look i like bernie sanders as much as the next guy but i’m starting to see posts calling him a “precious cinnamon roll who needs to be protected at all costs” and frankly i’m concerned
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i made a free to use, 100% customizable comment widget for neocities users! it's really easy to install and add comment sections to any page. no more boring cbox or external guestbooks if you don't want them! and it comes with two themes to get you started!! please enjoy! you can find it here on my personal site!
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it's not even about one tag having more suggestive stuff, if you look through both tags, (if you type a period after tgirl it still works) they have the same amount of suggestive selfies! And I've seen more explicit photos BLAZED by cis women! I've legit seen underwear pics right on my dash in front of my fucking salad. Go to hell GO DIRECTLY TO HELL.
I saw a post like this about “crossdressing” which has since been unblocked. As of today, “tgirl” is still blocked. Calling them out works, make them change this NOW
You will all be overjoyed to know that this was apparently a commercial pattern… in like 1993. If you can find the out of print booklet, this glorious specimen of fashion can be yours.
after all these years……..terror fish lives
KOKOBOT - The Airbnb-Owned Tech Startup - Data Mining Tumblr Users' Mental Health Crises for "Content"
I got this message from a bot, and honestly? If I was a bit younger and not such a jaded bitch with a career in tech, I might have given it an honest try. I spent plenty of time in a tough situation without access to any mental health resources as a teen, and would have been sucked right in.
Chatting right from your phone, and being connected with people who can help you? Sounds nice. Especially if you believe the testimonials they spam you with (tw suicide / self harm mention in below images)
But I was getting a weird feeling, so I went to read the legalese.
I couldn't even get through the fine-print it asked me to read and agree to, without it spamming the hell out of me. Almost like they expect people to just hit Yes? But I'm glad I stopped to read, because:
- What you say on there won't be confidential. (And for context, I tried it out and the things people were looking for help with? I didn't even feel comfortable sharing here as examples, it was all so deeply personal and painful)
- Also, what you say on there? Is now...
- Koko's intellectual property - giving them the right to use it in any way they see fit, including
- Publicly performing or displaying your "content" (also known as your mental health crisis) in any media format and in any media channel without limitation
- Do this indefinitely after you end your account with them
- Sell / share this "content" with other businesses
- Any harm you come to using Koko? That's on you.
- And Koko won't take responsibility for anything someone says to you on there (which is bleak when people are using it to spread Christianity to people in crisis)
I was curious about their business model. They're a venture-capitol based tech startup, owned by Airbnb, the famous mental health professionals with a focus on ethical business practices./s They're also begging for donations despite having already been given 2.5 million dollars in research funding. (If you want a deep dive on why people throw crazy money at tech startups, see my other post here)
They also use the data they gather from users to conduct research and publish papers. I didn't find them too interesting - other than as a good case study of "People tend to find what they are financially incentivized to find". Predictably, Koko found that Kokobot was beneficial to its users.
So yeah, being a dumbass with too much curiosity, I decided to use the Airbnb-owned Data-Mining Mental Health Chatline anyway. And if you thought it was dangerous sounding from the disclaimers? Somehow it got worse.
(trigger warning / discussions of child abuse / sexual abuse / suicide / violence below the cut - please don't read if you're not in a good place to hear about negligence around pretty horrific topics.)
Kokobot is incredibly predatory and exploitative. I wrote a post about how it exploits minors' empathy and gamifies "giving mental health advice", resulting in an unregulated mess that can only do harm to teens' mental health in the long run.
There are young people on tumblr that actively seek support from KokoBot right now, if you check the tag for recent posts. Those people did not get paid to promote it, so do not harrass them. If you can, direct them towards resources about Kokobot (like this post) that are more transparent about what this company is up to.
Fantastic feature guys!
Fix this by turning "show upload progress" off in Account Settings 👍
Gotta love the tumblr time honored tradition of telling each other how to turn off fucking annoying updates 🤝🏽✨
"But helping poor people should be voluntary."
And even when it is, people still have a problem with it.
I went back and did some digging, because it occured to me that I didn't know the date reference of this story and, sadly, there are way too many stories about school lunch debt that they're easy to mix up.
This particular story was from July 2019 (I reblogged it Sept 2022).
There was a relevant update within a week of the scandal: public outrage was swift, the embarrassed school board redacted the outrageous allusions to indebted students ending up in foster care, and it accepted the CEO's $20k donation.
It doesnt change the fact that the very concept of "school lunch debt" is disturbing and inhumane (and there are still stories about children...with lunch debt...). And clearly, the district changed it's tone because it didn't like the bad PR. But figured it was helpful to have more info and context.
Here are some of the relevant sources; each offer bits of info unique to each specific source:
1) "Pennsylvania school district turns down local businessman’s offer to pay off student lunch debts"
3) "Pa. School District Reverses Course And Will Now Accept Donations To Cover Lunch Debt"
4) "Pennsylvania school lunch debt furor ends with an apology and an announcement: free lunch for all"
Remember: Public outrage can and does solve problems.
the furries have unionized. good
Genuinely. Join the union(s) in question.
You have the right to have your voice be heard. You have the right to have a say in how you and your fellow crafters & artists are treated.
The more folks join, the more folks care, the more power you all will have.