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On the topic of Art Theft
2 min read
So, apparently dA has decided to FINALLY address the issue of art theft.
I have been on this godforsaken website for eleven years — eleven! — and this is the first time that I can recall that they've bothered to say anything about it.
Great, right?
Yeah, not so much.
Basically, from how the entire post reads, they're deciding that art theft doesn't exist on the internet because theft implies the taking of a physical object. Digital art, etc. is not physical, and therefore cannot be stolen. They also say that copying in most forms is perfectly fine.
You know, I've considered posting my (admittedly very amateur) photographs to my page, or a page dedicated strictly to that medium. Been thinking about it since I got my first real DSLR camera back in September of 2013, and now? Now I don't want to. I really don't want to. I don't want to submit any of my sketches, any of my photos, any of my fanfics or other writings. None of them are any good, mind you, but I've had to deal with someone outright stealing one of my fics several years ago; albeit, the thief posted it to ff.net and not here, but still.
Good going, dA. Keep proving how much you love your community.
I have been on this godforsaken website for eleven years — eleven! — and this is the first time that I can recall that they've bothered to say anything about it.
Great, right?
Yeah, not so much.
Basically, from how the entire post reads, they're deciding that art theft doesn't exist on the internet because theft implies the taking of a physical object. Digital art, etc. is not physical, and therefore cannot be stolen. They also say that copying in most forms is perfectly fine.
You know, I've considered posting my (admittedly very amateur) photographs to my page, or a page dedicated strictly to that medium. Been thinking about it since I got my first real DSLR camera back in September of 2013, and now? Now I don't want to. I really don't want to. I don't want to submit any of my sketches, any of my photos, any of my fanfics or other writings. None of them are any good, mind you, but I've had to deal with someone outright stealing one of my fics several years ago; albeit, the thief posted it to ff.net and not here, but still.
Good going, dA. Keep proving how much you love your community.
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God I fucking hate Facebook.
5 min read
So, last week, Facebook automatically logged me out. Upon trying to log back in, I get a notification saying that they needed to confirm my identity.
For those that are unaware, Facebook has started doling out these messages to people suspected of being fake. This has caused a LOT of grief in that trans folks, drag queens, and even Native Americans were forced to change their names, as FB claimed their name isn't real enough.
I thought I'd managed to escape it. Nope. So they said if I needed to, I could wait a week to confirm or update. I chose to wait so I could make sure I had plenty of ID ready to send them.
Here's the thing that bothers me, however.
One page, where I submit my documents, says that I MUST provide ID that has my authentic name as well as my birth name, which is impossible as I cannot use my "authentic name" — the name I go by IRL to everyone but family, and the name I've been using for YEARS online as well; the very name I plan on, one day, changing to legally — for anything that they requested as proof, most of which would require legal forms.
But then they have a page entitled What Types of ID Does Facebook Accept? that has 3 options. The very last option, option 3, says very plainly: "If you don’t have an ID that shows your authentic name as well as your photo or date of birth, you can provide two forms of ID from Option 2 above, and then provide a government ID that includes a date of birth or photo that matches the information on your profile. We won't add the name or other information from the government ID to your account."
My State-issued ID (which has my photo and my date of birth, both of which will match my FB profile), my social security number, my debit/credit bank card, my donor ID card, and my library card are all things that I submitted as proof, and are things that required I use my birth name at sign up. Hell, there was pretty much nothing in any of the choices that I could have used my authentic name on.
So, I think, okay I'm in the clear. I can take photos of all of those things and send them in when the time comes.
Well, a week passes, and yet again, I am forcefully logged out. Upon trying to sign in again (it doesn't take you directly to these pages, either, mind you; you must first try logging in), I'm taken to the Confirm or Update Name page. So, I follow the steps, submit my three-photos-worth of ID, and...I wait. 8 hours go by and I finally get a response.
"We're sorry, but we cannot confirm your identity. Please provide an accurate type of ID that has your real name on it," is basically what they told me.
I cannot respond to them without adding a photo, so I dig out the last piece of ID I have left: my birth certificate.
TO go with it, I ask them why it is that even though I did precisely as Option 3 says, they still cannot confirm my identity. Is it the photo? It's a really shitty photo of me, I'll admit, and I look different without glasses. Should I take a picture of myself without my glasses (except with long hair, because it's not that short anymore) and send it in? What am I supposed to do? I HAVE NOTHING THAT TELLS YOU MY NAME IS DRUSTON BLACK. NOTHING. Because that is not my birth name and every piece of ID I own required a legal name, and I haven't legally changed my name yet. Why does one page say this is good enough, but you're saying it's not? I don't fucking understand what you people want from me.
Here's the thing. I do, in some capacity, consider myself trans. I mean, I'll never start the transitioning process, because it'll never be good enough for me and I don't have the money for it. Maybe if science ever makes it possible to create a full, working set of male reproductive organs and genitals, I'd go for it, but for now, the least I'd do is a breast reduction, which is what I aim for some day anyway. Point is, my real name is incredibly female and I fucking hate it. Having to sign it and say it out loud makes me feel ill. I want nothing to do with it anymore.
I feel like Facebook is trying to purposefully fuck a lot of people over. They want to "protect" the people on our friends list, saying that if someone like me doesn't use my birth/legal name, we're deceiving our friends because said friends don't know who we are. All of my friends know who I am. Every one of them. I even have 2 family members on there, and they also know who I am.
Facebook has no right to tell me what is and isn't my name. I'm fucking tired of their bullshit. I'm going to wind up getting my profile permanently deleted (it's disabled right now, and all of my messages to people have been replaced with "This message has been removed because it is abusive or spam") or, at worst, they're going to forcefully change my name from Druston Black, to the birth name I hate with a burning passion. That isn't right and it isn't fair.
And now I have to wait until Monday to hear anything back from them... *sigh*
For those that are unaware, Facebook has started doling out these messages to people suspected of being fake. This has caused a LOT of grief in that trans folks, drag queens, and even Native Americans were forced to change their names, as FB claimed their name isn't real enough.
I thought I'd managed to escape it. Nope. So they said if I needed to, I could wait a week to confirm or update. I chose to wait so I could make sure I had plenty of ID ready to send them.
Here's the thing that bothers me, however.
One page, where I submit my documents, says that I MUST provide ID that has my authentic name as well as my birth name, which is impossible as I cannot use my "authentic name" — the name I go by IRL to everyone but family, and the name I've been using for YEARS online as well; the very name I plan on, one day, changing to legally — for anything that they requested as proof, most of which would require legal forms.
But then they have a page entitled What Types of ID Does Facebook Accept? that has 3 options. The very last option, option 3, says very plainly: "If you don’t have an ID that shows your authentic name as well as your photo or date of birth, you can provide two forms of ID from Option 2 above, and then provide a government ID that includes a date of birth or photo that matches the information on your profile. We won't add the name or other information from the government ID to your account."
My State-issued ID (which has my photo and my date of birth, both of which will match my FB profile), my social security number, my debit/credit bank card, my donor ID card, and my library card are all things that I submitted as proof, and are things that required I use my birth name at sign up. Hell, there was pretty much nothing in any of the choices that I could have used my authentic name on.
So, I think, okay I'm in the clear. I can take photos of all of those things and send them in when the time comes.
Well, a week passes, and yet again, I am forcefully logged out. Upon trying to sign in again (it doesn't take you directly to these pages, either, mind you; you must first try logging in), I'm taken to the Confirm or Update Name page. So, I follow the steps, submit my three-photos-worth of ID, and...I wait. 8 hours go by and I finally get a response.
"We're sorry, but we cannot confirm your identity. Please provide an accurate type of ID that has your real name on it," is basically what they told me.
I cannot respond to them without adding a photo, so I dig out the last piece of ID I have left: my birth certificate.
TO go with it, I ask them why it is that even though I did precisely as Option 3 says, they still cannot confirm my identity. Is it the photo? It's a really shitty photo of me, I'll admit, and I look different without glasses. Should I take a picture of myself without my glasses (except with long hair, because it's not that short anymore) and send it in? What am I supposed to do? I HAVE NOTHING THAT TELLS YOU MY NAME IS DRUSTON BLACK. NOTHING. Because that is not my birth name and every piece of ID I own required a legal name, and I haven't legally changed my name yet. Why does one page say this is good enough, but you're saying it's not? I don't fucking understand what you people want from me.
Here's the thing. I do, in some capacity, consider myself trans. I mean, I'll never start the transitioning process, because it'll never be good enough for me and I don't have the money for it. Maybe if science ever makes it possible to create a full, working set of male reproductive organs and genitals, I'd go for it, but for now, the least I'd do is a breast reduction, which is what I aim for some day anyway. Point is, my real name is incredibly female and I fucking hate it. Having to sign it and say it out loud makes me feel ill. I want nothing to do with it anymore.
I feel like Facebook is trying to purposefully fuck a lot of people over. They want to "protect" the people on our friends list, saying that if someone like me doesn't use my birth/legal name, we're deceiving our friends because said friends don't know who we are. All of my friends know who I am. Every one of them. I even have 2 family members on there, and they also know who I am.
Facebook has no right to tell me what is and isn't my name. I'm fucking tired of their bullshit. I'm going to wind up getting my profile permanently deleted (it's disabled right now, and all of my messages to people have been replaced with "This message has been removed because it is abusive or spam") or, at worst, they're going to forcefully change my name from Druston Black, to the birth name I hate with a burning passion. That isn't right and it isn't fair.
And now I have to wait until Monday to hear anything back from them... *sigh*
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I do not use tumblr much. I have one, but I haven't done a damn thing with it in a few years. Mostly I lurk, if even that.
That said, this is the first I've heard of the attacks against certain tumblr users.
From what I've been gathering, an anonymous user (or group of anons) have been harassing vulnerable members of the Supernatural fandom, sending them extremely nasty messages and basically pushing them so far to the edge that one user has already been confirmed a victim of suicide. Another is (or was) missing. Others are not responding to asks or messages, and are possibly in some sort of danger. Some have been admitted to hospitals due to suicide attempts.
This is completely fucking batshit insane. And so very, very wrong.
I do not know any of the users affected, but I can about guarantee they most likely did not deserve to be treated like shit just for liking Supernatural.
Look, whether or not you like a fandom — doesn't matter if it's Supernatural, Sherlock, Doctor Who, MLP, or whatever — or not, it does not give you the right to attack the people who do. It does NOT give you the right to fuck with someone so badly that you push them to the edge of suicide and happily give them that shove over. That, in my book, makes you a fucking murderer and you deserve every fucking bad thing that EVER comes your way. If you do this, you're not a human being. You're nothing more than a fucking monster that deserves to get put down.
Edit: it seems as if the first reported suicide is false. She has posted on her tumblr that she is alive and well, and that the post from a "friend" of hers announcing her death was from someone who hijacked her account. Now whether or not that is true remains to be seen. There are still others out there, however, that might still be in danger of harming or killing themselves, so there is still much to be worried about.
That said, this is the first I've heard of the attacks against certain tumblr users.
From what I've been gathering, an anonymous user (or group of anons) have been harassing vulnerable members of the Supernatural fandom, sending them extremely nasty messages and basically pushing them so far to the edge that one user has already been confirmed a victim of suicide. Another is (or was) missing. Others are not responding to asks or messages, and are possibly in some sort of danger. Some have been admitted to hospitals due to suicide attempts.
This is completely fucking batshit insane. And so very, very wrong.
I do not know any of the users affected, but I can about guarantee they most likely did not deserve to be treated like shit just for liking Supernatural.
Look, whether or not you like a fandom — doesn't matter if it's Supernatural, Sherlock, Doctor Who, MLP, or whatever — or not, it does not give you the right to attack the people who do. It does NOT give you the right to fuck with someone so badly that you push them to the edge of suicide and happily give them that shove over. That, in my book, makes you a fucking murderer and you deserve every fucking bad thing that EVER comes your way. If you do this, you're not a human being. You're nothing more than a fucking monster that deserves to get put down.
Edit: it seems as if the first reported suicide is false. She has posted on her tumblr that she is alive and well, and that the post from a "friend" of hers announcing her death was from someone who hijacked her account. Now whether or not that is true remains to be seen. There are still others out there, however, that might still be in danger of harming or killing themselves, so there is still much to be worried about.
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Jumping spider babies
3 min read
Last month, I caught myself a jumping spider who was heavily gravid and not moving too well. I decided to keep her and care for her, and set up this little tank my sister had for her daughter's neon tetras. I named her Tachikoma, after the tanks in Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, who were, themselves, modeled after jumping spiders.
Within a day or two of having moved in, she laid her clutch of eggs and began to stand watch over them. I had done a fair bit of research on the care and keeping of jumping spiders, so I'd read that the mothers will often die because they may not ever leave their egg sac. I didn't want her to die — the entire purpose of this set up was for her to live! So, I did the only thing I could think of: I encouraged her to stop guarding the nest. I wasn't worried; the babies were safe in there. It took a couple of tries to get her to stop, but finally she did and she never went back.
Until today.
Today, her spiderlings began to appear through the silken sac around them. A pair of tiny black needle point peered back as I stared at the sac, not sure whether or not I was actually seeing eyes. And then they moved. They had survived! They've really begun hatching! I was — and still am — pretty damn excited. This is amazing and something I have never witnessed in real life: the beginnings of brand new spiders. I had helped, in a small way, to bring life into this world.
Tachikoma, for the first time in a month, has returned to her nest. She began to tear it open to help them, and eventually began to spin a hammock around the nest so that she may settle in beside her babies until they are ready to leave.
I'm not sure what I'll do with this new life. I know that I want to release some of them into the outside world, so that they may go forth and reproduce and make more utterly adorable babies, but I think I may keep one. Just one. And if Tachikoma lives through her babies' first molt, I may release her as well. We shall see.
I'm in the process of getting another, much larger tank setup for the spiders. The sites I've read recommend keeping only one spider in a tank, as they will often fight and kill the other, so I will have to decide what to do. If I keep Tachikoma, I'm not sure if she will reside in the bigger tank, or the one she's in now after it gets a thorough scrub down and redesign.
All the same, I'm very excited to see how this goes. For a first time spider keeper, this is pretty momentous for me.
This will also be an exceptional learning tool for my niece, I believe.
Within a day or two of having moved in, she laid her clutch of eggs and began to stand watch over them. I had done a fair bit of research on the care and keeping of jumping spiders, so I'd read that the mothers will often die because they may not ever leave their egg sac. I didn't want her to die — the entire purpose of this set up was for her to live! So, I did the only thing I could think of: I encouraged her to stop guarding the nest. I wasn't worried; the babies were safe in there. It took a couple of tries to get her to stop, but finally she did and she never went back.
Until today.
Today, her spiderlings began to appear through the silken sac around them. A pair of tiny black needle point peered back as I stared at the sac, not sure whether or not I was actually seeing eyes. And then they moved. They had survived! They've really begun hatching! I was — and still am — pretty damn excited. This is amazing and something I have never witnessed in real life: the beginnings of brand new spiders. I had helped, in a small way, to bring life into this world.
Tachikoma, for the first time in a month, has returned to her nest. She began to tear it open to help them, and eventually began to spin a hammock around the nest so that she may settle in beside her babies until they are ready to leave.
I'm not sure what I'll do with this new life. I know that I want to release some of them into the outside world, so that they may go forth and reproduce and make more utterly adorable babies, but I think I may keep one. Just one. And if Tachikoma lives through her babies' first molt, I may release her as well. We shall see.
I'm in the process of getting another, much larger tank setup for the spiders. The sites I've read recommend keeping only one spider in a tank, as they will often fight and kill the other, so I will have to decide what to do. If I keep Tachikoma, I'm not sure if she will reside in the bigger tank, or the one she's in now after it gets a thorough scrub down and redesign.
All the same, I'm very excited to see how this goes. For a first time spider keeper, this is pretty momentous for me.
This will also be an exceptional learning tool for my niece, I believe.
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The Fox Familiar
2 min read
Guys, I don't know how many of you even read my journals anymore, but I have come across something completely disheartening and disgusting.
A user by the name "The Fox Familiar" on Fanfiction.net is easily one of the biggest assholes I've ever come across.
To put simply, she utilizes over 39,000 words to spew her hateful vitriol all over her bio to get her point across: if she sees you posting ANYTHING she does not like (slash, porn, whatever), she WILL attack you.
I'm not kidding. She's homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-liberal, and so on. She thinks you're a sick fuck for liking yaoi or slash, thinks you're nothing but a fat bitch who needs cock in their lives but can't get any, etc. She is incredibly abusive.
She also has a list of names under a header called "Dangerous Hunts". I'm not entirely sure what this means, but it's apparently her shit-list.
Here's a link to Reddit, where there are several screenshots available of her bullshit.
A lot of the shit she says is absolutely sickening, too. Just... Ugh.
Worst part about it, a BUNCH of people have reported her and nothing has been done. Still, I've written a detailed report and sent it into the abuse team and I strongly encourage everyone do the same. Spread this around and get as many people as possible reporting her. They'll have to do something eventually, I'd hope. Either way, this should not be tolerated any longer. There is NO REASON she should be allowed to remain in the community whatsoever.
A user by the name "The Fox Familiar" on Fanfiction.net is easily one of the biggest assholes I've ever come across.
To put simply, she utilizes over 39,000 words to spew her hateful vitriol all over her bio to get her point across: if she sees you posting ANYTHING she does not like (slash, porn, whatever), she WILL attack you.
I'm not kidding. She's homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-liberal, and so on. She thinks you're a sick fuck for liking yaoi or slash, thinks you're nothing but a fat bitch who needs cock in their lives but can't get any, etc. She is incredibly abusive.
She also has a list of names under a header called "Dangerous Hunts". I'm not entirely sure what this means, but it's apparently her shit-list.
Here's a link to Reddit, where there are several screenshots available of her bullshit.
A lot of the shit she says is absolutely sickening, too. Just... Ugh.
Worst part about it, a BUNCH of people have reported her and nothing has been done. Still, I've written a detailed report and sent it into the abuse team and I strongly encourage everyone do the same. Spread this around and get as many people as possible reporting her. They'll have to do something eventually, I'd hope. Either way, this should not be tolerated any longer. There is NO REASON she should be allowed to remain in the community whatsoever.
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