if anyone here has any experience in going to university at a later age. As I stated in the title, I am almost forty, and as much as this idea excites me, it also scares me and some relevant stories would maybe help in knowing what to expect.

      Thanks for reading this far and sharing whatever wisdom you’re willing to share.

      29 votes
    12. 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
    13. What is something you're holding together?

      You're the glue, the leader, the center of gravity, the one making it happen. Without you, it would probably fall apart, cease to function, or stop. What is it? What do you do? Do people...

      You're the glue, the leader, the center of gravity, the one making it happen.

      Without you, it would probably fall apart, cease to function, or stop.

      What is it?
      What do you do?
      Do people appreciate your role, or is it invisible?

      41 votes