I could probably go on a limb and assume everyone here knows what the problem of evil is, but just in case:
Premise 1: The bible describes god as all powerful and all good
Premise 2: god doesn't like evil (Psalm 5:4) (Proverbs 8:13)
And when I use the word "evil" think of all the things god says not to do. From getting a divorce to being gay to wearing mixed linens. Y'know, all that depraved stuff that's worthy of death!!! UwU (seriously though when I say "evil" I just mean anything outlined as "sin")
Premise 3: god (probably) doesn't like suffering(while I couldn't find any verses where god explicitly says he doesn't like human suffering, Revelation 21:4 at least implies that he plans to do away with it and it does stand to reason that an all-good, all-loving god would be opposed to suffering)
Premise 4: There's a lot of evil and suffering in the world. Like, a lot
Premise 5: if an all powerful and all good god existed he wouldn't make a world with so much evil and suffering
Conclusion: The god described in the bible does not exist
Easily the most popular and easiest to explain argument against god, but one that has long been contested and argued against. Which is where theodicies come in. Theodicies are arguments that attempt to prove god has some reason to allow evil and suffering to exist.
In this post I will attempt to disprove the major theodicies, proving the problem of evil to be a logically coherent argument against the existence of god.
Let's start with the one I dislike the most: God allows evil in order to facilitate higher order goods
Now, let's set aside how appalling, emotionally speaking, the idea that a world where people get beheaded and gored and burned alive has more moral value than a world with none of these evils because of "Higher order goods" or something, actually is.
This argument is also logically bankrupt. For evil to be justified under this theodicy, it must allow for some higher order good to obtain. There's no way for bravery to exist without fear. So that particular evil is necessary for bravery to exist. With this in mind, answer me this:
What Higher order good can ONLY be brought about when an earthquake makes a building collapse on a family of five, or when an infant chokes to death on a particularly large lego brick. What good could possibly come from somebody getting struck by lightning and dying with 3rd degree burns and charred skin(it may not happen often but it happens) or when a Muslim girl is publicly executed for trying to learn how to read?
Set humans aside for a minute and consider animal suffering. What good can come about from a tree falling on a deer's leg? While it starves to death with a broken limb in agony, where nobody can hear it's cries. What good is achieved by this? When an antelope has it's throat crushed in a lion's mouth, why would a good god allow this cruelty? If an evil thing cannot facilitate some higher order good it can't be justified by this theodicy. So tell me: what higher order good's can only come from these?
Aside from this, consider the fact that there is no evil in heaven. To be philosophically consistent, one would have to claim that our world has more moral value than heaven because it has goods that can't exist in heaven. Heaven, being eternal and all, is the last stop for god's children, so if this is where the righteous are meant to live forever, and god truly believed a world with the higher order goods facilitated by evil is better than a world without evil, then why isn't there evil in heaven?
Finally, consider that evil did not exist in the world before the original sin. It was only after Adam and Eve's slip-up that the hearts of man became utterly evil or something. So if you believe that god wanted evil to exist in the world, and acknowledge that evil didn't and couldn't exist until Adam and Eve ate the possibly metaphorical apple, you must then be committed to the belief that god punished Adam and Eve for something he wanted them to do.
The Second Theodicy: God allows evil because without it, we would have no concept of good.
This argument states that evil is to good what shadow is to light; the former is simply an absence of the latter and one cannot be appreciated without the other, or, as put by C.S Lewis: "A man has no concept of a straight line unless he has seen a crooked one."
This isn't as much of a slam dunk as it sounds like on first glance once you consider that before the fall of man we had neither a concept of good nor evil. In an ideal state of affairs god was totally cool with us having no concept of good and since he actively discouraged Adam and Eve from committing the original sin, one can even argue he actively didn't want them to have such a concept.
Also, once again, there's no evil in heaven. So it's either the case that good can be appreciated without evil, or it really just doesn't matter that much.
Lastly, the moment we've all the waiting for, the one I like the most. the theodicy based on a concept that doesn't actually exist. Make some noise for: The free will theodicy.
This one is pretty self explanatory. God allows evil because, even though he doesn't like it when we do bad things, he respects our freedom and wants us to choose him for ourselves.
Two teeny-tiny problems with this: 1. Unless there is no free will in heaven, it is possible to have free will without committing acts of evil and 2. Free will in our world just doesn't exist.
I recognize the second claim needs a little more explaining:
Premise 1: All mental activity(whether material or immaterial for those of you believe believe in the soul) is either determined or indetermined.
Premise 2: If some particular mental activity is indetermined it is, by definition, random and out of our control. If it is determined then it is either determined by something outside our self and thereby not free will either, or determined by something further inside ourselves, in which case we can ask the same questions to figure out if that something is determined or indetermined. So on so and so forth until all causal chains with eventually terminate at something we can't control.
Conclusion: There is no free will.
With this done I hope I have provided a convincing argument for The problem of evil and against the Christian god and would be elated to hear rebuttals. In addition to this I would be curious to see if Muslims have some sort of way around this problem exclusive to their faith or something. Thanks in advance for the Civilized discussion. :)

Hi all, I hope you find this post useful. It is slightly different than the infrastructure and pro-pedestrian content, but it needs said—many of us are stuck using cars, but we can get through the routine with less stress if we follow some simple rules:

1. Leave 2 car lengths in front of you in residential driving, 4 car lengths on town roads, 6 car lengths on highways. This is a rough rule, but it will give you more reaction time which prevents hard braking recoiling and backing up traffic for everyone behind you, and it’s way less stressful if you ignore people in the rearview that want to rush you. Bonus points if you leave 1 car length in front of you at stopped traffic which can decompress a column of traffic and reduce the time required for cars to make it through a timed green light.
   
2. If you know there is a messy merge or intersection, make the effort to let 1 person cut in front of you. It sets a good example for when you’re in their spot, and ironically this seems to have less butting-in of extra cars than you would expect. I don’t recommend letting in as many as possible, just zipper merge and you might find people catch on and make the junction more tolerable in the future.
   
3. Adjust your mirrors to remove blindspots, and practice the location of your car with cones. When you flare out the mirrors extra to remove blindspots, it can be unnerving to drive without being able to see the side of your car, but this makes it much easier, less stressful, and more expedient lane changes when needed.
   

Cheers everyone, I would also love to hear your tips. I enjoy the engineered aspects of machines and automobiles, but I agree that most people should not be operating these vehicles and we need far better pedestrian protection and public transportation infrastructure. I hope these tips make life easier for us all as we make the transition.

Prior to season 4 Historia was one of the best written characters in the show due to her character arc in seasons 2 and 3 which culminated in her standing up for herself and opposing her father, and then taking on the role of queen for her own reasons. However in season 4, not only is she sidelined, only having a handful of seasons during the entire season which is inexcusable itself, but the scenes that she does have goes against her previous character and character arc.
First off (and probably the most minor of her issues) is that her character arc being completed doesn’t justify her absence. Even characters with completed arcs can still have their own moments. Jeans character arc in seasons 1-3 was already completed but he still has his beliefs challenged by the events of the story when he had to choose between choosing the alliance or the Yeagerists (Historia had something similar with the dilemma to help Eren or follow the 50 year plan but this is executed much worse for reasons I’ll be stating later). Flochs character arc was completed in season 3 during the battle of Shiganshina where he formed his world view that it’s necessary to become a devil to protect the people, and wesee the results of that development in season 4 with his extremist behaviors and actions. Both of these characters already had their arcs completed, but they still continued to have great moments.
It can be argued that due to AOT’s plot driven narrative there’s no opportunities for Historia to do anything where as Floch and Jean were still integral to the plot. Although this is true the plot can very easily be expanded to emphasize Historia and her character, and there’s no better opportunity for this than the Yeagerist uprising arc which despite being about the government and political climate of Paradis, but Historia is absent from this except for the creation of the pregnancy plot line despite her being a key police’s figure on Paradis. There’s certainly more room to expand upon this subject. Some would argue that it would ruin the pacing, but I’d say that these additions would be the complete opposite of that. The Marley arc and Yeagerists uprising are by far the shortest arcs of the series each being about 8 episodes. Including more flashbacks and more scenes in the present time would solve other issues with season 4 as well such as the poor world building while still giving room to expand upon Historias character without compromising the pacing. There’s no reason for Historia to be sidelined the way she was. And I’ve seen someone argue that this is a season 4 issue rather than a Historia specific one because several other characters were also put to the side, but the difference between Historia and characters such as Levi and Hange which makes this far worse for Historia in particular is that Historias previous character is ruined as well.
To understand how her character was ruined, we first have to understand Historia as a person before elaborating on how season 4 Historia goes against it. Historias character arc was learning to live a life for herself which she can be proud of. She became Queen for her own reasons not because the military wanted her to, and her primary motive is to help people and it always has been. At first this trait might seem exclusive to Krista, but the primary difference between Krista and Historia is that Historia does what she wants for herself regardless of everyone else whereas Krista seeks validation and approval from others. In this regard Historia is selfish since she does whatever she wants to, disregarding the desires of others, but her goal (which is to help people) is selfless. They’re both kind hearted by nature which is shown countless times during the uprising and prior even as far back as her childhood when she says that she wants to be like the similarly kind Frieda and Krista, and Frieda responds by telling her to be herself. Historias character arc accentuates this trait even further rather than reduce it since Historia’s willing to do what she believes is right regardless of the opinion of others which is best exemplified in the Reiss chapel.
It’s easy to interpret her defiance of Rod as selfish, but once you analyze these scenes it becomes apparent that her goal was to help humanity as well and not just herself. Before her badass worst girl in the world moment she asks Rod why didn’t the previous Founders stop the Titans which shows that she had the rest of humanity in mind. If she didn’t and was thinking entirely selfishly then she’d have no reason to ask this question whatsoever since it wouldn’t affect her. And it’s only after Rod states that the First Kings will possesses the inheritors does she decide to finally fight back against Rod because she realizes that he was only looking after himself. She insults humanity out of resentment towards Rod because he used the “good of humanity” to try to manipulate her into eating Eren. She was opposing her father and his wishes during this moment rather than humanity itself which is supported by her later actions which shows that she still had others in mind. Immediately after this she tells Eren that whenever she sees someone saying that no one needs them, she wants to rescue them, and tell them that it isn’t true which shows her benevolent nature. It’s reinforced in the next chapter (chapter 67) that she was trying to help humanity when she says the Reiss family losing the Founder was a good thing for humanity. This provides additional insight into her thoughts while inside the Reiss chapel. And finally in chapter 70 when Eren states that she became Queen to help people which is shown by her orphanage, and she then explains that she got carried away during her speech at the Reiss chapel.
Given all this, Historia would never support the rumbling OR the 50 year plan. They both go against her views and beliefs (which is why ANR Erehisu sucks as well). She even says herself that she’d never be able to forgive herself if she supported Eren, and yet she concedes to Eren anyways within moments. Historia would never be able to accept either option easily, but this moral dilemma is glossed over with little to no internal conflict. These options would be a last resort, but she never tries to find another solution, she never tries to stop Eren, if anything the exact opposite happens which is shown by her compliance with Eren in chapter 130. Historia would never be able to live with pride after supporting the Rumbling due to the weight of her actions, but she still has a ‘good’ ending with the farmer where she happily smiles with her daughter as if she didn’t directly and willingly assist in the largest atrocity in history despite her previously saying that she’d never be able to forgive herself if she did. Not only is this strange for Historias character, but it’s in extremely poor taste considering the severity of the rumbling especially considering how Eren whos far more unhinged than her is broken and inconsolable by the weight of his actions, but Historia who’s far more humane and less extreme isn’t.
The other major issue is the relationship with the Farmer which has several issues with it. It’s depicted as a forced relationship which she only got into out of political purposes, and some would say that this is intentionally misinterpreting the relationship in a way that portrays it poorly, but this is suggested by the narrative as well. She never shows any love or affection for the man whatsoever, and if anything shows the complete opposite. She frowns and is clearly unhappy in literally every scene she shares with him with the sole exception of when she’s with her daughter which is why so many people theorized that he was a red herring to begin with (Although it can be reasonably concluded that this can be because of the rumbling). Historia has no choice, but to get with someone due to her circumstances. Both the 50 year plan and allowing Eren to commit the rumbling requires her to have a child. Historia only had a child because she had to, otherwise she would have been forced to undertake the 50 year plan, but Historia having a child out of necessity rather than because she wants to is obviously out of character. (Why Isayama took agency from a character who’s arc was learning to have agency I’ll never know) Prior to these scenarios Historia shows no desire to have children or a relationship. The subject is never even brought up and instead replaced with a half assed shitty mystery which was the pregnancy plot line. The only thing indicating that Historia actually wanted to be with the farmer is that she approached him herself, but this can easily be explained as her not wanting to have political bondage to another noble who might have their own agenda, and timeline wise she seems to confront the farmer after her talk with Eren.
This can be fixed by expanding on their relationship and making the farmer an actual character which is entirely possible since Niccolo and Sasha was good despite Niccolo being a new character, and again there’s definitely more room for expanding on this during Season 4 Part 1, but even if you don’t want to give Historia considerably more screentime these issues can still easily be fixed. Just minor tweaks to how the relationship is depicted can fix these issues such as Historia already expressing a desire to be with the farmer BEFORE the 50 year plan is proposed so it seems like she got with him willingly and not due to circumstance or even something as simple as her showing affection for the man, or him consoling her about impending rumbling which would make it clear that Historias depression is caused by the rumbling as well as showing some level of trust and closeness between the two rather than complete indifference which is how the relationship is depicted in canon.
Tldr: why did I write this?

TW: Domestic violence, ideation, SA
These past couple months of my life have been transformation, but exhausting. I recently lost my grandfather to a terminal illness, the man who supported me in countless ways and really brought our family together when he first got sick. His death was crippling for the first couple weeks, but I have since been able to see that his suffering coming to an end is worth more than the rest of us having him still with us on earth. His passing put a lot of things in perspective, including my deep rooted unhappiness in my long term relationship and my unhealthy relationship with substances. Throughout this time, I lost a number of friends to the breakup, many of which led with the whole "bros before hoes" mentality, so much so that not a single one of them reach out when my grandfather did eventually die, and I had never felt so alone. In the mean time, I was able to grow very close with a group of coworkers my age, all in their twenties. On nights where all I wanted to do was get drunk and ignore my problems, they would drive me out to the dam and sit and listen to me sob about how I felt like I wasted the last couple months of my grandfather's life getting drunk with people who threw me away when I didn't want to party any more, all in the name of distracting myself from his inevitable death. They stepped up to the plate when I broke up with my ex and he lost his mind thinking I was a horrible person for not wanting him to come to my grandfather's funeral and just wanting to be alone instead of in a relationship where I was doing so much heavy lifting for little payout. I also had to come to terms with the fact that my ex and I only ever had sex when we were drunk because I really didn't enjoy it, but there was one time where he blacked out and didn't even remember us sleeping together. During that encounter, I had begged him to stop, but he couldn't hear me I guess, and he kept going until he finished and I just laid there and cried while he passed out next to me. I now know that was rape, but in the moment I felt like I did something wrong. That period of my life was so fucking hard, but I made it with the help of some awesome people and newfound sobriety.
Among the group of coworkers was Jack (25m). I will admit, I got butterflies the moment he walked into work that first time, but I never planned on acting on it; it was just a surprising thing that had never happened to me before. He and I started a friendship when he opened up about being new to the area, his desire to move up the ladder in the industry we both work in, and told me all about his dog who he loved so much. His girlfriend at the time, Alyssa (26f) had gotten a job here and they moved three hours north for her job, and he figured he might as well start working at a serious job in his dream industry. Our friendship grew when he commented to my good friend Tony (23m) and I about the growing resentment he had for the area and his girlfriend. Apparently, for years she had always been very dependent on him while still controlling most aspects of his life, but since they moved up here, she had stopped doing any house work, taking care of their dog, and demanding that he stay home to spend time with her instead of going out to meet new people in town (we work in a very social industry, and when he first started, we all got together and offered to take him out to see new things in town, meet other big people in the industry, etc, but didn't take it personally when he said no. However, this convo made it very clear that he wanted to go those four times we tried, but he was informed by Alyssa that he was a selfish bastard for wanting to go out without her and she felt like he hated her so much that he was trying to use work as an excuse to leave her alone. I can't make this up). He started crying about how he felt like a maid, like a doormat that she walked all over and how he wished he had never moved up here, how every time he tried to break up with her she threatened to kill herself and he couldn't live with the thought of being responsible for her death. Tony let Jack know that none of that behavior was okay, and we as a group talked about what Jack really wanted to do with his life and what was holding him back. Shortly after, Jack broke up with Alyssa, who once again threatened to kill herself, got violent with him, and blamed him for throwing in the towel when she did nothing wrong. Tony gave Jack a room in apartment to stay in when it became clear that Alyssa would attack Jack anytime he was home, and he officially moved out within the week. Our coworkers all banded together to make sure he had furniture for his new room, bought him a dresser and a bed frame and we each took our cars over to his old place to move him out. It took a village, but he now has a safe apartment of his own with Tony and he has repeatedly thanked us all for letting him fall apart without judgement. A few months later, my grandfather passed and I was shown the same love by our little group. I have some amazing coworkers.
I was sitting next to Jack in the back of Tony's truck when I got the call my grandfather died. In that moment, it became clear that he really did care about me, and I am so grateful that he was there for me even when I swore I didn't need anyone. This all happened shortly after my breakup and newfound sobriety, so I was an absolute mess, but Jack didn't care. I opened up to him about my assault, my problem with drinking, and all the ugly parts of myself and he never once treated me like damaged goods. He and I fell apart and helped each other try to stitch together new lives at the expense of our old ones. I constantly am reminded by friends and family how much happier I am now, and I can give a lot of that credit to Jack and his patience and care. The same can be said for Jack, too. He and I hooked up one night months after I was single and felt slightly more in control of my emotions, and after doing that a couple more times, we started dating five months ago.
Now here comes the kicker. Jack has made some shitty choices in the past that I did not know about until we got together. Apparently, he had cheated on one of his exes at college, and when he and Alyssa first got together, he had been sleeping with two other girls who he cut things off with pretty suddenly when he got the chance to sleep with Alyssa, then they started dating a few weeks later. There are a number of girls that he kinda fucked over before the age of twenty, but he doesn't talk to any of them anymore and knows that he was in the wrong for all of them. Growth, I hope. I found out that he was still somewhat connected to one of them, and when I told him how worrisome that made me, he immediately apologized for not realizing earlier how that would make me uncomfortable and quickly (per his own volition) let her know that he did not want to continue talking because he felt it was clear she only really wanted to sleep with him and she had very little respect for his monogamous relationships. She flipped shit and he was glad that he was able to cut ties because apparently that wasn't the first time she tried to guilt trip him into staying in touch with her. But mostly, Alyssa has become a fairly constant fixture in our relationship. Because they had a dog together, Jack has to ask Alyssa when he can go over there to see the dog. She only does it on her terms, which is understandable, but she will constantly blame him for not taking care of the dog (Tony has two cats, and while Tony wants Jack to take the dog to their apartment, he doesn't think the cats would feel safe and they are already very skittish). She texts him biweekly saying that she found something of his, like a box of ties, a thing of utensils, etc, and demands he come get them and walk the dog asap. More than once, she has called him early in the morning asking him to come over because something is wrong with the dog, but most recently she called at 7 am saying "You need to get over here now, something is wrong with the dog. This shouldn't all be my problem and you should be the one taking care of this." He tries to get more info but she refused and said it shouldn't matter, he should just drop everything and take her to the vet and stop asking questions. He asked her to wait a few hours and if she still needed help he would come. Turns out, she clipped the dog's nail too short and the dog was bleeding a little, and that's what the phone call was for. But most alarming, Alyssa texted Jack repeatedly when we were on a lunch date saying that he needed to come take the dog because she was going to the mental hospital for suicidal ideation. Understandably so, we get the bill and Jack loses his mind in the car. He was terrified. She never did go, and when Jack reached out to her mom, she said Alyssa was fine and had no idea what he was talking about. She texts him randomly telling him he better come spend time with the dog because she's thinking of moving south again, three hours away, and will basically text him threatening stuff all the time all with the guise of him seeing the dog. I know this is all something I signed up for, but between the crazy shit with Alyssa and his cheating in the past, I don't know how I got myself involved in something so messy. Yes, he was being abused and now he is so grateful for the love I give him, but I still feel somewhat insecure based off how much say Alyssa has on his mood. He doesn't fold for anyone like he does for her, and while she or us will move out of state within the next year, I guess I mostly need to know what people recommend in terms of me feeling more secure in myself. This is a bug weight on my shoulders and while I do love him and am happy he his around, I need to prioritize myself above all else. Please help.
TL;DR: My boyfriend (25m) and I (21f) have been through a lot. His ex girlfriend is very manipulative and I want to make sure I am taking care of myself to be the best version of myself after having a very transformative year (newfound sobriety, death of my grandfather, loss of many friends, and grief over a past relationship). I don't doubt that he loves me, I just want to look out for myself and make sure I am making healthy choices while we navigate a very heavy period of our lives together. Thanks in advance.

whenever im with my "bestfriends" i feel alone and awkward. idk if they do it on purpose but im js trying to run behind them and even when they do things its always the three of them together, maybe its my own fault and its bc i leave myself out. or maybe its because im indian and they're all south east asian and pretty. (my school is very racist and i genuinely hate everyone andcant wait to leave) idk i js always feel left out and i never know anything happening in the grp but when i do and we're genuinely a group and not a trio and one person it feels fun. sometimes other ppl come and they can be friends with my other three friends and talk to the others but not me. but maybe its cuz im the problem idk they tell me im valuable and such a good friend and their best friend or wtvr but i dont see it bc by themselves theyre genuinely good ppl. and our hangouts and stuff is fun but like in school i just feel left out and they always do extra curriculurs together, and theyre the power trio or wtvr. because everyone knows them as a trio but not with me as a group, even thought mostly when we go out its together as a four. like we stopped being friends with this girl in our group bc of what she did (its a long story) but then we felt bad and became her friends again, but those few days we weren't her friends is the few days i felt like i genuinely had friends in school. i think its her pulling them away and the others js dont realise that im left alone. i rlly wanna drop her, but the few days that we dropped her she was being so attention seeking, victimising and making us feel bad. plus we've been her friend for 7+ years and the way she messaged me when we were "arguing" just made me feel bad for her, and shes yk pretty and smart and southeastasian (which is what everyone in my school is obsessed w) and we js had to be her friend again (even tho she saw me as the last option to talk to, told me nothing, and i still comforted her even when she thought i knew nothing). and even now we're still trying to be her friend even tho she went to this other girl who took advantage of the situation (but that's a whole another story)

https://ccs.getmonero.org/ideas/ https://repo.getmonero.org/monero-project/ccs-proposals/-/merge_requests/462
has been discussed a bit today in the #monero-community matrix channel: https://libera.monerologs.net/monero-community/20240514
overall: price asked is way to much even tho having to deal with disputes and a few more things can be very time consuming 1 individual rather than a team... without escrow... that could lead to many many scams which would be just too much for just 1 dude, just sayin.. like, scams happen all the time especially at the start before all the people got time to grind that reputation thing
but aside those few points that would need to be thought a bit more.. well i guess it's pretty much ded cause seems like he "wont do for $20-30 per hour" it's still something that could be very beneficial to the community P2P trades been around since even bitcoin with like d2jsp that is still around, with their own currency "forum golds" (shorten to "fg") and it's still going stronk af to this day, like, people still trade in games items for that forum currency
sidenot fun fact, ceo of kraken jesse powell started his buisness with selling in game items (that are still to this day sold on the d2jsp forums by people still playing the video game)
and as it was talked about, Haveno users need to already have monero (for the deposit fee) to buy monero, that's a catch 22 to actually onboard new people... so the P2P trading room could definitely be somewhere to send people that have like zelle, revolut, SEPA or whatever people be using but dont have even have a monero for themselves just yet
so overall, great idea definitely something that could be heavily beneficial to the ecosystem.. but imo should do it more like neroshop is doing: https://github.com/layters/testshop

Disclaimer: The neroshop team is comprised of a single developer that operates independently and is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the Monero project, Monero team or any other organization.

which as mentioned in #monero-community a ccs would be kind of an official endorsement, which may not be the best thing
definitely would appreciate seeing it going forward but defnitely need more people involved than just 1 dude, what yall redditors be thinking?

I’m 21M who’s currently dating my girlfriend who’s 20 F for about year and a half now. The past months been rocky and the relationship seems to come to a slow, she’s going through some personal stuff and I tried to stay away from it but it started to affect the relationship heavily. She has become less affectionate and just in her own world it seems, we call every day, see each other, etcs but she’s just not her anymore. Lately she’s been telling me about how she hates everyone in her life and wishes to be alone, and how she lost her best friend. I tried to understand her but it’s hard to leave her alone when she’s like this, and I crave the affections that I been lacking for the past 2 months. I tried to give her a hand but she refuses it and tells me to ignore it and forget it’s even there, for me to stop caring, it’s hard to not care about someone I love dearly and so I try and try to communicate with her. I can’t really help someone who doesn’t want to be help yet I really want to. I tried to strike up conversations, ask her out on dates to do some activities, go on walks, movies, and other activities to get her minds off it but every time I do, she says No. It suck because we used to be so energetic and such, hell she doesn’t show random act of affections like she used to anymore, no more random “I love you,” wanting to call me every second of the day, wanting to see me everyday, and many more stuff, I understand she’s going through a tough time but I still want to know and be reassured that she still cares for the relationship and me, a random I love you would make my day honestly but I haven’t got that since forever now. Everytime we’re on the phone she scrolls on tiktok or watches youtube, I tried and asked her to talk to me about anything but she just says she doesn’t want to, she’s annoyed, tired, upset at the world and I feel like I’m just adding more fuel to it. It’s every day now that I find it mentally draining, I feel as if every texts or words I send or say to her is going to annoy her, I feel like I’m a nuisance for asking for simple things in a relationship. I don’t want to break up with her but I don’t want to deal with this anymore either, I want to find ways to make it better. I texted her best friend about it and they called all last night but this morning her mood is still the same, she said they had fun though a little bit bored but overall better than before. Maybe I’m looking for a complete 180 in a day, right back to when we were happy and energetic. I understand changes are slow but the way she was this morning, makes me think that it’s still going downhill. I feel scared for her, our relationship, and me, I feel like this is putting our relationship in jeopardy and that I’m just another burden to carry around. How can I overcome this obstacle with her without it leading to a break up? Please keep in mind I already tried to confront the issue and so I’m looking for another way to confront the issue with actions instead of words.
TL;DR! I’m a 21-year-old guy currently dating my 20-year-old girlfriend for about a year and a half now. Recently, our relationship has hit a rough patch as she's dealing with personal issues that have caused her to become distant and less affectionate. Despite my efforts to support her, she's been pushing me away and expressing a desire to be alone. I've tried to engage her in activities and conversations to distract her, but she consistently rejects my attempts. I miss the affection and love we used to share, and feel drained by the strain on our relationship. I want to find a way to improve things without resorting to a breakup, but I'm unsure of how to proceed. If you have any suggestions on how I can address this situation through actions rather than words, I would greatly appreciate it.

For context, I technically still live at home with my parents but I am only here Mon-Fri until 5pm typically, and then I go to my boyfriends house (He has too many roommates for me to move in officially and we live in one of the most expensive states). I grew up with dogs my whole life, but at 20 I adopted my other pet and had a giant revelation about how much I truly dislike dogs.
My parents have two dogs, a blonde one and a black one, both are rescue mutts. The blondie is older, and she has a sweet and smart personality BUT she never stops barking. Anything walking past the windows will make her bark nonstop, like every single thing is a threat. If you leave to walk to the mailbox, she will bark at you when you come back. The black one is so anxious of everything, we aren't allowed to have phone ringers because it scares him. Not allowed to watch TV at certain volumes or play music because it scares him. There is dog hair everywhere. I left my coffee sitting ON THE COFFEE TABLE for a few minutes and came back to three black hairs floating on top (He stuck his face in and drank my coffee). You can't walk into my house without both dogs jumping up at you and clawing your legs because "aWwWwww tHeY aRe So ExCiTeD tO SeE yOu!". They lick my toes and the backs of my knees when I walk around the house it is so nasty feeling and it always makes me snap at them. If you attempt to be firm with them though, my parents will guilt trip you for it. Not to mention the black one is constantly sticking his face into peoples privates and humping my friends legs, soooooooo cute! NOT.
I am not exaggerating, my entire childhood the dogs were placed above me because "You are a human with longer to live". My parents never had more kids because "The dogs are your siblings". Every trip we tried to take was hell because we would bring the dogs and they would piss everywhere, bark nonstop, cause other problems OR if we didn't bring them my parents would complain the whole time that they missed the dogs. It is so embarrassing pulling up to family events and seeing everyones face drop when we open the car door and the mutts come barreling out, barking and jumping at everyone.
One time my mom found out the car dealership I had to take MY car too allowed dogs so she brought them in with us. The black one puked in front of their reception desk immediately, because the sounds of their phones ringing scared him. And then the cherry on top, he pooped on the floor in front of the technician I was trying to talk to about my car with. It was disgusting and so embarrassing and unnecessary. She could have just stayed in her car with them or walked them around the parking lot but, they are part of the family so they come with.
The black dog bites my feet when I prevent him from eating my other pets food, even though he is fed great dog food frequently and gets human food all of the time. They are so bossy and demanding because they are spoiled, they are hardly trained at all. They are trained to go outside for the bathroom and that is about it because my parents want their "dogs to be dogs" so they aren't trained in any other way.
Rant/vent over, I just cannot wait to one day have a dogfree home to live in so my parents can live happily in their dog house and I won't feel like a raincloud that rains on their dog parade.

Should someone involved in the inner running of Edgenuity be reading this, know that it is not mindless criticism. I have some things I do genuinely like and prefer about your site, which I mention. Consider reading, if you much care for the opinions of a highschool senior about to graduate.
I get why they want students to 'actually learn' and stuff, but they've been going super hard to crack down on userscripts and extensions. I know a lot of people used scripts to pull them through classes, but I mostly had them for QoL (Quality-of-Life, for you non-whippersnappers) changes that I have a hard time working without, such as skipping the little audio bits on assignments and auto-advancing through completed segments and videos.
I honestly wouldn't be so upset about the total blocking of scripts if these changes were implemented into Edgenuity itself, though I doubt they'd even consider that. I do my own work, answer the questions myself, write my own essays, etc.
From the looks of it (at least from the way Edgenuity has been systematically blocking userscripts before this 'academic integrity' block), someone with involvement in the development and operation of the site occasionally references this subreddit to see what they need to block. Maybe one of them will read this. Like I said, I understand wanting students to actually retain information from their classes.
I do really appreciate how Edgenuity lets me work on my own time and keeps all my work in one place, but I definitely think that the site and service as a whole could stand to be improved. A fair bit of the content is outdated (in that it's more than 5-10 years old, by the looks of it), but of course I know that updating all of these classes would be expensive and largely redundant since most of the information still holds up.
My biggest grievance is, like I mentioned before, just how slow the work gets when small QoL alterations are missing that I had added via userscript. It moves from manageable to an absolute slog when I have to listen to the beginning and end audio clips (that really add nothing of value, might I add, as a majority of them just say 'read the question and answer' which is... obvious) and manually click through the videos. This is fine when there are 2-4 segments, but it can get annoying quickly, especially when I've seen some 'Direct Instruction' assignments have upwards of 15 segments, a majority of which are videos that are only 2-3 minutes long.
Now, maybe I haven't been the most integrous student. Maybe I've used Brainly for a few answers, but (although I respect the teachers wholly) I cannot for the life of me sit through these lecture videos and actually listen to gather information myself.
I understand that reading through a scripted curriculum isn't exactly thrilling, and it's nearly impossible to engage with content when the teacher treats their subject matter with the same love, care, and attention as the man that throws bags into the rear of a garbage truck (so to say, without much care at all).
Also, might I add in regard to literature-based classes, so much of it is very linear despite literature and writing being one of the most varied and subjective subjects in education. Much of these classes asks questions based on interpretations of writing, as if there are single correct interpretations of something that is, notoriously, not a subject with objective answers.
I myself am not autistic, though I occasionally have issues discerning meaning and tone through text (and I can imagine this is only amplified for people who ARE on the spectrum of autism) which makes classes revolving around reading and interpreting literature very difficult for me. Getting an answer wrong simply because I have a different interpretation or understanding of a text is infuriating.
I do not have solely negative feelings for Edgenuity. As I mentioned before, I appreciate having all of my schoolwork in one place and in order (I used to lose assignments quite often when I attended physical school). I appreciate how flexible it allows my schedule to be, especially as a highschool senior who is actively studying for my permit and is taking on quite a few new responsibilities as I turn 18 soon.
Edgenuity is to school what watching a movie at home is as opposed to in a theater, because of how much more control over your situation that it offers. Need to go to the bathroom? No teacher to ask, you're in your own home. Hungry? It's lunch time all the time, and anything's on the menu. Need a break? Take it, and pick up where you left off on your work. I do greatly appreciate this.
I don't expect Edgenuity to remove the block on extensions and userscript usage, but a few small additions purely for QoL would make it a vastly better experience, at least for myself. Who knows? Maybe I'm alone with how I feel about Edgenuity.
Whether you're a student or staff (which I doubt will've read this), I'd like to hear your input on the state of things.
The school year is wrapping up (for me, atleast, I'm unsure if it differs for other people) and I hope all of you, even the ones super behind and in the educational dumps, can push through and make this your year.
To all my fellow seniors, the class of 2024, we made it. Through hard work, stress, pandemics, and all the other crazy shit that's been going on for the past 12-13 years of our lives, we've made it. Hopefully you all feel as accomplished as you should.

it has been seven months since i lost my dad to cancer. most days im happy or im good at pretending to be happy. i had friends whom i thought would be there for me when it happened but they didn't. im not the type of person to share my grief without being asked and its sad to accept none of them asked. my mom deals with grief her own way which includes flirting with new guys, drinking alcohol constantly, spending a ridiculous amount of money etc. i dont blame her if this makes her happy but even my mom didn't support me through this grief as much as i did to her. my boyfriend and best friend are trying to be supportive but i can't open up to them cause i don't want to be a burden. but some days it hits me so hard that he will never come back and he left so soon. i couldn't show any of my success to him, im only 18 and he didn't even see me graduating. i regret not visiting him in the hospital more. but i was so scared to see him that weak, that much different from his usual self. he was the smartest, funniest, sweetest person I've ever knew. whenever i try to remember him by his good times i can't help but picture his nearly lifeless body and empty eyes on his last days. it's literally haunting me and I'm constantly blaming myself for being scared of visiting him. i wish i had something more left of him like a letter or something to remember his good and conscious days. and i wish things had never been this way because he was the only person who truly loved me and understood me. i miss him so much.

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• Reddit is planning to launch search ads and a mixed feed. * Using ‘keyword + reddit’ on google > using reddit search.

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• TikTok is having ‘Creative Made Simple’ webinar for SMBs on May 16th.
  

  Instagram & Threads 🗂️

• Instagram continues to gamify content creation experience, to make people publish more.
  
• Threads adds view counts on posts.
  
• Instagram’s new ‘Meme it’ DMs feature capitalises on Gen-Z’s heavy use of DMs for chats and content sharing.
  
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Meta 😅

• Meta’s newly launched AI creative tools for advantage+ campaigns.
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X (Twitter) 🕹️

• X working on Analytics for X communities.
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Youtube 🕹️

• YouTube outlines its measures to ensure EU Election Integrity.
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Google 🔦

• Google launches new ‘Saved Comparisons’ feature for Analytics.
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• Google Search results without SGE jump to 65%, up from 25%.
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Agency News

• Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media unveils Ensemble, a branded entertainment company.
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• We Are Social US partners with Valerie Moizel, CEO of The Woo to form Hello US.
• Virgin Active appoints We Are Pi for global brand transformation.
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• IPG Health consolidates agency brand roster, launch of new Rise & Run brand.
• THIRD EAR appointed by Nissan North America and INFINITI USA as Multicultural AOR.
• Indie Agency Boathouse creates supplier diversity program, expanding external DEI efforts.

AI 🤨

• OpenAI increase AI content transparency with launch of new detection tools.
• Etsy’s plan to improve delivery tracking using new ML model.
• Absolut & Copy Lab launch copyright-free diverse images for fashion content.
• OpenAI and Stack Overflow announced an API partnership.
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Reddit & Pinterest

• Reddit announces new Public Content Policy, setting new parameters for data usage.
• Pinterest hires Former Levi’s CEO to Board of Directors.

Microsoft & LinkedIn

• Microsoft is building a bigger and better LLM ‘MAI-1’ to fight Google.
• Bing tests clear distinction between free and paid search results.
• LinkedIn shares new insights on measuring B2B marketing campaigns.

Marketing & AdTech

• Bluesky adds new features; DMs, Improved custom feeds, Video and more.
• Shopsense launches retail media platform for second-screen shopping.
• GAP names Fabiola Torres new global CMO.
• Ocean Outdoor becomes official OOH supplier to London Fashion Week.
• Curb, a ride/hailing app launches Curb journey Connect, one-stop ad solution.
• Constant Contact launches new AI feature for Brandkit and Campaign Builder.
• 160over90 launches Integrated Creator Commerce service with Lumanu.
• Omnicom announces major expansion in India.
• Kantar Media hires Lucy Bristowe as CEO for UK & Western Europe.
• Instacart and Uber Eats partner, allowing customers to order Uber Eats food via Instacart.

I hope this helps to plan your week ahead. Follow for more.

Synopsis:
Carlos was an ordinary software engineer on Earth, up until he died and found himself in a fantasy world of dungeons, magic, and adventure. This new world offers many fascinating possibilities, but it's unfortunate that the skills he spent much of his life developing will be useless because they don't have computers.
Wait, why does this spell incantation read like a computer program's source code? Magic is programming?
___
Here we go with book 2!
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Carlos lounged comfortably on one of the mayor's fancy sofas. At 23 years old with a healthy body he really didn't need cushioned upholstery, but he liked how it felt. Honestly, he was probably more comfortable with high quality furniture than someone of his relatively low-income background should be in this world. Spoiled by the mass production factories of modern Earth, I suppose. All of this stuff here is probably handmade. Er, make that definitely handmade. Unless they have magic factories I haven't heard about, or something. He mentally shrugged. There was no point trying to change his attitudes toward furniture now. While this world might have higher prices for a lot of things than he was used to, he was also a lot richer than he was used to thanks to having become a noble lord. People would expect him to treat fine furniture as cheap because of his station.
I might have the physical habits of a couch potato, but at least I don't look like one. Too skinny. Not as skinny as Amber, though. He smiled as he watched the young woman next to him on the sofa continue animatedly expounding on their recent adventures together. She was lanky, with few curves to speak of and spindly limbs, far from any conventional picture of feminine beauty. Her hair, a slightly lighter shade of brown than his own, was cropped short. He thought she was 18 or 19 years old, but wasn't sure. Have I really never asked her age before? ... Would that be a rude question here? Regardless of her age, she had grown her confidence a lot since their first meeting a few weeks ago. She'd found her footing in a new life that she'd seized with utter determination, and he saw no sign of the shyness that she'd first greeted him with. The way her potential was finally blooming was beautiful to watch.
Carlos turned his gaze to the sofa across from them and carefully held back from laughing at the expressions Trinlen was making as Amber wrapped up explaining the events and developments they'd gone through since their introduction to him at the Royal Mage Academy. Carlos had contributed a fair amount to the explanation at first, but Amber had taken to it with enthusiasm when she arrived, and he could tell she was enjoying it. The young man in front of them, newly graduated from said academy, was on the edge of his seat and leaning forward, hanging attentively on every word. His casual attire, plain and made of cheap materials, looked thoroughly out of place on the finely embroidered velvet of the sofa, but he'd shown no sign of even noticing the finery around him. Excitement warred for control of his face with surprise, disbelief, envy, and dismay.
Amber finished her impromptu monologue, and Trinlen slowly schooled his face into a neutral expression. His voice was tense and tightly controlled. "So... In short, you're telling me that in the mere two weeks since you met me, you discovered a mana-poaching conspiracy of nobles, were abducted right under the noses of two royal guards without them even noticing, absorbed mana so fast that you gained 6 levels in a day and a half - so unfair, by the way - somehow learned an obscure portal spell from just its name and description, found evidence of a conspiracy against the Crown, and personally met a princess." He paused, then threw his hands up as he wailed in frustration and disappointment. "And I missed it!?"
Carlos threw back his head and burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. Trinlen just sounded so much like a little kid who'd barely missed out on a candy store giving away its entire stock for free. It was such an incredible light-hearted contrast with how everyone else viewed these same events that the sheer ridiculousness of it was overwhelming. Amber joined the laughter a moment later, shaking her head in amused disbelief, and after a few more seconds Trinlen started chuckling too.
Carlos's laughter eventually trailed off, and he took a deep breath to settle down. "Thanks, Trinlen. It's been a very stressful two weeks, and laughing like that helped release a lot of it. Feels good. Anyway, what have you been up to? I thought you would take a whole month to graduate?"
"Technically I only said 'next month', not that it would be at the same point in the month. But yes, this is earlier than I expected. The normal graduation ceremony is still a week and a half away." Trinlen shrugged. "They didn't explain the reasons, but after what you said I'm guessing your meeting with the princess prompted her to do something. The vice headmaster called me to his office yesterday morning, a few teachers grilled me on my classwork, and they declared I'd passed my exams. Then they told me to pack because I'd be teleported to my new employers the next day, and here I am." He sighed. "Hmph. Now I won't get to humiliate Norla in front of the whole academy when she gives her speech." Then he perked up and grinned widely. "But it sounds like you two are going to be so much fun that I'll get over it in no time!"
"I'm not sure if I agree with your idea of fun, Trinlen, but if it motivates you to help us more then that's good enough for me." Carlos chuckled again. "Anyway, do you need some time to get settled in? You might need to think about lesson plans for us too. We don't need just catalogues of incantations to learn anymore, at least not for simple ones, but I believe you learned other things in the academy too. You mentioned creating your own spells, as I recall."
Trinlen nodded. "I did mention that, yes. I'm guessing your lack of need for a catalogue is because of your newfound ability to somehow pull entire incantations from thin air? You'll have to at least tell me about the limitations of that so I'll know what I still need to teach you, but yeah, there are other things. For one thing, there's your sloppy terminology! Why does no one outside of the academy care about properly distinguishing between the states of mana? Is it really that hard to understand that calling aether, mana, and essence all by the same term obscures your meaning and often causes confusion? Or are people so stupid that they can't even understand the difference?"
Carlos blinked and exchanged a look with Amber. His comprehension aid informed him about the distinction the instant Trinlen spoke the terms. That would have been nice to know earlier. The comprehension aid is a house secret, so we should let him explain. "At least for us, it's just ignorance. I don't think I've even heard the other two terms you mentioned, and certainly no one ever explained them. So, what is the difference?"
Trinlen paused, cocked his head for a moment, and slowly deflated after his impassioned rant. "Yeah, okay, that's fair. I don't think I ever heard about it before going to the academy either." He sat up straight. "Aether is what you've been calling ambient mana. It's thin like air, and it's everywhere. Its only use is converting it to mana or essence. Mana, using the term with proper precision, is thicker but still fluid like water. It exists primarily in people or creatures and is used as fuel to supply power for spells and magical effects. Essence is hard and solid. It is the material that soul structures are made of, as well as the forms of active spells and enchantments. Am I clear so far?"
Amber answered first. "Yes, I'm familiar with each of the forms you described. I have questions about more details - so many questions - but you should get properly settled in, and maybe eat lunch, before we really get down to it. Have you spoken with Mayor Stelras yet? Do you have lodging sorted out?"
"I went by his office first. He's having someone take my luggage to an inn. The Adventurer's Haven, I think? He said something about a 'low-value target' and having an empty suite already booked." Trinlen's eyes widened. "Waaait a minute. Is he putting me in the room you two were abducted from?"
Carlos shrugged. "Sounds like it."
"Nice! Think there'll be any evidence left of how it was done?"
"Haha! Probably not by this point, but you're welcome to look. Now go get unpacked, eat a meal, and start planning your lessons for us. I'm glad you're here, but we have some other things to do too."
Trinlen nodded and stood up. "Sure. I'll be back before you miss me."
Carlos waved as Trinlen sauntered out the door. He and Amber sat in companionable silence for a while as he felt the mana - or essence? - of Trinlen's soul moving off into the distance. "Well. That was interesting. It's good to have him, but I was expecting a bit more time to think and plan before he'd get here."
"Yeah." Amber stretched and then leaned back into the sofa's cushions, luxuriating in their soft firmness. "So, how much are we going to tell him? How useful will his knowledge even be for us, now that we have, what did you call it, the reference documentation? That bit about the states of mana is good to know, but is it really relevant and important, and how much more can there be that's not in the documentation?"
"Be careful talking about that out loud, remember?" Carlos relaxed and draped his arms across the sofa's back as he focused his mind on their mental bond through Purple, their friendly dungeon core. [On Earth, we made many languages similar to the language of incantations, and we had the reference documentation for all of them. We even published that documentation free for everyone to have. Teachers for those languages were still useful, and even critically important for many people. Having access to knowledge doesn't mean you automatically understand how to properly apply it. There may be related knowledge we have no idea even exists. There could be techniques and patterns for how to use the language that are simply outside the scope of the documentation. Perhaps most importantly, a teacher can use their experience to notice a student's mistakes and correct them before they become problems.]
[Hmm.] Amber bit her lip, thinking. [Like how I knew about making soul structures and synergies between them, but had no idea about the importance of being able to examine and fix them, I suppose.]
Carlos nodded. [Yeah. And that's a really simple example. I know some that are a lot more complex, though I'm not sure how many of them are even applicable for incantations. Inversion of control, dependency injection, factory patterns...] He shook his head. [Just the context knowledge needed to be able to fully understand those could take days or weeks to teach well enough for you to use them. I could maybe explain the basic ideas faster with some simplified analogies, but that would lose so many details that I doubt it would still be useful.]
Amber paused. [... Even my comprehension aid is baffled by the terms you just said. It translated the individual words that you said, but all I got for the phrases is a confusing jumble.] She chuckled. [Anyway, I concede the point. Trinlen will still be able to teach us important and useful things. We still need to decide what secrets to share with him.]
[A lot depends on how good he is at keeping secrets. We don't actually know him all that well yet. He's certainly fun, and he seems clever, but for assessing his integrity we're leaning pretty hard on just a janitor vouching for him.] Carlos frowned in thought. [In order for him to do his job, he needs to know that we can only "pull an entire incantation from thin air" if it's a simple one. He does not need to know the full details of help, however, and most certainly does not need to learn to use it himself. That secret is a very sensitive one, where even just letting too much knowledge of it spread would lose us a major advantage.]
[Definitely. No casting help where he can hear it, and don't say anything about it that's not directly relevant for his teaching, either. Not until he's earned our full trust.] Amber lapsed into silent consideration. [We should introduce him to Purple. We'll kind of have to at some point anyway, and the really valuable thing there is Purple himself, not just the knowledge of his existence.]
Carlos nodded. [True. I think that probably is the least sensitive of our house secrets, and being able to call him through a bond with Purple would be useful.] He chuckled. [And maybe his cleverness will end up producing some good ideas for Purple to use. See if he can find a more productive outlet than pranks for his creativity. And then... If he keeps that secret well enough for long enough, we can consider trusting him with more secrets.]
Amber sent back wordless agreement.
Carlos started sitting up, lifting himself out of the comfortable cushions. "Well, we should get some food ourselves, too. And maybe introduce Trinlen to everyone else along with Purple." He stood up and spotted a letter he'd set aside when Trinlen arrived. "Oh yeah, and what do you think we should do about Kindar?"
"Wait, what's this about Kindar?"
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Top 6 Updates of last Week:

• Meta launches AI tools for ad creative creation and paid subscription tiers.
• TikTok sues US Government over divest-or-sell law.
• Pinterest launches Media Buyer Certification Course.
• X will soon allow advertisers to use AI for audience creation.
• Youtube launches a promotions tab for Creators & SMBs to run quick ad campaigns.
• Reddit is planning to launch search ads and a mixed feed. * Using ‘keyword + reddit’ on google > using reddit search.

Trending

• Sam Altman debunks the rumours of gpt-5 and search engine launch, announcing new updates to GPT-4. The launch of GPT-4o.
• Google’s CEO responds to Search Quality Issues.
• Constellation Brands launches creative review for Corona Extra.
• Apple’s Safari 18 is expected to introduce webpage summarization, web eraser and more.
• Reddit’s Q1 2024 report showed strong user and ad revenue growth, 48% YoY increase in revenue.
• Jack Dorsey has left Bluesky Board sharing the company is making the same mistakes he and his team at Twitter.
• Ofcom is pushing for better age verification, filters and other checks in new online child safety code.
• Apple apologies for iPad Pro ‘Crush’ ad campaign.
• Ocean Outdoor and Battersea Power Station launch new premium DOOH network.
• OpenAI’s pitch deck for publisher partnerships gets leaked.
• Hubspot posts $617.4 million revenue for the first quarter of the year.
• Temu and Meta are being blamed by marketers for ruining performance and paid social marketing.
• Instacart and NBCUniversal’s new partnership connecting CPG with Streaming, changing retail.
• Sony and Apollo are in talks to acquire paramount.

TikTok 🎶

• TikTok is working on a collaboration feature similar to IG.
• TikTok shares new insights about brand and search experience on platform.
• TikTok to start auto-labeling AI-generated content to combat misinformation.
• TikTok is having ‘Creative Made Simple’ webinar for SMBs on May 16th.
  

  Instagram & Threads 🗂️

• Instagram continues to gamify content creation experience, to make people publish more.
  
• Threads adds view counts on posts.
  
• Instagram’s new ‘Meme it’ DMs feature capitalises on Gen-Z’s heavy use of DMs for chats and content sharing.
  
• Influencers see more Instagram engagement with still images than Reels.
  
• Instagram is teasing a new creator revenue program ‘Spring Bonus’.
  
• Threads is testing cross-posting from Instagram globally.
  
• Instagram is testing an new UI for Carousels, with no dots.
  
• Despite IG adding 3-minute reels, they were found discouraging creators from creating long reels.
  

Meta 😅

• Meta’s newly launched AI creative tools for advantage+ campaigns.
• The feature to create reels from existing content is coming to Meta Business Suite.
• Meta’s turn away from the news industry has lead to 50% traffic drop to publishers.
• Error: Meta shares detailed targeting exclusion alert sent to advertisers was a mistake.
• Meta Business Suite adds ‘review’ feature to request post to be reviewed by other admins before publishing.
• WhatsApp launches new UI elements, giving the platform a new look.
• WhatsApp makes it easier to find new channels with categories.

X (Twitter) 🕹️

• X working on Analytics for X communities.
• Nintendo ends their X integration for Switch.
• X’s new algorithm update has lead to prioritisation of smaller accounts, says Elon.
• Chat History is now live for Gork AI on web.
• X is adding a ‘cast’ button to the iOS app.

Youtube 🕹️

• YouTube outlines its measures to ensure EU Election Integrity.
• Youtube expands testing of ‘Jump Ahead’ premium AI feature.
• MrBeast is parting ways with Night Media, Talent Management Company.
• Youtube testing a new shopping feed in Youtube Shorts.

Google 🔦

• Google launches new ‘Saved Comparisons’ feature for Analytics.
• Google Shopping Ads get conversion annotations.
• Google Search results without SGE jump to 65%, up from 25%.
• Google hides search results count under tools section.
• Google shares Disavow link tool will go away at some point.
• Google is defending lack of communication around Search Updates.
• Google’s site reputation abuse policy enforcement started on Monday May 6th.

Agency News

• Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media unveils Ensemble, a branded entertainment company.
• Omnicom is shuttering Honey & Sparks and the talent is being distributed.
• Nestlé Canada appoints Citizen Relations as Confectionery PR AOR.
• GE Lighting, a Savant company appoints Bakery as Social AOR.
• Rocket Cos. Puts its media account in review.
• We Are Social US partners with Valerie Moizel, CEO of The Woo to form Hello US.
• Virgin Active appoints We Are Pi for global brand transformation.
• Famous Footwear appoints Yard NYC and THE MAYOR as Creative AOR.
• Warner Bros appoints BigSmall to launch streaming service Max.
• Lovesac appoints Hearts & Science as media AOR.
• BUNTIN appoints Trex as Media Agency of record.
• IPG Health consolidates agency brand roster, launch of new Rise & Run brand.
• THIRD EAR appointed by Nissan North America and INFINITI USA as Multicultural AOR.
• Indie Agency Boathouse creates supplier diversity program, expanding external DEI efforts.

AI 🤨

• OpenAI increase AI content transparency with launch of new detection tools.
• Etsy’s plan to improve delivery tracking using new ML model.
• Absolut & Copy Lab launch copyright-free diverse images for fashion content.
• OpenAI and Stack Overflow announced an API partnership.
• OpenAI introduces Model Spec to better the model behaviour and explores how AI can generate explicit content.
• Eleven labs preview their music AI model.

Reddit & Pinterest

• Reddit announces new Public Content Policy, setting new parameters for data usage.
• Pinterest hires Former Levi’s CEO to Board of Directors.

Microsoft & LinkedIn

• Microsoft is building a bigger and better LLM ‘MAI-1’ to fight Google.
• Bing tests clear distinction between free and paid search results.
• LinkedIn shares new insights on measuring B2B marketing campaigns.

Marketing & AdTech

• Bluesky adds new features; DMs, Improved custom feeds, Video and more.
• Shopsense launches retail media platform for second-screen shopping.
• GAP names Fabiola Torres new global CMO.
• Ocean Outdoor becomes official OOH supplier to London Fashion Week.
• Curb, a ride/hailing app launches Curb journey Connect, one-stop ad solution.
• Constant Contact launches new AI feature for Brandkit and Campaign Builder.
• 160over90 launches Integrated Creator Commerce service with Lumanu.
• Omnicom announces major expansion in India.
• Kantar Media hires Lucy Bristowe as CEO for UK & Western Europe.
• Instacart and Uber Eats partner, allowing customers to order Uber Eats food via Instacart.

I hope this helps to plan your week ahead. Follow for more.

**This is something that has been shaking in my head that I wanted to bring up this discussion. I have no experience in this field so I am not using this as a declaration. Anyone who is in the know that needs to correct me of my reasons, please do.**
I have seen a lot of animated shows being cancelled, even if the show gets good viewership and reviews. I have seen animated movies that either don't get picked up or get released with no marketing or worse, made "generic". While live action production can have similar problems of mismanagement or getting original content or marketing, it seems animation gets it worse.
I tired to look at it from the perspective of the Studio. Let's see if these are accurate:

• THEY SEE NO GUARANTEE OF PROFIT WITH ORIGINAL CONTENT

This one is the easiest to see from the studio perspective. We all wish studios give us more original content and not cancel the ones that make it. But to the studio's POV, original content is not profitable. It is common for us to veer more towards stuff we have seen, existing IP, than to something we have never seen before. Even when we do make the original content popular, it takes a while for us to come around to it. So instead of waiting for original content to get its audience, they don't advertise it as much, or don't even bother producing it in the first place - Unless it has a well-known actor voicing or even producing it.

• THEY OVERLOOK THE REAL STAR OF THE ANIMATION

In live action, an actor can act their way into a good performance and generate popularity/revenue. With that, the studio would almost always demand a live-action actor to be the star of an animation to generate the same results. But the studio never realize that while a live-action actor can VOICE a good performance, the animators are what gives the actor that good VISUAL performance. This has been a constant fight with studios and their salary. Because they are not roles the studio can show off like a director or the actor, and that there can be many animators, the studio thinks anybody can animate.

• THE TIME SPAN OF THE ANIMATION PROCESS IS MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN

While a live-action shooting can take around 3-4 months, animating can take much longer; even longer than that if it is a movie. Even if the animation is 3D, drawing frame by frame can be time consuming. Sure a TV eam can do more than one episode at a time, but that is still a long time for the studio to wait. And if the studio has notes, a whole scene would have to be drawn again. The amount of FPS to maintain a quality animation can vary, but even if they hire a lot of animators to meet a deadline, they won't pay them that much and expect them to work longer hours a day. No wonder the studios focus on deadline than quality that they let people overseas animate without standards, or use AI to do the animation instead.
So what are ways animation can be worth it to the studios? Much of it involves social media. And most of it takes place BEFORE the animation phase. Here are my solutions:

• USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR WORLDBUILDING

No matter if it is original content or existing IP, the creative team needs to prove to the studios that the people want to watch what they create. So why not use social media like youtube or even TikTok to share bits and pieces of the project even before the storyboard phase. They can show off the pitch video, the scenery, the people, and if possible, animate stills of characters interacting and using the voice actors to voice them. It would show off their personality, their interactions, and get the people interested in the project. Even sell merch to show the studio that people will buy it. Depending on how much the team can reveal, it at least gets people talking about something they want to see more of. And the studio will listen.

• GET ANIMATORS TO BE AS WELL KNOWN AS THE DIRECTOR AND VOICE ACTORS

We know directors and voice actors, but very few know animators. This one can be tricky, since the Director is usually the one who does the first animation and style, and voice actors have time to voice different projects. But promoting the animators would give them fans. And that would mean they are in high demand and be paid better. So to get them more respected by the studio, they would have to present themselves. Show off their abilities. See how their personalities are shown in the animation they work on. And in return, get more attention in animation projects.

• THE ANIMATION GUILD

This one is the most obvious and the most important one of all. Being in the union makes the statement about how an animator should be treated and paid. Even if the standards the union demands only raise the bar a tiny bit, it is still an important step. Even if the studio uses overseas animators, the union is there for anyone to hire and make a quality animation that can get the best results.
**Like I said, all random thoughts.**

Ok so, I will be honest. I did have a part to play in this. And I may be finding out from my fucking around. But I’m genuinely curious about this. So it started on Scruff. I’m 25, black (that plays into things later on). And he’s like 64, white. So we’ve been talking over the app for the last year. I’ve always tried to keep it light and non-sexual. How’s your day, etc. But he always tries to push it towards a sexual realm. How black guys are better in bed, how he wants to send me his nudes even though I didn’t ask for them, how horny he is from working out.
Now I’ve never shared my facepic with this guy. Or my real identity. So I thought I had that barrier of protection. However, I did share what gym I went to. I also put that in my Grindr profile and my Scurff profile. Like, no one has ever shown up looking for me before. So I figured I was safe ‘case no one was really checking for me like that. Until this MF pops up. But I changed my gym schedule due to starting a new job. And the old guy was in a different schedule.
However, one day he said he popped up at my gym and didn’t see me. ‘Cause I wasn’t there. lol. Had something else to do and that time. The thing is, I didn’t tell him I wasn’t there. He just randomly popped up.
Then this happened: the guy changed gyms to my gym. Now that might seem small. However, the gym he used to go to is on the other side of town. Like a good 10-15 minute drive across town. You have to go out of your way for this.
And I would ignore his messages. And he would still tell me “Was at your gym today.” Or “I noticed you’re out of town today.” Or “back from cardio so horny”. Like, I would have 13 unread messages from him in 3 days. About showing up at my gym. How he hasn’t seen me lately. How he’s horny from cardio, if only he were 40 years younger, how he loves the color contrast of black skin on white skin.
Normally when I was there I wouldn’t see him. We would miss each other (thankfully). So I kinda forgot about it. Until about last week. So one day I show up at the gym. And I see him walking by towards the door. Now the gym is very crowded at this time. So it’s not like it was easy to see me. But I do notice that’s him and he has a friend with him. But they look like they’re walking out. Whereas I just got in. So I got lucky again. He also looks older than his photos.
Looking back I realized I was part of the problem. ‘Cause I messaged him after I got home and said I saw him at the gym. That did not help anything at all.
Fast forward to last night. Who do I see in the parking lot. The same guy! Like we’re getting out of our cars at the same time and we even parked in the same part of the lot. So I kinda wait back until he goes in. Then I walk in after I know he’s gone in. Just to make sure he didn’t see me. He didn’t stay long (he sent a message about dinner with friends).
So I message him last night (I’m part of the problem I know). But he said “We were 118 feet away from each other last night.” He doesn’t know what I look like. So he didn’t come up to me or look for me. Or could identify me.
But is this stalking? ‘Cause he knows I come to the gym alone. I don’t feel like I’m in any serious danger though. lol. What’s the worst that could possibly happen? lol.

I had a thought about a game mode, as I'm sure we all do a lot, that I would love to see in game. I know this is quite impractical for real world development/ specific ethos of cooperation mechanics the game hosts, but I always enjoy seeing suggestions so wanna put it here in case anyone is the same and to see if anyone is as interested in it as I would be and ideas that you think could make it better.
I like the concept of a double or nothing extraction operation/gauntlet. This would be an operation (just one per planet I am imagining, the rest of the operations being normal) with 4 missions, and the last one is a behind enemy lines/desperate get off the planet extraction with a high reward incentive.
Throughout the 3 missions of the operation, you have a set number of reinforcements for the whole thing (ie start with 50 - 60 or something). This reinforcement count, along with the number of samples you collect, carries forward through each of the 3 operations. If you run out of reinforcements, you lose all samples collected from the previous ones, and any medals you may have won. If you get to the end of the third and you aren't happy with where your count is, you may wanna consider getting out of dodge and not doing the next part.
Once you clear the 3 missions, you have the option to complete the operation and it's back to the super destroyer, or take a 4th one which is "behind enemy lines" (I dunno, something like that, outside of super destroyer coverage would be more applicable). You push through to an area which is exceedingly rich in samples, but also maintains the high number of patrols currently seen in game (which I understand they are working on reducing as standard) or a similar degree of ramped up challenge. You have no stratagems on this mission, but your first objective is to go and repair a massive walker which was ditched there (yep, this is a VERY unrealistic idea, but screw it it's just for fun). Once you have activated the repair procedure and defended the walker during it, the walker will escort you to a platform where it will allow an extract (think of a lore friendly reason here, it turns into a hellpod cannon or something in conjunction with the platform where it aims you into orbit somewhere where the destroyer can pick y'all up).
This walker is your stratagem replacement. It's stratagems replenish quickly and it's got a hefty arsenal (come to think of it this sounds very similar to gunship coverage from those COD games which introduced it), but of course you would need to coordinate with your team pretty efficiently on these shared stratagems, and you would also all be pretty keen to stay within range of this support as the hordes are attracted by your giant escort which you will need to liberate the launch platform and to escape. You are essentially defending the walker as much as it is defending you through use of these stratagems and your team coordination. (yes, it would require a ridiculous amount of coordination, I know there is a lot of reasons how this could go wrong in how you feel about the game, and a few great moments of cooperation hopefully).
If you manage to extract at this point, you'll be treated to all those lovleh samples and a stage 4 medal reward. It's a high risk, high reward decision to be made embarking on this one, and for the first 3 missions you would be incentivized to play things efficiently and make a lot of decisions which affect the long game of when you need to confront the "do we attempt level 4?" decision. You would also need to make sure your stratagem loadout across the team covers all the bases for the whole operation. I don't now how weighty that decision would be considering how much we all take the same stuff when we play with a set squad. It saddens me I can't think of a way to make this random friendly without people using mics for now.
I know it's a bit more of a hardcore mode which may take some of the more slapstick fun away, but it would be cool to have as an optional aside in my opinion, despite all the issues I know such a mode could face.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

I have known this person since I was 12 yo, she always have been controling and childish like being upset at me for having others friends and not hangout with her as much, so we fought a lot and with time I got feed up with her behavior and I started to cut her of, but everytime we stop talking for months she cames back again everytime, even if I caused a big problem that's unforgivable she will always come back to my life with one way or other. In the first year of high school I cut off all my friends including her cuz I was dealing with depression, so we didn't talk for the all high school period, and she didn't try to comeback cuz I treated her very bad just to make sure that she won't comeback in my life again, but soon after graduating she forgot everything and be friended me again and at the time I was feeling guilty about the way I treated her so I allowed it, and I thought that things maybe changed and she wouldn't use me again or be upset about anything I do or I say.
We were alright, but I noticed that she only talk or come visit me when she needs something and she never attempt to ask about me or how I am without having a reason that benefits her, even if she knew that I'm dealing with something she never asks except if she needed something or someone to talk to about her problems.
A week ago, she visited me talking to talk about one of her ex's, they broke up two years ago, but she told me that she missed him, and asked me to message him just to know if there is someone in his life, and because I don't know him personally I refused hardly and I tried to convince her to not think about him anymore cuz it's not healthy for her, but she got upset at me and said that I'm not a good friend and if I asked to do so she will do it without question (note: I have never asked anything from her ever, accept forgiveness for the way I treated her back at the time, cuz to this day I still feel guilty about it), she went home upset and I didn't think much about it cuz that's the right things to do.
Until yesterday, her mom called me asking to visit her urgently, I went and her mom was crying and told me her daughter loss her vision, she blind now. I went to her room and she was in a terrible situation, she was looking at one direction in the room with tears in her eyes, I started talking to her and comforting her, even if it was hard for me cuz I was sad seeing her in that situation. Then her mom taked me a side and told me that the doctor told her that she have a mental problem cuz her eyes is fine so she figured that her ex is the cause of that, cuz the night before she was thinking about him and telling her mom about how he is the perfect one for her and no one's like him and she wish she can have him back, but the mother think other wise so that got her really angry and maybe that what causes her losing her sight. So her mom asked me to talk to him and telling him what happened to her and see how he gonna react to it, if he reacted poorly then she will know that he is bad for her and she will stop think highly of him. First, I was hesitant but she convinced me, and I did (big mistake I know), that ex is their neighbor, so he knows me but not in a personal level I never talk or even looked at him, so when I called him, I said that I'm his ex's friend and I heard that she is blind and if he knows what happened to her exactly cuz I lost contact with her, the poor guy was shocked just as me when I first saw her in room, but he said that he knows nothing and he can't contact her, cuz she blocked him from everything and she acts like she doesn't know him every time they meet eye to eye (note: he only know that I'm her friend but he doesn't know which friend) at the end he told me if he heard something he will tell me and I should do so too, cuz he is worried about her. Hearing that she was happy and she told me that I should tell her everything cuz he will definitely message me .
I went home feeling terrible about her situation and what I have done, at night he messaged me asking if there is any news and I told him that I talked to her mother and what the doctor said to her, he said he have no way to talk to her but he will be praying for her. After she called me at 1am asking if he called or anything and I told her what he said and she was upset saying that I should have convinced him to visit her instead and I quote " I did all of this just to make him talk to me and you didn't try to convince him to do so" even if I tried by saying that it's alright to talk to her mom cuz they are neighbors.
I didn't slept all night think about the situation and I may have been played by her and her mom, or maybe her mom is played by her too cuz she is the only child so her mom can't say NO. Maybe she is fooling everyone just to get her ex's attention, and I feel super bad for myself, her mom and ex, but I'm afraid that she may be really blind and I'm overthinking it, but in the other hand if I woke up blind my only concern will be my health not other people and I won't ask anyone to do something like this ever, that what make me feel like she is lying at us and we all being manipulated by her.
While writing this she called me, she still didn't get her vision back and she asked me not to talk to him until she asks me to, and to not delete my conversation with him.
I know I'm a bad person for doing what I have done, I feel terrible about the situation, and I wish to find a way to cut her from my life, cuz she traumatized me everytime, and I tried everything in power but she always come back, but what if she lost her sight for real and by doing so I will be more bad, cuz I won't be happy if my friends left me when I have a health condition. I don't know what to do anymore.

Personally, I've been rating albums for six years and there have been periods where I've been too focused on giving a rating that reflects my opinion on an album rather than enjoying it. Recently I've been randomly revisiting some albums that I've loved and listening to some new ones without taking into account any rating and, to be honest, I've rediscovered what genuinely listening to music is.
I think that in the music community there's too much emphasis on rating and reviewing an album and less on just discussing and sharing music. I see people listening to 4 or 5 albums a day and rating them on RYM and I genuinely feel that they can't be enjoying all that music, it must feel like a chore to them. To listen to an album and then immediately give it a rating and forget that it exists, without taking into consideration how an album grows on you with time, how mood can affect your enjoyment of it, what that album meant at the time it was released and what it means now...
When I started to be a music lover I used to dig deep into YouTube recommendations, click on any album with an interesting cover art or title, and then enjoy it while reading all the positive comments left by the users. When I moved to RYM for my recs I entered a world that dug deeper into music (YouTube, unless a documentary, views music on a superficial level), but I also saw a passive-aggressive, elitist side of music that I don't quite like, and I think that it affected my way of enjoying music because I took into account the general opinion of the site.
Now I'm going back to just clicking on YouTube videos, talking to people about music and listening to whatever they recommend, living music in a less analytical way and letting myself enjoy whatever comes into my hands without thinking if it's considered good music or radio-friendly commercial crap.
How do you feel about this matter?

A friend of mine wants to get into DnD, but she doesn't often have the flexibility to join mid-week games like the party I'm playing with arranges - and tbh social anxiety could be an issue too - so we're going to start off with me DM-ing a solo campaign for her and see how that goes.
For her PC, she's looking at playing a wizard. A solo wizard might be a bit on the papery side, especially at low levels, so what are some good ways to increase her survivability?
I know sidekicks are an option, but if she'd prefer to simply play the one character, what sort of low-level build can help a wizard take a hit? I read an article that suggested a mountain dwarf, as their natural armour proficiency can save a spell slot that might otherwise be taken up by Mage Armour. The same article suggested githyanki, as well as some creatures I wasn't even aware of (i myself haven't been playing very long) but we're likely going to be using Beyond for simplicity, and will be restricted to the books I've bought on that platform.
Are there any other paths, be it racial options or simply buffs and good planning, that might help out in the early days?

My husband and I have been married for a year, together for a total of seven years. We've had a lot of issues along the way, the biggest being his overall avoidant attachment style. For a long time he would talk to other girls behind my back (including exes), hug other girls in front of me without introducing me, and bring me around exes without letting me know they were exes. This was pretty freaking damaging, especially in my early 20s.
His friend group is one that's been together since high school. All the guys are relatively the same-- "nice" but airheads, noncommittal, no accountability etc. My husband was this way, and as a matter of fact he was the first one to get married, despite two of his other friends being in 10+ year relationships. I'd ask him, why are you friends with these people? He'd always say that he doesn't care what his friends do, he just likes being around them. So, this friend group is very clique-y.
One of his best friends in the group knocked a girl up at 19. They were forced to get married essentially. This girl runs all the other females in the group. She is so childish. In the early days, she would use me to take her places when others bailed, sexually assault me in front of others for attention, publicly humiliate me in front of the friend group, and tell me all about my husbands ex-girlfriends because she didn't think we'd last anyway. I really can't get into all that has gone down with this couple.
His friend group is very tight knit and you really can't hang out with one couple because they're all so interconnected. It's very distressing for me, especially after years of him not standing up for me and pretending not to notice all that has happened. They are not a safe group of people for me, but they're his group. I don't know what to do, or if we can move past this. It's gotten to the point where some of these people, including the girl I mentioned earlier, have drunk called him while they're all out at a bar, saying they miss him and want to see him. Nothing to say about me, though.
I just don't want to deal with it anymore. I want to move on. I don't want these people in my life anymore. He's having a hard time getting over it, because it makes him sad he can't hang out with his friends. I fell sad too because I'm not accepted by them, but I resent being forced to be around those people. I truly feel like they treat me the way they do because for so long he let it happen. It's a constant reminder of the disrespect I'd tried to move past. It's just hurtful all around.
Any advice would be appreciated. I don't know if I'm just overreacting.