When it comes to examples of Web 2.0 and the idea of participatory technology, Reddit is pretty neat example. You've got this massive platform where users are the ones creating most of the content, it's not just the media or influencers governing the content and it provides a platform for our niche personal interests alongside mainstream topics.
Through upvotes and downvotes, we collectively curate the platform's content. It’s a uniquely democratic approach to content moderation that empowers users to actively shape the platform themselves.
The communities then serve as virtual gathering places where individuals with shared passions come together to share content, engage in discussions, and forge connections, without actively needing to search for it like on alternative platforms.
Another important aspect is the volunteer moderators, drawn from the community itself, enforcing subreddit-specific rules to ensure discussions remain civil and on-topic (I also enjoy this aspect of Facebook Groups). This diplomatic approach to moderation empowers each community to govern their own rules.
So yeah IMHO, when it comes to Web 2.0, Reddit is definitely one of the best examples out there. It's all about users creating, sharing, and engaging with content in a way that's truly democratic and community-driven.
Do you believe Reddit is still a good example of Web 2.0? Are there better examples now (since the rise in advertisements etc. on Reddit)?

Hello. I have installed the Chrome extension "Leechblock ng", which allows you to block some website for a certain amount of time in order to focus on work. I blocked "youtube.com", "instagram.com" and "facebook.com". When done, I uninstalled the extension. Ever since I have done that, those 3 sites are still blocked. Youtube shows a "you are offline message", and instagram and facebook show a blank page telling me I don't have internet access. ALL other websites work properly. This happens on Chrome, Safari and Firefox, but they do load on TOR browser. I have cleaned all caches, changed my DNS to Google DNS, uninstalled Leechblock, turned on and off my computer, checked the security setting on both my computer, Chrome, Safari, Mozilla, nothing works. It seems like the websites URL or contracts are corrupted, I don't know. The strange thing is that it works when I load the website on Tor Browser, which means it must have something to do with my IP adress or something, because Tor has a pre-installed VPN. Anyone has any idea on how to fix this ? Thank you !
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Hello. I have installed the Chrome extension "Leechblock ng", which allows you to block some website for a certain amount of time in order to focus on work. I blocked "youtube.com", "instagram.com" and "facebook.com". When done, I uninstalled the extension. Ever since I have done that, those 3 sites are still blocked. Youtube shows a "you are offline message", and instagram and facebook show a blank page telling me I don't have internet access. ALL other websites work properly. This happens on Chrome, Safari and Firefox, but they do load on TOR browser. I have cleaned all caches, changed my DNS to Google DNS, uninstalled Leechblock, turned on and off my computer, checked the security setting on both my computer, Chrome, Safari, Mozilla, nothing works. It seems like the websites URL or contracts are corrupted, I don't know. The strange thing is that it works when I load the website on Tor Browser, which means it must have something to do with my IP adress or something, because Tor has a pre-installed VPN. Anyone has any idea on how to fix this ? Thank you !

🪞
Welcome back to the Asylum write-up, where we explore the decade-long slow-motion car crash that is the Emilie Autumn fandom.
Sorry this installment took so long to upload! Just a heads-up, I may take some time to deliver the last one too – these posts take forever to format on Reddit's finicky-ass editor, and my dumb real life is currently keeping me from precious Internet time. Thank you for your patience! You have my word that everyone who pre-ordered the final installment will receive a PERSONAL, HANDWRITTEN letter autographed and illustrated by me, a list of the snacks I consumed while composing this write-up, some exclusive behind-the-scenes secrets, and a pony.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.1 – Part 4.2 Part 5

Places, everyone This is a test Throw your stones Do your damage Your worst, and your best (...) And if I had a dollar For every time I repented the sin And commit the same crime I'd be sitting on top of the world today (“God Help Me”, 2006🎵)

Quick recap of where we left off. First, there were five to ten halcyon years of pleasant and meaningful interactions between EA and her blossoming fanbase, prominently by way of her official forum. Then, circa 2009-2010, EA's online presence shifted towards sudden anger outbursts, ban-hammering, and an increasingly top-down communication style.
This created a sort of primordial rift within the fanbase, between those who supported EA's right to speak her mind and regulate her own fan spaces however she pleased – and those who thought that her reactions were rude and inappropriate (at best), and that even fan spaces should allow for reasonable, non-abusive criticism of the artist.
Between a poorly-handled book release (see Part 3), the controversial (Part 2) or dubiously true (Part 4) contents of said book, and serious shade from various former collaborators (Part 5), more and more fans had pressing thoughts about EA's work ethic and choices. EA attempted damage control through drastic forum rules that made it virtually impossible to voice any “serious” critical opinion. It didn't work, of course: instead of squashing the mutiny, she created a schism.
Critical fans and active haters started congregating on unofficial platforms.

“WITH MUFFINS LIKE THIS, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?”: TROLL LIKE A GIRL

So here we were, the early 2010s. The official forum (which had about 700 members in 2006, if you recall) was now thousands-strong, reaching just over 12,000 registered users in 2012 – not all of them active, but still. In terms of sheer numbers and content creation, the party was POPPIN'... but increasingly in parts of the Asylum that escaped EA's jurisdiction, such as Tumblr, where they could speak their mind freely.

You play the victim very well You've built your self-indulgent hell You wanted someone to understand you Well, be careful what you wish for, because I do (“I Know Where You Sleep”, 2006🎵)

In one wing of Asylum Tumblr, a smattering of call-out blogs emerged, which laid out EA's various lies, faux pas, shitty takes, and general deep-seated terribleness in detailed timelines and screenshots (or, short of that, long-winded bullet points). While many such blogs framed it as “serious” whistleblowing and did their best to remain as fact-based and neutral as they could, there was some genuine disgust, animosity and creepiness towards EA on that side of Tumblr; for some ex-fans, “exposing the truth” was mostly justify obsessive hatred, prying and verbal abuse. Some, for instance, felt the bizarre need to side with EA's mother in their estrangement. (One user, with the URL “emilyautumnfischkopf”, argued in a serious and down-to-earth tone - but with zero sources - that EA's upbringing had been nothing but peaceful and supportive until she ungratefully kicked her loving family to the curb for no reason at all. They were later revealed 🔍 to have an alternate handle as “eaisalyingcunt”.)
Either way, through these blogs, a number of potential drama bombs that had mostly flown under the radar were dredged up from over the years – some of which were hard to ignore, even for supportive fans. Where to begin?
There was that nonsense in-joke song, captured twice on camera during the 2009 tour (to very little outrage, at the time), crassly called “Manatee Retard”📺. Or EA's scathing response, in print, to a wheelchair user who found it insensitive that she used a bedazzled wheelchair as a prop to do sexy acrobatics on stage. (“Your offence taken at my hard-won self-acceptance proves that I indeed have something to fight against”, she wrote). Spoken word tracks where she made trivializing knock-knock jokes about serious mental illnesses she didn't have, like schizophrenia and OCD. Multiple instances of calling Britney Spears a “bimbo” and a “Hollywood fucked-up”, resentfully claiming that she only shaved her head because she was “hopped up on drugs” and certainly not because she was “bipolar”, a word the press liked to wield as an insult anyway. (“That's almost like calling someone a retard!” Yeah, heaven forbid.) The meanest, most distasteful paragraphs in the book. Basically everything problematic EA had ever said or written.📝 In retrospect, it had been a long time coming, but it was a lot to take in – and certainly more off-putting, even to less emotionally invested fans, than silly lies about her age and last name.
In another wing of Asylum Tumblr, some fans had had it up to here and just wanted to have fun. 🎵 If Plague Rats had learned one valuable lesson from EA, it was how to crack a joke in the face of absurd tragedy – and the general state of the EA fandom certainly warranted a few.
In 2012, Fight Like a Girl was released. After six long years, three of which had been peaceful, the Opheliac era was officially over. The new album and ensuing tour confirmed that the Asylum had entered a process of glamorous Broadway-style militarization. 🎵📺
The mood board was “Roman general meets Vegas showgirl meets Victorian street urchin”.🪞 The color palette was, to naysayers, “musty pink and rotten, stale piss yellow”. 🐀 The keyword was “REVENGE” (through the power of... self-expression! sorority! brutal assault with rusty medical implements!). The chorus of the title song had an intriguing run-on line about getting “revenge on the world, or at least 49% of the people in it” 🎵 – which seemed like an awful lot, and was widely interpreted (to cheers, boos, or uncomfortable sighs) as a misandrist jab at literally all men on Earth.
The show was essentially a demo version of the musical, in that the setlist vaguely reflected the order of events in the story – but prior reading was essential in order to get what the hell was going on on stage. This one Broadway reviewer had not perused the literature before seeing the show 🔍, and hated: the set, the choreography, the skits, the plot, the lyrics, the music, the concept. (Seriously, you should read the review. It's not even my show and I feel like quitting show business.)
Pre-show VIP encounters, now violin-free, were lorded over by EA's new manager🐀, whose official title was “Asylum Headmistress”. (Interesting choice – she sounds fun!) The swag bags were less substantial than before, and the “greet” part of the meet-and-greet was rarely more than a quick hug and photo op.
On Twitter, EA continued to embrace her “I am very badass” fronting attitude...

Often wonder if cyberbullies r aware they’re fucking w/ a girl who’s BFs w/ maker of the SAW films & is marrying a knife-throwing scorpion. (🐀📝)

...and her taste for needlessly inflammatory statements. About an aisle sign in a supermarket:

If this does not infuriate you, then you're a fucking potato.

(Again with the confounding crypto-ableism, EA! 🔍) She also went through a phase of raging against Lady Gaga 📝, who had stolen her idea of using a wheelchair on stage as an able-bodied woman. 🔍 That failed to convince anyone that she wasn't the histrionic diva that haters made her out to be.
Spurred on by EA's rallying cries and “us vs them” mentality, loyalists turned the white-knighting up to 11. On Twitter, some Plague Rats got into cat fights with Lady Gaga's Little Monsters (what a time to be alive). Others tried to balance out the Tumblr negativity with initiatives like “Spreading a Plague of Love” – a “positive-only” confession blog, whose extreme fangirling, comically drastic rules and hyper-defensive tone📝 did not debunk the increasingly popular notion that “true Plague Rats” were a bunch of authoritarian and hopelessly brainwashed fanatics.
EA truthers and other anti-fans started lashing out at anyone who dared express any positive opinion of EA, solidifying claims that the backlash against EA was just a conspiracy of bitter, hysterical bullies.
All this to say: every passing day brought new reasons for fans to get mad at EA and each other, and everyone in the Asylum was in need of a laugh. It's not easy having a good time.🦠
Leading up to Fight Like a Girl and in the years that followed, user-submission-based meme blogs took off, most notably “Spreading a Plague of Lulz / Troll Like a Girl”. A lot of the early submissions were absurdist humor and toothless, cheezburger-Impact memes (a style that was, oddly, already dated at the time). Those often originated in good fun, and from loyal fans, on the official forum. But there was also true snark, satirizing EA's questionable ethics, outrageous claims, and easily spoofed artistic gimmicks. A new slang of Asylumspeak emerged: Glittertits (slight NSFW), GAGA!!, EA Gusta and all its memeface variants, Get outta mah house!, Are You Suffering?, Fight Like A Goat, [Random celebrity] copied EA (a subgenre in its own right), ...
Most of the “trolling” was directed at unrepentant bootlickers and, to a lesser extent, red-in-the-face haters and creeps. Meme blogs would post joke comments under “serious” or gushing submissions on Wayward Victorian Confessions, and taunt loyalist accounts by tagging them in their posts. When a few people complained on WVC that almost all of the Bloody Crumpets to date had been thin white able-bodied women, and a few fans responded by sharing their dream-casts for a more diverse line-up, the blog was flooded for days with confessions that “X should be a Crumpet” (candidates included RuPaul, Mitt Romney, Nicki Minaj, EA's therapist, and the WVC admins). Farcical shenanigans like that.
Ah, but some people will always cross the line, won't they. EA threads popped up on merciless, bully-friendly snark platforms like Lolcow, Pretty Ugly Little Liar, and Encyclopedia Dramatica. Snarkers with a mean streak and obsessive haters mingled in some of the more aggressive, 4-chan-spirited retaliation against EA – which would be called “brigading” in modern parlance. This included flooding EA's Goodreads page with one-star reviews (see part 4), repeatedly editing her Wikipedia page to include her legal name and birth year, and ensuring that Googling said name would bring up current pictures of her.
All of this compounded agitation fragmented the once-united fandom beyond recognition.🦠 Through substantial disagreements among fans, personal bickerings, layers upon layers of inscrutable in-jokes, and cross-platform telephone games, the Asylum morphed into a booby-trapped Escher room.
Satire blogs were taken in earnest. Earnest fan blogs scanned as satire. Memes would get called out as abuse. Appreciation without attached criticism would get mocked as bootlicking. Obvious jokes made by EA would be taken at face value. One divisive confession could trigger days and days of debate, to the point that WVC eventually banned confessions in response to other confessions. New waves of infighting created a confusing web of rival sub-factions🐀, each accusing the others of being toxic, cliquish, and delusional.
The shared fantasy was broken, the collective vision had crumbled, no onez was speaking the same language anymore. Fans would jump down the throat of other fans who held almost identical views about EA, except for that one thing she said or did that one time. Everyone had differing thoughts on what should or shouldn't acceptable to discuss, question, excuse, make fun of.
War is hell.

SCORCHED EARTH SHENANIGANS: HONEY, I SHRUNK THE ASYLUM

Would you tear my castle down Stone by stone And let the wind run through my windows Till there was nothing left But a battered rose? (“Castle Down”, 2003🎵)

Haters vs sycophants is not really the kind of conflict where one side can come out on top (if you're participating, you've already lost). But in the long tug-of-war between “grassroots” and “EA-sponsored” fan spaces, the ultimate winner is obvious – in that the former is gasping in agony, a shriveled husk of its former glory, while the latter... is non-existent. This is due in no small part to EA's tendency, like the Czars of old, to settle conflicts by setting Moscow on fire.🔍)
That's not entirely fair: unlike EA, the czar only did it that once.
By early 2013, as EA was gearing up for her third Fight Like a Girl tour at the end of the year, the official forum was... not as lively as it once had been. Not just because of the stifling rules and disgruntlement towards EA, or because EA herself hadn't really posted anything on there in years; the Internet was also changing, and forums in general were fast becoming passé.
This made it difficult for EA to create a safe space where she could talk to fans, and fans could talk to and about her, in a way she deemed suitable (ie, a space she could gate-keep and regulate enough to keep it completely free from negative criticism). Social media was a minefield; she still posted regularly, but didn't interact very much. So EA and the Headmistress came up with a way to filter out the unbelievers: an official fan club📝, aptly called the “Asylum Army”, with a $100 entry price.
Joining the AA came with a dog tag, a sew-on patch, and a lifetime membership certificate signed by EA and – for some reason – the Headmistress. (Unlike EA's best friend and sound engineer back in the forum's heyday, I don't think fans ever really embraced the FLAG-era manager as part of the Asylum in-group. She came across more as a coordinator / businessperson / adult chaperone, at best.🐀) So, slightly better goodies than you'd get by joining the other AA 🔍 ... but not by much. The main appeal was that members would have access to exclusive content, special merch, giveaways, early bird tickets for future shows, and regular video chats with EA.
The concept itself drew a fair amount of criticism, as you can imagine. Between the name🐀, the price, and the inherent gatekeeping of a pay-to-join fanclub, many balked at the monetizing of a concept that had once (like, three years back) been significantly more DIY, grassroots, and inclusive. 📝🐀
Then again, many also longed for a positive, drama-free space where fans could just be fans. And while the creation of the AA was generally recognized as a quick cashgrab, a lot of people were surprisingly cool with it. EA was trying to finance her dream musical, after all – although a number of fans wished she had gone about raising funds in a less sketchy way.
So around 400 fans shelled out (which, according to the Headmistress📝, “basically cover[ed] the cost of running the fanclub itself – keeping the database up, website, etc.”). Enough for a close-knit, but sizable community. But already, there was a conflict of interest: a high fanclub entry fee essentially demands that you pledge loyalty to the artist over loyalty to your fellow fans, who wish to join but can't afford to. Sharing, caring, and ensuring no one felt left out were some of the more positive values cultivated in the fandom... but leaking exclusive content would surely piss off other paying members🐀, and make EA feel betrayed all over again. (And she had barely just started to mellow out on social media!)
...But then again, this is the internet. After the first month of secret AA drops (lyric sheets, some photoshoot outtakes – nothing too juicy, really), there were, yes, some leaks. EA was predictably miffed, and retaliated by... ghosting the fanclub for weeks at a time in its first few months of existence (great look!). She eventually found the “solution” to her problem, by providing something you couldn't right-click-save (and which had been part of the promised perks to begin with): live interaction.
Over webcam, she was her usual in-person bubbly, charming, funny self. Everyone seemingly had a good time during the fanclub video chat, and this gave people faith and hope.
There were a few more events, giveaways, etc. As promised, ahead of the fall 2013 tour (the last one to date, it would turn out), AA members got priority access to show tickets and VIP bundles. The latter were much pricier than before, and only included soundcheck, a photo-op, and three goodies: a tin of loose-leaf tea, a signed printer-paper setlist, and a small flag that said “F.L.A.G.”.🔍 Some stuff continued to leak – but, as some of the outlaws pointed out (scroll down to the Disqus comments), they were mostly relaying information that was relevant to the entire fanbase, such as updates about ongoing projects (the dragged-out recording of the audiobook, for one).
In early 2014, lifetime memberships were closed, and replaced with monthly, quarterly and yearly subscription tiers. Bizarrely, you ended up paying $3 more per month if you bought a $99 yearly subscription📝 – but it did include the patch, dog tag, and piece of paper!

Sometimes I kind of want to be part of the cool kids and register to the Asylum Army. Then I remember how it came about, what you could get for the same price a couple years ago, how the whole thing was and is handled, and that I won’t support any of this bullshit. (And then I roll around naked in all the money I’m saving.) (🐀)

Still, a number of fans rejoiced at the affordable monthly option, and joined – if not for the exclusive content and merch (which were... okay, but not much to write home about), then for the friendly, drama-free exchanges with an artist they actually did love, in spite of all the frustration.
For the still-too-poor or still-undecided, there was always the forum! It wasn't as active as it used to be, but a few die-hards still managed to keep the lights on... until, inevitably, Someone Did Something and Ruined Everything. (Once again: EA's wrath is spectacular, but rarely completely unprovoked.) The incident features one notable figure in the Asylum community. Let's call him the Collector.
OK, so maybe you remember the meme I linked to in Part 4, with Christian Grey and the ginormous EA hoard. Well, that's the Collector's collection. The “Violin” promo that I called the "Holy Grail of the fandom" in the same paragraph? Also his. The handwritten lyrics that went for $940? Guess who won that auction. Over the years, the Collector had probably spent five figures on EA merch and shows, and although that fact was a little unsettling, he was a very active, easy-going, and generally well-liked fixture of the fandom.
One day in 2012, shortly after the Headmistress had replaced EA's old Chicago BFF as main forum admin, the Collector's account got banned or restricted over something dumb. When the ban wasn't lifted as quickly as he hoped, he took it... the way one takes things when one is unhealthily invested: he started spamming Headmistress and the mod team with increasingly rambling and abusive emails (lost to time, probably for the best). When that didn't work quickly enough, he tried a different route.
One of the many auctions that the Collector had won, some years prior, was EA's old iPod Touch📝 – which contained all of her favorite tunes and, buried somewhere in the data cache... a phone number. Which the Collector tried calling. And wouldn't you know it: EA picked up. She congratulated him on his sleuthing skills, listened patiently as he made his case, apologized for any distress caused by the unfair account restriction, and then they got married.
Kidding! She freaked the fuck out, hung up, and banned him for life from the forum and all EA shows and events.
After his ban, the Collector allegedly still tried to attend at least one VIP pre-show (one source in the comments says he was allowed to buy some merch, refunded for his ticket, and escorted out). He joined the Reform forum to bitch about EA and try to rally people to his cause, possibly made revenge posts about her on darker snark forums, and continued to hound the Asylum mod team. So in June 2014, EA came up with a radical and unexpected fix to the Collector problem.

The official Asylum Fan Forum has been shut down permanently. I have personally paid thousands of dollars each year to keep the forum safe and secure for you ... Unfortunately, the forum has not been kept safe and secure for me, a truth which disappoints me greatly, instead becoming a place where people who have physically threatened myself and my staff prey upon forum members, pressuring them to contact me and my staff on their behalf. If the gullible wish to humor my stalkers (who live in their parent’s basement at age 30 something) and thus put me in danger, they may do it on their own dime. They may also fuck off, because stupidity can kill, and I won’t be your victim. To those who enjoyed the forum, you know who to thank for its closure. (“On the closing of the Asylum Forum”)

Voilà! This is how a decade-long archive of shared history ends: not with a bang, but with a dirty delete and a sod-off communiqué.
The obliteration of the forum took everyone by surprise...

I was actually on the forum when it was taken down. I was navigating between posts and when I went to click on a different board, an error message came up. I honestly cried a little, I'm not ashamed to say. (WVC admin on Reddit, 2024)

...and I do mean everyone:

Chicago BFF / ex-admin, the next morning: Whoa, EA forum shut down? Ex-mod: It turns out that if someone spends enough years actively “waging war” to destroy what they can’t have, eventually they’ll be successful. * eye roll * Not even mods got prior warning. Just all the sudden, poof, gone. BFF: Really? She did not let the moderators know?! This is sounding worse and worse. Uggh. I’m so sorry. Such a loss. (...) Ok, threats are serious, but why not just put it in archive mode so no one can post? (...) Sad. I shall light a candle in the forum's honor. (Facebook posts; scroll down for screenshots)

It was a gut punch, especially for people who had poured countless hours into the community, or could have used some prior warning to save years of their own writing from the role-playing threads. One last chance to take a look around the place that had meant so much to so many.

From the wording of the announcement of closing the forum and a number of other things, it sometimes seems like EA doesn't like her fans much. :/ (🐀)

Three months after the forum was nuked, Battered Rose (a venerable EA fansite, which had been around since the Enchant era and had one of the most complete EA galleries online) announced that it was shutting down too.📝 The admin, who had also been a long-time forum mod, cited a lack of “time, energy, passion, or money” to keep the website going... and being upset at the sudden disappearance of the forum. It was, truly, the end of an era for the Asylum.
...Well, no point in living in the past. For those who could afford it, and still wanted to talk to/about EA after that (not everyone did 🐀), there was always the Asylum Army fanclub!
Over the summer of 2014, EA held regular live chats and Q&A's, and... many attendees really enjoyed them, and thought the AA was well worth the money after all. She also quietly parted ways with the much poo-pooed Headmistress around that time.

Just spent over 4 hours giggling, drinking tea and playing guessing games in chat with EA and other Asylum Army members ... No griping, no downers, just lots of fun. I think I like the way the ‘new fandom’ is going and now I’m really glad I finally decided to join the Army. (September 4, 2014🐀; Battered Rose had closed the day before)

The forum was lost forever, but perhaps that was a chance for a fresh start. Could this fanclub thing really be the Asylum Renaissance that fans had been longing for?

...I have come today to a very difficult but necessary decision, and that is to discontinue the Emilie Autumn Official Fanclub. The site itself, and the community chatroom, will remain open to you indefinitely, but I will no longer be making updates to the site. (Newsletter, September 8, 2014📝)

...Never mind, then.
Turns out the fanclub had been the Headmistress' idea all along. EA had been reluctant from the start, and although she really enjoyed the live chats with a safe community of people “who are there for the right reasons”, she couldn't overcome her fundamental discomfort with the concept. Lifetime and regular members would receive a bunch of digital downloads and a -35% coupon on the Asylum Emporium for their troubles. EA said she would definitely pop back once in a while for live chats, for free, just for fun, but to my knowledge, she never did.
And so the most devoted fans were left standing in the rain...

She is happy, she made it. She is fulfilling her dreams, found love and happiness after all the pain. I understand that she now doesn’t need “us” anymore ... That doesn’t change the fact she broke my heart with taking the Asylum Army and the forum from me. Yet, I am happy for her. (🐀)

...while naysayers pointed and laughed, Nelson-style.🦠

I don’t feel sorry at all for the people that paid for the Asylum Army fan club. Most of them knew that EA is an atrocious business woman and has broken many promises before. In fact, I laugh at them. They seriously thought that EA would actually stay consistent with this? (🐀)

EVERYTHING MUST GO: THE ASYLUM WHOLESALE

EA fans were left without an “official” home for about three years. This gave them plenty of time to be annoyed at EA for: not releasing the audiobook on time, not materializing any new project for a while... and the new sin of peddling random, ridiculously marked-up AliBaba jewelry as “merch” on her official store. Think faux-antique cameo pendants and $30 Big Ben rings (...because the Asylum story is set in London, get it?).

The whole accessories section looks like a tacky overpriced English souvenir shop. (🐀)

The fanbase lost a lost of steam in those in-between years, because there wasn't much to stick around for. As evidenced by the positive reception of the AA live chats, even in the midst of unresolved drama, out-loud interactions in a friendly environment have always been EA's saving grace. Considering the amount of online hate, there are shockingly few accounts of bad IRL encounters with EA: most people say that in live conversation, she comes across as a fun, warm, and genuinely sweet person. Some report that their negative opinion shifted after meeting her.
But there were no chats or live shows anymore. There was only social media, where she ignored questions and vague-posted about overdue projects – and the newsletter📝, which was all saccharine love-bombing to promote bland dropshipped trinkets. For fans who remembered the handcrafted merch (and two-way communication) of the early years, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS

​

Everyone knows that those chances in the orbs are not always true. This current adamantium orb is another proof of it.
We have 5 farmable and 5 unfarmable characters. You might think they can skew up those farmable ones. It's not that, they are more sofisticated.
Their ultimate goal is to star-gate OML event. And for that they don't need to gate all the required toons, 1 per team is enough. So we have BK whose event was a tricky one and we have IP whose event was a bad one. The others, most people may have already 5-starred them before the event (my CGR was at 125/130, SB and Leader at 5-stars already, whereas IP at 0/130 and BK at 123/130). So they only need to ensure everyone has those 2 at below 5 stars.
How? Well, let's skew the orbs for those 2. I know that the percentage is representative on big numbers etc. But those chances are 20% for 2 toons, that's big enough, that's not a 2% for BK in the Premium orbs.
I pulled over 30 adamantium orbs. Net result: >5 Leader pulls (of different amounts), >5 Starbrand pulls, about 10 CGR pulls, rest are farmable character pulls. Exactly 0 Iron Patriot pulls. Exactly 0 BK pulls.
Now they will add it to a pass and well, if you want 5 stars, you'll need a premium one. Plus buy some IP offers.
I'm okay if they want to star gate it completely. Don't put those shards into the orb and let it be.
I'm not okay with lies. First, that Cabal announcement. Now, this "fake" event.
Not nice.

Last week after months of waiting I had my appointment diagnosis for ADHD. It seemed to go really well, and took several hours. Afterwards however, I decided to stalk my psychologist on Facebook to check they don’t have any beliefs which could interfere with the report. Well, they follow several notable Anti Vax Political Parties in my country. Before anyone asks, I did not get to handpick my psychologist, the clinic randomly assigned them. I am now worried I’ll have to start the whole process over again with another clinic, because an anti-vaxxer gets to decide that meds are evil. Now waiting on the report which I guess I’ll waste some of my savings on… woohoo

Michael Gamble, Franchise Director, and Executive Producer:
Software Engineer Electronic Arts May 2004 - December 2005
Project Management Teaching Assistant University of Calgary January 2007 - August 2008
Black Rain Software January 2006 - July 2009: Led Development teams to develop mods for Neverwinter Nights 1-2, Warcraft 3 and other games, principal designer for all their projects.
Project Managers Mass Effect 2 and Firewalker, Producers on the Weapons and Armor DLC, Co-Project Manager on Kasumi - Stolen Memory, Project Managers on Overlord, Associate Producer Lair of the Shadow Broker
Producers Mass Effect 3, also on From Ashes, Leviathan, Omega and Citadel. DLC Producer on the Resurgence, Rebellion, Earth, Retaliation, and Reckoning multiplayer expansions. He also directed several of the DLCs
Producers Mass Effect: Andromeda
Lead Producers Anthem
Involved with the pitching and greenlighting process of the Legendary Edition
Parrish Ley, Franchise Creative Director
Cinematics Animators Mass Effect and Cinematic Director on Bring Down the Sky: Animated the opening of Mass Effect 1
Additional Animation Dragon Age: Origins
Lead Cinematics Animator Mass Effect 2, Cinematics Animators on Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, Kasumi - Stolen Memory, Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival
Co-Lead Cinematics Animator Mass Effect 3, Cinematics Animators on From Ashes, Leviathan and Citadel: Animated the scene at the end of the Citadel DLC
Animation Director Anthem
Development Lead Improbable Studio March 2019 - January 2020: Worked on a new Ip
Additional Art Supervisors Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Preston Watamaniuk, Game Director:
Other QA Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
System Designers, Core Design Team, Manual Writers and Additional Programming Neverwinter Nights
Senior Technical Designer, Assistant Lead Designer and Core Design Team Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Additional Design Jade Empire
Lead Designer Mass Effect: Helped develop the game's lore and story, and came up with the synthetics vs. organic theme.
Lead Designer Mass Effect 2, also Additional Design on Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, Kasumi - Stolen Memory, Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker
Assistant Director of Design Dragon Age II
Lead Designer Mass Effect 3
Co-Lead Designer (Early Development) Mass Effect: Andromeda
Design Director Anthem
Derek Watts, Art Director:
Artists MDK 2
2D Artists Neverwinter Nights
Art Director, Concept Artists and Core Design Team Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Additional Art Jade Empire
Art Director Mass Effect and the Bring Down the Sky DLC
Art Director Mass Effect 2, also Concept artist on the Firewalker Pack
Art Director Mass Effect 3
Additional Art Mass Effect: Andromeda
Art Director Anthem
Additional Art Supervisors Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Piperworks Studio on Call of Duty: Vanguard
Artists The Walking Dead: Last Mile
Piperworks Studio on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Books: Co-Writer The Art of the Mass Effect Universe with Casey Hudson. He also contributed to the development of the Mass Effect: Andromeda: Annihilation novel.
Nathan Zufelt, Animation Director:
Character Animators - Brave - TV series pitch
3D Effects Animators - Chaotic - TV Series: Credited on at least one episode
Character Animators - Zeke's Pad - TV Series - Pilot
Character Animators - Viva Pinata - TV Series: Credited on at least six episodes
Marketing and Web Development CG Toolkit 2004 - 2008
Cinematic Animators Dragon Age: Origins, Senior Cinematic Animator on Awakening, also Cinematic Animators on Leliana's Song
Senior Cinematic Animator Dragon Age II
Senior Cinematic Animator Mass Effect 3, also Cinematic Animators on From Ashes
Co-Lead Cinematic Animator Dragon Age: Inquisition also the Lead Cinematic Animator on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser
Additional Design Mass Effect: Andromeda
Assistant Animation Director Anthem
Animation Specialist Inflexion Games June 2019 - June 2020
May have contributed to the development of the 2020 teaser trailer
Also the Animation Director on Dreadwolf
Eric Vervaet, Director of Audio:
Sound Effects Editor Grover's Mill (Short Film)
Dialogue Editors Baltimore (Short Film)
Audio Team NBA Street Homecourt
Audio Assistants Need for Speed: ProStreet
Audio Artists NBA Live 09
Sound Artists Fifa Soccer 09
Supervising Sound Editor Fifa 10 Wii
Audio Team EA Sports Active: NFL Training Camp
Sound Effects Editors Fifa 11
Audio Artists SSX
Lead Audio Designer The Amazing Spider-Man (Videogame)
Audio Artists Fifa 14
Audio Artists 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil (Videogame)
Senior Sound Designer Quicklime Studio on a then unannounced game
Audio Artists Dragon Age: Inquisition, also the Lead Audio Designer of Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser
Senior Audio Designer Mass Effect: Andromeda
Senior Audio Designer Anthem
Director of Audio Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Additional Audio Star Wars: The Old Republic Legacy of the Sith
Also Director of Audio on Dreadwolf
Mary C. DeMarle, Senior Narrative Director:
Production Assistant Phantasm II (Film)
Effects Assistant Lucky Stiff (Film
Worked for Hanna-Barbera (Cartoon studio) for several years starting off as a production assistant
Freelance Writing work for several years
Writer Myst III: Exile
Writers Homerworld 2
Writer - Designer Myst IV: Revelation
Writers Dungeon Siege II: Broken World
Additional Script Writing Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
Lead WriteNarrative Designer and Casting Crew Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Also Story Director and Casting Crew on The Missing Link DLC: Wrote much of the main plot for the base game, and co-wrote the scenario for The Missing Link DLC
Narrative/Writing Director Deus Ex: The Fall
Executive Narrative Director Deus Ex: Go
Executive Narrative Director Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, also on the Desperate Measures, System Rift and A Criminal Past DLC's also the Executive Narrative Director on Deus Ex: Breach: Worked primarily on the main plot for the base game.
Senior Narrative Director Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy
Books: Oversaw the development of several of the Deus Ex novels
Dusty Everman, Principal Narrative Designer:
Member of Technical Staff Amdahl 1992 - 1994
Senior Software Engineer Vivace Networks 2001 - 2003
Developed Mods for Neverwinter Nights
Cinematics Designers Jade Empire
Lead Technical Designer, also Lead Designer on Bring Down the Sky and Pinnacle Station: Scripting on the Citadel and the Normandy
Lead Level Designer and Uncredited Writer Mass Effect 2, Additional Design on Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, Firewalker Pack and Kasumi - Stolen Memory, Level Designers and Additional Design Overlord, Additional Design Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival: Designed Much of the Normandy SR2, Wrote Chawkas, Ken, Gabby and Kelly also, all the other non-companion NPCs on the Normandy, with some input from Lukas Kristjanson
Senior Level and Uncredited Writer Mass Effect 3, Level Designers on Leviathan, Additional Design Omega and Level Designers on Citadel: Designed Much of the Normandy SR2, Wrote Chakwas, Ken, Gabby, Kelly, and Steve Cortez. Also wrote the story for the scene at the end of the Citadel DLC and the script for Cortez's version.
Level Designers Dragon Age: Inquisition
Level Designers Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem left prior to the release of both games
Founder and Sole Member Dirty Sky Games, LLC June 2015 - October 2020: VR Game Developer
Rejoined Bioware in October 2020
Michael Tucker, Narrative Designer:
Filmmaking:
worked on Donkeys On: A Bus (Short Film)
Director, Writer and Editor (dik) (Short Film)
Director What It Can Be (dik) (Short Film)
Director, Writers, Cinematographer and Editor, Kaylie & Tristan - Film Noir (Short Film)
Editors SoundWorks Collection 2009 - 2011
Co-Founder Finite Fillms (Production Company
Cinematographer and First Assistant Director Another Way (Short Film)
Director McGuffin An Experimental Short Film About A Missing Turtle (Short Film)
worked on "Talk Show Host" on the Beach of Santa Cruz (Short Film)
worked on Facebook Friend Request (Short Film):
Director, Writer and Editor The Reunion of Amilia Marbleberry and Marcy Stills (Short Film)
Cinematographer, Associate Producer and Co-Editor Day 1000 (Short Film)
Director and Producers You Are Here (Short Film)
Producers The Kristy Corollary (Short Film)
Director, Writer and Producer Mistletoe (Short Film)
Cinematographer and Executive Producers Douche (Short Film)
Cinematographer, Writer story, Co-Scriptwriter, Producers Digital Effects, Special Effects and Sound Editors Stealing Time (Short Film)
Director, Co-Writer, Producers, Digital Effects and Co-Editor Defenseless (Short Film)
Producers, Editors and Sound Editors Forest Falls (Short Film)
Camera Operator The Sound of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Documentary Short Film)
Producers and Additional Photography Occupational Hazards (Short Film)
Director, Writer, Producers, Additional Photography and Co-Editor Imperfect (Short Film)
Co-Director, Co-Writer, Producers, Additional Photography, Digital Effects, Special Effects, and Co-Editor Anamnesis (Short Film)
Director Workday (Short Film)
Producers Lovebound: Love Abounds (Short Film)
Director, Writer and Producers Status: Single (Short Film)
Sound Recordist Friend Zone: The Series on one episode (Web Series)
Director, Writers story, Scriptwriter, Editor, Sound Editing/Mixing, Visual Effects and an Actor playing himself in The Wedding Gift of Amuno Kensai (Surprise Video for Alex's Wedding!):
Co-Director, Co-Writer, Producers and Co-Editor Anamnesis (Webs Series)
Editors and Director of Motion Graphics Being George Clooney (Documentary)
Additional Graphics 30 for 30 on one episode (Documentary TV Series)
Co-Director, Producers, Editors, Digital Effects and Camera Operators At All Costs: Making an Esports Team (Documentary TV Movie)
Co-Producers and Camera Operators At All Costs: Making an Esports Team (Documentary/Reality TV Series): Editors on the original version of of the episodes
Co-Producers At All Costs (Documentary TV Movie)
Director Poltergeist by BANKS Spec Music Video (Unofficial)
Director Don't Start Now by Dua Lipa Spec Music Video (Unofficial)
Director BANKS — This is What it Feels Like (Unofficial) Music Video
Video Editors Magnit February 2022 - August 2023 prior to joining Bioware Youtube:
Finite Films Youtube Channel (No Longer Uploads)
His own personal Youtube Channel: Has posted 2 episodes of a podcast there in addition to videos of his films
Co-Creator Lessons from the Screenplay: Film, Television and Videogame storytelling analysis channel: Writing, Editing, Producing and Managing team and Host
Co-Creator Story Mode Videogame storytelling analysis channel: Writing, Editing, Producing and Managing team and Host/Hosts
Co-Creator Beyond the Screenplay: Film and Television podcast analysis channel: Editing, Producing and Managing team and Hosts
Hilary Heskett Hidey, Narrative Producer:
Co-Founder & CMO, Crabcat Industries (August 2010 - September 2012): A media production, event planning, and community development company. They partnered with developers and publishers on engagement and awareness strategies. The company served as an event consultant for BioWare/EA at San Diego Comic-Con 2011.
Community Consultant/Planner Bioware 2011 - 2013
North American Marketing Director and later Director, Global Marketing & Public Relations for Cint until October 2013
Global Product Marketing Manager at BioWare for Dragon Age: Inquisition, Inquisition Post Launch Content, and Andromeda until leaving in March 2016."
Sr. Brand Managers Bethesda Softworks April 2016 - May 2020, Sr. Brand Managers Starfield, Additional Contributions ZeniMax Media: Bethesda Softworks Marketing & Communications on Ghostwite Tokyo - Prelude: The Corrupted Case File, Ghostwire Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush, also worked on The Elder Scrolls Online, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, The Elder Scrolls: Legends and The Evil Within 2.
Sr. Global Brand Manager Bioware/Electronic Arts Dragon Age and Mass Effect May 2020 - June 2021
Also Narrative Producer on Dreadwolf
Narrative Producer since June of 2021
Brenon Holmes, Producer:
Other QA and Additional Programming Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Additional Programming MDK 2
Programmers Neverwinter Nights, also on the Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark Expansions: Ai scripting, Implementing DnD rules and Combat System
Additional Programming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Worked on scripting systems, Worked on combat system
Additional Programming Jade Empire: Worked on the save game System
Senior Programmer Mass Effect and Programmers on Bring Down the Sky: Worked on Ai systems
Unreleased Project
Programmers Dragon Age: Origins: Worked on prototypes, the appearance systems, player locomotion systems, and core animation systems. Created combat system features
Senior Programmer Mass Effect 2, Additional Design Overlord: Developed various gameplay systems
Gameplay Designers/Senior Designer Mass Effect 3, Additional Design Leviathan, Gameplay Designers Omega, Additional Design Citadel: Responsible for creative design of enemies, Direction for creatures concepts, also their animation and behaviours.
Additional Design Dragon Age: Inquisition
Gameplay Designers Mass Effect: Andromeda: Consultation, technical audits and reviews of designs
Lead Technical Designer and later Technical Design Director on Anthem: Responsible for creative design of enemies, Direction for creatures concepts, Managed creature/enemy design team
Technical Design Director Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Former:
Amanda Klesko, Associate Producer until September 2022:
Freelance Graphic Design Services April 2010 - April 2014
Marketing Coordinator Dragon Age: Inquisition, also on Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser
Business Development Specialist Mass Effect: Andromeda
Business Development Specialist Anthem
Business Development Specialist (Consumer Products) Mass Effect and Dragon Age Franchises until May 2019
Associate Producer (Entertainment & Publishing) Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Associate Producer (Entertainment & Publishing) Dragon Age Franchise until October 2021
Associate Producer Mass Effect 5 September 2021 until September 2022 left to go join Humanoid Origin as an Associate Producer
Currently still at Humanoid Origin promoted to Narrative Producer
. They do also have several other long time Mass Effect developers like Patrick and Karin Weekes, David Falkner, and Matthew Rhodes
And yes they do still have several of the series' creators at the company.
They will also undoubtedly hire new talent, which, despite what many would think, is not a bad thing!

So i have these friends who are in a band who i like to support on occasion there’s another band who sometimes opens for them theres this girl in the band who is…….BEAUTIFUL her band has opened for my friends band multiple times she knows my friends but she and i have never met in a couple of weeks im going to see my friends band and her band happens to be opening for them that night the place they’re playing at is a big summer hangout around here theres not a guarantee ill see her but theres a chance i took ONE BRIEF GLANCE at her Facebook page no friend requests no comments or anything and her relationship status is single so if i see her the night my friends band plays which is certainly an if how do i approach her just as a guy with mutual friends who finds her attractive without being a creep?

Lagos, the financial hub of Africa and with the gradual development and increase in technology and business hub of the city it demands skilled digital marketing professionals. IIDE the digital school provides digital marketing courses across the globe, it is spread throughout India and international countries.
There are few best digital marketing courses in Lagos:

1. IIDE-The digital school: It offers training on various aspects of digital marketing, including social media marketing, search engine optimization and more. Also offers various courses both for individuals in college or studying currently and also for individuals working and are employed. The courses offered are:

• Advanced Certification in Digital Marketing (ACDM) - for college students
• Professional Certification in Digital Marketing & Strategy (PCDMS) - for working professionals.

The courses are of 4 months and 6 months respectively .It offers 1-on-1 mentoring with placement assistance under amazing mentors. The PCDMS offers Leadership & Agency Skills and also Project Management & Conflict Resolution which is not offered under ACDM.
It is contended by an integrated syllabus including online marketing, SEO, SEM, etc, with different marketing tools mastering such as Google ads, Amazon, Facebook ads, etc. Hence IIDE can be the best option for people of Lagos that are in search of the best digital marketing course.
2. Premium Digital Marketing Academy: They provide comprehensive training on various aspects of digital marketing, including social media marketing, search engine optimization and more. The academy is known for its experienced instructors and hands-on approach.
The course syllabus is vast consisting of online marketing, email marketing, web design, google analytics, etc. Key highlights of the course are:

• Learning from certified mentors
• Certification
• Career and business mentoring
• Accessing internship and job opportunities

The course does not provide any placement assurance until now according to the management. There were also no images of students found to know about the culture of the course.

1. Digital Marketing Skill Institute: Tobi Asehinde is founder of this institute which succeeds in providing digital marketing course with an integrated course syllabus consisting of digital marketing fundamentals, SEO, email marketing, content marketing, etc.

Key highlights of the course are:

• Real-Time Human Support Via Live Chat
• Private Coaching and Supportive Community
• Online Live Question And Answer Class To Learn From, Meet Friends, and Get Personalised Help
• 1-to-1 Remote Support with a Dedicated Coach

The students from DMSI get placements in companies like Samsung, uber, indeed, etc. Hence its another good option such as IIDE but there were no images found to know the culture of course.

Boyfriend, Male from Australia, 23
Me, 23 Female from the Philippines
Little backstory too, i wasn't interested in him and doing another LDR because I was already traumatized but he would assure me and always updates me calls me and sometimes would buy me gifts and deliver food to my house. He made me trust him so i trusted him eventually.
Back to the story: 3 weeks before this incident happened it was our first month together officially, he works in AUS and i live in the PH. So far so good we are happy we celebrated our 1st monthsary on facetime, he is also a Filipino. He was waiting for his citizenship ceremony but he said it takes 4-6 months for the date of when you are to pledge (he wants to come home his hometown:Philippines and visit me).
3 days before he completely ignore me we were face timing, always updates each other and on monday i asked him about his dad bc he was going to apply for a return visa but his documents are with his dad and his dad didnt allow him to have it, but i told him to ask his brother to use his dad's laptop or whenever he comes home from work he should borrow his dad's laptop for him to get his needed documents
Then Tuesday comes around he usually calls me and updates me during his break time even for a bit but that time he didn't i told him that he should have messages me even though he was online on both instagram and facebook messenger.
Then wednesday and thursday comes around he keeps saying he is busy but he always says goodnight in advance and i love you but when i confronted him he told me that he was thinking while he is at work about the citizenship pledge but it would take another 4-6 months of waiting and he really really wants to go home and after he said that he ghosted me, I can't send messages on imessage, i got muted on instagram dms and facebook messenger (ik this bc whenever i try to call him he doesnt pick up). I cried so much because i don't know what he meant by that? He said in the beginning of the relationship he would wait and he can do LDR he would assure me so much because i was hesitant to try ldr again.
I tried emailing him but im not sure if he reads my email.
Help me idk what to do my heart feels heavy

After reading the Lore primer as well as scouring the old reddit posts as well as the facebook group, it occured to me how does one even get to the hell gate/maw
If you are a heretic/wanting to join the Heretic legions do they just let anyone in willy nilly? I know that it requires a black heart as well as the lore primer mentioning that the church does send spies who are mostly captured or their heads returned with blasphemies carved onto them but if you were some demon worshipper in Europe or even the Levant and you were like, "Alright today's the day Im gonna go to hell lads" reaching the Bronze gates seems a task on its own before the fires even begin to sift out those who are wicked and those who are not, wouldn't the demons/other sinners attack you before you get to this point? or do they show restraint and try to see if you are worthy or not.
Also regarding the paladins entering hell, do you guys think that they enter it via one entrance or can the church open up portals at will? it seems to me like the hardest part in such a thing is even extraction as getting in is one part and the church being able to get their assets out is another.

Hey all,
I've looked for a thread about this but couldn't find one. So here i am. Switched my provider and wanted to connect my speaker to the new router. I wasnt following the shitshow of the sonos app, otherwise i wouldnt have started to reset my speakers. At first i thought, new router, its time for a new network setup. So i changed to a new ssid and password (big mistake regarding the speaker now - i know) Nonetheless i had to connect the speaker 2 years ago. In my memory it was quite easy, took about 10 minutes or so.
I resetted the speaker, opened the app on my smartphone and started the connection process: - find the speaker - connect to the speaker - setup wifi connection for the speaker
After a few attempts i finally connected the speaker to my wifi.
Now the speaker is in my wifi. I can ping it and see the speaker information within the sonos desktop app (windows). I can even check the status of the speaker ("speaker-ip:1400/status/proc/ath_rincon/status). But the app on my phone can’t find the speaker, even though they're on the same network. I’ve checked multiple times.
I´ve tested using a direct cable connection with the speaker - the app is able to find the speaker then. But this is not a suitable solution for me - I dont want to lay cable though my kitchen.
What are my options to handle this problem? Do I have to wait another month until they fix the app?
Thanks

Key: for later in the story Older sister: Horse Younger sister: llama Me: Bunny My wife: Fox Creepy boyfriend: Leech
Anybody who has more than one kid in the family knows that one of them is a "pick me" child. Well I have one, my older sister. How do I describe her, you know the Pokemon Ditto? Yes just like that, a purple blob that mimics any Pokemon, she mimics anyone. She made my life a living hell. Get ready Reddit it's a long one. I will have to break this up into multiple parts.
Let's start with my childhood/teen years. So my older sister is a couple years older than me and our dad was married to her mom. Anyway our dad ends the marriage when he finds out her mother was cheating on him. A little bit after that my mom and dad got together and well ....they got married and then I was born. A couple of years later my little sister was born. My older sister's mom pretty much screwed my parents and had to take her every other week. God I hated those weekends because we had to do everything she wanted, buy the food that she could only eat, watch only what she wanted to watch, and she made my sister and I her own personal Barbie dolls. When I say personal Barbie dolls, she wanted to be a hairdresser when she was older and practice on us. She thought that she could get better -newsflash! -she didn't. One time she wanted to put curls in my hair so I let her when the curls came out I looked like bloody Shirley Temple. 😤
Adult years: It only got worse as we grew into adults. For some reason my older and younger sisters had competition between each other, which left me in the dark and that was okay, I was too weird for them. At this point I had gone through my own demons. Anyway, we are all "adults" The older sister still acts like she never grew up. In 2016, all hell broke loose my older sister got into sell mlms (yuck!). The only reason why she said that she got into selling mlms is because she was helping her friends, hmm yea no just wanted to be a part of a group. She was selling herbal life, a weight loss program, now she did lose the weight while on this program, but she didn't stick to it. Also at this time she was married to her husband of eight years. She then met her current boyfriend when her family moved to another town. After that her and the husband split up. Now reader ,I never said they got legally divorce so they are still married to this day while she is with another guy. In 2017, I met my lovely wife on Facebook. We had a long distance relationship for a 1.5 years. In 2018 they came over to the states and asked me to marry them and of course I said yes!! They came back over in early 2019 because we had an event plan and while they were here we had a big family dinner. Oh goodie, I would rather go to church then do this dinner. The day of the family dinner comes up and everyone is happy to meet my fiancee, Fox. Well let's get on with dinner. The whole family went and sat down, and even before we started eating, Horse insisted on saying a prayer, now I was raised Christian, but I am pagan and so is my fiancee. After that we went to the all you can eat buffet. Now my mom can't have the buffet because she has a seafood allergy (understandable) ,but Horse and Leech didn't go to the buffet because and I quote, " Oh Leech doesn't eat seafood and neither do I." In my brain I am "What?!? since when?!?" That was a lie 🤥!! She used to eat a pound of shrimp when we were the kids. As we were eating, we were talking to each other, Llama asked me, "Bunny where are you guys going to get married", and I explained that I was going to move to Ireland, (where I live now) and we are going to get married at the register office and later on we are...then Horse butt in and said, "Leech and I are getting married at the lake" All of sudden both Llama and I said,l: "Aren't you still married?!" That shut her up. Yes my reader she never got divorced , so legally she is still married. After that I finally got to say what I was going to say, "Going to have a vow renewal at Ren fest in Kansas City later on down the line." All of a sudden Horse said: "Oh there is no way Leech and I can go because Leech is a convicted CP." In my mind:" Wtf, you are my sister and you are picking a guy over my vow renewal ?!? After that , I lost all my respect for her. Like they say like mother like daughter. Would you like a part 2. Let me know!!! Thanks!!

Business Plan: TrustWave

Executive Summary

Business Name: TrustWave
Business Concept: TrustWave is a global review platform designed specifically for businesses to leave testimonials for one another. The platform provides high-quality reviews and allows businesses to add backlinks to their websites, enhancing SEO and generating relevant traffic. The service includes a testimonial page for WordPress or Shopify websites, an SEO-friendly standalone site option, an easy-to-install plugin for automatic updates, and tools for SMS review requests, social media content creation, and review management.
Target Market: Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across various industries worldwide looking to enhance their online presence and credibility.
Competitive Advantage: Unique focus on B2B reviews, integrated SEO benefits, easy-to-use plugin, comprehensive review management tools, and added marketing features.

Business Description

Mission Statement: To empower businesses globally by providing a platform that facilitates the exchange of high-quality testimonials, enhancing their online reputation and SEO performance.
Business Objectives: 1. Launch and establish the TrustWave platform within the first year. 2. Achieve a user base of 20,000 businesses worldwide within two years. 3. Generate a monthly recurring revenue of $100,000 within the first two years. 4. Continuously innovate and add new features based on customer feedback and market trends.

Market Analysis

Industry Overview: The digital marketing and SEO industry is growing rapidly as businesses increasingly recognize the importance of online presence and reputation management. Testimonials and reviews are critical for building credibility and trust.
Target Market: - Demographics: SMBs with an existing online presence globally. - Geographics: Businesses across North America, Europe, Asia, and other regions. - Psychographics: Businesses that value online reputation, SEO, and customer feedback.
Market Needs: Businesses need reliable platforms to gather and showcase testimonials, improve their SEO, and manage their online reputation efficiently.

Competitive Analysis

Direct Competitors: - Trustpilot - Feefo - Google My Business
Indirect Competitors: - Social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn) - SEO service providers
Competitive Advantage: - Focus on B2B interactions. - SEO-friendly features. - Integrated review management and marketing tools. - Seamless integration with existing websites.

Marketing Plan

Product: - Review platform for businesses. - WordPress/Shopify plugin. - Standalone SEO-friendly website option. - SMS review requests. - Social media content creation tools. - Review management dashboard.
Price: - Freemium model: Basic features free, premium features at $49/month. - Enterprise plan: Custom pricing for larger businesses with advanced needs.
Place: - Online platform accessible via website and app. - Partnerships with web development agencies and digital marketing firms globally.
Promotion: - Digital marketing campaigns (SEO, PPC, social media). - Content marketing (blogs, webinars, case studies). - Email marketing to SMBs. - Partnerships and collaborations with industry influencers. - Referral programs offering discounts for bringing new users.

Operations Plan

Technology: - Development of the review platform and plugins. - Cloud-based infrastructure for scalability. - Regular updates and feature enhancements.
Customer Service: - 24/7 customer support via chat, email, and phone. - Comprehensive help center with tutorials and FAQs.
Team: - Founders/Management: Overseeing strategy and operations. - Development Team: Building and maintaining the platform. - Marketing Team: Promoting the platform and acquiring users. - Customer Support Team: Assisting users with any issues or inquiries.

Financial Plan

Startup Costs: - Platform development: $100,000 - Marketing and promotion: $50,000 - Operational costs (salaries, office space, utilities): $50,000 - Total: $200,000
Revenue Projections: - Year 1: $100,000 - Year 2: $600,000 - Year 3: $1,200,000

Risk Analysis

Potential Risks: - Slow user adoption. - Competition from established platforms. - Technical issues with the platform or plugins.
Mitigation Strategies: - Aggressive marketing and partnership strategies. - Continuous platform improvements and feature additions. - Robust customer support and regular user feedback sessions.

I don't know what to do, so I'm trying to get advice on what I should do. So to make the long story short, I'm six days delayed on my period. I've been breaking down from time to time because I already know the possibility of this. I have already thought of everything. My future. The problems I'm going to face. I haven't even learned to love myself yet, so I don't know how I could love another human being 😭 I have self-esteem issues, I even think I have BDD. Plus I'm so afraid of what people would think of me. Especially my boyfriend's family. I think highly of them and I respect them so much. I'm currently living with them, and I can't bear the thought of telling them. I took a PT it came negative but I think I might have taken the test too early so I will be taking another one after a week. My boyfriend, on the other hand, has shown nothing but support and love for me. He told me that if this is what God has given us, then he would take care of me. 😭 This is making me cry so much more because I just recently joined a group of pro-choices that supports abortion on Facebook. Tbh, I'm not sure of what I'm supposed to do. I've seen a lot of horror stories on pregnancy, especially LABOR and I can't imagine myself going through it. 😭 But I think of my boyfriend and I can see how he's willing to support me through it all. I am so torn right now. I still haven't really gotten the official result but I'm expecting the worst! I'm not really fond of kids. And I still think 25 is too young. Plus, I'm worried I might get depressed so much it would affect people around me. But my boyfriend loves me so much 😭 and I do love him too. I was really aiming to be financially stable first before we start a family. But this is all unexpected. I still have bills to pay. I still play games. I'm just not ready. :(
What will you do if you were in my situation?
Please be kind and gentle with me. I'm just so afraid. Thank you.

I work out of a branch with too much everything (the downtown site of a city with a lot of homeless, mental health, and drug abuse issues) a summary is here: https://www.reddit.com/Libraries/comments/1bho810/tales_from_a_downtown_library/
A new regular however has been the source of the topic recently.
an older man who is probably around 80 has been in at least twice a week for the last month, he's actually kind of hard to write out due to most of the interactions I know are short, frustrating, and mostly nonsense, but my first experience with him dose a decent job:
He comes to my basement-level reference area where I mostly am alone, requesting tech assistance and the use of a public computer, immediately there are some pretty interesting quirks some age-related like blatantly ignoring instructions, typing o's instead of #0, seemingly forgetting very common applications, swiping at the screen like it's an iPad and the other issue:
He's trying to get information from his bank account, the library has a strict policy that I agree with that once we are on the main page of the bank's website we do not go any further with them, I have nothing to do with login going through the site whatever is needed because it's a huge liability and none of our business.
He has no idea how online banking works and I think doesn't understand online accounts at all (despite having an email and Facebook that's been shown in later interactions) and thinks if you type name and card number into separate boxes it will magically give you all banking information including air miles what he wanted again I should not know this he announced to me and anyone in the room, so good forbid someone with malicious intent help him in a public branch well know to have issues.
another patron comes for my assistance and she's kind of intense as well, this is now already burning me out between the two, and when he's up here again hovering at the front nose practically pressed to the glass the only thing separating us in an obvious attempt to get the most attention and quickly (like I'm dealing with a toddler that doesn't want to wait until you finish a phone call) I am shorter than before stating there are other patron's I need to serve as well he is not first in line now, the response is very childish and rudder muttering under his breath for while I'm still working with her that her question isn't important and not worth the time., she's more patient after that defending your right to service will do that for some.
the same bs continues and we get nowhere because he literally can't get anywhere without another pretty much taking the mouse and doing it, to the shock of no one hes been scammed badly before, and get this won't call the bank to get information because they ask too Meany questions for personal information and cannot understand they are the one place that should.
I am over it and get my coworker so I dont scream, he's the one who runs Makerspace and is very techy and tries in vain to explain sometimes a different person with a slightly different way helps it dose not worse. I have had 2 tech issues experiences I've called someone else to handle or lose it on a patron the first took nearly 50 minutes this guy took 15.
hes has since been in several times and is worse in a way something is wrong mainly suspected dementia due to age and not making a lot of sense won't acknowledge people's suggestions and common interactions include "Why won't you help me" *what do you need* "the government is _________, school is _____ nonsensical mutter, social security ___________ nonsensical mutter, the 1960s are _______ nonsensical mutter"
until 4 days ago we did not even know he was bilingual until a page of paper to the glass (upstairs thankfully with 2 staff and more witnesses) and started demanding things in French had been band for the weekend for tone, building a case for a longer ban that has to be approved.

Hello! As I stated above, I (26F) have had feelings for (27M) for almost 17 years.
For context to my question, here is a little bit of background:
Over these last 17 years, we have had friendly interactions, but nothing more than that. Nothing flirty or indicative of any sort of interest, on either of our parts.
Growing up, our mothers were friends, so we would be drug along with them to outings together, but when we reached middle school and high school, we never hung out on our own volition.
After high school he moved to another state, while I remained in our home city.
Over the last, I'd say 7 years, our really only interaction has been every year, on our birthday's, we get a text from the other person to say happy birthday and ask how the other is doing with a short text conversation. To this, i'll add, he did mention he put my birthday in his phone calendar so that he doesn't forget it, which I thought was very cute.
We always like each others posts on instagram/ facebook but never any commenting.
I, for the last 6 years was in a relationship, and even was engaged up until last October. My friend had texted me congratulations after I posted about the engagement on instagram. More recently, I was seeing someone we had went to high school with, and to make a long story short, I had texted my friend about this guy as I was seeing. They played sports together in high school and I was curious what he knew about him as he was a very strange guy. All that to say, my friend now knows I'm no longer engaged and am dating.
He was in a relationship with the last post from either of them being in March. And now has single as his facebook status.
Now here is the interaction in question:
2 weeks ago, I graduated from college. He texted me a very sweet congratulatory message and telling me how proud of me he was. This turned into a 3 day texting conversation back and forth. Ending last Saturday morning at 5 am. We discussed his career, my career goals, where he is moving, where I am planning on moving. But very platonic, no flirting or any mildly flirty texts.
We did however express mutual job path interests, and a mutual interest in moving to somewhere where we can buy land and have animals.
And, this following week, he has liked 2 things I posted on instagram/ facebook. But nothing out of the ordinary for him.
So my question here is, is it strange that after years of just birthday texts, we stay up texting until 5 am. Is there anything there? Could he be interested in me, but because I never have acted flirty towards him, he thinks I'm not interested? Or is this just a weird few days of texting we had that I need to get over?
I also understand I could just tell him how I feel but I really do not want to ruin the friendship.
Thank you all in advance!

My man and I have been together for years, and are excited to get engaged very very soon. My boyfriend’s best friend, who is female, she’s also engaged to a different man , and we’re invited to the wedding, her bridal shower , ect.
This female friend says I love you- to my boyfriend and it bothers me deeply. She probably says it every few weeks when they catch up via text or at work . She invited my boyfriend to her wedding dress shopping recently .
The main problem I’m having is that she says I love you- to me it just feels to intimate and means something else to me. I discussed this with my man and he said he’d just say “love you” or “love ya” instead of inserting the “I” in that phrase.
He also is transparent about when and what him and his female bff talk about .
He recently told me that she said I love you again, and he said love you back.
I cannot tell for the life of me, because I’ve been trying to be accepting of this all along but now for some reason that we’re this close to getting engaged, it’s causing a massive amount of panic in me that I know that this is going on and could be going on forever - even after marriage . It bothers me so deeply and I dont want to be that insecure controlling fiancé, I don’t seem to have a problem with them being friends and catching up and the occasional “love ya”, but I’m just so hung ip in the fact she says I love you.
My boyfriend says she says that to all her close friends and I’m trying to just reassure myself and tell myself maybe Im overthinking because of my anxiety around realizing I’m getting engaged soon and everything seems like a larger deal, but I’d love to get advice about how to handle this, or know if it’s something I need to busy let go and chill on?
I’m feeling so anxious that I feel like I’m going to be sick and my mind can only now fixate on this one thing and it’s been that way for 5 days now at least.
Also my boyfriend has told me that she’s also best friends with another married man that - she knowingly has in her wedding party and knows that this married man has a crush on her, yet remains best friends and won’t tell the wife of this other random married man friend. So that’s unsettling to think that I could be in the same position.
Maybe I’m just way overthinking but my boyfriend has advised that he trusts me and trusts himself to never screw things up between him and I and trusts us both to handle our relationship with the utmost care.

I'm having a weird issue where my bandwidth through my wireguard server hosted on my NAS is higher than my reported bandwidth to my NAS itself. When I say "through" my NAS I mean traffic that is routed through my wireguard server on my NAS but has a destination that is external. Here's some context:

• My ISP is Verizon Fios with a 1Gbps symmetrical plan. I can run a speedtest from the NAS to a speedtest server and it reports close to advertised speeds (940+ down, 920+ up).
• My router is a CR1000A with port 51820 port forwarded to the NAS.
• I've tested with a wg client from various networks including a friend's 1Gbps symmetrical, 5G/LTE, random hotel WiFi etc and on both my phone and macbook.
• To test "passthrough" bandwidth, I used various speedtest websites and verified that my detected IP address was the same as my home network's public IP.
• To test bandwidth to the NAS, I used iperf3 and openspeedtest hosted on the NAS, and also generally felt the slowness when streaming from it.
• In all cases, the "passthrough" bandwidth seems to increase given a better client bandwidth, but it is always significantly below the line speed of the client/server. I'm wondering if this might be an indicator of an issue in and of itself...
• Higher client bandwidth tends to result in higher "passthrough" bandwidth, but bandwidth to the NAS itself seems to cap out around 20 Mbps assuming the client is on a very fast connection (200+ Mbps).

Here's my wireguard config (note my domain resolves to my home network's public IP):

[Interface] PrivateKey = PRIVATEKEY Address = 172.30.1.2/24 DNS = 1.1.1.1 MTU = 1420 [Peer] PublicKey = PUBLICKEY PresharedKey = PRESHAREDKEY AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/24 Endpoint = my.domain.com:51820 PersistentKeepalive = 0 

Some speed datapoints:

• Client BW: 1Gbps Symmetrical Fiber ATT, Passthrough: 140 Mbps, To NAS Direct: 20 Mbps
• Client BW: 5G Phone (240 Mbps Down), Passthrough: 50-60 Mbps, To NAS Direct: ~15 Mbps

As another data point, I recently tried installing and using tailscale, but I seem to have similar bandwidth issues, although tailscale's passthrough bandwidth is pretty close to the bandwidth I get when connecting to the NAS directly. One thing to note is that when I use tailscale status, I see that it's a relayed connection. Additionally, tailscale ping is unable to give me a direct connection, so this could be degrading tailscale's performance (another potential indicator that something's wrong?).
The passthrough speeds I'm getting could be acceptable if I could get them to my NAS itself, but they're not even close, making streaming content from my NAS very painful especially on "slower" client connections. I've seen a data point where someone else had a client and server 3500 miles away and was still able to get ~285 Mbps which was close to their line speed. Any tips or suggestions for tools/commands I can run to debug this issue would be much appreciated. Thanks!