ride_4ever | Entries tagged with signal boost

verushka70 will give you all the details about this comment scam being perpetrated by bots in fic comments on AO3. Do not react to the bot threats that falsely claim they are from AO3! Check out her very important warning in her DW post.

Please signal-boost this if you are so inclined.

Current Mood: concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

sage posted this under the heading "resist" and I told

sage I'd do a signal-boost, so here it is -- protests only listed dates and not specifics, so if interested, do a search for protests local to you.

May 1: Indivisible + 50501 + Unions + Law Day + May Day Protest

May 3: Anti-ICE protest

May 6 to 12: Amazon Boycott 2

May 20 to 26: Walmart Boycott 2

June 1: Pride LGBTQ Protest

June 3 to 9: Target Boycott

June 14: Flag Day & Trump's Birthday Protest

June 19: Juneteenth Protest

June 27: Stonewall Anniversary Protest

June 24 to 30: McDonald’s Boycott

July 4: Independence Day Boycott

Current Mood: in solidarity
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Reposted from dw_news via

denise:

US, UK: Please take a moment to contact your elected officials!

We're currently in the middle of an unprecedented wave of governmental attempts worldwide to control social media through the legislative and regulatory process, often in the interests of protecting children. Unfortunately, the methods being proposed as a solution are dangerous and damaging to everyone. If you live in the US or UK and have a few minutes today, we at Dreamwidth would like to ask you to contact your elected officials and ask them to oppose several of the worst of the pending bills.

If you live in the US: KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act, claims to be a bill that will protect children's privacy and restrict them from viewing harmful material. If you've followed our efforts to help overturn California's AB 2273 , you likely already know the problems with KOSA, because they're the same problems: requiring websites to age-gate the internet will require every website to identify, deanonymize, and store information about every single one of their users, not just people under 18, to determine who shouldn't see content deemed "harmful to children". It also politicizes the question of what's "harmful to children" in ways that will disproportionally affect the marginalized. If you don't want to be forced to upload your government issued ID or subject yourself to unscientific, unvalidated, black-box biometric 'verification' every time you visit a website, learn more about the issues with the bill and then contact your elected officials to tell them you oppose its passage.

If you live in the UK: The Online Safety Bill will criminalize a large amount of lawful speech, ban strong encryption, and empower Ofcom to block access to websites with no accountability and no recourse. Multiple providers and services have already said they'll stop offering services to UK residents if it passes, including Wikipedia and WhatsApp. Please take a moment to learn more about the issues with the bill and then contact your MP to tell them you oppose its passage.

There are dozens of other terrible bills in various stages of the legislative process worldwide that will threaten your right to express yourself and hand the government the power to censor and deanonymize you online: those are only the two biggest threats right now. We will continue to do everything we can to contribute to the legal fights being fought by various organizations that are working to protect your right to be anonymous and speak freely on Dreamwidth and elsewhere online, but the best way to do that is to not have to have the legal fight in the first place. Please let your elected representatives know that you oppose efforts to require age verification to access content online and to force websites to engage in government-mandated censorship.

=========

To learn more about the issues and about how to contact your elected officials, go to the live links at dw_news.

Current Mood: concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Via

mywitch and

arcanetrivia: link to "ways to help those affected by the Maui Fire".

Current Mood: extremely concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Syrian-Canadian Chocolate Company "Peace by Chocolate" is donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of specified chocolate products to the Canadian Red Cross's Syria-Türkiye Earthquake Relief Fund for victims of this week's devastating 7.8 magnitude quake. At the company's website you can help by purchasing the chocolates and the company will donate the money or also at the company's website you can make a direct donation yourself to the Canadian Red Cross.

Click here to go to "Peace by Chocolate" earthquake relief donation site.

Click here to go to "Peace by Chocolate" home-page where you can learn more about their various products and their many charitable works.

(Yes, I did just buy a huge amount of chocolate from them.)

Current Mood: taking action
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Warning about the continued compromising of LiveJournal passwords can be read here on DW: Password Security Reminder.

Signal-boosting this is encouraged.

Current Mood: concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

denise has just posted a ton of info about upcoming anti-spam moves that are going to be made by DW. The post is called Upcoming anti-spam changes: confirm your emails now to avoid problems later. Read it to find out what actions you might want to take in preparation.

Boosting this signal from your own DW is encouraged.

Current Mood: diligent
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

I just now got this info from

hardboiledbaby. Act fast -- comment deadline is just one day away (February 8th) !

The U.S. Copyright Office is collecting information on the use of "standard technical measures" to address infringement and internet piracy—aka, AI filters. This is part of a range of legislation to redefine ownership rights of digital property. Fanworks creators, especially vidders, would be affected by this. Heck, we already are -- how many of your favorite vids have been taken down for infringement?

Some remarks by folks who are knowledgeable on the subject:

EFF.org
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/02/tell-copyright-office-who-really-affected-filters

Jason Scott, Internet Archive
https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1489676897994821632

I want to highlight something Jason says in the twitter thread:
"There is a coordinated attempt to use laws, crappy AI, incredibly intense fines and threats of jailtime to ensure that a tiny minority of companies REALLY control what's on the internet."

There is a call RIGHT NOW for public comment (from US-based folks). You can read the notice and have your say here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/COLC-2021-0009-0001

The deadline for comments is one day away -- February 8th -- so don't wait! They don't need to be long, but we do need to show up and speak up. If we say nothing, Disney, YouTube, Facebook, and the other Big Content companies will have things all their own way. Don't make it easy for them.

Current Mood: concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

squidgiepdx and

mific -- bless them for putting their love of fandom into this action -- are coordinating fen to help with the restoration of the Jinjurly Audiofic Archive after the hacking catastrophe that led to the disappearance of a vast number of podfics from the Archive. If you have podfics to share, you may be able to help this effort, and even if you don't have podfics to share you could help with downloading, renaming, and zipping files.

For how to help, including use of the spreadsheet created for this purpose, see the squidgestatus post on DW.

Current Mood: helpful
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Signal boost! Sign-ups closing January 31 for SquidgeWorld Fandom Prompts!

Click here for the details.

Current Mood: prompting
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Requiem Publications is having a zine sale now through September 5th. Here's what they wrote in their announcement:

Zine Fans! It’s time for a zine sale at Requiem!!

http://Requiem.ravenshadow.net

We’re going to offer FREE MEDIA RATE shipping in the US. We know the post office is struggling right now, so please allow extra delivery time, but we can help show our support and use the services.

All zines on the Requiem site have postage included, so please DO NOT USE THE BUTTONS. Send us a list of what titles you’d like to requiem.ravenshadow.net, and your COMPLETE address, and we’ll quote you a total. You’ll save approximately $6 per book.

Sale ends September 5th, midnight.

Email your list to: ReqPub@gmail.com

We can arrange layaway, take Paypal or charge cards, check, money order.

Bast & Joyce

Requiem Publications

Current Mood: helpful
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Posted by Bast and Sekhmet to Zinelist. I offered to boost the signal and they said "yes, please share in any fannish spaces". So, buy some ezines if you can and boost this signal in fannish spaces if you will.

They wrote: "During this stressful time, a good book is a recommended way to relax, destress, and recharge. So, for a limited time, Requiem is offering HALF PRICE download books. No minimum, no maximum. Books come as a PDF file, complete with all the art. More details on the site (Requiem dot ravenshadow dot net). All download books offered are $4 each during this Half-Off sale.

PLEASE DO NOT USE THE BUTTON ON THE WEBSITE TO PURCHASE. To get the half-price deal send us a list and we’ll send you a Paypal invoice or send your list with payment to: reqpub@gmail.com.

We can take charge cards if you don't do Paypal. Just let us know you’d like to do that when you send your list."

Current Mood: sharing and caring
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

One of my fellow librarians presents a "Dating for 50s and Over" program at various U.S. libraries. She will be taking her program to some Canadian libraries (in the Toronto and London areas) later this month. Before she leaves for Canada, she would like to hear from some Canadians who are 50 or over, single, have recently gone on a date or are currently dating, and are willing to share some comments with her about their dating experiences, particularly the impact of current technologies on dating. This is open to all sexual orientations and all gender and non-gender identities.

This librarian's name is Tina, and you can reach her at this email address: tinaheretohelp at gmail dot com. (Please tell her that "Shaynie sent you".)

I'd also appreciate it if you would leave a comment here if you'll be contacting Tina. I'd like to know if this post is doing any good.

Thank you kindly!

Current Mood: helpful
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Bast -- zine publisher of Requiem Publications and writer of much fic -- is in dire straits. I have donated to her, and if you can help out with any monetary contribution at all please send via PayPal to slythdreams at gmail dot com.

Here, in her own words, is the current situation:

I have no electricity except to run the refrigerator. The “meter pan” between the electric meter and the internal wiring of my house MUST be replaced. It’s old, and it’s not able to carry a modern electric load. This is DANGEROUS and may be a fire risk.

What this means to me and my family is the following. We cannot use lights when it’s dark or grey out. No internet. I’ve been using my phone, but I share data with other people and it’s not fair for me to use it all, and I must be very careful not to go over allowance as they’ll get billed for it. I also cannot do the custom books that are part of my meagre income. We have no television and even the DVD player can’t be used. We cannot run the space heaters we need to keep the upper rooms liveable and pipes from freezing. Doing laundry is a nightmare, as we need power for washer and dryer. I am charging my phone and everyone else’s in the car.

It will cost just under $1000 to get the meter pan replaced by a licensed electrician who works for the power company and can coordinate things. With the $4000 tax bill we’re trying to cover, I simply cannot even imagine how long it would take to get this together, so I am left asking for help.

Current Mood: very concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

As the end of Trump’s current term approaches, his administration is escalating its assault on our planet, gutting protections for our climate, clean air and water, wildlife, and public lands. One of the strongest organizations against him and his administration is the National Resource Defense Council, and up until December 31 every dollar donated to their work for the environment will be TRIPLED by a donor who has pledged to triple it up to $500,000. I've donated to this. If you want to participate, here's the NRDC triple-the-donation link that's good up until December 31.

Current Mood: protective
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

The Internet Archive is the world's largest digital library and the home of the Wayback Machine. Right now there's a 2-to-1 fundraising match going on for the Internet Archive. I have been a monthly donor for several years and I just made an additional donation for the 2-to-1 match. If you can chip in, here's where to do it: Donate to the Internet Archive.

Current Mood: supportive
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Bast and Joyce of Requiem Publications have sent out a reminder that the submissions deadline for the sixth issue of the multifandom slash zine "It's Raining Men" is October 16th. If you have a completed unpublished slash fic in any fandom -- or you write really fast -- and want to trib to this zine, contact Bast and Joyce at ReqPub at gmail dot com.

Current Mood: enthusiastic and hopeful
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

The American Library Association announces Internet Red Alert for Net Neutrality. To participate: read this article, contact your Congresspeople, spread this word on your social media platforms: Support Net Neutrality.

Current Mood: active
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Escapade Vid Show - Call for Vids!

Over the past 27 years, the Escapade vid show has been managed by such amazing fans as Kandy Fong, Katharine S., feochadn, and Killa. This year it will be curated and assembled by smutcutter, with onsite production by feochadn and vidder outreach by me.

Please consider sending your new (or nearly new) vids to be included in the Escapade 2018 vid show. Slashy or shippy vids especially welcome (gen also accepted). Recent Festivids participants very much encouraged to participate!

The deadline for vid upload is 2/5/18.

Vidders attending Escapade get to see your vids on the big screen (and bask in the applause), but if you can’t make it to the convention, you will still be acknowledged at the vid show, and you will be sent a copy of the convention DVD.

Click here for more information on the vid show and submission instructions.

Current Mood: enthusiastic
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

Check out all the fen offering their fannish talents to raise money for Puerto Rico after the destruction done by Hurricane Maria: Fandom Loves Puerto Rico Charity Auction on Dreamwidth. The auction is now open and will close on October 23rd.

Current Mood: active
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan